Osprey Roundup

By John Prigent

New Vanguard 110, Universal Carrier 1936-48,
The ‘Bren Gun Carrier’ Story, by David Fletcher, illustrated by Tony Bryan, ISBN 1-84176-813-8, 48 pages

This is a very clear account beginning with the early tracked carriers of the mid-30s from the prototype to the Scout and Machine Gun Carriers that went into service and the actual Bren Gun Carrier. After those the Universal Carrier is covered in quite a lot of detail, including what the Mark numbers actually meant with enough detail for readers to tell them apart. There are good photographs, excellent plates, and combat actions described, so this is a good read as well as a good reference.

Highly recommended.

Elite 113, US Navy SEALs, by Mir Bahmanyar, illustrated by Michael Welply, ISBN 1-84176-807-3, 64 pages

Here’s an interesting book for anyone intrigued by modern US Special Forces. Everything is covered, from organisation to training and weapon systems, but the main meat is in the descriptions of SEAL combat actions from Urgent Fury to Iraqi Freedom. Readers may end with the feeling that the SEAL reputation is overblown, but my instinct tells me that the early failures are outweighed by the stuff that Mr Baymanyar isn’t allowed to tell us about – high security does have its downside since the lessons were learned but we can’t know how they are now applied. What is fascinating is to read about the deployment of SEALs into Afghanistan, on the face of it an unlikely environment for them but one where they fought some hard actions.

Recommended.

Men-at-Arms 411, Warrior Peoples of East Africa 1840-1900, by Chris Peers, illustrated by Raffaele Ruggeri, ISBN 1-84176-778-6, 48 pages

This is a real treat for figure modellers with a taste for the unusual! Most of us know of the Maasai (the correct spelling according to my Maasai friends) but fewer are aware of the other warrior tribes of this area. Here is an account of their migrations, tribal organisations, dress, weapons, everything you need to know to build a figure of any of them. Their encounters with the early white explorers are here, and so are their actions against invaders, slave raiders and other unwanted visitors.

Great stuff, and very highly recommended!

Warrior 93, German Infantryman (3) Eastern Front 1943-45, by David Westwood, illustrated by Elizabeth Sharp, ISBN 1-84176-780-8, 64 pages

This is not a “uniform book” but an account of the Landsers’ life on the Eastern Front from anti-partisan operations to the final fighting in Berlin. It is chock-full of combat reports and descriptions, and has some very interesting photographs as well as good plates. All good fodder for modellers wanting to depict the soldiers or for those simply interested in how the war was fought on the Russian Front.

Recommended.

New Vanguard , Apache AH-64 Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) 1976-2005, by Chris Bishop, illustrated by Jim Laurier, ISBN 1-84176-816-2, 64 pages

This is a good account of how the Apache came to be built and of its upgrading to the Longbow Apache. There’s plenty of information about combat operations from Panama to Afghanistan and of course Iraq, and notes on non-US users too. All but a few of the photographs are in colour and there are good colour plates, though of course the low-vis markings aren’t exactly a modeller’s dream of colour!

Recommended.

Battle Orders 11, US Army Forces in the Korean War 1950-53, by Donald W Boose, Jr, ISBN 1-84176-621-6, 96 pages

Here’s a detailed examination of the US Army in Korea. The text gives a complete overview of doctrine, training, the sad state of manpower and equipment after the rundown at the end of WW2, training, and doctrine and how it was modified by the Korean experience. Summary TOEs are given for most unit types from the top down, and the final 21 pages give a complete breakdown of 8th Army and IX Corps with details of all their combat units and dates of service in Korea for each of them. Concentration on the US Army means that USMC, Republic of Korea and Allied units are not discussed in the text, but these tables do include the Allied and Republic of Korea units though not the USMC – maybe we’ll get an examination of the rest of the UN forces in a future Battle Orders book.

Recommended.

Battle Orders 12, US Special Warfare Units in the Pacific Theater 1941-45, Scouts, Rangers, and Reconnaissance Units, by Gordon L Rottman, ISBN 1-84176-707-7, 96 pages

This is fascinating! Here we get not only the usual Battle Orders format of unit TOEs but a very complete picture of how and why each unit was formed, how it trained, mission planning, and the weapons and equipment used. Not only that but also descriptions of their combat actions, from small recce parties to prison camp liberation and not forgetting involvement in island assaults. This one will give figure modellers some unusual ideas for dioramas, as well as giving due credit to some small units that are never heard of nowadays like the Alamo Scouts.

Highly recommended!