Osprey Roundup
Men-at-Arms 445,
Medieval Polish Armies 966-1500,
by David Nicolle and Witold Sarnecki,
illustrated by Gerry Embleton,
ISBN 978-1-84603-014-5, 48 pages
This is a superb book for anyone interested in the medieval period,
covering an often-neglected area. Western, particularly German, styles
of arms and armour mixed with those of eastern areas to produce a fascinating
variety, and they’re all well-illustrated and described here. We
also get a potted history of Poland and its fights against foreign invasion
over the centuries, from Teutonic Knights to Mongols.
Very highly recommended.
Fortress 69,
The Berlin Wall and the Intra-German Border 1961-89,
by Gordon L Rottman, illustrated by Chris Taylor,
ISBN 978-1-84603-193-1, 64 pages
We all know about the fall of the Berlin Wall, but few of us know much
about its beginnings and even fewer know about the other walls and fences
that kept “Ossis” inside the DDR. The early post-War days
saw fairly easy access from East to West Germany and vice versa, but the
brain drain from the DDR became too much to tolerate so the lines were
drawn to prevent emigration. Here is a good account of the early border
fences and how they grew into formidable obstacles designed to keep people
in. Maybe your first thought is “this are not fortifications”,
but the minefields, automatic guns etc certainly rate that description.
Anyone interested in “what if” wargaming should certainly
know their likely effect on either a Soviet attack on the West or a Western
counter-attack.
Recommended.
Fortress 73,
Hittite Fortificaions c.1650—700 BC,
by Konstantin S Nossov, illustrated by Brian Delf,
ISBN 978-1-84603-207-3, 64 pages
This, on the other hand, is a book about what we usually consider fortifications
– walled towns and small fortresses. Although much has vanished
over the millennia there’s still a surprising amount to be seen
by visitors to the area, and the major sites are comprehensively described
and illustrated here. The Hittites clashed with other empires as well
as with nearer neighbours, and developed some intriguing fortification
techniques as a result. This is a book that will fascinate students of
the ancient Near East as well as wargamers.
Highly recommended.
Elite 161,
The US Home Front 1941-45,
by Alejandro de Quesada, illustrated by Stephen Walsh,
ISBN 978-1-8460-208-3, 64 pages
Although not suffering the privations of the UK, and still less those
of occupied Europe, the US did introduce rationing during World War 2.
Despite early unwillingness to combat Hitler there was a massive rallying
to the flag after Pearl Harbor, and this extended to a large number of
civilian support organizations – the American Red Cross and Women’s
Voluntary Services to name just two - as well as para-military ones such
as the various Transport Services, not forgetting the entertainers of
the United Services Organisation and Rosie the Riveter. They’re
all described here, with their uniforms shown by a good selection of photographs
as well as the excellent colour plates. Excellent reference for figure
modelers!
Recommended.
Campaign 190,
Poitiers AD732, Charles Martel turns the Islamic tide,
by David Nicolle, illustrated by Graham Turner,
ISBN 978-1-84603- 230-X, 96 pages
Despite the wailing about the Crusades put up by sympathizers with Islam,
the truth is that by the 8th century Moslems had taken many Christian
lands by conquest in North Africa and the Near East as well as conquering
most of the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. They operated by staging raids
varying from small to massive, and turned a greedy eye on what is now
France. Here is the story of their largest and last raid, looting, burning
and murdering the towns and their inhabitants until brought to bay at
Poitiers. Although a large part of their army escaped, they never came
back as a serious threat and the slow recovery of Spain and Portugal began
from the unconquered territories in northwest Spain.
Very highly recommended, especially to anyone who thinks Islam should
be appeased.
Campaign 191,
Vienna 1683, Christian Europe repels the Ottomans,
by Simon Millar, illustrated by Peter Dennis,
ISBN 978-1-84603-231-8, 96 pages
 |
Continuing the theme, here is the defeat of the last Islamic attempt
at conquest in mainland Europe. The Ottoman Empire, spreading by conquest
since the siege of Constantinople, now wanted to take over Austria. Local
Serb and other rulers hesitated between collaboration or opposition depending
on their estimation of the chances of keeping their freedom under Ottoman
suzerainity versus obliteration if they rallied to the Holy Roman Empire
and it lost – for which they can hardly be blamed. The Turks now
made a major push into Austria with their main army, greatly outnumbering
the available Austrian forces. They reached Vienna and settled down to
besiege it, held at bay by the Austrian Army and Viennese townspeople
in strong fortifications. Meanwhile help had been sought from Poland,
whose fighting men were highly regarded, and other Imperial units were
marching toward Vienna. The Poles and Austrians could not arrive until
the siege had been pushed very close to success by mining and assaults
on the resulting breaches, the main city wall being next in line for attack.
The relieving force came across the hills of the Wienerwald, probably
not actually surprising the Turks, and a major battle ensued with the
result being a Turkish defeat. All of it is described here, with excellent
maps as well as colour plates.
Very highly recommended.
New Vanguard 141,
Sherman Firefly,
by David Fletcher, illustrated by Tony Bryan,
ISBN 978-1-84603-277-6, 48 pages
 |
The Firefly was arguably the best WW2 tank of the Western allies to
be produced in quantity, as far as anti-tank performance was concerned.
It came to be because the Sherman’s 75mm gun, with its good high
explosive shell, was inadequate against the German “big cats”
and the 76mm Sherman was late into production. The 17 pounder anti-tank
gun had been in gestation since late 1940 as a successor for the 6 pounder
that did not even enter production for another year. The first proposals
to mount the 17-pdr in a tank came in late 1941, eventually resulting
in the A30 Challenger. However, with recognition that the Sherman was
a good basic design but under-gunned, experiments were proceeding at Lulworth
to find a way to fit a 17-pdr into it. All this is described here and
so is the Firefly’s combat use, as well as interesting sidelights
such as the use of Fireflies for concrete-busting attacks on bunkers and
Firefly production for the US Army.
Very highly recommended.
Field of Glory Rulebook,
wargaming rules for ancient and medieval tabletop gaming,
by Richard Bodley Scott, Simon Hall and Terry Shaw,
ISBN 978-1-847603-313-1, 176 pages, hardcover
Rise of Rome, Republican Rome at War,
by Richard Bodley Scott and others,
ISBN 978-1-84603-344-6, 72 pages
Storm of Arrows, late medieval Europe at war,
by Richard Bodley Scott and others,
ISBN 978-1-8463-345-4, 72 pages
Field of Glory is the basic book for a new system for tabletop wargaming,
the first such in then years. It sets out a clear and comprehensive set
of rules, army lists, scoring, rules for unusual things like the effects
of elephants or scythed chariots, in fact everything seems to have been
thought of. It is well illustrated with colour diagrams showing the various
possible moves as well as plates and photographs. Even I, as a non-wargamer,
could use these rules!
Rise of Rome and Storm of Arrows are its two companions, providing detailed
army lists for their respective periods covering every conceivable opponent
– and quite a few that I hadn’t even heard of despite what
I thought was extensive reading about both periods. Quite apart from their
use in restaging historical battles or creating your own “unknown
episodes” in real wars, you could even pit Carthaginians against
Macedonians, or Scots clansmen against Swiss Pikemen, or even all four
against each other.
Highly recommended, with the caveat that I’m not a wargamer so
couldn't test the system.
Rome and her Enemies,
edited by Jane Penrose, various authors and illustrators,
ISBN 978-1-8463-336-5, 304 pages, paperback
This is a compendium of previous Osprey titles from the Campaign Men-at-Arms,
Warrior, Elite, Fortress, Essential Histories and New Vanguard series.
It covers the whole field of Roman warfare from 753 BC to500 AD and is
copiously illustrated. It costs less than two Men-at-Arms titles, so if
you missed some or all of the earlier books this is a real bargain of
a way to get them!
Highly recommended.
|
|
