Battleground 2024

Yesterday we braved the elements to attend the Battleground show which is even closer to home in its new venue than in previous years. Heavy snow elsewhere in the region stopped a couple of demo games from materialising but those that were on show were, by and large, pretty good, if not especially inspiring. There was a good range of subject matter and scales, but visually my favourite was the Napoleonic naval shown immediately below.

The best bit of the day was the warm welcome and words of support Katherine (especially) and I received from the friends we encountered. It made a great deal to us both, given the horrible time we’ve been having recently. Thanks fellas.

I didn’t buy anything and came away with a £10 profit.

Never Mind the Matchlocks

The Durham club put on the battle the Sesia in the Italian Wars. This is a pretty obscure battle but oddly one that has been showcased twice in a matter of weeks by clubs at opposite ends of the country.

French and Indian Wars

Malplaquet

Rapid Fire 1940

Germany 1980 under Soviet attack.

Zulus!

 It is always a show worth a visit and hopefully the new venue will work out well.

The Winter War 1939 - exciting new movie

This looks like it’ll be an excellent piece of source material for when I get my Winter War Finns and Soviets on the table next.

https://youtu.be/bbmpWfr2uZQ?si=VGsFj6UZWIu4SBgh

Royalist Newark 1642–1646

Royalist Newark, 1642-1646. Sieges and Siege Works by Stuart B. Jennings is another one of those books that covers specific aspects of the British Civil Wars so well. Following the old adage of eating the elephant in lots of small mouthfuls, Helion’s objective is, it seems to me at any rate, to feed us manageable chunks of information about discrete elements of the wars. This makes it possible to focus on much more detail than might be found in a sweeping general history, of which we have many. I think it works really well and has done much to draw me back towards the period.

So, this is the first comprehensive study of Newark in the civil war, from the outbreak of hostilities when the town was turned into a Royalist garrison, through three sieges until its final capitulation in May 1646. Wider operations in the region are also covered where their outcomes had an impact on the town. Extracts from personal and official correspondence are used effectively to support the narrative. Of particular interest is John Twentyman’s account which forms Appendix I which is reproduced faithfully. One little anecdote refers to the unfortunate fate of the writer’s uncle who died of gangrene after stubbing his toe! Ouch.

The narrative is well supported with a large number of black and white images. Many are contemporary, others are of paintings created a century or so later, and there are lots of photos of surviving arms and armour as well as of the castle and the remarkably preserved Queen’s Sconce. There are also a number of rather nice, informative and well-drawn colour maps of the surrounding area and of the sieges and siege lines.

This is another well researched and presented title to add to the growing number of British Civil Wars titles in the Century of the Soldier series.





ISBN 978-1-804515-49-8. Soft back 173 pages.

The Army of the Manchu Empire

First of all, thanks for all your messages of support in response to my previous post about goings on at the Burrow. They mean a great deal.

On to business, I would until now, and quite wrongly, have associated the author Michael Fredholm von Essen more with European and Scandinavian history than what is covered in this book. The Army of the Manchu Empire. The Conquest Army and the Imperial Army of Qing China, 1600–1727 is No.116 in Helion’s splendid and ever expanding Century of the Soldier series.

The author takes us on a journey through the history and campaigns of the Manchu in what may well be one of the first such accounts written in English. He focuses on the rise of the Qing, their armies, tactics and integrated military system and its development throughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

After an introduction to the Manchu Empire, there follow detailed chapters on the organisation of the army, uniforms, weapons, flags, standards, bravery awards and command, training, strategy and tactics. There is also a particularly interesting chapter on the uniforms and weapons of the reserves, militia and local forces. The battles and campaigns are not overlooked, and these are all described clearly, against the Ming, the Russians and the Mongols. I have an interest in the Russian expansion to the east in this period and the conflicts that were sparked off with the Chinese, and found this section really useful in adding to my admittedly limited understanding of events.

The book is full of contemporary black and white images depicting the Manchu soldiers. Some of these are from a later period but remain perfectly acceptable as they are illustrative of what troops wore in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries because much of their dress remained unchanged. There are also a good number of photos of surviving weapons, armour and clothing, and then of course there are the central colour plates. First are eight colour illustrations by Giorgio Albertini. These are simply wonderful. There follow six pages of eighteenth century colour paintings showing yet more types of soldiers, in action or on parade. Finally there are six pages of very colourful Chinese banners.

An unusual subject but one presented in an entertainingly well written and scholarly manner. I certainly enjoyed the book and am happy to give it a place in my library.

ISBN 978-1-804513-47-7 Soft covers. 252 pages.

Hiatus in the Burrow

Things are getting a little tough here in the Burrow. Katherine is still fighting her third cancer scare in two years while trying to manage a severe form of diabetes. They’re not quite mutually exclusive thank goodness. I always find the latter hard to understand as there’s more meat on a butcher’s pencil than on her. It’s genetic. ALSO her mum wants to sell our home which thankfully isn’t all hers to sell and she has moved out in a strop.

We shall get through this but it is hard. We have faith, the law and bloody mindedness and a huge amount of integrity and intellect on our side. Technically the Burrow is at risk but realistically that is an unlikely outcome. So for the next few weeks or months I don’t know if I shall be able to post any game reports or even pictures of newly painted units, but I will keep plugging away with the book reviews and perhaps other stuff as well.  Maybe pick up the paint brush too.

Thanks to all my friends for their support. It means a great deal. Without them it would be an even greater uphill struggle.