Korean War - US forces

I got interested in the Korean War when researching the Turkish units that fought there for my books on the Cyprus conflict. Two new Ospreys focus on US forces, and while I probably won't expand by tabletop forces in this direction (famous last words), the Turks were largely equipped from US stocks.

The first is MAA 561, which examines the US Army and US Marine Corps in Korea.

This is really a book for modellers, as it goes into great detail about the uniforms worn by the army and marines. I am doing this in 10mm, so the differences between the army and the Marines are almost irrelevant. When they arrived in Korea, most were equipped in WW2 uniforms, the standard herringbone twill. Cold-weather attire soon became vital, particularly the iconic caps and pile liners, although, as before, these were mainly WW2 issue. Later, the heavy-lined parka was issued. Insignia and specialist equipment are also covered.

The Turks converted from British equipment. They welcomed the US helmet as an improvement on the Brodie rim that made grenade throwing a risky business. However, they were less impressed by the boots, which took too long to lace up in emergencies.

As you would expect, there are plenty of photos and excellent colour plates. Sadly, no Corporal Klinger or Radar lookalikes!

I haven't yet considered the naval aspects of the Korean war, but Corbin Williamson's US Seventh Fleet, Korea 1950-53, has it all. 

At the end of WW2, the Seventh Fleet in the Pacific had over 200 ships and was still involved in post-war operations, including the war in China. As North Korea didn't have much of a navy, the Seventh Fleet was mainly engaged in shore bombardment and air combat, primarily using its Essex-class carriers. The huge Iowa-class battleships were brought out of reserve to add naval firepower. 70,000 naval personnel (excluding marines) served in the fleet by 1951.

The author covers all the primary ship classes and the aircraft that flew off the carriers. This information is widely published, so I found the chapter on command and control more interesting. The task force organisation is covered in detail, as is liaison with other UN member nations that contributed naval forces, including the Royal Navy. A fleet of this size required extensive shore facilities in Japan and replenishment at sea.

North Korea did have MTBs and other small boats. The combat operations chapter covers their attempts to attack UN ships and the threat posed by shore batteries. The North Koreans also made extensive use of mines, which kept the US minesweepers busy. Other than that, operations were mainly bombardment and amphibious landings.

I can't see much in the way of tabletop operations here, although naval and air bombardment have to be factored into land battles. I also play Blood Red Skies for the Korean air war. It is still an interesting read, well illustrated and plenty of data for the naval buffs.

My Turkish brigade facing North Korean and Chinese troops. Yes it can be hilly in Korea!

Russia and the Golden Horde

 This is Charles Halperin's study of the Mongol impact on medieval Russian History. When I was researching my latest book, which includes the Russian colonisation of the steppe, the background reading suggested that this long relationship with the Mongols and then the Tatars had a greater impact on Russian society than traditional Russian historiography implied. I was therefore happy to spot this 1987 book in a secondhand bookshop.

Between the 13th and 15th centuries, the northeastern Slavic principalities (future Russia) were under the political dominance of the Golden Horde, a western division of the Mongol Empire established by Batu Khan. The Golden Horde did not rule Russia directly; instead, they appointed local princes and collected tribute. Frequent Mongol military campaigns shaped Russian military organisation, fortification patterns, governance, and trade and administration. The Horde fragmented in the 14th–15th centuries, and Dmitry Donskoy’s victory at the Battle of Kulikovo (1380) weakened Mongol authority. Ivan III’s stand at the Ugra River (1480) ended tribute obligation, and is seen as the end of Mongol domination.

The author starts with a narrative of the Mongol conquest and how they managed the principalities that would become Russia. He argues that they didn't instigate direct rule as they did in China and Persia because Russia had little to offer them. Patriotic historians overplayed the role of princes who resisted, while the vast majority collaborated. This is a pattern we see in other parts of Eastern Europe as well. This shouldn't be a surprise, as the Slavic states had been trading, intermarrying and allying themselves with the steppe tribes for centuries before the Mongols arrived. 

Medieval historians, when faced with defeat by non-Christian foes, could choose to accept that the Christian god was not omnipotent, unthinkable for most, or accept that it was God's will, punishing them. Russian historians did neither; they just ignored them. Although the author identifies many examples in Russian histories where they displayed more knowledge than they cared to admit.

They later blamed the Mongols for Russia's backwardness, though there is little evidence to support that claim. Absolutism arose from domestic considerations, drawing more from Byzantium than the Mongols. Plenty of Tatar blood entered the Russian aristocracy through marriage, possibly as high as 20 per cent. Many Russian names have Tatar provenance. 

The author concludes that Russia's ideology of silence means the historical record must be interpreted with great care. Russia in this period did not live in splendid isolation; they were profoundly influenced by its Mongol overlords and near neighbours. This book succeeds in raising that curtain.

Some of my 28mm Mongols

The Lion of the North

 A long train trip to Everton on Saturday for the football required some light reading. Not just because watching Fulham away at the moment is pretty grim! My choice was the third and latest in Griff Hosker's English Mercenary series. I enjoyed the first two, so this purchase was a no-brainer.

As the title implies, we have now reached the main 1632 campaign of the Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus. In the last book, his victory at Breitenfeld in September 1631 gave Gustavus control over much of northern and central Germany. The 1632 campaign began well, with the trapping and defeat of Tilly at Rain in April. However, Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein established himself at Fürth, threatening to cut his lines of communication to the north. On 3 September, an assault on the Imperial camp outside the town was bloodily repulsed, and the Protestant army withdrew. Wallenstein moved north to Leipzig with the intention of spending the winter there. 

The Swedes learned that Pappenheim's corps of 5,800 men had been sent to Halle, which gave Gustavus a numerical superiority. He decided to attack, and the armies met at Lutzen. In a confused battle, the Swedish forces suffered heavier casualties, but Wallenstein was forced to withdraw. However, the Lion of the North was killed when he was separated from his battle line. 

Our hero is Colonel James Bretherton, who commands a regiment and later a brigade of light horse. A good choice by the author, as this means he is involved in all the main actions, but many more minor skirmishes as well. The book begins with our hero on leave back home in Teeside, embarking on a few adventures that I suspect may serve as a warm-up for his involvement in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in later books. I had the pleasure of meeting the author at the Battleground wargames show in Teeside a couple of years ago, so I assume his hero's home base is no coincidence.

There are plenty of subplots involving dastardly treachery, but I won't spoil the story. All you really need to know is that this is a quick and pacy read from a very good storyteller. Recommended reading. 

In one of the skirmishes, they clash with Imperial Croats. You just knew I would find a Balkan connection!

My Croats of the period in 28mm.

The Siege of Vienna 1529 - The Drawing of the Dark

 This book is a twist on the traditional historical novel, focusing on the Siege of Vienna in 1529. Tim Powers gives a fantasy spin on the story and creates a very readable one. A friend pointed me to his work when I did my usual Balkan anniversary post on social media.

After the Battle of Mohacs in 1526, Suleiman the Lawgiver was consolidating the conquest of Hungary. In September 1529, relatively too late in the campaign season, he arrived at Vienna. The sources are divided on his real intentions, but he arrived with over 100,000 tired men who had trudged through the autumn rain and mud to get there. Roughly 15,000–20,000 Austrian, German, and Spanish soldiers under Count Niklas von Salm defended the city. Despite repeated assaults, the defenders held firm. Poor weather, disease, and supply shortages weakened the Ottoman army, and Suleiman ordered a retreat on 14 October.

In this book, the author's main character is an Irish mercenary who is recruited in Venice to look after a pub attached to a famous brewery. They brew a legendary ale, which is nearly ready to drink. The employer owns the pub, but is also a sorcerer supporting the King of the West, against the King of the East, whose sorcerer is Ibrahim, the Ottoman Grand Vizier. There is a complex fantasy world that I won't spoil if you haven't read the book, but our hero is drawn into both this magical battle and the real one.

The 1529 siege is less well known than the more famous 1683 one, probably because the Ottomans were not as serious about it. The defenders were an interesting mix of troops, including Landsknechts, and there was no relieving army. However, Sulieman's artillery was bogged down in the mud and therefore had to rely on lighter guns and infantry assaults. 

If you're not a fan of fantasy, the book may irritate you. However, I enjoyed it as a clever blend of both genres.

Sieges are challenging to do on the tabletop, but Fire and Stone (Capstone Games), based on the 1683 siege, does an excellent job. The various sorties and skirmishes are very suitable for games of Pikeman's Lament.

Romanian Campaign 1916-18

This booklet is a reprint by the Naval and Military Press of Major-General Kirke's 1924 article in the Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. They are discounting WW1 books by 25% this weekend. You would rarely get away with writing such a long article in a journal today! Somewhat embarrassingly, when I started to read it, it seemed familiar. No, I wasn't around in 1924, but I do have a 1997 reprint by Pallas Armata. This imprint was a labour of love by Gareth Simon who brought many of these fascinating articles back into circulation.

This booklet is valuable because very little has been written about these campaigns. Michael Barrett wrote a decent book on the 1916 campaign, and even Kirke's article ends before the final battles of the war, including the Romanian defensive victory at Mărăști.

Romania remained neutral until 1916, when it joined the war on the side of the Entente. They launched an offensive into Transylvania which was initially successful until Germany counterattacked under Field Marshal August von Mackensen and General Erich von Falkenhayn, halting the Romanian advance. Mackensen then led a joint German-Bulgarian-Ottoman army from the south in September 1916, invading Dobruja (southeastern Romania). Meanwhile, Falkenhayn’s forces attacked from Transylvania into Wallachia. The Romanian army, poorly equipped and lacking coordination, suffered heavy defeats. Bucharest fell on December 6, 1916.

This is where the article ends, but it includes a detailed description of the tough fighting the Carpathian Mountains, with decent maps. He also gives a balanced analysis of both sides and the challenges they faced. The Romanians had not learned the lessons from the early stages of the war and were short of modern equipment and crucially ammunition. Attacking Transylvania made sense politically, but strategically it stretched the Romanian army too far. The Russians continually advised them to shorten their lines.

In 1917, with Russian help, Romania rebuilt its army and fought heroically in the battles of Mărăști (July & August 1917) and Oituz (August 1917). These victories stopped the Central Powers’ advance and restored morale. The Russian revolution left Romania without Russian support and they were forced to sign an armistice. They rejoined the war in November 1918.

I visited the fine memorial and museum at Mărăști earlier this year.

I have German, Austrian and Russian figures for these campaigns. However, I don't know anyone who does Romanians, with their distinctive cap. You could probably get away with French troops in smaller scales as they also used the Adrian helmet. There are Romanian WW2 figures with a cap, which are not far out. This needs a bit more research.

Russian 28mm figures from my collection.

Highness in Hiding

 The latest instalment in my Nigel Tranter project is 'Highness in Hiding,' the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie's escape to France after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. This book is best described as a travelogue of his movements over several months in the West Highlands and the islands as he evaded his pursuers.

This is topical as archaeologists have discovered musket balls on the battlefield that they believe were fired by Irish Jacobite troops who enabled clansmen to escape the battlefield by stopping a mounted charge.

It also has a personal interest, as Ancestry has recently narrowed the Scottish side of my DNA to the West Highlands and the Hebrides. The Watsons are usually associated with the area north of Glasgow, and that is undoubtedly where my family lived. It is fascinating to discover that they originated much further north.

After Culloden, Charles became a hunted man with a £30,000 bounty on his head, the equivalent of £7.6m in today's money. I hadn't appreciated just how long he managed to evade capture, and how much effort the Government forces put in. At least 14 warships and thousands of troops, most of them coming from clans that supported the Hanoverians. He spent months hiding in the Outer Hebrides, moving between islands like Eriskay, South Uist, and Benbecula. Tranter is at his best when describing these remote places.

What most people know about this period (thanks to the Skye Boat Song) is that he escaped to the Isle of Skye with Flora MacDonald on June 28, 1746. She helped him disguise himself as a maid named "Betty Burke". After parting ways with Flora on Skye, he continued to evade capture, returning to the mainland before eventually securing a ship that took him to the continent and safety in France. 

Sadly, there was no happy ending. Charles never returned to Scotland and spent the rest of his life in exile, moving between France and Rome. He died in Rome on January 31, 1788, at the age of 67, having become an alcoholic in his later years. 

Wonderful though Tranter's description of the terrain is, it isn't the most riveting read. The bravery of the loyal clans who protected him is an integral part of the story, given the murder, rape and destruction visited on the Highlands by Butcher Cumberland. 

There are no real battles or even skirmishes for the wargamer. However, this is a popular period on the tabletop with some fine figure ranges. I would particularly plug the range by my pal Ian at Flags of War.

Some of my 28mm figures of the period

Serbia and the End of the Great War

 This book, published by the Historical Museum of Serbia, covers the latter part of Serbia's role in the First World War, after the retreat through Albania and the recovery on Corfu. It appears to have been a limited print run and not widely available. I picked up a copy in a shop attached to the Serbian war museum in Corfu Town.

There are not many books in English dedicated to Serbia in WW1, with Dusan Babac's Serbian Army in the Great War being my usual starting point. This book is in English and Serbian. The text is not that gripping, being largely limited to reproductions of official texts, timelines and pen portraits of the leading personalities. However, it does have a wide range of photographs, many of which I haven't seen before. It also touches on some aspects of war that are rarely mentioned.

One of those is Serbia under occupation. All the occupying powers adopted a denationalisation programme, although the Bulgarians applied it more radically. The Austro-Hungarians applied the Latin alphabet, but the Bulgarians detained and even executed Serbs who used their language, names, books and even folk costumes. Both powers ruthlessly exploited the country economically, bringing the population to the brink of starvation. With the fighting-age population much reduced by the war and the Serbian armies in Macedonia, uprisings were more challenging than in WW2. The most famous is the Toplica Uprising in February 1917, which resulted in around 20,000 victims of the counter-insurgency operation. 

The book also covers Serbian units that served outside the Balkans. These included the Serbian Volunteer Corps, recruited from Austro-Hungarian PoWs. This was eventually transported to the Macedonian Front. Some Serbs ended up in the Czechoslovak Legion during the Russian Civil War, and others fought for the Bolsheviks in the First Serbian Revolutionary Battalion and the Serbian-Soviet Battalion. Several other detachments fought with the Red Army. Sadly, no pictures of these units, which would make an interesting addition to the Red Army on the tabletop.

Serbian refugees found shelter across Europe. Britain received 400 students, who settled in cities across the country, including Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. France took in 17,000 refugees, and many ended up in French colonies.

There are better books on the Serbian contribution to the Macedonian Campaign, which was crucial to the Entente victory. However, there are some good pictures, if a little too heavy on the commanders rather than the army in the field. The post-war diplomacy that resulted in the creation of what would become Yugoslavia is covered in some detail, with a predictable Serbian slant! Objective history is rare in the Balkans!

Some of my 28mm Serbs

The Bosnian Serb Army at War

 This is Bojan Dimitrijevic's account of the Bosnian Serb Army during the 1992-95 conflict. Many books have been written on the conflict, but few focus on the fighting units. While the author attempts to write an objective military history, his objectivity slips several times. It is best described as a sympathetic view of an army that fought well under challenging circumstances but was also responsible for atrocities, not least the massacre at Srebrenica.

The author starts with a brief background and description of the army's (VRS) establishment. It mainly constituted the Yugoslav Army (JNA) units in the Serb areas of Bosnia and quickly incorporated paramilitary and militia units. It followed JNA ranks and organisation and was commanded by General Ratko Mladic, who was later convicted at The Hague for war crimes. The author describes a 'complicated relationship' with the civilian leadership, led by Radovan Karadzic, another convicted war criminal. While this was a predominantly ethic Serb army, there were a few Croat and Muslim officers.

The book is profusely illustrated with pictures and colour plates of the army's wide variety of equipment. In May 1994, this included 358 tanks (T-34, T-55, and M-84s) and 197 APCs. They also had a huge range of artillery, AA and tactical missile systems. Modellers will enjoy the variety of camouflage and additional armour used. 

The bulk of the book covers the main campaigns of the conflict. They had notable successes in 1992 and 1993, including Operation Corridor, Operation Vrbas, and Operation Lukavac. However, by 1994, their Croat and Muslim opponents were beginning to cooperate, and the army was increasingly forced back onto the defensive. NATO intervention meant they no longer had control of the skies, and their positions around Sarajevo came under ground attack. The US Congress also lifted the embargo on weapons deliveries to the Muslim forces. Pressure on the political front was a key feature of the final two years of the conflict. When the Contact Group's peace plan was rejected, NATO military intervention became more frequent. 

There were particular tensions around the capture of UN peacekeepers and their use as human shields against air attack. This was heightened when Serb forces captured the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica. I'm afraid the author lost the plot here, with the implication that the worst atrocity in Europe since WW2 was somehow the responsibility of a captain. The idea that 8,372 men and boys could be executed without the knowledge of the commanders is absurd. 

The VRS heavily outgunned its opponents in the early stages of the conflict and had the organisational advantage of building on already established armed forces. However, they had a lot of territory to defend, and the terrain was challenging. I have driven around Bosnia several times, and the defensive advantages are apparent. Putting objectivity aside, this book has all the factual information the wargamer and modeller needs on the VRS. 

Some of my 15mm JNA infantry of the period.

Captain of Horse

 This is the second book in Griff Hosker's English mercenary series. The first book covered the opening campaigns of the Thirty Years' War. In this book, our hero, Captain James Bretherton, is recruited by Gustavus Adolphus to lead a unit of light horse during the initial actions of the Swedish phase of the wars. 

The unit is ill-disciplined because it has been abandoned by its original commander. The soldiers are mainly from England, although there were also Scottish, Danish, and Swedish troops. He organises them because they are used as scouts for the army's advance into Germany. 

Gustavus landed in Pomerania in June 1630 with nearly 18,000 Swedish troops, supplemented by mercenaries. However, very few of the German princes rallied to the Protestant cause, and he was heavily outnumbered by Tilly's Imperial forces. French funding enabled him to recruit additional mercenaries and properly equip his army. Gustavus used this army to win a couple of defensive victories and then a significant victory at Breitenfeld in September 1631. 

This battle forms the core of this book, and Bretherton's horse plays a key role. There are plenty of subplots involving espionage, sieges and skirmishes with Imperial troops. I won't spoil the plot, but this is all written in Hosker's fast-paced style, with plenty of action. The unit is fictitious, although not untypical of the army, and otherwise he keeps pretty close to the history. 

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one in the series, which has just been published. I must dust down my armies of the period for some tabletop action.

Imperial Cuirassiers play a big part in the story. They should have red sashes, but I use mine for ECW as well.

Rebellion Against Henry III - The Disinherited Montfortians

The Barons' Wars have been a popular period for wargamers in recent years, with playable rules and figure ranges. While I am pretty familiar with these wars and Simon de Montfort, my knowledge tends to come to a halt after the Battle of Evesham in 1265. A battlefield that is well worth a visit. David Pilling's book, Rebellion Against Henry III: The Disinherited Montfortians 1265-1274, opens up a whole new chapter of the conflict, for me at least. 

After Evesham, Henry disinherited the supporters of Simon de Montfort, rewarding his own supporters with their estates. This drove the Montfortians into guerrilla warfare, utilising large areas of woodland, such as Sherwood Forest, or fenlands like the Fens around Ely. Eventually, Henry and his son Edward were forced to compromise through the Dictum of Kenilworth. This allowed the rebels to buy back their lands. 

There wasn't always a coordinated resistance from the Disinherited. They often had different motivations and adopted other tactics. The book covers all the leading players and their actions. Many were unattractive characters, even by the standards of the era. However, their resilience and determination are worthy of remembrance. 

Some, like Sir John Deyville, came from a family with a long history of rebellion. When the Montfort base in Kenilworth was eventually captured, the resistance relocated to Ely and the Fens. The disinherited generally avoided being couped up in castles, as a long siege without the prospects of relief was not a sound option, given the Royalist superiority in numbers. When they held castles, a common tactic was to leave a small garrison while keeping the main force nearby. This copied English tactics in Gascony and Welsh revolts. For example, Kenilworth was held with a modest garrison, while the main force relocated to the isle of Axholme, from where they could attack the besiegers and plunder their lands.

Even Henry's allies on paper could quietly engage in negotiations with rebel groups. The Duke of Gloucester is just one example. All of this had a devastating impact on the English economy, with tax revenues in 1267 at less than a third of those in 1260. 1267 saw a general peace, but the conflict broke out again in 1272. While Edward was on the Crusade, old divisions reopened. When he returned after Henry's death, he defeated some of the rebels and passed the Statute of Westminster in 1275. This crackdown on abuses of local administration and royal authority helped to bring about a wider peace.

One interesting case study in the book relates to the story of Robin Hood. This is traditionally attributed to the reign of Richard I during his Crusade. However, some historians link the story to that of the Disinherited. Sherwood Forest was certainly the base for Disinherited knights like John Deyville and Roger Godberd. The stories of their actions bear a striking resemblance to those of Robin Hood.

For wargamers, this period presents numerous opportunities for games using Lion Rampant. I don't play Barons War, but that would also work.

The Volga

 My non-fiction holiday reading was Janet Hartley's, The Volga, A History of Russia's Greatest River. 

The Volga is the longest river in Europe. It flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of 3,531 km (2,194 mi), and a catchment area of 1,360,000 km2 (530,000 sq mi). It has a rich history, which the author captures well in this book.

The author begins with the early history of the Volga, which has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In antiquity, it was a key route for trade and cultural exchange between the Vikings, Slavs, and other peoples. The early Slavs settled along the river, utilising it for transportation and fishing. During the Middle Ages, the Volga became an important part of the Russian principalities. It facilitated trade with the Vikings and Persians, and the city of Volgograd (formerly Tsaritsyn) grew as a strategic trading hub.

In the 16th century, the river's significance increased with the expansion of the Russian state. It served as a major artery for commerce, particularly in the trade of salt, grain, and minerals. The construction of cities like Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan along the Volga boosted its economic importance. This also involved significant conflict as the Russian state colonised the huge territory on both sides of the river. There were also religious differences between the Orthodox Church, which sought to convert the Old Believers, and the Tatar tribes, which were mainly Islamic. This is not simply a narrative history; she also covers the way of life in towns and villages along the river.

The Volga played a key role in the Civil War that followed the Bolshevik Revolution. In the 20th century, large-scale infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Volga-Don Canal and numerous hydroelectric dams, significantly transformed the river's landscape. These developments supported industrial growth and energy production. Probably the most famous battle of WW2, Stalingrad, is on the Volga. Today, the Volga remains crucial for Russia’s transportation, industry, and energy sectors. Sadly, pollution and damming have posed significant environmental challenges, prompting efforts to conserve the environment.

This is a fascinating study of an important feature of Russian history, its rivers. Not a quick read, but well worth the effort.

I was going to insert some Cossacks, but the Tatars were much more important, and are still a significant minority community along the river today.

Lieutenant Douglas SAS Series

My holiday fiction reading consisted of Douglas Jackson's series of six novels, which chronicle the exploits of an SAS officer during World War II. There is currently a Kindle deal on Amazon for £1.99. 

This is ideal holiday reading. Each book is relatively short and requires little effort. Old school action fiction is the best description I can give.

Douglas is a tank officer, fighting in the desert war, when he is recruited into the SAS. The first volume starts just before the Battle of El Alamein, with our hero being inducted into the ways of the SAS. He takes part in the typical SAS raids against airfields behind enemy lines. This is Rogue Heroes in print, except that Douglas is a bit more sane. He is also drawn into a relationship with a British nurse who turns out to be a German spy. All very much in The Key to Rebecca territory. The action shifts to Tunisia, where his team targets the German command HQ. There is also a parallel story with a team of German Brandenburgers who clash with Douglas's team in most volumes.

The next volume sees Douglas being landed in Yugoslavia to make contact with Tito. Needless to say, this was my favourite. He arrives just as one of the major German offensives starts against the partisans. Fighting across rivers, over mountains, etc. There are a couple of historical errors here; the worst is placing the Serbian collaborationist government led by Nedic in Croatia!

The third story takes his team into occupied France to destroy a Luftwaffe squadron using glider bombs to attack Allied convoys. Here, he meets the inevitable stunning female SOE agent, and a relationship that continues for the rest of the series.

The fourth story involves attacking a secret nerve gas research establishment near Penamunde. This is where the storyline becomes a bit too far-fetched, but needless to say, our hero pulls it off and even manages to whisk the evil SS scientist away. Only for the Russians to pinch him.

In the fifth book, Douglas is tasked with assassinating Rommel just before D-Day. The basic premise here is fine. However, an SOE operative goes with his team, who not only knows the planned date and landing beaches, but also about the plot to kill Hitler. Even worse, this operative tells Douglas all this. It is just like Overlord security didn't matter a jot!

The final book is a joint SAS/US Ranger operation to destroy a German atomic bomb research site. In this version of history, the Germans are ahead of the Allies and have a bomb and aircraft ready to bomb New York. Needless to say, the parallel Brandenburgers meet up, and all is well. We like a 'good' German ending.

If all this sounds a bit too far-fetched, even for fiction - well, it is. However, if you can put your historical sensitivities to one side while lounging on the beach, then this is fast-paced boys' own adventure writing at its best.  At this price, you can't go far wrong.

Central European Wars 1918–21

 I love obscure wars, and a new Osprey, Central European Wars 1918–21, by Philip Jowett, certainly hits the mark.

The hastily raised armies that emerged from the demise of the Habsburg Empire were soon fighting each other for control of territory and to defend their own borders. All these armies were desperately short of the necessities of war, including uniforms, equipment and weaponry. This book covers the scratch forces assembled by Romania, Hungary, Austria, Serbia, and Czechoslovakia. 

These were often short border wars, largely forgotten today. The Carinithian War started as a Slovene insurgency aimed at bringing the region into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was to become Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia. Serbian troops got involved in the fighting in April 1919 after an earlier ceasefire ended. As they launched the first of two offensives against the Austrians, the Entente powers intervened, and a plebiscite was held, which determined that the region would remain in Austria.

Romania invaded Hungary and even occupied Budapest, although the war aim was to secure Transylvania.  Hungary was itself engaged in a civil war between left and right-wing forces, with Admiral Horthy's White forces defeating the Communist Government. 

The Polish–Czechoslovak War was fought for just seven days over a region of southeastern Silesia on the border between the newly established states of Poland and Czechoslovakia. The disputed region had a mixed population of Czechs, Poles, Germans, Silesians and Jews, who lived in relative peace before 1919. Poland was preoccupied with a separate conflict with Ukraine, and the region was subsequently incorporated into Czechoslovakia.

The Czechoslovak Republic then addressed the disputed territories around its borders and claimed rights over Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which were part of Hungary. There were smaller conflicts in Burgenland, allocated to Austria. Most of these disputes arose from the provisions of the Treaty of Trianon, which largely remain the current boundaries of Hungary.

For wargamers with WW1 armies, these conflicts are relatively easy to replicate on the tabletop, aided by the colour plates in this book. The uniforms and equipment were essentially the same as in WW1, with changed unit names. French equipment was also commonplace. Some can be played as skirmish games, although the Hungarian wars involved large numbers of troops.

Some of my 28mm Austro-Hungarian figures

Jane Haining - A Life of Love and Courage

 The Renfrewshire UNISON branch in Scotland has a Holocaust Memorial project remembering the only Scot who died in a Nazi concentration camp – Jane Haining. UNISON Renfrewshire branch secretary Mark Ferguson said: 'The memorial work we’ve done over the past few years on Jane Haining has been very humbling, and having the opportunity to build a relationship with her family has been so special. We are working on telling the story of someone who lived and worked in our community for a long time, and it’s an incredible story.'

I recently spoke with them about helping with a proposed education pack to support the project's development. I had heard about her story, which has been covered in the Scottish media and was the subject of a BBC documentary. However, for more detail, I turned to Mary Miller's book.

Jane Haining (1897 – 1944) was a Scottish missionary for the Church of Scotland in Budapest, Hungary, who was recognised in 1997 by Yad Vashem in Israel as Righteous Among the Nations for having risked her life to help Jews during the Holocaust. 

Jane came from a small village near Dumfries and went to work in Paisley, hence the link to the Renfrewshire UNISON branch. She was active in the Church of Scotland, and in 1932, she was appointed matron for the girls' hostel attached to its Jewish mission school in Budapest. While there was anti-semitism in Hungary driven by its own fascist party, refugees poured into the country from Germany. Hungary adopted its own anti-Jewish legislation in 1938, along the lines of the Nazi Nuremberg laws. This process accelerated with the outbreak of war, even though Hungary was neutral. Jane was advised to return to Scotland, but she decided to stay to care for the children. 

In December 1941, Britain declared war on Hungary in response to its role in the invasion of the Soviet Union. This made it even more difficult for the school, but Jane continued with her work. That all changed when the Nazis marched into Budapest on 19 March 1944, to stop Hungary pulling out of the war. Jane was denounced by a local Hungarian Nazi to the Gestapo, who arrested her. She was sent to Auschwitz, arriving there on 15 May 1944. We know very little about her time in the camps, and her last letter is dated 15 July 1944. She was probably murdered on 17 July in the gas chambers. The Germans claimed she died in the hospital. 430,000 Hungarian Jews were deported and murdered.

While she is known as the Scot who died at Auschwitz, it is also essential to understand what she did with her life and those she helped. As one of her friends put it, 'If we can do anything in any small measure that Jane did, our world will be a different and much better place.'

Fast and Loose

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project is out of the ordinary. It was one of his early novels, written in 1951, and instead of covering a broad sweep of Scottish history, it focuses on the events of one small clan in north west Scotland, in the early years of the 18th century.

Tranter bases his story around the eldest son of the clan chief of MacColl, coming back from a grand tour of Europe, although confusingly the cover says he was a hostage at the King's court. Having been robbed, he and his foster brother capture a boat in Dunbarton to get them home. They arrive to find his younger brother Cormac has locked up his father and taken over the clan, and his beloved. The story revolves around the measures he takes to win back the clan.

Tranter usually sticks pretty close to the history, sometimes inventing characters to narrate the story. However, he has invented a whole new history for the MacColls. The place names in the book don't exist, and he has placed them much further north than their traditional territory around Loch Fyne. The MacColls are probably a sept of the MacDonalds (Coll being a popular MacDonald first name) and, like many smaller clans, were squeezed out by the Campbells. After being almost wiped out in the 17th century, they settled in Appin and fought in the 1745 rising as part of the Appin Regiment. One-third of those killed in the regiment had the surname MacColl.

I won't spoil the plot, as this is almost totally fiction. Tranter paints a more realistic picture of clan life and the fighting capabilities of the average member than popular myth. The young MacColl has many challenges in gathering the forces needed to win back his birthright, and his journey takes him across northern Scotland, with Tranter's remarkable ability to describe the scenery. It all makes a cracking read. 

Some of my better-equipped Highlanders of the period

The Jacobite Rising of 1715 and the Murray Family

 For some reason, I have always been more interested in the early Jacobite uprisings than the better-known '45, with Bonnie Prince Charlie et al. This book by Rosalind Anderson was in the Naval and Military sale, and it tied in well with my current stage in the Nigel Tranter project.

The Murray family played a key role in the Jacobite rebellions, although in 1715, they had a foot in both camps. The Duke of Atholl stayed loyal to the Hanoverian Succession, but his sons did not. Contrary to popular myth, the Jacobite rebellions were not Catholic v Protestant affairs. The majority of rebels were, in fact, Episcopalians. The Murrays are a good example of this.

If you are looking for a narrative history of the 1715 rebellion, this book is not it. The author's focus is on the family and their relationships with each other. The author had access to their contemporary letters, or at least those that have survived. Blair Atholl Castle is one of Scotland's best preserved castles and is well worth a visit, just off the A9 if you are heading north. The Duke of Atholl still has his Atholl Highlanders based at the castle, the only legal private army in Europe.

The evidence from these letters clearly paints a picture of the sons acting independently rather than a planned family strategy to keep a foot in both camps. Having spent some time myself trying to decipher 18th-century handwriting in archives, this is an impressive piece of research. The problem is that many of the exchanges are really not that interesting. However, they do show the influence of the women in the family, something that is not always apparent in 18th-century history.

The last few chapters cover the action in the 1715 rebellion and the Battle of Sheriffmuir. The one common factor in all the rebellions was the weather. Every rising was cursed by the weather, which impacted the arrival, or not, of French ships. There was a similar issue with Spanish troops in the 1719 rising, which ended in the Battle of Glen Shiel.

This is an interesting piece of family history, and worth a read if you are planning a visit. However, for a history of the 1715 and 1719 risings, I would look elsewhere. Stuart Reid's, Sheriffmuir 1715, is a good starting point.

Some of my 28mm forces of the period.

Wellington and the British Army's Indian Campaigns 1798-1805

 This is Martin Howard's study of the Indian campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars, with a focus on Wellesley and Lake's campaigns. In 2008/09, I ran a series of GDWS show games based on Mughal India (including an article in Wargames Illustrated), stretching the period to Clive. I have dabbled with extending the period to the Wellesleys, and this book has all I need. Yes, the use of 'Wellington' in the title is wrong, but I suspect that was a marketing preference.

The author starts with a look at British forces in India, a mix of European and native infantry. The East India Company recruited Europeans into their regiments, including French prisoners of war, as the British government wanted to limit the deployment of line regiments. Even 42% of the 'English' regiments were Irish and 24% Scots. There is enough detail in the book, and some colour paintings to get the wargamer started.

The next chapter covers the opposing forces, including the Mysore army of Tipu Sultan. They were huge, but of very mixed quality. They included a tiny European contingent, probably not exceeding 100. The organisation of regular troops was influenced by French practice. The other main opponent was the Maratha confederacy, which actually covered several different rulers, with the British playing divide and rule. The political skills of Wellesley's brother are touched on, but this book is primarily a military history. The strongest was probably Daulat Rao Sindia, who had European officers to command his regular units, and they provided more vigorous opposition.

The various campaigns are covered in detail. Some are well-known, like Gawilghur, Seringhamtam and Assaye, but others have been largely forgotten. In one of those historical turning points, Wellesley was nearly killed when his ship struck a reef in August 1798. The Peninsular and Waterloo without Wellington is a fascinating what-if of history. Wellesley takes much of the credit for British success in India, but this book emphasises the role of General Lake, who has largely been ignored.  He played a central role in the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805), fighting against Scindia and his French-trained army, as well as against Holkar later in the war. Actions included the Battle of Aligarh (September 1803), the capture of Delhi (September 1803), and the Battle of Laswari (November 1803). His only failure was at the Siege of Bharatpur (1805). Lake was a fighting general, respected by his men, and his obscurity is undeserved.

The strongest section of the book is the chapters on how the army fought. There is only one Sepoy memoir, and even that is contested. Still, the author breaks down the tactics used by infantry, cavalry and artillery. He looks at what motivated sepoys to help the British conquer India, which includes consideration of recruitment and regimental pride, as well as regular pay and pensions. This was the period when the British started to develop the military races theory, which favoured Rajputs and Pathans because they were taller, of paler skin and of a higher caste.

This is an excellent study of the period. The wargamer will probably still need the Osprey MAA 453 for the uniform details and colour plates.

Some of my 28mm Sepoys

The always colourful Indian cavalry in 28mm

The Patriot

The latest in my Nigel Tranter project is his novel about Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1655-1716). Fletcher is best known for his opposition to the Treaty of Union in 1707, but he had a fascinating backstory before then. I suspect that Tranter enjoyed writing this book more than most, as he was a passionate supporter of Home Rule for Scotland.

Saltoun is in East Lothian, not far from Tranter's home. He was born into a relatively affluent landowning family and was well educated in Scotland and in Europe. He entered politics in 1678 when he was elected as the Commissioner for Haddingtonshire to the Scottish Parliament. Unlike his peers, he rarely moved with the political winds and quickly made enemies of the powerful. He strongly opposed arbitrary actions on the part of the Church or state. In 1683, after being charged (falsely) with plotting against the King, Fletcher fled Scotland to join with English opponents of King Charles (and then James II) in the Netherlands. 

It was there that he met James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and commanded the cavalry in the Monmouth Rebellion. He shot a local leader of the rebellion, and Monmouth had to dismiss him, which turned out to be a fortunate escape. He escaped to Spain, where he was imprisoned at the request of the English government. However, he escaped and joined the Imperialist army fighting the Ottomans in Hungary. Sadly, we don't know much about this period in his life, and Tranter glosses over it. I, of course, love a Scottish/Balkan connection!

On returning to the Netherlands, he joined the forces of  William of Orange, and returned to Scotland in 1688. However, his alliance with William faded when it became clear William II (as he was in Scotland) was only interested in using the country to help fight foreign wars. Fletcher's views on the limitations of monarchy didn't go down any better with William than they had with Charles or James. He was a promoter of the Darien Scheme, which sought to establish a Scottish colony in Panama. However, by practically ruining the Scottish elite, the Darien scheme increased support for Union with England, bolstered by offers of money to Scots who would support it. He didn't pen the famous words, "Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation", but he would agree with the meaning. As would Tranter.

Fletcher turned from politics after the Union and devoted the rest of his life to farming and agricultural development. He died unmarried in Paris in September 1716. His last words were 'Lord have mercy on my poor country that is so barbarously oppressed'.

Fletcher was an intellectual, so perhaps not the stuff of gripping historical fiction. However, he was not adverse to using the sword, and this story has some action and plenty of plots. The reader is left with admiration for a man of principle, in an era when political principles were rare. 

Some of my English infantry of the period

Yugoslavia 1941-44

 We are being spoiled by Osprey on the subject of Balkan partisan operations. This book by Pier Paolo Battistelli covers anti-partisan operations in Yugoslavia after the German invasion. Unlike the MAA on Greek partisans, this is a campaign guide that focuses on the operations.

As usual, we get a brief introduction and chronology. Then the opposing commanders. German commanders were regularly rotated, much to their relief, I suspect. Austrian officers were often deployed to the Balkans, and some studies suggest they were more likely to engage in war crimes. For example, Redulic was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. However, none came close to the atrocities committed by Croatian fascists, including Slavko Kvaternik. The Italians were less brutal, but not very competent. The partisan commanders are also covered, including the Chetnik leader Mihailovic, who inexplicably has been the subject of revisionist histories that seek to play down his collaboration. Finally, there is Tito, who was eventually backed by the Allies because his units actually fought the Axis occupation forces.

The next chapter covers the opposing forces. The Germans increasingly made use of local troops or White Russians to avoid taking combat units from active fronts. Ethnic Germans were preferred in units such as the SS Prince Eugene Division. They also recruited Muslim troops into the SS Handschar Division, on the basis that anyone who gave them a gun to resist Croatian attacks was acceptable. The Italians also deployed second-line units, who generally performed poorly. The Croatian Ustaše units effectively drove recruits to the partisans with their atrocities, much to the horror of German commanders who regularly complained to Berlin. To little effect. The Partisan structure had to be flexible, but by the end of the war had grown into something approaching a conventional army. The author has made a very good attempt at an order of battle. I have lots of books on this subject, and this is no easy task.

The opposing plans and campaigns cover the primary anti-partisan operations. This is where the Campaign series is strongest, with lovely, clear maps and colour plates. The use of French armour was a particular feature. The detailed maps over two pages help the reader to understand the rugged terrain. I have driven through large parts of Bosnia, and you are immediately drawn to the challenges of fighting up and down river valleys. The island campaigns in the Adriatic were particularly challenging for the Germans, who had limited naval forces. The campaigns concluded with the Red Army arriving in the Balkans, joining with the partisans to liberate the country. This was also a civil war, and many collaborationists died in mass executions.

While partisan operations played a limited strategic role in the war, they did tie down significant numbers of Axis troops, as even the avowedly anti-communist Churchill recognised based on ULTRA intercepts. On that basis, the author is unjustifiably dismissive of their contribution in his conclusion. There are few neutrals in this debate! However, this remains an excellent military history of the campaigns.

Partisans around the campfire from my 28mm collection

Partisan Warfare in Greece 1941-44

 A new Osprey on a Balkan theme is a no-brainer for me. This is a rare, little-explored corner of the Second World War, as well, by Phoebus Atanassiou.

A brief introduction sets the scene following the Greek campaign and the occupation of Greece by German, Italian and Bulgarian troops. Germany's primary interest was less about Greece itself, but instead defending the Romanian oilfields from the Allied bombing. The Axis Powers divided Greece into three occupation zones. Germany controlled the most strategically important areas; Bulgaria occupied (and annexed) eastern Macedonia, western Thrace and the islands of Thassos and Samothraki; and Italy took over the remainder of the Greek mainland, eastern Crete (Lasithi prefecture), and the south Aegean Sea and Ionian Sea islands.

Despite the best efforts of the Allies, there wasn't a unified resistance in Greece. Two broad coalitions dominated partisan warfare in Greece. ELAS was the military arm of EAM, a KKE-dominated loose coalition of pre-war left-wing political parties, all but uprooted in by the repressive regime of Ioannis Metaxas. It moved to the left during the war, dominated by the Communist Party. On the right stood EDES (later renamed EOEA), the brainchild of a group of Athens-based Republican-minded political and military figures. It moved away from liberal politics and became pro-monarchist. Britain supported the monarchist government in exile, but recognised that ELAS was the most effective force on the ground. Both sides fought each other as well as the Axis.

The author describes how both groups were organised. They were much closer to the Yugoslav model than resistance groups in France, with military structures and permanent units. Weapons and uniforms were sourced from the former Greek army stocks, supplemented by Allied air drops, and whatever could be captured from Axis depots. The Italian surrender in 1943 was very helpful in this regard. However, ammunition was always limited. An interesting development was ELAS's small naval fleet, which makes Cruel Seas scenarios possible. Overall, ELAS had around 67,000 men under arms. EDES was much smaller, growing to around 5,000 by the summer of 1943, and 12,000 in 1944. EDES had an effective truce with the Germans in 1943-44. The Allied military mission in Greece fielded no more than 400 men.

The occupation forces are also covered. The success of Allied diversionary operations meant that larger German forces were kept in Greece than needed - 100,000 in 1944. However, other than a core of veterans, they were typically second-line units. The ORBAT is dominated by fortress and jager units, without the usual heavy weapons. The Italian forces were generally poor, and suffered from low morale. Bulgaria annexed their occupation region and enforced the Bulgarisation of the population. Unlike the Italians they actively deported the Jewish population. Bulgaria deployed around 70,000 troops, mostly reservists. The Greek puppet government was allowed to recruit collaborationist units, and nine security battalions were organised by the end of the war.

As you would expect from this series, there are lots of period photographs and colour plates of the main troop types. A very useful addition to the series and plenty of scope for small scale skirmishes on the table-top as well as larger scale anti-partisan sweeps.

Some of my 28mm Bulgarian troops.