The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich: Seven YouTube videos

Over the past few weeks, I have been uploading a series of short videos about the Spanish Civil War and Woolwich. They are based on a lecture that I delivered to a group that has an interest in local history.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 1: The rise, fall, and rise again of the Spanish Empire: This is the first of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video gives a background history of Spain from 1492 until 1936. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 2: Some Spanish Civil War Myths: This is the second of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at five of the common myths surrounding the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 3: So why did the Spanish Civil War start?: This is the third of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at the immediate causes of the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 4: The leaders of the coup: This is the fourth of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at the main leaders of the military coup and how Franco got from Tenerife in the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 5: The course of the Spanish Civil War: This is the fifth of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at the course of the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 6: Woolwich in 1936: This is the sixth of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at how and why the people of Woolwich supported the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 7: The people of Woolwich and the Spanish Civil War: This is the last of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at some of the people associated with Woolwich and the surrounding area who took part in the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

Desperta Ferro ... back numbers

As regular blog readers will know, I am very enamoured with the Spanish military history magazine, DESPERTA FERRO. I bought my first issue in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria during our Christmas cruise and my next three copies when we revisited the city during our recent cruise.

I was looking at the magazine's website and realised that there were four back issues that covered periods of particular interest to me ... so I ordered them! They were delivered in less than a fortnight and I have been looking though them with great interest.

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DESPERTA FERRO – ESPECIALES (No. 36): EJÉRTICOS DE LA GUERRA CIVIL (I): EL EJÉRTICO ESPAÑOL EN 1936 (ARMIES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (I): THE SPANISH ARMY IN 1936)

• Ejército y sociedad. De la Restauración a la República (Army and Society: From the Restoration to the Republic) by Alfonso Iglesias Amorín
• En vísperas de la catástrofe. Las Fuerzas Armadas en julio de 1936 (On the Eve of the Catastrophe: The Armed Forces in July 1936) by Roberto Muñoz Bolaños
• La reforma militar de Manuel Azaña (Manuel Azaña’s Military Reform) by Justo Alberto Huerta Barajas
• Marruecos y las raíces del africanismo (Morocco and the Roots of Africanism) by Daniel Macías
• La industria militar española a comienzos del siglo XX (The Spanish Military Industry at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century) by Manfredo Monforte Moreno
• Entre el antimilitarismo y la defensa de la República. La Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista (Between Antimilitarism and the Defence of the Republic: the Republican Antifascist Military Union) by Eduardo González Calleja
• El orden y la ley. Las fuerzas de seguridad republicanas (Order and Law: The Republican Security Forces) by Sergio Vaquero Martínez
• Conspiradores en uniforme. Las tramas militares contra la República (Conspirators in Uniform: Military Plots against the Republic) by Francisco Alía Miranda
• La travesía del fénix. El desarrollo de la aviación military (The Phoenix’s Journey: The Development of Military Aviation) by Marcelino Sempere Doménech
• Vidas paralelas. Los generales Domingo Batet y Manuel Goded (Parallel Lives: Generals Domingo Batet and Manuel Goded) by Fernando Puell de la Villa
• El difícil camino de la modernidad. El armamento español en 1936 (The Difficult Road to Modernity: Spanish Armaments in 1936) by José Vicente Herrero Pérez
• La división de las Fuerzas Armadas ante la sublevación (The Division of the Armed Forces in the Face of the Uprising) by Alberto Ayuso García

DESPERTA FERRO – ESPECIALES (No. 40): EJÉRTICOS DE LA GUERRA CIVIL (II): EL EJÉRTICO ESPAÑOL DE ÁFRICA (ARMIES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (II): THE ARMY OF AFRICA)

• El Ejército de África en julio de 1936 (The Army of Africa in July 1936) by Jesús Albert Salueña
• Las primeras columnas en la Península (The First Columns on the Peninsula) by Joaquín Gil Honduvilla
• El reclutamiento en el protectorado (Recruitment in the Protectorate) by Mimoun Aziza
• Regulares, mehalas y Tiradores de Ifni (Regulares, Mehalas, and the Ifni Tirailleurs) by Alberto Guerrero Martín
• Lógica colonial y guerra civil (Colonial Logic and Civil War) by Alba Llavina Ros
• La Legión en Guerra (The Legion at War) by José Luis Rodríguez Jiménez
• El retorno del “moro”. Nacionalismo, estereotipos y propaganda (The Return of the “Moor”: Nationalism, Stereotypes, and Propaganda) by Xosé M. Núñez Seixas
• Las unidades coloniales en el Ejército sublevado (Colonial Units in the Rebel Army) by David Alegre Lorenz
• La vida cotidiana del soldado marroquí (The Daily Life of the Moroccan Soldier) by Alí al Tuma
• La caballería de Regulares en combate, el Tabor de Alhucemas n.º 5 (The Regulares Cavalry in Combat: the Alhucemas Tabor No. 5) by Jesús Martínez de Merlo
• Mohamed ben Mizzian. El único general español de origen marroquí (Mohamed ben Mizzian: The Only Spanish General of Moroccan Origin) by Fernando Puell de la Villa
• “Hombres de Mola” y “hombres del sur”. Los africanistas en el franquismo (“Mola’s Men” and “Men of the South”: Africanists in Francoism) by Roberto Muñoz Bolaños

DESPERTA FERRO – ESPECIALES (No. 44): EJÉRTICOS DE LA GUERRA CIVIL (III): LAS MILICIAS REPUBLICANAS (ARMIES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (III): THE REPUBLICAN MILITIAS)

• Paramilitares. Las milicias izquierdistas de preguerra (Paramilitaries: Left Wing Militias before the War) by Eduardo González Calleja
• Cubriendo el vacío. La disolución ejército y la organización de Milicias (Filling the Void: The Dissolution of the Army and the Organization of Militias) by Fernando Hernández Sánchez
• El Quinto Regimiento de Milicias Populares (The Fifth Regiment of Popular Militias) by Juan Andrés Blanco Rodríguez
• El Comité Central de Milicias Antifascistas de Cataluña (The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia) by Manel López Esteve
• Milicianas. Mujeres reales detrás del mito (Women Militians: Real Women Behind the Myth) by Sofía Rodríguez López
• “Sangre de la juventud”. Las milicias socialistas y de la JSU (“Blood of Youth”: The Socialist Militias and the JSU) by Fernando Hernández Sánchez
• Euzko Gudarostea. Las milicias nacionalistas vascas (Euzko Gudarostea: The Basque Nationalist Militias) by Roberto Muñoz Bolaños
• La revolución en el frente. Las milicias anarquistas en Levante (The Revolution at the Front: Anarchist Militias in Levante) by Julián Vadillo Muñoz
• Líster y Mera. La forja de los mandos de Milicias (Líster and Mera: The Forging of Militia Commanders) by Luis A. Ruiz Casero
• En defensa de la revolución. La formación del Consejo de Aragón (In Defence of the Revolution: The Formation of the Council of Aragon) by Assumpta Castillo Cañiz
• Retaguardia republicana. Comités y violencia revolucionaria (The Republican Rear Guard: Committees and Revolutionary Violence) by Fernando Jiménez Herrera
• Armas para el pueblo. Balance de las milicias en combate (Arms for the People: An Assessment of the Militias in Combat) by Daniel Raya Crespi

DESPERTA FERRO – HISTORIA MODERNA (No. 54): LA GUERRA RUSO-TURCA 1877-1878 (THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR 1877-1878)

• La gran crisis de Oriente (The Great Eastern Crisis) by Lucien Frary
• De los Balcanes al Cáucaso. Campañas de la Guerra Ruso-Turca (From the Balkans to the Caucasus: Campaigns of the Russo Turkish War) by Andrei Pogăciaș
• La reforma del Ejército ruso, 1856-1877 (The Reform of the Russian Army, 1856–1877) by Roger R. Reese
• El asedio de Plevna (The Siege of Plevna) by Ömer Turan
• La última cruzada. El paneslavismo durante la gran crisis de Oriente (The Last Crusade: Pan Slavism during the Great Eastern Crisis) by Denis Vovchenko
• Las batallas del paso de Shipka (The Battles of the Shipka Pass) by Alexander Statiev
• El Tratado de Berlín, la mecha que prendería la Primera Guerra Mundial (The Treaty of Berlin, the Fuse That Would Ignite the First World War) by Lucien Frary

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There's lots here to get my teeth into ... and to think about.

La Ultima Cruzada: Is it time for a fourth edition?

After my review of THE SPANISH PASSION: A WARGAMER'S GUIDE TO THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939, I started thinking about the third edition my own book – LA ULTIMA CRUZADA – which was published some nine years ago.

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The most recent edition of LA ULTIMA CRUZADA: SPANISH CIVIL WAR MILITARY SOURCE BOOK was published in 2017 by Eglinton Books, and is the third and most heavily revised edition. The first edition was published in 1989 and the second edition was published by Caliver Books in 1993. The third edition has 276 pages, 73 black & white photographs, 138 black & white/monochrome line drawings, and 7 black and white/monochrome maps.

The book is intended to be a source book of information that will be useful to military historians and wargamers with an interest in the Spanish Civil War, and comprised six parts and a bibliography:

• Part 1: The major political parties and main events of the Spanish Civil War
• The Republicans and the Nationalists
• The Republican Political Parties
• Some leading Republican Politicians
• The Nationalist Political Parties
• Some leading Nationalist Politicians
• The main events of the Spanish Civil War
• Part 2: The Armies of the Spanish Civil War
• The Spanish Army in July 1936
• The Republican Army (1936 to 1939)
• Leading Republican Commanders
• The Nationalist Army (1936 to 1939)
• Leading Nationalist Commanders
• Part 3: The Navies of the Spanish Civil War
• The Spanish Navy in July 1936
• The Republican Navy (1936 to 1939)
• The Nationalist Navy (1936 to 1939)
• Warships of the Spanish Civil War
• Silhouettes of the major surface ship classes
• Part 4: The Air Forces of the Spanish Civil War
• The Spanish Air Force in July 1936
• The Republican Air Force (1936 to 1939)
• The Nationalist Air Force (1936 to 1939)
• Part 5: The Spanish Police and Security Forces
• The Spanish Police and Security Forces in July 1936
• The Republican Police and Security Forces (1936 to 1939)
• The Nationalist Police and Security Forces (193 to 1939)
• Part 6: Uniforms of the Spanish Civil War
• Introduction
• Uniforms worn in 1936
• Republican Uniforms (1936 to 1939)
• Nationalist Uniforms (1936 to 1939)
• Some typical uniforms

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LA ULTIMA CRUZADA: SPANISH CIVIL WAR MILITARY SOURCE BOOK was written by Bob Cordery and published by Eglinton Books in 2017 (Hardback: ISBN 978 0 2446 4645 5; Softback: ISBN 978 0 2440 7031 1; Kindle: ISBN 978 0 2446 7050 4).

NOTE: Although the Kindle version is available for immediate download from Amazon for £5.99, the hardback is now only available as 'print on demand' for £74.92 ( N.B. this is not a price set by me!) and the paperback is no longer available. However, the hardback and softback editions are available for sale from Lulu.com for £37.18 and £19.74 respectively.

This makes me wonder if it might be time to think about making a cheaper edition of LA ULTIMA CRUZADA available to potential purchasers via Wargame Vault OR possibly producing an updated and expanded fourth edition. It's certainly something for me to give serious thought to.

The Spanish Passion: A wargamer's guide to the Spanish Civil War

THE SPANISH PASSION: A WARGAMER'S GUIDE TO THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939 has 160 pages, 16 colour illustrations, 54 colour photos, 65 black & white photographs, 4 black & white maps, and 6 tables. It is A4 format and printed on glossy paper.

The book is intended to be a wargamer's guide to the Spanish Civil War and comprises a timeline, and introduction, a bibliography, and six chapters:

• A Brief History of the Spanish Civil War (by Javier Garcia de Gabiola)
• Part 1: From Monarchy to Republic
• Part 2: Alzamiento (Uprising) or Rebellion
• Part 3: The War of Columns
• Part 4: The Battles for Madrid
• Part 5: The Conquest of the North
• Part 6: The Decisive Battles in Aragon
• Part 7: The Battle of the Ebro
• The Material of War (by Javier Garcia de Gabiola)
• Pre-War Personal Weapons
• Pre-War Uniforms
• Pre-War Machine Guns and Artillery
• Rifles Imported During the War
• Imported Machine Guns
• Imported Artillery
• Uniforms During the War
• Armoured Vehicles
• Aviation and Air Forces
• Aircraft Types
• The Organisation of the Nationalist Air Force
• The Organisation of the Republican Air Force
• Spanish Civil War Wargaming Units
• Republican Forces
• Nationalist Forces
• Republican and Nationalist Navies
• Republican and Nationalist Air Forces
• Armoured Vehicles Used During the War
• Cavalry in the Spanish Civil War
• Artillery
• Some Scenarios for Wargaming the Spanish Civil War
• The CTV Advances Towards Malaga
• Last Stand at Oviedo
• Attack on Concud
• The Carabanchel Enterprise
• Save the Priest
• The Revolution Goes Sour
• Painting Figures to Refight the Spanish Civil War
• Nationalist Moroccan Regulares
• International Brigade - Infantry with officer and medium machine gun with crew
• List of Manufacturers who make Wargames Items for the Spanish Civil War

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Firstly, I welcome any book that makes wargaming the Spanish Civil War accessible ... and for that alone, I commend the writers and publisher for producing this book.

Secondly, the book's production values are of a high standard and although I prefer hardback reference books to paperback ones, the glossy paper and quality of the illustrations is good and the maps in the chapter about the history of the war are first class.

I particularly enjoyed reading the first two parts of the book, which were written by Javier Garcia de Gabiola, who is – I understand – a regular contributor to the excellent Spanish military history magazine Desperata Ferro. The other parts of the book – which I assume were written by Rob Anderson – are workmanlike and cover lots of information that a wargamer setting out to start a Spanish Civil War project would find useful, although I am somewhat surprised that Graham Evans' FOR WHOM THE DICE ROLLS, Mark Hannan's ROMPAN ALA FUEGO! (a Spanish Civil War variant of RAPID FIRE!), and my own ¡ARRIBA ESPAÑA! (both the original 1985 and more recent Portable Wargame versions) aren't included in the list of wargame rules, although two of them are mentioned in the introduction.

And herein lies the one problem that I have with this book. Its two parts do not feel as if they quite fit together. Both parts are good ... but one feels that they could easily have been published separately as they do not feel as if they have been edited together to form a coherent whole. Now this might seem a bit like nit-picking, but why – for example – aren't the lists of equipment included in the chapter on wargaming units part of the relevant section in the Señor Garcia de Gabiola's war material chapter?

In summary, I think that although this book is not as good as I think that it could have been. it will be a welcome addition to most wargamer's libraries, and even at £25.00, it is value for money.

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THE SPANISH PASSION: A WARGAMER'S GUIDE TO THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939 was written by Rob Anderson and Javier Garcia de Gabiola and published by Helion & Company in 2026 (ISBN 978 1 8045 1011 7) for £20.00 on release but with a list price of £25.00.

The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich: Possible YouTube videos?

Back in May, I gave a talk to the Monday Get Together group at Shrewsbury House, our local community centre. It was about THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR AND WOOLWICH and it lasted about an hour.

I have been thinking about turning the PowerPoint presentation into a series of short videos to add my WARGAMING MISCELLANY YouTube channel. This should not be too difficult to do as I can fit in making the videos as and when I have the time.

If I do create these videos and upload them to my YouTube channel, I’ll publish relevant blog posts.

The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich

This morning, I have been invited to give a talk to the Monday Get Together group at Shrewsbury House, our local community centre. The group is made up of mainly retired people, and it has a varied programme of events that include historical talks, yoga, exercise for those with mobility problems, meeting with local councillors, financial and legal advice etc.

My talk is entitled THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR AND WOOLWICH and is split into two parts ... mainly to enable the audience to have a comfort and coffee break in the middle of the ninety-minute session.

The first half of the talks covers:

• The rise and fall of the Spanish Empire.
• A 'new' empire in Morocco and the creation of the Army of Africa.
• Five myths about the Spanish Civil War.
• The immediate causes of the Spanish Civil War.
• The leaders of the coup.
• Getting Franco to Morocco.
• A brief history of the war.

The second half of the talks covers:

• Woolwich in 1936.
• Milk for Spain and the roles played by the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society.
• Children's homes for refugees and the Basque children's colony in Abbey Wood.
• Save Democratic Spain.
• People associated with Woolwich and their role in the Spanish Civil War:
• Jim Ruskin.
• Jock Mckissock.
• Kenneth Bond.
• Brian Griffin.
• Phillip Hunter.
• Captain Hugh Pollard.

If the talk – which is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation – goes well. I may well turn it into a couple of YouTube videos.

Zooming in on Sheffield!

Yesterday, thanks to Zoom and the generosity of Tim Gow and the other Sheffield wargamers, I was able to spectate (and make 'useful' comments) whilst they fought a battle on the floor of Tapton Hall, Sheffield.

The battle was based on the Siege of the Alcázar, Toledo, during the opening weeks of the Spanish Civil War, and featured large numbers of 54mm figures and vehicles as well as several 1:72nd-scale aircraft.

In this battle, the Asturian miners managed to undermine the main gates of the fortress, but it was finally overrun after a full-blown assault by Republican militia. History does not record what happened to the defenders ... but the attackers were very aware that a Nationalist relief column was fast approaching and one suspects that they would soon have to retreat from their newly-captured prize.

Everyone seems to have thoroughly enjoyed themselves ... and I hope that I will be able to repeat the experience of being a distant observer when their next battle takes place.

Newly-acquired Spanish Civil War books

Yesterday’s post brought two new Spanish Civil War books to add to my collection, WARSHIPS IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR and ARMAS Y UNIFORMES DE LA GUERRA CIVIL ESPAÑOLA. The former has just been published, but the latter has been around for a few years.

WARSHIPS IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR has six chapters, a short bibliography, and an index, and is particularly well illustrated. The chapters etc., are:

• Introduction
• The pre-war Spanish Navy
• The Navy during the uprising
• Command and manpower
• The naval war
• Specifications
• Battleships
• Cruisers
• Destroyers
• Submarines
• Gunboats
• Smaller warships
• Further reading
• Index

This is a good primer on the naval aspects of the Spanish Civil War, but I feel that other than the excellent illustrations, it does not offer anything more than my own book, LA ULTIMA CRUZADA.

ARMAS Y UNIFORMES DE LA GUERRA CIVIL ESPAÑOLA is a much more substantial book and is chock full of coloured line drawings and photographs. The text is in Spanish, but I suspect that most English-speaking readers will find little difficulty understanding the captions that accompany the lavish illustrations.

The book is divided into several sections, each of which contains a number of chapters:

• Introducción
• Vision global de las armas y uniformes de la Guerra Civil Española
• El Arma de Aviación
• La aviación en la Guerra de España
• La Marina
• La Marina española en 1936
• La evolución de la Flota nacional
• La Marina republcana
• El Ejértico
• Carros de combate y vehiculos blindados en la Guerra Española
• Las armas individuales y colectivas del combatiente
• Las piezas de artilleria: cañones y orbuses

The book also contains an extensive bibliography.

(For the benefit of those of my regular blog readers who do not understand enough Spanish to fully understand the contents listed above, here is a rough English translation:

• Introduction
• Overall view of the weapons and uniforms of the Spanish Civil War
• Air Forces
• Air power during the war in Spain
• The Navies
• The Spanish Navy in 1936
• The development of the Nationalist fleet
• The Republican Navy
• The Army
• Tanks and armoured cars during the war in Spain
• The individual and support weapons used
• Artillery: Cannons and howitzers)

I wish that I had had access to this book when I was writing LA ULTIMA CRUZADA, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants detailed information about the weaponry used during the Spanish Civil War. The reader may well need to acquire a Spanish-English dictionary in order to understand some of the more detailed text, but the illustrations alone are worth the cost of the book.

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WARSHIPS IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR was written by Angus Konstam and illustrated by Paul Wright. It was published in 2021 by Osprey Publishing (ISBN 978 1 4728 4866 6).

ARMAS Y UNIFORMES DE LA GUERRA CIVIL ESPAÑOLA was written by Lucas Molina Franco and José María Manrique Garcia and published in 2009 by Susaeta Ediciones S.A. (ISBN 978 84 305 7036 2).

The siege of the Alhambra: A not-quite-Spanish-Civil-War lawn game battle report

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take part in a play-test of the new, inter-war version of Paul Wright's FUNNY LITTLE WARS rules. The action was fought out in an excellent central London location and was set in a not-quite-Spanish-Civil-War setting. It saw the Loyalist forces (of which I was a member) besiege the (imaginary) Alhambra Military Academy, which had been seized by the Rebels and held by a number of Cadet Officers, their instructors, and some members of the Civil Guard.

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The Alhambra 'fortress' ...

... formed the centre of the defences ...

... which included a walled garden, ...

... a hospital, ...

... and some outbuildings.

The siege started with a long-distance bombardment of the Alhambra, and this did significant damage to the buildings. (Hits of the buildings are indicated by sticky coloured dots.) At one point, a signaller was seen on the roof of the main building, but at the time the besiegers had no idea of the importance of this incident.

Confident that the defences were now weakened, the besiegers began to cautiously advance towards the Alhambra.

They were met with withering fire from machine gun nests that had been set up in the rubble created by the bombardment.

At this point the Anarchist militia (which had 'acquired' a number of tanks), also joined in the attack on the Alhambra.

The attackers could no longer rely on the support of their long-range artillery, and as they advanced, the besigers began to suffer greater and greater casualties.

The besiegers had almost reached the walls of the Alhambra when it became apparent that their casualties had mounted to such a level that they were uncertain of being able to mount a successful final assault.

At this point, the importance of the signals sent earlier in the battle became apparent. One of the Loyalist long-range artillery positions reported that they could see Rebel armoured cars approaching their position.

Was this an indication that a relief column from the Rebel Army of Africa was on its way?

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The battle ended at this point, and everyone agreed that we had had a great time. The rules worked, and we were able to test (and modify) the air combat and bombing rules. (These are not featured in my battle report as I could not take photographs and take part in the air combat and bombing at the same time. However, the following are a couple of photographs of some of the aircraft that were used.)

My thanks go to Paul Wright for organising the whole event and for providing the venue, the terrain and the vast bulk of the toy soldiers we used. Thanks also go to Tim Gow for supplementing the besieging troop with figures from his own collection, and to Ian Drury and Paul's son Jack for playing their parts as fellow Loyalist commanders and for their very enjoyable company. A great day of wargaming was had by all ... and we hope to stage another battle in the not-to-distant future.

The Spanish Civil War at Sea

I am sure that it is pure coincidence, but lately a number of interesting books about the Spanish Civil War have been published. Last month it was TANK COMBAT IN SPAIN, and this month it is THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR AT SEA: DARK AND DANGEROUS WATERS by Michael Alpert.

The book is divided into thirteen chapters plus two appendices:

1. Setting the Scene
2. The Die is Cast
3. Tangiers and Gibraltar. Franco Crosses the Strait
4. Reorganisation
5. Off the Northern Coast
6. War Material Comes from Abroad. The Insurgents Try to Block Merchant Traffic
7. The War Against Traffic Continues as the Russians Send War material to the Republic
8. Winter and Spring 1937 in the Mediterranean
9. The Naval Campaign in the Calabrian Sea
10. Non-Intervention and the International Patrol
11. Two Spanish Navies in Contrast
12. 1938, Testing the Limits of British Tolerance
13. Surrender, Evacuation and Flight

• Appendix I: Technical Details of Spanish Warships
• Appendix II: Soviet Naval Officers in Republican Spain

The naval aspects of the Spanish Civil War are often neglected in histories of the war, and this book goes a long way to correcting that omission. For example, it explains why the Republic's navy seemed so inactive during the initial stages of the war. (The replacement of actual and potentially disloyal officers left the navy severely lacking in people with command experience and ended up with situations where very junior officers were in command of major naval units. In the case of the battleship JAMIE I, a midshipman was the most senior officer available to command her.)

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has more than a passing interest in the Spanish Civil War. My only criticism is that the appendix that deals with the technical aspects of the warships used by both sides is rather thin, and despite the fact that I am blowing my own trumpet, I think that the relevant section of my book LA ULTIMA CRUZADA would be of more use to many readers.

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THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR AT SEA: DARK AND DANGEROUS WATERS was written by Michael Alpert and published in 2021 by Pen & Sword Books Ltd (ISBN 978 1 5267 6436 2).

Tank combat in Spain

My pile of books to read continues to grow! The latest addition is Anthony J Candil’s recently published TANK COMBAT IN SPAIN: ARMOURED WARFARE DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939.

The author is a former Spanish Army officer who now lives and works in the United States, and it is a welcome change to read a book by someone who served in the armoured arm of his country's army, and who has the technical and historical background to write a comprehensive history of armoured combat during the Spanish Civil War.

The book has twenty-one chapters and an epilogue:

1. Overview of Military Operations
2. Foreign Intervention
3. The Beginning: The Early Days of Tanks in the Spanish Army
4. Organization and Structure of Armor in the Spanish Army on the Eve of the Civil War
5. Soviet Participation
6. Italian Aid and the Volunteer Corps
7. Germany Enters the Arena
8. The Cost of Foreign Air
9. Organization and Structure of the Nationalist Armored Forces
10. Organization and Structure of the Republican Armored Forces
11. The Opening Rounds: The "Franco-Style" Blitzkrieg
12. On the Move: Republican Armor is Never "Enough"
13. Stalemate and Attrition
14. The End: The Battle of the Ebro and the Catalonia Offensive
15. Antitank Warfare
16. Logistics
17. Tank Maintenance of the Nationalist Faction and the War Equipment Recovery Service
18. Tank Combat Service Support in the Spanish Republic's People's Army
19. A Ket Feature: The Republican Tank School at Archena
20. The Experience Reconsidered: Conclusions
21. A Reappraisal of Equipment and Armament

• Epilogue

I have yet to read this book from cover to cover, but just dipping into it was very informative and I certainly read things that made me think about my understanding of the topic.

I suspect that this may well become one of the standard texts for anyone with an interest in the Spanish Civil War, and especially for those who have a particular interest in tank warfare.

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TANK COMBAT IN SPAIN: ARMOURED WARFARE DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939 was written by Anthony J Candil and published in 2021 by Casemate Publishers (ISBN 978 1 61200 970 4).

Hoist on my own petard?

As it is just past the start of the month, I should be looking at what project I am going to concentrate on during July. My original plan for last month was to do some work on my Napoleonic project, but in the end the gift of some 15mm-scale artillery and the discovery of some painted figures that I had in storage, lead me to concentrate putting together an Army Black army for my FUNNY LITTLE WARS/PORTABLE WARGAME oroject. At the same time, I worked on the new edition of ARRIBA ESPANA!, and this was published earlier this week.

Due to the latter taking up more of my time that I had expected, I have yet to complete my Army Black, and my first thought is to complete that before moving on to another project. However, I have an urge to paint some Spanish Civil War figures!

Now I need another project like I need a hole in the head … but I am having real problems resisting the temptation. I seem to have been hoist by my own petard in that if I hadn’t been working on my latest book, the thought of starting a new project would not have occurred to me.

As Oscar Wilde is reputed to have said, ‘I can resist everything except temptation’.

Faster than the speed of light ... Arriba Espana has been published!

Instead of the predicted seventy-two-hour gap between the ¡ARRIBA ESPAÑA! INCLUDING THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME rules book being submitted for publication and it actually being on sale, Amazon excelled themselves and it was listed in less than twenty-four!

It is on sale in paperback and eBook formats for £5.99 and £2.99 respectively.

The book is divided into two parts and includes eleven chapters as well as list of useful resources. The first part is a slightly revised and re-typeset version of the original 1989 text and the second part contains a new set of Spanish Civil War wargame rules from the PORTABLE WARGAME stable. It also includes a number of scenarios that wargamers can use and adapt.

• Part One: ¡Arriba España!
• General rules and playing equipment
• Pre-game organisation
• The rules for battles with 1:200 scale figures
• Amendments for battles with 1:300 scale figures
• Amendments for division-sized battles with 20mm figures
• Amendments for brigade-sized battles with 20mm figures
• Examples of unit organisation charts
• Playing hints
• Part Two: Portable Spanish Civil War wargame rules
• Some design notes
• The Portable Spanish Civil War Wargame
• Before battle commences
• Battle rules
• Scenarios
• Clash of the columns! (1936)
• Saving the garrison! (1936)
• The battle for the University City (1936)
• There’s a valley in Spain … (1937)
• On to Guadalajara! (1937)
• Turning point (1937/38)
• For Whom the Bell Tolls (1938)
• Adapting the scenarios and maps
• Useful resources

I understand that Amazon will print and post out the paperback edition in a matter of a couple of days after an order has been placed ... unless you are the author! I will have to wait for a week before my author's copies arrive, although I have bought a copy for £5.99 so that I can see what the finished product looks like! (Amazon did allow me to download the Kindle edition in order to check it, and I was very pleased with the end result.)

Arriba Espana!: Almost there!

After a few minor bumps along the way, ¡ARRIBA ESPAÑA! INCLUDING THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME rules should be published at some point this week in paperback and eBook format.

At present, I am looking at how the book can also be distributed in PDF format, but if that is possible, it might take a couple more days to sort out.

The book will be on sale for £5.99 in paperback and £2.99 as an eBook. It will be cheaper than most of my more recent books because it contains no photographs and the maps and diagrams are all black & white. This keeps the cost down, and I have passed that saving on to potential purchasers.

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This book would not have been published without the help and support of several people, and I would like to acknowledge this publicly. They are:

• Arthur Harman, who continues to be my ‘go to’ proof-reader and much put-upon editor. I think that at one point, due to a glitch with my email account, he was getting the same draft text sent to him every couple of hours! Without his tireless efforts, this book would have never made it into print.
• Robert-Jan Maycock, who administers the Spanish Civil Wargames group on Facebook, and who has been using his own version of THE PORTABLE WARGAME to fight Spanish Civil War battles for some time.
• Nick Huband and Andrew Rolph, who both sent me very useful suggestions and materials for scenarios, which I hope that I have not mangled too much when I adapted them for this book!

Spain in Arms: A military history of the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939

Whilst I was away, Andrew Rolph – the author of BARBAROSSA: KICKING IN THE DOOR and KHARKOV, MAY 1942 – THE LAST DISASTER – sent me a spare copy of E R Hooton's SPAIN IN ARMS: A MILITARY HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939 that he had on his shelves.

The book is described as a military history, and unlike almost every other book I have read about the Spanish Civil War, it is exactly what it sets out to be. It covers the operational and strategic actions of both sides in what I found to be an easy to understand style as well as examining the evolution of the armies that took part in the war. It also gives an account of the involvement of foreign troops in the fighting and the impact that the supply of foreign military equipment had on combat.

The book is split into six chapters:

1. Testing the Blades: The Madrid Front
2. The New Armies
3. Decision on the Northern Front
4. High Tide for the Republic: Brunete and the Aragon Offensive
5. The Pendulum Swings: Teruel and the Aragon Offensive
6. The Last Acts: Ebro and Catalonia

I already had a Kindle copy of this book, and I did consult it during the writing of my forthcoming ¡ARRIBA ESPANA! INCLUDING THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME RULES. I found it particularly helpful when I was writing the scenarios that are included in my book.

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SPAIN IN ARMS: A MILITARY HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939 was written by E R Hooton and published in 2019 by Casemate Publishers (ISBN 978 1 61200 637 6).

A life of its own ... and a short progress report

I am a member of quite a few wargame-related Facebook groups, and as I was catching up after my very recent short cruise, it struck me that the PORTABLE WARGAME Facebook group was generally different from the others. Whereas most of the others seem to be more about new armies players have created to go with a certain set of rules or brief reports about tabletop battles they have fought, the members of the PORTABLE WARGAME Facebook group:

• Seem more interested in showing how they have developed various versions of the basic PORTABLE WARGAME rules to meet their requirements
• Seem more interested in sharing quite detailed battle reports and scenarios with other players
• Like to share various game mechanisms that they have added to or experimented with
• Want to share and describe how they have adapted or scratch-built terrain they can use with the rules
• Want to ask questions about how other players interpret and use the rules

The group seems to have developed a life of its own, and as the originator of the PORTABLE WARGAME, I find this very rewarding. I always wanted the basic rules to be a toolbox that users could adapt and experiment with ... and that seems to be happening. I must also say that without the PORTABLE WARGAME Facebook group, the impetus to write more books about the rules would not have been as strong.

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Having mentioned writing more PORTABLE WARGAME books, I thought that I ought to give a progress report of ¡ARRIBA ESPANA!. The draft of the text is now finished, and it is going through the final stages of proof reading and checking. The full title of the book with be ¡ARRIBA ESPANA! INCLUDING THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME RULES and it will be just over 100 pages long.

The first part of the book contains the revised text of the 1989 rules published under the title ¡ARRIBA ESPANA!, and the second part contains THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME rules, and seven scenarios. Each of the scenarios includes both an 8 x 8 square gridded and a 9 x 8 hex gridded scenario map, and I have added a further short section that suggests how the scenarios and maps can be adapted for use with the ¡ARRIBA ESPANA! rules and for larger grids.

Still very busy ... but gradually getting there!

I am still busy working on my two projects and the final administration tasks for COW (the Conference of Wargamers) ... but I am making loads of progress!

The latest units (five infantry units) for my FUNNY LITTLE WAR/PORTABLE WARGAME Army Black have been fixed to their bases, and the edges of the bases have been painted black. All that needs to be done to complete them is for the bases to be flocked with neutral-coloured finely-ground cork particles.

I am in the very final stages of finishing the final draft of the text of ARRIBA ESPANA! At Arthur Harman's suggestion, I am adding a short section that explains how the scenario maps in the book, which are designed to work with THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME rules, can be adapted to work with the original rules in ARRIBA ESPANA! This has involved re-drawing a couple of the scenario maps to show:

• What they would look like if not used with a gridded tabletop and
• What the terrain would look like if it was recreated using the Hexon II terrain system on a much larger tabletop.

The last administration task I have to complete for COW is to sort out the attendee's choices of meals and to pass that information onto Knuston Hall. Most attendees have already responded, and I only need a few more to tell me what they want to eat from the menu.

I am still very busy ... but as you will have gathered, I am getting there!

Arriba Espana! (Second edition): A further progress report

Over the weekend I have managed to make considerable progress, and the draft text of the book has been sent to several people for proof-reading and fact checking. As can be seen from the following copy of the contents page ...

Please click on the image of the contents page to enlarge it.

... the book is split into two parts. The first part is a slightly revised version of the first edition, with some of the errors corrected and a more consistent style used. The second part contains a copy of THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME rules and a number of scenarios (including ORBATs and both square and hex gridded maps) that I hope will give players some interesting battles and to provide inspiration for them to develop their own.

I hope to publish this book by the end of this month or soon afterwards. It will certainly be published in both paperback and Kindle formats, and I am looking at the possibility of publishing it in hardback and PDF formats.

Arriba Espana! (Second Edition): Another progress report

Despite the fact that our home office (which is in our converted loft) is a hot as Hades for most of the day, even with the Velux windows open and the tower fan going full blast, I have been working on the book’s draft. The new rules section is finished, and I am currently adding a number of scenarios that I think that players will find useful. To date, these include:

• Clash of the columns!
• The Battle for the University City
• On to Guadalajara!
• For Whom the Bell Tolls

I hope to add several more scenarios as the week progresses. Putting together the scenarios isn’t very difficult or time-consuming, but drawing the maps is a lengthier process ... and I’m trying to draw them early in the day before the room gets too uncomfortable hot.

The following maps are the ones that I have drawn for the first of the scenarios, 'Clash of the columns!':

Arriba Espana! (Second Edition): A progress report

Work on the latest edition of ARRIBA ESPANA! is progressing well. I have re-typeset the original text, and I am currently working on the additional text I want to add. This will include a specific set of PORTABLE WARGAME rules for the Spanish Civil War that will draw upon elements and mechanisms from the earlier rules. These include political allegiances, commander competency, air superiority, and air attacks, and are intended to present players with the sort of problems the commanders faced during the conflict. I also hope to include a number of scenarios for small tabletop battles that can be used with the rules, thus making the new edition a much better book than the original.