Terry Wise: Buildings for Wargames: Conversions from Airfix Service Station and Booking Hall: Airfix magazine Jan and Apr 1973

Two more articles from the series. The two Airfix Trackside buildings used (Petrol Station and Booking Hall) are both readily available from Dapol

Terry Wise: Buildings for Wargames: American Civil War buildings from Airfix Magazine December 1973

Another of Terry Wise's buildings for wargames articles from Airfix Magazine. The back numbers box on p2 has a useful summary of the others in this series.

A forotten pioneer? David Nash and his World of Wargaming

Ah yes, the greats of early British wargame writing - Don Featherstonem, Charles Grant, Terence Wise, Tony Bath, and... David Nash?

Though not as prolific in specifically wargaming titles as some others in the 1970s, David Nash seems oddly neglected. One of the founders of the London Wargames Club, he was maybe better known for his work on the Prussian Army of the Napoleonic Wars and the German Army of the Great War.

Hamlyn all-colour paperbacks published his book Wargames in 1974. It covered three periods, the Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil war, and the Second World War. If you google it you will find Mike Siggins describing it as "seminal".

His book on the Prussian Army 1808-1815 was published in 1972 by Almark. In the same year he started a series of articles in Almark's Modelworld magazine called World of Wargaming, which covered Napoleonic Wargaming and seems to have run to eight instalments between September 1972 and May 1973 (there were no articles in the December 1972 and March 1973 issues). In comparison, Charles Grant's long running series The Napoleonic Wargame had started in Military Modelling early in 1971 ,and was published in book form in 1974.

To redress the balance somewhat, the next post includes the first three articles in David Nash's modelworld series. I do have the others and will post them if there is interest.

The eight articles cover:

ground and figure scales
the line and mixed order
the column
the skirmishing line
the square
cavalry tactics
engineer services
artillery

More from Airfix

A staple of early wargames magazines, including Wargamers Newsletter and Airfix magazine, were articles on coverting Airfix soldiers into other completely different types, usually with a sharp knife, some plasticene and a quart of banana oil.

Here from the Airfix Magazine Annual of 1973 is D V Oakley's take on the potential of the Airfix Confederate Infantry set.

Guest Writer of The Month - Charlie Wesencraft

An interesting insight into the wargames scene in the early 1970's comes from this piece by Charlie Wesencraft, and Don Featherstone's introduction to it, from Wargamer's Newsletter 133, from April 1973. The reference to the onion dome church may raise a smile with anyone who remembers Terry Wise's article on building such a church in Airfix Magazine. I think he used a less organic material.


BORODINO '73 - A Battle Report. (But not a very loud one).

by Charlie Wesencraft

(There are a number of really first-class blokes around in the wargaming world – and most of them seem to live at the other end of the country so that we meet all to rarely. Perhaps that is why we think so much of each other! Anyhow, I only see Charlie about once a year and in 1973 it was at Great Missenden where it was revealed that he has lost none of his enthusiasm, friendliness, knowledge and capacity for beer! Up in Durham, Charlie is industriously propagating wargaming by frequent talks and demonstrations in schools and clubs. Editor.)

In all its long history Great Missenden Abbey in Buckinghamshire has never witnessed such an event. Over fifty wargamers and would-be wargamers had gathered together from all parts of England - there was even one from Paris! There were seven ladies present including a grandmother who remembered p[laying wargames on the floor with her brother, using H.G. Wells’ rules and had in her time visited Custer’s Indian battlefields and the original Bucket of Blood Saloon and another lady who asked me in muted tones, at the height of the wargame "What are Infantry?" I explained that they were the ones without the horses "Well then, what are the Light Infantry ?” "The plastic figures, madam" I answered, not wishing to offend.

You may be wondering what all this has to do with the Battle of Borodino. Actually, the battle was to be merely the highlight of a very full weekend spent studying "War and Peace" as seen through the eyes of the Department of War Studies, Sandhurst. The course was directed by David Chandler, assisted by Mr. A. Brett-James; Dr. C.J.Duffy and Mr.M.J.Orr. Three of these four had been the military advisors to the recent B.B.C. series.

Throughout a weekend when the head barely touched the pillow, we were led through the 1812 Campaign, discussed Tolstoi's motives for writing his book; fought blow by blow through the actual battle; examined maps of Russia printed in 1812 and argued out the tactics with magnificent hindsight. Oh, what Napoleon could have done with us! (Shot the lot probably!)

The pièce de resistance was a wargame version of the battle itself that lasted all Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. The Russians were led by a one-eyed Kutusov, sometimes known as Don Featherstone (the other eye was focused on the rules which one felt he never quite understood). He was ably assisted by a team, more enthusiastic than skilful, all willing to hold back the French. One stout fellow ill his early sixties, who had never seen a wargames table in his life, was promoted General on the field in honour of his fantastic dice throwing. You could tell I was on the Russian side by the snow on my boots!

The French were led by Sandhurst’s Michael Orr, who wishes to remain anonymous. Sandhurst rules were used and the Umpire was Sandhurst’s David Chandler. In spite of all this they proved to be perfect gentlemen and did not stop us winning - or perhaps it was because our team sat up most of the night plotting and planning after we had seen the Umpire and Napoleon retire with a bottle of whisky - or it may have been our six-throwing genius!

Being Sandhurst trained, the French tried to put into effect the right flanking attack as suggested to Napoleon - the real one - by Marshal Davout, but being truly British 'they didn't really press it home as we hadn't actually attacked them first. The only time the stiff upper lip slipped was when Don offered Napoleon a mint which so surprised him that he was heard to ask if it was poisoned! Don was most taken back, but it was noticeable that for the rest of the game Napoleon played with his hand inside his waistcoat, resting upon his stomach. Then Don almost blotted his copybook by firing a howitzer at Napoleon, but fortunately only threw a one, so most players failed to notice.

Apart from the mint, a glorious touch of flavour was added to the terrain by placing a peeled onion on top of the church tower in Borodino village, to make it look really Russian. This eventually caught fire - the church, not the onion, but it was never quite resolved as to whether the rules said that the French should evacuate the church or would they have been drawn back by the smell of the cooking onion.

A scale of one figure to every five-hundred - no, its not a misprint - was used and we were all most cheered when 500 Generals fell leading a massive French cavalry charge0 (This was when we promoted our stout friend).

By the end of the game the French had lost 100 points (50,000 men) whilst the Russians had lost 73 (36,000). (Real battle - French 30,000; Russians 44,000). The Russians still held their entire front, Napoleon still held his stomach, the stout fellow still held his one-sided dice and I held that it had been a tremendous week¬end .

The last I saw of Don he had his back to a wall, with a young enthusiast asking him for rules for Samurai! Again, this has nothing to do with 1812, but when wargamers gather, all history is their oyster.

Thank you Tolstoi, thank you David Chandler and team for a job well done.

With Winston on the Warpath - Laurania

Winston Churchill wrote a novel called Savrola: a Tale of Laurania, describing political and military manoeuvring in an imaginary country in the 1890s. Bob Cordery has made a number of posts on his Wargames Miscellany blog about his own Lauranian campaign. This article by A J Brooker from Miniature Warfare May 1973 shows that the potential of this book as a wargames setting had already been spotted.

Desert Infantry Action 1942-3, by John Sandars, from Miniature Warfare 1973

Leipzig 1813-1973, by the Battle Commemoration Unit

The following posts use material from the programme for the first (and for all I know the only) outing of the Battle Commemoration Unit. The luminaries behind this event included Marcus Hinton of Hinton Hunt Figures, Brigadier Peter Young, David Chandler, and Christopher Duffy. Admission (costing 35p) was by programme, and the gems below have been quarried from the 42 pages of that programme. I had already put some of the material specifically about Marcus Hinton on the Hinton Hunter site, and I have now placed the uniform information, provided and illustrated by Marcus Hinton, there too. The other parts of the programme, including a brief outline of the Campaign by Peter Young, and a still brief but slightly longer piece on the battle itself by David Chandler, I have reproduced here. A small number of the 42 pages, containing adverts, have not been reproduced in either place.

The Battle of Leipzig - commanders

The Leipzig Campaign, 1813 by Brig. Peter Young 1973

Weapons of Leipzig 1813, by Marcus Hinton 1973

Brigadier Peter Young - biography and bibliography, 1973

The Battle of Leipzig - maps

The Battle of Leipzig, 16-19 October 1813, by David Chandler