What are you currently reading ?

[Westmarcher]

The Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II is a good one. A real eye-opener on modern warfare. There is a photograph of a G.I. in the book with "the thousand yard stare" - hard to describe but as if the man was detached from reality due to exhaustion and numbed/shocked by witnessing the horrors of modern war. Then, after reading that, I remember reading a book on the Napoleonic Wars (can't recall the title) and in this was a contemporary drawing of a French Grenadier's face with the same stare(!) which if I hadn't read The Sharp End I would have totally missed. Might dig it out again to read. 

[Leman]

Two books on the go at once - Caliver's little number on the Armies of the First Schleswig War (again), and Field of Battle 2 out of necessity as I am playing a solo game, and haven't played it for about 2+years, so needed a bit of a refresher. That said, although the game is proving quite long (I usually play for about an hour each day, and this is day 3) it is also quite exciting. the French have just clawed their way back to currently a score draw, each side having seven Army Morale Points left.

[Westmarcher]

FPW?

[Sean Clark]

Both excellent volumes. I prefer that kind of thing to big battle books.

Amazingly, having wargamed for over 30 years, it's the first time I've read anything like this having always gone for the big battle/strategic overview kind of books before.

[Terry37]

A major break from my current reading fare of weird war and post apocalypse. With our next game day on the 2nd scheduled to be a Big Battle HOTT game of LotR, I could not resist rereading The Lord of the Rings. I am skipping the first book and started with The Two Towers, since my army is The Riders of Rohan! Amazing the details I am picking up this time through. And, always a great read!!!

Terry

[Leman]

FPW?

Yes. I am photographing and uploading as I go to do a Batrep at the weekend.

[steve_holmes_11]

A trip down memory lane to the Second World War.

TooFatLardies Blitzkrieg 1940 supplement for Chain of Command.

A nice mix of Campaign overview, more orbats than you'll even need, additional rules for 1940, and additional scenarios.
I'd recommend if any of the following apply.
* You adopted VBCW because you got tired of heavy tanks dominating/ruining your battles - now you can do real stuff with infantry and flimsy vehicles.
* You're interested in the Dutch and Belgian armies of 1940.
* You want to know a lot more about the various French formations of 1940.

My caveat is that wargaming alone is a rather blunt instrument for historic analysis.
You could leave with the impression that it would all have been resolved - if only the continental allied had adopted MG34s instead of BARs and Lewis guns.


I've also dug out my old copy of Crossfire and an re-familiarising myself with the rules and organisations.

[Sean Clark]

TooFatLardies Blitzkrieg 1940 supplement for Chain of Command.

A nice mix of Campaign overview, more orbats than you'll even need, additional rules for 1940, and additional scenarios.

I'm loving Chain of Command at the minute although I am using 28mm for it and I am in the planning stages of a Dunkirk campaign using one of the Pint Size Campaigns. After over 30 years of gaming, these rules (and IABSM) have finally opened my eyes to WW2 which has always been low om my gaming priorities list. In my opinion Too Fat Lardies deserve the accolades they have received. The 1940 supplement is exceptional.

[kipt]

Finished "Success Is All That Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War" by Robert M. Browning, Jr.  This is the third book about the blockade in the ACW.  It concentrates primarily on the blockade of Charleston.  This was essentially a political prize to be sought as the port, once blockaded, had few runners.

The book also discusses Admiral Du Pont and then Farragut.  Du Pont had much experience but not the support of the Navy Department, while
Farragut didn't have the experience but did have the support.  The Navy Department expected much out of the ironclad monitors, but practice determined that they couldn't deliver the volume of fire needed to silence the Confederate fortifications and were vulnerable to plunging fire.

Du Pont had said as much to Gustavus Fox, assistant secretary, but he didn't pass on all the reservations to Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy.  Farragut was a climber and wanted the glory but as it turned out was disappointed in his seeking fame for the same reasons Du Pont couldn't take Charleston.

A major factor was the non cooperation with the army.  Seems like on the coasts the army and navy didn't coordinate well, unlike the brown water navy on the Mississippi, and the army there.

[Ben Waterhouse]

"And we shall shock them" David Fraser. Interesting history on the British Army in WWII as an organisation.

[Terry37]

Found the part I was looking for in The Two Towers, so have set it aside and have started Child's "The Nine Years War and the British Army". So far a really good book!

Terry

[kipt]

Finished "Murat's Army: The Army of the Kingdom of Naples 1806-1815" by Digby Smith.  this is a collection of [prints done by Henri Boisselier (1881-1959).  Very little text so can be gone through quickly.  A uniform guide rather than a history book.  And I have no Neapolitans in my 6mm (Adler) Peninsular armies.

[kipt]

Finished "Casca The Barbarian" by Barry Sadler.  This is about the soldier that cannot die until Jesus comes again.  (I imagine this will never end...).  This is the second of the series I have read, but they aren't numbered very well so I don't know for sure if this is the next book.

A very quick read, entertaining, and this about his stay in the northlands beyond Germany.  He has a travel companion and becomes lord over a holding.  A few villages are under his protection so there are combats with raiders.

As I said, a quick read.

[kipt]

Finished another Casca book, "Casca the Damned"  This time he is back in the legion and fights Attila.

Quick read.

[kipt]

And another Casca book, "Casca: God of Death.  In this episode he leaves the north and goes a-viking (before that was the rage).  He travels to the new world, gets captured by the natives (jaguar soldiers) and is taken for a great honor; to be sacrificed in order to take the people's prayers to the gods.  He is treated royally and learns the language (pillow talk) but tells the high priest he cannot die.

Never mind, he is lead to the pyramid and has his heart cut out (amid a great storm of wind and thunder).  When the priest raises his heart to burn it on the brazier, a hand takes it from him, CASCA.  So Casca puts his heart back in his chest (it hurts like hell however - he feels pain but cannot die) and becomes a god on earth.

This whole time his vikings have been back at the shore with the ships, waiting for Casca to return (when he was captured he told his companion to wait until they hear from him).  So they are brought to the city and get involved with a neighboring tribe who try and capture the city.

All is well, except for his pillow talk companion, and at the end the vikings, and Casca, leave to return to the north.  And the next book.