Who is the best soldier of all time?

Nearly everybody will have played the Top Trumps card game at some point in their lives, pitting sportscars, comic book characters or birds of prey against each other by comparing a series of fundamental, arbitrary (and occasionally pointless) categories, such as 'top speed', 'height' or the ever-dangerous 'fear factor'.

A recent lunchtime discussion resulted in yet another "who would win in a fight between..." debate. This time it concerned famous warriors and soldiers of history. While it didn't amuse as much as the classic "winged monkey versus badger with the blood pressure of a giraffe" (the answer is the badger, naturally) conversation, it did highlight some interesting and diverse views on what made the better soldier.

Some went for sheer one-on-one prowess, arguing that an Achilles would wipe the floor with most non-chiropractors, others chose a Wellington or a Napoleon, reasoning that their tactical brilliance and disciplined armies would have given them the edge. So now, in the finest Top Trumps tradition, it's up to you to decide: would Richard the Lionheart beat Robert E. Lee? Could Alexander the Great snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Black Jack Pershing? Just how high would Vlad Tepes' 'fear factor' rating be? Any and all comments are welcomed, and if anyone wants to suggest categories in which to rate the greatest warriors of history, i might be persuaded to make up some official unofficial Osprey Trumps!

What happened on my birthday throughout history?

Something nearly everybody has done at some point in their life is to look what happened on their birthday throughout history. Now, aside from sharing a birthday with ex-England defender Stuart “Psycho” Pearce, very little of interest happened on my birthday in recent history – Dan Archer of The Archers was killed off in 1985, confectionary rationing was ended in 1949 – in fact, I have to go back to 1916 for the only really interesting (to a military historian, at any rate) “On this Day” moment associated with my birthday (but what an anniversary it is!) – the Easter Rising in Ireland.

With Britain involved in a war on the Continent against the Kaiser’s Germany, various Irish Republican organizations saw their opportunity to rise up and overthrow the forces of the Crown that they saw to be occupying Ireland. Seizing control of several key positions in Dublin, the Republicans proclaimed an independent Ireland. 6 days later, all rebel forces had surrendered unconditionally, and their leaders were executed. While the rising failed in all its aims, it did succeed in bringing the Republican cause back to the forefront of Irish politics, especially in encouraging the following conflict that came to be known as the War of Independence (1919–21). By 1921, the warfare initiated by the Rising of April 24th 1916 had forced the Crown to relinquish its previously firm grasp on the country, with the Anglo-Irish treaty recognizing the end of British rule in 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties.

It’s an incredible topic, and one I never tire of coming back to in one form or another. I have the Osprey titles on the topic: Essential Histories: The Anglo-Irish War, Warrior: Irish Volunteer Soldier 1913–23, Campaign: Easter Rising 1916, and I'm really looking forward to the accompanying Essential Histories title on the Irish Civil War (the editor for this series was kind enough to silence my enthusiastic nagging by letting me help out with the picture research for this title - it's going to look absolutely fantastic...). I also plan on arguing loud and long for the vaguely-mooted title on Crown forces in Ireland to be commissioned! Further distressing my bank manager, I have also invested in Musketeer Miniatures' brand new range of Black and Tans and IRA flying columns, and subjected my housemates to numerous viewings of The Wind That Shakes The Barley and Michael Collins. Yes, I'm a big ol' geek. And proud of it.

I'm not Irish, in fact the closest I come to that is enjoying the occasional Guinness and supporting them at the rugby (for which I am soundly mocked by all and sundry - and quite rightly, most would say), but for some reason, this period and topic has a lasting appeal for me. I can only assume that this is because a bored kid browsed his dad's copy of Chronicle of the Twentieth Century for his birthday and was inspired by a topic that seemed tailor-made for him.

In Memoriam Charlton Heston

Last Saturday, Charlton Heston, the star of many of the greatest epics in Hollywood history, passed away at home in Beverly Hills. While his political roles in later life garnered him almost as much attention off-screen as on, it should be for his acting that he will always be remembered and admired.

From his star-making turn as Moses in The Ten Commandments, to Ben Hur, Touch of Evil, El Cid, 55 Days at Peking, Major Dundee, Khartoum, The Agony and the Ecstasy, and two film-stealing roles as Cardinal Richelieu in Richard Lester’s Musketeers... films, Heston was an always-reliable and immediately-recognizable figure. Personally, I always loved his sweeping historical sagas– as El Cid, General Gordon, Judah Ben-Hur or Major Matt Lewis, I don’t think he ever went far wrong. Sure, the films may have been anachronistic and unrealistic, but they made for fantastic viewing.

Charlton Heston was an acting legend, whose films were epics in the truest sense of the word, winning their deserved accolades on their own merits and on those of their leading man.

Osprey’s Royal Seal of Approval

One of the nicest parts of working at Osprey is reading the positive reviews of the books upon which you have worked – it’s a really nice feeling to know that the effort you put into a project was really worthwhile. However, I was browsing through some of our older titles recently, and came across one that had a review that stood out, even amongst those by the fans, academics, historians and critics who have judged our publications in the past. As the foreword to Men-at-Arms 73: The Grenadier Guards, first published in 1978, I discovered a citation by none other than H.R.H. Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh:

The existence of a Regiment, just as the state of the world, is due to the actions and decisions of long ago. The story of the Regiment now known as the First or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards started in Bruges in 1656, and everything about the Regiment today, its title, organization, uniform, equipment, battle honours, traditions and duties derive from events – dramatic, tragic and triumphant – of 300 years of history.
Whatever the changes in circumstance during this long period, as this booklet makes abundantly clear, the Grenadiers have given a shining example to friend and foe alike of the true mettle and fighting qualities of the British soldier in triumph and adversity.

Building a Field of Glory army

When it comes to gaming, my usual problem is not being able to settle on an army. In fact, I’m pretty bad at settling on anything – period, rules, figures, scale… Thankfully, with Field of Glory now available, I have carte blanche to bounce from period to period and army to army almost at will, as I can use them all, regardless of the anachronism of the match-up.

That said, I did need to knuckle down and come up with an army to use in the soon-to-be-established Osprey lunchtime club. Joe, rather kindly, gave me the first choice of picking a list from which to build my forces, and agreed to pick second, based upon my selection. Immediately, I opted for Wars of the Roses English. Followed a couple of minutes later by Later Anglo-Irish. Then Foederate Roman. Eventually, however, I settled upon Italian Condotta – a nice bright army to paint up, and plenty of appealing opportunities for modelling terrain and baggage trains. Having never really read up on the Condotta before, I began to do a little homework, borrowing some books from the office: Men-at-Arms 136: Italian Medieval Armies 1300–1500, Warrior 115: Condottiere 1300–1500 and Campaign 43: Fornovo 1495. The next issue, of course, was scale. Despite a strong pitch to play in 6mm using the 28mm basing scale, we settled rather rapidly on using 10mm figures, offering a nice balance between affordability and the ability to field an impressively large-looking army.

Having fixed upon my army, and the 700 points army size limit (to give a decent-sized game without taking too long to build), I next needed some rough framework from which to pick my forces. Field of Glory Companion 2 Storm of Arrows: Late Medieval Europe at War, has a full Condotta Italian list, complete with a sample starter army, so I turned there. Now, one of the components of the sample list is a Battlegroup of 12 bases of Pikemen. One of my pet peeves with smaller-scale figures is the weakness of pikes and spears – too often have I seen an otherwise beautiful unit suffering from snapped shafts! So, my mission now was to develop a Late Milanese Condotta list (just so I can justify scattering some Da Vinci-esque tanks and inventions around my baggage camp), but with no pike!

The only compulsory troop choice for the Condotta Italian list is a minimum 10 bases of mercenary men-at-arms, and a third of the total number of bases has to be mounted. Even with these necessary limitations and constraints, this gives a lot of flexibility as far as army construction goes, and allows a player to build vastly tactically different armies using the same list. I wanted something a little adventurous, to represent a raucous, rampaging mob of drunken soldiers, but with the influence of the Duke of Milan and his tame inventor, so, without further ado, here is my basic Milanese list:

Commander-in-Chief (Field Commander) 50pts
Sub-commanders (2 x Troop Commander) 70pts

Mercenary men-at-arms 2BGs Each comprising 6 bases of men-at-arms: Average, Heavily Armoured, Drilled Knights – Lancers, Swordsmen 252pts

Famiglia Ducale 1BG 4 bases of Famiglia ducale: Superior, Heavily Armoured, Drilled Knights – Lancers, Swordsmen 104pts

Mounted Crossbowmen 1BG 6 bases of mounted crossbowmen: Average, Unprotected, Drilled Light Horse – Crossbow 42pts

Billmen 1BG 4 bases of billmen: Average, Protected, Drilled Heavy Foot – Heavy Weapon 32pts

Sword and Buckler men 1BG 4 bases of sword and buckler men: Average, Protected, Drilled, Medium Foot – Skilled Swordsmen 32pts

Handgunners 2 BGs Each comprising 6 bases of handgunners: Average, Protected, Drilled Light Foot – Firearm 60pts

Crossbowmen 1BG 4 bases of crossbowmen: Average, Unprotected, Drilled, Light Foot – Crossbow 20pts

Organ Guns 1BG 2 bases of Organ guns: Average, Undrilled – Light artillery 15pts

Bombards 1BG 2 bases of Bombards: Average, Undrilled – Heavy artillery 20pts

All told, this gives me 11 Battlegroups for a total of 697 points. 22 of my 50 bases are mounted, 12 of those being mercenary men-at-arms, so all my restrictions are covered. It gives what I feel is a pretty flexible army, with a fast-moving, hard-hitting mounted contingent and a solid infantry block, and one which has a bit of a theme to it – the higher than normal proportion of firearm troops representing the Da Vinci influence, and the Famiglia Ducale acting as representatives of the Duke and guardians of his interests.

Now… time to get painting!

Caption Competition Results

Well, the competition results have been collected, collated and considered, and we finally have a winner! The overall standard of the entries was fantastic, and we had much fun going over the suggestions and pulling out the best. So, congratulations to all who entered, and especial congratulations to our top three:

1. "I'll have to get another job, I hate working Knights" by kenneth
2. "Philadelphia? It'll never catch on like Joeburg! Give it up pal..." by Gavin Corless
3. "Why do I feel like I've got a target on my forehead?" by Jim Stewart

Well done, then, to kenneth, who will be receiving his Angus McBride print very soon.

Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Angus McBride art caption competition closes in 7 days!

We've had some fantastic suggestions for the caption competition so far, but the game is not yet over! The competition will officially close at 11:59pm on the 29th February, but it's not too late to send in your final entries.

Qin Qin Cheroo

A couple of weekends ago, I had the good fortune to be presented with two tickets to go and see the First Emperor exhibition at the British Museum in London. As many of you will already know, this exhibition displays the famous terracotta warriors discovered in 1974 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. The exhibit is, however, much more than that. It traces the history of the First Qin Emperor of China, from his birth, through the Warring States period which saw him defeat the rival nations and cement a single, autocratic rule over the country, to his architectural and political reforms, including the building of what would become the Great Wall of China, and concluding by considering his terror of death and preoccupation with immortality that led to the construction of the funerary army which has become so famous (wall-projected films make this mammoth subject easy to absorb). However, it is the terracotta warriors that take centre stage – no matter how interesting the examples of late Qin roofing tiles or sewage pipes, I was there to see big stone soldiers!

A half dozen of the individual figures were here, representing generals, archers and infantrymen. Accompanying these were statues of the clerks, animals and entertainers that were also interred with the army. The pièce de résistance, though, was the chariot. A full, 4-horse chariot with driver (the chariot being a modern recreation, while the horses and man were originals) – it was a truly jaw-dropping sight. There was also a replica of one of the archers, painted up as the whole collection would have originally been, and the image of the ranks and ranks of troops all with their own unique and vivid decoration and dress is overwhelming. In fact, the exhibition was so inspiring that I borrowed a copy of Soldiers of the Dragon the next day back at work!

The exhibition runs until the 6th April at the British Museum in London, and is well worth seeing! Be warned, though, that it is very popular, and is likely to be packed out!

A Forgotten War?

When one traces the major wars in which Great Britain fought during the Age of Reason, the usual progression is English Civil War… Seven Years War/French Indian War… American Revolution… Napoleonic Wars. However, nestled in-between the restoration of the monarchy and the decline of France in the Americas is found a war which had massive repercussions for Europe, and one in which the names, if not the motives, are widely known: The War of the Spanish Succession. A potted history of the war is, I am afraid, beyond me, so I will simply suggest you look at the good synopses available all over the web, such as here or here.

One would have thought that, thanks to such names as the Duke of Marlborough, Marshal Villars and Eugene of Savoy, or the Battle of Blenheim the war would be much more widely-studied. Instead, it seems to be related to an historical footnote, wherein the names are remembered and little else. Sadly, Robert Southey’s poem After Blenheim, seems just as true now as it did when it was written in the early 19th Century:

"And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win."
"But what good came of it at last?"
Quoth little Peterkin.
"Why that I cannot tell," said he,
"But 'twas a famous victory."

However, all is not yet lost! Indeed, like those other conflicts of history, such as the Winter War or the Spanish Civil War, that find themselves overlooked in favour of the bigger, more famous clashes, the War of Spanish Succession is enjoying something of a resurgence of interest, from all quarters. In the world of fiction, we have Iain Gale working on a new historical series, starring Jack “honestly not related to anyone called Sharpe” Steel. The first book, Man of Honour is now available, with the paperback edition and the sequel due out in the Spring. It’s a rollicking read, but one cannot help but draw comparisons to such characters as Richard Sharpe, Horatio Hornblower or Jack Aubrey – I know there is nothing new under the sun, but some things seem more derivative than others – hopefully the sequel will allow Gale to establish his own style and let him start setting Jack Steel apart from the rest of the pack – the setting deserves it. In the world of Wargaming, the imminent release of Under the Lily Banners by the League of Augsburg looks set to give a shot in the arm to this most deserving of periods. The League has done a sterling job over the years of advertising and encouraging the gaming of this neglected period, even if their armies are always painted to a standard unachievable by most!

So, if you’re a gamer looking for a new project, or a historian with a penchant for the English Civil War, look just that little further afield, and give the Spanish Succession a shot. After all, ask yourself – what would Marlborough do?

Caption competition - win an Angus McBride print!

Whilst clearing out some of the desks in the Osprey offices, we came across a selection of old Angus McBride prints from a sample project that never went ahead. Naturally, Joe and I grabbed most of them, but one survived the frenzy unscathed.

So, here’s the deal – whoever comes up with the best caption for the rather bemused-looking halberdier (entries to be judged by the Osprey Blog Battalion) wins the 16.5 / 7 inch print of never-before-seen Angus McBride artwork. Feel free to enter as many times as you like. Any rude, crude, lewd or offensive suggestions, however funny, will not be considered (we’re a family company, after all…)

Let the captioning commence!

(Competition ends 28 February)

This week, I have been mostly watching...

Once again, I am quite phenomenally out of date. It turns out that the fantastic new TV show I recently discovered is well into its 3rd season, and has been very well received. Penned by Shawn Ryan (creator of The Shield) and David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross; Wag the Dog) and starring Dennis Haysbert (24’s President Palmer) and Robert “Agent Doggett/T-1000” Patrick, The Unit tells the tale of the 303rd Logistical Studies Group, a team of covert operations specialists drawn from the ranks of the US Army Rangers and answerable only to the President, who are tasked with performing counter-terrorist operations that the government couldn’t, wouldn’t and probably shouldn’t officially sanction. Consequently, the Unit gets into all sorts of hijinks and scrapes, whether stealing crashed Chinese satellite components from the African bush, protecting the Mexican Drug Minister’s family or breaking an arms dealer out of a Bulgarian prison.

That’s not to say that the show is solely based on wham-bam, thank you Colonel, Sir! action. As a counterpoint to the gunfire and explosions, the lives of the Unit members’ families are also looked at, ranging from how their husbands’ missions impact their lives, to the battles fought by army wives themselves. Personally, this is a somewhat unwelcome diversion from the tyre-screeching, grenade-chucking action, coming across as a soap opera-esque web of financial concerns and infidelity. That and I really like gunfights and explosions.

The other major criticism of The Unit that I have heard is that it is far too gung-ho in its politics – the Americans are all honest and upright, though necessarily ruthless in their defence of morality, apple pie and democracy; and all their foes are evil, conniving villains of the highest (lowest?) order. There is even one scene where one of the army wives confronts a seminar of anti-war protesters and faces them down with a barrage of stirring, patriotic (and largely off-camera) arguments. For me, these instances are few and far between. The characters are suitably conflicted, and don’t just follow the paths of all-American heroes so blindly. Indeed, their role doing the dirty work of combat doesn’t always show them in a positive light.

My only criticism regarding the main characters is their efficiency – I understand that they’re supposed to be the best special forces operatives in the world, but that means there’s no way of presenting them with real opposition without getting a bit silly (“so, the guys have to get a defector out from under the noses of the platoon guarding him.” “Just one platoon? We need to make this a bit tougher.” “Okay, how about an entire regiment and a nuclear submarine? Oh, and the defector’s being kept in a cage suspended above a shark tank?” “Almost… but they still need more of a challenge…” “It’s on the moon?” “Perfect, send the director in here”). Likewise, the villains have motives above and beyond “destroy America”, with druglords, arms dealers, pro-unification Koreans, Turkish counter-terrorist officers and traitorous US operatives providing a fair balance to the Arabic hordes that would have been the easy option for the show.

Still, shut off the mind a bit (not too much, otherwise you’ll miss out on all the nice little touches – such as “Blackthorne” the private security company that tries to recruit Unit members, and is in no way based on a real-world security firm that has been under heavy criticism of late, or the “coffee’s for closers” notes that reference David Mamet’s other work) and enjoy!

Filibuster!

In my perpetual quest for the marginalized and forgotten aspects of military history, I came across a name I had never heard before, but one that turned out to be rather interesting: William Walker, a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Nashville, a sometime doctor, lawyer, journalist, duelist, newspaper editor and owner, one of the most pro-active proponents of the policy of Manifest Destiny and (briefly) President of Nicaragua. In this era of Manifest Destiny, many men seized the opportunity to pursue private wars of conquest in the quest for fortune and glory. Some were motivated purely by greed, eyeing the states of South and Central America and the Caribbean and their natural resources. Others sought the fame and adventure that a foreign military expedition might bring. Yet more worked purely as mercenaries, following a principle of loyalty to the highest bidder, or, as Steve Earle puts it:

And we’re bound for the border
We’re soldiers of fortune
And we’ll fight for no country but we’ll die for good pay
Under the flag of the greenback dollar
Or the peso down Mexico way.

Some, however, believed in principles and ideals, primarily the establishment of new states under the rule of white Anglophones, and the eventual annexation of these new states into the growing United States of America. The old saying that there is nothing new under the sun is proved entirely true in this case, as these filibusters had been around (in name as well as deed) for centuries, first coming to prominence in the 16th century to describe those individuals who raided the West Indian possessions of the King of Spain, most famously, Francis Drake, that vaunted ancestor of the Royal Navy. As the golden age of Caribbean piracy declined, so too did the use of the term. Walker believed strongly in the idea of the private conquest of vast swathes of Latin America and the establishment of new states under Anglo governance. Walker’s first filibustering venture came in 1853 when, with only 45 men, he commenced his campaign to take the Mexican territories of Baja California and Sonora, capturing the Baja Californian capital of La Paz and declaring first the Republic of Lower California and then, three months later, and despite it still being held by Mexican forces, the Republic of Sonora. Forced back to California by Mexican resistance, Walker was acquitted by the jury at his trial for conducting an illegal war in just eight minutes. This (not so) near escape did not change Walker’s policies one jot, and, in 1855, he signed on as a mercenary in the civil war in Nicaragua. One month later, he’d defeated the federalist army and controlled the government of the country through a puppet president. However, the success was not to last – a coalition of neighbouring states, worried by Walker’s expansionist plans, and funded by American businessmen concerned by Walker’s attitudes towards their interests in the region, went to war on the filibuster and his freebooting army. Despite a sham election to make himself president and appeals to southern US states to support him as a fellow exponent of slavery, Walker was trounced and forced to surrender to the US navy. Repatriated, he continued to attempt his expeditions, being caught and brought back by the navy every so often, before being arrested by the Royal Navy in Honduras, turned over to the Honduran authorities and sent to the firing squad.

William Walker was not a particularly nice man, nor is he someone to idolize. However, he is a fascinating individual, a true product of his time, and one I intend to research more fully. For those who are interested, globalsecurity.org has a good article on the man, and The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco also offers a good analysis. Anyone with a more audiovisual tendency should also check out Ed Harris’ portrayal of the filibuster in Walker.

Taking the Peace on the Border

It's not my period (I focused on the Albigensian Crusade at university), but my favourite Osprey book has to be Men-at-Arms 279: The Border Reivers written by Keith Durham and illustrated by the late Angus McBride. It was this book that first ignited my interest in the (mis)adventures of the Borders, with its tales of blackmail (a term that originated amongst these desperadoes and ne'er do wells), hot trods, arson, jailbreaks and grand theft livestock. From this work, I discovered what, to this day, is one of my most-loved history books, if not one of my favourite books, period: George Macdonald Fraser's The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers. Now, I read this title at least once a year as it's the perfect balance of wit, storytelling and erudite history – immensely interesting and enjoyable at the same time. However, as Oscar Wilde said, "nothing succeeds like excess", and The Reavers, the prequel (stylistically, if not content-wise) to GMF's previous comic work, The Pyrates, is no exception to that rule. Here, GMF gives his comic talents free rein, depicting a Border country full of Walsingham's spies, Glaswegian highwaymen, swooning beauties, dastardly Dagoes and reivers who you feel would be more at home on the terraces with a meat pie and a pitch invasion than on horseback with jack and lance! It's pure farce, but meticulously-researched, emphatically-written farce. Even if you have never been interested in the period or the setting before, I urge you to read it. In fact, you should probably read it ESPECIALLY if you have never been interested in the period or the setting before – it's inspiring and hilarious – what more could anyone want?