Building Wargame Terrain by Tony Harwood

Picked up my copy of this book yesterday;

Very good it is too. If you follow Tonys' blog you will be well aware of his style, when he has posted up 'how to's' on there or on the Barking Irons site. The book follows that format and contains nine articles covering various builds from; how to build a fence and wall to a raised market hall. Eight are for 28mm terrain and one for a 15mm building. Each article has plenty of accompanying photos, illustrating each part of the relevant build;

Very much a step by step guide. But what I like about Tony's work is the little extra details he adds so that what might appear to be a very simple piece is full of great ideas. This model is probably my favourite;

It's a pig sty! But the details added to it make it stand out. Included are two processes that I've read about previously and wanted to try. Using plasticard to represent wood and DAS clay as an external covering for walls.

So if you interested in getting a copy contact Tony at dampfpanzerwagon. I don't think you will be disappointed with this purchase. The ideas contained with in can be used to enhance or provide inspiration for your own terrain projects.         

Off The Bookshelf

With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge - I must admit I read this off the back of watching the HBO series The Pacific'. It's an excellent read. Sledge doesn't pull any punches in his description of the fighting on Peleliu and Okinawa, or more importantly the descriptions of the conditions the Marines lived in.

Like the Band of Brothers TV series, the series does take certain liberties altering or merging certain events. For example, the scene of Peleliu when Snafu is throwing small stones into the open brain cavity of a dead Japanese soldier. Sledge does not  name the individual who actually did that, so unless the series writers or producers were privy to information I am not aware of, it could or could not been Snafu. When on Okinawa and Sledge is digging a foxhole only to find a corpse at the bottom, the event described in the book is far more graphic and horrific.

For myself I certainly felt that despite the fact that Sledge alludes to the waste of war, in terms of human misery and suffering, on both sides. He certainly does not demonstrate remorse over the killing of Japanese soldiers, during the conflict. His approach is similar to many accounts of veterans of WW2 in that 'they' were the enemy, and 'they' would kill you unless you got in first. Also a sense of pride comes through in having served in the US Marine Corp. Though he is critical of individuals on occasion ie certain officers, Sledge does not enter into the realm of criticising strategy, it literally is just an account of how he saw things, his war. 

If you're interested in the Pacific conflict then I fully recommend this book. A great read, and from a wargaming point of view certainly got me thinking about starting a Pacific project. But not yet!     

Off the Bookshelf

This is something I've wanted to do for a while an infrequent little column about what I'm reading or have just read recently. It will probably give clues to what is interesting me the world of wargaming as well. Obviously it will be my opinions only for good or bad. First up....

Monte Cassino by Matthew Parker.  Not a new book I know and my paperback copy has sat on the bookshelf  for probably nearly two years before I finally got round to read it. The quote on the front cover just about sums up this book. It is one of these rare history books which, you cannot put down. Very, very good. 

Monte Cassino is probably one of those battles, which has fascinated me since childhood, and I've read various accounts, and watched documentaries on the subject, but this is the first time I could actually recall reading such a compelling account. Parker does not pull his punches with graphic descriptions of the battle(s), largely drawn from first hand accounts of survivors and some times from accounts of those who did not survivor the battle.

The narrative switches back and forth between accounts of the British/Commonwealth and American assaults to take the town and the monastery. But also covers in some detail the French attacks, which may have succeeded in flanking the monastery, and thus preventing the bloody stalemate which developed,  if they had been given more support. Within all this are stories concerning the Gurkha's, Indian's, New Zealanders and of course the Polish troops who eventually captured the monastery. Accounts by Italian's and the German defenders are all included.

If I was to be critical, I would have liked more accounts from the German defenders, these seem to be lacking, even though Chapter 14 is titled Green Devils of Cassino. The first half of the chapter relates to accounts from the German paratroopers defending Cassino and then switches to Allied accounts again. Admittedly every book can only include so much, but this account could have easily had a further 100 pages added or more and it would not have slowed up the narrative.

If you're interested in World War Two history and in particular the Italian campaign, then buy this book and read it. I bought my copy from amazon. With Afterthebattle  due to release Monte Cassino Then and Now, I'm looking forward to adding a copy to my collection to continue my study of this campaign.