Showing posts with label Cold War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cold War. Show all posts

Thursday, 1 September 2016

If HG Wells Had Been a Child in the '70s...



New in (just in time for me to take to the Hereward Wargames Show) the newly published wargames ruleset Little Cold Wars.  It will shortly be added to our Wargaming Section, but I don't think I can do better than copying the following from the publisher's page:-
Little Cold Wars: Wargaming the Cold War Using Toy Soldiers by Tim Gow and Bertrand Plastique.  Edited by John Curry.  £12.95.
Possibly the sort of wargame H.G Wells might have developed if he had been a child in the 1970s.  But perhaps not. 
Written by Tim Gow and Bertrand Plastique, the book recreates battles from the era of the Cold War. 
Based on the original ideas of H.G. Wells, this book brings the original toy soldier rules up to date to recreate wars from the time of the Cold War onto the wargamer’s table top or preferably, his lawn. 
The rules grasp the essentials of Cold War combat; movement, close assault, direct fire, artillery and air support. They also include additional rules to cover the complexities of engineering, smoke and the wider air battle. They do so in a style reminiscent of Little Wars, just with tanks and aircraft. 
The book includes a full points system as well as sample army lists from Britain to Yugoslavia. 
For those seeking greater complexity, there are optional rules to cover special forces, large battles, night fighting and hidden movement. 
There are also five sample scenarios to help the new Cold War warrior get started. 
These rules are straightforward, but comprehensive toy soldier rules that allow the wargamer to experience the battles, actual and potential, from those days.  

Monday, 9 March 2015

The Cold War



Having just listed Helmut Schmidt's Defence or Retaliation I wondered what else we had in stock for Cold War Warriors.  More than I originally thought.


Mark Urban, Soviet Land Power, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd (1985), hb.  As new.  £4.50.


Andrew Wilson, The Bomb and the Computer: The History of Professional Wargaming 1780- 1968, History of Wargaming Project (2014), pb, 197pp,   New.  £12.95.

The Generals...


Michael Tillotson, Fifth Pillar: The Life and Philosophy of Field Marshal the Lord Bramall KG, GCB, OBE, MC, History Press (2006), 338pp, plates.  As new.  £3.00


Brian Wyldbore-Smith, March Past: The Memoirs of a Major-General, The Memoir Club (2001), hb, d/w, 166pp, plates.  Signed and inscribed by the author.  £3.00.


Richard Dannatt, Leading from the Front: The Autobiography, Bantam Press (2010), hb, d/w, 410pp, plates.  As new.  £4.00


Michael Carver, Britain's Army in the 20th Century, MacMillan (1998), hb, d/w,  As new.  £8.00.

And the view from the ranks...


Rick Stroud & Victor Gregg, Rifleman: A Front-Line Life from Alamein and Dresden to the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Bloomsbury Paperbacks (2011), pb, 273pp, plates.  As new.  £3.00.

Tom Hickman, The Call Up: A History of National Service 1947-1963, Headline (2004), hb.  As new,  £3.50.

Units...


Anthony Farrar-Hockley, The Army in the Air: The History of the Army Air Corps, Sutton Publishing Ltd (1994), hb.  £3.50.

Let's not forget the Navy!

Paul Beaver, The Royal Navy in the 1980s (Warships Illustrated), pb, 1985.  £2.00.

John Batchelor & Christopher Chant, The Complete Encyclopedia of Submarines 1578-2006, Rebo (2009), hb.  £4.00.

And the Spooks....


Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, Penguin (2010), pb, 1044pp, £4.00.


Nigel West, A Matter of Trust: MI5, 1945-72, Weidenfield and Nicolson Ltd (1982), hb, d/w, 196pp, plates.  £3.00.


Archie Roosevelt, For Lust of Knowing: Memoirs of an Intelligence Officer, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1988), hb, d/w, 500pp, plates.   £4.00.   The author, grandson of Theodore Roosevelt and cousin of Franklin D Roosevelt, served in the CIA from 1942 to 1974 throughout the Middle East

And, of course, there's also Korea, Vietnam and other late twentieth century conflicts...