I've been reading this very interesting book over the last few days, even though the subject matter isn't really on my current wargaming radar. I've read a couple of the author's other naval historical and counter factual books, which were written in the interwar period, so I thought this would be a worthwhile addition. Despite its vintage, it is eighty one years since first publication, it is an exciting, well paced account of various WW1 cruiser actions, most of which will be familiar but one or two being relatively obscure.
There's a lot of scenario potential here, not just for historical actions but also to be translated into other periods including the Victorian ironclad era, for example, by simply 'camoflaguing' the opposing forces as earlier ships and shifting the scene of the action to similar but different locations. I remember reading an article in an early Miniature Wargames by Andy Callan, where the charge up San Juan Hill was converted into an ACW scenario titled the Battle of St James. A simple idea but it really works!
I am all for morphing scenarios to another time or place. There’s plenty of room for backdating these actions to the ironclad age. The commerce raider actions would fit with French plans for a war with England. I think that Heligoland Bight and the Scarborough Raid would work too.
ReplyDeleteExactly. There's a really good scenario for a raid by German torpedo boats on the monitors bombarding the Belgian coast which would be brilliant transported back to the 1880s, with the French being the raiding force against the British.
ReplyDeleteA great 99p kindle purchse - thanks for the recommendation
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
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