SPAD VII Scenario Research

This is the latest and quite possibly the last addition to my stack of Osprey Publishing WW1 aircraft books, a gap in my bookshelf that I've now filled and a source of potential ideas for Algy scenarios. I like the format of this series, at least for the aircraft focussed titles, and Jon Guttman really knows his stuff. I'm going to see if I can find enough information to put together a historical scenario that can be the basis of a good multiplayer game, with some cross referencing and research to fill in the gaps.

War of the Gunboats

We're heading home in a few days so, to make the most of the holiday time left, I'm re-reading this book. Despite the title, it's an overarching account of coastal forces action in all of the theatres of the Second World War, but my interest lies primarily in the early war period in the English Channel and North Sea. It's a really good introduction to the subject and I remember it as being well worth reading as a primer for coastal forces wargaming, so time well spent. 

The Greatest Raid

The next book on my holiday reading list is this fairly recent one on Operation Chariot, which I have in good old fashioned hardback. I've read several books on the St.Nazaire raid before so this will be interesting in comparison. It has an obvious but tenuous link to my current coastal warfare project too, although I very much doubt I'll be wargaming it any time soon!

Coastal Forces Classic

I used to have an original 1945 hard back edition of this but it literally fell apart, so I'm now reduced to reading a digital copy for my initial holiday project inspiration. I read this years ago but it's a bit of a classic and well worth the time spent re-reading it, especially for scenario ideas. A lot of the actions described in the book have already been turned into game outlines, Mighty Midgets being an obvious source of off the shelf scenarios, but it's always worth rethinking them in relation to specific rules such as Torpedoes and Tides.

Wargaming Campaigns

A long ferry crossing today so a cheeky download for 99p to pass the time on the journey over to France. I'm a big fan of campaigns and have run several at the local club over the years. I've never run a map based campaign, however, and really fancy having a go at a solo effort, perhaps for the One Hour Wargames Hundred Years War project or perhaps the dormant 2mm English Civil War project that I fiddled about with a couple of years ago?

Gunboat Command

I'm on holiday next week so will have some down time to spend on reading, amongst other things. This is one of the few books on coastal warfare that I haven't yet read so it will be top of the reading list for next week. I have a few more that I'm going to re-read in advance of starting the Torpedoes and Tides project for the summer. I'm also planning on a few basic solo games over the holidays, to try out the rules and get a hang of things like blinds, spotting, movement and firing, ready to upscale to some historical scenarios and a solo campaign in a few months time.

Skirmish Wargaming Scenarios

I've been going back to my skirmish wargaming roots lately and have been reading the classic Featherstone book on Skirmish Wargaming, with a focus on my medieval projects in 15mm and 28mm. There's a really good narrative scenario here, based on a sally by the English defenders of a besieged castle in 1429 during the Hundred Years War, the objective being to spike a French bombard in the siege lines. This would make a great scenario for Ecorcheurs! or even for Lion Rampant, giving me some ideas for my own games or even a linked campaign based on the background in the book. 

Allez Les Bleus!

In Cardiff for the rugby today and it's absolutely heaving with French supporters, including the other half and the offspring. With some time to kill I popped into Waterstones and blew a book voucher on this new paperback on the Agincourt campaign, perfect for the holiday reading this week. A bit ironic really. Allez Les Bleus!

Gladiators over Malta

I was reorganizing the book shelves last night when I found a long forgotten paper back copy of this classic account of the defence of Malta in 1940, focussing on the famous Gloster Sea Gladiators, often referred to as Faith, Hope and Charity. There were in fact six of these but only three were airworthy at any one time. This will be really useful to fill in some gaps in my Bag the Hun scenario research notes and will also be a good book to read over the half term holidays. Tally Ho!

Winged Sabres

I'm always looking for potential scenario material for Algernon Pulls It Off! and this book should tick a lot of the boxes. It relates the operational history of No.20 Squadron RFC / RAF from February 1916 through to November 1918, initially being equipped with the F.E.2 and latterly with the F.2b Bristol Fighter. I'd been after a good hardback copy at a decent price for quite a while, which I have now located and ordered. I'm looking forward to using it for some scenario research, the aim being to write up and play test at least one game. Tally Ho!

Air War Over Spain

I used to have a tatty hard back copy of this book but it literally fell apart after the loft leaked and it got soaked. I've now found a new copy in much better condition and I'm hoping that it will give me some really good material for a set of scenarios, as well as a better grip on the course of the war in the air. The research for scenario projects is something I really enjoy and I'm looking forward to getting started in a couple of weeks when I have done holiday reading time.

Spanish Civil War Bag the Hun Wargaming

Two new titles from Helion Publishing for my birthday at the weekend, both focussed on the Spanish Civil War, a long time interest of mine but something I haven't yet tried to do. The initial interest is in the potential for a Bag the Hun scenario project, once again focussed on the interwar / early war era. I do like the idea of some linked scenarios focussing on the Republican Air Force, both before and after it was re-equipped with Soviet fighters and bombers. Excellente!

April Fools

Another charity shop hard back, this time something relevant to my First World War air wargaming. It's quite a brief overview of the controversies surrounding creation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918, but also covers the early interwar period when the RAF struggled to maintain a role beyond colonial policing, which my grandfather played a small part in on the North West Frontier. A fascinating subject and I'm sure it will be a good source of ideas.

Austro Hungarian Albatros Aces

One of my projects for next year will be to carry on promoting Algernon Pulls It Off! through the Facebook group and the blog, as well as the occasional article in the wargaming press, if I get the chance. To keep things fresh I'm going to focus in some new directions, primarily the French on the Western Front but also the Austro-Hungarian air service on the Italian Front. For the latter my book shelf is looking a bit thin, which means I can justify another second hand Osprey, in this case Austro-Hungarian Albatros Aces of World War 1. Together with Chris Stoeson's campaign supplement for the Italian Front and the new French 1/600th models from Tumbling Dice, I should have enough for some enjoyable games!

Balloon Busting Sorties in Algernon Pulls It Off!

I've been reading Marked for Death in old fashioned, non-digital hardback this holiday, albeit in occasional free moments, and it's really very good. I particularly enjoyed chapter four, Combat and Other Missions, which explained in detail the different sorties flown by the RFC during the war. One thing which I didn't appreciate was the use of dummy observation balloons, packed with explosives and detonated when attacked in error by scout aircraft. All very dangerous but an interesting twist for balloon busting sorties?

This gave me some more ideas for a sortie generator for Algy, initially just for the RFC, which would include a balloon busting attack. The idea would be to have a randomly generated number of observation balloons, probably with a D4+1 roll, a proportion of which could be dummies. These would be randomly distributed around the table, allocated anti-aircraft and defending aircraft protection, before being targeted by the RFC scouts. I think this would work very well but needs some more thought and, of course, some playtesting!

Holiday Reading

I read this excellent book a few years ago when I was thinking of a Sino Japanese War naval project. As I'm now on holiday I thought I'd dig it out and brush up on the conflict, ready for next year when I'll be picking up the project again as a solo campaign with Broadside and Salvo. 

Masters of the Air

Another second hand hardback from the local charity shop in mint condition and only four quid. I have had various attempts at wargaming daylight bombing missions but never really got beyond the planning stage, partly due to the painting workload but also as it is a logistical nightmare to play solo. I think I'll read this over the holidays and see if I can finally bite the bullet.

Ace of the Iron Cross

A few weeks ago I was trying to track down a copy of Ernst Udet's autobiography, Ace of the Iron Cross, for a scenario writing job, but could only find very expensive new copies. Yesterday, while clearing out the loft I found an old second hand hardback edition of the book, which was a bit late for the scenario writing but a turn up for the books, so to speak, in other ways. Tally Ho!

Somme Success

I was browsing through my Kindle archives this morning and spotted this book, which I downloaded years ago but have never read. I thought it would be perfect as a half term holiday read, with a view to some Algernon Pulls It Off games with my freshly painted DH2 models. Tally Ho?

Over the Front with the French Aces

 

The next phase of my First World War air wargaming with Algernon Pulls It Off! will be to focus on the French, assembling a collection of 1/600th models when Paul at Tumbling Dice finally adds them to the range. While I'm waiting for the aircraft to be sculpted for 1917-18, I'm doing the background reading and research toward the scenarios, so this book will be very useful in tracking down some of the leading pilots. These usually go for quite a lot of money but I've found a very good quality hardback copy for a tenner, which is an excellent price to pay. I have some half term holiday time coming up in a couple of weeks too, so time to do some proper background cross referencing and research.