Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers! Our first magazine of 2019 features as its theme: (pre-gunpowder) Empire Building. We have four articles taking us to the great empires of Persia, Rome and Mali then we saddle-up with Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Horde and head to
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Beyond Rome to the Alps – Across the Arno and Gothic Line 1944-1945 Johnathan Bracken Pen & Sword, 2018 Reviewed by Dom Sore Often when we think about the Italian Campaign we get up to Monte Cassino and the liberation of Rome and then stop. Even the liberation of Rome was overshadowed by some
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The Verdun Regiment Johnathan Bracken Pen & Sword, 2018 Reviewed by Neil Smith The Western Front in WWI is almost too big an experience to comprehend with any reasonable understanding, the killing too grinding in its manner, and often too horrific to digest in the comfort of our armchairs. But what about the
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Snipers at War – An Equipment and Operations History John Walter Greenhill Books 2017 Reviewed by Dom Sore Snipers are a strange bunch, sitting hidden for hours at a time, patiently waiting for that one opportunity to shoot before moving on to the next hide. Through history they have been revered and reviled, feared
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Hero on the Western Front, discovering Alvin York’s WW1 battlefield Michael Kelly Frontline Books 2018 Reviewed by Jim Graham Hero on the Western Front is 343 pages long, including the index and footnotes, which are extensive. There are numerous illustrations, photos and maps which are generally very clear but the odd one is
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Images of War – SS Specialist Units in Combat Bob Carruthers Pen & Sword Military Reviewed by Images of War – SS Specialist Units in combat is the next book in this excellent series by Pen & Sword which covers military subjects ranging from the Crimean War to the Cold War and beyond,
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In this issue of Wargames Illustrated, come with us on a journey as we explore the campaigns of The Unkillable Soldier: Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart. P.S. And make sure you take a diversion to check out the latest game from Warlord - Cruel Seas - as seen in our Rules
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FROM THE EDITOR This month we commemorate one hundred years since the end of World War One, perhaps the most poignant time for those alive now to reflect on the loss of life during a previous generation. This November also hosts another commemoration or more correctly celebration in the form of
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Wargames Illustrated Showcase Game for HISTORICON 2018 Robert Giglio Editor’s Note: Bob is our US Liaison and has run a WI Showcase Game the last two times WI has journeyed across the Pond to a Historical Miniature Gaming Society (HMGS) convention. At HISTORICON 2015, Bob ran his “Saving Prince Kishan” game, and
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Who doesn’t like campaign wargaming? What’s not to like about playing through a series of linked battles and adding in entertaining additional elements to your games, like logistics, character development and herding cats (i.e. your fellow wargamers!). In our theme for this issue we have asked Alan Perry (Perry Miniatures), Joe
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Against All Odds Stephen Wynn Pen and Sword Military Reviewed by Neil Smith In Against All Odds, Stephen Wynn attempts to tell the story of Walter Tull, the first black officer to serve in the British Army. It is a daunting task with little evidence to work with, so perhaps it is not surprising
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Occasional we post 'magazine' articles on our website. This one hasn't appeared in the print or on iPad version of Wargames Illustrated - it's an online exclusive. FOCH has been written by our French friend Pierre Aymeric and is a collection of rules and amendments for using Osprey's The Men Who Would
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Luftwaffe 1946 Miniatures is perhaps best known for producing miniature aircraft from the beginning of World War Two up to the present day. Many of these miniatures are based upon both historically accurate and hypothetical aircraft designs. However, some of the newest releases in the range are focused upon a
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Wee Wolf Miniatures produce some ‘very fine’ 28mm miniatures. One of their ranges is Franco-Prussian War French Line Infantry - spotted at Historicon 2018. The current range encompasses 7 packs, either packs of 4 figures or unit deals consisting of 24 figures. These are high quality sculpts with some great attention
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To the shores of Tripoli… and then back again. It only struck me when I sat down to write this editorial that our theme for this month, America at War, takes us from the famous US Marine action near Tripoli in 1804 (subject of the Marine Corps Hymn), via the
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Great War Miniatures have added new Late World War One German Cavalry to their range. They come in packs of four figures, two horses and two riders. The choice to produce mounted late war cavalry is an unusual but useful one. Each figure wears the stahlhelm and the eight troopers carry
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We have a bonus eight pages again for you this month. Our article submissions are on a real roll at the moment and as the print deadline for each magazine looms nearer we are struggling to fit all the articles we have into the magazine. Having said that, always bear
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These models from PSC have been out for a while, but caught up in ‘a new project moment’, Paul Davies decided to send us this review, which we thought we would share online. I recently became interested in wargaming late WW1, Ever on the lookout for value for money in terms
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1914 is a set of new rules from Great Escape Games, they cover Battalion up to Brigade level actions during the first few months of World War One. Designed to complement their recently released range of excellent 12mm miniatures, these are fast play rules that provide a real flavour of
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Bachmann have re-released the Conflix range of buildings in new packaging but with the same high quality. Designed for use with either 15, 20 or 28mm sized miniatures, these pre-painted and assembled buildings are just what ‘time poor’ gamers need to create a suitable tabletop layout in seconds. The first building
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The Salute Wargames Show is the biggest in the world and with attendees numbering over 9,000 it has become an annual launchpad for new product releases for several of the companies that attend. Wargames Illustrated reporters spent the day stalking the hall at Excel in London A) taking photographs and reporting
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When it came to choosing the theme for this month’s issue we had two clear contenders to choose from; 1) The Thirty Years War - to commemorate 500 years since the beginning of this tumultuous European conflict. 2) Air War - to tie-in with the release of the Battle of
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBp3dHDSHlI&feature=youtu.be OBSERVATION POST A special focus on what we picked up at Vapnartak in York this month. THEME 1: ARMIES OF THE THIRTY YEARS WAR Jim Graham provides some advice for gamers looking to invest in a new period or army for use during this fascinating period. THEME 2: AIRCRAFT AND GROUND SUPPORT IN THE
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Van Dyck M&F specialize in ultra-detailed 10mm figures. To help customers appreciate the design work that goes in to their miniatures, they had a magnifying glass set up on their display stand at Tactica 2018. In this way, you can marvel at what their sculptors can achieve with postage stamp
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Macrocosm Miniatures have created their own take upon a Weird War One concept. They have taken the fantasy races of Dwarves, Goblins and Halflings and placed them into the ‘mud and blood’ of an alternative early 20th Century. Received for review were some of the Dwarves, based upon the Russian
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tssAOTqVJxk&t OBSERVATION POST Our latest look at what’s new and upcoming in the world of wargaming. THEME: AMBUSH! Pete Brown shares some ideas for replicating the military art of ambush in our tabletop battles. SAGA 2 – ITERATION OR NEW GAME? Dom Sore takes a close look at the new rulebook and discusses what’s changed or
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We made our now annual journey to the excellent Vapnartak show in York, England on February 4th, one of the first big shows of the year and a great introduction to another hobby year. Among all the amazing games being played and traders selling a host of products, we picked
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OBSERVATION POST Our latest look at what’s new and upcoming in the world of wargaming. THEME: ALL THE HEROES Neil Smith introduces us to this month’s theme with a brief introduction to the history of battle honours. THE WARGAMES ILLUSTRATED AWARDS We present our inaugural annual awards to the companies and individuals who you voted
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Offensive Miniatures have expanded their range of World War Two figures to include these Defenders of the Reich, those called upon to defend Berlin and possibly other German towns and cities towards the end of the war. The samples sent for review are from the Volksturm 1 and 3 packs. Most
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Brigade Models have one of the most complete ranges of Belgians for World War One, covering a wide number of infantry units, cavalry and more. The miniatures themselves come from a variety of different types of units. There are Grenadiers, Carabiners, cyclists, Lancers, Chasseuers-a-Cheval and Guides. A number of styles of
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