#4013643 in Books 1977-10-17Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 #File Name: 0850592836192 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating; even for the non-wargamerBy Charles HallI was looking for rules for the American Revolution and thought these Napoleonic rules might be a starting point. It's not really a good fit for my purposes; but I was hooked once I started reading. Quarrie dives into the whole Napoleonic era with a vengeance; exploring every little detail that might affect a battle. He covers everything from surgical techniques; weather conditions; how much a horse eats; how much a man eats; how heavy was his pack; what wagons were used to bring up supplies; etc. He goes on and on like that; but it's all told in such a fascinating way and he moves along at such a brisk clip that it's highly readable. He includes a brief thumbnail of every battle; a brief profile of every general; a section on each nation's army; the terrain and much; much more.To me this is the best of wargaming; it brings history to life to know the reality of what an army could do; and then to read what it did do.Now; as to his rules; they're more suited to a campaign with huge armies and multiple generals than I want; with lots of different numerical factors for morale; fatigue; leadership; etc. He actually crams all this into a modest number of pages so the bulk of the book is background facts.I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history. He also includes references to many; many other books that you can read to learn more about particular aspects of this period.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Wargaming from a Different TimeBy IanKHThis is the third copy of this book that I've owned over the past 35 years. Previous copies have either been lost or loaned (but not returned).I would call this book the very heart of Napoleonic Wargaming. When it was first published as Airfix Modeling Guide #4 it revolutionised wargaming in the Napoleonic era and it has continued to affect all Napoleonic rules to date. These rules are a creature of their time; when wargamers were expected to take that extra mile and research their topic. They don't offer army lists or a range of model soldiers but they do present a comprehensive set of rules in a very condensed format.The bulk of this book; as the title says; deals with how to conduct a Napoleonic wargame campaign. The rules themselves only comprise one chapter towards the end of the book. They are brief and concise and you'd better know your maths. The detail on campaigning on the other hand is very detailed and even takes into account the level of medical treatment you troops could expect in the era.There is also a chapter giving brief overviews of the major combatants with line drawings of their various troops. As for other images there are several colour photos in the center pages as you would expect of a volume of this era. Another chapter presents several of the major battles of the period together with very nice line drawn maps whilst; all the time; relating them to wargaming.Overall; this book hearkens back to a different time and a different way of following the wargaming hobby. Like the writings of Featherstone and Grant; Bruce Quarrie was one of those who's influence has been far reaching. And I can absolutely guarantee that you won't find another set of wargaming rules where the author tell you to go and play Ludo or threatens to punch you in the nose if he catches you cheating.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Always was a great bookBy SWHad this book when I was a lad so bought is again all these years later. It's good to see the familiar pages an pictures! As rules for tabletop war games these are as good as they get; and the supporting info from Quarrie is accessible and excellently written.
