Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

Wargaming is a big hobby with many diverse factions and perspectives: striking a balance that pleases everyone can be truly challenging! We like to think what sets Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy apart from other historical wargaming magazines is its focus on having fun, no matter what kind of wargamer you are or what your background is. WS&S is a light-hearted publication, that pays particular attention to games themselves and how to play them: it doesn’t get bogged down in lengthy historical expositions or recycle content you can read yourself in any history book. While popular periods like WWII, the Napoleonic era, and the ancient world get frequent coverage, we also try to feature the unexpected, with articles on spies, monsters and gangsters to name but a few.

Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

Editorial

MINIATURE REVIEWS • A look at some of the newest miniatures, terrain pieces, and more from across the wargaming world.

WHAT YOU CAN'T DO • I'm not sure who did it; I'm not sure why exactly they did it; but somewhere, someone once thought, “I know playing this game is fun, but I bet it would be even more fun if we made it a competition”. I am, of course, referring to wargaming, but in truth it would seem that in almost any type of pastime, from chess to knitting, someone has “enhanced” it by making it competitive. That could be as simple as a small wager, or as complicated as a multi-tiered tournament. And why not?

THE SAVIOUR, THE TYRANT, AND THE OUTLAW • At the end of the Peloponnesian war, the city of Byzantium threw off the shackles of athenian rule and sought to govern itself. However, it soon found itself in serious difficulties with internal strife between factions and a war against local Thracian tribes. As the Thracians threatened the surrounding countryside, other local Greek city states and the city of Byzantium itself, its citizens turned to Sparta for help. In response, the Spartans sent a force under a general called Clearchus to aid the city.

PARTICIPATING IN THE BARONS' WAR • When the seal was placed on the Magna Carta in July 1215, there was a slim chance it would bring peace to England. However, both sides soon started to renege on the charter. The rebel barons refused to surrender as promised in August, and King John wrote to Pope Innocent III to have the charter annulled and the rebels excommunicated.

Adapting to other systems

PELISCHE 1941 • Back in the 1990s, I wrote two books on Russian Front wargaming. Ever since then my interest has never waned but other theatres of WWII have - how can I put it? - ‘got in the way’. So, after decades spent focusing on the likes of Normandy, the Western Desert and France 1940, I figured it was time for a return. The result is Rapid Fire's latest book - Barbarossa Border Battles - and this additional scenario.

ORDER OF BATTLE

“GO FIND THE GLOW!” • The Ridley Scott movie Black Hawk Down, based on the book of the same title by author Mark Bowden, came out in cinemas in 2001. The story portrays a brutal representation of modern combat, from October 1993, featuring outnumbered United States Rangers and Delta Operators versus Somali “hordes” in an urban environment.

ORDER OF BATTLE

BURGOYNE'S FOLLY • The first two years of the American War of Independence resulted in mixed fortunes for both sides. Sedition had spread all along the Atlantic coast and a regular “Continental” rebel main army was formed under George Washington along with smaller armies in the northern and southern colonies, all supported by locally-raised militias.

MOHAWK RIVER AMBUSH • Lt. Colonel St Leger with his mixed force of British, Hessians, loyalists, Canadians and natives had departed Lachine in late June and progressed with difficulty via the St Lawrence River, Lake Ontario and the Oswego River, reaching Lake Oneida on 2...