The Onin War 1467-77 by Stephen Turnbull The author, Stephen Turnbull, has become synonymous with the history of Japan and especially of t...
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The Onin War 1467-77 by Stephen Turnbull
The Japanese Battleship Nagato by Dmitry Mironov These books by Kagero on warships are subtitled "Super ...
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The Japanese Battleship Nagato by Dmitry Mironov
The book also comes with a separate black and white scale drawing of the Nagato. The ship is seen in 1:350th scale, while the main turrets are done in 1:200 scale, and the small guns etc. are done in 1:50th scale.
The Nagato was laid down in 1917, and for a few years she and her sister-ship Mutsu were arguably the toughest battleships on the planet. The Nagato's original bow was a problem in heavy seas, and it needed to be completely redesigned.
The ship was updated at several times during its career. She was actually the flagship of the Japanese first battleship squadron, at least until the Yamato came along. The Nagato was bombed several times during World War II, but she was one of the few remaining Japanese capital ships to survive the war.
The drawings in the book show the Nagato as she looked in 1944. The only thing I would have liked to see added would be to have a few cross section cut-away drawings of the inside of the ship.
For the modeller and hobbyist, this book and Kagero's numerous other naval books are a gold mine of information.
Robert
Book: The Japanese Battleship Nagato
Author: Dmitry Mironov
Publisher: Kagero
Distributor: Casemate Publishers
Twenty years ago I read the seminal work on Nazi Germany: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. I am glad I can now cr...
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Rising Sun: The rise and fall of the Japanese Empire by John Toland
Twenty years ago I read the seminal work on Nazi Germany: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. I am glad I can now cross Rising Sun by John Toland off of my book-bucket list. Rising Sun is every bit as authoritative and detailed as Shirer's work and I consider it the Pacific companion to Shirer's earlier work. In fact, I think that the lineage between the two books is quite clear and I am almost certain that John Toland was inspired by William Shirer's book.
The Pacific Theatre holds a particular fascination for me. Despite the number of books and documentaries I have read and viewed, I found Toland's book to be the most well-explained and detailed analysis of the pre-war period I have experienced to-date. I must admit to struggling with the sheer volume of names and political shenanigans but in all, I learnt more from this one book than I did from nearly all of the others I have read combined.
Iwo Jima: D-Day |
In reading this book I feel I have attended The University of the Pacific Theatre, although I would probably graduate with a measly third or two-two at best. I feel wholly unqualified to review this Pulitzer-winning magnum-opus. The sheer quantity of information, especially Japanese names, left me stumped on a few occasions ("Who was he again?") but I got more comfortable with it and was fairly fluent in my Togo's and my Tojo's (very different people) by the 600th page, or 2/3rds of the way through this half-a-tree book.
Marines on Tarawa |
In most books about the Pacific Theatre, the behaviour of Japanese soldiers is often held up as barbaric and our Allied 'heroes' are paragons of virtue. As Winston Churchill himself wrote, 'History is written by the victors' and this book does an excellent job of not just recalling those well-known crimes, but explaining and humanising them without excusing them. It also counterbalances that with some appalling accounts of actions of US forces which are not often mentioned in accounts of the Pacific Theatre.
Bataan Death March |
During the war, many Asian nations, sought self-rule and viewed Tojo (the Japanese Prime Minister) as a figurehead of Asian power and a model of how to fight against their 'masters'. There did appear to be several senior Japanese politicians and military men so averse to give Hirohito, the Emperor, any bad news that the war continued in vain. Toland makes it quite clear that the Emperor attempted many times to extricate his country from a War Japan knew it couldn't win even before it started.
Hirohito |
Apologies for getting all philosophical, but this is a weighty book, dealing with a heavy subject, not just that of war but also of national and personal identity. It shows how simple mistakes and misunderstandings can cause events to wheel out of control very easily, given the right heady-brew of personalities...
I can recommend this book it to everyone, unfortunately, it's only going to appeal to a very small niche of society, although it has probably found a much wider audience in American and Japanese markets - I'm glad I've been in that audience.
広島平和記念碑 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial |
*I'm including Great Britain and Northern Ireland in that statement still...
Japanese Battleships 1905-1942 by Miroslaw Skwiot Japanese battleships; the list of them is a long one: the Mika...
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Japanese Battleships 1905-1942 by Miroslaw Skwiot
Sengoku Jidai DLC Gempei Kassen ...
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Sengoko Jidai DLC Gempei Kassen by Slitherine
by
Slitherine
The Gempei war in Japan was fought in the 12th century in Japan. It was a time of the 'cloistered emperors'. At this time the ruling emperor was usually a cypher and or a child. The adult emperors who had given up the throne carried the real power in their kimono. Sometimes you had up to three emperors at one time vying for control of the government. The Fujiwara family was also deep into the power struggle by being the emperors highest servants and also marrying into the royal family. The war starts because a cloistered emperor brought into the mix the two most powerful military families in Japan, the Taira and the Minamoto, thinking to use these families just as every other piece had been used in the power struggle. The plan backfires on the imperials, and ushers in the age of the Shogun. For the next 600-plus years, the emperor becomes a nonentity while the Shogun rules Japan.
The DLC for this game, Sengoku Jidai, is an attempt to bring the battles of the two families out of the mist of history, and onto your computer screen. The DLC takes place roughly four hundred years earlier than the battles in Sengoku Jidai. This is a time when the Samurai was much more of an archer than a swordsman, and the tales of the warriors of these times represent that fact.
Due to the mist that is present in Japanese history in the 12th century, we know of some battles and what warlord died and when. What we do not have is actual lists to be able to make out OOBs for the different battles of the Gempei War. So the decision was made by Byzantine Games to not falsify history and make some OOBs up. Instead, the DLC is based solely on skirmish mode in the game without any historical battles. It is an unfortunate but correct decision based on the records.
There has been some discussion on the web about the choice of the names of the two sides in the war. The Minamoto are listed as anti-imperials, while the Taira are listed as pro-imperials. I understand that while it is not technically correct; both were pro themselves and anti everyone else. You are still able to kick some 12th century Minamoto butt with your Taira troops, so it all works out in the end.
Minamoto no Yoritomo is the strongman who set up the shogunate after the crushing defeat of the Taira at the sea battle of Dan-No-Ura. He then consolidated his position by the hounding and then murder of his half brother Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune was a greatly revered swordsman whose battle with the monk Benkei, and their companionship and travels after the fight, loom large in Japanese folklore.
Sengoku Jidai is a game for anyone interested in the history of Japan. This DLC makes it more interesting with the new units and different strategies needed to win with your 12th century armies. Please see my review of Sengoku Jidai: http://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2016/05/sengoku-jidai-review.html
Robert
Game : Sengoku Jidai DLC: Gempei Kassen
Developer: Byzantine Games
Publisher: Slitherine Games
Steam Release Date: 9/8/2016
Review Date: 10/1/2016
GATO LEADER As promised, my next undertaking is an AAR for Gato Leader . I decided on this route, because a review would have simp...
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GATO LEADER AAR
Gato Leader :
Includes some differing Special Missions, such as Mine and Recon/Rescue.
Wolfpacks are handled differently. In fact, I would personally have called them something else, as I don't think that the Americans used this term. Essentially, you chose whether or not a number of submarines begin as a group together in the same port. So, no seeing whether a Convoy turns out to be a valuable target and then trying to call in other subs.
Takes us up to 1945, whereas U-Boat only goes as far as 1943, so there is more possibility of using radar.
Provides Forward Operating Bases [that can be purchased with Special Ops points]which allow for removing Stress points and reloading torpedoes.
Takes account of the inferior quality of torpedoes by having a set of rules for dud torpedoes and a chart to roll on. At its worst , none of your torpedoes may hit and in plenty of cases at least half will be duds! [Technically, this is not a totally new rule addition as U-Boat Leader 2nd edition has an optional rule for dud torpedoes.]
Allows for reloading torpedoes while on the Tactical Display.
So, with that said, on to ...
Silversides [Veteran + Torpedo Modifier]
A closer look at Guardfish, loaded up with 10 torpedoes Ready and another 14 Stored on board.
It has markers showing its 6 gunnery factors and the Torp modifier.
Silversides
Lone Merchant - expend 1 torpedo and score 1 VP
Nimitz Takes Notice - gain 2 SOs if you score equal or more than 10 VPs this turn.
The unfortunate Silversides which has picked up 5 Stress pts
just by sailing in to the South China Sea
Convoy card 043 showing where the relevant unknown ship markers should be placed
*[At this point, with two Escorts at range zero, panic set in and I forgot that Tautog had the Aggressive quality and could have fired at the Escorts before they could fire at him.]
Instead, not too surprisingly, the sub opts to Deep Dive to attempt to avoid the imminent attacks, first it takes 2 Stress points as a result of making the Deep Dive. Though avoiding drawing damage tokens for attacks from the three Escorts, the sub still has to roll against its evasion rating and is successful for two of the three attacks, but fails against the other and so takes a temporary Flooding marker. Not good, but could have been much, much worse if the Escorts' attacks had gone in.
[Crash Dive, which is what you do if you are attacked while on the surface, states quite clearly that an Evasion roll is made for each Escort attacking you. With a Deep Dive, the rules are not 100% clear as to whether you make an Evasion roll for each separate Escort, as I did, or whether it's a single die roll.]
[Again, a point worth raising. In both Gato and U-Boat Leader, there are no restrictions on Escorts sailing into and through Convoy Sectors. In my review of U-Boat Leader, I queried the historical validity of this total freedom. Still not sure how appropriate this is.]
[In the image above, Tautog has just successfully rolled for Silent Running and its speed drops to zero. Consequently, in the Lag Movement phase, the sub will move two Sectors due south, towards the Convoy's wake.]
* [I realised much later, I had made a mistake here. The attack by Silversides would have placed an Alert counter on the Tactical Display which would have increased the Escorts' detection range by one and put Silversides in potential detection range of the Escorts.]
Silversides records his 10 VPs and 7 Experience Points on the Campaign Log.
Each sub gains 1 Stress at this stage.
Silversides moves to 9 Stress, and so I decide to place the sub back onto the Campaign Map in the Area's Searched Box.
Tautog decides to fire off 5 torpedoes at each Merchant ship [this causes them to be revealed as the Anyo Maru and the Tatuwa Maru].
Tautog also records 4 VPs and 3 Experience points.
Some time later...
Once all your subs have been activated and gone through the processes that I've detailed, you move to the last Segment Refit.]
Promote Submarines
First of all, this was a hugely enjoyable experience, though it took 10 A-4 pages of careful record keeping just to cover the details that covered half of the Campaign and several sessions that tallied about nine hours in total. To play the game, without all the written record keeping to produce this AAR, is [I can assure you] a whole lot quicker!
I'd like to thank DVG, who very kindly sent with the game the Expansion Ship Miniatures and Battle Board which provides a mounted Tactical Display board twice the size of the smaller board in the game itself. But, as mentioned in my review of U-Boat Leader, the latter is rather small for the number of counters and markers likely to be placed on it.
I love the expansion, but it does add another £22.99 to the cost of the overall package.
Both U-Boat Leader 2nd Edition and Gato Leader are for me excellent additions to my solitaire experience. I imagine that the UK gamer may well settle for the former and the US gamer for the latter. Both give equally satisfying and rewarding experiences.
Another impressive collection from Thomas Gunn gets reviewed. It really is a great day when a parcel arrives from Thomas Gunn, ful...
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Thomas Gunn latest releases.
Another impressive collection from Thomas Gunn gets reviewed.
The first miniature is a historical professional footballer from WW1. His name is Ben Butler and he enlisted into the Pals battalion 17th Middlesex which was also known as the first footballers' battalion. Prior to enlisting, he played for Reading and Queens Park Rangers. Sadly he never got to play professional football again as he was wounded by enemy shelling in 1916 around Lens and like many others in the 'Great War' died of his wounds.
The next historical figure from WWI is war artist Muirhead Bone GW066A. With the first name of Muirhead it's obvious he was a Scotsman. He was commissioned an 'honorary second lieutenant' and sent to France in May'16 as the first Official British War Artist. He was sent to capture life in France with his pen and paper. Lithographs were the big thing back then and he produced two volumes and around 150 lithographs. After the War he was knighted and during WW2 did similar work. He died 21st October 1953.
There is also another war artist GW066B; this time Australian War artist George Lambert. He produced some excellent images of Anzac cove in Gallipoli.
Muirhead and George are limited to 100 each and retail at £32.
The Tinker GW067A. This is another exciting little set that oozes atmosphere and is a diorama in its own right. The 'tinker' has grabbed the officer's wicker chair, whilst he is out on a long recon patrol. Having put up the campaign table, he's decided to get some minor repairs done to the mess kitchen equipment, which had been damaged during the previous night as the pilots let off steam. With a cigarette firmly gripped between his lips, he picks up his hammer and one of the pans, which needs a few dents hammered out, and goes to work. Funny, he thinks to himself, those pilots certainly got hammered last night, hehe, especially young Jones. I do hope he comes back safely today, being his batman has been very pleasant. Most likely the best officer so far. Not to say the other four had been bad in any way, just something about Jones reminds me of my son I suppose. God rest his soul, god rest all their souls, though hopefully Cpt Waverly is a prisoner; I liked him.
Altogether we have nine pieces. The first is the actual figure seated in a wicker chair. Then we have a campaign table, a hammer, large pot, pot lid, cup, two small pans and a large spoon. The hammer and one of the pans you slot into his hands. It really is a great set though be careful as it would be very easy to lose a cup or pan, as they are very small. This chap is busy repairing some kitchen equipment, with the obligatory cigarette in his mouth. He is sitting outside and if you look closely you can see tufts of grass. Such amazing detail and little touches like this put a smile on my face. Everything has been sculpted with great care even the little cups and pans. The wicker chair looks excellent. You'd think it was made from wicker, just as the campaign table looks to be made from wood. The paintwork is yet again faultless (honestly I do look for something to fault, just every little thing has been done to such a great degree I can't find anything). He comes in a silver box and great care has gone into the padding.
There is also a German variant GW067B. This time in German dress.
Still with WW2 the next miniature is Australian Sentry RS044. He has a black and green insignia on both shoulders and I've tried to see if this is a specific Australian regiment of a standard Australian insignia. I have seen the same for a New South Wales regiment but couldn't be sure it was from WW2. He is wearing the easily recognisable slouch hat. Standing to attention, he has his rifle over his right shoulder. His canteen is attached to his webbing and sits at his right hip, his bayonet on his left hip. Two ammo pouches hang on either side of his waist. The paint work again is excellent. His brass buttons, belt buckle cap insignia, collar insignia and the buckles on his boots have all been picked out. He sports a fine moustache. He seems all set for future deployment, most likely somewhere in the Pacific. There is no variant. He comes in a silver box and is well protected with foam padding. Limited to 100 he retails at £32.
Last to be reviewed this time is one of Thomas Gunn's bigger pieces. A WW2 Japanese SPG (camouflage) RS035A which was released this month. The SPG is the Type 1 Ho-Ni - Japan's first self propelled gun of this type employed by the Japanese during WW2. It used the Type 967 tank chassis. The turret was removed and replaced by a 75mm type 90 field gun mounted on a cut out chassis. With 10 degrees of traverse and -5 to +25 degrees of elevation plus being able to traverse 20 degrees either side, it didn't have to turn to be able to engage the enemy, unlike say Germany's Stug. It carried 54 rounds of ammunition, but a major drawback was a lack of MG for defence, so was very vulnerable to close assault by infantry.
I really can't fault the modelling. It looks fantastic. Though I'm unfamiliar with this vehicle, I have no doubt it's historically correct right down to the number of rivets showing. This is the first large Thomas Gunn piece I've been able to handle and it doesn't disappoint. It's also very reasonably priced. The SPG comes with a Japanese miniature holding a shell. He's all ready to put it into the gun's breach. The miniature is of the usual high standard. Faultless paintwork, just like the SPG. You can place him on either side of the gun but I have him on the left hand side just like in the pictures. There is a variant, RS035B, which isn't camouflaged ,but comes in dark green Japanese army paint.
It comes in a silver box and extensive foam padding. Both versions are limited to 100 and retail at £135.
Well I've come to the end of my third Thomas Gunn review. My enthusiasm for their miniatures just keeps growing and growing. I do hope you've enjoyed reading the review and do yourself a favour, get collecting! Until the next time!
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