Editorial

The view from the editor's chair including thanks to those who responded to his pleas for articles to replenish the stock and a reminder about the wealth of interesting material that originates in that other source of erudite debate, the Society Forum (check it out).

Guardroom

Stephen Brennan serves up some fascinating material about late medieval Hebridean mercenaries as a useful extension to that provided by Anthony Clipsom in his recent article, "An Archer’s Tale".

The Rise and Fall of Nomad Military Power, part 1 c. 1000 BC - 1200 AD - by Michael Fredholm von Essen

Asiatic nomad armies created some of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. Michael Fredholm von Essen analyses the nomad strategy that eventually transformed them from tribal federations content with opportunistic raiding into empire builders.

Solo Wargaming - by John Hastings

Given the scattered nature of the Ancients wargaming community, plenty of wargamers have no choice but to adopt schizophrenia as a recreational modus operandi and play against themselves. John Hastings discusses how it is done.

Slingshot interviews Simon Hall - by Gordon Garrad

Mortem et Gloriam has become a very popular ruleset in the Ancients community. Slingshot interviews its creator, Simon Hall, and asks him about his wargaming background, rules writing career, his experience with MeG, his futures plans, the meaning of life, and so on...

The Philistines are upon you - by Richard Andrews

Heavily-equipped but unwieldy Philistines vs. lightly-armed but agile Jews is a classic gaming setup where terrain makes all the difference. Richard Andrews analyses the historical composition of the two armies and how it applies to the wargaming table.

Game Mechanics and Realism - by Anthony Clipsom

Everyone knows that realism and playability are at odds with each other. But is that really the case? Anthony Clipsom makes the argument that you can have your cake and eat it, with sufficiently plausible realism happily wedded to enjoyable gameplay.

The Murder of Evesham - by John Graham-Leigh

Evesham ended the hopes of Simon de Montfort’s supporters (and the life of de Montfort himself). John Graham-Leigh plays a refight of the battle using DBM, with a convincing result.

Assyrian 'Kallapani' - by Daniel McLaughlin

Kallapani have been a standard part of Assyrian army lists but with highly variable properties. Daniel McLaughlin examines the evidence to see if we can know anything certain about them.

Slingshot Book & Game Reviews 

Including reviews of: 

• Commands & Colors Samurai Battles by game designer: Richard Borg
• Hellenistic and Roman Naval Warfare, 336BC-31BC by John D. Graingerenn.

Guardroom

Extras about archers and some corrections about Teutons. Oh! and actual details about the Battle Day. No, really.

Roman Britain’s Lost IXth Legion - by Dr Simon Elliot

So what really happened to the Ninth? Simon Elliot puts forward four plausible hypotheses: the legion was lost in Scotland; it was annihilated/disbanded in a London revolt; it was destroyed on the Rhine or in the east. He examines the evidence and one hypothesis emerges as most likely...

When the Rules Don’t Work - Wargaming Hoplite Battles With Hail Caesar - by Gordon Lawrence

Historical inaccuracy is the eternal bugbear of rulesets and Gordon Lawrence digs up quite a few of them in Hail Caesar, such as fixed unit sizes, Greek hoplite support lines, different parts of a phalanx moving at different speeds, and so on. Answer? A little rules tinkering...

The Morale of the Armies at Cannae - by Andrew Parrock

Everyone knows that morale is one of the most important elements in an army, but what exactly morale is and how it affects the different aspects of a unit’s cohesion and fighting ability is something that needs a closer look. Andrew Parrock does some close looking.

Computer Wargaming - by David Mason

Covid lockdowns have curtailed over-the-table wargaming to a great extent, with the result that internet gaming has become much more significant. David Mason examines computer wargaming and reviews the more popular Ancients and Mediaeval PC games.

A Quick Trawl of the Net - by Retiarius

Retiarus helps fellow lockdownees find a couple of the more useful websites that deal with pre-gunpowder wargaming, with the promise of more to come.

Timoleon Brings the Thunder - by Chris Hahn

Chris Hahn takes a close look at the Battle of Crimisus from the historical perspective in order to fine-tune the composition of the armies of Carthage and Timoleon as well as devise scenario-specific rules for the battle, to be played with l’Art de la Guerre.

The Second Punic War in the Classroom - by Dr Max Nelson

One good way to motivate students to study military history is get them to play it. Dr Nelson tries Professor Sabin’s Second Punic War simulation on his own class, with great success.

Test of Resolve - Wars of the Roses - by David Knight

Test of Resolve - Wars of the Roses is a newly-released ruleset designed specifically for that era, with careful attention paid to historical accuracy as well as playability.

Wargaming through Lockdown - by Gordon Garrad

Quite a few Ancients and Mediaeval wargamers have taken to using video conferencing software like Skype, Facetime and Zoom to play games. How does it work? Gordon Garrad describes how.

The Sui-Eet Chinese Range - by Steve Neate

Outpost Wargames and Essex Miniatures have a very impressive range of 15mm figures for the Sui and Tang Chinese dynasties, as the photos supplied by Steve Neate demonstrate.

Slingshot Book & Game Reviews

The Roman Army Medical Service - by Dr Nick Summerton
Just how good were Roman military medics at treating the sometimes horrific wounds suffered by their fellow-soldiers, as well as the many diseases and ailments common at that time? Dr Summerton examines the evidence and concludes that they were not bad at all.

Bosworth with Bloody Barons - by Mark Wilson
Designed for the Wars of the Roses, Bloody Barons makes for an interesting recreation of Bosworth in which the setup rules create a different scenario each time, with different problems to solve, requiring cunning deployment, good timing, and a healthy dose of luck!

The Teutonic Order in the 13 Years’ War - by Andreas Johansson
After the disastrous battle of Tannenberg in 1410, the army of the Teutonics Knights was a very different animal from what it had been before, now consisting largely of mercenaries with very few actual Knights, but still good enough to hold off its enemies for more than a decade.

Norman Tactics - by Matthew Bennett
Why Norman troops of the 11th century were so effective across Europe has usually been attributed to the impetuous charge of their heavy cavalry. In fact, the knights were disciplined and tactically aware and part of a combined arms system with infantry spearmen and a range of missile types.

The Tertii and the Quadii - by Mark Wilson
These famous tribal troop-types have dominated the wargaming table for ages, persisting in rulesets up to the present even though the sources indicate they never actually existed.

An Archer’s Tale - by Anthony Clipsom
How is the appearance of a miniatures figure determined and what kind of research goes into deciding how he is clothed and armed? Anthony Clipsom uses an Agincourt archer as an example of how a foundry gets a figure right and (in some particulars) wrong.

The Great Revolt of the Egyptians - by Jim Webster
After the battle of Raphia in 217BC, native Egyptian soldiers in the Ptolemaic army revolted against Ptolemy Philopator, seizing the territory around Thebes. Jim Webster looks at the revolt and the kind of armies they and the Ptolemies were able to raise against each other.

Slingshot Interviews Rick Priestly - by Gordon Garrod
Everyone knows Rick Priestly wrote the rules for Warhammer, but here we get a reminder that he also created Black Powder and Hail Caesar. He answers interesting questions such as how to resolve the eternal dilemma of historicity vs playability in historical gaming.

Arabs vs Byzantines - by Ray Briggs
Breach and Scutcheon (Slingshot 333) delivers in this game between two historical opponents, where the battle sways one way and then the next, and the outcome remains uncertain until the dramatic finale.

Slingshot Book & Game Reviews