937 AD : The battle of Brunanburh – so the Anglo Saxons defeat an alliance including the Scots starting an island supremacy conflict that is arguably still going on!
Karwansaray Publications run a title called Medieval Warfare (MW) and its sister publication Ancient Warfare. They produce excellent image content along with detailed current views on historic subjects written by experts in their field. What more could one want?
In edition MW X.3 they will cover the Battle of Brunanburh fought in 937AD where King Constantine of Scotland was on the losing side but is maybe better known than the victor, King Athelstan – King Alfred the Great’s grandson.
King Alfred was King of Wessex although I suspect many simply view him as a King of the English (or even more incorrectly British, who in his day were really the Welsh). His son Edward the Elder became King of the Anglo Saxons, an upmarket move geographically speaking. It was Edwards’ son Athelstan who as King defeated King Constantine of Scotland at the unknown location of Brunanburh.
For the first time since the Roman occupation a single person could claim to rule the largest island (of the archipelago) called Albion by the ancient Greeks. And he was termed an English and not an Anglo Saxon or Wessex Ruler.
It will be interesting to see if MW X.3 puts Athelstan at the centre of the story. If they don’t and you want Athelstan’s full story then you can get a copy of Paul Hill’s “The Age of Athelstan”. Paul in 208 engaging pages with few photos seeks to correct the classic “english/british” teaching that between the Romans (dressed in classical uniforms of course) climbing on board their boat to sail back to Rome and William gazing down at Harold with an arrow in his eye, there was just Alfred (the only Great English/British king).
I am just pleased that Karwansaray have decided to run an edition covering such an obscure battle.
Better still get both the magazine and the book and really immerse yourself in a period usually dominated by the Vikings!
I have been reading up on the world of anglo saxons which strangely I have never read about in depth before. I have been drawn in by reading about the Normans. The fact is that the Normans are far more successful at having history written about them. I guess this is not surprising – Anglo Saxons were losers. Unless of course we are talking about King Alfred, who was singled out as a hero in the Viking Wars. The more I read, the more this is all feels quite unbalanced. History is all about being unbalanced despite the efforts of many historians and simply because of the efforts of others. Historians have their preferences like most people, so you can get a period neglected simply because no one takes that much interest in it.
Every day though, history is being rewritten, not least through the ever burgeoning efforts of archaelogists. So discoveries like the staffordshire hoard help the cause of “dark age” Britain.
So what about the two curators. Well in successive books I have enjoyed learning more about the “anglo-saxons” from Paul Hill and then Gareth Williams.
Paul Hill takes us on a journey through anglo-saxon warfare discussing their horsemanship, use of the bow, defence in depth “burhs”, use of the shieldwall as well as their seamanship but above all their ability to hold ground over centuries despite the viking onslaughts.Gareth Williams authors a popular format osprey comparing the fighting abilities of viking and anglo-saxon. Needless to say the softcover booklet explores more than just their combat face to face.
Paul Hill was Curator at Kingston Museum. Kingston upon Thames saw many Anglo-Saxon kings crowned so has a close relationship with the period. It is not surprising that a former curator should be pro Anglo-Saxon to the extent of writing a trilogy on their histroy and how it has been handled over the centuries. His writing style is what I would describe as traditional and he explores the subject in depth with balanced arguments and overall I enjoy his style.
I actually discovered Paul through his Norman Commanders book. I enjoyed that book enough to read his Anglo-Saxon warfare book. Now firstly it should be said he starts in 800 AD so for some that might be a bit frustrating because he does not start way back in 500AD to set the scene. He has much to discuss in the 200 year slot he set himself, so I think he was right to draw a line.
One reviewer complained about repetition. I think this is because Paul adopts a thematic approach yet still tries to develop the story over time. Inevitably he returns you to specific moments to expand on a different theme each time.
I had no problem with this yet for some people I think this would prove hard work esepecially if they just want a narrative approach.
I especially liked one section when the Anglo-Saxons caught a Viking force in an estuary, the story showing excellent viking seamanship and perhaps overly keen but equally expert Anglo-Saxon sailors caught by the tidal flows.
Paul Hill brings to life warfare in the Anglo-Saxon period and poses and answers questions, he rightly remains uncommitted where the evidence is just simply not sufficient.
Paul ends his story in 1066. In many respects this is the only thing in common with Osprey’s “Combat : Viking Warrior versus Anglo-Saxon Warrior”.
Gareth Williams a curator at the British Museum specialises in Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods so is an ideal author for the Osprey “Combat Series” booklet. He adopts an episodic approach to the timeline starting in 865 and again ending in 1066.
Even in the title the Anglo-Saxons play second fiddle, so you might be worried that such a populist series might play to the viking storyline. It does not and is a refreshing and in my view balanced narrative of the 200 years during which the Vikings made their biggest mark on Britain, ruled it, eventually being defeated comprehensively in 1066.
Unlike an earlier Osprey which bundled the Normans into the same title this author sticks to the two main participants. The book does have a postscript which briefly describes the subsequent events of 1066.
I enjoyed Gareths approach and as you would expect the content is not short of stunning artefacts from museums. It is this – the production and layout of a more “image” oriented approach that marks it out from Paul Hills text heavy book.
Both the books though make common cause to show the Anglo-Saxons have been too often “under” written while the Vikings have been “over” written.
Because Gareth wrote around 3 key battles – Ashdown 871AD, Maldon 991AD and Stamford Bridge 1066AD he compliments Paul Hills book where battles are discussed but always in the context of a theme – say seamanship, hostages or fortifications.
I liked the scene setting for each battle which briefly described the events that led to the battle, then tactics of the time and then the outcome. In each case Gareth uses the appropriate battle to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the warriors as individuals, within their warbands and as parts of an army or more usually a raiding force.
Overall then, two books which have increased my interest in this period significantly.
If you want a quick and accessible book on the subject then the osprey is spot on even to the extent of allowing you to read up on just one of the three battles in isolation.
If you want a more considered approach to aspects of warfare in the anglo saxon period then I recommend Paul Hill’s book.
I am now reading Paul Hill’s trilogy of the Anglo Saxons and their place in this island history.
The feature photograph shows my recently completed anglo saxons from strelets. More on them in a future post.
After what seems like an age my latest painting efforts are nearing completion. This dark age group is the largest I have painted in one round and that has taught me a lesson. Small is beautiful as in 40 odd figures take a while to get completed. Volume means quicker painting but overall completion is longer. I like the idea of completing one or two bases and then starting over again. That feels like a better painting cycle.
40 figures will yield either 5 medium bases of 8 figures each or I could stick with loading up 10 figures and get 4 bases of heavy infantry although these sculpts dont lend themselves to a shieldwallSome of the figures are a bit awkward like the grey clothed spearman with his back to the camera – it feels like his spear is upside down but you might think he is just lifting it to his shoulder for forming a shield wall – then his pose makes more sense. Sometimes I think the strelets sculpters are underrated.I like the three figures standing ready. The man with his axe to his shoulder is particularly good as is his detailing. Again the cloaked axeman to his left is a nice sculpt of a standing figure. The other figure in this trio holds his left hand high while resting on his axe. All in all three nice figures.Overall I am very happy with these figures. Some of the white shields will receive transfers otherwise they just need varnishing and then basing.
Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
Dover Lighthouse by the Romans is featured in the latest set of Royal Mail stamps
The Royal Mail have just issued some new stamps showing aspects of Roman Britain. Dover Lighthouse is one while the Roman Cavalry helmet in the feature image is another.
It set me thinking and a quick check confirms it I suggest. No Angles, Northumbrians, Mercians or Saxons have been commemorated by the Royal Mail.
OK so the Anglo Danish army feature in the 900th anniversary Hastings stamps of the last century. But that is a Norman story really.
And Bretwalda Raedwald (an East Anglian king) who was maybe Sutton Hoo man made a bit part in the 2003 British Museum set.
But surprisingly King Alfred – the Great of course – has yet to get on an envelope as far as I can see. So maybe the Royal Mail should do a set of “English” (whatever that term really means in a dark age discussion) Kings from the dark ages – Offa (except he was a Mercian), Athelstan, Edward the Elder, Edgar (all West Saxons though) and maybe even Cnut. Cnut was admittedly Danish but we tended to call him Canute so he can be an angle or saxon englishman if we squint a bit!
And what about the Kings of Wales, Ireland and Scotland during the 500 odd years between Roman Britains’ demise and the Norman Conquest? Surely the Royal Mail could have made something of characters like High King Brian Boru, King Malcolm II or Rhodri the Great to highlight the diverse history of all these islands off the european coast.
Actually Alderney island published some stamps with interesting artwork showing the battle of hastings; note artwork not blocks of stone or metal artefacts.
The Romans look a bit boring set against these more mysterious Dark Ages characters.
Relax to hundreds of Daphnia Magna? as they dance around or “flea jump” under water. Oh and a baby frog or old tadpole hides badly while some tadpoles come from the deep to breathe
These figures are quite slight and in soft plastic so we shall see hwther they paint up well and fit with my other forces for 11th century Italian Wars
So some more 1/72 reinforcements mainly early medieval for my Normans in the South project which will at some point include Byzantines.
Byzantines are sadly lacking in 1/72 so I will have to do some conversions of late romans and el cid HAT ranges.
Lets start with an odd one out!
These grenadiers of Louis XIV are a nice set and will complement my great northern war Zvezda forcesThese are all either going into my late roman war forces or just maybe will be reworked to make late byzantine cavalry which are few and far between back covers of 1/72 Medium and Cataphract Cavalry by HattI already have quite a few of these two sets and it does not hurt to have some spare when your building 11th century european armies of any type.Not as good back cover art as Zvezda although they show what you actually get in one case. somehow the unpainted figures promise more which is a bit unfair as the painted box art must be at least 10 years old at a time when strelets had nowhere near the resources of a company like ZvezdaThese are great figures and I look forward to painting them. some will make it into my planned Varangian Guard unit for my Byzantine 11th century force.The Zvezda back of box pictures of the painted figures just cry out to be bought. The animation is fantastic although better suited to loose and open fighting rather than showing a shieldwall These figures are quite slight and in soft plastic so we shall see whether they paint up well and fit with my other forces for 11th century Italian WarsThese are currently my best bet for building forces of Byzantine Cavalry around the 11th century. I can’t use all of them and the horse fittings look a bit suspect.
I had seen these figures by Orion many times on screen and decided against purchase. But byzantines in 1/72 is not a happy hunting ground. So I have taken the plunge.4 identical strips giving you 52 figures in 13 poses. it says on the box 11th to 14th century – so for my needs – 10/11th century they should work.One strip showing the flash that plastic soldier review complained about generally. back and front with some awkward poses to deal with and the other issue that plastic soldier review mentioned – flatnessbut look at the detail – plastic soldier praised the detail on many orion products of this era, sad that poor mould/manufacture compromised these figures. The animation like more recent strelets releases is what I like Next up again Byzantines in 1/72 are few so again a set I had looked at many times were finally purchased.You get two rounds of small unarmoured cavalry plus one sprue of horseman. The infamous? flash is visible.If the flash proves to be a non issue in prep, I think I have another promising set of figures with some excellent detail on well proportioned figures.These byzantine infantry are on the edge of my project timeline – 11th century. But again some nice designs should prove useable.The dark plastic does not do justice to the design quality – I hope my average painting will not let them down.These chaps are almost too early but I reckon you have some latitude in this era – ” we have not had new uniforms here in decades the new recruit was informed by the byzantine clothing department”Again the flash is present but also again some good designs and excellent detailsAnd now for something completely different! Strelets doing Marlbrough. Despite having hundreds of Zvezda Russians and Swedes I had to try some. I think these are my preference from the BritishOne command sprue and 4 rounds of infantry. sufficient poses that are similar. Unlike my dark age figures I like a degree of uniformity in my “baroque” era armies.Some complementary reading matter from a reknowned author Paddy Griffiths – I remember a library book by him on gross scaling of simulated battles as in army level or corps level etc. Great ideas. This book will complement my biography of the master builder Vauban.And we finish up with two more books on the anglo saxons – in themselves a side project of my “Normans in the South”. One day I will read John Julius Norwich Both books are by Paul Hill and having enjoyed his Norman Commanders and nearly finished his Anglo Saxons at War books I have taken a punt on these earlier two books which having more sweeping titles. A quick look at the contents suggests Paul will stick with his thematic – episodic approach which some reviewers did not like but I think it helps in what is a difficult era to write clearly about. Now i really need to crack on with my saxons and angles.
Back in 2018 after a trip to Sicily my Condotta armies project began to go off the rails. The reason was simply that a visit to Palermo fired up my interest in the Normans rather than say the fabulous Baroque architecture of the city.
And then I picked up a copy of Early Medieval Italy by Chris Wickham (MacMillan Press) 1981 – ISBN 0 333 26672 2. I still have not read beyond page 60 yet not through lack of interest. It looks a great book (on flick through) for the period of Lombard domination of the Italian peninsula. And this period does not seem awash with books of this type.
a rare look at organisation in early medieval Italy?
It simply reminded me that before the Normans arrived in Italy and after the end of Belisarius the whole of Italy was subject to numerous invasions and fragmented rule. Great for wargames and as a backdrop to “imaginative wargaming”.
Within weeks my Condotta project had been abandoned and I was back in the “dark ages” or early medieval period. It was not long before I switched to Carolingian history with two books about Charlemagne.
Before that another chance bookshop visit resulted in two books I quickly read. The first “A Brief History of the Normans: How the Viking Tribe Came to Conquer Europe by Francois Neveux published by Robinson english edition 2008 ISBN-10 1845295234. The second was “The Lost King of England” by Gabriel Ronay published by Boydell Press ISBN 0 85115 785 8 (paperback 2000).
The book about the Normans is unusual I suspect – a french writer translated to english or should that be Anglish? The Anglish have written extensively about the Normans as they are a key part of the “british empire” mythmaking. After all, all Empires need to make a narrative, a back story and myth making is a key part of it. Professor Neveux comes from Caen so Normandy is his back yard, so to speak and he would have first hand slightly different source material and crucially secondary material/opinion differing in perspective. The book gets a “ok” score on “good reads” with lots adverse comments about poor proof reading. And yes there are plenty of typos. However the value of the book was its purpose to start sometime before the popular english view of the Normans as in “in 1066 the Normans appeared from nowhere and invaded England”. And of course except for a little damp eyed look at the Saxons of Alfred the English quickly move onto “Anglo-Normans” and their inevitable journey of conquest.
So I can see why this book was not that loved. It maybe reads far better in french? The point is that it made me think about that period prior to 1066 a bit more and tying into my recent discovery of Chris Wickhams book I was swirling around the 8th Century.
A refreshing look at anglo saxons in a european context
Gabriel Ronay’s book was a surprise – I had no idea Aethelings could travel so far. I liked the story of Edward the exile and along with it a view of a more joined up northern european world than many history books would have you believe.
A good read in my view although I am not so sure about some of the connections the author makes about the Aethelings themselves.
And then nothing. Zilch. I had quite a long gap where wargaming dark age history took a back seat. But boy did I read. Now reading about history is the thing for me. My wargames interests such as they are, are driven by what I am reading. If I am erratic on wargaming at least I am a consistent reader of mainly military history. The books come first not the games, figures or rules.
I read Peter Heather’s monumental Empires & Barabarians which caused me to reread his Decline of the Roman Empire in short order plus I read two crazy books (again from charity shops) plus some I bought at the Colours Show at Newbury.
The Newbury “buys” were Carolingian Cavalry published by Osprey & Vandals by Simon McDowell published by Pen & Sword.
This is definitely not a book of illustrations for those who see Charlemagne as a an Emperor surrounded by classically dressed roman troops albeit with uniquely quirky Carolingian Crested Helmets. Instead you get a stoic view of the Carolingians defending their fragile EmpireA passionate story “for” the Vandals
From the Charity shop I bought Arthur & British Kings – the TRUTH! by Martin Russell published in 2016; plus St Albans – a pocket history book (published in the early 1920’s).
Martin was brave to include Arthur and TRUTH in his book title. It was on sale at Fishbourne Palace https://sussexpast.co.uk/ – a location which does convey a feeling of lived in Roman Britain to me.
Despite being written 100 years apart and under very different contexts, reading them together meant I could easily compare them. And the core story was there. So even though Martin was intent on giving us chapter and verse about an apparent medieval fiction he managed to provide the essential continuity story of what we would call today the south of england.
I suppose that would also be more the “west saxon” or wessex history as well. I actually enjoyed his book although it required a lot of concentration to retain the story line about Arthur he wanted to convey.
The 1920’s St Albans pocket history did what it said and in short order told the story of a great city with an ancient past. It was also an easy read and not too “empirish” in its style, given when it was published the British Empire was still the “force” across the globe.
Enjoying Simon McDowells “The Vandals” (published by Pen & Sword 2016 ISBN 978 1 47383 770 6) I descended back into the Later Roman period – another of my favorite reading subjects. “The Vandals” does a good job of explaining the journey of a much maligned tribal grouping. The authors passion for his subject shines through.
“Patricians & Emperors” by Ian Hughes (published by Pen & Sword 2015 ISBN 978 1 84884 412 4) shows an equal passion. He has been a prolific late roman period author. Ian’s writing style was harder for me although I admire his dedication to dig out effective mini biographies of the various shadow like players at the end of empire. This makes it an unusual book style unless I am mistaken?
Tempting mini biographies of each of the “faint” rulers at end of empire
I enjoyed both these books and they drew me into the period. It was not long before I was thinking about Visigoths and Merovingians though. I am digressing yet again!
The Peter Heather double header of “The Fall of the Roman Empire” and “Empires & Barbarians” (published by Maxmillan 2005 ISBN 0-333-98914-7 and 2009 ISBN 978-0-333-98975-3 respectively) are worth the read and with a combined page count of 1077 give you lots of background on the main story. It never ceases to amaze me that Apollinaris Sidonius still seemed to project an almost classsic roman world when the dark ages were apparently already well underway in places like the british isles.
My go to read of the “fall”A new (for me) and revealing story of the wider europe offering a different view of the Roman Empire and its long northern european border world
These led me to the Penguin Classic of Gregory of Tours and his history of the Franks translated by Lewis Thorpe. I bought the 1974 paperback publication in a charity shop by chance again. I tend to browse randomly and just buy these older books on the hoof. It leads to my meandering across subjects, one of the pleasures of history I think.
No stirrups in Gregory’s time but that is the fun of this contentious period – every day archeaology throws up new facts about these times and inevitably provides new material for historians to argue over
Already a good read, I have yet to finish “Gregory” as my mind was turned yet again this time by a magazine article about “The battle of Vlaardingen” in Medieval Warfare VIII-3 published by Karwansaray B.V.. That sent me forward into Ottonian times. And before you know it another charity purchase brought me back to “Charlemagne – The Great Adventure” by Derek Wilson published by Hutchinson in 2005 ISBN 0-0917-9461-7. I enjoyed this book which at just over 200 pages sticks to the subject. Derek even ventures into the more modern usage and views of Charlemagnes Empire.
a good light general read about a ruler usually ignored in the english history themes of the anglo saxons versus the vikings which at this time tend to be introspective.
So back to Gregory then – nope – Another Pen & Sword publication took me sideways into the anglo-saxon world of Offa or should I say Mercian? This is the underated King of the Mercians – note not angles or saxons or english as that is reserved for the ever popular King Alfred. Chris Peers booklist is african and asian so this seems a one off by him. It shows I think in some of the content he chooses to dwell upon which reduces the books value. The fact that I have never read any book before on Offa means that he has done some good though in atttracting me to this subject. In fact my tortured view of the dark ages of these british islands is – the end of Roman rule, celts again, lots of squabbling anglo saxon visitors – british/welsh in retreat – sutton hoo – then the vikings and alfred (brief recovery), vikings, norse, danes visiting and staying again before the great fall after Hastings. Not much else. The Mercians seem mercurial.
good introduction to the Mercians and their battles – a good corrective for the overt West Saxon story of the english
“Offa and the Mercian Wars has got me thinking otherwise. And the net result is more dark age “anglish” history to consume before I get back to Italy and the Normans. Still it has sustained my painting of anglo saxons or maybe thats now mercians as well.
Having reviewed my thoughts on horsemen for my Normans in the South project I am going to take a quick look at infantry. Did you spot the SHQ 20mm in the lead photo?
For my command bases I plan to use Tumbling Dice Miniatures command packs which provide both mounted and foot options. These foot are respectively 2 normans to the left and 2 anglo saxons to the right.here are a strelets norman at left and strelets anglo saxon to the right. The plastic and metal foot match well I think.These are the tallest strelets anglo saxons I could find and the match between plastic and metal is again fine. Note their breadth is to frontface, so both products are thinner as you look along the line.1970’s Garrison viking to left and Citadel Crusader to the right are ostensibly classic 25mm figures. They make the 1/72 scale Tumbling Dice guys look a bit small.1970’s Lamming bigheaded anglo saxon on the left and norman on the right. Oh dear what was happening in the 1970’s!The guy at left is an SHQ 20mm saracen archer. I picked these up at Newbury or Reading shows when I was after some newline figures in the flesh which turned out to be the wrong size for me. SHQ were there and I took some of their crusades range – really nice figures.The middle grey/red normans/saxons show that even within strelets there is a height and bulk variation – which I likeThe SHQ archer is just that smidgen smaller than the TD norman but both seem less bulky and shorter than the strelets norman. I think once painted and based these minor differences in height/bulk will simply improve the look of the bases if anything2010’s Perry burgundians (ironically plastic) show the morphing of 25mm to 28mm and beyond.
At least tumbling dice and SHQ are still offering metals in the traditional scales of 20/25mm and 1/72. And they carry good detail, have realistic posing and are not too bulky. I may mix in some command foot with strelets figures on some of my fighting bases.
Without drifting too much into the issue of scale in wargaming, this post covers my solution regarding mixing metallics and plastics for my Normans in the South project.
So the lead in photo shows horsemen because this is where the most pronounced differences tend to show up.
left to right we have
Strelets 1/72 Norman cavalry
Tumbling Dice 1/72 Norman and Saxon cavalry (command figures!)
Citadel 25mm Mongol cavalry
Citadel 25mm Saracen cavalry
Lamming 25mm Norman Cavalry
Greenwood & Ball (Garrison) 25mm Viking Cavalry
Lancashire Games 25mm Malburian Cavalry
Typical BIG 28mm cavalry (ok he gets a base as well to make the point)
It is also worth noting the base thicknesses in these photos.
the small saracen then the big viking even bigger malburian and rather small saxon1970’s citadel mongol and saracen plus Garrison viking show how the horse can influence sizeThe Tumbling Dice Norman horse could almost get by with the Lamming Norman yet the rider size especially the head suggests not. The Mongol horse is compatibale with the TD Norman horse but again the bulk of the figure suggests they will look wrong togetherThings look slightly better head on for the cavalry
What I have found is that in the raw you notice height, bulk and head size. These then affect how you see the figures. Once painted and based the differences seem to be less pronounced.
I plan to use all these somehow!
The last shot shows – SHQ 20mm saracen; strelets 1/72 norman; Hatt 1/72 ElCid cavalry; Tumbling Dice 1/72 norman and lastly another Hatt 1/72 Hun.
Bases are similar thickness so no adjustment needed or to be exploited.
OK last point – my solution.
Using some maths – 12 inches or a foot being 304.8mm for my purposes. Now assuming someone 6 foot high you get the following in real height of 1828.8 mm; at 1:87 (HO) = 21mm; 1:76 (OO) = 24mm; 1:72=25mm; 1:65=28mm and 1:56=32mm (fractions ignored)
So marrying 20mm (1/87) and 25mm (1/72) figures should be tricky although apparently less than 25 to 28mm.
But here is the rub research by a top university shows that the average height of people living in england changed as follows.
167cm pre roman; 170cm roman; less during the dark ages (no figure given because it was dark!) 172cm circa 1066 and 173cm by the 1100’s. Then it drops until recovering to 173-174cm during the period 1400 to 1650. Heights then declined to less than 169cm by the 1800’s! by 1970 we were averaging 177cm.
So that means for a 1/72 warrior he could a 23mm celt; 23.6mm legionaire; 24 mm norman; or a 23mm british redcoat again in the 1800’s. In short averages throw up millimetre differences so actual variations in height will be even greater. So in 1/72 a 21mm (4foot 11inches) high figure next to a 24mm (5foot 11inches) high figure is possible. Add to that variations in helmet shape and size and freedom beckons.
Finally it really comes down to the figures you like, I like the SHQ Saracens, I like the tumbling dice norman and saxon commands and I like the strelets norman and saxons (yes with hands the size of heads!)
so my solution has to be : I will take some notice of scale, maybe more about bulk than height, and paint the figures I like. I can always squint at the jarring mismatches when they do happen.
Happy Painting & Wargaming.
postscript – scale creep was always with us and good enough in “charge or how to play wargames” anyway. Are those “half round lancers on ponies?”
The Wargaming Erratic 
