Review "Many of the most famous British and French regiments saw action in the Peninsular War, which claimed more than a million lives before it ended in defeat for Napoleon. A number of wargamers have been attracted to this theater of warfare due to the “Sharpe” novels by Bernard Cornwell and the ensuing television series. In “Wargame Scenarios: The Peninsular War 1808-1814,” coauthors John Sutherland and Diane Canwell show it can be refought in any scale and at any level, from a skirmish to a massive pitched battle....Informative black and white maps, diagrams, and tables are peppered throughout...very good book" (Toy Solder & Model Figure) Read more About the Author Diane Canwell has written widely on historical subjects, in particular on military and aviation history, and has long been fascinated by the history of Norfolk and its military heritage. Among her many books are The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918-1986, The Battle of Jutland and Air War Malta.Jonathan Sutherland has written widely on historical subjects, in particular on military and aviation history, and has long been fascinated by the history of Norfolk and its military heritage. Among his many books are The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918-1986, The Battle of Jutland and Air War Malta. Read more
M**S
Not recommended if you have read any other books on the Peninsular War
This will not add a lot to the knowledge of wargamers who have read the histories of the Peninsular War and the maps are inexcusably bad. This doesn't hold a candle to an old Napoleon's Battles scenario book in terms of detailing the fun special aspects of a battle - reinforcements, special rules, and especially terrain.Terrain can not only shape a battle but it also adds a lot of fun and atmosphere, and gives Peninsular games part of their flavour. The maps here are extremely basic, and exclude much of the detail that is available from a cursory Google search of a battle map from a given Peninsular battle. The book has not boiled down battlefield terrain into its fundamental characteristics but rather wiped away the detail in favour of very bland maps that anyone could make with a pen and paper in five minutes.The one upside is that the book does break down order of battle and commanders by quality, which has some value.
J**E
A useful piece of work that allows gamers to use fairly ...
A useful piece of work that allows gamers to use fairly generic OBs to recreate the great (and not so great) battle from the Peninsula War. The hardest part is converting historic strength to the tabletop and this book makes suggestions, both for strengths and ratings. While I don't expect to refight all the battles, this will help our group play through several. Recommended.
R**S
Lacking in basic information one would expect to be provided.
The book provides a summary history of the Penisula battles in Spain 1808-14. The problem is that the wargame scenarios are designed for a specific set of rules available in the UK. Some of the information provided (like list of units involved, and the rather clunky map sketches) can reasonably be carried over into other rules. However there is fundamental information missing, like unit strengths which ought to be provided. For my purposes this shortcoming makes the book useless, or at least far overpriced. If I want a history I would buy a detailed history book, not pay $20 for a summary. If I want wargame scenarios, I expect to see reasonable orders of battle including unit strengths. I intended to return the book and get at least part of my money back, but complications in my personal situation caused me to delay past Amazon's allowable return date.
J**I
Four Stars
Some good Scenarios but the Order of Battles could have been better.
M**N
Whats going on with this title?
$373 is the price? Surely an error here that needs to be fixed, yes? I had this one on preorder 2 months ago then it disappeared from my account entirely. Now I find the title in a search and it is $373!!!!
Trustpilot
2 days ago
4 days ago
