With Fire and Sword is the first of Henryk Sienkiewicz’ three volume trilogy on the Northern Wars of the 17th century during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. It’s a terrific read and a must for anyone interested in the period. The novels are long, because like Dickens, Sienkiewicz’s work first was serialized in newspapers.
Its free right now on Amazon. And you don’t need a Kindle. Most smartphones have access to Kindle software, as do laptop and desktop computers.
Researchers have used computer algorithms to analyze eyewitness accounts of the 1641 Irish Rebellion to distinguish between fact and propaganda. Summary story here. Actual accounts here.
For many years, George’s Nafziger’s collection of orders of battle for conflicts dating from the 1600s to the 1900s have been a mainstay of the historical wargaming community.
Once available only commercially, Nafziger recently donated his collection to the Army’s Combined Arms Research Library.
The New York Public Library’s Uniforms Collection has its vast collection of color uniform plates for the French Army 1250 - 1806 available on line. Those dates, of course, include quite a bit of Napoleonic uniforms.
Miniature Wargaming is part of the "adventure games" hobby, which includes r ole p laying and board games. Wargamers recreate battles on the tabletop with toy soldiers, like a more complicated game of chess. Models range in height from 6mm to 28mm tall, with 15mm and 25mm being the most popular. There also is a growing interest in toy soldiers and military models, such as the 1/32 and 1/35 scale plastic soldiers from Conte, and Marx.
The most popular miniature wargames are fantasy and science fiction based, such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and The Lord of the Rings. World War II games such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies are new favorites. Other favorite historical periods include Napoleonics, the American Civil War, and ancients, such as Romans or Greeks. Other gamers enjoy miniature naval wargames, recreating battles like Trafalgar, Jutland and the Coral Sea.
Hobbyists research historical periods and paint their tiny soldiers in accurate uniforms. Others develop "historically realistic" rules sets or build scale battlefield terrain using model railroad techniques.
For pictures, visit the gallery.
Some of the bigger hobby companies are Games Workshop, which produces Warhammer, Wargames Foundry and Old Glory Miniatures. Wizards of the Coast produces several lines of pre-painted miniatures games, such as the Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons miniatures games, and a historical game with pre-painted miniatures: The new Axis and Allies game. Wizkids produces a fantasy collectable miniatures game, such as the Mage Knight and Heroclick fantasy games, the science fiction games MechWarrior and Rocketmen, as well as the quasi-historical Pirates of the Spanish Main.
