THE SPANISH PASSION: A WARGAMER'S GUIDE TO THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939 has 160 pages, 16 colour illustrations, 54 colour photos, 65 black & white photographs, 4 black & white maps, and 6 tables. It is A4 format and printed on glossy paper.
The book is intended to be a wargamer's guide to the Spanish Civil War and comprises a timeline, and introduction, a bibliography, and six chapters:
- A Brief History of the Spanish Civil War (by Javier Garcia de Gabiola)
- Part 1: From Monarchy to Republic
- Part 2: Alzamiento (Uprising) or Rebellion
- Part 3: The War of Columns
- Part 4: The Battles for Madrid
- Part 5: The Conquest of the North
- Part 6: The Decisive Battles in Aragon
- Part 7: The Battle of the Ebro
- The Material of War (by Javier Garcia de Gabiola)
- Pre-War Personal Weapons
- Pre-War Uniforms
- Pre-War Machine Guns and Artillery
- Rifles Imported During the War
- Imported Machine Guns
- Imported Artillery
- Uniforms During the War
- Armoured Vehicles
- Aviation and Air Forces
- Aircraft Types
- The Organisation of the Nationalist Air Force
- The Organisation of the Republican Air Force
- Spanish Civil War Wargaming Units
- Republican Forces
- Nationalist Forces
- Republican and Nationalist Navies
- Republican and Nationalist Air Forces
- Armoured Vehicles Used During the War
- Cavalry in the Spanish Civil War
- Artillery
- Some Scenarios for Wargaming the Spanish Civil War
- The CTV Advances Towards Malaga
- Last Stand at Oviedo
- Attack on Concud
- The Carabanchel Enterprise
- Save the Priest
- The Revolution Goes Sour
- Painting Figures to Refight the Spanish Civil War
- Nationalist Moroccan Regulares
- International Brigade - Infantry with officer and medium machine gun with crew
- List of Manufacturers who make Wargames Items for the Spanish Civil War
Firstly, I welcome any book that makes wargaming the Spanish Civil War accessible ... and for that alone, I commend the writers and publisher for producing this book.
Secondly, the book's production values are of a high standard and although I prefer hardback reference books to paperback ones, the glossy paper and quality of the illustrations is good and the maps in the chapter about the history of the war are first class.
I particularly enjoyed reading the first two parts of the book, which were written by Javier Garcia de Gabiola, who is – I understand – a regular contributor to the excellent Spanish military history magazine Desperata Ferro. The other parts of the book – which I assume were written by Rob Anderson – are workmanlike and cover lots of information that a wargamer setting out to start a Spanish Civil War project would find useful, although I am somewhat surprised that Graham Evans' FOR WHOM THE DICE ROLLS, Mark Hannan's ROMPAN ALA FUEGO! (a Spanish Civil War variant of RAPID FIRE!), and my own ¡ARRIBA ESPAÑA! (both the original 1985 and more recent Portable Wargame versions) aren't included in the list of wargame rules, although two of them are mentioned in the introduction.
And herein lies the one problem that I have with this book. Its two parts do not feel as if they quite fit together. Both parts are good ... but one feels that they could easily have been published separately as they do not feel as if they have been edited together to form a coherent whole. Now this might seem a bit like nit-picking, but why – for example – aren't the lists of equipment included in the chapter on wargaming units part of the relevant section in the Señor Garcia de Gabiola's war material chapter?
In summary, I think that although this book is not as good as I think that it could have been. it will be a welcome addition to most wargamer's libraries, and even at £25.00, it is value for money.
THE SPANISH PASSION: A WARGAMER'S GUIDE TO THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939 was written by Rob Anderson and Javier Garcia de Gabiola and published by Helion & Company in 2026 (ISBN 978 1 8045 1011 7) for £20.00 on release but with a list price of £25.00.
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