Last week I mentioned the apparent synchronicity of Archduke Piccolo beginning to write on his blog about his recent Waterloo refight in the same week that ABBA announced their first record release in forty years.
This Waterloo-related synchronicity has continued, and on the day that Archduke Piccolo completed his series of blog posts about his Waterloo refight, the recently retired Emeritus Professor of History (Napoleonic Europe, Modern Spain) of the University of Liverpool, Charles Esdaile BA, Phd, FRHistS, had an article about wargaming Waterloo in the Journal of Advanced Military Study (JAMS). (This is published by the Marine Corps University.)
The review on the PAXSims blog of this issue of JAMS states the following:
The first article by Dr. Charles Esdaile, 'Napoleon at Waterloo: The Events of 18 June 1815 Analyzed via Historical Simulation', offers a historical perspective on the importance of wargaming and professional military education (PME). His article examines how products of the game industry can be used to assess battles and draw out wider lessons relating to the conduct of war or to show how historical board games are not just recreational artifacts but also a tool with which to more fully explore, analyze, and understand campaign design and battle execution.
I hope to be able to get hold of a copy of this issue of JAMS, but in the meantime, I am getting loads of enjoyment from reading Archduke Piccolo's Waterloo blog posts.
- Waterloo
- Portable Waterloo: The setup
- Portable Waterloo: Opening action
- Portable Waterloo: The Prussians
- Portable Waterloo: A near run thing
The following photographs give a flavour of Archduke Piccolo's battle report.
Please note that photographs featured above are © Archduke Piccolo and the Marine Corps University.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteNot quite Waterloo, but Sotheby's is holding an auction on the theme of Napoleon, with the hat he wore in Poland at a guide price of 400,000 to 600,000 Euros. https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/les-arts-sous-influence-napoleon/the-legendary-a-la-francaise-hat-of-emperor?locale=en
The JAMS article looks interesting; I did not know Professor Esdaile, whose books on the Peninsular War and the Duke of Wellington's command of the Spanish Army I have read, was interested in wargames.
But I think the best comment on the lessons one can learn from wargames was made by HG Wells at the end of Little Wars.
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteI hope that Tim Gow doesn't get to hear of the sale; being a bit of a 'funny hat' fanatic, he might well put in a bid!
Charles Esdaile has been a wargamer for many years, with an especial interest in the Napoleonic era and the Spanish Civil War.
HG Wells got a lot right, and it is well worth re-reading his book at regular intervals just to remind ourselves of that.
All the best,
Bob
Love the ABBA connection
ReplyDeleteAt first reading I thought it said ABDA ;)
Silly me
Geordie and Exile FoG,
DeleteHow could you confuse ABBA with ABDA? You've obviously been doing far too much naval wargaming of late!
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob -
ReplyDeleteWell, what can I say? Thank you for the plug! I did notice in one of the photos an error in labelling I thought I had corrected - I hope no one notices. Apart from that I fell really chuffed!
I had a look at the link. I was very intrigued to read about the closing article of the JAMS publication. I'll quote:
" Stephen M. Gordon, Colonel Walt Yates, and Andrew Gordon close out the journal articles by exploring the benefits and challenges of applying successful storytelling techniques to designing wargame narratives that balance creative ambitions with achievable time lines. In the authors’ minds, wargames that incorporate such techniques will generate new trends and better inform future conflict planning."
That sounded like an article I would very much like to read!
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteThe battle report deserved to have as wide an audience as possible. I just hope that my plug helped that to happen.
I am trying to get hold of a copy of this issue of JAMS. If I do, I try to send you a PDF of the relevant pages.
All the best,
Bob
Why, thanks, Bob. That would be great, and much appreciated!
DeleteIon
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI have a copy, and will email it to you ASAP.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
DeleteI'd be grateful if you could send me a copy too.
Thanks in anticipation,
Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteWill do!
All the best,
Bob