Thanks to The Saint Bookshop, I now own a facsimile copy of SHAMBATTLE.
The book is actually longer than I expected as I had previously relied on extracts from the Thortrains blog, Phil Dutre's webpage, and the Tiny Tin Men blog. The cover is a generic one produced by the publisher, Literary Licensing ...
... and in no way replicates the cover of the original book. However, the text is a replica of the original, including all the wonderful line drawings and maps.
The contents of the book is split up as follows:
CHAPTER I. SHAMBATTLE IS A GAME
- Safety
- Fairness
- Officers
- Military Terms
A LIEUTENANT'S GAME
CHAPTER II. A LIEUTENANT'S TRAINING
- Redina and Bluvia
- The Reason for Using a Map
- Symbols for a Military Map
- A Lieutenant's Map
A Lieutenant's Map
- Directions for Making a Lieutenant's Map
CHAPTER III: RULES FOR A LIEUTENANT'S GAME
- The Armies
- The Spinner*
- Choosing an Army
- The Curtain
- Placing the Troops
- Time Limit
- An Introduction to SHAMBATTLE Rules
- General Rules
- Rules on Movement
- Rules on Combat
- Bayonet Combat
- Artillery Fire
- Making an Artillery Square
- Using an Artillery Square
- Rules on Capture
CHAPTER IV. MINOR TACTICS IN A LIEUTENANT'S GAME
- A Game Between Lt. Williams and Lt. Blackmore
- Positions of the Troops
The positions of the troops at the beginning of the Lieutenant's Battle.
- THE BATTLE, PLAY BY PLAY
- Bluvian Troops Started Attack in the West
- Redinan Cavalry Rushed to Stop Bluvian Attack
- Bluvian Soldiers in Blue City Deployed
- Weak Redinan Defense Retreated
- Attacking Bluvians Entered Redina
- Small Redinan Force Met Bluvian Attack
- Bluvian Attack Approached Redton
- Redinan Cavalry Turned Back Toward Redton
- Bluvian Cavalry Divided
- The Turning Point
The positions and movements of the troops at the turning point of the Lieutenant's Battle.
- Comments
A CAPTAIN'S GAME
CHAPTER V. A CAPTAIN'S TRAINING
- More Than Two Boys Can Play
- A Captain's Map
A Captain's Map
- Forests and Swamps
- Directions for Making a Captain's Map
- Effect of the New Map
- The Final Test in Map-Making
CHAPTER VI. RULES FOR A CAPTAIN'S GAME
- Placing the Troops
- The Task
- General Rules
- Rules on Movement
- Rules on Combat
- Bayonet Combat
- Artillery Fire
- Rules on Capture
CHAPTER VII. OFFICERS, MEDALS AND SPIES
- Selecting Officers
- Medals for Bravery
- Spies
- Spy Papers
- Punishing Spies
- Claiming a Spy
CHAPTER VIII. MINOR TACTICS IN A CAPTAIN'S GAME
- A Model Battle
- Positions of the Troops
- Choice of Spies
The positions of the troops at the beginning of the Captain's Battle.
- THE BATTLE, PLAY BY PLAY
- Bluvia Invaded by Redinans
- Capt. Holcomb Remains Inactive
- Redinans Made Effective Cannon Fire
- Capt. Holcomb Refused to Issue Orders for Movement
- Combats in Blueburg Caused Heavy Casualties
- Bluvian Officers Conferred on Strategy
- Bluvian Forces Overcome in Blueberg
- Bluvian Troops Ordered into Action
- Bluvian Attack Weakened by Cannon Fire
- Bluvian Infantry Attack Recalled
- Redinans Unable to Fire Cannon
- Bluvian Cavalry Force Divided
- Aid Rushed to Capt. Wright
- Bluvian Cannon Brought into Blueford
- Redinan Artillery Fire Resumes
- Capt. Wright Made a Casualty
- Redinan Defense Weakened
- Redinan Spy Claimed
- The Turning Point
The positions and movements of the troops at the turning point of the Captain's Battle.
- Comments
- Useless Troops
- Veterans in Minor Tactics
A GENERAL'S GAME
CHAPTER IX. A GENERAL'S TRAINING
- A General's Problems
- A General's Map
A General's Map. This is almost identical to the Captain's Map save for the addition of hills.
- Hills and Contour Lines
- Adding the Hills
CHAPTER X. RULES FOR A GENERAL'S GAME
- Placing the Troops
- Machine Guns and Hospitals
- General Rules
- Rules on Movement
- Combat
- Bayonet Combat
- Machine Guns
- Artillery Fire
- Rules on Capture
- Medical Corps
CHAPTER XI. STRATEGY IN A GENERAL'S BATTLE
- The First Problem
- The Expected Strategy
- The Unexpected Strategy
- Dividing the Enemy's Fire
- The Defense
- The Medical Corps
- Positions of the Enemy Troops
- Possible Strategies
- The Duty of a General
- SUGGESTIONS
- Artillery Fire
- Rifle Fire
Having read the book in its entirety rather than an abbreviated version of the General's Game, it becomes immediately apparent that players are expected to start off with the simple Lieutenant's Game, and once the rules and nuances of that game are mastered, they can move onto the Captain's Game and then the General's Game. As such, this made SHAMBATTLE an ideal way to introduce youngsters or novice wargamers to the hobby and is a pattern that we might well adopt nowadays.
There were certain things that did particularly catch my attention:
- In the Safety section of the first chapter it states 'The safety of the players and soldiers is provided for by the rules. No cannons which might endanger the eyesight of the players are used.' I don't know if this is a reference to the dangers inherent in HG Wells' LITTLE WARS, where spring-firing cannons were used, but one has a feeling that it may well do!
- In the Suggestions section in the last chapter the rules there are three alternative methods for resolving artillery fire:
- First: A toy cannon may be employed. However, care must be taken that the cannon is not so strong that it will break the toy soldiers. To preserve the value of deploying, it is rules that all soldiers who fall before the fire of a cannon are casualties or partial casualties, whether they have been struck directly or are knocked over by other soldiers who have been struck. All "unprotected" soldiers falling are made casualties and all "protected" soldiers are partial casualties. (This use of firing toy cannons seems to run contrary to the warning in the earlier chapter, but it may well be the those using the General's Game rules will have understood the need for safety by then.)
- Second: A small sandbag, one inch square, may be used. A player firing his cannon seats himself behind the cannon and tosses the bag three feet into the air in the direction of his target. The bag must never be thrown directly at the soldiers. All soldiers falling over by the descending bag are made casualties or partial casualties according to the ruling for the use of the toy cannon.
- Third: A sandbag, such as described above, may be placed on the end of a yard stick. The player firing, raises the stick three feet above the map and holds the end with the sandbag over his target. When he thinks that the sandbag is directly above the target, he tilts the stick and allows the bag to fall. Casualties and partial casualties are made according to the ruling for the use of the toy cannon. (Interestingly, the second and third methods are not that dissimilar from some of the methods that have been used in some of the FUNNY LITTLE WARS battles I have taken part in.)
- There is also a suggestion regarding rifle fire. It states that 'No cavalry or infantry soldiers, unless accompanied by a machine gun, can be advanced close than within 1 inch of the enemy until they have gained superiority by rifle fire. To gain superiority of rifle fire the dial is spun once. IF number 1, 2, or 3 appears, superiority of rifle fire has been gained and all soldiers are moved according to the rules,' (This suggestion makes a lot of sense to me, and I think that it would improve the rules no end if this were included in the main body of the rules.)
* The Spinner or Dial is numbered 1 to 6 and could easily be replaced by a standard D6 die of the sort most wargamers are used to using.
SHAMBATTLE: HOW TO PLAY WITH TOY SOLDIERS was written by by Lieutenant Harry G Dowdall (US Army) and Joseph H Gleason and published in 1929 by Alfred A Knoff (New York). My facsimile was published by Literary Licensing (ISBN 978 1254 6818 7).
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Bob -
ReplyDeleteWho knew?! I had vaguely heard of the three ascending levels of Shambattle play, but didn't realise the half of it!
That final provision of having to gain superiority by rifle fire strikes me as very similar to how Chris Kemp does his NQM combat system. My personal attitude to that is along the lines of 'let the game system permit you to gain superiority if you can, or else take your lumps'. On the other hand, such a system might solve certain issues that cropped up in my rule set for the 'Vales of Lyndhurst Chronicles' of 5 years back. I might be forced to revisit those.
I have been thinking about how one might overcome the bottlenecks in a constricted river crossing without an overall superiority in strength. I know how I would 'do' an opposed river crossing, but prospects didn\t look too promising with this game system. But the 'gain rifle superiority' thing might well make it feasible, however chancy.
How I wish, though, that I had something like Shambattle when I was about 9 or 10 or so years old!
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteThe more I read, the better I understood the thinking behind the rules. If you just read the rules for the General’s Game, they make sense … but after reading the other two sets of rules one can view them as the culmination of a learning curve. In fact, I have now come to realise that in its way, this was almost as important a stage in the development of the wargaming hobby as LITTLE WARS. It built on what had come before but broke down the learning of the rules and the tactics into easy to digest chunks. It’s also easier to understand the thought processes behind the rules once they are seen in their entirety.
I like the ‘win the firefight before getting into close combat’ idea, and will certainly adopt that … but I draw the line at dropping sandbags - however small - on my figures.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
DeleteI once had the idea of using nerf guns - came this close -><- to buying one - for my Army Men project. But it occurred to me that, some of my kit being cardboard, some artillery and the 'Beaverbug' armoured cars, they would never sustain the blows. So I dropped the nerf gun plan. Sand bag - nah. I have toyed with the idea of using tossed shuttlecocks, though.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteWe use small nerf handguns in our FUNNY LITTLE WARS games for firing at tanks ... but use a sort of firing range to do it so that we don't damage the models. (The target is a picture of a tank that stands upright inside a wine box. The firer stands about six feet away and shoots at the target. If they hit it, they are judged to have hit the tank. This is actually more difficult to do than is sounds as the cheap nerf guns that we use are rather inaccurate.)
Shuttlecocks sound as if they wound be a great alternative for simulating artillery fire.
All the best,
Bob
Glad that you have managed to get a copy Bob and I must say I just love the look of the maps. I'm not sure how I'd manage so many contested river crossings with current rules, but like the 'win the firefight' approach which is eminently sensible.
ReplyDeleteSteve J.,
DeleteI think that the ‘winning the firefight’ rule adds something to the game, and I agree that it might alleviate some of the problems generated by having three choke points (the river crossing points) on the map.
All the best,
Bob
I was lucky enough to get an original copy off Abe Books a few years ago - I can't remember how much I paid for it though .
DeleteThe Good Soldier Svyek,
DeleteI am deeply envious ... but if the cost of the facsimile is anything to go by, a copy of the original must have cost you a pretty packet!
All the best,
Bob
I bought it about 10 years ago - I can't remember how much I paid - but suspect it was cheaper then than now.
DeleteThe Good Soldier Svjek,
DeleteI suspect that you might well be right! Prices of second-hand books seems to have risen quite a lot over the past ten years.
All the best,
Bob
Thanks for sharing this Bob - new information to think about for me never having read the original.
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteIt was my pleasure!
The whole thing makes more sense when seen as a complete set of rules, with the each stage allowing the players to develop their skills and understanding.
All the best,
Bob
Thanks Bob, a great post - and on a similar theme I now have a copy of the Swedish 'rules for tinsoldiers'printed in 1914. I will do a post, now that I am safely back in blogland ...
ReplyDeleteAll good wishes, as ever,
Funny Little Wars,
DeleteI'm glad to see that you are now able to blog again, and I look forward to reading more about those Swedish wargame rules.
The more I find out about the earlier rules that wargamers were using, the more I realise that since the 1960s onwards we might - at times - have just have been reinventing the wheel ... and losing some of the fun from our hobby in the process.
All the best,
Bob