In this title in the Battle for Britain series, well-known historical illustrator Peter Dennis takes the battle out to sea, supplying all the artwork needed to create the navies which clashed in the English channel at a moment of supreme danger for the realm. Artwork is also suppled for a printable squared sea surface, coastline and islands. Here, the galleons, Nao and galleasses of the Spanish invader can clash again with the sea dogs of Elizabeth I using simple rules from veteran wargamer Andy Callan. This source book shows you how to copy and make any number of simple and colourful ship cut-out models using traditional skills with glue and scissors. To play the game you will need a tabletop playing surface and a handful of dice.

The Spanish Armada challenges that view. On the 400th anniversary of the famous sea battle, it offers a more balanced account of the confrontation between the Spanish and British naval powers than has previously been presented. According to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, the British did not "defeat" the Spaniards; rather, the event should be seen as a "failure" of the Armada to invade British territory. Miles from home, with many of its crew sick, and fighting in stormy waters, the Spanish fleet did well, Fernandez argues, not to be completely routed. Further, he says, it reflects badly on the British not to have inflicted more damage on such a disadvantaged opponent.

The political machinations, the strategies, and the hour-by-hour accounts of the war that locked Elizabeth I and Philip II in a battle for naval supremacy. The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the turning points in English history, and it was perhaps the defining episode in the long reigns of Elizabeth I of England and Philip II of Spain. The running battle along the Channel between the nimble English ships and the lumbering Spanish galleons has achieved almost legendary status. In this compelling new account John Barratt reconstructs the battle against the Armada in the concise, clear Campaign Chronicles format, which records the action in vivid detail, day by day, hour by hour. He questions common assumptions about the battle and looks again at aspects of the action that have been debated or misunderstood. Included are full orders of battle showing the chains of command and the effective strengths and fighting capabilities of the opposing fleets.There is also an in-depth analysis of the far-reaching consequences of the wreck of Philip II’s great enterprise.

This practitioner's guide to solo wargaming offers comprehensive coverage of the subject, showing how it can be a fascinating complement to social gaming or an entire hobby in its own right. This book integrates ideas from across the hobby to discuss various aspects of gaming alone across all manner of conflicts, whether land, sea or air and in any historical period or imagined setting. Starting with the fundamental question of why people play solo wargames, David Heading lays out the various advantages and disadvantages. He also considers such questions as whether to ‘play both sides’ or to command one army against an ‘automatic’ opponent, giving various ideas on how to control or program the responses of the opposing force with dice, cards or by other means. There is advice on how to construct challenging and interesting scenarios for one-off engagements, whether these are skirmishes or major battles, historical events or more generic ones, and how to combine these tactical actions into wider campaigns, involving grand strategy, logistics and other factors. Tips on sustaining interest through such activities as recording results, writing campaign diaries and online blogs will help you enrich your hobby. The author has been playing solo wargames for forty years and shares the secrets of happy solo gaming. Packed full of common-sense advice and inspiration, it offers plenty of value to the beginner and the seasoned veteran alike.

"De Bellis Renationis" is a set of wargames rules for Renaissance battle, covering the period from 1491 AD to 1700 AD. It was first published in 1995 and later updated to version 2.0 published in 2004. It was accompanied by three books of Army Lists descr

Profiles of 16 decisive struggles from ancient and modern times. Gripping accounts range from Alexander the Great's overthrow of the Persian empire in the 4th century BC to World War II's Battle of Midway. Pratt depicts the circumstances leading up to the decisive clashes, the personalities involved, and the historically important aftermath. 27 maps.

This compelling book provides the first global history of the evolution of combined operations since Antiquity. Beginning with amphibious warfare in the ancient world of the Romans, Vikings, and Mongols, Jeremy Black advances through the Gunpowder Revolution, the rise of maritime empires and the formation of nation-states, the early Industrial Revolution and the adaptation of modern technology to warfare, the twentieth-century world wars, the Cold War, and concluding with the modern age of irregular and asymmetric conflict. Black’s informed and analytical narrative emphasizes conflicts around the world, focusing not only on leading powers but also regional combatants. His case studies include amphibious operations in the Mongol invasions of Japan, the War for American Independence, and the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. He also explores the development and effectiveness of airborne operations as a way to project military power inland. Offering a balanced assessment of strategic, operational, and technical developments over time, Black considers both the potential and limitations of amphibious and airborne warfare—past, present, and future.

The Spanish Civil War, begun in July 1936, was a preliminary round of World War II. Hitler's and Mussolini's cooperation with General Franco resulted in the Axis agreement of October 1936 and the subsequent Pact of Steel of May 1939, immediately following the end of the Civil War. This study presents comprehensive documentation of Hitler's use of the upheaval in Spain to strengthen the Third Reich diplomatically, ideologically, economically, and militarily. While the last great cause drew all eyes to Western Europe and divided the British and especially the French internally, Hitler could pursue territorial gains in Eastern Europe. This book, based on little-known German records and recently opened Spanish archives, fills a major gap in our understanding of one of the 20th century's most significant conflicts. Its comprehensive treatment of German-Spanish relations from 1936 through 1939, bringing together diplomatic, economic, military, and naval aspects, will be of great value to specialists in European diplomacy and the political economy of Nazi imperialism, as well as to all students of the Spanish Civil War.