Monday, 6 February 2012

An Indian Takeaway


One of those books that is a real pleasure to have in the collection

By way of a pleasant diversion (and a welcome surprise) I acquired a copy of 'Britain's Army in India - From its Origin to the Conquest of Bengal by James P. Lawford (ISBN 0 04 954020 3)' via Ebay for the princely sum of £2.80 (including postage)! The author needs no introduction (at least he shouldn't!) and the book covers the period up to the end of the Seven Years War. The period in question is really the story of the army of the East India Company and that of Clive of India. The machinations of the various Princes, the break up of the Mogul Empire, small forces of European infantry vying for favour and influence and facing enormous odds. The book contains maps, orbats, campaign and battle accounts as well biographies of some of the leading personalities of the period. This is the stuff that war gamers thrive on and given half a chance I would happily build up armies and navies for the campaigns of the 18th century on the Indian sub continent.


Mike Kirby's special - believe it or not this was free!

To support the above I had lurking in a forgotten corner of my collection a Miniature War Games special on the campaigns in India written by Mike Kirby. This is a very useful publication and is designed for use with the Volley and Bayonet rules written by Frank Chadwick - which is a favourite rule set of mine.

I cannot realistically see myself ever tackling the armies for this period - the numbers would be too vast for one thing - so the prospect of emulating the exploits of Clive on the tabletop will sadly have to remain a tantalising one.


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4 comments:

  1. tidders28 February 2012 at 12:59

    The details on the Lawford book will be useful - have found a reasonably priced one at AbeBooks and ordered it; I have the Kirby booklet.

    I'm planning SYW India armies in the style of 'imagi-nations'. Will probably be using smaller unit sizes - but the size of armies involved is a challenge. Maybe some of the smaller encounters will be achievable :)

    project ongoing see:
    http://adventures-in-the-indies.blogspot.com/, posts titles prefixed by 'India:'

    -- Allan

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  2. David Crook8 February 2012 at 13:04

    Hi Allan,

    This would be a lovely one to tackle at some point and I note that a range of plastic generic 28mm Indian infantry is underway from wargames factory (or someone similar). For the moment I will have to consign this to the realms of 'When I win the lottery!'

    The Lawford book is excellent.

    All the best,

    DC

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  3. Conrad Kinch8 February 2012 at 17:02

    Lawford's pretty dependable alright. I must hunt up a copy.

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  4. David Crook8 February 2012 at 20:01

    Hi CK,

    Anything connected with the Indian sub continent is a guilty pleasure of mine and the book is an absolute joy to read. Very highly recommended.

    All the best,

    DC

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