Sunday 27 January 2019

Cruel Seas in the Pacific and the Doldrums



I was aware of the whole ‘JFK and PT 109 saga’ but not the fine detail as my interest in the naval war in the Pacific has previously been limited to playing Flat Top by Battleline and Avalon Hill.

My wait for my review copy of Cruel Seas by Warlord Games continues but I know they are on the case. In any event I have been rather busy over the last couple of weeks or so with work and also getting the proposal organised for my book so I would not have been able to do much with it even if it had arrived. I have amassed a small selection of books on the subject of WW2 Coastal type warfare and the book above is my latest acquisition, courtesy of a local charity shop.

Despite having a long standing interest in coastal warfare during WW2 it is not something I have gamed very much and my knowledge on the subject is rather limited. The books I have acquired so far cover a mainly European focus - the North Sea and the English Channel - by I would be keen to explore both the Mediterranean (that would be my preferred choice) or even the Far East.


Three books became four with the Domagalski title. I also have a copy of Conway’s 1922 to 1946 and a number of titles on my Kindle - including Schnellboote.

The following titles I have on my Kindle in addition to the aforementioned Schnellboote.

Night Action - MTB Flotilla at War by Peter Dickens
The Battle of the Narrow Seas by Peter Scott
Dog Boats at War by Leonard Reynolds
Gunboat Command by Antony Hichens

I will try and get hard copies of the above if I am able to although it is not a priority at present.

There have been some quite exquisite paint jobs in evidence for the models in a couple of dedicated Facebook groups and I am really keen to tackle this once my review copy arrives. Needless to say I already have a few ideas about how to expand the scope of the game but will wait and see how viable it is once I have my copy.

(Sighs deeply at the passing of yet another day without a delivery....)

2 comments:

Jay Stribling said...

You might also look at "PT 105" by Peter Keresey for information about the small boat war in the South West Pacific.

David Crook said...

Hi jay,

Many thanks for heads up old chap - this is something I will keep a weather eye open for!

All the best,

DC