Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

Wargaming is a big hobby with many diverse factions and perspectives: striking a balance that pleases everyone can be truly challenging! We like to think what sets Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy apart from other historical wargaming magazines is its focus on having fun, no matter what kind of wargamer you are or what your background is. WS&S is a light-hearted publication, that pays particular attention to games themselves and how to play them: it doesn’t get bogged down in lengthy historical expositions or recycle content you can read yourself in any history book. While popular periods like WWII, the Napoleonic era, and the ancient world get frequent coverage, we also try to feature the unexpected, with articles on spies, monsters and gangsters to name but a few.

Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

Editorial

MINIATURE REVIEWS • A look at some of the newest miniatures, terrain pieces, and more from across the wargaming world.

AND A NEW ONE HAS JUST BEGUN… • “Another year over. And a new one just begun,” as a wise man once said. As we pass the shortest day of the year here in the UK, the long winter evenings always seem the perfect moment to contemplate and reflect, and as the chapter of 2024 closes and the fresh, empty page of 2025 lies before us, to think not just of the past but, more importantly, the future. As usual, the constant march of technological development continues at a pace that, were we to stop and log its progress, would amaze us. However, busy people that we are, we tend to simply ride on the rising tide of innovation and invention and enjoy its benefits without pausing for thought.

EAGLE OMELETTES • The Elf scouts were falling back in the face of the Orc and Goblin attack; a shrill horn signalled their retreat back towards the treeline. The noble Elf archers sold their lives dearly but were being overwhelmed, crude Goblin arrows peppering the ground around the warriors as they huddled together behind their magnificently patterned shields. Their demise seemed imminent.

NAPOLEON AT LITTLE GIBRALTAR • By the end of November 1793, the siege of Toulon by Revolutionary French forces had been underway for three months without success. The French Royalists holding the city had been reinforced by Great Britain and her allies Sardinia, the Kingdom of Naples, and Spain. While the city itself was well defended, the entrance to the port was vulnerable at the colline du Caire peninsula, southwest of the city.

BITE AND HOLD • By 1917, the war on the Western Front had changed radically. Weapons and equipment had changed, but tactics had been revolutionised. One of the biggest changes was the devolution of command down to junior officers and even NCOs, making command decisions based on ‘man on the spot’ principles. Captains and those ranked below them now had much more say over the course of an action, as the armies matured into modern fighting forces within combined arms operations.

OPENING UP OMAHA • On the morning of 6 June 1944, the 1st and 29th US Infantry Divisions stormed ashore onto what would come to be called “Bloody Omaha”. Over 2,400 US troops became casualties as the very success of the D-Day operation hung in the balance in the face of unexpectedly stern German resistance. Were it not for the actions of a few brave leaders who inspired their surviving men to get off the beach, the American landings could have been driven back into the sea. One of those men was General Norman “Dutch” Cota, the assistant divisional commander of the 29th Division.

PEASANTS RISE UP! • There was a duality in both kingship and in feudal duties. While a serf or servant owed duties to a liege lord, the lord was in return responsible for protecting his vassals. When the fine balance within this relationship broke down - due to abuses of power or over-taxation - there was the potential for unrest and...