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Author Topic: Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany  (Read 918 times)

Offline Lardy Rich

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 498
Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany
« on: May 10, 2018, 10:16:26 AM »
Morning all

Just a quick shout out to let you know that our latest supplement for IABSM has arrived.  This time is Germany for 1940.  In the past four months we have published four supplements to cover this campaign  with France, the BEF, The Low Countries and now the Germans. 

Robert has put together a really comprehensive guide to German forces which highlights just how varied and diverse they were.  The handbook is a massive 185 pages long (over double the size of either the French, BEF or Low Countries books) and covers the whole of the German army that invaded France and the Low Countries on 10th May 1940.

The book begins with the humble infantry: not one, homogenous, grey-clad mass, but actually eleven different types of infantry division, each with their own set of core and support troops. Next, after a quick look at the infantry that doesn't fit into the above (e.g. the Gebirgsjaeger), the book moves on to the ten panzer divisions: with each panzer division given its own section and set of lists. There are, for example, five different lists that relate to 9th Panzer Division alone.

After the Panzertruppen, the book covers the cavalry, the SS and the army level support troops (that's where you'll find the StuGs!) before finishing off with the Fallschirmjaegers and Air Landing troops that dropped into Belgium and the Netherlands. Finally, we have the usual ratings and armoury sections, and a note on air support.

Although designed for IABSM, Blitzkrieg in the West: Germany contains a vast amount of information useful to gamers of other systems, and is really a must-buy for anyone interested in the early war. 

Due to VAT the price will differ depending where in the world you are.  In the UK and Europe it is £8.40, outside Europe just £7, so VERY cheap indeed for a huge amount of information.   

Here's a link:

https://toofatlardies.co.uk/product/blitzkrieg-in-the-west-germany/

And a snap.

Andrew_McGuire

  • Guest
Re: Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2018, 01:42:28 PM »
Based on the price, and the reference to VAT, I assume this is a PDF? The description on the website doesn't say, as afar as I can see. If so, is a printed version possible in the future? Getting books like this printed at a professional printer is prohibitively expensive for individuals, and a PDF is useless for those who don't own their own electronic device.

(Sent from the Apple store).

Offline Poiter50

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3562
Re: Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2018, 02:38:38 PM »
Second paragraph says PDF.
Cheers,
Poiter50

Andrew_McGuire

  • Guest
Re: Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2018, 02:56:14 PM »
So it does, and I am suitably chastened.

Offline Poiter50

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3562
Re: Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2018, 03:00:10 PM »
 lol

Andrew_McGuire

  • Guest
Re: Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2018, 04:08:51 PM »
I'm pleased to see some entertainment has been derived from my blunder. However, I'm also embarrassed to announce that I'm still in the Apple store, and given the amount of time I spend here a PDF may make sense after all, provided I could bring my toys with me.

My preferred solution, however, is still that they'd either print these supplements or consider some arrangement with Lulu or an equivalent. I can't believe I'm the only one in this position.

« Last Edit: May 11, 2018, 04:10:25 PM by Andrew_McGuire »

Offline Lardy Rich

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 498
Re: Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2018, 06:38:12 PM »
Andrew

You're not the only one in this position.  We'd all love to see this stuff in hard copy; however, the nuts and bolts of financial reality mean that we could never produce some of these supplements in hard copy format.  By way of example, you can only imagine how many copies of the Low Countries supplement we would (or wouldn't ) sell. 

At seven quid (plus VAT so £8.40 in the UK and EU) we provide an encyclopaedic guide to armies which is way beyond what I have ever seen elsewhere.  It's a reference work, you can read it on your iPAd.  Were we to produce these supplements in hard copy we would simply go out of business.  Robert has produced a great guide to the armies of the Low Countries.  We've sold less than fifty copies.   The cost of producing that in hard copy would be about £4000.  The cost per copy would soar to about twenty quid, but that still stacks up at total sales of £1000. 

So, that's why we go with PDF.  Not to intentionally annoy you, but so that we are able to operate as a viable business. 

Cheers

Richard


Andrew_McGuire

  • Guest
Re: Blitzkrieg in the West, Germany
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2018, 04:18:06 PM »
Thanks for the response and clarification, Richard. As ever, the tyranny of logistics spoils things for everyone, or at least those without an iPad or similar device. I had more or less guessed that this would be the case, which is why I brought up print on demand services such as Lulu, which many small publishers use. I assume if this were feasible you'd be doing it already though.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain the situation - I'll just have to console myself with What a Tanker (when my personal logistics allow).