The Society of Ancients magazine, Slingshot 335, is with the printers …

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… and should land in SoA members' postboxes in the next few days!  Here is the cover picture, together with a list of the contents and a short summary of each article , or go to the SoA news page.  (If you aren’t already a member of The Society of Ancients , you can read about and join the society here http://www.soa.org.uk/joomla/.)

‘Are you looking at me? Are YOU looking at ME?’ Cover Picture: Crusader Anglo-Norman Knight. Image by Laurent Aubry

Editorial

The view from the editor's chair including (further) news about the Battle Day and of a new Slingshot publication about the Goths.

Guardroom

A lively exchange of views about 'The Gothic Wagon Laager at Adrianople', featured in the extensive yet thoughtfully developed article of that title from issue 334.

The Roman Army Medical Service - by Dr Nick Summerton

Just how good were Roman military medics at treating the sometimes horrific wounds suffered by their fellow-soldiers, as well as the many diseases and ailments common at that time? Dr Summerton examines the evidence and concludes that they were not bad at all.

Bosworth with Bloody Barons - by Mark Wilson

Designed for the Wars of the Roses, Bloody Barons makes for an interesting recreation of Bosworth in which the setup rules create a different scenario each time, with different problems to solve, requiring cunning deployment, good timing, and a healthy dose of luck!

The Teutonic Order in the 13 Years’ War - by Andreas Johansson

After the disastrous battle of Tannenberg in 1410, the army of the Teutonics Knights was a very different animal from what it had been before, now consisting largely of mercenaries with very few actual Knights, but still good enough to hold off its enemies for more than a decade.

Norman Tactics - by Matthew Bennett

Why Norman troops of the 11th century were so effective across Europe has usually been attributed to the impetuous charge of their heavy cavalry. In fact, the knights were disciplined and tactically aware and part of a combined arms system with infantry spearmen and a range of missile types.

The Tertii and the Quadii - by Mark Wilson

These famous tribal troop-types have dominated the wargaming table for ages, persisting in rulesets up to the present even though the sources indicate they never actually existed.

An Archer’s Tale - by Anthony Clipsom

How is the appearance of a miniatures figure determined and what kind of research goes into deciding how he is clothed and armed? Anthony Clipsom uses an Agincourt archer as an example of how a foundry gets a figure right and (in some particulars) wrong.

The Great Revolt of the Egyptians - by Jim Webster

After the battle of Raphia in 217BC, native Egyptian soldiers in the Ptolemaic army revolted against Ptolemy Philopator, seizing the territory around Thebes. Jim Webster looks at the revolt and the kind of armies they and the Ptolemies were able to raise against each other.

Slingshot Interviews Rick Priestly - by Gordon Garrod

Everyone knows Rick Priestly wrote the rules for Warhammer, but here we get a reminder that he also created Black Powder and Hail Caesar. He answers interesting questions such as how to resolve the eternal dilemma of historicity vs playability in historical gaming.

Arabs vs Byzantines - by Ray Briggs

Breach and Scutcheon (Slingshot 333) delivers in this game between two historical opponents, where the battle sways one way and then the next, and the outcome remains uncertain until the dramatic finale.

Slingshot Book & Game Reviews

Including reviews of:
Rome, Blood & Power: Reform, Murder and Popular Politics in the Late Republic 70-27 BC by Gareth C. Sampson, reviewed by: Aaron Bell;
Militarism and the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe by Robert Drews, reviewed by: Andreas Johansson;
The Army of Ptolemaic Egypt 323-204BC. An institutional and Operational History by Paul Johstono, reviewed by: Jim Webster.

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Look forward to it!