The Society of Ancients magazine, Slingshot 339, is with the printers …

[SoApub]

… and should land in SoA member’s 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.

"The SoA Battleday, guvnor? 'S at Newbury. That way, I fink."

President’s Foreword

The view from the president's chair, including a bit of bragging about some Galatians.

Guardroom

Where the back and forth continues, good naturedly, between Simon Mason and Antony Clipson about Antony's article on ‘Game mechanics and Realism‘, from issue 337.

Graham Fordham Remembered

Graham Fordham, who served SoA in many roles including Treasurer and Competition Team member and who was a doyen of the Society stand at shows, sadly passed away last year. This memorial borrowed from the ‘Not Quite Mechanised’ blog gives a vivid portrait of his life.

Pikes across the Millennia Part 1 by Philip Sabin

An article that pushes the boundaries of our period (well, super-extends them, actually) to explore the rise, fall, rise ... etc. of the pike as a battlefield weapon by comparing two pike battles, widely separated in history.  The earlier is Paraitacene, a battle from the wars of the Successors of Alexander fought, in 317 BC between two of the Successors, Eumenes and his rival Antigonus.  The later is Breitenfeld, a battle from the Swedish phase of the Thirty Years War, in which Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, fought against the catholic Imperialists at Breitenfeld in 1631-2.  (See what I mean about super-extending the boundaries?)  But the comparison makes for a really amazing study, especially as it includes insights into the use of two of Phil's rulesets, Lost Battles for the ancient period and Horse & Foot for the Pike and Shot era.

Shields and Armour in Mycenaean Warfare by Robert Heiligers

An article inspired by Allan JC Smith’s Master’s thesis entitled "Mycenaean Warfare and the Mycenaean Tower Shield", which provides excellent information on the use of the large body-shields and armour in that period.

Wargaming Adrianople by Simon MacDowall

Adrianople profoundly changed the status quo of the Roman Empire, with a large and militarily victorious body of barbarians now settled permanently in the Empire as unreliable allies. Simon shows gaming the battle might produce a very different outcome...

Airfix Nostalgia by John Graham-Leigh

A real trip down memory lane for those of us of a certain age.  When every know troop type in the ancient and medieval worlds could be (had to be?) made from some combination of figure parts from Airfix' Ancient Britons, Imperial Romans, 19th C Arabs and the combined Sherrif of Nottingham & Robin Hood sets, with the ACW range thrown in for good measure - and Plasticine too, of course.  With lots of photos!  Lots!

Slingshot Book & Game Reviews

This issue, a review of: The Highland Battles: Warfare on Scotland’s Northern Frontier in the Early Middle Ages” by Chris Peers.  Reviewed by Duncan Head.

The Yumi at War by Leslie Ian Mitchell

A facinating look into the practice of archery in Japan by a wargamer who is also a practitioner in the Japanese way or art of the bow (yumi).  Worth reading.  Especially the comment that the power of the yumi is not as important as the man using it. A little like those killer wargames armies that sit on my shelf waiting to be massacred again.

Interview with Daniel Mersey by Gordon Garrad

Daniel Mersey has been writing and publishing war games rules since the 1990’s, and his interests and publications cover a wide historical range. He is probably best known for his series of historical and fantasy rules published by Osprey, which focus on relatively short periods of history or small geographical areas. He has also written a number of “wargamers guides” to specific historical campaigns, covering ancients to World War 2.