The Guns of August

Synopses & Reviews
******************
Publisher Comments:
Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Tuchman
has brought to life again the people and events that led up to
World War I. With attention to fascinating detail, and an intense
knowledge of her subject and its characters, Ms. Tuchman reveals,
for the first time, just how the war started, why, and why it could
have been stopped but wasn't. A classic historical survey of a time
and a people we all need to know more about, The
Guns of August will not be forgotten.
******************
Review:
"More dramtatic than fiction...The Guns of August is a
magnificent narrative - beautifully organized, elegantly
phrased, skillfully paced and sustained....The product of
painstaking and sophisticated research." The
Chicago Tribune
******************
Review:
"Fascinating...one of the finest works of history written...a
splendid and glittering performance."
The New York Times
******************
Review:
"A brilliant piece of military history which proves up to the hilt
the force of Winston Churchill's statement that the first month
of World War I was 'a drama never surpassed.' A writer with an
impeccable sense of telling detail, Ms. Tuchman is able to evoke
both the enormous pattern of the tragedy and the minutiae which
make it human."
Newsweek
******************
Review:
"An epic never flagging in suspense....It seemed hardly possible that
anything new of significance could be said about the prelude to and
the first month of World War I. But this is exactly what Ms. Tuchman
has succeeded in doing....Where she has improved upon her
predecessors is in illuminating, practically inch by inch, the roads
by which the fateful decisions were reached in Berlin, Paris, St.
Petersburg, and London and by transforming the drama's
protagonists as well as its immense supporting cast from half-
legendary and half-shadowy figures into full-dimensional,
believable persons."
The Christian Science Monitor
******************
Review:
"In provoking musing thoughts Ms. Tuchman has no contemporary
equal. Her book, thus, has a vitality that transcends its narrative
virtues, which are considerable, and its feel for characterizations,
which is excellent."
The Wall Street Journal
******************
Synopsis:
"More dramatic than fiction..THE GUNS OF AUGUST is a magnificent
narrative-beautifully organized, elegantly phrased, skillfully paced and
sustained...The product of painstaking and sophisticated research."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
******************
Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Tuchman
has brought to life again the people and events that led up to
World War I. With attention to fascinating detail, and an intense
knowledge of her subject and its characters, Ms. Tuchman reveals,
for the first time, just how the war started, why, and why it could
have been stopped but wasn't. A classic historical survey of a time
and a people we all need to know more about, THE GUNS OF
AUGUST will not be forgotten.

8,000 Adventurers!

Steampunk Images

GURPS Steam-Tech

The Mad Scientists, Illuminated Thinkers, and Inspired Tinkerers of the Steampunk Age have brought their finest, their deadliest - and their strangest - work together in one place. GURPS Steam-Tech has it all, from weapons and armor to analytical engines, automata, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, and even living plant and animal creations!

GURPS Steam-Tech is compiled by William Stoddard, author of the Origins-Award-winning GURPS Steampunk, and is a must for Steampunk and other Victorian-era campaigns.

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/steam-tech/

GURPS Steampunk

GURPS Steampunk won the Origins Award for Best RPG Supplement of 2000. Then it sold out! Now it's back in print in a new deluxe hardcover edition with the same great full-color cover art. Written by William H. Stoddard, this book combines the mood of cyberpunk with the setting of an alternate Industrial Age, where computers run on steam power, walking colossi stalk the battlefields, flying ironclads rule the skies, and science is the new frontier. It covers the real events, politics, and personalities of the Industrial Age, as well as the weird science that could have been created... vehicles, robots, airships, and more.

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/steampunk/

Something For Comrade Bill

In 1914, the 1st Russian armored squadron acted at German
front with big success.
http://wio.ru/tank/ww1ba.htm

Old School Sci-Fi

www.thomasmodels.com/scifi.html

Germans Drive Off Fon

A large German reconnaissance force is attacked
by the Fon . The Germans took heavy losses in
it's leading infantry units . The following German
units and their accompanying artillery drive the
Fon off the field with very heavy losses.

Fon Attack German Patrol

Scratchbuilt Mexican Village

Saw this over on the Colonial Wargames group,

very nicely done scratchbuilt Mexican village.

http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc152/gocanesba/

Wargaming the Russian Civil War

Most of the troops that fought in the Russian Civil War wore very similar uniforms. In many cases it would have been impossible to tell which side any soldier was on without looking carefully at the details of his uniform - badges, buttons etc. This sort of detail is not easily seen on a 15mm figure and some of our group are taking advantage of this fact to paint up units that can be used on either side.

http://www.hodgenet.co.uk/RCW/index.htm

The Jackson Gamers' :The RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR

Why wargame the Russian Civil War? Well for me, it was a chance to get into a period that few were already into. The challenge of doing research and finding figures in a sparsely gamed period is constant.

Also, this an important period in the history of Russia and indeed, Europe and the west. What if the whites had won? No Stalin! What would the effect on the history of the 20th century be? Would Russian have cooperated more in 1938-1940 to stop Hitler? Would Russia have taken part in the 1939 partition of Poland? Would the Germans have overun a non-communist Russia?

The period is gaining in popularity. When I started building my army 7 years ago, everything had to be converted from WWI or earlier figures. Now you can buy ready-made RCW figures and even armored trains in 15mm, 20mm, and 25mm. Who knows what will come next?

http://www.angelfire.com/games3/jacksongamer/reds.htm

Photos of 15mm RCW troops

These are photos taken (apparently) in Jack Radey's back yard. If not, the Jack has the biggest war room with the most realistic scenery in existance! I hope that Jack will give more identification of these photos. All the comments are mine so far - Jay Stribling (web-master for the Jackson Gamers)

In the photo at the top, a Peter Pig Tchanka - converted to a troika, by Jack - gallops happily along.

http://www.angelfire.com/games3/jacksongamer/RCWtroops2.htm

WOTW Artwork

http://www.desktopstarships.com/SfGallery/sci.html

Ironclad "The Air Wars"

A set of rules set in American Civil War where Confederate &

Union Air Ironclads ravage the landscape from the skies
above.

http://uk.geocities.com/futurelegend@btinternet.com/Ironclad.html

I. K. Brunel's Birthday!

From Terry Sofian
Wed Apr 9, 2008 8:39 am (PDT)

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/04/dayintech_0409

Possibly the most important of all the Victorian Engineers in truth
and in VSF fiction! May we all raise a glass to the archtype of practical
polymath the world will probably never see again.

Hip Hip Huzzah!

The French Foreign Legion on Mars

It was spring of last year when I had the privilege to make the acquaintance of some unique soldiers of France. I was on a hunting trip when, during a sudden stampede of a huge herd of Ruumet Breehr, I became separated from my party. After wandering the Martian deserts for a week with no food or water, my trusty gashant "Cromwell" finally gave out, but I staggered on. Time seemed to stand still, interrupted only by several hallucinations (I rather enjoyed the one that included a large reptile named "Herbie" manning a fish and chips wagon), and I finally fell upon the baked Martian soil to die. Slowly my eyes closed, and I said good-bye (or so I thought) to the world.

www.heliograph.com/trmgs/trmgs2/ffl.shtml

'With the Foreign Legion in Gallipoli'

The author joined the French Foreign Legion in 1914 at the age of fifteen and a half after an adventurous few years at sea. He enlisted at Algiers under the name of Cornelis Jean de Bruin and was sent to Fort St. Therese at Oran and thence to Sidi Bel Abbes, the headquarters of the Legion in Algeria.

http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War/With_the_Foreign_Legion_in_Gallipoli/With_the_Foreign_Legion_in_Gallipoli_01.htm

Fort Zinderneuf

This magnificent playset consist of a multi-piece, true 1/32nd scale model of the famed "Fort Zindernuf" just as it appeared in the classic film about "heroic adventures," "savage desert tribesmen," and "men who laugh in the face of death!" At over 30" square, our Fort Zindernuf is complete with "The Barracks" and "The Tower of Death." The roof lifts off of the barracks so you can create "The Viking Funeral." Also included are a working front gate and accessories.

www.conteco.com/TheStore/FFL/FFLHOME.htm

Legionnaire Sentry

French Foreign Legionnaire on sentry duty in Morocco. Photo by Captain Edouard Juniod

French Foreign Legion Photo by Captain Edouard Juniod, in Morocco. The French Foreign Legion, maintained a presence in the overseas dominions of France before, during and after the First World War. The Legion changed to a horizon blue and a khaki. Generally in 1915, and after the Legion were clothed in khaki, the trouser were in a sand coloured cotton material. This Legionnaire is wearing the M-1915 double breasted greatcoat, on his left shoulder is the unit citation lanyard, which was introduced in 1916. He is standing on guard at the French outpost fort in the Atlas mountains in Morocco, he is armed with the M1907/15 Berthia rifle, which is fitted with a cruciform bladed M1893 bayonet with a hooked quillon. The basic rifle equipment is worn would be in a brown leather, being a 1914 pattern, although nearly identical to the pattern of 1903. The soldier is wearing puttees and interestingly he appears to be wearing some form of native produced foot wear.

Orc's Drift

25mm Fantasy Battles in the Centre of the Earth

The original Orc's Drift is a mass combat system.

Hello there! This is the page for Orc's Drift, a set of miniatures wargame rules to fight Colonial Fantasy battles or just Fantasy battles.

Orcs Drift is a miniatures wargame depicting battles in the Centre of the Earth. In the late 19^th century, brave explorers discover that the Earth is hollow -- and populated by humans and assorted fantasy races. Elves, Dwarves, Lizard Men, Faeries, and of course, Orcs and Goblins live there. Magick thought to be a peculiar manifestation of the strange magnetic forces in the Centre exists and is used by the denizens of the Centre. A variety of strange and wonderful plants and substances exists which can be sold for huge sums on the Surface. The most important plant is Deathbane an miraculous plant that cures most illnesses and that is suspected to prolong life as well.

So the stage is set for another colonial land grab. But, as one unknown British Master Sergeant said "These wogs got teeth!"

This is a fast-playing miniatures game designed to allow you to fight large fantasy miniatures battles. The system is supposed to be simple enough to keep turns under about 10 minutes per side, yet detailed enough to be more satisfying than the DBA/DBM style games.

Download Orc's Drift (PDF)

"LA FORCE PUBLIQUE"

"DE OPENBARE WEERMACHT" IN THE BELGIAN CONGO.

A. Organisation (1885-1918).

The term "Force Publique" was officially used for the first time in a paper dated 30th October 1885, whereby King Leopold II drew the outlines for the Congo Freestate. Actually, it was decided that a "departement C" from the Belgian Foreign Office would be responsable for the Force Publique, its artillery, weapons & ammo. However, the text does not indicate how this should be done in practice and did not change the actual situation.

http://www.rudi-geudens.be/html/titelblad_force_publique.htm

Binky's Website Updated

Heads Up From: "Alan Hamilton"

Wed Apr 2, 2008 5:15 am (PDT)

For those who want to see the whole adventure of the
intrepid Binky and the Staring Skulls of Sakati

Part 1 http://www.morvalearth.co.uk/Binky_19/Binky_19_Pt1.htm

Part 2 http://www.morvalearth.co.uk/Binky_19/Binky_19_Pt2.htm

Part 3 http://www.morvalearth.co.uk/Binky_19/Binky_19_Pt3.htm

Part 4 http://www.morvalearth.co.uk/Binky_19/Binky_19_Pt4.htm

Alan Hamilton

Visit my Fantasy, VSF and wargaming site
http://www.morvalearth.co.uk/

New Page: The Great Adventure

From the Author:

Hope you enjoy the new features. New content is already on the site,

with the promise of more to come.

Cheers
Robin

http://www.wargaming.org.nz/index.html

Brazos Evil Empire Blog

I've decided to launch a new blog covering our exploits
On the Brazos Evil Empire MSN Group . I've been doing

this VSF blog for a year now and found it to be a vastly

superior format. The MSN site will remain up as a historical

data base but, active communication will take place on the

blog.I do invite all members here to join the new blog, I hope

to see you all there!

http://brazosevilempire.blogspot.com/

GZG-ECC XI Photos

http://www.warpfish.com/gzgecc/gzgecc11/AAR/Photos/jdavis/Mars/index.html