Among the discarded books I found was one titled "The War for a Persian Lady" by Barbara English. I was ready to throw it in the trash when I took a second look. I decided to keep it and just finished reading it. At first it seemed like it had great war-game potential. The British fighting the exotic Persian Army in 1856. With battles named Bushire, Khoosh-ab and Mohammerah, it just screams "war-game me!" However the battles themselves were little more than skirmishes with the Persian Army breaking quickly once the shooting started. Battle deaths for the British forces were next to nothing and even the Persian Army lost less than a thousand dead in each of the battles.
Still, this campaign could be the basis for a good war-game. I think my Peter Laing Napoleonic Egyptian forces would be ideal for this war. Peter Laing Indian Mutiny would fit the bill for the British forces, as all the troops who fought in this war were deployed from India. In fact, as the Persian War was winding down the Indian Mutiny started and the forces in Persia were rushed back to India. It would be a simple "what if" the Persian Army was commanded by an inspirational General that the army respected?
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| Cover of the book. Sadly, I believe I'm the only person who opened and read this book in 38 years. |
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| Some Peter Laing "Persians" to resist the British invasion. |
John - I have the same book! - Though my copy is entitled "John Company's Last War" - John Company being the nickname for the Honorable East India Company.
ReplyDeleteBy coincidence, there was a thread on the Rum-Corps Tavern forum about "Persian Camel Artillery" - Link: http://ozwargaming.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4721
I have the Tradition magazine that the article came from.
If you were looking for 15mm figures for the Persians, Irregular Miniatures do Afghan regulars in their colonial range - wearing an identical looking (fur?) cap - as well as a nice Jingall model. They also do a range for the Russian camapigns in the Causcus mountains that would probably do well as Persian irregulars (though I haven't seen those actual figures)
Ian
Ian,
ReplyDeleteI will have to try to find that thread on the Rum Corps Tavern.
I find myself more interested in using figures I like such as Peter Laing and trying to find different periods that those figures might pass for. They might not be perfect matches, but by using "imaginations" as a basis for games, you can stretch the use of figures.