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Saturday 11 February 2017

A new book about Lionel Tarr's wargames

Although versions of Lionel Tarr's Modern Wargaming Rules have previously been republished in WAR GAMES ...


... and MORE WARGAMING PIONEERS: ANCIENT AND WORLD WAR II BATTLE AND SKIRMISH RULES BY TONY BATH, LIONEL TARR AND MICHAEL KORNS: EARLY WARGAMES VOL. 4 (ISBN 978 1 291 19817 1) ...


... the latest offering from the 'History of Wargaming' project – LIONEL TARR’S MODERN WARGAING RULES 1939-1945: THE FIRST MODERN WARGAMER (ISBN 978 1 326 91498 1) – brings together a lot of other material produced by Lionel Tarr.


The contents include:
  • A short biography of Lionel Tarr
  • Introduction
  • Reflections on the Lionel Tarr Game
  • The Lionel Tarr WWII Rules: Donald Featherstone's 1962 Edition
  • The Lionel Tarr War Game (Kriegssiel) Circa 1939-1945 (Note: Originally written in February 1947, these rules were revised through many drafts until June 1967)
  • The ORBATs for Lionel Tarr's Russian and German Armies
  • RETASOL: Tarr's Solo Wargaming Eastern Front Campaign
  • Wargaming the Battle of Stalingrad
  • Air Wargames
  • Attack and Defence in Modern War Games
  • The Lionel Tarr Periscope
  • The Space Size Continuum by Carl Reavley
  • The Lionel Tarr Napoleonic Wargame (Circa early 1960s)
  • A W Saunders' Rules for Modern War Games (1957)
I have been looking forward to the publication of this book, and as I sit here with the snow falling outside, I know that I will have an enjoyable day ahead reading this book.

16 comments:

  1. Bob
    Was this the chap who, it was suggested in one of the Featherstone books, was building the whole of Stalingrad at 1 inch to 100 yards (completed project anticipated as being 35 feet long)? If so did he ever complete it?
    Cheers

    Andrew

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rumblestrip (Andrew),

      It is the same chap ... and he did build his model of Stalingrad. In fact a photo of the model is on the cover of the new book, and the chapter WARGAMING THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD explains how he went about it.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Thanks for the heads-up about this new book. Looking forward to getting hold of a copy. After Don Featherstone, Lionel was my war gaming inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David Bradley,

      I gather that we both contributed information to this book, and I also found his wargaming inspirational.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. I had a look using the "see inside" facilty on Amazon and was fascinated by what you were able to discover about Lionel's service at Arnhem.

      Delete
    3. David Bradley,

      My wife is a genealogist and pointed me in the right directions to look.

      Interestingly Lionel Tarr seems to have done a similar job in the 1st Airborne Division to that done by my father in 6th Airborne Division.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Bob,

    Thanks for the heads-up. Amazon will be delivering my copy tomorrow (provided the snow is not too bad by then).

    I really must check John's site more often.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike Hall,

      I'm sure that you'll find the book as interesting as I have.

      Because I know John Curry, I often get prior knowledge of what is in the publishing pipeline. There are quite a few interesting books in various stages of production, so I'd strongly urge you to pay regular visits to his website and blog.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. It doesn't say much for my powers of observation that I'd not noticed that the History of Wargaming's home page is also the blog. I've now added it to Feedly so I should not miss future postings.

      Delete
    3. Mike Hall,

      That sounds like an excellent idea!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. I was looking forward to this book, especially about finding out how he went about scaling his armies for his campaign. I am still in the dark. Do you know Bob?

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    Replies
    1. Stephen Briddon,

      From what I can gather, he created a German Panzer Division (with extras including SS units) and two Russian Tank Divisions. Units from these divisions were then fielded as necessary. The units that made the divisions were quite large, roughly on a par with RAPID FIRE units.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. That is what I thought, extrapolating from what I read. I think I will be less ambitious with my Western Desert campaign plan!

      Delete
    3. Stephen Briddon,

      Here are a couple of example ORBATs:

      Panzer Grenadier Regiment, 1st Battalion: 1 Officer, 1 NCO, 1 Signaller, 1 Light Truck, 52 Other Ranks, 1 MMG, 1 ATG, 1 50mm Mortar, 3 APC

      Motor Rifle Regiment: 1 Officer, 3 NCOs, 33 Other Ranks, 3 Trucks

      I think that they give you some idea about the way his armies were organised.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. A bolt from the blue! I thought that "More Wargaming Pioneers" was the best we could expect about Lionel Tarr. This is fantastic news. There is a free shipping offer at Lulu right now. Guess I am off to buy my copy! Thanks for pointing this one Out, Bob.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John,

      I did give John Curry a little bit of help with some of the contents, so I suppose that I have an ulterior motive for bringing this book to people's attention.

      My own desire to refight Operation Barbarossa and the subsequent campaigns in Eastern Europe came about because of reading about Lionel Tarr's battles ... and seeing the photos of his Stalingrad terrain.

      I hope you enjoy reading the book once it is delivered,

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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