Monday 9 January 2012

Taking the bull by the horns

The title of this post probably will mean nothing to English readers as it is a remarkable Spanish expression (coger el toro por los cuernos) used when you take the a firm decision on any matter. A few posts back, I talked about my intention this year to play IABSM but with a twist: focused in the Spanish Civil War.



So after some consideration during my holidays over the last week, I decided to  start looking at a very specific battle: the Jarama. A major reason behind this is the fact that I not only live in Madrid but also at (literally) a 10-15 minutes drive from the place where the actual battle took place in February 1937. One of the attractions of this battle is that it involved a great variety of forces, including "crack" units from both sides and overall it was quite balanced. It  provides too some optionality if  I like to extend this into a full campign using Jarama and Guadalajara.

I have also found some interesting information in the web related to routes in the battlefield, visits to the remnants of the fortifications and trenches ... and even a museum about the battle itself... located in a local restaurant (astonishing discovery!)

I have already gathered some books about the battle from my own extensive SCW library...

 ... and found some inspiring music...


And best of all, no need to paint any single model: I have tons of 20mm minis, AFVS, guns...just ready to go straight into battle.

PS @ 10/January: Coincidentally Alfons, a senior Spanish wargamer and blogger, has  written a couple of interesting post here (in Spanish) with his early attempts to wargame the SCW in the late 70s. These posts include some home-made rules made by him and a group of aficionados. Worth taking a look

11 comments:

  1. Excellent. I am looking forward to seeing how you do this. Have you looked at the Cara al Sol supplement that Kevin Lowth wrote years ago? It was a supplement for IABSM for the Spanish Civil War. It was of course for the previous version of IABSM but it should translate still.

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  2. Chris: Yes I have the supplment and asked Richard Clarke how difficult iot was to adapt to 3.0 before jumping into this. Apparently it should be relatively easy... but first I need to get acquainted with the rules

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  3. Amigo Anibal nvictus:
    Segun la edad que tengas, seguramente nos conocemos, pues cuando estaba en Madrid siempre pasaba a veros,como amigo que era de Hrmogenes Sains, presidente entonces del club Dragon.Visto el interse , voy a publicar, tres reglamentos traducidos de la Guerra Civil, que me paso Armando Fernandez Xesta, en los años 80, veo que sigues mi bloc, espero que te sirvan , ya me diras tu opinion
    SALUT

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  4. Alfons: Pues seguramente sí que nos hemos conocido, de hecho tengo el carné número 002 del Club y fui de los socios fundadores originales

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  5. Solo una correccion Alfons , Hermogenes, amigo y "azote" al tiempo de todos nosotros , no ha sido nunca presidente del Club Dragon y aun mas , la mayor parte del tiempo ( quizas 27 de estos 28 años de existencia) ha estado dado de baja por impago de cuotas . Seguramente no habras conocido en persona a Anibal (Benito) Invictus porque el estaba recien casado en los tiempos en que compartiamos con mas frecuencia "Centro cubano" (diablos , hace milenios que no me bebo un daikiri) y napoleonicos ...
    Un abrazo
    Santiago De la Peña.

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  6. Interested to see where you go with this, I have yet to find a set of rules for the war that I am entirely happy with.

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  7. Very interested as well. Such an interesting period. Great to have a local connection.

    Rmakowsky

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  8. Taking the bull by the horns is a common expression in English, particularly in the Western United States. Very nice blog. I am looking forward to exploring.

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  9. Hi Drunken Samurai and a very warm welcome. I wasn't sure about the expression, I've learned my English at this side of the pond. This blog focuses mainly in WWI, WWII and lately Vietnam, played with rules sets made by the TooFatLardies factory

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  10. Pensaba que estabas 'speaking in silver". Menos mal que Drunken Samurai aclaró el asunto de la frase, jajajaja
    Un periodo demasiado cercano para mi gusto personal, pero supongo que perfecto para escaramuzas
    Saludos
    Rafa

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  11. Cuando tengas las reglas avisas Y LAS PROBAMOS!!

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