Meanwhile...

From the readpile

Top of the pile now is Matthew Parker's Monte Cassino: The Story of the Hardest-fought Battle of World War Two. This is a very readable book, with lots of detail about the grim conditions soldiers faced in the cold and wet mountains of 'sunny' Italy during 1943-44. It's another book to feature Spike Milligan's war memoirs as source material. I wonder what Spike thought about that? Did he even know? But this isn't about the mad Milligan. No, it's about the Abruzzo.

Regular readers might remember the Millefoglie alla 'guardiese' I've served up a couple of times. It turns out that the Abruzzo, where that dish has its origins, was the scene of a major operation to break the Gustav Line in January 1944, as the Allied armies closed in on Monte Cassino. At the heart of the manoeuvre was the French Expeditionary Corps (FEC). Their attacks through mountainous conditions shocking even to German Gebirgsjäger Russian front veterans played a significant role in rehabilitating the tattered reputation of French soldiery.

C3i, Combat Commander, completism, and contentment

C3i is GMT's house magazine, published by Rodger MacGowan, whose work I first encountered on the covers of Squad Leader and Panzer Blitz, to name 2 notable examples. I recently ordered several copies direct from GMT, mostly because I wanted the Combat Commander scenarios contained therein. The magazines arrived earlier this week, after a quick jaunt across the Atlantic.

In the best traditions of house magazines, C3i comes stuffed to the gizzards with stuff to add to your games; that's counters, cards, and extra maps as well as new scenarios. There's even a complete mini WW2 wargame in 1 issue. The magazine itself is serious reading for real grognards, of the kind to be savoured over the long periods between each new edition. Very impressive all told.

Badger's coming round for the old grub and games tonight, so maybe we'll visit one of my new C3i CC scenarios as well as paying our 2nd visit to the PTO. Time will tell. ;)