Show Notes
Text the show! How do you turn the chaos of an 18th-century battlefield into a set of rules? How do you simulate the "fog of war" that plagued commanders like the Duke of Cumberland or Marshal Saxe? In this special episode of Prime & Load, we explore the art and science of Historical Wargaming. We are joined by Rich Hamilton and Gary McClellan from Wargame Design Studio (WDS). We dive deep into their origin stories, how they went from history enthusiasts to professional game designers, a...
More from Prime and Load!
Text the show! Get the Full, Uncut Version of this Episode On October 18, 1776, General William Howe launched a major amphibious maneuver, landing 4,000 British light infantry, grenadiers, and Hessians at Pell's Point (Pelham Manor) to bypass American positions. Spotting the landing, Colonel John Glover moved his 750-man brigade to contest the advance along Split Rock Road. Utilizing the perpendicular stone fences as successive defensive strongpoints, Glover's regiments held their fire...
Text the show! Recommended Reading The War of the Austrian Succession, By Reed Browning Guibert: Father of Napoleon's Grande Armée, By Jonathan Abel Ep 7: The Battle of Fontenoy On October 11, 1746, over 200,000 soldiers clashed along the banks of the River Meuse in one of the largest land engagements of the 18th century. Following his conquests of Brussels, Antwerp, and Namur, French Marshal Maurice de Saxe sought to crush the remaining Allied forces defending the Austrian Netherlands and g...
Text the show! Recommended Reading Frederick the Great: A Military Life By: Christopher Duffy Research on Saxon Army Loyalty & Desertion By: Markus von Salisch Episode Summary In October 1756, the Seven Years' War in Europe opened at Lobositz along the Elbe River. Fearing an anti-Prussian coalition, Frederick the Great launched a pre-emptive invasion of neutral Saxony, blockading 20,000 Saxons at Pirna. When Austrian Field Marshal Ulysses Maximilian von Browne marched north wi...
Text the show! Following the 1745 capture of Louisbourg, British ministers redirected General James St. Clair's Quebec-bound army to launch a surprise amphibious assault on Lorient, the primary Atlantic depot and shipyard of the French East India Company (Compagnie des Indes). Co-commanded by St. Clair and the contentious 70-year-old Admiral Richard Lestock, the 1746 Lorient Expedition quickly devolved into a logistical fiasco. Discover how this "feeble and fruitless" raid, naval duels in Qu...
Text the show! Unlock the Full Uncut Episode Recommended Reading: The War of the Spanish Succession by James Falkner Prince Eugene of Savoy by James Falkner Episode Summary For continental European powers in 1706, fighting against France was like being in a cage match with an 800-pound gorilla. Unlike the British, who had the English Channel to keep the French at arm's length, smaller states like Piedmont-Sardinia faced a life-and-death struggle against the towering ambition of Lo...