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The First Crusade 1096 - 99
Osprey Campaign Series.
Review by Steve Crofts.
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Having read a couple of the campaign series books, regarding WWII and the Seven Years War, I had a fair idea as to what to expect within the covers of this volume , and to be quite honest although as I've mentioned before in a previous review that the medieval period is not my strong point, I read the book and became interested in the subject the more I read.
The book as you can tell with the title, deals with the subject of the first crusade campaign.
The book begins with a chapter dealing with the origins for the campaign, and doesn't drone on incessantly but puts in perspective the beginnings of the campaign and its reasons.
The next part of the book covers the chronology from 1071 - 1099, each date covered has a short historical note regarding what was happening or what was happening during the campaign, this then leads you to the next chapter which covers the opposing commanders, each is covered briefly but gives you an insight into the person concerned and what happened to them after the crusade, unless of course they died during the campaign!
The next portion covered in the book deals with the opposing plans, this is very interesting reading, it gives you a very insightful look at what all the sides concerned wished to get out of the campaign and I feel anyone wishing to set up a mini Wargames campaign will find this section very useful indeed, for not only historical re-fights but also, "what if", scenarios.
The next chapter takes you step by step through the entirety of the campaign, each part having its own subheading and full description of what happened ect...
Again anyone who wishes to use each section separately to re-create the campaign or even just one section of the campaign, or use what is happening in the main campaign to again add, "what if’s", or mini campaigns should find this section really useful.
The aftermath of the campaign is covered in it’s own chapter, as is the section regarding the battlefields today for anyone who is visiting the sites or is wishing to know about them. This section is brief but informative.
The book is studded with some really nice artwork and illustrations, as well as photographs of not only carvings and other pieces of archeological interest but also of the remnants of buildings and fortresses as they remain today, these are a good mixture of both black and white as well as colour images. The mixture of the subjects also keeps you interested.
Three dimensional maps are also included in this volume and are themselves works of art!, full of detail and gives you a better idea as to the lie of the land better than the usual "flat" map.
All in all I found this book very interesting and I thank John personally, for opening my eyes to this period by asking me to review the book.
A great deal can be learnt from this book by Wargamers and students of history, it may not be great bedtime reading for most but I’d give it a whirl, after all you may find like me you learn something!
If you are thinking of getting this book just for the colour plates of the "uniforms", and not the actual campaign then I feel that you would be a little dismayed, as there are only a few, "uniform", plates and another book covering this period in history for such plates would probably be a better buy for you, although the artwork concerning this is of a gallery standard and I found it refreshing to say the least.
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