"A Personal view of Osprey's SCW Nationalist Forces Title" Topic

I got Osprey's new volume on the Nationalist Forces of the Spanish Civil War this week. After the initial excitement of flicking through the book I now feel a bit underwhelmed.

There are some nice bits of information I didn't know. For example, the reason some photos of Carlists show them in small berets but the popular image is of them in large tasselled ones (according to the book they are Northern and Southern raised Carlists).

There are some nice plates and interesting photos.

However, there is no dedicated section on Uniform and you have to piece it together from the commentary to the plates and snippets in the main text. Instead we have a full page on the exploits (or lack of them) of O'Duffys Irish Blue Shirts and they make up two figures of one plate. But no Condor Legion are shown.

Some of the colours in the plates also appear 'washed out'. Prime example being the Assault Guard. A photo of one elsewhere in the book clearly shows that they wore a much darker blue.

Is it just me ? Have I been spoilt by some of the other Ospreys on the subject?

I will buy the companion Republican volume coming out next year but it just seems to me like an opportunity has been missed.

I have to admit to being rather "Meh!" after looking at it. I was really looking forward to the book and while I will use it I can't say I was turning cartwheels. In fact I have had it for over three weeks and haven't finished reading it yet,

Fatman

link

yep, a missed opportunity for sure :-(

Bueno's various books remain a primary source for uniforms of the SCW, but as a Blueshirt, his plates on Republican subject are a little caricatured!

Indeed -Bueno has illustrated it as if it was the War of the clean cut, upstanding young men verses an army of used car salesmen, child molesters and drug dealers.

…and the milicianas depicted as prostitutes to a woman :(