"Osprey Armies of the Pacific War 1879-83" Topic

"I've finally got my copy of, and read, the Osprey on the War of the Pacific.

Any new Osprey on a subject you are interested in is always greeted by a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Some Ospreys are really good and some aren't. Having said that when I start a new period I always try to hunt down the relevant Ospreys first to try to get a quick start into the subject…"

Full review here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Thanks for the link, Armand.

Keen to discuss the book with anyone else who has read it and may disagree with my views!

-----"By reason or by force" – Chilean motto-----

It is only recently that Osprey have covered the Pacific War, War of the Triple Alliance and the Chaco War, allowing the English speakers to get some insights to South America after the Independence Wars. Ok, I know Osprey isn't necessarily definitive they are good enough for beginners and those just wanting a quick overview.

Wikipedia gives a lot on the military campaigns of the Pacific War and there is an earlier Spanish book about the uniforms (sorry, don't have a copy but the pictures on the web suggest it would be good value).

I bought an ebook of this. I haven't read it, yet.

Its a good start as you say, but the Greve Moller & Fernadez Cedra "Uniforms of the Pacific War 1879_1884" by Partisan Press is THE book on the uniforms. "Andean Tragedy" is a great book for the narrative. And Burrs old "By Reason or by Force" is a great study of Chilean Freign Policy 1840-1900

KTravlos is right on the Moller/Cedra book, – I referred to it in the review. Biggest drawback is it is £45.00 GBP, although I'd say that with the amount of pictures it is excellent value.

Also agree on Sater's Andean Tragedy. Every wargamer interested should buy Alan Curtis' "To the last cartridge".

The Wikipedia entries are pretty good too. I would say you have to be careful when reading them. The War still has resonance today in South America.

I quite liked the book, some nice pictures and anything on the war is a bonus.

The colour illustrations are rather un-inspiring I felt. If you have the 'Uniforms of..' book, the Osprey doesn't compare at all. There are also much better illustrations on the web.

'To the last cartridge' gives you a very detailed description of events and battles.

So where does this leave this book? Not really sure, I'd be tempted to recommend it more strongly if it had better colour illustrations, for those who have a passing interest in the war, but I do feel they let the book down.

It's a reasonable Osprey, but it doesn't cover everything. In the main, I think I agree with Trebian.

I think the bottom line is this. If you have bought a bag load of figures from Outpost Wargame Services and you want to paint them there's enough information in the illustrations and the text to enable you to do so.

A votre service mon ami!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

@Tango1

Parlez vous avec moi?

Send me a PM mon ami!.

Amicalement
Armand

I think the illustrations are lovely.

I am sorry, but I guess art is very subjective, that style of coloured illustrations just don't do it for me. I far and away prefer those in "Uniforms of…"

While it doesn't have pictures, let us not forget OWS painting guide on their website. Very useful.

There are also some illustrations available on the net which seem to come from a Spanish Blandford (best way I can describe them) which are also very good. I used a combination of these, the OWS guide and the "Uniforms of…" to paint up my Pacific War armies, between them you can pull together most of the information you need.

Maverick Models also have a good selection of Chilean flags available, but I never got around to providing him with the stuff on the Bolivians and Peruvians…must get around to that.

Cheers

Of course:

Still the work is useful in that its a good intro for people who do not know or cannot afford the more expansive and more expensive books. And Guiseppe is a great illustrator in my view.