Galleys and Galleons is a standalone set of naval wargaming rules based on the Song of Blades engine. G&G allows players to fight out fast-paced naval battles without cluttering the table with charts or unnecessary record keeping. Easy to learn, fast to play Games concluded in around one hour Flexible: each player commands up to 6-7 ships; fleet games are possible with multiple players per side. Additional rules cater for mythical beasts, submersibles and more. Expansive - includes rosters for 36 historic vessels plus numerous shore forts, monsters and more.
Lauded as one of the finest books in the field of naval history, this comprehensive account of sixteenth century galley warfare includes detailed descriptions of all major actions in the Mediterranean and around the Arabian peninsula. First published in 1974 and recently revised the work is packed with technological insights into the strategy and tactics of galley warfare between the Ottoman Empire and its Spanish and Portuguese opponents. Among the many facets author John Guilmartin discusses are how the strategic considerations in gallery warfare are substantially different from those in campaigns involving galleons or ships of the line, why the 1571 victory at Lepanto failed to have any-long term strategic consequences, and how the arquebus and musket proved more suitable for action aboard ship than the crossbow or Turkish composite bow. This updated edition also includes new research into the orders of battle and ballistics, gunnery, and cannon founding.
Cogs, Caravels and Galleons traces the development of seagoing vessels from the traditions of late antiquity to the all important emergence of the three-masted ship, undoubtedly the most significant innovation in the history of shipping before the steam engine. Without the three-masted ship the European age of exploration and expansion is almost inconceivable and there is no doubt that the subsequent evolution of the world would have been markedly different. In recent years much original research has been done in this field, based on both documentary sources and archaeology, but this is the first overall synthesis of the new material now available. The main chapters are devoted to the principal ship types, explaining the latest thinking on the characteristics of cogs, caravels, hulks and so forth that have caused scholarly debate for decades. There are also more general sections on essential background subjects like construction and guns and gunnery, as well as pertinent essays on the evidence - from documentary sources, contemporary illustrations and archaeology. All the contributors are the foremost experts in their fields, but in presenting the fruits of their research at an approachable level, Cogs, Caravels and Galleons is a pioneering work in this area of maritime history.
ORIGINALLY published in 1934, this major study by Frederic Lane tracks the rise and decline of the great shipbuilding industry of Renaissance Venice. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources, Lane presents detailed descriptions of the Venetian arsenal, including the great galleys that doubled as cargo ships and warships; the sixteenth-century round ships, which introduced dramatic innovations in rigging and were less vulnerable to attack than the galleys; and the majestic galleons, whose straight lines and greater speed made them ideal for merchantmen but whose narrowness made them liable to capsize if loaded with artillery. Lane also includes vivid accounts of the rivalries between the famous shipbuilders of the period. There was the impassioned competition between Leonardo Bressan and Marco Francesco Rosso to design the quickest, lightest galley—a contest that Bressan won when Rosso was crushed to death; the race between Vettor Fausto and Matteo Bressan to build the best galleon for use against pirates; and the rivalry between Bernardo di Bernardo and Nicolò Palopano to be the master builder of great merchant galleys. Additional chapters detail the actual process of ship construction, from the design stage, to framing and ribbing the hull, to building the rigging; the organization and activity of the shipbuilders craft guilds and the various private shipyards; and the development and management of the Arsenal. Tables and appendixes detail the types, measurements, number, and capacity of the ships, as well as the wages of the shipbuilders.
Over 100 maritime historians and specialists chart the development of the galley from the earliest paleolithic craft to the classical trireme and its Roman and Byzantine successors. Essays are also included on more general aspects such as material resources, battle tactics and exploration.
Volume II of The Cambridge History of War covers what in Europe is commonly called 'the Middle Ages'. It includes all of the well-known themes of European warfare, from the migrations of the Germanic peoples and the Vikings through the Reconquista, the Crusades and the age of chivalry, to the development of state-controlled gunpowder-wielding armies and the urban militias of the later middle ages; yet its scope is world-wide, ranging across Eurasia and the Americas to trace the interregional connections formed by the great Arab conquests and the expansion of Islam, the migrations of horse nomads such as the Avars and the Turks, the formation of the vast Mongol Empire, and the spread of new technologies – including gunpowder and the earliest firearms – by land and sea.
Poseidon's Warriors is a set of wargaming rules for large-scale naval actions between fleets of Classical galleys from the Greek and Persian clash at the battle of Salamis to the battle of Actium that decided the fate of Rome. With so many of these battles taking place around islands or in narrow channels and shallow waters, sneaky tactics and cunning manoeuvres are a hallmark of warfare of this era, and the rules use an integrated turn system to allow a commander to position ships to go in and ram without being rammed in return, or to employ feints and traps to tempt the enemy out of position and leave his ships vulnerable to a follow-up strike. With data for ships throughout the period, rules for famous admirals, historical scenarios, a campaign system and a brief historical summary for those who wish to refresh their memory of the era, Poseidon's Warriors offers everything players need to bring to the tabletop the battles and campaigns of the first great age of naval warfare.
