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Welcome to the first PDF in our new WiPrime Collections series. In each of these online omnibuses, available exclusively to WiPrime Members, we bring together themed articles from the Wargames Illustrated archive for your reading pleasure and referencing ease.
This month I’ve dug through The Vault and searched for articles focused on the Crusades. Presented here are 17 articles about the Medieval religious wars that the Church helped to spread through the Holy Land, written by undisputable experts.
Future PDF Collections will feature articles penned by a broad and varied group of scribes, but with Doctors Steve Tibble and Gianluca Raccagni providing so many Crusades contributions to Wargames Illustrated over the years, I didn’t need to broaden my search beyond them!
These knowledgeable authors are the perfect guides to this fascinating period, and they tell the history, present gaming ideas, showcase intriguing characters, and even offer a few fantastical takes on various parts of the Crusades. If you’re reading this when the PDF first goes online (February 2024) then you’ll be able to get a pre-release look at Steve’s latest article – Pirates, saints, and crusaders – which is not due to be published until Wi435.
We hope you enjoy this compilation of articles. Thanks to Steve and Gianluca for adding their broad knowledge and excellent writing to the pages of Wargames Illustrated over the years. We’ll be back with a second instalment in the WiPrime Collections series soon.
Until then, may all your Crusades be the First, and your opponents’ the Fourth!
James Griffiths
Project Manager
REIMAGINING THE CRUSADES PART ONE – SIEGE WARFARE
The first in a series of articles by the leading expert in the field of Crusader warfare, Dr Steve Tibble, beginning with siege warfare.
THE FIRST TEMPLAR
Dr Gianluca Raccagni, author of Lion Rampant expansion, Crusader States, takes us on a journey back to the inception of the Templars.
REIMAGINING THE CRUSADES PART TWO – FORMATIONS
Dr Steve Tibble continues this fascinating series with a look at Crusade battle formations and how they could be applied on the tabletop.
LOUIS IX – SAINTS, HOOKERS, AND MERCENARIES ON CRUSADES
Crusader expert Dr Steve Tibble tells us about Saint Louis and the ill-fated Eighth Crusade.
THE CRUSADES AS WARS OF RELIGION: ARCHETYPE OR ANOMALY
What if the Crusades aren’t actually the archetypal religious wars? Dr Steve Tibble puts forth his case and deals with the unusual problems this creates for wargamers.
THE CRUSADER CONTEST FOR EGYPT
Dr Steve Tibble looks at how we can wargame the crusader strategies of the 12th Century.
PIRATES, SAINTS, AND CRUSADERS
Dr Steve Tibble casts his expert eye over the adventures of Godric of Finchale, the unlikely individual who was pivotal in the continuation of the crusader states.
REIMAGINING THE CRUSADES PART THREE – ARMY LISTS: THE PEOPLE
Dr Steve Tibble continues his series with a fresh look at the people who formed the Crusader armies, those from Western Europe and the Middle East.
BEDOUIN AND BARONS
Dr Steve Tibble, Wi’s Crusades expert, turns an extraordinary true story into a mini-campaign for The Barons’ War: Outremer.
THE TEMPLARS’ LAST CHARGE
Dr Steve Tibble casts his expert gaze over the last moments of the Templars at war, during the Siege of Acre.
FUN IN THE SUN
A look through the Outremer expansion book for Footsore’s Barons’ War, discussing the armies, rules, and figures available, along with suggestions for Crusader States historical skirmish battles.
DESIGNER’S NOTES: LION RAMPANT THE CRUSADER STATES
Dr Gianluca Raccagni, author of The Crusader States, gives us his Designer’s Notes on his addition to the Rampant stable.
REIMAGINING THE CRUSADES PART FOUR – ARMY LISTS: THE TROOP TYPES
The last instalment in author Steve Tibble’s quadrilogy quest to bring a more accurate Crusade to the world of wargaming.
WARGAMES CAMPAIGNS AND MEDIEVAL STRATEGY
Dr Steve Tibble, author of The Crusader Armies and The Crusader Strategy, looks at why we might take the idea of ‘medieval strategy’ more seriously.
THE CRUSADER HINTERLAND STRATEGY
In this article, Dr Steve Tibble examines the ‘hinterland strategy’ that broadly ran from 1125 – 1153.
THE ASSASSINS: CULTISTS, SPECIAL FORCES, OR GUERRILLAS?
Dr Steve Tibble, author of Crusader Armies from Yale Press, draws us into the world of the Crusades and introduces the sect which came to be known as the Assassins.
THE TEMPLARS AND THE DEMON WARS OF 1307-1314
Dr Steve Tibble brings demons and magic to the Templars as well as looking at the real events which led to the Order’s fall.