In a modern world, war can often be misconstrued by a spectator often depicted in little bite-size media packages of human misery or flash-bangs in a brief snapshot of explosions. According to Venture Capitalist, there were 27 ongoing conflicts in 2021 with over 80% in Asia and Africa. With the added conflict in Ukraine, that list has grown and with the use of social media tech, war is now displayed to any available clickable viewer around the world. But what is learned from this saturation of conflict media, in a way, very little, as images desensitise an audience and leave more opinion than fact. Hence studying the history of conflict comes to prominence, through developing a rich understanding of how to minimise the impact of conflict and learning how to resolve differences amongst us.
New items coming into the store...
Modern wargaming was invented in Prussia in the early 19th-century, and eventually, the Prussian military adopted wargaming as a tool for training their officers and developing doctrine. After Prussia defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War, wargaming was widely adopted by military officers in other countries. Over the next few days, we are adding to our wargame section a number of new games and a few classics to bring a little tension to table tops everyhere.
Many historians in studying the Vietnam War have stated that there was no clear political objective and this was one of the defining reasons why the U.S. military was doomed in trying to achieve a victorious outcome.
This week I will be adding a number of magazines on the Vietnam War onto the store shelves. Many commentators in contemporary media like to label wars of attrition as a new Vietnam war. The actual conflict in Vietnam that pre-dated current conflicts was one of a complex series of skirmishes that pitted a David-Goliath analogy. In the end, North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap sums it up best...
"Any forces that would impose their will on other nations will certainly face defeat."
If Archeologists were to dig up any Chap's childhood backyards they will no doubt discover not some ancient terracotta army but an army of lead and plastic soldiers. These survivors from days of intense battles in a boy's imagination are a small part of growing up and understanding strategy and outcomes.
The Toy Soldier hobby itself is a huge collectible area for modeling enthusiasts with some serious collecting going on with the more antique figures. The most expensive single toy soldier was sold at Christie's Auction in 1994, when a rare prototype Britains marching guard from 1934 brought £3,100, or $US 4,371. Now we honestly don't that level of toy solders in the store but we do have a few great books on the subject to browse over in the next few days. And no I won't be leaving them in Mrs. Biggles Garden.
Now when you hear the word 'Janes' a publication of qualified military analysis is probably the last thing you might think of.
However, the military-related publication named after John F. T. Jane, an Englishman who first published Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships in 1898 is a real treat.
We will be creating a couple of new collections in the store to house these top-secret periodicals, so top secret that in 1984, only months after the magazine was established, Jane's Defence Weekly gained worldwide attention after printing several images from an American spy satellite of the Nikolaiev 444 shipyard in the Black Sea. The photos showed a Kiev-class aircraft carrier under construction. The images were leaked by Samuel Loring Morison, an American intelligence professional, leading to the only conviction ever passed against a US government official for giving classified information to the press.
Pop into the store on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm otherwise keep an eye out on our socials and website as we add new items throughout the week.
Tally Ho!
Dave
