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Wargaming the Chinese Civil War How I Got into this Period Most Strange and Eccentric

I have always liked fielding unusual wargames armies, particularly underdog forces. After all, how many gamers own a substantial 1940 French wargames army in 20mm scale?

Being a fan of early 20th Century skirmish gaming with a taste for the unusual, I was naturally intrigued by the possibilities of the Chinese Civil War during the reign of the great independant warlordsof the 1920's. The Chnese warlords intrigued me because these feudalistic would-be Sons of Heaven (the traditional names for the Cninese Emporers) had often vast private armies including the latest European military hardware of their day. These private armies frequently included Eropean mercenaries (primarily ex-white faction Russian refugeeson the losing end of their own Civil War), with weaponry and training varying from state-of-the-art to the downright medieval. In fact, it was not an uncommon sight to see warlord soldiers with european style uniforms, steel helmets, sub-machine guns, and Chinese fighting swords slung on their backs!

... more in this month's issue of Miniature Wargames magazine.