Why do you love military history?

Something I've thought about a lot... the short answer is that my English father was a professor of Canadian history so it's in my genes. A longer answer, I come from an exceedingly unmilitary place, the West coast of Canada, which has had no history of wars, no battles to speak of. The colour and pageantry of military history appealed to me as a Anglophile child (as Van Creveld writes about) and I joined The Trumpeters wargames club at the age of 14. I now have thousands of figures and hundreds of books ( 600+ Ospreys). Sometimes its the pure joy of learning and having the expertise about the periods I game that drives me. I do extensive background trying to inject "period feel" into my wargaming, making connections between facts, discovering a new take on history thrills me. It's like discovering new worlds, trying to understand people in the past who's world view I often find alien and strange. I also believe that to function in society and understand the world it helps to know your history. I'm sick of listening to ill-informed opnions and conspiracy theories and feel more able to challenge them if I educate myself. True, there are other things responsible citizens should know about, like economics and enviromental science but conflict studies is what I know and concentrate on. And unlike economics and enviromental science I feel there are things humanity can do to prevent or minimise war. War may never end, but wars do.

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Have you read this gem from the Osprey archive, Colin?
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/articles/19th_century/the_pig_that_sparked_a_crisis/
It tells how your lovely unwarlike place nearly went to war on one occasion!

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Actually, I know all about the Pig War. I've read a couple books, visited the sites and as I am a cartoonist/illustrator (I've had an illustration reprinted in Warrior Series Ashigura) I drew a two page history of the Pig War in the comics anthology, Funday Sunnies. The important thing to remember about the Pig War is that in the end cooler heads prevailed and the only casualty was the pig! Not enough to even justify a Raid title*! Although I believe there is a Pig War recreation group!
* How about a Raid book on the battle of Ridgeway?

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Hi Joe,
Interesting question. An ex-girlfriend once said it was my way of channeling aggression (I thought that was what the weightlifting was for!), and I think she was right. I know war is hell, but it is strangely compelling. In Chapter 1 of Ben Hughes' They Shall Not Pass! there is an interesting quote: "Even in the Anti-War campaigns of the early thirties we were half in love with the horrors which we cried out against, and, as a boy, I can remember murmuring the name 'Passchendaele' in an ecstasy of excitement and regret."

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I agree with Joe, war is a situation who droves the people to the limit and shows the true nature of humanity. I also like to read about it because in all generatiosn the man said that war was evil but they go always to war when it favours it interests. Why ? What did motivate the leaders to choose this option. How was the conflict resolved and what results were achieved.

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