Dave Watson
@balkandave.bsky.social
Think tank director, historian, wargamer, Fulham FC fan. Editor www.balkanhistory.org. Mostly history and wargaming here.
Pinned
Dave Watson
@balkandave.bsky.social
· Oct 30
Struggle for the Pontic Steppe
This book examines the conflict between the Russian and Ottoman empires for control of the Pontic Steppe region during the second half of the 18th century. The Pontic Steppe stretches from the...
www.balkanhistory.org
My new book, 'The Struggle for the Pontic Steppe:
Russo-Ottoman Wars 1768-1792' is now available. Directly below in the UK, your local bookshop, or Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions worldwide. The link below also has my presentation on YouTube. www.balkanhistory.org/struggle-for...
Russo-Ottoman Wars 1768-1792' is now available. Directly below in the UK, your local bookshop, or Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions worldwide. The link below also has my presentation on YouTube. www.balkanhistory.org/struggle-for...
Scots have reached Teeside! The Battle of Newburn 1640, using Pike and Shotte rules.
November 29, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Scots have reached Teeside! The Battle of Newburn 1640, using Pike and Shotte rules.
The Battle of Domstadtl 1758. Austrians v Prussians in the SYW. Played with a massive collection of flats. Real old school!
November 29, 2025 at 12:26 PM
The Battle of Domstadtl 1758. Austrians v Prussians in the SYW. Played with a massive collection of flats. Real old school!
Big Week 1944 over Berlin using Fire in the Sky rules.
November 29, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Big Week 1944 over Berlin using Fire in the Sky rules.
Battle of Raphia 217BC. Seleucids v Egyptians using a grid based game called War Band.
November 29, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Battle of Raphia 217BC. Seleucids v Egyptians using a grid based game called War Band.
3 Para in Helmand 2006. Force on Force rules.
November 29, 2025 at 12:15 PM
3 Para in Helmand 2006. Force on Force rules.
Battle of Chairi 1701. Prince Eugene’s victory over the Franco-Spanish army. In 10mm.
November 29, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Battle of Chairi 1701. Prince Eugene’s victory over the Franco-Spanish army. In 10mm.
Sicily 1943. 28mm Bolt Action. Battleground show today.
November 29, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Sicily 1943. 28mm Bolt Action. Battleground show today.
Waterloo in 10mm using WoFun plastics and Blucher rules. Very effective. Battleground show today.
November 29, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Waterloo in 10mm using WoFun plastics and Blucher rules. Very effective. Battleground show today.
Assault on Little Round Top using 40mm figures and lots of teddy bear fur! Battleground show today.
November 29, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Assault on Little Round Top using 40mm figures and lots of teddy bear fur! Battleground show today.
Charge of the Rough Riders. You don’t often see Tiger Miniatures at shows. I do not need any more Balkan Wars figures….
November 29, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Charge of the Rough Riders. You don’t often see Tiger Miniatures at shows. I do not need any more Balkan Wars figures….
Barbarossa in 10mm using Rapid Fire rules at the Battleground show today.
November 29, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Barbarossa in 10mm using Rapid Fire rules at the Battleground show today.
The new series attempts to chart the fall of four major empires but doesn’t always get it right. Historians strike back!https://theconversation.com/does-bbc-civilisations-get-its-four-stories-of-collapse-correct-experts-weigh-in-270114
Does BBC Civilisations get its four stories of collapse correct? Experts weigh in
The new series attempts to chart the fall of four major empires but doesn’t always get it right.
theconversation.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:28 AM
The new series attempts to chart the fall of four major empires but doesn’t always get it right. Historians strike back!https://theconversation.com/does-bbc-civilisations-get-its-four-stories-of-collapse-correct-experts-weigh-in-270114
Stopped off at Raby Castle in Teeside on my way to do a book talk this evening. Built by the Neville’s in the 14thC with later additions. Not impressed with the Xmas tree masking the armoury. Bah Humbug!
November 28, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Stopped off at Raby Castle in Teeside on my way to do a book talk this evening. Built by the Neville’s in the 14thC with later additions. Not impressed with the Xmas tree masking the armoury. Bah Humbug!
Drones have changed warfare. Two new weapons might be about alter its course again. Direct-energy weapons are being developed as a way to defend against drone attacks. theconversation.com/drones-have-...
Drones have changed warfare. Two new weapons might be about alter its course again
Direct-energy weapons are being developed as a way to defend against drone attacks.
theconversation.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Drones have changed warfare. Two new weapons might be about alter its course again. Direct-energy weapons are being developed as a way to defend against drone attacks. theconversation.com/drones-have-...
Reposted by Dave Watson
For anyone interested in vikings: a symposium on the impact of the viking Great Army, to be held at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge on 24 April 2026.
November 27, 2025 at 3:29 PM
For anyone interested in vikings: a symposium on the impact of the viking Great Army, to be held at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge on 24 April 2026.
Reinforcements for my Blood Red Skies Luftwaffe fleet. Me 410 flown by German ace (38 victories) Edward Tratt from 1943. Another dent in the painting pile, before I am tempted to replenish it at Battleground, Middlesbrough on Saturday 😂.
November 27, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Reinforcements for my Blood Red Skies Luftwaffe fleet. Me 410 flown by German ace (38 victories) Edward Tratt from 1943. Another dent in the painting pile, before I am tempted to replenish it at Battleground, Middlesbrough on Saturday 😂.
The Cretan War 1645-1671. Expanding on my article in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy 138, with other scenario ideas, figure availability and the history. balkandave.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
The Cretan War 1645-1671
I have an article in the new edition of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy (138), on the Cretan War 1645-1671. It provides an overview of the...
balkandave.blogspot.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:26 PM
The Cretan War 1645-1671. Expanding on my article in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy 138, with other scenario ideas, figure availability and the history. balkandave.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
OTD in 1476, Vlad the Impaler was crowned for the third time as the Voivode of Wallachia. This was his shortest rule, as he died fighting the Ottomans within a month. He is supposedly buried in the Snagov Monastery. A peaceful setting, in contrast to his life and times.
November 26, 2025 at 9:00 PM
OTD in 1476, Vlad the Impaler was crowned for the third time as the Voivode of Wallachia. This was his shortest rule, as he died fighting the Ottomans within a month. He is supposedly buried in the Snagov Monastery. A peaceful setting, in contrast to his life and times.
The Battle of Quatre Bras 1815. My blog on our two day refight of the battle on the grand scale. The outcome was similar, even with a different French plan to Ney’s. Where was d’Erlon when you need him😂. balkandave.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
The Battle of Quatre Bras 1815
Last weekend, I was playing a multiplayer game of the Battle of Quatre Bras at the Veterans Hub in Glasgow. We essentially followed the sce...
balkandave.blogspot.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:53 PM
The Battle of Quatre Bras 1815. My blog on our two day refight of the battle on the grand scale. The outcome was similar, even with a different French plan to Ney’s. Where was d’Erlon when you need him😂. balkandave.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
Plaque for Scottish Holocaust victim to be unveiled in Edinburgh. Outside St Stephen's Church in Stockbridge, where a service was held for Jane Haining before she travelled to Budapest to work as a matron. Later murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz in 1944. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Plaque for Scottish Holocaust victim to be unveiled in Edinburgh
The Stolperstein stone has been laid outside St Stephen's Church in Stockbridge in Edinburgh.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Plaque for Scottish Holocaust victim to be unveiled in Edinburgh. Outside St Stephen's Church in Stockbridge, where a service was held for Jane Haining before she travelled to Budapest to work as a matron. Later murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz in 1944. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Wargaming: the surprisingly effective tool that can help us prepare for modern crises. We might not be able to predict the future perfectly given the speed of change. But we can test the options. Wargaming is how we start. My Quatre Bras weekend wasn’t wasted😂. theconversation.com/wargaming-th...
Wargaming: the surprisingly effective tool that can help us prepare for modern crises
Wargaming is a centuries-old tool to explore ‘what if’ scenarios by simulating real-world crises.
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Wargaming: the surprisingly effective tool that can help us prepare for modern crises. We might not be able to predict the future perfectly given the speed of change. But we can test the options. Wargaming is how we start. My Quatre Bras weekend wasn’t wasted😂. theconversation.com/wargaming-th...
By close of play the French dominate the crossroads but the Allies have plenty in reserve. French cavalry are in the Allied flank. Similar to the historic Quatre Bras. Black Powder and thanks to Veterans Hub for good game.
November 23, 2025 at 3:21 PM
By close of play the French dominate the crossroads but the Allies have plenty in reserve. French cavalry are in the Allied flank. Similar to the historic Quatre Bras. Black Powder and thanks to Veterans Hub for good game.
My grand flank attack with Jerome’s division started well, pinning Alten. However, the dice gods bit back and the attack has ground to a halt. Jerome has probably brought his massive baggage again😂. Quatre Bras.
November 23, 2025 at 11:53 AM
My grand flank attack with Jerome’s division started well, pinning Alten. However, the dice gods bit back and the attack has ground to a halt. Jerome has probably brought his massive baggage again😂. Quatre Bras.
Day2 of the Battle of Quatre Bras 1815 at the Veterans Hub in Glasgow. The French are close to the crossroads but too slow getting there. Allied reinforcements have arrived in large numbers. Black Powder in 28mm.
November 23, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Day2 of the Battle of Quatre Bras 1815 at the Veterans Hub in Glasgow. The French are close to the crossroads but too slow getting there. Allied reinforcements have arrived in large numbers. Black Powder in 28mm.
Ardvrek Castle wall 'ripped down' for use as stepping stones. "Some special individuals decided when the water was over the beach area, rather than get their little tootsies wet, they would rip down a 500-year-old wall to make a path for themselves.” Unbelievable! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ardvrek Castle wall 'ripped down' for use as stepping stones
Ardvrek Castle in Assynt is a 500-year-old former clan seat, and reputed to be haunted.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Ardvrek Castle wall 'ripped down' for use as stepping stones. "Some special individuals decided when the water was over the beach area, rather than get their little tootsies wet, they would rip down a 500-year-old wall to make a path for themselves.” Unbelievable! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...