Why I Read

RECENTLY, while scouring the shelves of a bookshop for something to read as a back-up on a trip I was planning, I came across a thin booklet (120 small pages) entitled: Why I Write.

As it was by George Orwell, and I loved Animal Farm, Homage To Catalonia, Down And Out In Paris And London, and 1984, I thought it was worth buying, despite the £7.99 price tag.

The book turned out to contain four essays, of which the title one, Why I Write, is perhaps the least interesting, but that is at because The Lion And The Unicorn, Politics And The English Language, and even, to a certain extent, A Hanging, are such riveting reads.

Why I Write is part of Penguin's Great Ideas series, that also includes pieces by Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf, Marcus Aurelius and Machiavelli

A little background for those unaware: Orwell was a social revolutionary - a Trotskyist, more-or-less - who spoke out against Stalin's version of communism at a time when most on the Left could see nothing wrong with the monster.

In The Lion And The Unicorn, published in the dark days of February 1941, he complained that Britain was not a true democracy, as the only true democracy was a Socialist Democracy.

"We know very well that with its present social structure England cannot survive. We cannot win the war without introducing Socialism."

On India: "It is a mistake to imagine that if the Indians were free to cut themselves adrift they would immediately do so. When a British government offers them unconditional independence, they will refuse it."

On his dream government: "An English Socialist government will transform the nation from top to bottom ... but it will not be doctrinaire. It will shoot traitors, but it will give them a solemn trial beforehand and occasionally it will acquit them. It will crush any open revolt promptly and cruelly, but it will interfere very little with the spoken and written word."

Orwell was clearly no Mystic Meg, and perhaps it as well many of his dreams never came true, but he was closer to the mark on how the war abroad might pan out.

"In truth there is no reason to think anyone will do our fighting for us yet awhile, except the Chinese, who have been doing it for three years already. The Russians may be driven to fight on our side by the fact of a direct attack, but they have made it clear enough that they will not stand up to the German army if there is any way of avoiding it. The subject peoples of Europe will rebel when Hitler begins to totter, but not before. Our potential allies are not the Europeans but on the one hand the Americans, who will need to mobilize their resources even if Big Business can be brought to heel, and on the other hand the coloured peoples, who cannot be even sentimentally on our side till our own revolution has started."

On a lighter note, in Politics And The English Language, he criticises longwindedness among writers.

"If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out."

Good advice, most of the time, but it could have been written: "If it is possible to cut a word, cut it."

But do not cut on reading Orwell - his works are well worth it.

A Little Bit Of Shropshire History

DURING a recent walking holiday in Shropshire, I was able to visit two sites of great historical interest - a medieval castle and an Iron Age hillfort.

Approaching Clun Castle, a Norman fortification that in the 1100s was an important frontline defence against Welsh attacks

The Great Tower is the best-preserved part, although that was built around 1300 to accommodate hunting parties, rather than as a defensive addition

Fine views across the border into Wales

Today the castle is perhaps most viewed as a picturesque backdrop for the local crown-green bowling club

Imagination is needed to make much of Norton Camp hillfort

But you do get some idea of how imposing the ramparts must have been

And an artist's impression helps where imagination fails

Bible Truths

MY latest charity-shop find is Werner Keller's The Bible As History - Archaeology Confirms The Book Of Books.

First published in West Germany in the mid-1950s, it was quickly translated into many languages, becoming an unlikely international bestseller.

The book is a real eye-opener for anyone who has not read the Bible (the vast majority of the world's population, even in nominally Christian countries) and who is not well-versed in ancient history.

Keller was not a theologian, nor a historian, but rather a civil servant and journalist, as well as a former anti-Nazi resistance fighter (yes, there were some in Germany).

In The Bible As History he collates the growing body of archaeological evidence, much of it uncovered in the pre-WW2 and immediate post-WW2 periods, that confirmed stories in what are generally regarded as the Old and New Testaments, as well as the arguably non-canonical Books of Maccabees.

These finds include the Merenptah Stele (the name of ancient Egyptian pharaoh is now more normally rendered as Merneptah), a granite slab dating from about 1205 BC, which contains the first known mention outside of the Bible of Israel.

Inevitably archaeology has moved on a great deal in the last 70 years, and much of what was new and exciting in the 1950s is now old and, in some cases, superseded by more up-to-date information.

Keller does not concern himself with parts of the Bible he clearly regards as fairytales, but he explains how matters long regarded as, at best, far-fetched, such as manna from Heaven, and the parting of the River Jordan and the 'Red Sea', could easily have happened in nature, without divine intervention.

I bought the book for £2.99 - as usual, I cannot recall where - believing it to be different from a book I already owned on the same theme.

A hardback bargain

However, I have been unable to locate the earlier book, and I now suspect it was another edition of the same work, that perhaps I had only borrowed from a library.

Whatever the case, it is a great read, although I confess to not having gone through the New Testament section as I was mainly interested in the military and military-related details of the Old Testament.

Summing Up Hill Of Watchfires

MY score against the AI is now 3-0, and this third scenario was the easiest victory of the lot, although it felt far from inevitable in the early going.

Indeed, my Romans were the first to lose a unit, but my plan of exploiting the Dacians' faulty setup (their centre and left were strong, but they neglected their right), meant I was able to turn the enemy's flank and sweep their men off the hill.

Attacks from the flank and rear are especially strong, thanks to the rule that units unable to make a mandatory retreat are routed and removed from the battlefield.

This has proved a great buy

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn XII

I win if there are no Dacian units on the hill at the end of this turn

The start-of-turn-event die is a 6, meaning the return of fog.

The archers have targets, so remain in cover.

My horsemen also remain where they are, but my left-flank Praetorians descend from the hill and contact the swordsmen, making it impossible for the latter to move onto the hill this turn even if they should defeat my men in a melee.

Since the warriors and archers also cannot make it onto the hill, I declare the battle over.

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn XI: Attack Phase

The Dacian archers again get to attack first

Their preferred target of those in range and line-of-sight is the Praetorian Guard, and they fire at my right-flank unit as having the lower to-hit total. There is a standard requirement of 9+, but the presence of swordsmen engaged with the Praetorians reduces the score to 8+. However, 2 is rolled.

My rearward cavalry attack the swordsmen at the foot of the hill, needing 7+, but with a -1 modifier for being on higher ground, and two more -1s thanks to the presence of friendly units. I roll 6, which eliminates the swordsmen as they have no available retreat squares.

The final turn should be short but sweet, from a Roman perspective

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn XI

A Roman victory is all but assured

The start-of-turn-event die is a 2, but that only applies to falxmen in trees, and there are none left (falxmen, that is, there are still plenty of trees).

The archers have a target, so remain in cover.

My rearward cavalry reascend the hill and charge-attack the swordsmen directly ahead of them, needing 7+, but with -1 modifiers for being on higher ground and for the assistance of a friendly unit. However, I roll 3.

My right and central Praetorians move straight ahead, but the left-flank unit falls back diagonally left.

The Dacian swordsmen in the trees stay where they are, as does my legion, but my spearmen occupy the hex just vacated by the left-flank Praetorians, and my commander advances a hex, so as to put all Roman units in command range.

The Dacian warriors advance diagonally to their left.

My eight units mean I have twice as many as the AI, and the hill is firmly in Roman hands

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn X: Attack Phase

Despite fog and intervening friends, the Dacian archers can shoot at my cavalry as both units of horsemen are within two hexes, and friends do not block line-of-sight

The archers choose to shoot at the further-back unit as there are two -1 modifiers for fellow Dacians being adjacent. But there is a +1 modifier for attacking from lower ground, and as archers against cavalry need 9+, the revised score for a hit is 8+. However, the AI rolls 9, forcing my men to fall back two hexes, and so off the hill.

My other cavalry attack the falxmen opposite them, needing 7+, with a -1 for being on higher ground, and I roll 10, eliminating the Dacian unit. I do not allow the cavalry to occupy the vacated hex.

My forward Praetorians attack the other falxmen, also needing 7+, and with a -1 for being on higher ground, and another -1 for support from the spearmen, and I roll 9, routing the enemy.

As an aside, it is somewhat ironic that the falxmen vacillated at the rear of the battlefield for so long, only to be wiped out as soon as they got involved in the fighting.

My right-flank Praetorians attack the warriors, needing 5+. I roll 6, sending the warriors back two hexes.

The swordsmen at the foot of the hill attack my forward cavalry, needing 8+, but with a +1 for attacking from lower ground. The dice total 5.

A unit of cavalry retreating is the first real setback I have suffered for several turns

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn X

A Roman triumph cannot be far away

The start-of-turn-event die is a 6, meaning more fog to reduce the range of the surviving Dacian archers.

They advance diagonally into trees.

My forward cavalry advance diagonally right and charge-attack the forward swordsmen, needing 7+, but with a -1 modifier for being on higher ground. However, I roll 2.

My commander withdraws two hexes diagonally right so as to put all Roman units in command range, and then my rearward cavalry attack the same forward swordsmen, needing 7+, but with -1s for being on higher ground and for having support from other cavalrymen. However, I come up short with 4, the swordsmen leading a charmed life.

My forward Praetorians advance diagonally right, the middle Praetorians advance diagonally left, and the rearward Praetorians advance straight ahead.

The rearward Dacian swordsmen advance into trees, and my legion also advances a hex.

The right-flank falxmen advance to the foot of the hill, putting them in contact with two Roman units. The other falxmen also advance to the foot of the hill, putting them in contact with my forward cavalry.

It seems the AI is throwing in its last reserves, and the Dacian warriors confirm this by also advancing, making contact with cavalry and Praetorians.

A lot of fighting to be sorted out!

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn IX: Attack Phase

Rather aptly, the Romans look in organised formation, while the Dacian units are haphazardly scattered

My forward Praetorians attack the swordsmen with whom they are in contact, needing 6+. There are -1 modifiers for being on higher ground and for support from the commander, but I only roll the 4 needed to force the swordsmen to the edge of the battlefield again.

Perhaps I can advance part, at least, of my army off the north side of the hill, and so rule out any last-minute charge by Dacians onto the high ground