Bruce Quarrie

Bruce Quarrie (1947 in London – 4 September 2004) was an English writer and author on wargaming and militaria topics.

Career Quarrie attended Kingsbridge Grammar School in Devon before going on to study English at Peterhouse, Cambridge, graduating in 1968. He became a journalist with the Financial Times and then in 1972 joined Patrick Stephens Limited, a Cambridge specialist publisher, as editor of Airfix Magazine, which PSL produced. He wrote the first of his many books about wargaming in 1974 and in 1986 he became a full-time writer. He wrote over 40 titles, mainly on the Second World War militaria.

Quarrie was an active wargamer. His 1974 book Napoleonic Wargaming brought the hobby to wide attention. Quarrie owned a large miniature army of wargames figures, including the entire Westphalian army of the Napoleonic era.

Criticism about his choice of subject In his 1997 book 'Revolutionary Armies in the Modern Era: A Revisionist Approach' (described as "too flawed to be recommended as an undergraduate text"), historian S.P. MacKenzie describing Quarrie's works on the Waffen-SS mentions him as a popular author who suggested that the elite Waffen SS units demonstrated toughness, innovation and courage, which along with focused aggression, changed the course of the war. Mackenzie writes that "as older generation of Waffen-SS scribes has died off, a new, post-war cadre of writers has done much to perpetuate the image of the force as a revolutionary European army" and includes Quarrie in this group.

Personal life Quarrie was married, with two daughters and 9 grandchildren, and lived in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

Selected works Panzers in the desert, 1980 Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature: War Gamers' Guide to the Napoleonic Wars, 1796-1815, , 4 Editions Tank Battles in Miniature 2: A Wargamer's Guide to the Russian Campaign 1941-45, Tank Battles in Miniature 3: Wargamers' Guide to the North-West European campaign 1944-1945, , 1976 Napoleonic Wargaming (Airfix Magazine Guide No. 4), 1974, World War 2 Wargaming (Airfix Magazine Guide No. 15), 1976 Panzergrenadier Division 'Grossdeutschland, 1977 Fallschirmpanzer Division 'Hermann Göring''', 1978 Tank Battles in Miniature 5: Wargamers' Guide to the Arab-Israeli Wars since 1948, 1978 Second SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich, 1979 World War II Photo Album 9 Panzers in Russia 1941-43, 1979 PSL Guide to Wargaming [ed.], Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1980, Fantasy Wargaming [contributor], Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1981, Panzers in the Balkans and Italy, 1981 Hitler's Samurai: Waffen-SS in Action, Arco, 1983, German Airborne Troops, 1939-45, 1983 Secret Police Forces of the World, 1986 Hitler's Teutonic Knights: SS Panzers in action, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1986 Beginner's Guide to Wargaming, 1987 The World's Elite Forces: The Men, Weapons and Operations in the War Against Terrorism, 1985 Armoured Wargaming, Wildside, 1988 Hitler: the victory that nearly was, David & Charles, London 1988, ISBN Encyclopaedia of the German Army in the 20th Century, Harper Collins, 1989 Special Forces, 1990 Weapons of the Waffen-SS: From Small Arms to Tanks, 1990 Lightning Death: the story of the Waffen-SS, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1991, Waffen-SS Soldier, 1940-45, 1999 The Ardennes Offensive: Central Sector: V Panzer Armee, 2000 The Ardennes Offensive: Central Sector: VII US Corps and VIII US Corps, 2000 Fallschirmjäger: German Paratrooper 1935-45'', 2001