Strategy & Tactics #339

by

Strategy & Tactics Press and Decision Games

 Here we are yet again with another issue of S&T. To be perfectly honest, the game included with the issue is not a possible conflict that would be high on my list to game. Of course, it could be a great simulation/game of the possible campaign. So, I will not just turn away from it. However, I am very interested in reading this issue's articles. 

Take a look at some of the articles:

Pompey vs. the Pirates by Joseph Miranda (for grognards the author needs no introduction)

Operation Roundup Reconsidered (the possible 1943 invasion of Europe) by Antonio J. Muñoz

The Man Assyria Feared by Cam Rea (an excellent author)

World War I Railway Guns by Dave Schroeder

The US Navy's Yangtze River Patrol (definitely for any fans of 'The Sand Pebbles') by Patrick S. Baker

Saddam Moves South by Joseph Miranda

The Curious Case of Benjamin Pole by Peter G. Tsouras (writer of many well-done books on what ifs in military history)

Some of the Game's Map

  As usual, the magazine starts out with the largest article about the history of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. It naturally goes into the what ifs of Iraq deciding to invade Saudi Arabia and going for their oil wells as well. The history of the buildup of the Coalition's forces for the actual Operation Desert Storm is thoroughly delved into. Both sides had political land mines to maneuver around. Saddam Hussein was afraid of his Kurdish and Shite populations revolting while he was embroiled in Kuwait and Arabia. He also had to keep an eye on Iran. He was worried that Iran would try to attack Iraq to win back the slight gains that Iraq had won during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988. On the other side, the Coalition had to worry about Iraq launching missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, and deciding just how far Desert Storm would take them. At the time, there were many voices against invading Iraq to topple Hussein. So, Desert Storm would be limited to liberating all of Kuwait and stopping at the border. The Coalition's plan was:

1. A strategic air campaign against Iraqi command control, industry, and airpower.

2. Gaining full air superiority over Kuwait.

3. Preparation of the battlefield by attriting Iraqi armor and artillery.

4. A ground offensive to liberate Kuwait.

 The article shows that Iraq, by only taking Kuwait and then not going any farther, allowed the Coalition ample time to build up its strength. More on the actual game will come later.

Assorted game counters

 Now we come to the main event, the article about Pompey vs. the Pirates. The Republic of Rome had been beset by pirates throughout the Mediterranean for many years. At different times Consuls etc. had been given command to try and eradicate them. In fact, both Marcus Antonius's father and grandfather (both named the same as him) had been tasked with this same issue. In 67 B.C. the Tribune Aulus Gabinus created his Gabinian Law to give one man more power than any other Roman had ever had. The law created a special command called the Prefect for the Fleet and Maritime Affairs. The new command would have authority over the entire Mediterranean and to fifty miles inland. The force under this command would consist of 200 warships, 120,000 soldiers, and 5,000 cavalry. Through the usual maze of Roman politics at the time, Pompey the Great was given command. The law was written for the command to last up to three years. Pompey eradicated the pirates in the entire Mediterranean in three months. If he did not deserve the title Magnus for his other military campaigns, he certainly did for this one. 

 The campaign was so short because of Pompey's inherent strength for planning. The Mediterranean was divided into thirteen zones. First, he dealt with the pirates in the west in a total of forty! days. Then he turned to the east where the largest groups of pirates were based in Cilicia and Crete. He offered the pirates the choice of annihilation or resettlement into depopulated areas. This article is a wonderful read about a campaign that most know nothing about.

 Next, we have another good article on Operation Roundup, the plan to invade France in 1943, by the Western Allies. The article shows that while the invasion could have taken place it, would have been smaller. Not only that, but it would have been faced by all of the German divisions that were defending Italy in 1944. So, there were many good reasons for just letting 'Uncle Joe' beef about fighting Germany all alone until the time was right.

The U.S. Navy's Yangtze River Patrol is another very good article. It goes back to the beginnings of the 'Gunboat Diplomacy' that was used by all of the larger powers against China in the 19th and 20th centuries. 

 The article about World War I Railroad Guns is short but has a lot of information on the 'Paris Gun'. This is sometimes confused with 'Big Bertha'. Big Bertha was a 42cm howitzer that was built to crack open fortresses. Bertha comes from the name of Mrs. Krupp. The Paris Gun was capable of firing a 234lb. shell 81 miles. It was also the first man made object to reach the stratosphere. The firing distance was so long that the rotation of the earth had to be taken into account.

 As usual, the rest of the magazine is chock full of little-known military facts. It is a smorgasbord for history lovers and wargamers.

 Saddam Moves South comes with the standard 22" x 34" Map along with sizeable 9/16" counters. The hexes represent 35 kilometers across. Time in the turns goes from three days of intense fighting to ten days of refitting. The rules are only sixteen pages long. 

 The game is based around Iraq attacking immediately out of Kuwait. This does not give the Coalition time for them to use their sealift capabilities. Therefore, to the Coalition player their Air Transport Points become extremely important in the game. The Iraqi player has to keep moving and trying to grab as many objectives as possible to be able to continue to fight. 

 The game is of a medium complexity. Both sides do have a real chance of winning. The fact that it is a hypothetical invasion of Saudi Arabia etc. means that there is no way to measure your accomplishments against history. There are two additional optional rules for the game. The first is to make the deployments of units based upon a die roll. The second is to use Special Operations Forces against the Iraqis. Victory is determined by the loss or destruction of units and holding objective hexes and Iraqi cities. 

 Thank you, Decision Games, for allowing me to review another great issue in a long line. Hard to believe it is fast coming up to 400 issues.

Robert

Decision Games:

Decision Games

Strategy & Tactics Press:

Strategy & Tactics (strategyandtacticspress.com)

Strategy & Tactics #339:

Strategy & Tactics Issue #339 - Game Edition (strategyandtacticspress.com)

 Strategy & Tactics #338 

Russian Boots South, Conquest of Central Asia

by

Strategy&Tactics Press

 When you talk about Strategy&Tactics magazine the word venerable comes to mind. Unfortunately, the word also has some connotations attached to it. Such as: old, no longer of use, and perhaps stodgy. In sports, it is definitely used to convey a loss of a competitor's edge. As in, he was a venerable contender for the crown. Yes, you can call Strategy & Tactics venerable, but only if you are thinking of its direct meaning. Merriam Webster's says this: "calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments". Only in this respect is Strategy & Tactics to be thought of. Even if it had been around since I was young it still has the competitor's edge. If you compare it to any other history/wargaming magazine of today it can easily hold its own. To be honest, it has only gotten better over the years since its first release. This review is about S&T's #338 issue. Let that number sink in. You should also see the writers and designers' names that have graced its issues. There you will find a plethora of our hobby's notables. That is enough of the past; now let us look at this issue and the ones to come. Here is some of its index:

Russian Boots South: The Conquest of Central Asia

   By Joseph Miranda

Hill 395: Korea, October 1952

   By Jon Cecil

The Gallipoli Campaign, Part 2: A Strategic and Operational Analysis 

   By John D. Burtt 

End of the Safavids: The Battle of Golnabad, 1722

   By Vernie Liebl

Flashpoints:

  Will Russia Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine?

   By Gilberto Villahermosa

  Syria Update

   By Andrew Mulholland

  The Cuban Air Force in 2022: A Shadow of its Former Self

   By Javier Romero Munoz

For Your Information:

  Assyrian Siege Warfare

   By Cam Rea

  Anti-Communist Uprisings in the 1950s

   By Maciej Lonasz

  Operation Fork: The Allied Invasion & Occupation of Iceland

   By Jon Cecil

  As usual the magazine is filled with many more historical tidbits. 

 

 To be honest, I really did not know anything about the Russian conquest of Central Asia during the 19th century. I assumed that those areas were taken over much earlier. I have read about the 'Great Game' between Russia and England, but that is almost entirely about their actions in and about Afghanistan. I also knew very little about Persia and its history after the age of Timur. Opening up an S&T issue has always been an immense pleasure of mine. This is because I learn at least one thing, if not many more, new about military history. 

The Central Part of the Central Asia Game Map

  Russian Boots South is the name of both the issue's game and the largest article in this issue. This is one of the greatest points about wargaming that I absolutely love. You not only get to read about the actual history, but you also have a chance to be in the protagonist's shoes as it were, even if you do not have any intention of playing the game. The map that comes with the game will make that point in history much clearer to you. 

 The next article is about the battle for Hill 395 from October 5th to 15th 1952. While reading about the first attacks to take the hill from the South Korean defenders, the movie The Battle of the Bulge came to my mind. The defenders rolled napalm charges down the slope toward the Chinese attackers. This is another excellent article that, as usual, is full of maps. The lack of maps is a sore point in many military history books. S&T has never had this problem. 

 Tha next article is the second of two parts on the entire Gallipoli Campaign. This really caught my attention. As I grow older my interest in all things about World War I has skyrocketed. The Gallipoli Campaign is one of WWI that I especially like to read about. 

 Then we go into the 'End of the Safavids: The Battle of Golnabad 1722'. Reluctantly I have to admit that I do not ever remembering hearing or reading about this ruling house of Iran. I certainly never heard of the battle that brought the Safavid Empire to a close after ruling for 221 years.

 As I stated, the rest of the articles and the smaller insets about military history are there as they are in every issue, chock full of information that makes an old grognard blush for not knowing them.

Assorted Counters

  As mentioned, the game inside this issue is 'Russian Boots South: Conquest of Central Asia'. The area of the game is bordered by the Caspian Sea, Persian Empire, Kingdom of Afghanistan, and China. You will play either the Russians or the different Khans in the game.

 The map itself is 22" X 34" with the hexes representing roughly fifty-three miles across. The map is just as good as one you would find with any boxed wargame. The color scheme and the terrain depiction works very well on the map. There are 176 5/8" counters. The hexes on the map are also nice and large. The troop counters represent 1000-5000 men. The rules are done in normal size type and are sixteen pages in length. There are three scenarios. Each game turn represents a span of one to six years. The rules are done in full color. The only thing they are missing are examples of play. However, this is a magazine and only has so much room to stuff all it does between its covers.

 The game system is based on other games for S&T: They Died With Their Boots on, Julian, and Sepoy Mutiny. This is one of the games that wargame magazines were made for. I would be surprised if many wargaming companies would take on a relatively unknown part of history like this. S&T has brought many of these games that are a niche of a niche to the wargaming table. 

 The game is a good one. It takes a while to get used to the terrain and your troops. There is a 'Great Game' table that marks the level of how each player is doing in the game. The higher the number, the better it is for the Russian player. The lower the number, the Khanates are doing better. To make the fog of war more interesting there are also an Incident Table and a Fortunes of War Table. The designer, Joseph Miranda, has added these optional rules to make the game even better:

"26.0 RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION & RAIL OPERATIONS 

The Russians can build the Trans-Caspian Railroad. The 

Railroad connects Krasnovodsk to Khokand fortress. 

26.1 Starting the Railroad

Railroad Construction is done as part of the Russian 

activation of the Caucasus Sub-command, during the 

Movement sub-phase. To start Railroad building, the 

player must have a Railroad Engineer in the start hex 

(Krasnovodsk). Expend one OP (8.0) to move the 

Railhead marker in the hex. 

26.2 Continuing the Railroad 

To further extend the Railroad, move the railroad 

engineer unit up to its movement factor along 

contiguous railroad hexes. For each such hex, expend 

one OP and move the Railhead marker. 

26.3 Railroad Movement 

To use Railroad movement, a mobile ground unit starts 

or moves onto a railroad hex. Expend one MP and 

move the unit an unlimited number of hexes via 

contiguous railroad hexes. If the unit has movement 

factors remaining, it can continue to move normally. 

Railroad and non-railroad movement can be combined 

in the same Movement phase. 

EZOC: A unit may start in in an enemy ZOC when it 

begins rail movement . It must cease its rail movement 

when entering a hex in an enemy ZOC. (This is a special 

case for 15.0). 

26.4 Railroad Supply 

Units on a railroad are automatically in supply if they can 

trace a line of railroad hexes back to a Russian 

controlled port or fortress hex. All intervening hexes 

must be clear of enemy units and their ZOC. 

ZOC do block rail lines of supply. 

26.5 All the Live Long Day 

Only Russian mobile ground units can use the railroad. 

Once built, a railroad hex can not be destroyed. 

The railhead marker has no other effect on play. 

The Railroad Engineer can also move without building RR 

hexes. 

26.6 RR and Victory Points 

When playing a scenario ending on Turn 8, modify 

Victory Points (5.2) by one of the following: 

No RR built: -6 

RR reaches Geok Tepe: -3 

RR reaches Merv: 0 

RR reaches Bokhara: +3 

RR reaches Samarkand: +6 

RR reaches Khokand: +9 

27.0 MORALE 

Historically, winning big battles did much to shift overall 

morale in Central Asia. 

27.1 Incident Markers 

1) if the attacker plays an Abject Lesson marker and 

pursues into a fortress, raise the Great Game index by 

one. 

2) if the attacker plays an Agent marker and pursues into 

a fortress, lower the Great Game index by one. 

Note: these effects are in addition to the index shifts for 

gaining control of the fortress. 

28.0 RUSSIAN REORGANIZATION

In the 1870s the Russian military went through an 

extensive reorganization and modernization of 

armaments. Therefore... 

28.1 On turns 1 to 3: 

1) Recruiting: the Russians pay one additional OP for 

each regular cavalry, infantry and artillery unit 

recruited. Other units are recruited per the Outfitting 

Chart. 

2) Cavalry Pursuit: Russian regular cavalry can Pursue 

only one hex instead of two hexes (19.0). 

27.2 Starting with turn 4: 

The above special cases are dropped; use the normal 

rules for Recruiting and Pursuit. 

29.0 ANGLO-RUSSIAN WAR 

Historically, both the Russian and British empires were 

reluctant to engage in open armed conflict with each 

other. Therefore... 

29.1 Open War 

The first time in a turn a Russian unit attacks a British 

Empire unit or vice versa, raise the Great Game index 

by one. Open War is applied on each such turn. It is 

applied only once per turn, regardless of the number 

of such attacks. 

29.2 Empires Only 

This applies only to the three Russian and the British 

Empire Sub-commands, not to other Sub-commands 

controlled by the players. 

29.3 Apocalypse in the Steppes 

If as a result the Great Game Index is pushed above the 

max number, the game comes to an immediate end 

(special case for 7.1). Check victory per (5.2)"

 Thank you S&T for allowing me to review this issue. The components and magazine are up to their normal level of history and gaming goodness. I will soon have a review posted about S&T issue #339 Saddam Moves South: What If.

Robert

Strategy&Tactics #338 Russian Boots South, Conquest of Central Asia:

Strategy & Tactics Issue #338 - Game Edition (strategyandtacticspress.com)

 Strategy&Tactics #329

by

Strategy&Tactics Press

Battle of Shanghai 1937

 Here we are again doing a review of a magazine that is almost as old as I am. I have mentioned before, as have others, that it is a wonderful thing to have had any wargaming magazines. They have the ability to give us conflicts that would never have seen the light of day on anyone's table. Because of their price point and manufacturing, we grognards are able to have the most varied and  rarely published battles/wars in history in our hot little hands. S&T has also had an enormous amount of their wargames republished as regular boxed games. This goes to show that even if it is a magazine wargame, it is still done damned well. I will not harp on the people who look down their noses at magazine wargames; well, just a little. All I can say is you are missing out on some great gaming by not accepting them as 'real' wargames. Even if you buy the magazines sans the wargame you are treated to a great amount of well written history. That history is also as wide ranging as you could imagine. Each article could be about something hundreds, if not thousands, of years apart. I have never opened a S&T magazine and not learned something I did not know before. I will start the review with the articles and then get into this issue's game. Here is a list of some of the articles:

The 1937 Shanghai Nanking Campaign (The history behind the game)

The "Corrupt Bargain": Presidential Election of 1824

Alexander and the Art of War: The Battle of Gaugamela

The Jordanian Arab Legion and the Battle for Jerusalem 1948

Hellenistic War Elephants (my favorite)

Human Trophies: Scalping in the American West

Sarkoy Landing: From the First Balkan War

 The articles are filled with little tidbits of history. The inclusion of the history of the 1824 Presidential Election is both a surprise and a treat. Decision Games has released a game about the subject. So, you can see that the history inside the magazine goes from Alexander to the twentieth century. The eighteen-page article on the Shanghai and Nanking Campaign is an excellent overview of the entire campaign with added insets about different parts of the campaign. The Maps are extremely well done and give the reader all of the necessary information to follow along with the written history. 

Eastern part of the Map showing the area around Shanghai

  

 

Counters

   The game itself is about a victorious campaign that was a complete failure. The Japanese were under the impression that after taking Shanghai this would bring the Chinese to capitulate. After that didn't happen the Japanese then thought surely if they took Nanking, then the capitol of China, they would surely throw in the towel. They could not have been more wrong. The battles in and around Shanghai were observed by the many citizens from around the world that lived in the 'International Settlement'. They not only saw the terrible fighting, but also saw the Japanese troops commit horrible atrocities. The Japanese, after taking Nanking, unleashed what is now called 'The Rape of Nanking'. The atrocities committed around Shanghai were just a warmup for the savagery that the Japanese troops inflicted on both the Chinese soldiers and civilians. The brutality of the Eastern Front in World War II is pretty much known to all. The  Second Sino-Japanese War and the previous fighting before it were of another level above it. Most of our biological weapons and how to use and defend against them come from their use by Japan in China. Even prisoners of war from all countries were used in the barbaric surgeries and bio weapon testing the Japanese did, much like 'Operation Paperclip', where German war criminals were secreted away by the western powers for their knowledge of warfare, chemicals, and rocketry. The Japanese soldiers who were guilty of the most horrible crimes were brought to the west without any repercussions. 

Play Example

 Enough of the history, the game is a two-player one with one side taking the Chinese defenders and the other the Japanese attackers. The Japanese Player has twelve turns to control all of the seven city hexes on the map. Any time they do so it is an automatic victory for them. If at the end of twelve turns the Chinese Player still controls any of the city hexes, they win. There are no partial or graduated outcomes here. Win or lose with twelve short turns to do so. The Chinese Player can get a Sudden Death Victory by capturing hex 3512, if on or after game turn eight the Chinese player can win by having a unit in a hex next to hex 3512. From game turns one through five the Chinese player loses automatically if they do not have a unit in a hex next to hex 3512. The Chinese are helped by, strangely enough, the Germans. The Chinese Nationalist Army was being slowly trained by German advisors. These troops are the strongest units the Chinese have. Historically, they were squandered in the fight for Shanghai. The Chinese Player will have to gauge when and if to use these units. 

Play Example

 These are the game components:

22" x 34" Map

Rule Set

170 5/8" Counters (There are six extra replacement counters for other games)

 The map is made of glossy paper. The terrain is easy to distinguish. Shanghai is in the lower Southeast of the map, with Nanking in the upper Northwest in one of the last hexes. It is marked with the various landing hexes for the different Japanese units. The counters are plain Jane, using NATO symbols. However, the counters work just fine for the game. No eye strain here. The Rule Set is sixteen pages long. It also has four pages of examples of play.  All the components are what we have come to expect from Strategy & Tactics in 2022. 

 

 The game is a good one with lots of options and strategies for both players to try. The rules make both players pay close attention to the battle for Shanghai. Historically this was a long and desperate battle for the city. Once, or if, Shanghai falls it becomes a race for the Japanese player to get across the map as quickly as possible. In the middle of the map is Lake Tai which is rather large. This means the Japanese units have to go around the lake to the North and South to capture all of the city hexes needed. The Japanese player has to make this a blitzkrieg on foot as much as possible. The Chinese player has to defend Shanghai for as long as possible to deny those hexes to the Japanese, and not automatically lose. Hex 3512 and its neighbors are where the toughest battles will play out for the first half of the game. The rules are clear and need no deciphering. Included in them are rules for artillery, aircraft, and Japanese amphibious landings. The game is touch and go for both sides unless Lady Luck deserts you. 

Play Example

 All in all, this is another great game in a long line of Strategy&Tactics games stretching back to my teenage years. Thank you Decision Games/Strategy&Tactics Press for letting me review this issue. I hope it continues in print for as long as I am on this earth. Decision Games have released a lot of solitaire games that have had really good writeups by players. Please take a look at them.

Robert

Decision Games:

Decision Games

Strategy&Tactics:

Strategy & Tactics Press (strategyandtacticspress.com)

Strategy&Tactics Issue 329:

Strategy & Tactics Issue #329 - Game Edition (strategyandtacticspress.com)

World at War Issue #62 Spanish Civil War Belchite & Teruel

by

Strategy & Tactics Press From Decision Games

 The Spanish Civil War has always intrigued me. Unfortunately, almost all of the books about it spend most of their type on the political history instead of the military history, especially all of the disparate groups on the Republican side. This is a bit strange because this War was used or looked at by the entire world to see what weapons, tactics, and strategy worked. Many countries came away with the wrong answers to the above questions. Some, particularly the Germans, came away with the correct answers to these military questions.

 Looking at this issue of World at War was a bit like going home, and a bit strange. It was like going to see your childhood home after it was entirely renovated. The visual look of the magazine is, in a word, stunning. Some of the maps are actually a full page in size. They are also well marked and easily read. The pictures in the issue are also very well represented. 

 The articles are very well done and full of normal information on the subject. They also have small insets that have incredibly interesting tidbits. I will give as an example of one. On December 31, 1937 four foreign correspondents were following some Nationalist units in a car. The car was hit by artillery and three of the newsmen were killed. The fourth was Harold 'Kim' Philby. Yes, that Kim Philby. I imagine the British government was not that happy he survived in retrospect.

                                          Some Counters

 

 

Strategy & Tactics Press is comprised of these four magazines:

   Strategy & Tactics

   World At War

    Modern War

    The new Strategy & Tactics Quarterly

 One thing that Decision Games has implemented that I think is excellent is that you can buy a subscription to get every single article that has been released over these many years. It does not include anything to do with the games, but that is still a stunning amount of military history. At $19.95 for 12 months, it is really a steal. You now get all of the articles from:

 Strategy&Tactics issues 1-300

 Modern War issues 1-19

 World at War issues 1-44

Teruel Map

 The articles in issue #62 include:

  

  The Spanish Civil War

  War Winner -  Allied Lend-Lease

  Operazione C3 -  The Italian Plan to Invade Malta

  Operation Causeway - Planned Allied Invasion Plan of Formosa-Amoy

  Observation post - Could the U.S. have won the Battle of Wake Island?

  Observation Post - Planed Swedish Invasion of Denmark

  Observation Post  - Russian Donkey the Polikarpov I-16

Belchite map

 The games included are of three battles from the Spanish Civil War: two in 1937,and one from 1938. The battles are Belchite, Teruel, and Alfambra. Both of the battles of Belchite and Teruel occurred because the Republicans were trying to take pressure off the Republican and Basque strongholds in the Northwest of Spain. The Nationalist forces had decided to conquer those areas after their failed attempt to conquer Madrid. Alfambra simulates the last battle for the city of Teruel in 1938.

 The battle areas are both somewhat small, with both of them fitting on a standard 22" x 34" map. One battle is orientated one way of the map and the other is the opposite. They both have their own turn record track etc. The maps are well done with terrain, roads, and towns easy to see and read. The games come with, naturally, a smaller number of counters. There are actually 180 of them. The game uses the 'Fire and Movement System' for its rules. 

CRT

 The Sequence of Play:

Movement Phase

Bombardment Phase

Combat Phase

Mobile Movement Phase - (only if the unit did not move in the Movement Phase)

Mobile Combat Phase

 The victory conditions in each game are as follows:

Belchite: You count up the amount of cities/towns that the Republican player controls on the Nationalist side of the front line, then subtract the number of cities/towns that the Nationalist player controls on the Republican side of the front line. If the number is seven or greater the Republican player wins.

Teruel: Whichever side controls the city of Teruel at the end of the game wins.

Alfambra: The Nationalist player must control any five hexes of the North-South road anywhere from hex 2505 to 1717 by the end of turn eight and still hold them at the end of the game.

Belchite Counters (Front)

  The rules are only sixteen pages in length, and the setup and separate battle rules take up four of those. The rules are in color and are well spaced and easy to read. The small maps and low counter density allows players to play multiple times to try out different strategies. Just as it was historically, the battles are a grind for territory. You are not going to be able to do any sweeping blitzkrieg moves (unless your opponent mistakenly allows it). The Spanish Civil War was mostly a replay of World War I with newer armaments. The rules and the units/terrain make the game historically accurate that way. This was why so many countries took away the wrong lessons from this war. The Soviets were very advanced as far as armored warfare for the time. However the Spanish Civil War had them rethink all of their ideas and that is why they fell so far behind the Germans by 1941 (among other reasons). 

Belchite Counters (Back)

 The wargames that have come out of Strategy&Tactics down through the years, and its offshoots, have given me tons of gaming pleasure. This issue is like many others in that respect. Strategy&Tactics has allowed the wargamer to game so many obscure wars and battles that we would have otherwise never seen on our tables. So, thank you for the chance to review this issue, and for all the other great gaming moments since I was a teenager.

Robert