Retreat Through the Rhone Valley: Defensive Battles of the Nineteenth Army, August - September 1944

by

Jörg Staiger

Translated by Linden Lyons

 This is another book that is part of the 'Die Wehrmacht Im Kampf' series that is published by Casemate Publishers. This book was originally published in 1965 and was, as the whole series was, written in German. The books were usually written by officers who were intimately involved with each of the operations. In this case, the author is a German historian.

 Operation Dragoon was the invasion of southern France in 1944 by the Allies. It was definitely the red-headed stepchild of the two invasions of France that year. The Normandy invasion, due to its size and importance, has always pushed Operation Dragoon into the shadows. Now we get an invaluable insight into the German operations to escape back to the northeast of France. 

 The author takes us through each side's different plans before the actual landings in southern France on August 15-17, 1944. He shows us that the German Nineteenth Army was, on paper, much too small to defend the entire coastline. The Nineteenth Army was also used as a reservoir of men and machines for the German armies fighting in Normandy. So, by the time the invasion came its generals knew it would only be fighting a rearguard action no matter what Berlin said.

 It is a short book of only eighty-seven pages before you get into the appendix and index. The retreat of the Nineteenth Army takes up the last fifty pages or so. The author goes into how the army was not only fighting the Allied forces but also the French Resistance. The book has a good number of maps. These are in German, but you can catch the drift of what is going on better with their help. 

 The book is a short but very informative one about a part of World War II that not many are familiar with. In it you will not find copious quotes from the normal soldier. It is a story of the campaign from a more operational standpoint. Thank you, Casemate Publishers for allowing me to do a review of this succinct but still full of history volume. I can recommend the book to anyone who is looking for information on the campaign.

Robert

 Book: Retreat Through the Rhone Valley: Defensive Battles of the Nineteenth Army, August - September 1944

Author: Jörg Staiger, and translated by Linden Lyons

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

 Skies Above Britain

by

GMT Games

 It is 1940 and Britain stands alone in Europe against Germany and Italy. So many books have been written about Churchill's 'Few' that I would be surprised if any grognard hasn't read at least a few of them. To either soften Britain up before Operation Sea Lion or to win the war all on its own, both have been put forward as German plans. The Luftwaffe is ready to take on the Royal Air Force. From Norway to the French coast Heinkel 111's, Dornier 17's, and Messerschmitt 109's are starting their engines to start flying over Britain. It starts with Aldertag (Eagle's Day) which was August 13th, 1940. The Battle of Britain actually started in July. Aldertag was the start of a massive German attempt to bring the RAF to its knees. Luckily for the free world the British won the battle. In actuality the Germans lost so many aircraft that they had to switch to night bombing at the end of the blitz. By the end of October 1940, the Germans had pretty much given up on anything more than nuisance raids. The British Spitfires and Hurricanes had won the day.  

 This is what GMT Games has to say about the game:

 "Skies Above Britain is a solitaire game depicting a Royal Air Force squadron of Hurricanes or Spitfires waging a desperate effort to disrupt and destroy German daylight bombing raids over southeast England in the summer of 1940. The player’s individual aircraft—each represented by a stickered block—must locate the incoming raid, intercept it, and evade or defeat swarms of escorting German fighters that usually outnumber you and whose pilots have superior experience and tactics. The game simulates the dogfighting and fighter-vs.-bomber action at an individual aircraft level using a card-assisted system that simulates key tactical decision-making without losing the feel of fast-paced aerial combat. A player can fly scenarios representing an individual patrol or use the patrol generator to create an endless variety of realistic individual patrols, multi-patrol campaigns, or larger campaigns covering the entire Battle of Britain. Each patrol will take a half hour or more to play, while a campaign can last anywhere between 6 and 28 patrols."

 So, the game follows in the footsteps of 'Skies Above the Reich' and 'Storm Above the Reich'. It is a solitaire game where the player tries to stop the German bombers at all costs. 

  This is what comes with the game:

1 Interception Game Board

1 Squadron Display Game Board

1 Me-110 Circle Display

4 Counter Sheets

1 Rules Booklet

1 Situation Manual

1 Optionals Booklet

3 Player Aid Cards

200 Playing Cards

1 Pad of Roster Sheets

2 Historical Log Sheets

1 Sheet of Stickers

38 Wooden Blocks

10 Wooden Cubes

1 Wooden Cylinder

2 Dice

 So, compared to the last two games in the series you now get to fly for the good guys. You also get to tackle bombers that are much less dangerous to your fighter than B-17s and B-24s were to the German fighters. Of course, your weaponry in 1940 is nowhere near the strength of the weapons on a 1944 German fighter. Your planes are mostly armed with eight .303 caliber machine guns, essentially the size of a rifle round. 

  

 The games in the series have two things in common. One, you are flying fighters against enemy bombers. Two, the boxes are heavy enough to start a curling routine with. Once opened, a cornucopia of items seem to come spilling out of the box. Looking quickly at the six decks, pilot logs, and all the other components might lead you to think "what have I gotten myself into", or "this is too much of a game for me". Then you get a glimpse of the three different rules/manuals that come with the game, and you are certain you have bitten off more than you can chew. Just relax and sit back and take a few slow breaths. It is nowhere as bad as it seems at first. 

 The first thing that you will look at upon opening the box are the above stated three rules/manuals. The Rulebook is sixty pages in length (remember to breathe). Even though it is the same size as most rulebooks it just seems larger to me. It is made with glossy paper, and it comes with wonderful extremely large printing. Everything about the Rulebook is big. On every page is a beautiful full color example of play or illustration to help you learn the rules. Next up, we have the Situation Manual. This has the different scenarios and is also chock full of example of play. It is fifty-one pages in length and is also made of glossy paper and has large print. The Optionals manual is produced the same as the other two and is nineteen pages in length. It comes with the optional rules and a historical pilot roster which can be copied and used. I think this is a very nice touch. Then comes a page and a half of Designer Notes followed by a nice sized bibliography. 

 One difference from the other games is that the German bombers come on large tiles, as counters, instead of them being on the game board. There are two full counter sheets of these large tiles. These represent the Heinkel 111, Junkers JU-88, Dornier Do-17, and Stukas that you will be trying to shoot down. Then come two more counter sheets. These are mostly 5/8" in size with some being as large as one inch. These come with either nicely done pictures of different fighter pilots, or the different control markers needed for the game. They are very artistic in their style and are some of the most pleasing to the eye counters I have seen. Next comes a small sticker sheet which are used on the wooden blocks that come with the game. These are just as artistic as the counters. The thirty-eight wooden blocks are mostly black squares that the stickers will be attached to. A small amount of dexterity is needed for this, unless you have some freeloaders (sorry, I meant children) around to do this for you. There are six decks of cards: Escort Reaction, RAF Advantage, Luftwaffe Advantage, Bomber, Tailed, and Head on & Tailing. These are heavier than usual cards that do not feel flimsy to the touch. The front of the card has one of the names above while the back shows you one or more example of how it is used. Then comes two card stock Pilot Rosters. On one side is a squadron with names and on the back are Squadron Logs. These Pilot Rosters are also historical for the 303 and 54th squadrons. You also get a pad of the same with no names of pilots or a squadron number on them. As I mentioned above, the addition of some historical names really helps with the immersion and is a great addition. There are three large folding Player Aids that are made of card stock. They are for the Interception Sequence, Pilots, Raid Vector Sequence, RTB Sequence, Intercept Bombers, Intercept Escort, Sequence of Play. So, everything is right at hand without having to peruse the Rulebook each turn, at least in the beginning. There is also a 'Circle Display' for the defensive maneuver that BF 110s used. Next is a small, mounted map with the Squadron Display on one side and the Advanced Squadron Display on the other. Last, but not least, is the mounted Game Board which is mostly taken up by the Interception Map. It also has some other charts and tables on it. These are exactly the type of manufactured components that we have come to expect in a GMT game. The heft of the combined components has already been mentioned for those of us who still give some credence to the weight of the box and its worth.

 

 Apparently, the idea of a Skies Above Britain for a game was not received by some as actually a game that could be designed. Here is a quote from Gina Willis, one of the designers:

"Call me stubborn, but the cold water that Mark and Jerry (Jeremy White and Mark Aasted designers of Skies Above the Reich and Storm Above the Reich) tossed on wishes for a "Skies Above Britain" only made me more curious to see if and how such a game really could be made to work."

 These two quotes from Gina Willis are about the design itself:

"Since German bombers depended more on escorting fighters for protection than their own armament, a Battle of Britain "Skies" would need to move the fighter-vs.-escort aspect of combat more to the foreground than it was in the earlier volumes."

"One new wrinkle was putting the bombers on moveable tiles instead of printing them in a formation on a board. Tiles on a tabletop could be removed or pushed apart to show disruption and attrition effects on bomber formations in a direct, spatial way."

 Some of the Optional Rules are:

Confirmed Kills - Bomber kills are recorded one for one. However, to show how many times claims were not accurate, four fighter kills equal one kill.

Weave - One section will fly above and behind as a lookout. This costs more fuel.

Random Events - Self-explanatory, and too numerous to list.

Cratered - Your aerodrome has been damaged and you must fly from a nearby one. Parts and replacements are not there, and no one can return from hospital.

Graduated replacements - This replaces the one pilot replacement after every patrol. It is done by die roll now.

 Some of these can only be played when using the Advanced Squadron Display. The Advanced Squadron Display adds more rules to the game. It is much like playing with basic and advanced rules.

 As far as my opinion of the game: do I like it? No, I love it. This next information will tell you exactly how the wargaming community in general viewed the game:

2022 Charles S. Roberts Awards Winners Announced

Best Solitaire or Cooperative Wargame:

WINNER: Skies Above Britain, GMT Games, designers Jerry White and Gina Willis

 That pretty much sums up my feelings as well. One of the best parts of the design is the fact that the Rulebook actually tells newbies "You don't have to read the whole Rulebook to start playing." Even with the number of things in the box and the three different rules/manuals, it is still an easy game to learn and to start playing. You can start the dogfighting pretty much right away. The way that the designers have added so much historical flavor to the game is also a wonderful bonus. Let us not forget the RPG part of the game. You actually feel for your small fighter pilot friends. To be able to, hopefully, follow them through a campaign let alone a single sortie is a sign of a great designed game. The tension in the game is palpable. Do you break off with your ammo getting low, or do you choose to go for that one lone bomber? Each of your decisions can be found to be the wrong one by the game's highly, (I cannot say intelligent), evolved matrix of choices the designers have given it. Just like in reality ditching your plane over Britain is usually followed by a safe parachute flight. However, woe to the poor pilot who has to eject over the Channel. This is one of those games where you look at the clock and see four hours have passed but you still sit and play a few more sorties. 

 Thank you so much GMT Games for allowing me to take Skies Above Britain out for a spin. I knew the history more from the German point of view rather than the British. This game has made me read some books that deal with the British side of the Battle of Britain. If that is all I got from the game, it is worth playing but there is so much more than that in this box.

Robert

GMT Games:

GMT Games

Skies Above Britain:

GMT Games - Skies Above Britain

Link to the Rulebook:

SaB RB March 22 2022 (amazonaws.com)

My review of Storm Above the Reich:

Storm Above the Reich by GMT Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

Rome to the Po River

by

Heinz Greiner

Translated by Linden Lyons

 This is another book in the 'Die Wehrmacht Im Kampf' series. This series was originally published in German during the 1950s and 1960s. These books were written by Generals and Chiefs of Staff etc. and not by the German soldiers themselves. Much like the books that were written soon after the war, they glorify the German Army and its resistance to the Allies. They show a very clean war. There is no mention of atrocities or any other items that might tarnish the German Army. They are filled with the meticulous history of the different divisions and higher formations. These versions that are being released by Casemate Publishers are the first appearance of these books in English.

 This book tells the story of the 362nd Infantry Division during the last two years of the war in the Italian Campaign. The division was formed from the wreck of the 268th Infantry Division. The 268th division had fought in most of the German Army's campaigns since 1940. During the summer and fall of 1943 it had fought against the Russians and had suffered large casualties during the Russian offensives. Even while it was being constituted the 362nd division was responsible for over 320 km of the Italian coast.

 Heinz Grenier, the author, was a Generalleutnant in charge of the 268th division. He was also awarded the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves for his command of both the 268th division and the 362nd. He tells us that the 362nd had to be reformed with both 17- and 18-year-olds. This is in October 1943, two years before the end of the war. Long before the division was ready, it was thrown into the fighting around the Allied invasion at Anzio. 

 The book goes through the various actions and the defensive battles for the Italian peninsula from the Anzio landing until the capitulation of the German forces in Italy in May 1945. It shows us a very different picture of the German forces than we usually see. The 362nd suffered a lack of material and men for its entire life span. The author does not hesitate to find fault for several of the defeats that the Germans suffered during this time. He especially seems rankled by the German loss of Rome to the Allies. 

 If you like reading about the day-to-day management of a division during a campaign, then this book is for you. Just like the other books in the series, this book shines when it comes to understanding the campaigns on a lower level than has normally shown us by authors. The book has numerous maps and other illustrations of the division breakdown etc. The only unfortunate thing about the maps is that they were apparently hand drawn. So, some of them are not as legible as the others. Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review another book in this fine series. 

Robert

Book: Rome to the Po River:

Rome to the Po River - Casemate Publishers US

Author: Heinz Greiner:

Rome to the Po River - Casemate Publishers US

Casemate Publishers:

Home - Casemate Publishers US 

 

 

 Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga

Solitaire Area Movement Series: Volume 1

by

Revolution Games & Take Aim Designs

 Stalingrad has almost as many games about it as Gettysburg or Waterloo. However, the actually tooth and nail fight for the city itself is not as represented in wargames as the campaign is. It has been compared with the Battle of Verdun in the First World War. The city itself was almost completed destroyed during the back and forth fighting during the end of 1942 and the beginning of 1943. The battle is often called the turning point of World War II. It certainly was a turning point on the fighting on the Eastern Front. 

 This game has two scenarios, one between September 13th and September 30, 1942 for nine turns. There is also a smaller five turn scenario from October 14th until October 31st. It is a solitaire game where the player takes on the role of the Germans. It is an area movement game for those of us who love hexes. You as the German have only a few turns to win the battle. If during that time the Germans control every area on the map you win an Automatic Victory. If, however, the German Morale Track reaches '0' at any time the Soviets get an Automatic Victory. If the game runs all the way to the end of turn nine without either of the above, then these are the Victory Conditions:

"If Automatic Victory has not been achieved by the start of the End

Phase of Turn 9, the game’s final turn, the German player wins an

Operational Victory if they control at least one Heavy Urban Area

and the “German Controlled” markers on the Record Track are 40

or greater. Design Note: this is the roughly historical result. If

they fail to do so, the Soviet side is the victor and the player has

lost the game."

 This is what the designers have to say about the game:

"STALINGRAD: ADVANCE TO THE VOLGA, 1942 is a solitaire game simulating the campaign by the German Sixth Army to capture the Soviet city of Stalingrad between September 13 and September 30, 1942. The player commands the attacking German forces and the game rules handle the defending Soviet forces. In reading these rules, if any capitalized term or abbreviation confuses you, refer to the index and glossary at the end of this rulebook. The numerical references found therein and throughout these rules should be ignored during first reading and used only later to refer to related sections for greater clarity."

 As you can see, the rules come with both an index and a glossary. It also has a History and Suggested Reading section.

 This is what comes with the game:

17 x 22 inch MOUNTED Map

One sheet of 5/8" die-cut counters

One player aid card

16 page rulebook

Eight six-sided dice (4 red and 4 black)

Game Box

 This is the Sequence of Play:

1. Dawn Phase

  Reinforcement

  Withdrawal

2. Random Event Phase

  Roll 3d6 and consult the Random Event Chart.

3. Supply Phase

  Roll 4d6 for German Supply

  Consult Supply Cost Table

4. Combat Phase

  Bloody Streets

  German Movement/Attacks

5. End Phase

  Automatic Victory Check

  Flip all spent units to their fresh side.

  Reduce German Morale by -1

 As with all of the Revolution Games that I have played this game's motto is 'you get more with less'. This does not mean that they cut corners on their components. As a matter of fact, it is quite the opposite.

 The game map is smaller than a lot of games. However, it still manages to have all of the needed features and adds a lot of immersion to the game. I am assuming that it was made from an original German map of the time. Either that or the artist added them all on top of his own map. As I mentioned, it is very immersive with the German language parts on it. All of the historical parts of Stalingrad that we have read about are on it and shown in English. Such as the Grain Elevator and all the rest. The counters are very well done. They have either a NATO symbol or a profile for the tank and panzer grenadier units. At 5/8" the counters are nice and large for a game this size. They are also not cluttered, and the information needed for play is nice and large. The Rulebook is only sixteen pages long. It is in full color and is easy to read and understand. It also has a few pictures and examples of play to boot. The actual rules only take up eight pages. Then comes a page of optional rules. Then there is the setup for the smaller scenario followed by an article on the history and one on game strategy. The back page is a checklist of all the areas on the map for both scenarios. There is one Player Aid that is made of card stock that has all the information you will need to play, and it has the Sequence of Play on it. It also has the setup for the first scenario on it.

 There are more and more games that are being released that either can be played solitaire, or like this one built from the ground up for it. This is a very good idea for our hobby. More and more people are finding it hard to get friends, or enemies, to play wargames. So smaller games that can be played by yourself and do not take up much space are really needed in the 21st century. That doesn't mean that monsters are dead; far from it. It is just harder to coordinate getting a group together. 

 Stalingrad is a game that gives the player so many choices. Besides that, there are so many changes and twists and turns from one game to the next that it never goes stale. The German supply is your currency for all you can do. This alone makes the game a nail-biter. You can make the most grandiose plans and then find out you cannot do half of what you intended. This is even before the random events kick in. I want, and will get, a monster game about the street fighting in Stalingrad. However, even after that purchase, this game will still find a place on my table at times. It is just that good.

 Thank you, Revolution Games for allowing me to review this game. The designer of this game is Michael Rinella. I will now have to be on the lookout for more games from him.

Robert

Revolution Games:

Revolution Games | Main Page

 Against The Odds Issue #58

featuring

Clash of Carriers

 The name of the magazine speaks for itself. In this issue, they really take on what in hindsight was not even against the odds, but pretty much impossible. The Japanese Naval Air Force was shattered and almost totally destroyed by the fighting of 1943. Japan did have carriers. However, they did not have trained pilots to fly off them. True, the amount of carriers Japan had seemed paltry to the amount the U.S. had. The one thing that Japan had still was the unsinkable carriers that were its island bases. The Japanese thought that with both, they just might be able to strike the U.S. Navy hard enough to stop its inexorable march across the Pacific. Japan had a plan that was called A-Go which was really just a rehash of their earlier plans, even before the war, for a naval showdown between the U.S. and Japanese Navies. The only real thing that the Japanese had on their side was that their planes had always been designed with longer ranges than the U.S. ones. They might just be able to spot and hit the U.S. fleet before their ships had even been sighted. Plan A-Go was a gamble but one that would have to be taken. The battle has become known as 'The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot'. This should give you some idea of the actual outcome. It is pretty amazing that the big gun battleships that until 1941 had ruled the waves were just bystanders in the battle.

 Hard to believe, but this is issue #58 of Against the Odds. ATO is a wargaming magazine whose production values are second to none. I have been a fan of ATO for some time now. Some of my favorite magazine wargames have been made by them. The actual name of the game inside this issue is Clash of Carriers: The Battle of The Philippine Sea. The designer is Mark Stille. The game itself is based off of ATO's issue #17 game Imperial Sunset.

 This issue of the magazine deals with the Battle of the Philippine Sea which was caused by the U.S. decision to invade the Marianas Islands. The Japanese knew that this invasion had to stopped or the Japanese mainland would be in the range of bombers taking off from the Marianas Islands. The magazine starts out as always with a succinct but invaluable retelling of the history of the game's battle. It is not just a primer on the battle but goes far deeper than that. Your reading of it will give you all the information you would want to know. It also comes with a list of sources used for it and the game. 

 This is what comes with the game:

Maps - One full color 22"x34" hex mapsheet

Counters - 160 large 5/8" and 160 standard 1/2" die-cut pieces

Rules length - 16 pages

Charts and tables - 8 pages

Complexity - Medium

Playing time - Up to 6 hours

How challenging is it solitaire? - Poor

Designer - Mark E. Stille

Development - Russ Lockwood

Graphic Design - Mark Mahaffe

 The articles that come with this issue are:

Clash of Carriers: by Mark Stille

Exploring a Hard Pounding Fight: Optional Rules and Ideas (This is about a game on the battle for La Haye Sainte during Waterloo. It is published by ATO's partner Turning Point Simulations.) by Paul Rohrbaugh

On Guards: How These Fish Sharpened Their Teeth (about the U.S. Submarine Fleet in WWII.) by Andy Nunez

And The Data Shows: Shooting Fish in a Barrel (About the airplane and its coming to age against Battleships) by Ed Heinsman

Thunder Gods: The Kamikaze Offensive, April 1945 by Paul Rohrbaugh

Simulation Corner: Wargames Around Taiwan: Who Won? by John Prados

The "Archive Rat" Passes by Kevin Zucker. This is a tribute to John Prados who passed last year.

The Fifth Columnist: The Hussite Wars (An upcoming game from ATO.) by John D, Burtt

 All of these articles are what you have come to expect from ATO. They are incisive and full off history and facts and figures and all of them are too short. They always leave me wanting the article to be much larger than they invariably have to be.

The Surface Battle Display (Map)

 The game components are excellent. They are just like you would find with a boxed game costing much more. The counters are especially well designed. They come with a nicely done profile of the ship or plane that they represent. The numbers that you need to play the game are large and the counters are not cluttered. The ship counters are 5/8" and the planes and informational counters are 1/2". Normally I like to play only historical wargames. However, in this case you have to go with the designer and his choice to make the USN victory conditions, as he puts it, tough. The game also comes with plenty of Optional Rules including Secret Movement. There are three scenarios included with the game. These are:

Historical Scenario

TF 58 Unleashed Scenario (This allows the USN to be unleashed from protecting the landings in the Marianas Islands.)

The Japanese Dream Scenario (All of the penalties for being untrained are taken away from the Japanese forces, among other things.)

 

This is a tense game for both sides, especially if you use the hidden movement rules. Because of the victory conditions and the fact that historically the USN was chained to the Marianas Islands does give the Japanese Navy a chance to pull off a big upset. Just be forewarned that playing the Japanese is a tough challenge and a draw should be considered a great outcome for you.

 

Thank you Against the Odds for allowing me to review another great issue and game from you.

These two have already been released by ATO:

ATO Annual: Beyond Waterloo

ATO Annual: Cruelest Month (The Airwar over Arras in 1917)

These three will be coming up from ATO:

ATO #59: Blind Faith (The Hussite Wars)

ATO Annual: Operation Roundup (Allies Invade France in 1943)

ATO #60 Cities of the Damned (Cassino and Aachen)

Do not forget to take a look at the line of games that Turning Point Simulations has to offer.

Against the Odds:

Against the Odds (atomagazine.com)

Against The Odds #58:

Against the Odds (atomagazine.com)

Turning Point Simulations:

Turning Point Simulations - Home Page

 

 Victory was Beyond Their Grasp

With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division From the Hurtgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich

by

Douglas E. Nash Sr.

 The book follows the 272nd Volks-Grenadier (Peoples-Grenadier) Division from creation until the end of the war. Actually, the division came from the remnants of the 272nd Infantry Division. That division was first incorporated in 1940 but was disbanded after the fall of France. The division was recreated in late 1943 in Belgium. The division had fought during the Normandy campaign and was in the thick of the fighting around the city of Caen, or what was left of it.

 

 I have been reading about the Second World War for many years. However, it is only recently that I have started reading and wargaming the last year of the war. Before I had done this, I had made the mistake of lumping the Volks-Grenadier divisions with the Volkssturm. The latter was just a last-ditch home guard of little to no military use. The author shows that the Volks-Grenadier divisions were actually an attempt to reconfigure the German Army divisions, especially upping the firepower of the infantry. These divisions have a spotty record, but it is not their fault. Due to limited training of replacements, and lack of some of the planned armaments, the divisions were not as effective as they had looked on paper. Colonel Nash goes into the 272nd VG beginning, training, and movement of the division to the front line.

 The division's first taste of battle was in the Hürtgen Forest, a name that is not well known as some of the other U.S. battles during WWII. The Battle of the Bulge, fought around the same time, really took all the press. The Battle of The Hürtgen Forest was more of a grinding battle of attrition between both sides. The author does a fine job of moving from the overall picture of the front to the very small actions that took place.

 This book is a wonderful addition to any history lover's library. It shows how after the last year of the war (after the closing of the Falaise gap) it was still a nightmare for the troops of both sides. You will see that even after the fall of Germany was plain to see the German Army continued to fight and to do so as effectively as they could.

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this great book. For anyone who wants to look at the last year of WWII this book is a place to start from.

Robert

Book: Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp:

Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp (casematepublishers.com)

Author: Douglas E. Nash Sr.:

Search Results Grid - Casemate Publishers US

Casemate Publishers:

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 Scope U-Boot

by

Draco Ideas

  Churchill said that the only thing that scared him was the war in the Atlantic Ocean between the convoys and the U-Boats. Oddly enough, in 1942, just as the U-Boats were sinking the most ships they ever had, the tide turned against them. They changed from the hunters to the hunted in a matter of months. 

This is what comes in the box

 

 So, what do we have here? This is a small card game about the war in the Atlantic. It is mainly a game about U-Boats hunting convoy ships. However, in turn the U-Boats are being hunted by the convoy escort ships. This is what Draco Ideas has to say about the game:

"Playing time: 15 minutes

SCOPE U-boot is a game for 2 players, in quick and dynamic 15-minute games, recommended for ages 12 and up.

It is an independent and very different installment of the SCOPE system, the only similarities are its grid of cards forming the board and the many strategic possibilities it offers!

 In U-Boot the German player will remain hidden under the surface and the Allied player must find him and avoid being sunk. The ships move on the surface, although the cargo ships move more slowly. The submarine gives away its position when it fires a torpedo, but beware! You will have to choose as an ally whether you prefer your freighters to dodge it or move your destroyer to the area from where the torpedo was fired and sink your opponent.

SCOPE U-boot has several game modes, with different levels of complexity and duration."

Yes, it is in Spanish. However, the game is simple enough to get the gist even without knowing the language.

 The game is a bit like cross between Stratego and the old card game concentration with the ability to actually move your pieces. The Rulebook is only seventeen pages long. There is both a basic and an advanced version of the game. There are also some Alternative Scenarios to allow the player to play some variant scenarios and to make up their own. You can also have a surface naval combat between the two players. 

 The Game Area is made up by placing Empty Sea Cards as the map that you will use in the game. Four of the Empty Sea Cards make up a quadrant. The game comes with these card and tokens:

12 - Allied Ship Cards

 2 Freighters

 2 Tankers

 3 Destroyers

 1 Battleship

 1 Escort Carrier

 2 Flower Corvettes/Mies

 1 Armed Freighter

 

7 - German Ship Cards

 3 Submarines

 1 Destroyer

 1 Battleship

 2 S-Boot/Mine

35 Sea/Empty Area Cards

6 Surface Firing Cards

6 Tokens

 4 Torpedo Tokens

 1 Allied Direction Token

 1 German Direction/Ping Token (Sonar)

  The scenarios are listed by the amount of Empty Sea Cards that you will use. These are:

Lone Wolf (One Submarine) 5x5 Empty Sea Cards

Coordinated Attack (Two Submarines) 5X6 Empty Sea Cards

Wolf Pack (Three Submarines) 5X7 Empty Sea Cards

 The German Player then secretly exchanges his units for some of the Empty Sea Cards in the first row on his side of the game area. The Allied Player does the same with the first two rows of the Empty Sea Cards on his side. Each player is allowed one action per turn. They then alternate turns. The actions allowed are:

Submarine Movement

Torpedo Launch

Fast Ship Movement

Slow Ship Movement

 The game continues until Target Points listed for each side in the scenarios are met or there are no more operational Cargo Ships. Each ship has a value number.

 For a small simple game, the players need to use strategy and learn the game's nuances. While this type of game is really not my cup of tea, I can see where others will really enjoy it. The components are very well done and feel like they will last through a great number of games.

 For those of you who like tactical hex and counter games, I suggest you look at Draco Ideas 'War Storm Series'. These are five games that are well worth their price. Their 'Saladin' game is also a good one.

Robert

Draco Ideas:

Home - Draco Ideas editorial

Scope U-Boot:

Scope U-boot (dracoideas.com)

War Storm Series:

“Normandy” and “Alone in the Storm” (War Storm Series) - Draco Ideas editorial

 Philippines '44

by

Wargame Design Studio

 

 On the cover is the dramatic moment when MacArthur lands back on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. A lot of people do not know that he was a Field Marshal in the Philippine Army. He had actually retired from the US Army in 1937. His own history is full of defenders and detractors. When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941, he had been in charge of the defense of the Islands. One day after the attack on Pearl Harbor and war was declared, his air units were still nicely lined up on the airfields for the Japanese to destroy a good number of them (the Japanese could not fly on December 7th because of the weather). The rest of the '41 campaign saw the Japanese break through the Philippino/American forces time and again. The forces under MacArthur were nowhere near ready for war as the Japanese forces were. Unfortunately, the Philippines was lost to the Japanese in a matter of Months. This game is about the American invasion of the Philippines in 1944.

 This is what Wargame Design Studio has to say about the game:

"On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur delivered his famous “I Have Returned” speech upon landing on Leyte Island. It is one of the most iconic phrases of the war, coupled with some of the most famous photographs, that captured the moment as he waded ashore.

With the return to the Philippines in 1944, both Roosevelt and McArthur’s pledges were honored, but this was to be a titanic struggle to liberate the islands for the next eight months.

In Philippines ’44, as MacArthur you will command units from both the US Sixth and Eighth Armies as well as US Army Air Force and Naval air groups. The Japanese forces, led by General Yamashita, had at his disposal, three major commands, the Shobu, Shimbu and Kembu Groups. Yamashita’s command outnumbered the Allied forces but had to defend a vast territory with limited knowledge of where the Allied forces may land. All that is lacking is for you to kick off one of the largest land campaigns of the Pacific War."

 The campaigns you will be able to fight are:

The liberation of Leyte: Oct 20, 1944 - Dec 23, 1944

The liberation of Luzon: Jan 9, 1945 - Jun 22, 1945

The liberation of Manila: Mar 3, 1945

The Northern Luzon Campaign: Mar 6, 1945 - Apr 26, 1945

 Once again, Wargame Design Studio has sent me a game to review that is too large to really do so, unless I devoted my entire gaming life to playing this game for about six months or more. There are too many scenarios, and they are so large that the campaign games cannot really be played until their outcome is decided. Luckily the game does come with some smaller scenarios that can be played in full. I am talking about the time a review would be expected of the game. Once you buy one of their games, feel free to forget about your life and dive in.

 While this is a brand-new game from Wargame Design Studio most of their games came from the John Tiller stable of wargames. These were originally released by HPS about 20 or so years ago. However, all of Wargame Design Studio's games have been updated thoroughly within the last few years. The games might have a resemblance as to their looks, but their DNA has definitely been changed. Even the resemblance is starting to go away with how many changes that WDS has built into the games. Some people have complained that Philippines '44 should not be listed under the title of Panzer Campaigns. It has been placed there because the only WWII campaigns that were released had Panzers. If you look on their web site and see Japan or the Philippines, it should not cause your brain to misfire. 

 As I mentioned before, these games are huge. The real work with these games is behind the surface. Look above at the listing of the troops and units that were included. These games go down to each single man, machine gun, and other weapons. I cannot even believe the amount of work that would need to be done to get this correct. Yes, we do have computers now but still the amount of cross checking boggles my mind. Look at the numbers in this breakdown below:

"Philippines '44 includes 76 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including a solo tutorial scenario plus specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI.

The master maps for Leyte (24,570 hexes) and Luzon (184,800 hexes) cover the main landing beaches and subsequent advances to liberate cities such as Manila.

The order of battle file covers the Axis and Allied forces that participated in the campaign with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.

Order-of-Battle, Parameter Data and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main map to be subdivided into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Design notes which cover or include the production of the game, campaign notes and a bibliography that includes the sources used by the Wargame Design Studio team to produce this simulation game.

Philippines '44 provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play as well as two player hot seat."

184,800 hexes! Try and roll that neatly off the tongue.

 Now we have to dispel at least one myth. "My grandfather told me that the AI in these games is terrible". Yes, when using Microsoft 3.1 that AI was not that good. However, it never stank. People would play one game until they found a weakness in the AI and then use it and post about it continuously. If you have enough time in your life to spend doing that, then my hat is off to you. I would be able to play maybe once per week for a few hours. The amount of time that came between those hours of play were enough for me to forget about what I was doing, and possibly what my name was. As you can see from above, nowadays there are certain scenarios that have been set up from the very beginning to be played against the AI. Believe it or not, about 80-90% of the PC game players play against AIs. This number includes all of the multi-player games that abound now. 

 So, where does all this leave us? What we have is a game that if judged by board wargames would possibly be the size of a 4' X 4' skid or pallet. Just think about it. If you could ever find a place to put the maps, maybe a gymnasium floor, the next hurdle would be to start slicing and dicing the 30 lbs. of 1/2" counters. Unless you had hired out a good number of workers, there is no way you are not getting carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. The sheer vastness of what goes into these games should make your head spin. A very large board wargame with this much depth would cost into the hundreds of dollars (ask my wife she knows). These can be bought for $39.95! I could paint that car for $39.95 (you have to be a certain age to get the joke).

 To try and explain how one of these games are played would be a pretty big task. That is why much smaller and easier scenarios are included in the games now. You would need to learn about Logistics and combined arms to name just two things that come to mind. If you tried to print off an AAR of one of the big scenarios, you'd better hope you have enough ink. One of the best things about these games is that they are meant to be played in a historical manner. These are not Panzer General clones. I am not saying that you are forced to only play the game out historically. You have to play it like a general from the 1940s. Japanese tanks out in the open against Shermans is just a foolish move. Now, if you dig in those tanks and put some other antitank forces with them, then you are talking. 

 

 The odd thing about the 1941 and 1944-45 campaigns is that both sides had changed places. In 1941 you had a smaller but better equipped Japanese force invade the Philippines. In 1944 the American invasion force was smaller but better equipped than the defending Japanese.

 Grognards who have played these games for many years will only have to get used to the new upgrades to this group of games. The smaller scenarios are where a tyro to these games should begin. These are very deep games that give you the control of units that a board wargamer is more used to than a computer wargamer. You have to control not only your tanks and infantry but also your air units and artillery.

 This game is going to be different than slicing Panzers or Shermans and T-34s across Europe. The terrain can be both a hindrance and a help depending upon your victory conditions in your chosen scenario. I almost always play the underdog in any wargame. In these scenarios it is the Japanese. The maps in most of the scenarios are large enough for you to give up land to keep your units intact and slow the American advance to a crawl. Unlike Yamashita, who historically had to deal with the Japanese Banzai attitude, the game allows you to give orders to your troops that will be obeyed. The American artillery is your greatest fear. You will always read in books that the Russians' God of War was their Artillery. The Russians would release the power of thousands of guns. Strangely, if you read the stories of Germans who fought on both the Russian and Western Front you will read a different tale. They say that nothing on the Russian Front had prepared them for the onslaught of the English and American artillery, especially the American. You will also have to deal with the American Air Forces. They have almost complete control of the skies around the Philippines. On the invasion beaches you will also have to deal with the guns of the American Naval Forces. One destroyer with four or five 5" guns can ruin your day, let alone the massive fire from a capital ship.

 Thank you, Wargame Design Studio, for letting me review this great addition to your already huge stable of games. In the time that it has taken me to review this game I see you have released at least two more updates to the other games. Now then, let us get you back to work on some of the more unknown battles and campaigns in history.

Robert

Wargame Design Studio:

Wargame Design Studio Store (wargameds.com)

Philippines '44:

Philippines '44 – Wargame Design Studio (wargameds.com)