Against the Odds Magazine #48

Apocalypse in the East and Balck Friday 

 ATO was unable to send me the #48 issue magazine, but they were able to send me both of the games from it. One game is about the fighting on the Eastern Front in December 1942. The next game is about the Rise of the First Caliphate in the years 646-656 A.D.

 We will start with the smaller game first; this is the Eastern Front game. General Hermann Balck was one of only twenty-seven officers to receive the Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds of the RitterKreuz (Knights Cross). In the game, the Soviets were trying to capture the airfields being used to supply the German troops in Stalingrad. On Christmas Day 1942, Balck's Panzer Division almost totally destroyed a Soviet Tank Army. This game comes with:

8.5" X 11" Map

100 die-cut counters

Rule Book 

8.5" X 11" Page of Charts and notes

Balck Friday Map

 The sequence of play is:

Air and Artillery Unit Determination Phase

Supply Determination Phase

Operations Phase

 A. Fire Combat

 B. Movement Only

 C. Movement and Fire

 D. Entrench

 E. Rally

End Phase

Balck Friday Counters

 The game is based on a chit pull system. The designer calls the chits 'Formation Activation Markers'. There are rules covering supply, stacking, and reinforcements. The game is only thirteen  turns long. Play takes 30-60 minutes per game. I was able to get a few games in and I like the game and the rules. The game shows what the German Army was still capable of at that time. Even in a situation where they were heavily outnumbered, the Germans were still able to mete out a large amount of damage to the Russian Bear. The game mechanics show this, so a good German player, although in a tight spot, can still win the game outright. Victory is won by the accumulation of Victory Points. These are given for eliminated enemy units, as well as for control of various hexes. The map is sparse, but works well for the terrain the battles were fought in. The counters are easy to read and self-explanatory.

 Apocalypse in the East is a totally different animal. I have to give tons of Kudos to ATO for publishing this game. The early history of Islam is not a subject that we in the West know much about. The rise of Islam took place right at the same time that the Byzantines and Sassanids had fought each other to exhaustion. The wave of Islam was able to very effectively make use of religious and other cultural differences that affected both empires. The game takes place during the time of the third of the Rashidun (Rightly Guided Caliphs) Uthman ibn Affan (ibn means 'son of' in Arabic). So, let us get on with the game.

Islamic Counters

Byzantine Counters

 These are what come with the game:

Map - One full color 22"x34" mapsheet
Counters - 200 assorted full color die-cut pieces
Rules length - 12 pages
Charts and tables - 2 pages

Complexity - Low
Playing time - 3 to 5 hours
How challenging is it playing solitaire - Average

 The sequence of play is:

A) Administration phase

 Events Table Segment

 Generate Replacements Segment

 Maintain Fleets Segment

 Mode Adjustment Segment

 Attrition Segment

B) Muslim Sea Movement Phase

C Byzantine Sea Movement Phase

D) Byzantine Patrol Movement Phase

E) Muslim Land Movement Phase 

F) Byzantine Land Movement Phase\

Next Turn

 

 The Byzantine player wins if he controls Constantinople at the end of the game, or kills Mu' awiyah ibn Abi-Sufyan. The Muslim player wins the moment he captures Constantinople.

 Some people might be surprised (I know I was) about how much sea movement and warfare took place this early in the wars between Islam and Byzantine Empire. This age also saw the creation or remembrance of the terror weapon 'Greek Fire'. The exact recipe for this horrific weapon of war is lost to us, but scientists and historians working together have come up with several theories on the matter. Some historians believe that Greek Fire was the only thing that saved the Byzantine Empire at this time. The game comes with rules for its use.

Inset of the Apocalypse in the East map

 Sieges and assaults on towns/cities are a large part of the game. The Rulebook is well done and easy to read and understand. You are not lost in it trying to make up your own conclusions. The map is your normal magazine wargame type. It is highly functional, but maybe a bit dull or dark in the colors used. The counters for the most part are also well done, but some of the darker colors used on them caused me to have some problem reading some of them. One of the things that has always made wargaming magazines great is their courage in letting games from obscure periods see the light of day. I am sure some designers feel trapped in our sometimes 'Bulge or Gettysburg' world. Thank you Against The Odds for letting me review these two good, seemingly disparate, games.

Robert

  

Napoleon at Dresden: The Battles of August 1813

by

George Nafziger

 The 1813 campaign in Germany is probably my favorite campaign to read about or wargame. I am also a big fan of the author George Nafziger. This is the second of a three volume series by him about the 1813 campaign. The first book is 'Lutzen and Bautzen: Napoleon's Spring Campaign of 1813'. You can see my review of the first book here:

https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2018/06/lutzen-and-bautzen-napoleons-spring.html

 The book goes through four major battles of Dennewitz, Gross-Beeren, Dresden, and the Battle of the Katzbach. The smaller, but incredibly important Battle of Kulm is also described. Dr. Nafziger shows us how the Allies completely changed their strategy after the armistice that divided the two parts of the campaign. The Allies decided to swallow their pride and retreat if Napoleon himself was in command of the French troops in front of them. The Allies would then attack the other French Armies under one of Napoleon's Marshals. They neglected to follow this strategy at Dresden, and came close to losing the war along with that battle. 

 The author has added a large amount of paintings, portraits, and a plethora of maps. There are nineteen colored maps alone. There are two appendices, and the Order of Battle breakdown is a full sixty-six pages! The book itself is 258 pages long. The information inside is invaluable for a student of the campaign.

 The 1813 Campaign in Germany is full of missed chances on both sides, but especially on the French side. Dr. Nafziger fills his books with facts, figures, and deep insights into the moment of history he is describing. If you are looking for a book that is filled with personal accounts of the campaign, then look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want a sweeping view of the campaign from strategic to tactical, this is your book. Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for letting me review this excellent book.

Robert

Book: Napoleon at Dresden: The Battles of August 1813

Author: George Nafziger

Publisher: Helion&Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Campaign of Nations

by

 Hollandspiele 

  It is the second half of the year 1813. Napoleon had won two battles earlier in the year, Lutzen and Bautzen. Both were empty victories for the French, having almost no cavalry. What cavalry they did have was mounted on any nag the French could find. The Allied had a large amount cavalry and they were well trained and mounted. Napoleon had agreed to armistice after Bautzen was fought. During that time the Prussians and Russians, with English money, had brought Austria and Sweden into the war. The Allies had also come up with a new plan: to run away like Monty Python from a battle with Napoleon, but to always keep moving forward in other areas and attack his Marshals. That is enough of the history. What about the game?

Counters

Rule Book

  I must admit up front that I am a fanatic about the 1813 campaign. Napoleon in Italy or Austerlitz, ho hum, but give me Lutzen, Bautzen, or Dresden and I am in wargaming heaven. So this game had better be good.

Cards

 Hollandspiele as a company has a policy of minimalism with its games. Not for lack of resources, it just seems to be their modus operandi. Designer John Theissen fits right into this way of thinking. I have played and reviewed his 'More Aggressive Attitudes', and it is a study in minimalism. To be a good wargame, you do not need to have a monster map and a thousand counters. What you need is a good background in the history of the campaign/battle and a rule book that reads well and makes sense. 

Victory Point Cards

 The game comes with:

• 22" x 17" map
• 88 counters
• 27 Event Cards
• 8-page rulebook
• 1 six-sided die

 This is the sequence of play is:

1. Movement

2. Combat

3. Disruption Recovery

4. VP Check

 The French player always goes first.

 The Combat Phases are these:

1. Retreat Before Combat

2. Concentrate Forces

3. Reveal Combat Units

4. Coordination Check

5. Combat Odds Ratio

6. Combat Results Table Die Roll

7. Casualty Table Die Roll

8. Defensive Works Table Die Roll

9. Apply Results

Charts

CRT Etc.

 The Event Cards add some great flavor and turning points in the game. These events include:

Safe March 

Turns of Rest

Austrian Reorganization

 The game is won by winning battles, and by taking victory cities/hexes.

 The minimalism of Hollandspiele is noticeable in the map also. It is highly functional and easy to read, but is simple. The counters follow in the same vein. They are easy to read with NATO symbols, so the player has no trouble distinguishing them from one another.

Main Part Of The Map

 If the game is missing anything, it would be the first part of the 1813 campaign. The slightly different rules from the earlier game are to simulate Napoleonic Warfare. I believe that they work very well.  Playing as the French, you have to try and catch one of the enemy armies and destroy it and then the others. Playing as the Allies, stick and move until you can bring the French bear to tree. I have reviewed several Hollandspiele games, and to be truthful it is hard for me to pick a favorite. Going only by the content I think it might be this game, although Horse and Musket also grabs me because of the content. Thank you Hollandspiele for the chance to review another great game.

 This is the link to the Horse and Musket: Dawn of an Era review: 
https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2018/07/horse-and-musket-dawn-of-era-by.html

 This is a link to the 'More Aggressive Attitudes' review:
https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2018/04/more-aggressive-attitudes-by.html

 These are both excellent games. More Aggressive Attitudes is about the campaign of Second Bull Run. Horse and Musket: Dawn of an Era is a compilation of European battles from roughly 1690-1720. All of the favorites are here: Poltava (BOO), Narva (YAY), Malplaquet, Blenheim, and many others. Hollandspiele is a small company whose games are very good and they are also priced well. So, do yourself a favor and look them up. Their catalog is growing all the time.

Robert

The First Day on the Eastern Front:

Germany Invades the Soviet Union June 22,1941

 by

Craig W. H. Luther

 June 22nd 1941; Hitler said of this day "the world will hold it's breath". This book is entirely about one day during World War II. This was probably the most decisive day of the war. Hitler's decision to attack the Soviet Union sealed his and the 1000 year Reich's fate, although at times during Barbarossa it seemed like the Germans were close to victory.

 The book starts with Hitler making his decision to attack the Soviet Union. It continues with the planning behind Barbarossa. The author shows that there was a fundamental difference in the thinking of Hitler and his General Staff. The General Staff's plan was always based on taking Moscow and then finishing the other operations. Hitler, however, had no interest in taking Moscow. He wanted to take Leningrad and the resources of Southern Russia. His thinking was to link up with Finland, but mostly he needed the oil and ores of Southern Russia.

 The author has filled the book with everything he could: facts, figures, and maps galore. From the build up of the German Army on the Russian (right under the Soviets' noses) frontier to the unleashing of Barbarossa, the book brings you all of the background and information you would want. It also has a good number of photos showing the action, troops, and military hardware during that fateful first day.

 The story of all three German Army Groups are shown (North, Center, and South). It also shows the day from the Soviet side as well. From the outside, it seemed that the Germans had the day all their way. However, there were signs that showed how brutal and difficult this invasion was going to be for the Germans.

 The book covers all of the ground from the highest strategy of the attack to the tactics used by the combatants. The book is interspersed with first person accounts of the fighting as well. The book is separated into the planning, and then has chapters on the actual fighting taking place within all three German Army Groups' territory. It then goes into the Air War. The next chapter goes into the different thoughts and actions taken by both High Commands after the first day. The author shows, through their letters etc., that the simple German soldiers already knew on this first day that their war was now different. The savagery and brutality of the Eastern front was apparent to all even during the first twenty-four hours.

 The book comes with numerous appendices and copious notes. It shows the war in the air, and on the ground. I can recommend it to anyone who is interested in the military history of the Eastern Front. Thank you Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group for the chance to review this excellent and well written book.

Robert

 Book: The First Day on the Eastern Front

Author: Craig W. H. Luther

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Distributor: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group