Red Army Tanks of World War II

by

Tim Bean and Will Fowler

  Red Army tanks of World War II; not pretty or state of the art, but extremely effective nonetheless. 

 This book is a history of not only the Soviet Tanks of World II, but also a history of tanks in the Soviet Union before and after the war.  The book has a photograph or line drawing with specifications on each page.

 The book itself is split into ten sections. These are:

The birth of the tank arm

 Deep battle

Light tanks

Medium and fast tanks

The T-34

Heavy tanks

Late war tanks

Foreign tanks in Soviet service

Stalin's legacy

Appendix

 The story of Soviet tanks starts with the Russian Revolution, and continues into the Civil War between the Whites and Reds (among  others of various shades also). The Soviets captured their first tanks, which were World War I surplus, from the various White forces. 

 You are then shown how the Army and government were behind not only buying other countries' tanks, but also wanted to develop their own types and factories. Strangely, the Germans and Soviets collaborated for a few years from 1927 on. The Germans were not allowed tanks by the Versailles treaty. This cooperation between the two countries may seem strange to us today, with our knowledge of the history soon to be enacted between the two.  At the time, it was a way for both armies and governments to work on tank development without any prying eyes.

 The next part of the book deals with the 'Deep Battle' Soviet concept. On the outside it pretty much seems like the first attempt by any army to develop what would later be called 'Blitzkrieg'. Two things happened to kill the idea and usage of "Deep Battle'. First was Stalin's purge of the Soviet Armed forces. Almost all of the officers who were involved with the creation of 'Deep Battle' or its usage were murdered or exiled to the Gulags. The second was the use of the Soviet tanks at that time in the Spanish civil war. Most European countries used this as a test bed for their different armaments. The general in charge of the Soviet expeditionary force came away with the idea that tanks were useless unless used in the infantry support role. This meant that both the Western Allies and the Soviets had reverted to a World War I usage of tanks, while the Germans who had little or no experience with their own tanks were free to work on their own ideas. 

  The book then goes into all of the different Soviet light tanks and their usage. Next, the Soviet medium and fast tanks are showcased. The importance of the 'Christie' tank and the convoluted story of its arrival in the Soviet Union is gone over in detail. The 'Christie' tank was actually made by a U.S. manufacturer, but his design, while revolutionary, was not take to heart by the Western Allies at the time. The opposite was true of the Soviet Union, which is obvious by looking at their subsequent tank designs.

 The T-34 is gone over next in complete detail from inception to its last usage. As is befitting of such a design, it occupies a large part of the book all on its own.

 Heavy tanks are brought to our attention next. The various multi-turreted monsters of the various nations, along with the Soviets, are gone through. They all look quaint in a way, and they make you wonder what the different engineers and designers were thinking. The story of the SMK tank shows how well the writers have gone into their subjects. When Stalin was presented with the original clay model of the SMK, a fight of sorts broke out. Originally the SMK was to be a three turreted design. To cut to the chase, and end the bickering, Stalin snapped off one of the turrets saying "Why turn a tank into a department store?". The book also shows how deeply Stalin was involved from the beginning with tank development and construction. Strangely, the designers were able to have give and take dialogues with the fearsome dictator. The book goes into all of the Heavy Soviet tanks, and also its tank destroyers. Among them are my favorites: the SU and ISU152. This monster was given the nickname 'zvierboy' or 'animal hunter' for its ability to take on German Tigers and Panthers. The lend lease American and British tanks are then shown, and likes and dislikes of the Soviet tankers to the different models are told.

 In 'Stalin's Legacy' we are shown the generations of tanks from WWII to the Cold War, and the resurgence of the 'Deep Battle' concept. An appendix follows that shows exactly how many tanks of what series were produced, and also gives some German versus Soviet tanks numbers in a few picked battles of the Eastern Front. 

 This book is easy to recommend to anyone who is interested in not just Soviet tanks, but also in their history and development.

Robert

Book: Red Army Tanks of World War II

Authors: Tim Bean, Will Fowler

Publisher: Amber Books

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Phantom leader for the PC

by 

Dan Verssen Games

 This is a PC port of a boardgame from the same developer. In it you get the chance to play the United States Navy or Air Force in three different campaigns. They are:

1965 - This campaign takes place mostly in South Vietnam, and the gist of the campaign is to choke off munitions etc. coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

1967 - This campaign takes place in North Vietnam. As the U.S. player, you are allowed to attack only some targets. This was because of a strategy called 'gradualism'. In a nutshell, you are allowed to attack some targets while others are 'held hostage'. This was an attempt to bring the North Vietnamese to a peace conference.

1972 - This is Operation Linebacker. It also takes place in North Vietnam. In this scenario, you as the U.S. player can go for broke. You are attempting to punish North Vietnam so severely that they have no other recourse than to discuss a peaceful settlement to the Vietnam war.

 The game looks pretty simple for a PC game, and as usual looks can be deceiving. The graphics and play are not going to task anyone's computer. As mentioned it is a boardgame port, and unlike most of them is very true to the original boardgame.

 First you choose what campaign you will play, and then you pick which U.S. service you will command. The length of your game can be short, medium, or long. the shortest scenario is only two days, and the longest one is twelve days. The campaigns are listed on the left of the above pic. You can see that you will be evaluated during the scenario on a points system. The grades are as follows: Great, Good, Adequate, Poor, and Dismal.

  You are given a wide array of planes to use during your missions. They are:

Phantom II

F-105 Thunderchief

F-100 Super Sabre

F-104 Starfighter

A-4 Skyhawk

F-8 Crusader

A-6 Intruder

EB-66 Destroyer

A-7 Corsair II 

 You have only a certain amount of pilots of each rating that you can use. The ratings are:

Newbie

Green

Average

Skilled

Veteran

 You might also get the chance to promote some pilots at the beginning of a scenario.

 This is the first screen of where you will choose your targets.

 This screen shows the targets from the deck that you are able to attack. 

 This screen is the actual one where your mission will take place. Notice the North Vietnamese assets set up in the middle of the page.

 You also have an event card deck that you can use.

 The rule book is accessible on every page. it is well written, and easy to follow.

 Here is a page from the rule book showing the North Vietnamese defenses you will meet, and the counters from the U.S. side.

 This is a shot of my planes during the setup of the mission.
 

  The great thing about the game is it is a very well done PC conversion of a boardgame. The only problem that I can see will be with straight PC users who have not played boardgames. What I mean by that is the game does not spoon feed you. A lot of PC boardgames do everything but play the game for you. With this game you will have to read the rules to understand better about what is happening game wise.

 The game has fairly short campaigns; as mentioned, some are only two days long. So pre-planning is a must, and sometimes a little luck with die rolls is also good.

 This game is more like a hardcore RPG or a management simulation than other wargames. In this game you do feel like you are in charge of these pilots. You have to manage and juggle the different pilots' stress, status, and their overall well being. Whereas in most games where you can just go for broke and attempt to win that hex before turn 10 (no matter what the cost in cardboard or computer lives), this time around your actual leadership skills are taken into account. The immersion factor is high because you have a name and  few individualized stats. You are not just ordering the 3rd battalion to take that town or whatever. Strangely, I like the game even though I do not seem to be good at it at all. Playing it does not make you throw your hands up in disgust though. You just fire it up one more time to see if this time you can actually get it  right. For you solitary players out there, this game is an easy one to give a recommendation to.


Robert

Tiger I and tiger II Tanks German Army and Waffen SS Eastern front 1944

by

Dennis Oliver

  The German big 'cats'; who would not be impressed by them? The total amount of these tanks that were constructed was not very much, but their influence on so many battlefields went far beyond mere numbers. There are so many stories of Tigers limping back to their own lines with shell marks on them too numerous to count. They were bent, bruised, and battered, but still capable of taking out any Allied tank. They are a mechanical marvel. All it takes is to watch some tanks go through their paces on the TV to see the difference. All the other tanks lurch and clank and sputter. The Tigers go through their paces like a Ferrari. Otto Carius said that you could steer it with one finger. Over engineered, certainly. Deadly in the hands of a veteran crew, almost certainly. 

 This book is a bit of a amalgamation. It is about the history of all of the Tiger tanks and their crews that fought on the eastern front in 1944, but it is also about Tiger I-II models.

 There are six different models of Tiger Is and IIs, and also a Sturm Tiger. All are from different world class model makers, and they are fantastic. They are enough to make you get your poorly made Tiger models and throw them away. The weathering and the detail is superb. The dirt and snow in the first models tracks are unbelievably realistic. There are also ten pages of excellent side shots of different Tigers for modellers to use in their builds.

 Then there are pages of the Tigers that are on sale from all of the different model companies. Dragon, Italieri, Tamiya etc, they are all here. Speaking of Tamiya, did you know that the company started out as a sawmill? They started a sideline business of wooden ships and airplanes. The side business did so well they closed down the sawmill. The book is filled with that fact and so many others. 

 After the model companies are listed, there are a few pages of specialist companies that build add-ons to enhance your model. Metal, resin, and brass - you name it, it is listed here. 

  The unit histories are usually about a page in length. The book goes on to state and show all of the changes the different Tigers went though during their three years of construction.

 From a technical standpoint the book is a winner. Throw in all of the unit histories and then add the modelling, and it is a superb book on the Tiger I-II tanks. This book is part of the Pen and Sword 'Tank Craft' books. The book is really a showcase of the modellers and their builds, and gives the rest of us a shot in the arm to up our game on our next Tiger tank.

 I will be doing a review of another 'Tank Craft' book: 'Sherman Tanks British Army and Royal Marines Normandy Campaign 1944'. I cannot wait to see what the modellers have done in this one.

Robert

Book: Tiger I and Tiger II Tanks German Army and waffen SS Eastern front 1944

Author: Dennis Oliver

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Distributor: Casemate publishers

Tank Warfare Tunisia 1943

by

Graviteam

 Graviteam Tactics; a lot of gamers have a love and hate relationship with this stable of games. The games themselves are stellar, but the complaints in the past were always about the UI and the patching process. The appearance of these games on Steam took care of the patching problems. The UI has been worked on since the first release. Their original foray into this type of game was 'Operation Star'. This was a simulation of the battles between Germany and Russia in 1942. The game was successful enough to spawn a large amount of DLCs. The next release was 'Mius Front'. Much of 'Tank Warfare' will be familiar to anyone who has played 'Mius Front'. 

 So this is their third release using this format. 'Tank Warfare Tunisia 1943' is about the battles in Tunisia between the American Army and German Army. 

 The game is separated into two modes, operational and tactical. The Operational mode is turn based, and this is where you will make your plans for the coming battles. In this phase you can also resupply, repair, and refuel. The tactical phase is in real time, and it is where you will actually fight your battles in striking 3D. The vehicles, infantry, and terrain are majestically rendered. The amount of area for your battles is actually over 400 square kilometers. This is not some RTS without any history or reality to it. It is a battlefield simulation with all of the bells and whistles including:

• Enhanced UI: functional interface of various panels, radial orders menu and other enhancements.
• Interface appearance and customization: three variants of appearance are included, customizable unit markers (Wehrmacht, NATO, Red Army).
• High replayability and advanced AI, which selects the best strategy based on behavior, not a predetermined script.
• Advanced management of forces in the operational phase: reinforcement strategies and management of reserves.
• Statistics keeping: performance of each unit is recorded (kills, losses, awards, etc.). After each battle, damages and condition of forces and vehicles, as well as telemetry are shown in the after battle statistics.
• Battlefield simulation: realistic vision devices, smoke screens and flares, creation of trenches, explosion craters. Remnants of previous battles remain on the battlefield until the end of operation.
• Realistic soldier behavior: each soldier has several essential parameters, such as experience level, stamina and morale, which influence their behavior and effectiveness.
• Detailed weapon modeling and realistic ballistics: bullets and projectiles follow ballistic trajectories, taking wind, temperature and other parameters into account.
• Advanced armor penetration: modeling based on ballistic histograms without simplifications of probabilistic methods, generation of secondary fragmentation fields takes into account many parameters, such as the change of the field shape in space, fragments and armor characteristics, armor thickness and damage conditions.
• Complex vehicle damage system: engine, suspension, sights, weapons and targeting mechanisms can be damaged separately, affecting the combat capabilities.
• Destructible environment: almost everything can be blown up and destroyed, from landscape surface and buildings to vehicles and enemy defensive installations.
• Advanced control of the off-map artillery, featuring various fuse settings and shell types.
• Formation and movement modes: lines and columns, movement by road and covertly, infantry following behind tanks, setting a delay, fire sectors, etc.
• Automatic smoke screen laying: units set up smoke screens when enemy is spotted.
• Dynamic change of the time of day, light sources and weather effects, influence the course of battle, visibility and area passability. 

 It is a bit of a mouthful to swallow at one time. Graviteam has endeavored to recreate World War II battlefields with as much reality and history as possible. They have also strived to do this with as much eye candy as you can imagine. The great thing is that even with the patch and UI hiccups, they have improved with each incarnation. In reality, they have succeeded more than most people  actually dreamed they could. It is pretty impossible to put into words what Graviteam has made possible for us grognards. I have become completely entranced while watching my troops take part in night time firefights. The game is modeled down to the headlights on the various vehicles. 

 The game has three campaigns/operations, two large and one smaller one. Of the two, there is one for the Germans and one for the Americans. There are a number of smaller scenarios to battle through. The battle editor is actually able to be used in two ways. First, as a standard editor, and secondly as a a 'Quick battle' generator. The tutorials are also well done and all inclusive. With their use you will be armed and primed in no time.

  There have been no statements as of yet about upcoming DLCs to round out the other nations that fought in North Africa such as the English and Italians. Judging by Graviteam's past history there will be plenty of them to go around. 

 We now have to address the pink and polka dotted elephant in the room. "Tank warfare' is a wargame. It is a historically accurate simulation of the 1943 Tunisia campaign. Yes, the battles in it do take place in real time. I think that giving it the moniker of a RTS game is highly deceiving. I have seen complaints and reviews knocking the game because it is not frenetic enough for the twitch crowd. "Tank Warfare' was built from the ground up as a simulator of World War II battle. In this it succeeds admirably. To try and compare it to 'Command and Conquer' etc. does a disservice to both. I think some people saw the term real time and just assumed it would be a normal RTS game. All I can say is welcome to my world. For the past twenty some odd years, my ears have perked up and my heart rate has picked up whenever I saw or heard the name Hannibal. My hopes would be dashed once again when I found out they were discussing a fictional serial killer and not Mr. Barca.

 The game setting on first glance may seem as empty and flat as a chess board and without any terrain features to help or hinder us budding generals. In this it is deceiving. On closer inspection  you will find that the terrain is nowhere near as empty as the first glance suggests. One of the best features of a lot of the maps is the large territory that you are given to use to approach battle. There is nothing more annoying than being given an excellent wargame system and then provided with postage stamp size maps to fight it out on. This increases the playability immensely. You can try out tons of different strategies given the amount of territory the game gives you to use.

 For those of you who, like me, have everything Graviteam has done, this is an instant purchase. For you others out there give it a try. You might just get hooked like we did.

Robert


Game: Tank Warfare: Tunisia 1943
Developer: Graviteam
Distributor: Strategy First