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'Till The Trumpet Sounds Again Vol 1 & Vol 2 by R Nicol book review

Reading so many military history books covering WWI and WWII I started to notice one company in particular never let me down. Every book I read that came out under their name I enjoyed from start to finish. Infact many I'd have happily placed in my top ten book list and those that didn't wouldn't be far off. This company is Helion. Though they fall under Casemate (who also publish great reads) if I see a book that looks interesting and then I note it's published by Helion it becomes a definite buy. So if a book has caught your eye, but maybe you're in two minds check to see who publishes it. If it's Helion then I say buy it! So when I noticed this book was published by Helion I knew I had to read it! I had to review both volumes for the blog!

Unlike my colleague and AWNTs other book review Bob, I love books that that take it down to the soldier in the frontline level. Were Bob likes his books about Strategy and the big picture, I prefer books that take me down to a trench and the individual soldier, describing what he witnessed and felt, introducing me to his comrades. In a strange way I feel reading these books (fair to say mainly memoirs) help keep these soldiers alive, even though sadly many you get to know will die during the course of the book. So 'Till The Trumpet Sounds Again Vol 1 & 2 looked like it would be a winner, WWI (my obsession), Helion and promising to take me down to the trenches with the Scots Guards sounds perfect, surely it must be a winner....

Funny enough though I've read alot of WWI books I haven't read any that are based around a particular regiment rather than an individual soldier. Actually I tell a lie, the excellent series by Jack Sheldon "The German Army on\at...." and the superb "The Otherside of The Wire" by Ralph Whitehead (more on that later) are along similar lines but covering a German Army\Corps, were this two volume set covers a renowned British regiment. "The Otherside of the Wire" By Ralph Whitehead (Helion) is actually my benchmark when it comes to in-depth research by an author. This series easy has a place in my top ten books of all time. Ralph's research into the soldiers mentioned in the two volumes currently released is amazing, the best I've read so far and I thought no one could do it any better. 'Till The Trumpet Sounds Again I hoped would be just like "The Otherside of the Wire" but this time looking at a British unit. So everything is in the books favour, will it come close to "The Otherside of the Wire"..

Well, as soon as I started reading I knew this was going to be something special. The book starts with the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, about to leave the UK and then follows them as the cross the channel and head towards their first engagement and the battle of Mons, it then stays with them through the long retreat and then finally the counter attack and the battle of The Marne. It soon becomes apparent how much research the author has done. More or less every soldier mentioned in it's pages, esp those that die or are wounded in any actions mentioned (if wounded it says if he gets sent back to the frontline or not) have their background described, were they lived, when they signed up, their previous job, who they are married to, who their parents were, if he had any children, if he had been in any trouble whilst in the ranks, even down to any tattoos he has and where and what they are of! I love this sort of detail! The author has used not only the regiments diary but also letters sent to loved ones and any interviews taken after the War. At one point I was reading extracts from a letter written by a Officer, during which he has to break off from writing due to a barrage. He then continues to finish the letter. A couple of paragraphs later this same Officer is killed and you find out the letter was taken out of his pocket and sent to his loved one with any other personal articles he had had with him when killed. He had just been told his wife was expecting another child. It's this sort of detail that brings it all home. For me makes it all real and keeps these men in living memory. The second chapter then goes to the 2nd Battalion who crossed later than the 1st. It follows them through the first battle of Ypres, a terrible baptism of fire. The third chapter then goes back to the 1st battalion and describes their experience of "The First Battle of Ypres". The two volumes continue in this way going back and forth between the two battalions, yet it never gets confusing and is very easy to follow. Volume 1 goes from 1914 to July 1916 and the start of the battle of the Somme.

Volume 2 carries on were Volume 1 finished right through to 1919. A slightly smaller book than Vol 1 it doesn't let you down. I'm sure after finishing volume 1 you'll want to get Volume 2 as soon as possible. R Nicol hasn't let the men of the Scots Guards down and this book is a fantastic testament to their deeds through "The Great War". If any member of your family actually fought with the Scots Guards during WWI this is more than just a must buy..you HAVE to buy it!

Now did R Nicol manage to uphold my feelings about Helion and did he infact come close to "The Otherside of the Wire", what I consider to be pretty much the perfect military history book? Well yes and no. Yes I still see the name "Helion" as a mark of a good read but coming close to "The Otherside of the Wire"? A tough ask and I have to say he didn't just come close, he matched, if not over took Ralph's work in my top ten list! I mean achievement. I have no hesitation in recommending this superb series. It had everything I want in my history books in spades, with a cherry on top! It definitely goes in my top ten if not top five books of all time. Again Helion didn't disappoint. Helion must be the jewel in Casemates crown! It will be a long time, if ever, before I forget the men of the Scots Guards and their experience of WWI which is all thanks to R Nicols superb research and writing skills. If you're like me and love books that take you down to the frontline and the experiences of the soldiers and officers in the line then this two volume set is a must buy. Even if WWI isn't really the conflict you're interested in I still say buy it as I'm sure once finished it wont be the last book you read on WW1. Only if you prefer the more dry books which look at the bigger strategy etc (yawn) like my colleague Bob should you look elsewhere. If you check the book reviews on the website by Bob you'll most likely find the type of book that appeals to you reviewed there. One thing I will say is that Helion also publish the type of book that appeals to those like Bob as he too has been impressed with their offerings!

So "'Till The Trumpets Sound Again" Vol 1 and Vol 2 by R Nicol impressed me no end. Very few things will I whole heartedly recommend for people to spend their hard earned money on. I certainly don't want to do a review that entices someone to buy it on my word and then not  be happy. However every now and again something comes along where I have no doubts what so ever in recommending to people and this is one of those times. If you enjoy the same sorts of books that I do then it's a no brainer...buy it! It's everything I want and more when it come to a military history book. R Nicol should be very proud! It's books like this that in recent times has made me go for the hardback edition rather than the soft back. I like to keep my books in good order. I once let someone borrow a book of mine and when it came back to me it looked like it had actually gone through the War..never again! 

 With in the pages of this two volume set are the reasons why I became obsessed with WWI, devouring book after book on the War. Those like me will under stand what I mean by this. I hope after reading these two books that maybe one or two other people will understand what I mean and also become obsessed with WWI. That might even be you!

Until the next time...happy reading!

21 Days in Normandy: Maj. Gen. George Kitching and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division

A Review

The author, Angelo Caravaggio, has put together a detailed historical account and explanation for the Normandy performances of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division and it's commander, Major General George Kitching. The book endeavors to explain and examine critical factors that have lead previous historians to conclude that neither the commander nor the division performed up to battlefield expectations. 

Those readers who enjoy precise descriptions of commander functions and military definitions will be pleased with the in-depth research the author has undertaken to explore just what happened in those 21 days in Normandy. In fact, nearly 100 pages of the 289-page book are devoted to appendices detailing historical information about operational plans/instructions, conference notes, operational intentions, strength returns, chapter notes, an extensive bibliography and of course a thorough index. 

While analyzing such comprehensive information not everyone's cup of tea, Mr. Caravaggio no doubt found it necessary to include this as a means of bolstering his case that the 4th Armoured Division and General Kitching had been unfairly treated in previous accounts of the relevant Normandy actions. War plans Totalize and Tractable were unevenly applied during the race to close the Falaise gap; to a certain extent, the 4th was blamed for some of the failure to ensnare the thousands of Germans who did escape; albeit abandoning most of their equipment in the process of beating a hasty retreat.

The Commanders

from the book: Canadian Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Guy Simonds (left)
and 4th Canadian Armoured Commander Maj. Gen. George Kitching

The author does a convincing job recounting the various challenges faced by Kitching during the series of Normandy battles: a) training in brigade structure initially and, unlike other armoured divisions, not having time to change/train with the new and more flexible task force structures before the major operations designated Totalize and Tractable; b) losing valuable training time by being forced to waterproof all tanks, which turned out to be an unnecessary waste of valuable time; c) the mediocrity and/or lack of experience of Kitching's brigade commanders; d) the ongoing personal friction between Simonds and Kitching; e) the complex yet ill-considered design structure of both operations, resulting in compressed frontages for armoured maneuvering and subsequent inability of the following infantry brigades to support tank operations; f) the inflexibility of scheduling carpet bombing that leading to attack delays and g) language barriers and operational differences between the 4th and the Polish Armoured Division during the Falaise end-phase. 

The Attack Plans

from the book: complicated operational plans, in this case, Totalize

One of the main hindrances was the command structure forced upon subordinate units. Field Marshall Montgomery rigidly expected that orders and plans were to be followed precisely, thus limiting spontaneous field decisions. Further, Simonds was a bit of a micromanager in the sense that he did not give his division commanders reign to determine their own battle plans but instead took it upon himself to issue the detailed orders from Corps level. 

As mentioned earlier, the 4th Canadian Armoured also suffered from the less flexible pre-invasion brigade structure, which confounded combined operations between tank and infantry elements. Notably, during actual operations, many of the initial brigade commanders were early casualties; new commanders were forced to assume command on the spot. According to the author, this actually helped the various formations succeed because the training at those levels had been very good; the new leaders were forced to improvise tactics that were more spontaneously task-force oriented. If we are to accept the conclusions of the author, the 4th did  fight with much more cohesion and success than history gives it credit. Nevertheless, due to the overall inability of the Canadian Corps to achieve a closure of the Falaise gap, Kitching was relieved as the commander for negligence, ostensibly due to personal conflicts with others in combination with the failure to achieve operational goals. Someone had to be found as a scapegoat in this situation. 

21 Days in Normandy could appeal to the harder core military history enthusiasts who appreciate detailed acronyms, comprehensive explanations of commanders' duties, extensive tables of order and equipment, copies of actual orders and information of similar ilk. More time could have been spent engaging in narratives about the actual fighting, but that is, of course, a matter of preferential bias. The reviewer considers that this book will be especially attractive to enthusiasts of Canadian operations in the Normandy battles; those who are already familiar with the previous reputations and actions of the formations under scrutiny here

To all of whom this appeals, I think you will tremendously enjoy this book! -- Marc Hanna

Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland and the USSR 1940-1945

A Review

Chris Mann and Christer Jorgensen have put together an interesting, informative and enjoyable narrative about the arctic campaigns of World War II.  Pen & Sword provide the publishing 'punch' by using modern publishing techniques that, for example, embed the graphics and images alongside the related text. This is preferred to the usual method of having sets of images in collected sections of the book because these are tied directly with the text. I'm very impressed with the eye-pleasing layout of this book. 

The Scandinavian Expanse

It can be hard to get a sense of the scope of these campaigns, involving thousands of kilometers of land stretching from Trondheim to Murmansk, from the North Sea to the Arctic Ocean with the Baltic in the middle of it all. The authors do an effective job giving the readers the right impressions about the scope and involvement of land, sea and air forces in this bitter theater of operations. The land campaigns were miserable in the spring and summer, as the troops on each side tried to maneuver using poor maps, having to skirt marshes and ford rushing streams -- all the while dodging swarms of famished mosquitoes. The winters were even worse as men froze to death in the frigid arctic conditions. 

Many are familiar with the blitzkriegs of Poland and France in the early stages of World War II, but the authors remind us that Scandinavia lived rent-free in the mind of Hitler. Foremost was his concern about securing the resources from this rich area, but he also remembered how the Kreigsmarine got bottled up in World War One without access to non-German ports. He hadn't forgotten that it was the low-morale sailors that fomented the capitulation in 1918. As a result, he eyed the ports sweeping north along the Norwegian coast as vitally necessary to his long-term strategy. 

The Winter War 1940

from the book -- Finnish ski-troops and ferocious-looking reindeer on patrol

But Stalin had struck first in the North, albeit not doing so well in the aptly-named 'Winter War.' The authors explain the origins and outcomes of this brutal side-show in some detail, covering some less-well known facts and intrigues that led up to the conflict. 

Note that the image above is just a sample of many in the book provided to illustrate the battle for the Finnish frontiers. Ultimately, the Russians won the Winter War, but only by licking their wounds and down-sizing their terms of surrender. Stalin frightfully realized his armies were sub-par.  

Norway 1940

from the book -- map of Norway operations

Hitler and his Admirals tried to get the jump on the allies in Norway, doing so even before launching their strikes into France and the Low Countries. This complex operation Weserubung involved amphibious landings and extended naval operations conducted by both sides, stretching along the coast of Norway from Oslo in the south to the far north where lay the vital port of Narvik. So much was at stake that Germany committed precious airborne troops and Western Allies sent vulnerable aircraft carriers directly into the fray. Indeed, the authors do a marvelous job explaining the tos and fros of this short-lived yet strategic battle. Hitler considered Norway so vital that for the rest of the war he stationed over a quarter million troops to guard the coastline and ports used for the precious Scandinavian resource deliveries.

Wargamer aside: it's noteworthy that many strategic wargames about WW2 simply cannot properly model this Norwegian conflict. For example, many game designers avoid the question of using naval forces altogether by stimulating players to make an airborne drop on Oslo as sufficient to represent the entire campaign. Their design focus is on adequately simulating East front combat and Western Allied invasions, but as a result, the Norwegian portion of the campaign is treated as a nearly irrelevant side-show. Part of the charm of studying the actual campaign is in relation to my love of strategic simulation of this war and how elusive it can be for designers to incorporate a realistic Norway campaign. I've yet to see it done satisfactorily in either board game or computer game formats -- at the strategic level. 

Barbarossa in the North

from the book -- Soviet combined arms counterattack

The authors provide due homage to German-Finnish efforts of seizing Murmansk and Leningrad from Russia when the weather was favorable in 1941 and 1942. The weather might have been, but conditions, especially in the far North, were not. German area commanders and, to a lesser extent, Russian commanders were simply not aware of how difficult it was to attack in these reaches of forest and marsh. Not only that, but the Finnish were simply not motivated to attack beyond recapturing territory lost in the Winter war, resulting in sporadic diplomatic confrontations with their German ally and resultant campaign failures.  

from the book -- typical summertime obstacles in the far North

Eventually the entire push entered a stalemate period. This episode lasted for three years until the Soviets launched a major counterattack in 1944 designed to drive Finland out of the war. Although stalemate situations are generally not interesting in a military sense, the authors provide absorbing details about operations and discuss the vexations on both sides of the conflict during this period. 

The Arctic Convoys

from the book -- the seemingly ubiquitous but ultimately ineffective Tirpitz (with torpedo netting, of course!)

It's hard to imagine more bitter and horrifying conditions than were found on convoys sending aid to Russia during the grim years of 1942 and 1943. This is when the usefulness of Norway truly manifested as a base of operations for Germany. Even the threat of the Tirpitz leaving it's bases to raid convoys was a horrific consideration for the Western Allies. It wasn't well known that Germany had trouble getting fuel to this ship nor that Hitler was loathe to send it out, due to the losses the Kreigsmarine had suffered taking Norway in the first place. Ultimately the battleship only engaged in one combat mission, bombarding a British naval Base at Spitsbergen. The book describes more so the vagaries of defeats and triumphs on both sides of this far-from-trumpeted and dismal battle theater.

The Victors

from the book -- Russian in full winter camouflage, circa 1944 Finnish front and dressed as extras for Ice Station Zebra

Obviously the allies won the conflict in the far north, but it's fair to say that the ultimate winners were once again the Russians. Convoys arrived from the west, supplementing the Soviet war machine, while 1944 attacks in Finland forced the smaller country to change sides and fight Germans and remove them from their soil. The authors definitely do a great job explaining the nuances of the Finnish-German relations during this contentious time near the end of the war.  

In conclusion, this book is highly recommended. It may not satisfy hard-core historians who want to see orders of battle for each engagement and tables of organization and equipment. The focus in the book is more on an entertaining but accurate account of this vast theater of operations, and this is well accomplished in 224 pages. The book comes with referenced chapter notes/citations, a bibliography and an index. All in all, this reviewer highly recommends adding this book to your collection. -- Marc Hanna. 

The Battle of Minden 1759

The Impossible Victory of the Seven Years War

By 

Stuart Reid

 For most people the Seven Years War brings forth an image of old 'Fritz' on a horse with Prussian grenadiers standing behind him. The fact is, the Seven Years War could be the first 'World War'. Being fought on five of the seven continents, the war has a lot more history than just what happened in Bohemia and Silesia. This book tells the story of the French attempt to crush a much smaller army of British and allied German states. The allied army was tasked to defend Hanover and keep the French from attacking Frederick the Great from the west. The British involvement came about when George, the elector of Hanover, was made the British king in 1714. George the 1st of England and his son, George the 2nd, took their birth rite as electors of Hanover as seriously as they took being kings of England.

 The Seven Years War started in 1754, with Frederick the Great's invasion of Saxony. The previous few years had seen a complete shift in European politics. France and their arch enemy Austria had made peace and actually became allies (in the War of Austrian Succession 1740-1748 France was actually allied with Frederick). George the 2nd had originally made his favorite son the Duke of Cumberland (butcher) his general-in-chief in Hanover. The portly Duke was trundled off the continent after the battle of Hastenbeck and signing the disastrous 'Convention of Klosterzeven', ceding half of Hanover to the French and leaving Frederick in the lurch. George the 2nd found a new favorite son and quickly repudiated the convention. The Duke of Brunswick, Ferdinand, was put in charge of a newly raised polyglot army. He had been successful in the last two years in blunting the French army's methodical forward movements. The campaign season of 1759 however, did not bode well, and it looked like his army was about to be engulfed by the French tide.

Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick

 This book is about the battle of Minden, 'The Impossible victory' of Ferdinand, but also about a good deal more. The author goes into the Seven Years War from the beginning in northwest Germany. You are shown the monetary and political constraints that Ferdinand had to deal with. The allied army had a large English contingent, and some of the more famous parts of the campaign and battle are gone into deeply from the English point of view. The French Marshal Contades advanced from a good defensive position to offer battle to the small allied army. In a confusion of orders, six English and two Hanoverian infantry regiments attacked three lines of French cavalry. The 'square' having not yet been developed, most of the onlookers assumed the worst. The eight regiments kept cohesion and with marvelous fire control forced the French cavalry from the field. The rest of the allied army then went forward and somewhat completed the victory. I say somewhat because for various reasons Lord George Sackville, commander of the English contingent, did not charge the retreating French with his cavalry. Some even thought it was through cowardice. This was not really accurate at all, and after the battle Sackville requested a court martial. The book details Ferdinand's actual orders and the confusion and physical constraints that Sackville actually had to contend with. Sackville was given his court martial, which found him guilty of disobeying orders, but in reality all of the testimony really acquitted him in the public eye. He shows up in American history under another title: Lord George Germain, one of the men responsible for the loss of the 'colonies'.

Lord Sackville

 The first part of the book is 115 pages long, but it is followed by no less that eight appendixes that are another 80 pages. The following list of the appendixes will show the depths that the author has gone to.

 I - Orders of Battle 1 August 1759
 II - British Casualties at Minden
 III - Lord George Sackville's account of Minden
 IV - Contemporary accounts of the Battle of Minden
 V - Testimony of Royal Artillery officers at the Sackville Court Martial
 VI - The British Army in the Seven Years War
 VII - His Britannic Majesty's Army in Germany
 VIII - The French Army in the Seven Years War

 There are also eight pages of black and white illustrations, along with copious references and notes.

 Minden was one of the British victories in the 'Annus Mirabilis (year of victories) of 1759. Thanks to the author and publisher for bringing to light a non-Frederickian history of the Seven years War.


 Robert


 Author: Stuart Reid
 Publisher: Frontline Books
 Distributor: Casemate Publishers

An announcement from Scott Hamilton of HPS Sims

Introduction written by Jason Rimmer

After my article about Tigers Unleashed  the first comment on a forum was a negative one which was  justified (I have to say some positive comments soon came along aswell) I copied the reply and sent it to Scott. Scott then sent out this email to the team which we felt ought to be published here for all to see.

Scotts message starts below..

"Hi guys,

First off, when this was released, we thought that it was good to go.  We had been running it for weeks, and it was checking out fine.  There were things I still wanted to work on, of course <!>, but there were no known crashes or major impediments to game play.

And even after it was released, it seemed to be good for a few months.. very few negative reports, and lots of suggestions.  And then it was like something snapped, and that's when we realized it wasn't as solid as we had thought.  And the worst part is that because things had gone OK for a while, I had started tearing things up to make improvements (plus we had put a lot of stuff "on hold" before the release to keep things as manageable as possible).  So the code was in a state such that I couldn't respond quickly to fix the problems as they started coming in.

As for how we managed to miss the boat, it was principally a matter of testing... or more correctly - the lack of the right type of it.   We had been running TU here on at least a dozen computers (incl. my wife's at work, my brother's, my mother in laws, etc).  But for the most part it was all AI vs AI.   I figured that would root out any really serious stuff.  But obviously it didn't, and because this was before Jason showed up, I didn't realize how cursory the comments coming in from the test crew really were (and that was 2 dozen people at the time). 

At that point I had already delayed the release for about 2 years (and the boards were full of "vaporware" comments and how HPS was going out of business), so with no known crash reports or other major issues, I decided to go for it.  It seemed like it a reasonable bet that it was OK.

And now we know why I'm not a betting man. :-)

Had I known, of course, I never would have released it.  Yes, it was intended as a WIP (all of my releases are), but not to the level it turned out to be.

As for the poster who feels ripped off and thinks I'm unprofessional, I do understand where he's coming from.  But all I can say is that I've refunded every persons money who has requested it, no questions asked.  It's been my policy since I started, and I still honor it for every single game I sell. 

So I don't agree he was completely ripped off.  Though, as a gamer myself (at least when I had time), I get the fact that he spent time and put emotional energy into it.  I also get that that can be even more valuable than money.   But there is no way I can refund that.  So all I can do is say I'm sorry and try to work as hard as I can to eventually put something out there he (and everyone else) can enjoy.

As for the forums... I also understand that it's the way many, if not most, people like to converse these days.  However, I still prefer email.  Maybe that makes me a dinosaur, but I encourage folks to email me and have my email address posted everywhere ( scott@hpssims.com ).  And I reply to every single one I get from customers (just like Jason's all those years ago#, and the ones from all the other guys on that forum).  I find it's more personal, less likely to turn negative or off the subject, and allows me to really dig into issues.

The other thing, is that as my wife says, "you can waste hours on writing the simplest things".  Which, as you can see from this email, among others, is absolutely true. ;-)    Being a perfectionist is one of my major weakness, at least for things like this.  Where other people can spend five minutes and fire something off, I spend hours.  If I were on a forum, even just posting a minimal amount, I'd lose hours of work time.  And on the forums, it seems like there is never a minimal amount. ;-)

That's not to say I can't change or figure out a way to do it, but just that right now I agree with Jason (and Jeff and Joe) 100%.  The only thing that really matters is getting this out in a shape that we can all be happy with and proud of.   In some minds I'm already a "recluse" and an "SOB" and any number of other things (and that's before you even ask my cats!)...  and while it hurts deeply, there's nothing I can do about that besides getting this out the door. 

See ya!
 -Scott"

#I don't think Scott realised at the time when sending me that first email that it would be the start of literally thousands of emails over the next few years I'd send back to him. I reckon sometimes I've sent him ten in a day!!

Panzer Corps, developed by Flashback Games and The Lordz Games Studio, was published by Slitherine in 2011. The game is a spiritual successor to the 90's classic, Panzer General, which set a strong benchmark for the "beer and pretzels" segment of the wargaming genre. Panzer Corps takes that strong, yet straight forward gameplay and polishes it even further. The result is a modern wargaming classic that can be enjoyed by novices and grognards alike.

In the years since its release, Panzer Corps has been expanded via numerous DLC to allow for playing a much more lengthy German campaign, campaigns focused on specific theaters, and campaigns giving the player control of the Allied forces. It has also spawned spiritual successors of its own, including Order of Battle: WW2 and the far more fantastical Warhammer 40k: Armageddon. In this review, I will take a look back at the original base game of Panzer Corps, and discuss what makes that core gameplay so attractive to so many players.

Panzer Corps gives the player the same task as many other World War II wargames: Take command of the forces of Nazi Germany and see if you can do better than your historical counterparts. Heavier wargames might then present you with a dizzying array of NATO counters, rows of menu buttons to decipher, and a tutorial which consists of telling you to go study the manual for a few days and come back. While there is certainly a space and many fans for those kinds of games, they aren't for everyone, and even the most enthusiastic wargamer won't always be up for that kind of commitment. In steps Panzer Corps, which distills that heavy wargame experience down into its core elements, and presents them through an easy to use interface, where anything you need to do can be accomplished by one or two clicks of the mouse. In fact, a couple clicks is all you need to get your units moving and fighting. Gameplay within the scenarios consists of turn based battles on a hex grid. You move and attack with all of your units, and your opponent then does the same. Click on a unit and a graphic will pop up showing where that unit can move to. Mouse over a spot adjacent to an enemy and the combat odds will display, giving you a clear idea of whether attacking that foe with this unit would be a good idea. This well polished UI makes controlling the game a breeze, leaving you to focus on the tactics of the battle instead of fighting with the interface.

The UI makes movement choices easy to understand.

The Panzer Corps campaign consists of a series of linked scenarios, in which the player fights the highlight battles of WW2 in Europe. Success or failure to meet objectives in each scenario decides where the war goes next, or if it goes on at all. Win decisively, by completing more challenging optional objectives, and you can even alter the course of history. Victory is also rewarded in the form of "prestige" points, a key resource in the game. These points are used to replace losses, buy new units, or upgrade existing ones. As the same points are used for everything, the player must be wise in considering how to spend them.

The other key resources in the game are your units themselves. A "core" set of units are carried forward through the campaign and can gain experience and stat bonuses. They can also be upgraded with more advanced equipment as the war goes on. This is one of the primary appeals of Panzer Corps for me. This is a game where I get to decide what the mix of forces in my army will be, and where limited resources will be spent. The system also makes you feel more attached to your units by granting them medals and heroes over time, giving your veteran units far more character than they would have otherwise. Your veteran units can also become far more powerful than they were at the start of the game, as each star they gain at certain experience thresholds lets you give them an extra point of strength beyond the default of ten points. Losing one of these hardened units halfway through the campaign is a real one-two punch to the gut. Not only did you lose a unit that had been with you through many battles, but you have also lost a key component of your force that will be difficult to replace.

The wonderful tutorial campaign starts the game off on the right foot, presenting all of the previous concepts, and much more, over the course of a half-dozen scenarios linked together just like the real campaign. The tutorial starts off with a simple ground assault on a couple of towns, and then introduces every concept and unit type in the game across gradually more complex missions. You will get to try out bridging units, air combat, naval warfare, amphibious assaults, tanks, reconnaissance, and more. By the end of the campaign you will have a good handle on how the game works, and how to effectively use all the various unit types. This is a critical lesson to learn, as units like bridging crews and reconnaissance teams may not seem too exciting compared to buying more tanks or paratroopers, but in the right situation they can be vital to your success.

New unit types and upgrades become available throughout the campaign.

The tutorial campaign also gives you the chance to try out purchasing and upgrading units. Units you keep alive throughout the missions will be quite powerful by the end, having gained a star or two and a few stat bonuses. An additional wrinkle in this system will become apparent to the player as his units inevitably take some hits. Units begin with a "strength" level of ten, regardless of unit type. This level dictates both their ability to defend and to attack. A full strength unit can always take a couple of hits and deal out punishment in return, but a weakened unit may become helpless against even the unit type it is meant to counter. To get a unit back up to full strength, those losses must be replaced. The game gives you a few options in this regard. A unit can take on green recruits, which is cheaper mid-scenario, and free between scenarios, but reduces the experience level of the unit. To preserve that experience, elite replacements can be used instead, but these are more costly, especially if used during a scenario. So the decision will come up often, should I keep this unit at maximum experience, or save some prestige for other uses? Also, during a mission, you may have to decide whether keeping a unit in the fight is worth the extra cost, or if you can afford to send them back to base early. Playing the game well, will of course alleviate much of the tension here, take few losses while completing your objectives and you will have points to spare. That of course is easier said than done. There are also a few other ways to earn extra prestige. Control of every city on the map is usually not necessary for victory, but each one you take gives a little bonus. You can also get bonus prestige for forcing the surrender of enemy units by surrounding them, representing equipment and supplies captured from the enemy.

Once you have a firm understanding from playing the tutorial, it's time for the full campaign. The game offers several different starting dates for the main campaign. You can skip ahead to the epic battles of Barbarossa, or jump into the middle of the war with a 1943 start on either the Eastern or Western fronts. Of course, for the full experience, you will want to start with the invasion of Poland in 1939. This full campaign will give you the chance to mold and grow your force from humble beginnings into an elite fighting machine. Do well enough, and you will change history with your armies, to the extent of even invading England and the United States.

All of the elements discussed before are present in the full campaign, only bigger and more complex. The scenarios pit your forces against difficult terrain and aggressive foes. Units like mountain troops and bridging units can be critical in overcoming these obstacles and outflanking the enemy, while in other missions they may completely superfluous. This highlights the necessity of building a robust fighting force to help you face each new challenge. Dropping all of your prestige into tanks won't get you very far when you need to take three or four cities in a row defended by AT guns and dug-in infantry. Rest assured, you will get the chance to let your big cats off the leash in wide open terrain where they can pounce on anything and everything. 

While some of the missions are designed in such a way that the player can try different strategies and be successful, many can feel more like a puzzle that needs to be solved. Especially since every scenario is limited by time, and getting a "decisive" victory often requires completing the scenario even faster. Since the scenarios always start the same, it becomes easy to have a try at a scenario, then start over with better knowledge of the enemy positions. You might send some paratrooper planes on a daring raid behind enemy lines, only to discover a fortress watching over your intended landing zones. Do you waste precious turns slogging it out, or reload and land your men on the other side of the city? The answer is easy if you want the best outcome. Simply put, having a trial run at a mission and then starting over will always give you a more efficient result, which translates into more prestige, which means you can buy better toys for the next mission. Playing through without any save scumming could lead to frustration for many players. Taking too many losses means you can't afford to upgrade you tanks or purchase a new fighter squadron. It might also mean that you can't afford to keep your units topped up with elite replacements, eroding away at their experience and leaving you with a weaker force as scenarios become more difficult.  This is really my only major complaint with the game, but it doesn't take away from the fact that picking apart these puzzle-like situations is FUN. Where on your first try at a scenario you may fail abysmally, the next time around, armed with just a bit of extra intel, you are able to find the chink in the enemy defenses and tear them apart. Knocking out one enemy unit after the other, while minimizing casualties among your own forces, can be wonderfully satisfying. You will feel like a master commander as you hit the enemy with just the right combo of units moving and attacking in concert.

Panzer Corps is no graphical feast for the eyes, but the solid gameplay is what matters.

Graphically, the game is not going to blow anyone away. The 2D map and unit models are mostly static, other than some adequate attack effects. That doesn't mean to say the game is ugly though. The maps can be nice to look at, and, most importantly, clearly convey the different types of terrain in each hex, which is critical for planning strategy. The unit models are all nicely done as well, and there are hundreds of them, representing just about every tank, plane, and other vehicle you would expect to find in the setting.

The game's sound is also well done, with strong explosions and angry blasts of machine gun fire accompanying every attack. You will, however, hear the exact same effects hundreds of times over the course of the game. The music is also nicely done and fitting for the game, though I couldn't say that any distinct tracks stick out in my mind after closing the game.  At no point when playing the game did I run into any kind of bug or glitch, no crashes or corrupted saves. This game was clearly polished to perfection in that regard.

Panzer Corps has some serious legs if you want to keep playing after finishing the campaign. There are several DLC on offer, including a much, much longer Grand Campaign for the Germans, campaigns for the Soviets and Western Allies, and a campaign focused exclusively on North Africa. There are also user made mods and scenarios if that isn't enough for you. Not to mention online play against human opponents using Slitherine's excellent PBEM++ system.

In summary, I will reiterate what I think is the heart and soul of this game: Mixing strategy gameplay that is simple and easy to understand (while retaining some depth) with a light RPG-esque system of building your own custom army that evolves and grows based on your leadership.  This system gives the player agency over their units, and then tasks them with putting that army to good use in the field. Smart decisions on one side of the coin gives rewards on the other, and the same is true for poor decisions. I would heartily recommend this game to anyone wanting to dip their toe into the wargaming waters, or to any hardened wargamers who want something that is fun to just dive into and play.

Dunkirk Movie Trailer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Introduction

Regular readers will be aware by now of our new team member Marc whose Bio is published in the GHQ section (hello Marc), however we also have two other talented chaps who have joined the AWNT ranks. First is Joe who will help out with PC game reviews mainly during busier periods and next is Mike who will be our main man over at the Model making section. The aim is to grow this section of the website and hopefully be able to review model kits sometime in the future...fingers crossed. Bio's for all members will be published ASAP on the GHQ page!

So I'd like to say a big hello to you all and I'm sure the website will be much better for all your future contributions!

It's good to see the page growing, the busier we are and the more articles we publish the better it is for our readership and for future growth. However we wont go for quantity over quality:)

Any suggestions from our readers are more than welcome. We want this website to be one of your must check pages when you log onto the net! So we are totally open to your ideas and suggestions on how we can grow the page and make it a first class website! Please use Contact Us over on top right.

2016: AWNT Year in review

Jason Rimmer

Top Five Games

1. Wings Over Flanders Fields UE

2. Combat Mission: Final Blitzkrieg

3. Graviteam Tactics: Muis Front

4. Warfighter WW2 by DVG Games

5. Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa with latest patch

 

My book of the year

Iron Cross Brigade by C Bauermeister and Jason Mark (eds.) 

 

Worthy of mention..

'Till Trumpets Sound Again Vol 1 and Vol 2 by R Nicol

This year I discovered and fell in love with military LEGO and was extremely impressed with Thomas Gunns miniatures. I also made some great new friends running this blog!

Also my top five are in no particular order:)

Looking forward to next year, we already have lots of  new games lined up for review when released and I hope the blog continues to grow:)

Happy New Year to you all!


Robert Peterson

Top Five Games

 Old School Tactical (Flying Pig Games)

 Decisive Campaigns Barbarossa (Matrix/Slitherine)

 Panzer Battles Kursk/Normandy (Wargame Design Studio)

 Gary Grigsby's War in the West (Matrix/Slitherine)

 Thirty Years War (Ageod)

My book of the year

 Sulla (by Lynda Telford)

 Operation Barbarossa 

Worthy of mention..

 I was extremely lucky this year in that it was very hard to pick between the games and books I played and read this year. Thank you Jason, and all of our readers for making this a splendid year. 

 

 

Mike Wall 

Top Five Games

Scythe designer Jamey Stegmaier [pub. Stonemaier Games]

Hands In The Sea designer Daniel Berger [pub. Knight Works]

Mare Nostrum:Empires designer Serge Laget [pub Academy Games]

Deadzone 2nd Ed. designer Jale Thornton [pub. Mantic Games]

Terraforming Mars designer Jacob Fryxelius [pub. FryxGames]

My book of the year
 
Operation Sealion by Leo McKinstry

[Rather Be The Devil by Ian Rankin - if we're stepping outside war.]

Worthy of mention..

Fief 1429 [if only it had been published a year later!]

Brilliant year for what's been published and starting to review for AWNT.  One great game after another.  Wading my way through piles of crime fiction too and seeing Ian Rankin talking about his latest Rebus novel!

Have a great Christmas and keep your eyes peeled for lots more games and lots more reviews in the New Year!




Marc Hanna

Top Five Games

Europa Universalis IV (Paradox Interactive)

Panzer Corps Gold (publisher - Slitherine)

Axis Empires / Dai Senso board game (update playtest ongoing) - Decision Games

Advanced Squad Leader board game series (new modules 2016) - MMP and other third party publishers

Drive on Moscow  (Shenandoah Studios) -- reviewed

My book of the year

Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland and the USSR 1940-1945 by Chris Mann and Christer Jorgensen -- review pending.

Worthy of mention..


PC game: Tigers on the Hunt (publisher Matrix Games) -- review pending.

Board game: Runewars (publisher FFG). Simply one of the best game designs of the Century.

Book: 21 Days in Normandy: Maj. Gen. George Kitching and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division by Angelo Caravaggio -- review pending.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Joe Beard

Top Five Games

1. Squad

2. Falling Sky: The Gallic Revolt Against Caeser

3. Total War: Warhammer

4. Order of Battle:WW2

5. Overwatch

My book of the year

Way of Kings by B Sanderson

Worthy of mention..


Command Modern Air\Naval Operations. For the continued support and dvelopment of the game, and the dozens of community created scenarios. I only wish I had time to play them all.

My 2016 was relatively light on wargaming, as my wife and I had our first child in March. Finding the time and mental energy to delve into a monster wargame just wasn't there for much of the year. As the free time in my schedule has become more predictable recently, I plan to get back deeper into wargames in 2017.

Merry Christmas to all, may you have a wonderful end to the year.

Editors Note: Please excuse the grey and black text when it should be all black. Blogger can be a real pain at times, when we look at this article in blogger to edit it it all looks black! See you all next year!