WINGS OF GLORY

Is there anyone out there in the wargaming world who hasn't heard of Wings of Glory, just one of the most accessible and enjoyable games on the air war in WWI.  Dogfighting, balloon busting, reconnaissance - you name it, you got it.  Superb pre-painted models of all the famous planes and then some!  All in a system that's so easy to get into, quick to play, but not simplistic.

Well, now courtesy of Direwolf Digital and Steam, you can take to the skies again online.  This is a direct modelling of the original game and contains a range of features that were introduced through various expansions.

So, overall here's what's included.  As with most computer games I'm familiar with, you start with a Tutorial, which, in this case, has three sections: Basic Rules, Damage and Altitude.  Each steps you through a number of simple scenarios, instructing you what actions to take. With those rapidly under your belt, it's time to move on to what will constitute normal play either solo or against an online opponent.  

I've already seen a number of comments online about the few opponents as yet available.  At first I assumed, with some surprise, that the reason was a lack of players buying the game.  However, it may be that they're encountering my problem, which is that whatever name or password I've tried in order to create an account for online play I get the identical message that this account already has been chosen!! 

However, until I make that significant breakthrough, I have plenty to occupy my time with what on the game's menu is headed Local Play which is subdivided into Solo and Challenges.  Both of these categories are purely for solo play and have an element of overlap.

Solo covers four scenarios headed: Dogfight, Bombing Run, Bullets in the Mud and Reconnaissance. While Challenges cover 

Earning Yours Wings: Ace Skills

Trench Buster: Strafing

Bombing Run: Bombing

Here you can see proof of my success at the Trench Buster Challenge and I didn't even need it on easy Level!

The variety offered encompasses the following elements:-

Play as either Entente or Central Powers

A.I. Difficulty: Easy/Normal/Hard

Rules Level: Basic/Standard/Advanced

Map Size Default/Bigger/Huge

Then there is the Hangar where you can select from a list of historical Ace Pilots with pre-set skills to match the real life pilot or you can create your personalised pilot choosing from a range of skills.  To be expected, the Hangar is also where you select the model of plane you wish to fly. and both plane and pilot are purchased with points earned in action.  Good news is that going through the Tutorial builds up a number of points to easily get you started.

Who Else?

So, lets get down to game play, which stripped to its absolute bare essentials involves two main actions.  The first action starts the game by simply choosing a type of plane and taking the associated deck of manoeuvre cards.  The latter item creates the crucial differences between types of plane - mainly by allowing/restricting the number and manner of varying plane moves in a deck.  For example, one type of plane might have more right turn manoeuvres than left turn ones or might include more sharp turns or  some planes can't make the famed Immelman turn.

The second action is the secret choice from your manoeuvre deck each turn of a sequence of three cards.  Each player will then play them out  alternately and, after each card play, check whether they have an enemy plane in range to fire at.

The fact that the program handles so much of the work is both a boon and a drawback.  It does mean that your whole attention is on flying your plane, trying to out guess your opponent whether a live online one or the solo A.I.  The greatest benefit is not having to constantly run through your deck of cards trying to find exactly what you want, as you plan each turn's sequence of three.  

Instead you have a display of all your cards with small dots indicating how many of each type of manoeuvre you are allowed per turn.  No problems about remembering sequences that might be illegal, as a given card immediately changes colour to show that it cannot be chosen as the next card!

Here you see a shot from the opening tutorial, with all possible manoeuvres available and  I hope you can see the small dots that indicate how many of each card you have in your deck.  Each card also has a small arrow to show whether a manoeuvre is to the left, right or straight ahead.  I know you might be thinking that is so obvious why bother, but many's the time in the heat of the moment of the original board game I've managed to somehow choose left rather than right or vice versa. [Duh!]

Equally useful is that the program automatically registers if an enemy plane is in firing range and opens fire on it.  No need for measuring rods.  A fast playing game becomes even faster and the hidden nature of the damage done to an enemy plane makes solo play a genuinely accurate depiction of two player action.  On the down side, I must admit that I miss that extra frisson of tension as you turn a damage card, especially as the damage starts to mount.

On the other hand, I do like visuals such as the small flickering flames that show you engine's on fire or the coloured firing arc that appears and the tracery of bullets that lance out towards your enemy, though it's not as much fun when they're inbound, homing in on your own plane!

Also on the plus side is that you can handle up to 3 planes with ease - a task which is heavy weather if you were playing the physical board game. It's no mean feat handling three separate decks of cards, potential damage cards for three different planes and all the associated laying of the manoeuvre cards on the table and placing each card in front of its respective plane and then transferring your planes into the correct position!

For me there is a single major downside in comparison with the board game - no beautiful scale models which are a sheer delight to handle and to place on whatever gorgeous terrain mat inevitably bound to buy.  

Still this digital version offers for less than £12 the perfect recreation of an all-time great.

Many thanks to Dire Wolf for supplying a review key code.

 Almoravid

Reconquista and Riposte in Spain, 1085-1086

Levy & Campaign Series - Volume II

by

GMT Games

  His name was Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, we know him as El Cid. He was given the moniker Al-Sid by the Spanish Moors. It morphed into El Cid, meaning 'The Lord'. The Spanish knew him as 'El Campeador 'The Champion'. What I knew about him for a long time was derived from the 1961 movie El Cid. First things first, he did not resemble Charlton Heston in any way. I must admit to be sorely lacking in Spanish history during the Moors or the Reconquista. I was under the impression that he was from a later century than the Almoravid game is based in. So, I was a little bummed out to find the actual time the game portrays. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the mighty El Cid was actually in the game, and my timeline for his life was completely wrong. I have tried to play the game using a profile look like Heston, much like John Barrymore, but my attempts were futile. You cannot really see the board and my nose was not meant for it. So, just like any good wargamer, at least I hope, my job was to read as much as I could about the times portrayed in the game. As usual fiction beats the cold light of history by a mile, although it is not always the case.

 This is GMT's writeup about the game:

"Al-Andalus, 1085. The western jewel of Islam had broken into pieces. The petty Taifa emirs who inherited the once-mighty Caliphate squabbled and fought, then paid the Christian lords Parias in gold to avoid fighting at all. Alfonso VI, Christian king of a unified León and Castilla, could now put his extorted dinars to work. He would muster a great feudal host—not merely for plunder but to rip out the heart of Muslim Spain. He would seize the ancient Visigothic capital of Toledo and with it the great central plain to declare himself imperator of all Iberia.

But Alfonso would find there was fight left in al-Andalus, as Christian strikes radiating from Toledo were too much for even the emirs in their pleasure palaces to bear. Al‑Mutamid of Sevilla, the strongest among them, would risk the Taifa dynasties’ independence and call to arms a Muslim force unlike any that the Christian Kings had faced. Granada and Badajoz would join him to invite the Almoravid fundamentalists in to save the Muslim faithful. Yusuf, Sultan al‑Murabitun, had secured his Berber empire in Africa and seized a port and fleet just across the Mediterranean strait from al-Mutamid's Algeciras. A titanic campaign for Spain was set to unfold."

This was a promo picture that I just love

 This is what comes with the game:

A mounted game board 22" x 25 1/2" 

• Sixteen Lord cylinders (7 yellow, 9 green) 

• A Lords sticker sheet (apply to cylinders) 

• Sixteen Lord mats 

• One Battle/Storm mat 

• 78 Horse wedges (26 silver [Knights], 23 steel [Sergeants], 10 

blue [African Horse], 19 brown [Light Horse])

• 83 Foot bars (30 steel [Men-at-Arms], 14 blue [African Foot], 

33 brown [Militia], 6 tan [Serfs])

• Three sheets of markers and counters. 

• Four decks of playing cards (26 Christian and 26 Muslim Arts 

of War cards, 27 Christian and 33 Muslim Command cards)

• Two player aid foldouts (summarizing Sequence of Play, 

Commands, Forces, and Battles) 

• A Taifa Politics and Orientation Map reference sheet 

• Two screens 

• Six 6-sided dice (three yellow, three green) 

• A background booklet (not needed for play) 

• This rules booklet. 

Lord Mat

 This game was designed by Volko Ruhnke, who also designed Nevsky: Teutons and Rus in Collision, 1240-1242. That game took the wargaming world by storm when it was released. Sadly, I have not had the chance to play it. However, Almoravid is the second game in the 'Levy and Campaign Series'. It uses much of the same rules and playing as its older brother, but naturally has been fine tuned for this time period in the Iberian Peninsula.

One of many of the Player's Aids

 As mentioned, the map is mounted. However, that is just like saying the Mona Lisa has a frame around it. It is a beautiful pseudo-medieval map of some of the Iberian Peninsula. Movement on it is from point to point, but the points are mostly cities that are done in an elegant style. It looks like a map that might have come from an early edition of Lord of the Rings. The Lord Maps are like army holding boxes from other games. They look like oversized square coasters. They are not overly adorned, but work well with the other components. The four Decks of Cards do not have much art on them, but again work with the rest of the game parts. They are very easy to read and follow. There are three hard stock Player Aids. They are also in full color. Two are a four-page foldout for each player. One page is for Commands, and the others are for Forces, Strongholds, Battle & Storm, and the Sequence of Play. The third Player Aid has a map of the game to see where the Lords from both sides start on the map. The other side is for the Taifa Politics. The Rulebook is in full color and large type. It comes in at thirty-five pages. However, the rules themselves are only 23 pages long with the rest being the scenarios. There are five scenarios and the Campaign Game. The Background Book is worth its weight in gold. The first eighteen pages are filled with Examples of Play. From there until page forty-eight is a history of how the events came to pass. It also has small biographies of each of the Lords in the game. This part of the booklet is worth the price of admission alone. Then comes a separate write up for every one of the Arts of War Card deck. The counters are large sized and easy to read. They also seem tough enough to take a lot of game play. You do have to put sixteen stickers on their respective round Lord wooden pieces. GMT Games was very nice in adding another sixteen stickers as spares. The piece de resistance is the two-fold out screens for each player. The outside of the screens looks like a medieval tapestry. The inside has all of the different Lords on each side and their flags. The separate pieces are excellent, but the entire ensemble is wonderful to behold. You will be playing this game in style.

Picture of some of the Cards

 So as I mentioned, I had some reading to do before actually getting down to playing this game. It is absolutely essential for me to know the history behind the times/campaigns of the games I play. I want wargames to not only play well, but also to put the player into the shoes of the adversaries as much as possible. Nothing turns me off on a game more than feeling that you could put Cataphracts or Tanks on the map and it would feel the same. With this game we have nothing to worry about in that sense.

The Lords that play in the game

  This is the 'General Course of Play':

"In Almoravid, two players (or teams) take the roles of Christians (yellow) and Muslims (green), respectively. The Christian and Muslim sides are Enemy to one another. The Christians represent the rising kingdoms of northern Spain and their allies. The Muslims comprise the dynasties ruling a patchwork of Andalusian emirates and their allies, including an Islamic Berber army from Africa. 

In turns covering 40 days (a traditional period of military service), Christian and Muslim players will levy lords and vassal forces, gather transport, and recruit capabilities. Each lord’s forces and assets are laid out on a mat. The players then plan and command a 40-day campaign with their mustered lords. A cylinder on the map represents each lord, while markers on a calendar show how much time remains in the lords’ service, influenced by hunger, pay, and success or failure on campaign.

DESIGN NOTE: Christians and Muslims in medieval Iberia warred not only on each other but on their co-religionists. 

“Christian” and “Muslim” in this game refer to the player sides, even though each side features adherents of either religion."

Counters

 You will find a Sequence of Play on two of the Player Aid Cards:

 I never had the chance to play Nevsky, so I was a total tyro to the Levy & Campaign Series. I did not have any problem in learning the rules. It does have some rather simple game concepts. The problem I think people will have with the game is its adherence to history. This is a game where you have to think and play the long game. Getting your different Lords to do what you want is chief among your worries. The game is based on the medieval realities. You will need wagons and mules, and then sometimes when you have them your plan goes poof. The Taifa (Muslim Lord) Politics will also make you lose some hair. Do not get me wrong, these are all good if not excellent points in the games favor. If you are looking for a game that puts you in the shoes of a Lord in medieval times, look no further than this series. If you are looking for a game where you can do what you want with your pieces at any time, then look away. 

These are from the Vassal Module, but the game pieces look the same

 This game is another in a growing line of games that are a cross between a Euro game and a wargame. This does not mean that you get the worst of both parents. The DNA in these types of games seem to mesh only the good parts of both. So, you not only get a 'real' stimulating wargame. The game and its components are a sight to behold to old grognards eyes. Thank you very much GMT Games for letting me review this excellent game. Of course, I also have to thank you for once more giving me another chapter of history to read about. By the way, in reality El Cid was a mercenary who fought for both sides, and this is in the game.

 For those of you who are not aware these two Deluxe Editions of older games have been released by GMT Games:

Great Battles of Julius Caesar - This contains both 'Caesar: The Civil Wars, and 'Caesar: Conquest of Gaul'

Musket & Pike Dual Pack - This contains both 'This Accursed Civil War', and 'Sweden Fights On'

Robert

GMT Games:

GMT Games

Almoravid: Reconquista and Riposte in Spain, 1085-1086:

 GMT Games - Almoravid: Reconquista and Riposte in Spain, 1085-1086

Stalingrad: New Perspectives on an Epic Battle

by

Christer Bergström

I will be reviewing the new expanded version of Black Cross Red Star next

 The author, Christer Bergstrom, really needs no introduction. He has written many volumes on World War II. His books, if they can be found now, cost a pretty penny, and are worth every cent. He now has started his own publishing company Vaktel Books. The idea is to print both new and reprints of the old. Do not be fooled, these reprints are new and very expanded editions compared to when they were published. The outlet for them in Canada and The U.S. is Lombardy Studios. This first volume is in stock in the U.S., along with the first volume of Black Cross Red Star. The next volumes will be done through Kickstarter. They are using a Kickstarter campaign simply to gauge the number of books to import. The costs of shipping have skyrocketed, as you can imagine. The link will be below.

 The book itself is over 300 pages long. It has many black and white photos throughout the book. Most of these have never been in print before. All of the maps are available online to download if you so choose. This is actually a multimedia book. I had to look that one up. It means that besides the maps, there are also links provided to videos about various parts of the book. In the back of the book there are QR codes for the videos etc. There is also no Index included with this book. However, there is an online one that you can access that is an absolute marvel. It will show you pretty much where anyone or anything is mentioned. Welcome to the 21st century. 

  Almost from the beginning of the book the author gives the reader verse and chapter of new/seldom seen information. This information will make you question much you have read and think you know about Operation Fall Blau. The author goes into how Hitler changed his policy about murdering all of the Soviet prisoners from the very beginning of 1942. He realized that workers were needed for German industry to support a long war. Long gone were any ideas of kicking in the front door and the Soviet Union would collapse. The reader is shown how oil became uppermost in both sides' minds. 

 One more interesting tidbit that the book offers is the Soviet view about the fall of Moscow. It seems many in the high command did not see its fall as the death knell that we have been taught it was, because the Soviets had done such a complete job of moving most of their factories out of German clutches. Their minds were focused on keeping the oil from the Caucasus flowing, much more than needing Moscow.

 The author then shows us a very interesting and significant intelligence coup on the Germans part. Operation Kremlin was done by the Germans to make the Soviets think that the next attack in the summer was going to be against Moscow and its environs, while we are used to reading about the Allied powers using fake information on the Axis. This is one that was very successful for the Germans. By using faked orders left on dead officers, (Calais invasion anyone) to radio chatter etc., the Germans made Stalin and Stavka completely miss the next German target. Most of the Soviet men and armaments were in the north to counter Operation Kremlin. 

 One of the appendices goes into the diary of Generaloberst Franz Halder. This diary is often seen as gospel as far as information from the German side during the early years of the Eastern Front. In 2020 Paul Frohlich published 'Der Generaloberst und die Historiker', an investigation into the diary. What he found and presented is that a lot of the diary had been reworked from 1945 - 1947. The diary, even as it is now, contradicts itself often on many key points. Frohlich's points are that Halder changed the diary to put as much blame on Hitler as possible and tried to clear the German High Command of any mistakes and war crimes. As mentioned, Halder's diary has been used verbatim for years in histories. Mr. Bergstrom has been able to separate the wheat from the chaff with this new information.

 These are some pictures and a map from the book:

 

 This will take you to an excerpt from the book:

stalingradexcerpt1.pdf (lombardystudios.com)

  I have read untold books in my fifty-seven years of reading. Mr. Bergström's books have been some of the best I have ever read, as far as military history. This volume is no exception. He goes into details that few other authors give you. He is able to go from the highest information about the war to the ground level effortlessly. On page sixty he shows the comparison of Germany's and the Soviet Union's GDP for the years 1940 and 1942. In 1940, Germany's GDP was 387 billion, and the Soviet Union's was 417 billion. In 1942, Germany's GDP was 417 billion, and that of the Soviet Union was 274 billion. "In early 1942 Germany produced 80% more coal and 70% more steel than the USSR." The decrease in the Soviet population was just as drastic. According to the author, The Soviet Union's population went from 195 million in 1941 to 125 million in 1942. The largest decrease was because of the population that was still left in the conquered parts of the Soviet Union. 

 Thank you, Lombardy Studios for allowing me to review this absolutely needed and wonderful military history book. This first volume takes the reader from the end of Barbarossa to September 12, 1942. The author shows us that Operation Fall Blau was not the walkover that it is often painted to be. He also shows us that the German High Command was well aware of the danger that might be lurking in the Russian Steppes. However, they believed that only once Stalingrad was taken could they turn their attention to the gathering forces around them. 

 Below is the link to Lombardy Studios. Please take a look at what else they have to offer while you are there. As I mentioned, I am going to do a review of the expanded Black Cross Red Star. I will also be doing a review of their book 'Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Army' in the future. I just received this book today, and to steal a quote from the movie 2001: "My God it's full of stars". Yes, the book looks that good.

Robert

Welcome to Lombardy Studios - Lombardy Studios

This is a link directly to the Kickstarter:

https://lombardystudios.com/?s=kickstarter

 Help Arrives!

by 

Draco Ideas

 The Spanish Civil War July 17, 1936 - April 1, 1939 was a pivotal moment in European history. It was your typical Civil War featuring brother against brother that somehow makes the hatred between both sides that much deeper and darker. However, the war is much more important because it was the training ground for both the Allies and Axis Powers right before the outbreak of World War II. The war saw actions that were much more akin to World War I actions than World War II. The lessons learned or not understood by some of the WWII belligerents can be correctly placed at the foot of the Spanish Civil War. The fighting broke out between the Republicans and the Nationalists. The Republicans ran the gamut from Communists to Socialists, and regular believers in Democracy. They also had some help by the International Brigades made up of citizens from other democracies who went to fight against Fascism. The Nationalists had one advantage in that they were pretty much all Fascists. They also did have infighting because the Nationalist generals were all intriguing to become the leader of Spain after the Civil War ended. The Nationalists also had the help of the two Fascist Powers of Europe: Italy and Germany. The Italian Army was up to par for fighting a war in the late 1930s. Italy only ran into trouble in WWII because their Army was still an army equipped to fight a war in 1936. The technological advances from 1936 to 1940 passed them by. The Germans brought in their Condor Legion. These were 'enlisted' troops and airmen from the German Armed Forces. Both sides had a mish mash of obsolete and new weapons in their armories. The Republicans received help from the Soviet Union in the form of armaments and 'trainers' who actually fought and flew in the war. As mentioned, a lot of the fighting resembled WWI trench style fighting rather than the slash and dash of WWII. So, this is a tactical game about the fighting in the Spanish Civil War.

Leaders

 This is a blurb from Draco Ideas:

"The Spanish Civil War, recreated in this tactical wargame with a classic “hex&counter” flavour. Choose your side! You can fight not only with the main Spanish military units, you’ll have international support, too. International Brigades, Corpo Truppe Voluntarie, Condor Legion, soviet T-26B, German Pz I Ausf A, POUM militias, all of them will fight in the fierce battles that Help Arrives! brings to your table.

With the improved version of War Storm Series system rules, it adapts the series to the conflict and introduces campaigns such as the Battle of Madrid, Guadalajara or the Ebro, and more.

In addition, the new Tactical Skill of the officers will make military training or lack thereof, one of the key elements in the conflict, along the morale of the combatants.

The scale is set to platoon level, with units representing groups of between 30 and 40 servicemen. Each hexagon in the map portrays a distance of 150-200 meters (roughly 165 to 220 yards). The scenarios are divided in turns that symbolize approximately 12 to 15 minutes of action.

The saga is based in the principle of the simultaneous execution We Go. In each activation you will move a single company, so there is no waiting between turns! This title also brings a set of adapted and didactic rules, to ease the learning curve for new players. After a few pages, you will be able to play the first scenario. The heart of the War Storm Series relies in the command, being the officers the keystone of the game. Help Arrives! goes one step further, introducing a new concept in the series: Tactical Ability. The game uses isomorphic maps and each one may be linked with the others by any of the edges."

Counters

 This is what comes with the game:

4 isomorphic maps

8 overlays

5 counters punchboards (3 of 5/8 and 2 of 3/4”)

1 Standard Rules booklet

1 Exclusive Rules booklet

7 Scenarios sheets for a total of 13 unique scenarios

3 Tables sheets (double sided)

2 Battalion sheets

2 six-sided dice

Scenario "Camino de los Toldos"

 The four isomorphic maps unfold to around 11" x 15.5". They are of hard stock material. The above says it comes with eight overlays. I seem to count only seven. These are of lighter stock than the actual maps. You do have to cut the smaller overlays out of the page they are on. The maps and overlays have easy to discern terrain and terrain height. The different features of fields and towns and villages etc. are nicely done. The 3/4" counters are very nicely done with a picture of the weapon (tank, machine gun, or artillery etc.) and its capabilities easy to see. The 5/8" counters are a bit busy and the numbers to see on them are a bit small. Draco Ideas went for artwork on the counters instead of just function. It does add immersion and is much nicer to look at, but some gamers might have problems. The only thing that I do not like about the counters is that they are pretty thin. They are a bit hard to move with old fingers. The scenario Player Aid sheets are wonderful. They are of thin hard stock and are full sized. My game came with seventeen scenarios, not the thirteen listed above. They are also easy to read and understand. I really like that you have separate scenario sheets instead of there just being a booklet of them. This will increase their life and not leave you with a beat up folded scenario booklet. The Player Aid sheets are made of the same stock and are easy to read and are in full color. There are two Rules Booklets. One is for the Series Rules and one is for Help Arrives Exclusive Rules. Both are in full color and filled with examples of play. The Series Rules are forty-six pages in length. The Help Arrives Exclusive Rules are only seven pages long. These are both very nicely done. You also get an eight page booklet to be able to use with Draco Ideas 'Alone in the Storm' (their solitaire add-on for their War Storm Series). To use this you also need to have purchased their Alone in the Storm. So, except for the thickness of the counters, the components are really well done. I know this is nitpicking, but inquiring minds want to know. Do they work as counters? Of course, and they are nice to look at and really add to the immersion.

 I own one of the earlier War Storm Series games 'A Las Barricadas'. This is another game produced by Compass Games about the Spanish Civil War. So, I was already used to the system. For those of you who have had the pleasure of playing A Las Barricadas, these are some of the differences:

"HA while utilizing "PTH" base rules, incorporates new and adapted rules and additions for this new tittle. The WSS promises many hours of fierce fighting between the infantry, tanks, artillery and aircraft belonging to the armies enveloped in this conflict. Just a few of the additions include:

Battalion officers

Communist Commissars

Recon rules

Flamethrower tanks

International Brigades

Corpo Troppe Volontarie (C.T.V.)

Condor Legion

One 8'5 x 11" chart with many overlays"

 This is the Sequence of Play:

The game is divided into turns. Each turn represents about 12-15 minutes of real 

combat time. Each turn is divided into the following phases:

• Command Phase

• Initiative Phase

• Activation Phase and Performing Actions

• Marker Removal Phase

  So, we know that the game is in WEGO or simultaneous execution. Draco Ideas describes it as "a hybrid system of turns and real time". The Rulebook starts you off with the basic rules and then adds more layers to the cake. The War Storm Series emphasis is on command through your officers.

 

 The game has rules for these and many others:

Spotting, and Line of Sight

Morale

Transport

Reconnaissance

Commissars and Chaplains

Air Support

Close Assault 

 The rules also allow you to fight a campaign with your troops. Another great addition is the Optional Rule that puts Events into play. Some of these are:

Molotov Cocktail

Dum-Dum Bullets

Flamethrower

Kif (Hashish) This was imbibed by the Moroccan Soldiers on the Nationalist side.

 This is a very good tactical simulation of the Spanish Civil War. I am a bit of an aficionado about the war, so my thoughts might be a bit skewed. However, this game also allows you to use World War I and early World War II armaments. You get to see many of the actual artillery and tanks that span both eras. The game can put you in the shoes of Russian tankers when they first met the German dreaded '88'. As mentioned, this was a war much like World War I with an extra twenty years of armament development. The rules are very clear. This is, after all, the fourth game in Draco Ideas War Storm Series. Many of the concepts will be familiar to players who have delved into tactical wargames. One addition to the game is the ability to create your own scenarios. You are given whole tables of the different units and armaments along with their respective recruitment costs. I am definitely going to buy their solo addition to their games 'Alone in the Storm'. I have seen only good things about how the games play with Draco Ideas solitaire rules.

 These are the other games in the War Storm Series:

Paths to Hell (2016)

A title that retakes the battles of the Eastern Front, adding specific rules such as political commissar, recce motorcycles, flame-thrower tanks and railways.

La Bataille de France 1940 (2015)

It does recreate the most important battles in where the Blitzkrieg tactics were widely used in the Western Front during the invasion of France.

A las Barricadas! (2006-2015)

This was the first title in the series, depicting the fiercest battles between the Nationals and the Republicans across the bloody Spanish Civil War.

Normandy: The Beginning of the End (2018)

It does recreate events related to the Normandy landings and allows the players to revive, at the tactical level, the most relevant battles on the D-Day, from the American beaches to the outskirts of Saint-Lò.

This is what comes with the Normandy game

 Thank you very much Draco Ideas for letting me review this beautiful game. While there have been some games about the Spanish Civil War, not many at all are at the tactical level.

Robert

Draco Ideas: Our games | Draco Ideas editorial

Help Arrives!: Help Arrives! – Spanish Civil War | Draco Ideas editorial

 Blue Water War

The Maritime Struggle in the Mediterranean and Middle East 1940 - 1945

by

Brian E. Walter

 The thinking about the war in the Mediterranean is now often colored by hindsight and error really. The threat of the Italian Armed Forces is often thought of as laughable. This was not the case in reality, and most certainly not in 1940 when Italy declared war on Britain and France. Mussolini was afraid that if he did not declare war before France fell, he would not be invited to the peace talks to pick up some scraps from both countries' colonies in Africa. The book shows us just how seriously the British took the Italian threat. The British Admiralty had actually suggested to Churchill to remove all of their naval forces from the Mediterranean. Luckily for Britain, he squashed the idea immediately.

 The author starts out the book by showing us a bit of the previous history of the Mediterranean and what country held what and where. He then goes on to give a complete rundown of all of the Armed Forces of Britain and Italy and Germany in the Mediterranean at the start of the fighting. On paper, the Italian forces look formidable, as do the British. However, both sides had distinct advantages and disadvantages to cope with. Italy's physical location in the middle of the Mediterranean was its greatest asset. British naval training and morale was theirs. The author shows something that I had never known before. The Italian Merchant fleet had almost one third of its tonnage outside of the Mediterranean when Italy declared war. This included most of its largest and newest ships. Most never made it back to Italy. This hogtied the Italian ability to supply their troops throughout North Africa during the war. Italy did not have the manufacturing ability to really fight a war, let alone replace those ships. Italy did have one great advantage in that she had the largest fleet of submarines in the world then (115), either ready or near completion. Unfortunately for them, the Italian Navy did not really use this asset to its best advantage.

 The Mediterranean was after the Normandy Landings seen as a backwater; that thinking continues to this day. The author does a fine job in showing how in 1940 the British Armed Forces were dismayed to find themselves at war in the Mediterranean. He shows how it became a war of defeating the other side's convoys, along with the desperate battles over and around Malta. The book then continues inexorably to the capitulation of Italy and the battles for the Italian mainland. While it is a book about the naval war, the author does a very good job of letting the reader know about the land war operations.

 This is an excellent volume that shines a searchlight on a part of World War II that is often overlooked. The book comes with maps and a large number of tables showing a multitude of pertinent information following the text. The first Appendix is a timeline of the entire events in during World War II. The second Appendix is of biographies of prominent Royal Navy Officers who served in the Mediterranean Theatre. Thank you, Casemate Publishers for not only printing this great book, but also for allowing me to review it.

Robert

Book: Blue Water War: The Maritime Struggle in the Mediterranean and Middle East 1940 - 1945

Author: Brian E. Walter

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

 

 By Defeating My Enemies

Charles XII of Sweden and the Great Northern War 1682-1721

by

Michael Glaeser

 

 The Vasa family of Swedish Kings gave us two military geniuses, Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII. Gustavus is considered a hero because of the religious undertones to his campaigns in Germany during the Thirty Years War. Charles XII is not so lucky. He is now considered a warmonger at worst, or sometimes derided as a fool. What is not generally known is that Gustavus spent about the same amount of time trapsing through Poland as Charles XII did, before getting Sweden involved with the Thirty Years War. In actuality, Charles XII is much like Henry V of England. He inherited the throne at a young age and was considered a reckless fun-loving teenager. Just like Henry V, once he heard the trumpets of war, he threw all of that aside and became hardnosed general. 

 The author starts us out by going back in time to the time of Gustavus Adolphus. He lived between 1594 - 1632. So, both he and Charles XII lived only thirty-six years. We are shown how small in population and wealth Sweden was and how strange it is that there actually was a Swedish Empire. Charles's father, Charles XI, was the first Swedish King to make Sweden follow the rule of absolutism, meaning that all power derived from the king. The book then goes to Charles's childhood. He was born on June 17th, 1682. His father died in 1697, so he was only fifteen when he was crowned. At this time the Baltic Sea was considered the 'Swedish Lake'. Because of the age of Charles, Denmark, Russia, and Saxony/Poland (the Elector of Saxony Augustus II the Strong was also king of Poland) secretly declared war on Sweden in 1700. The first thing Sweden knew about it was when enemy troops entered their lands. 

 Charles was only eighteen when the Great Northern War started. Denmark was not the inconsequential country she is now in world affairs. So, Charles had three of the great powers of Europe lined up against him. The name of the book comes from a quote of Charles  from Voltaire's biography of him " I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but only to end a legitimate one by defeating my enemies". His three foes were Frederik IV of Denmark, Augustus II, the Strong (French Marshal deSaxe was one of his 350 or so illegitimate children), and Peter I, the Great the Czar of Russia. Charles's sense of chivalry was quite strong. So, we are shown how the idea of defeating all three of these men became a fixation in Charles's mind. Not mind you to come to a peaceful treaty with the above, but to conquer them in open battle and have Charles dictate the terms.

 The author takes us through the tumultuous eighteen remaining years of Charles's life, from the lighting strike on Denmark that prostrated that country in no time flat to the incredible victories of Narva etc. By 1708 Charles had knocked both Saxony/Poland and Denmark out of the War. He had also placed another King on Poland's throne. The only man left to conquer was Peter. Thus, Charles determined to force his ill-fated invasion of Russia, which ended in the great Swedish defeat at Poltava in 1709. The War continued after that in spits and spurts with Charles the unwelcome guest of the Ottoman Sultan. 

 The author continues with his life and the history of the war after Charles made a wild ride to freedom across most of the breadth of Europe in 1714. Even Charles's death was controversial, with many trying to prove that he was killed by someone in his own army while invading Norway in 1718. 

 This book is part of Helion & Company's 'Century of the Soldier 1618 - 1721'. All of the books I have read so far from the series have been serious and well-done histories of their subject. This book is no exception. While the book itself is less than 200 pages, it still gives the reader all of the history of the period. There is no glossing over of any part of Charles's life or the history of The Great Northen War. Thank you, Casemate Publishers for letting me review this great book.

Robert

Book: By Defeating My Enemies: Charles XII of Sweden and The Great Northern War 1682 - 1721

Author: Michael Glaeser

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 Keep up the Fire

The Boxer Rebellion

by

Worthington Publishing

  This quote has been attributed to Napoleon “Let China sleep. For when she wakes, the world will tremble”. It is in the movie 55 Days at Peking (1963 movie about the same history as the game). Nowhere can the quote be explicitly attributed to him. However, some of his sayings on St. Helena do come close and have the same gist.

 The year is 1900, and China has begun to awake. At this moment China is akin to a prostrate beef cow who is being carved up still alive by the European powers and Japan. China had been ruled by the Dowager Empress Tz'uhsi or Cixi for almost forty years. The 'secret' Chinese society ' Righteous and Harmonious Fists', hence the 'Boxers' had been around for a few years. The Boxers original reason for existence was to overthrow the Qing/Manchu dynasty of China, while also expelling the foreign devils. They were especially against the Christian Missionaries, much like the North American Indian movement the 'Ghost Dancers' (active around the same time). The Boxers felt that by doing certain exercises they would make themselves impervious to weapons. Around 1898, the Chinese in government who agreed with the Boxers about the foreign powers came to an agreement with them. In return for a truce against the Qing dynasty, the Imperial forces would be used to help the Boxers rid China of the hated foreigners. So, this is the backdrop to the situation and game. The Boxers and the Imperial Army have attacked the Foreign Legation compound that is close to the Forbidden City of Peking. They have also broken the railway and pushed back a small force of foreign troops that were on their way to the Legations. 

 The game starts here, or should I say games. This is a solitaire game where the player has two different objectives. The first is to hold out in the Legation Compound as long as possible. The second is to march a new, much larger, foreign contingent from the port city of Taku to save the people in the Legation Compound. 

The Legation Compound Game Board

 This is what comes with the game:

Rule book

Large hard mounted tactical game board of the Legation

Smaller hard mounted strategic map for relief column

Deck of Action/Event cards

Counter sheet

Battle Archive

1 die

Tray for components

 The beautiful box illustration looks to be taken right out of a still of shot from 55 Days at Peking. The game comes with two mounted maps. The first is a 22" x 17" map of the Legation Compound and surrounding areas. The second is an 8 1/2" x 17" map of the Relief Column trek to Peking. Both maps are very nice looking with period piece artwork. The counter sheet is small and contains only forty counters/tokens. However, the counters are very large. They have some nice artwork on them and are extremely easy to read. I can almost read them without my bifocals. The Rulebook is twelve pages long, including the Designer Notes and Historical Notes. The rules themselves take about just over ten pages. The Rulebook is in full color. There are two separate card decks of twenty-four cards each. One is used with the Legation Map and the other with the Relief Column one. The cards have either four or five parts to them. They have the title of the card, such as "Hold That Line Soldier", then an explanation of the card's use. Command points are also shown on the cards. Next up is a small, but very evocative and immersive picture or photograph of the events at the time. The bottom of the cards have a historical footnote about the siege and what happened on different dates. Due to the normal size of the card, the historical footnotes are small. The Battle Archive is a small booklet where you can keep track of your victories or defeats. This is a very nice touch that has found its way into other Worthington Publishing games. Opening the box, I was a little taken aback by the small number of components inside. The siege of the Legation has been in my mind since I saw the movie as a small child. My small disappointment with the number of components was totally erased by the game play. 

 This illustration of the Sequence of Play is a perfect player's aid for the game.

 The Victory Conditions are spelled out in this illustration.

 This game sets a precedent with me. I almost never look at reviews or anything about a game I am going to review. I had to look at some with this game. I was afraid that, even though the rules are simple, I was somehow playing the game wrong. I could not win for the life of me in the beginning. I take that back. I wasn't just losing - the game was spanking me. I swear I saw the boards light up with glee every time I lost another one. Do not get confused here. It is not that the rules make the game unwinnable. It is just that you have to play really well, with some luck, to win it. This really makes sense in the historical situation the Foreign Powers in the Legation faced. It is pretty much a miracle that they survived the siege. So, to show that, the game is meant to be hard to win. The rules are very simple, and they all make sense. If you are scratching your head over these rules, it is time for a new hobby. 

 Each game plays out entirely different than the one before. You have to choose very carefully about your actions. Simple rules, but the game is deep with many choices.

Random Cards

 This is an excellent and quick playing game about the siege. The table space it takes up is minimal, but it is not really an issue because of the relatively short time it takes to play. The game can also be played with a team of friends playing against the game's AI. In effect, just like the different powers had to play nice with one another to live through the siege. Thank you, Worthington Publishing for allowing me to get frustrated with this game, originally. My next review for them will be 'Dawn of Battle'. That review has had to wait on me, because I really just want to play it and not review it. 

Robert

Keep up the Fire:

Keep Up the Fire! Deluxe — Worthington (worthingtonpublishing.com)

Worthington Publishing:

Worthington (worthingtonpublishing.com)