Old School Tactical VOL IV on Kickstarter NEXT WEEK! First pledgers get a game for $1 USD

by

Flying Pig Games

 The portable porcines are at it again! OST Volume IV begins selling on KS on September 21st 12 EDT.

 This is straight from the old boar's mouth:

"Old School Tactical, the acclaimed tabletop wargame series, is gearing up for its next exciting installment as it transports gamers to the battlefields of the Italian Theater during World War II. The much-anticipated Old School Tactical Volume IV, along with its expansion "For the Empire," is set to launch on Kickstarter on September 21st at 12 Noon EDT.

This Kickstarter campaign promises an opportunity for history buffs and strategy enthusiasts to immerse themselves in the intense battles that defined the Italian campaign from 1943 to 1945.

Sign up to be notified the second we go live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markhwalker/old-school-tactical-vol-iv-italian-theater-1943-45.

After the success of the Allied forces in North Africa, strategists turned their attention to what was deemed the 'soft underbelly' of Europe — Italy. The campaign was devised to eliminate Italy from the Axis alliance and divert Axis troops from other fronts. Commencing with the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the Allies embarked on a relentless push against formidable resistance. The drive through Sicily, the landing at Salerno, the harrowing Anzio beachhead, and the continuous push towards Rome were marked by numerous river valleys and fortified defensive lines that posed immense challenges for both sides. Names like the Volturno River, the Rapid River, the Liri Valley, the Gustav Line, and the Caesar Line became synonymous with the grueling battles that unfolded. The campaign exacted a heavy toll on both Allied and Axis forces and concluded on May 2, 1945, with the formal surrender of all Axis troops in Italy.

Old School Tactical Volume IV introduces gamers to this demanding theater of World War II, featuring British forces engaging German and Italian units in treacherous terrain. Players will command Vickers machine guns, Commandos, Bren guns, PIATs, and sticky bombs as part of the British arsenal, alongside an array of vehicles such as Sherman and Churchill tanks. The German and Italian forces, on the other hand, deploy formidable panzers, including the Marder III and Elefant.

A visually stunning map depicting the picturesque Italian countryside has been meticulously designed to provide the backdrop for thrilling scenarios included in the playbook.

Old School Tactical is a two-player wargame that allows players to recreate these historic battles using counters representing soldiers, weapons, and vehicles. The gameplay revolves around the strategic use of Impulse Points to coordinate actions for each player's forces. At the end of each battle, casualties and victory points are tallied to determine the victor.

Infantry units target other soft units using their Firepower value against the target's Defense value, with the attack's effectiveness influenced by Leadership, support weapons, and terrain. Close Combat occurs during intense situations when infantry units move into enemy hexes. Assaults are resolved using the Infantry Combat Table, and the results are implemented. Attacking armored vehicles involves rolling to hit the target, and the attacker's Firepower is applied against the target's defense values. Dice rolls for vehicles are made using the Vehicle Combat Table.

Each game includes:

3 sheets of unit, weapon, vehicle, and condition counters.

A large 30" x 41" mounted game map with 1" hexes.

18 luck cards with unique effects.

36 unit data cards.

Scenarios such as "Find Those Guns," "Guards Brigade," and "Fallen Allies."

A player aid card.

A color rule book.

Dice.

A massive box to store all components.

Old School Tactical IV Italian Theater 1943-45 and "For the Empire" expansion offer an immersive and historically accurate gaming experience that will delight both veteran wargamers and newcomers alike. Don't miss your chance to be part of this Kickstarter campaign and secure exclusive rewards. Sign up at the provided link to be notified when the campaign goes live.

About Old School Tactical:

Old School Tactical is a renowned tabletop wargame series that brings historical battles to life through strategic gameplay. Developed by Mark H. Walker, the series has gained a dedicated following for its authenticity and immersive experience. Old School Tactical Volume IV takes players to the challenging Italian Theater of World War II, introducing British, German, and Italian forces in epic battles. The "For the Empire" expansion adds depth and excitement to the gameplay, offering players a chance to rewrite history through strategic decisions and tactical brilliance."

Mark H. Walker

Owner, Flying Pig Games

The Doomsday Project: Episode 2, The Battle for the Balkans

by

Compass Games

  This is a subject I lived through and until very recently I did not really explore game wise. Strangely enough, another title that I reviewed for Compass Games gave me the bug to start gaming the era. For those of you that do not know, this series of games takes place in 1985 when the Cold War goes hot. It has a neat and believable historical premise behind the game series. More on this will be below. So, sit back and put the laser disc in and we will watch: Back to the Future, Commando, Pale Rider, and St. Elmo's Fire. Of course, we will also ruminate on where the time has gone. Then we will get down to wargaming business.

 This blurb on the game is from Compass Games:

"Although the World War Three scenario of NATO versus the Warsaw Pact never happened, it happened countless times on the wargaming table. It may not be part of history, but it is part of our hobby’s history. The Doomsday Project is a subseries of the Operational Scale System featuring wars that never happened. There will be games on the Persian Gulf, Central America, The Battle for Northern Europe, Manchuria, the strategic naval war, and of course, a game of total nuclear war. All the games will feature rules that allow you to play some, part or all of the great war that never happened. The first game in the series will feature the fight that could have happened in Germany. Chemical weapons, tactical nuclear attacks and politics will be present – as well as all the forces that were stationed in the region in 1985. Both sides, notably the United States, were reequipping their forces with many new weapons joining the line. The process had started but is not yet completed.

This is the fourth game in the “OSS” system; and the second game in the Doomsday series. This game will cover the battle for the southern front of Europe. The map will stretch from Northern Italy to the Bosporus and all the nations that could have fought in this area will be represented in the game. This series is made to be highly playable and to be completed in far shorter a time that is common for this size game. Low counter density and a concentration on conceptual complexity is the focus of this series. While still mechanically simple, The Doomsday Project will also have all the necessary rules to cover this theater and period. In Episode Two, The Battle for the Balkans game, as you will see in all additional games in The Doomsday Project, will add another facet to the mechanics of the system. Sophisticated political rules will make their appearance. Players will have to content with heads of state and their positives and negatives in play. Rules to retrofit these rules into the Germany game will be provided as well."

Don't they look just beautiful!

 This is what comes with the game, plus some other information:

Complexity: 7 out of 10

Solitaire Suitability: 8 out of 10

Time Scale: 1 day per turn

Unit Scale: Divisional/Brigade/Regiment

Players: 1-2

Scenarios: 5 (+1 massive campaign game with The Battle for Germany)

Components

Four Maps at 22” by 34”

One Map at 11" by 17"

One Map at 8.5” by 11”

Five Countersheets

Eight Player Aids, Charts, and Displays

One Rulebook

One Scenario book

Two 6-sided dice and two 10-sided dice

1 Box and lid

Game Credits

Designer: Adam Starkweather

Graphic Artist: Nadir Elfarra

Counter Sheet #1

 First up I will be talking about the maps. You get six maps in the game, and they are made of paper with a bit of lamination on them. Four of them are the usual 22" x 34" variety. Then you get an 11" x 17" map of Istanbul and the mostly Turkish territory in Europe, and a small bit of Turkey proper. The 8.5" x 11" map is for filling in between two of the larger maps on the Adriatic coast. I like the maps. Their size is 12 kilometers per hex. The colors to me were a good choice. As far as terrain, it is easily distinguishable between the types of terrain. The Rulebook is forty-two pages long and is in full color. They are made of a flatter finish instead of the glossy magazine type we are getting used to seeing. It has double column spacing and the type size is large enough to easily read. The Scenario booklet is twenty-eight pages in length. It is made the same exact way as the Rulebook. First you have the setup and rules for the game's six scenarios and then you get a four-page example of play. There are seven thick card stock Player Aids. Six of them are one-sided and then there is a double-sided terrain chart. One side is the Terrain Effects Chart, and the other side is the Restricted Terrain Table. The six one-sided are:

Nato Player Aid

Warsaw Pact Player Aid

Warsaw Pact Air Display

Nato Air Display

Military Leaders/Political Leaders Charts

General Game Display

 They all have decent sized printing on them, except for a small part on the Military Leaders/Political Leaders page. The counters are very well done with either a silhouette for tanks and APCs, and a top-down view of aircraft. The five countersheets come wrapped in plastic, which is great because they want to fall out of the cardboard sprues. This is just like the counters I have been seeing in other Compass Games products. The political leader counters are small portraits of the leader it represents. The first thing you will notice is there are no numbers on them for movement and attack/defense (I know- heresy). The only numbers on them show the size of the unit. The game rules and die rolls take care of how strong or weak a unit is. There are also a fair number of counters to show unit losses and its state. The components are a mirror image of the first game in the series: The Battle for Germany. If you liked them, and I do, then you can be assured to like these.

Counter Sheet #2

 

 The game has no need of movement rates on the counters. All units are considered to be motorized except for an actual leg unit. The basic unit movement rate is five. The terrain is much more difficult than in The Battle for Germany maps. The road network is not like what is present in The Battle for Germany. The units can have primary and secondary equipment listed on it. This is usually shown with APCs and tanks, although a unit can be of only one type of armament.

 If you are looking for history and plausibility, then look no further. This game has these and many more besides:

Armor/APCs

Surface-to-Surface Missiles

Helicopters

Fighters/Bombers

Airborne

Warsaw Pact Guards Units

Marine Units

Air Transport for both supply/attacks

Nuclear Weapons possible use

Fresh/Spent Units

Supply Points Usage

Poor/Penal Units

Spetsnaz

Leaders (not seen very much in games of this scale)

 Guaranteed that if it was ever in a wargame, it is in this one.

 Below shows some of the sequence of play:

The Strategic Phase

 Check Weather

 Check Communications

 Place Arriving Reinforcements

 Air Allocation Phase

 Resolve All SSM Attacks

 Supply and Infrastructure Phase

 Strategic Air Mission Resolution

Warsaw Pact Activation Phase

NATO Activation Phase

Activation Sequence

 HQ Activation Segment

 Unit Activation Segment

 Cadre Segment

 Initial Movement and Combat Declaration Segment

 Reserve Movement Segment

 Bonus Movement Segment

 Combat Segment

 After Combat Loss Segment

 Check Stacking Segment

 HQ Movement and Refresh Segment

 Bivouac

 Night Battles

End Phase

 Eliminate Friendly Units Phase

 Victory Check Phase

 Victory Check Segment

 Politics Phase

 Time Phase

 As you can see, the game has just about everything in it that was ever discussed about a Third World War game. Compass Games has it listed as seven out of ten on the complexity scale. The one great bit about it is that the game has suitability of solitaire ranked as high. I can attest to this. It is actually rather easy to play solitaire because there is so much to do each time you change sides the slate in your mind is wiped clean.

 This is a list of Special Units in the game:

Warsawa Pact Regiments and NATO Battalions

VKK Units

Spetsnaz

Military Commanders

Refugees

 A game at this level that also has the player dealing with Military Commanders and Refugees is pretty remarkable. There are six Refugee counters. One is put in the Refugee Box of the NATO Players Aid if one of these occur:

A Combat Chit is placed in a city hex.

Nuclear Attack Marker is placed on the map.

Chemical Attack Marker is placed on the map.

 The NATO Player can spend supply points to remove the Refugee counters. For each two still on the Player Aid Box the NATO infrastructure is reduced by one.

 The Military Commanders can have these five traits:

Pensive

Deliberate

Prudent

Aggressive

Reckless

 Military Commanders can be in use for both land and air units. Military Commanders are only used in a campaign game or a combined game (Battle for Germany).

 Yes, to learn the game you have to put your thinking cap on. This is not a series where you can just sit down and read a manual for ten minutes and be ready to play. The game comes with five scenarios to play. The first Austria Stands Alone would be the smallest and best to learn the game on. There is a sixth scenario and that is if the player has the first game in the series, Battle for Germany, and has enough room to play with all the maps from each game. The designer, Adam Starkweather, has also done some YouTube videos on how to play and learn the game. 

 Unlike a lot of other games, combat uses the most time and gray matter. The first thing is that there are four types of combat. These are:

Meeting Engagement : 1 MP if Cross Country or 1/2 in Road Column.

Hasty Attack: 2 MPs if Cross Country or 1 MP if in Road Column.

Prepared Attack: 3 MPs if Cross Country or 2 MPs if in Road Column.

Deliberate Attack: All MPs(may not be in Road Column).

 You actually have to spend movement points to place a combat chit on a hex. The combat chits also show which die to use (either the D6 or D10). Then the attacker can decide on whether to add Artillery Support, Air-to-Ground Support, or Helicopters. The Combat Chips have to be drawn. Some of them have a Random Event possibility on them. The Combat Chit also has an A, B, or C on it to tell you which of the three Random Event Tables to use. There is so much more to just talk about with combat let alone the rest of the game. The game also shows the lethality of the almost modern battlefield. While you do not have to worry about drones you will still have to husband your forces to take your objectives. All of your well-thought-out plans will fall into the waste bin when presented with what Clausewitz called 'friction'. This game differs from The Battle of Germany in having a full-fledged political segment in its rules. 

 Victory is also a bit different than other games. This is from the Rulebook:

"8.2.1: If a player has 21 points and gains victory points, those points are deducted from the enemy total. If a player has fewer victory points and what they might lose in victory points through play, the remaining victory points that cannot be lost are instead added to their opponent's total."

 "Players may "pay" victory points to do several game actions. They may do this even if they have 0 points but by adding the victory points to his opponent's total."

 So, you may 'bet' upon you getting more victory points by using them earlier to try to get a larger victory.

 I really like the system. So much in fact that I had to purchase a copy of The Doomsday Project: Episode 1 The Battle for Germany, just to have the complete game series, at least of the published games. The next in the series, Episode 3, will be taking place in northern Europe. I think I will also have to purchase the other two games in the OSS (Operational Scale Series) series Vietnam: A Rumor of War, and A Test of Faith: The Arab-Israeli War of 1973. Both of those games were also designed by Adam Starkweather. Thank you, Compass Games, for allowing me to review this great game. I can recommend it to anyone who is a true grognard and likes to get into meatier games. 

 Compass Games next Expo will be here:

Compass Games Expo Fall 2023 will be held November 9-13, 2023 at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Meriden, CT.

 They also had a Spring Expo this year so hopefully that continues to happen. 

Robert

The Doomsday Project: Episode 2, The Battle for the Balkans

Compass Games

The Doomsday Project: Episode 1, The Battle for Germany

 

 

 

WARFIGHTER WWII

MEDITERRANEAN & NORTH AFRICA

FROM

DAN VERSSEN GAMES

Thanks to the generosity of DVG, the Warfighter series has become a corner stone of my games collection.  They began with the original foundation, The Tactical Special Forces Card Game, and its many subsequent expansions including the massive Footlocker and continued with Warfighter WWII.  Once more DVG were kind enough not just to provide me with a review copy of the core game, but the Ammo Box Expansion, [an equally enormous equivalent of the initial modern series' Footlocker] along with a stack of the many expansion decks, only to be followed by the WWII Pacific game!  All of this can be charted through my series of reviews, links to which can be found at the end of the review of this current addition.

And what an addition for which I must extend huge thanks to DVG for once more giving me the opportunity to review them. Not just the two main new editions to the Warfighter WWII canon, Mediterranean & North Africa, but a further 20 expansion decks.  [For a detailed look at the core system I would refer you specifically to the links to my first review of the Warfighter system and the review of Warfighter WWII at the end of this article.] What follows is the briefest of outlines for anyone who is totally new to this system. I would sum it up as follows.  It is essentially a tactical game of solitaire or cooperative play.  Played on an abstract board.

All missions, objectives, locations, friendly and enemy units, equipment and many skills and abilities are represented by cards.  Along with these, there is a wide range of cardboard counters representing physical items ranging from ammunition, grenades and satchel charges to canteens of water and bandages and markers for such things as suppression and killed, the identifying number of each of your soldier units, the number of individual actions each possesses, wounds etc, etc. 

The image above gives you a picture of the game in full flow. Everything is handled by the decks of cards that you see down the left edge of the board and the information on the cards and, of course, plenty of D10 dice rolling.  It may look daunting, but after just a few turns you'll be immersed in a game that consistently produces nail-biting action narratives!  However, for the player unfamiliar with this game, I would strongly recommend buying the core Warfighter WWII game because of its excellent rule book.

The reason I advise this is because these two new games both contain the new massive, compendious Warfighter Universal Rulebook! 

The 100 page Universal Rule Book

This is an attempt to bring together everything in one all-encompassing rule book that will bind together what exists, what has just been published [Warfighter Fantasy] and what lies in the future [possibly Sci-Fi, possibly Vietnam, possibly WWI].

In his introduction, Dan Verssen attributes the inspiration for this to... you, the players of this series, and your insatiable desire for more and more Warfighter! I certainly welcome such a compendium of rules and I've tried to provide an outline at the end of my review of what has swollen the initial core book to this mammoth volume.  However, as many others have already commented, I hope that this is not what will now appear in every new game.  I personally think that this should have been offered as a stand-alone purchase for all who would like it.  I have consistently praised the previous rule books for their accessibility and clarity when learning the game and ease when checking back on a rule.  The new all-embracing rule book has the first two strengths, but it does not ease initial learning or help in checking rules when you have to locate it among so many pages. 

Typically, while playing Missions from both the Mediterranean and North Africa boxes, I have largely relied on my earlier core WWII rule book, with only occasional reference to this new Universal Rule Book for a few very specific points,

For me, the most significant novelty is contained in the Warfighter Mediterranean game and that is because it is the first to handle an Axis nation, the Italians, as the main player and the Hostiles are Allied troops, specifically the British. Perhaps because of this I have been drawn to this game and this has been reinforced by the topics in several of the Expansion Decks.  Like all the preceding Decks, they contain the expected mix of new Soldier and Hostiles cards, added Skills, Equipment, and most important of all are those Soldiers, Missions, Objectives and Locations related very specifically to an historical event or location.  For me, three Expansion decks stand out.

Expansion Deck #82: Raid on St. Nazaire 

Expansion Deck #76: Crete 1

Expansion Deck #77: Crete 2

The first of these will need the Warfighter Europe core game too, but the deck contains 7 Objective Cards, 8 Missions and 13 Locations that are specific to the famous raid on St. Nazaire along with a number of Soldier cards for specific British participants who you will be playing.  

The two Crete Expansion Decks purely relate to the Warfighter Mediterranean game and both naturally introduce a similar combination of Missions, Objectives and Locations relating to the battle for Crete.  Along with them and a major plus for me, Crete 1 includes several named New Zealand soldiers for you to play while Crete 2 brings in German airborne soldiers, parachutes, gliders and supply cannisters.

Obviously, I am biased as to my choices, partly by being a Brit, but I suspect many like me will be drawn to the two Crete decks. A long sequence starting with Avalon Hills' Air Assault on Crete and SPI's Descent on Crete have given me a life time's fascination with the campaign.  However, I restrained my impulse to turn straight to these expansion decks in order to give the Mediterranean box a proper airing.   Inevitably, the basic preparation for every session remains the same: choose your Mission and Objective and build up a suitable selection of Soldiers and their skills and equipment and then the meat of the game follows as you fight your way towards the Objective.

My leading Soldier, armed and dangerous!

Nevertheless, this game whichever core box you may be playing, never fails to deliver.  A typical example was the play of the same scenario twice.  The first play saw some of the worst possible locations turning up for the slog to the objective and a devastating array of the most powerful British hostiles.  Half way through I knew there was no possibility of victory, only more of my soldiers dying!  A quick reset with exactly the same selection of soldiers met with a wholly different experience.  Easy locations to enter and initially light resistance saw my force surge ahead... until the sudden appearance of a Sherman tank at the provincial viaduct threatened to bring this to a crushing halt.  Fortunately, obstructing terrain blocked this killing machine's sight to its target and a fortuitous turn of an air support card and high rolling dice achieved its elimination and allowed me to move on and eventually achieve my goal.

Turning to Warfighter North Africa, all the same qualities naturally are repeated.  They start with the pleasing fact that just as the Pacific board was imprinted with  a wholly appropriate background scene, so too does the North Africa board reflect its desert terrain.  Not only is the background one of sweeping sand dunes, but the fore-grounded figures are British soldiers in a sandbagged emplacement.  

The colouring too ranges from sand to light tan and on to darker brown and the crowning touch is the familiar Desert Rats image identifying where your Mission card is placed!

The vast range of photos on the cards as always add to the historical setting of each core box.  This continues to be reflected across the whole range of different card types.  For example, Location Cards, such as Wadi, Salt Pan, Camel Bushes and Coastal Road.  How many of us have fought up and down, attacking and retreating along that very coastal road in many another North Africa game?  Event Cards like Oasis, Mirage and Heat Haze; the Cauldron Mission Card; the Benghazi Handicap Objective Card - all emphasise where we are for this game.  However, it is perhaps to be expected that the Expansion Decks are what dive deepest into the desert war.

Here are just a few of those location setting scenes taking you closer and closer to the action.

Just as I thrilled to the many Mediterranean Expansions that brought more history to the game, so too with Warfighter North Africa.  I expected to have a major toss-up between which of two groupings won my praise.  On the one hand there is the group consisting of Desert Rats and Vehicles Desert Rats matched by Afrika Korps and Vehicles Africa [why the change of spelling?] Korps and on the other hand is the grouping of the Battle of Bir Hakeim, the Battle of Bardia and the Battle of Damascus.  [What - no Battle of Tobruk?]  Not forgetting two other significant Expansions: Gurkhas and Long Range Desert Group.  Glad to see both of those getting a look in.

To be honest, in the first grouping I was disappointed with the Desert Rats Expansion, as 43 out of the 55 cards were Frontline/Elite British Hostiles!  I really hadn't expected to spend my time fighting against the Desert Rats rather than with them..  Even the Afrika Korps deck consisted of just over half the cards being German Hostiles, though this was compensated for by having 18 German Soldier and 2 German vehicle cards.  The two co-related Vehicle decks were almost identical in that, out of 55 cards in each, 45 were composed of two types of cards, anti-vehicle and vehicle.  I was intrigued by these, as though these type of cards and the concepts/rules related to them had featured in four earlier Expansion Decks, they were not an area that I'd previously explored.  These latest Decks certainly will be getting plenty of attention from me this time round.

The essence of their use is that you can buy Vehicle cards for a Mission just as you would Soldier cards.  They introduce a series of new concepts and the anti-vehicle cards form a new Hostile deck that a card must be drawn from for each vehicle you have in your group when you come to the Hostile Reinforcement Step. 

Much as I'm going to enjoy that strong element, my personal taste for adding more historical details to my Missions means that the three Expansions covering named Battles ultimately won my favour.  Bir Hakeim and Damascus both introduce French Soldiers and specific French weaponry and all three battles include a mix of historical features in Mission, Objective and Location cards, as well as generic elements relating to desert warfare.  Even more interesting is that Damascus includes as many French Hostiles as it does French Soldiers and finally Bardia to my delight brings in the Aussies.  I can envisage quite a bit of my time being spent digging into all three of these Expansions, as well as considerable research reading.  Heading the list will be Damascus which is a battle I'm totally ignorant about. 

Just as I was pleased to see nationalities such as the French, Australians and New Zealanders making an appearance, it was equally pleasing to find a whole Expansion focused on the Gurkhas. It cam as no surprise that most of the cards are fairly equally divided between the Gurkhas as Soldier cards and as Hostile cards.  With their reputation of service in the British army, I'm expecting to find them a daunting force whether I'm playing with them as my mission group or I'm the Axis group fighting against them.

So there you have, it a positive feast of material for a system that continues to grow and grow and grow.  Heading for the future my personal vote would be for Vietnam.  Meanwhile I have so much now that I suspect it might take considerably longer than WWII lasted to play the vast combination that I can marshal. 

LINK 1 for Warfighter review

LINK 2 for Warfighter WWII review

LINK 3 for Warfighter WWII Pacific review

Appendix 1: new elements and expansion of existing elements introduced in "Warfighter Universal Rule Book"

A 2 page introduction.

Skill Cards expanded to a full page.

Engage in Hand-to-Hand Combat becomes Striking Counter

Deploy the Decks omitted.

Select Your Mission has been substantially expanded from half a page to ten pages.  The core books only refer to Standard Missions covered by a specific game.  This refers to types of Mission cards found throughout various expansion packs.

Introduction of Team Soldiers.

Melee cards appear to have been renamed HtH [Hand-to-Hand] cards.  In sequence of Play HtH becomes Engage In Striking Combat.

Section on Armor Cards and Shield Cards included relating to new  Warfighter Fantasy release.

The inclusion of details on doors/beneficials/obstacles/traps expands section on Placing Location Cards

In Soldier Attacks there has been a small addition of Shadow elements.

Hostile Cards section includes the introduction of Double Reticles and mainly 2 extra pages relating to Warfighter Fantasy.

Hostile Turn slight amplification.

11 pages devoted to Shadow war

6 pages devoted to Private Military Contracts

5 pages devoted to Warfighter Fantasy.

Appendix 2: Expansion Decks specific to the Mediterranean Core Game

Exp #71 Royal Italian Army

Exp #75 Operation Tombola

Exp #76 Crete 1

Exp #77 Crete 2

Exp #78 Battle of Rimini

Exp #79 Gothic Line: Fortification

Exp #80 Italian Partisans

Exp #81Italian Airborne "Folgore"

Exp #82 Raid on St. Nazaire [needs Warfighter Europe Core Game]

Exp #83Savola Cavaleria

Exp #86 Vehicles Italian

Appendix 3: Expansion Decks specific to the North Africa Core Game

Exp #69 Long Range Desert Group

Exp #70 Afrika Korps

Exp #72 Battle of Bardia

Exp #73 Battle of Bir Hakeim

Exp #74 Battle of Damascus

Exp #84 Vehicles Africa Korps

Exp #85 Vehicles Desert Rats

Exp #87 Gurkhas

Exp #88 Desert Rats

 

 Storm Clouds Over the Pacific 1931-1941

War In the Far East

by

Peter Harmsen

  There used to be a dearth of books about the real beginning of World War II. It was not in Ethiopia or in Spain, but in China where the fuse was lit. We have had some books lately that deal with the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, the field is nowhere near the rest of WWII as far as books written about battle and campaigns.

 This book starts right at the beginning of the conflict (others start at 1937 and the Marco Polo Bridge Incident). Japan is looking for resources and their own lebensraum in the Asian landmass. The author shows us the slide the Japanese took from a rather open slightly democratic nation to a militaristic fascist like state. There are wonderful bits of history that I have never read before. He informs us that a group of young naval officers (we usually associate the Japanese Army officers with rebellion) had determined to kill the prime minister and a completely harmless Charlie Chaplin during a visit in 1931. They were actually going to assassinate more government officials also but were stopped in their tracks by the secret police. One wonders if Mr. Chaplin was ever aware how close he came to death. The book is filled with these golden nuggets of history.

 The book goes on to explain the Japanese invasion of northern China and their conquest of Manchuria (afterwards changed to Manchukuo and given the last Chinese emperor Puyi as a puppet leader). The writer shows us all of the assassination attempts and successes of the young Japanese military officers against their own government. Then we see the slow slide to all-out war between Japan and China in 1937. The author shows us the drifting of Japan toward the other Axis powers. The book also shows the different attempts of the western powers to stop the war in China. It also shows the intense rivalry between the Chinese Communists and Chiang Kai-shek's government.

 We are then taken to the final desperate attempts from some on both sides to stop a war breaking out in the Pacific between Japan and the western powers. The author then takes us to the various Japanese attacks and invasions in December 1941. These include Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies.

 The book is just under 200 pages long. It has a large section of Endnotes and a list of literature in Chinese and other languages. It comes with thirty-two pages of black and white photos of the actions and personalities shown in the book. It also has a small number of some very well-done maps. Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this outstanding book. This is a fine history book on its own and hopefully will attract more writers to the subject.

Robert

Book: Storm Clouds Over the Pacific 1931-1941 War in the Far East

Author: Peter Harmsen

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

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

by

Jörg Staiger

Translated by Linden Lyons

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

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

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

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

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

Robert

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

Author: Jörg Staiger, and translated by Linden Lyons

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Claude Whalen about him and his games and his newest offering 'Conquering the Valley' from Tiny Battle Publishing

  Before we start a discussion on "Conquering the Valley", let me give you some of my gaming background.

I got my first wargames over fifty years ago: Tactics II, Gettysburg (1964) edition, Waterloo, Battle of the Bulge, Gettysburg (1977) and more Avalon Hill classics. Santa's workshop must have only made AH products because that is all that I ever got. Since I still have most of those games, I would say that Gettysburg (1977), Waterloo and Battle of the Bulge got the most play.

My main gaming interest leans towards the American Civil War for two reasons; I share January 19th as a birthday with Robert E. Lee (we had a print of Lee in our house) and I went to "Washington & Lee University" for my undergraduate work. Though it may seem like I'm from the South, my mother's family is from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and my father's ancestors are from Illinois. Other than my time at Washington & Lee, I've never lived in the South and none of my ancestors served for the Confederacy.

As for the Napoleonic era, I would have to say that it is a rather distant second era of interest but I still have dabbled in those types of games. Though I have always had an interest in the Second World War, I find less and less time available for studying it so all my old Avalon Hill WWII games have been moved to the back of the game shelves.

I got started in game design/development/testing in late 2016 when I saw a GMT pre-order advertisement for "Longstreet Attacks". I signed up and noted that they mentioned a game called "Stonewall's Sword" that would be a good introduction to Hermann Luttmann's system. I went ahead, ordered the game and started to learn the "Blind Swords" system. I then got "Thunder in the Ozarks" and continued to comment about the games online (BGG & Consimworld). Roger Miller of Revolution Games mentioned that they were always looking for new designers so I asked if I could give it a try. We decided to start with "Kernstown" and that is how I first spoke with Rick Barber. While I was just starting with Kernstown, GMT released Hermann's "Longstreet Attacks" game and it ended up at Revolution Games. I managed to join with Fred Manzo and Steve Poitinger in play testing the game (which had initially caught my eye in the first place).

Longstreet Attacks Counters

Testing "Longstreet Attacks" lasted for eleven months, and it was a great introduction to game design and development. With guidance from Hermann Luttmann and Roger Miller (Revolution Games), we played, tweaked, replayed, tweaked again and then moved on to the next scenario. When we got to the final full battle scenario, we had to tweak a few more things and so we then went back and rechecked the smaller scenarios just to make sure that they still worked. It turned out to be quite an experience and I will always be thankful for being allowed to join the group.

Speaking of the group, I traveled to Gettysburg to meet with a few of the guys and that is how I actually met Rick Barber. Since I live outside of Pittsburgh, PA, I could drive over to the Harrisburg area, pick up Rick (he didn't drive) and take him down to Gettysburg. Wow what an experience that was; Rick was truly an artist and that first trip into his basement to see all of his maps was amazing. First of all, how he could do all of his great mapwork in a dark, cramped basement that looked more like a hermit's cave than an art studio was a mystery to me. Once his mother passed away, he moved everything up to a much larger, light and airy studio but that was probably only for 18 months before he passed away.

More importantly, walking the Gettysburg battlefield with Rick was truly an eye-opening experience. Instead of concentrating on monuments, statutes and cannons, Rick pointed out the lay of the land and some tips on how to read it. Right after the first controlled burn around Little Round Top and Hood's attack route, Rick and I visited the field with a last draft of the "Longstreet Attacks" map. Since the ground had just been burned two weeks before, we were able to walk and observe what Hood's men crossed as they headed for the Union forces. As I walked that ground with Rick's map in hand, I was truly amazed at how many details that Rick got exactly right. If Rick put a tree line on one side of a hex, it was there; if there was a large rock on the map, there was a large rock on the field too.

Once I started to look at the land like a cartographer, it was like I was back at Gettysburg for the first time. I still checked monuments and cannons but now I was looking at the line of sight and lay of the land issues. I changed my focus towards mapping issues and now I try to get to all the battlefields that I may use in a game. I get a much better feel for the fight because books and maps are great but little things lurk on the actual battlefield that are important for game design. Besides making for a better game, looking at a battlefield this way makes visits to familiar battlefields new again.

Using those lessons, I went to Kernstown in January of 2017 and then a number of times during the summer. I got to meet a nice group of people  (Kernstown Battlefield Association) who are working hard on preserving a smaller battlefield and doing a good job at it. I was able to apply Rick's "eye" to my observations and then report back to Rick on how his map matched the actual land. Since the core area to the west of the Valley Turnpike is still saved, Rick got that ground right. The ground to the east of the Valley Turnpike has been graded and developed so that had to be drawn from old maps; overall I like Rick's work on Kernstown.

Kernstown Map

My next game was "Thunder at Dawn" (Wilson's Creek) and that ended up being the last map that Rick Barber worked on. He sent the final copy in to Revolution Games two weeks before he died. While that was going on, I worked with Hexasim on Quatre Bras and their combined game that included Ligny. In addition, I worked on "Fire on the Mountain" with John Poniske and Legion Games. Finally, I continued to work with Hermann Luttmann on "The Devil To Pay" with Tiny Battles and "A Most Fearful Sacrifice" with Flying Pig Games.

"A Most Fearful Sacrifice" was another 11-month monster project and it included Rick Barber's last map on Gettysburg. Though it took forever to complete, Rick hand drew and colored the 60" x 41" map and he really created a masterpiece. As for the process, Mark Walker was extremely generous in allowing us to do pretty much whatever we wanted. If we wanted different hats for the Iron Brigade, "sure". Add dog mascots to the appropriate counters, "why not". Tweak the uniforms for various units, "let's do it". The graphics for the game really deserved their CSR Award.

As for the switch from chits to cards, it was really very simple. We started out with chits but by the time that we realized that there were over 30 chits in the cup for day one alone, it was time to do something different. Hermann wanted to do cards and so we made the switch. As it worked out, it was one of the best changes that we made to the original "Blind Swords" system. After the numerous changes, we decided to change the game system name to something based on "BS". Since Dan Sickles' unusual move was something totally unexpected, we went with "Black Swan" for those utterly irrational events that just seem to crop up throughout history. As we kept testing the scenarios over the 11-month period, we kept raving over how much we liked the game. Though there was more than one comment that we "were preaching to the choir", the CSR Awards were a nice affirmation that we indeed created a great game.

Both Beautiful and Big!

After "A Most Fearful Sacrifice" was finished, Mark Walker asked Hermann if he wanted to do a simpler series of games for Tiny Battles Publishing and Hermann was kind enough to ask me to join in; hence the "Shattered Union" series was born. Trying to use some of the key parts of the "Black Swan" system, these games are supposed to be faster playing battles at a lower price point. Hence, they lack a mounted map board or extravagantly detailed counters but they should be fairly easy to understand if you are familiar with the "Black Swan" system. Hermann's "Champion Hill" was the first game and he also took Fredericksburg. I got "Conquering the Valley" and Gettysburg-July 4th. After some discussion, the Gettysburg-July 4th game became another scenario for the second printing of "A Most Fearful Sacrifice" and I decided to do Brawner Farm (2nd Manassas) on a demi company scale.

Using Rick Barber's cartography lessons from Gettysburg, I surveyed the ground at Brawner's Farm for two days. I spent two days walking the ground at Fredericksburg and bothering Frank O'Reilly with detailed questions about the ground there. He was extremely helpful and I passed my notes onto Hermann. Finally, Rick Barber gave me a name of one of his contacts who lived in Port Republic and so I traveled down there in August of 2017. Rick's associate was both a gamer and a very knowledgeable resident so I got a VERY detailed tour of the grounds. After his day tour, I spent the next day re-walking the ground and taking a few hundred pictures of the lay of the land. Since it took five years to finally get the game published, I am glad that I took those pictures to remind me of certain quirks on both battlefields.

Though Port Republic is the final battle of Jackson's Valley Campaign, Cross Keys is really more than just a prelude to the key battle. If the bridge over the North River is burned, Jackson's force is in serious trouble and even if they win, they probably cannot get to Richmond in time to help Lee during "The Seven Days". Union General Fremont was very aggressive in his pursuit of Jackson but once Jackson turns to fight, Fremont suddenly becomes very cautious. If he had been much more aggressive at Cross Keys and damaged Ewell's forces there (especially the "Louisiana Tigers"), Jackson may not have had enough fresh troops to defeat Tyler at Port Republic. With that being said, Cross Keys is more than an afterthought and is a battle worth fighting.

From my field survey at Cross Keys, there were a few things that stuck out. If you don't have a local guide, you probably would not find Trimble's ambush position for the 8th NY Infantry. It is just rolling farmland like many fields that you see driving through the Shenandoah Valley and if it wasn't for a small set of markers at the fence line Trimble occupied, you would never know that anything of any importance happened there. Another thing that stuck out was that Ewell's position above Mill Creek was VERY, VERY strong. Using Rick's "eye" training, it is very clear that Ewell's left flank is a much easier route to attack. The only problem with this route is that it is the furthest point from the North River bridge and even if you push Ewell back, he will just retreat towards that bridge anyway.

The key to the whole fight was the ridge that Ewell occupied behind Mill Creek. Here actually walking the ground and remembering Rick's guidance really paid off. Ewell's line was perched along a ridge that rose up from Mill Creek. The ridge is VERY steep and you needed to put your hand on the ground in order to balance yourself as you scrambled up the slope. It had to be nearly impossible to load and fire a rifle while making the climb. As it turned out, there was a small logging trail that started at the base of the ridge on Ewell's right front and it then rose up the slope and finally reached the top of the ridge on Ewell's left. Though the Rebel skirmishers could run up the slope in order to get back to the safety of their line, any Union troops couldn't have maintained a line of battle as they went up the slope two by two. They also would have exposed their left flank to any Rebel infantry on top of the slope.

Picture from Conquering the Valley

One final problem faced the Union at Mill Creek, as they approached the creek, the ground sloped down towards the water which made it even harder for them to fire at troops on the top of the ridge. After actually looking at the lay of the land, you understand why the Union troops only attempted a half-hearted frontal attack. Looking at a map never would have shown these problems to a game designer.

Moving onto the Port Republic battlefield, the first problem that both sides faced was the issues presented by the North River, South River and the South Fork of the Shenandoah. It had been a wet spring so all three rivers were running higher than normal. The North River and the South Fork of the Shenandoah were impassable without proper bridging and looking at the actual rivers, it was clear that they were substantial barriers. The bridge over the North River was the only reliable way to cross and it turned out to be a key to the battle. On the other hand, the South River was a river in name only. When I actually saw it, I thought that Antietam Creek was more of a barrier. Rain swollen at the time of the battle, it was more of a problem so Jackson had a bridge made from wagons and his troops crossed that way. Still, it was a "wagon-bridge" and it became a choke point for the Confederate troops, which caused them to trickle into the battle against Tyler's Union forces.

Though Jackson burned the bridge over the North River around 10:30am and thus prevented Fremont's troops from linking up with Tyler's force, things could have been much different. Turner Ashby was killed a few days before the battle and so the Confederate cavalry was in disarray at the time of the battle. Some Union cavalry were able to ride into Port Republic on a surprise raid, captured some of Jackson's staff and almost snagged Jackson himself. They also had a chance to destroy Jackson's ammunition supply. Though their orders were to NOT burn the bridge, the cavalry captured the North River bridge and positioned their one cannon at the south end of the bridge. All Rebel forces were on the north (Cross Keys) side of the bridge and were cut off from their ammunition. Faced with advancing Rebel infantry, the Union cavalry decided to burn the bridge. The Rebel infantry charged into the covered bridge and somehow the Union gun managed to MISS the Rebels as they came onto the north edge of the bridge. The Rebels chased the Union cavalry off, put out the fire and saved their ammunition train. The "what If" scenario came very close to being the actual Battle of Cross Keys.

The final two points about the Port Republic battlefield would not be noted unless you actually walked the field; maps wouldn't have shown these key points. The first point is that there is a ridge running down the middle of the cornfield. Since the North River makes a hard left-hand turn when it merges to become the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, this ridge was obviously an ancient river bank. When we drove down Lewiston Lane, the road cut through this ridge and it became clear that this ridge was a substantial ground feature (easily 15 to 20 feet deep where the Lane cut through it). Add on any crops growing on it at the time of the battle and it clearly would have blocked Line-of-Sight from one side of the valley to the other. Hence for the infantry on the floor of the valley, they couldn't see the entire field. Once you were up on the Union artillery platform on "The Coaling", the ridge DIDN'T conceal troops or limit the artillery Line of Sight. Though high ground is always important, this Line-of-Sight feature made "The Coaling" the dominant, key position of the battle. Possess it and you could control most of the battlefield.

Close-up from Conquering the Valley

The last point was the actual size of "The Coaling". Though the modern woods may have encroached on the site, it still is a remarkably small ledge. There is room for guns but not much else. Also, the Louisiana Tigers route of attack is tough terrain, heavily wooded and a sloped hillside. The only advantage that they would have had is that once they came out of the woods, they would be able to rapidly close on the Union guns. It is all very interesting ground and if I hadn't actually walked and climbed it, no map would have been able to show me what was actually there.

It is an interesting set of battles and I feel that the game gives you a good idea of what all three armies faced during those two days in June of 1862. Ewell had the easiest job, just hold the Union off. On the other hand, Jackson had to manage getting his troops over the North River Bridge and to safety while also getting enough troops up the valley to win the fight against Tyler's Union force. I found it fun and enjoyable to create this game and hopefully others will find it enjoyable to play. Now on to Brawner Farm!

CTW

Tiny Battle Publishing:

Tiny Battle Publishing

Conquering the Valley:

Conquering the Valley | Tiny Battle Publishing