Atlantic Chase

The Kriegsmarine Against the Home Fleet 1939-1942

Intercept Volume One

by

GMT Games

 The box cover, I believe, shows the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen breaking out into the North Atlantic during 1941 Operation Rheinubung. This would lead to the sinking of both the H.M.S. Hood and the Bismarck. At first glance, the naval balance between Britain and Germany looks ridiculous. How are the Germans supposed to try and attack the Royal Navy? In 1939, the Germans have two battlecruisers and two battleships being built, with some heavy and light cruisers. In battleships alone, the British Navy had fifteen on hand with another seven being built. It seems on paper that Britain had nothing to worry about. In actuality, the British Navy had to patrol the North Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, and Southeast Asia. So, it was spread pretty thin, especially after Japan declared war on Britain. Obviously, there was not going to be another Battle of Jutland during the Second World War. All of the German ships would be used in the North Atlantic as commerce raiders. So now let us see what comes in this hefty box. This is a review of the 2nd printing of the game.

The mounted map

 This is what GMT says about the game:

"Atlantic Chase simulates the naval campaigns fought in the North Atlantic between the surface fleets of the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine between 1939 and 1942. It utilizes a system of trajectories to model the fog of war that bedeviled the commands during this period. Just as the pins and strings adorning Churchill’s wall represented the course of the ships underway, players arrange trajectory lines across the shared game board, each line representing a task force’s path of travel. Without resorting to dummy blocks, hidden movement, or a double-blind system requiring a referee or computer, players experience the uncertainty endemic to this period of naval warfare. This system also has the benefit of allowing the game to be played solitaire, and to be played quickly.

 

The German player’s task is clear: sever Britain’s lifeline to its overseas colonies and allies.  All hangs on the fate of convoys. Ultimately, success or failure in Atlantic Chase will hinge on the Kriegsmarine’s ability to breakout into the Atlantic and find convoys while frustrating British attempts to catch his raiders. The game chronicles the development of the Royal Navy’s strategy to contain the German fleet by pitting players against each other in five successive operations that comprise a Campaign Game. Seven additional scenarios treat specific historical actions, including a Sink the Bismarck scenario, a PQ17 scenario, and the Channel Dash. The game features battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, convoys, and pocket battleships, while U-boats, elusive armed merchant raiders, and air assets play an important role too. Operations during the Campaign Game and stand-alone historical scenarios each take 1-2 hours to play."

Some counters

 This is what comes in the box:

22 x 34" mounted game board

Two 8.5"x11" Inset Maps

Three 11"x17" player aid cards

Two 8.5"x11" player aid cards

Two Task Force Displays

Sheet and a half of counters

240 wood segments and cylinders

Rule book

Advanced Battle Rules

Tutorial booklet

Solitaire Scenario booklet

Two-player Scenario booklet

Four six-sided dice

Some scenarios and setups

 These are the awards it has won:

2021 Charles S. Roberts Wargame of the Year Winner

2021 Charles S. Roberts Best World War II Era Board Wargame Winner

2021 Charles S. Roberts Best Solitaire or Cooperative Board Wargame Winner

2021 Charles S. Roberts Best Board Wargame Rules Winner

2021 Charles S. Roberts Best Board Wargame Playing Components Winner

 After the list above, I should just post this and say "Goodnight Gracie".

A game in progress

  I am not often staggered by the contents of a wargame. I have more than a few that are monsters. However, I was really surprised about the number of contents that GMT Games was able to stuff inside the box. It was like a cornucopia, and seemed to be a never-ending stream of things, especially Rulebooks. I was a little trepidatious about what I had gotten myself into. Read on to see if I had bitten off more than I could chew. 

 For the contents, we will start with all of the booklets. First off, all five of them are made from glossy magazine type paper (although thicker). They also all come in full color. The printing, examples, and pictures throughout them are very large. It is always nice to see a game company help out us old timers. The Rulebook is sixty-three pages long! However, remember that everything in them is large. The Tutorial Booklet comes in next at fifty-five pages. Once again it is filled with large examples of play. The last four pages are the Design Notes. Please read this because it explains the missing elephant in the room. After that comes the Solitaire Scenarios Booklet. This comes in at seventy-one pages, and the last three pages are Historical Notes. The Two-Player Scenarios Booklet is sixty-three pages long. The runt of the litter of booklets comes next. This would be the Advanced Battle Rules Booklet at a mere fifteen pages. This is a bit funny if you have been keeping track of the pages from the other Booklets. Before the Advanced Rules Booklet, the total pages are a whopping 252! I was beginning to wonder if playing the game would give me some college credits.

 

 The next component is the mounted map. The map goes from the Canadian Maritime provinces to the top of Greenland on the western edge. On the eastern edge it goes from Gibraltar to the top of Norway/USSR. There are boxes to represent all of the different ports on the map. The Battle Board that is used to plot out ship gunnery exchanges is on the right side of the map. It also has sundry tables/charts that are needed for play. The colors are muted, and nothing was added to take away from gameplay. As in most naval wargames, the majority of the map is the big blue ocean. There is also a double-sided hard card stock map. One side has the western side of Norway on it and the other side has the North Sea hemmed in by Britain, Norway, and Denmark. There are two double-sided and fold out Players Aids. These are both easy to read and nice and sturdy. Up next are two double sided Player Aids that on one side have the Campaign Player Aid and the other has the British/German Force Pool Schedule. After that comes two single-sided British/German Task Force Displays. Then we have the last one, another foldout and double-sided Advanced Battle Rules Player Aid. 

 The last things to talk about are the wooden pieces and the counters. The wooden pieces are all uniform in their segments and cylinders, meaning that there are no flash or missing chunks of wood in any of them. When I saw them, I gave a sigh of relief. Why, you ask? Because they are already pre-marked for the game. I was not looking forward do dealing with 240 stickers. I have stickered many a game, but I do not enjoy it. The counters are fully functional and easy to read. The capital ships, cruisers and above, are represented by large rectangular counters that are almost universal in naval wargames. These have the obligatory silhouette of the ship in question. The leaders and 'Intel' markers are 5/8" square. The other markers are 1/2" in size.

 I know we grognards are a hard to please bunch. However, GMT Games should be proud of their endeavors with this game's manufacturing (so should we game buyers). I really have not had a game from them that was subpar in components, and I do not think it is because I am lucky.

Game situation

  The missing elephant in the game box are U-boats. When the designer (Jeremy White) started talking about his new design, the first question was "where are the U-boats?". When he answered that they were not really present in the game, the next query would be "so, it is another sink the Bismarck game?". Apparently when told the answer to that question most people were a bit confused. He writes that some grognards even begged him to put in U-boats. The various Air and submarine assets of both sides are represented as adjuncts to the surface war. I will let him address the issue from his Design Notes:

 "U-boats appear in Atlantic Chase as an effect rather than a fleet of machines. The U-boat arm operated independently (and invisibly) of surface vessels, for the most part, but because they hunted the same waters, this game presents opportunities for their operations to overlap with those of the surface arm. The player should understand that Admiral Donitz and his fleet of Steel Wolves are busy throughout this game, but that activity is not particularly visible."

 The story of how this game started out in the 1990s because of working on command and control in the American Civil War is a very interesting story. The designer definitely does a deep dive into the background story of the game and its mechanics. 

 So, the first thing you absolutely need to know that this game is not one that you can set up and glance through the Rulebook and be at it in no time flat. The tutorials are your friend and spoon feed you bit after tasty bit of what you can handle from one to the next. The complexity level of the game is only marked at a five, and I believe that is correct. There are a lot of things going on in the game, but none of them by themselves is a deal breaker or insurmountable object. You will not feel like Sisyphus while learning the game. The hardest part, and that is not correct either, is learning about the trajectories. Those would be the different colored rectangles snaking across the map. The thing you have to remember is that you are playing the admiralty of either nation, not an admiral at sea. So, you somewhat know where your forces are heading and what bearing they will be following, but because of radio silences etc. you are not quite certain exactly where they are at any given moment. The designer explains that the board is not meant to represent the actual ocean, but instead the operational maps that were hung up in the Admiralties of London and Berlin. These would have the trajectories charted out with colored string and pins. He has just brought the representation to the 21st century for us to have a blast with. Because of the new way of representing naval warfare, it is a bit hard to describe. All I know is that the system works extremely well but does not take the fun out of gaming. 

 Thank you, GMT Games, for allowing me to review this really excellent and innovative game which works just as well as a solitaire game and a two-player one. You do not need a shoehorn to make it fit into one or the other. Much like the word love, innovation is used far too often for just a change or even a slight change in a gaming mechanism. The Atlantic Chase mechanism is really innovative and, as many people have said, is ripe for being used in so many other situations in wargames. The designer should be wearing shades, because his future looks bright indeed. Pardon me, I have to now go to YT and listen to Timbuk 3.

Robert 

Atlantic Chase:

GMT Games - Atlantic Chase, 2nd Printing

GMT Games:

GMT Games

 

 Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance

by

Slitherine

  This is a demo of Slitherine's new real time strategy game based in the Terminator universe. I will state this right up front, I am not a big fan of RTS games. They are usually way too frenetic in pace. I have always liked turn based strategy games with their slower pace and with the ability to think about what you are doing each turn. That being said, it is good to get out of your safe space in games every once in a while. 

Screenshot from the first mission

 This is what Slitherine has to say about the demo:

"The Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance Demo will give you an insight into the campaign and skirmish modes in the final game. The demo will be published on October 9th as part of the Steam Next Fest, and will be available to everyone for a limited amount of time.

The Steam Next demo includes the first 3 single player campaign missions, and includes 1 Skirmish Map. This preview demo is identical, except it doesn’t have the skirmish map yet. 

The early campaign missions will teach you the basics of the game but doesn’t include the multi-choice RPG aspects seen in later missions, where players can choose which factions to ally with (or attack), which objectives to follow or ignore, and how to respond to other characters through multi-response conversations. 

These early missions also don’t include the army management screen. Here, you can upgrade skills, weapons and armor for your squads and vehicles. It’s possible to buy and sell manpower, vehicles, equipment, weapons and ammo at bases and trading zones, place troops into vehicles, and edit and rename your unit names. Your army is taken from mission to mission, so if you lose a unit in a mission, then it’s gone! But if you upgrade a squad, they’re ready for the next mission. 

The Skirmish Mode in the demo includes an Assault Mode map. This Mode allows only the Founders or Legion to be selected and includes Assault Mode gameplay, with objectives to either attack or defend points on the map. 

The release will also include Domination Mode maps that allow Founders, Legion or Movement forces to be selected, with different reinforcement rules. 

All skirmish maps will also be available in Multiplayer, which isn’t provided in this initial preview. Multiplayer will allow up to 4 players to play within a map, in 1v1, 2v1, 2v2 modes."

Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance will be available on PC later this Fall.

Screenshot from the second mission

 I can tell you three things about the demo that I really like. The first is that the game is really nice looking you can almost say beautiful to behold. The second is that you are given a few different orders to give to your small soldiers and vehicles. The third is something you do not usually see in a RTS at least when they are first released, and that is a pause button. I have played more than a few RTS games where the pause button was added in an update or is a mod made by a player.

This is a screenshot from the third mission 

 Another thing I like is that you are really given a storyline to follow. In the demo you are a Policeman who has decided to help both civilians and the army units. So, you become immersed in the game. Instead of just sprites, the characters in the game actually mean something to you. Before the second mission begins you find out that it is ten years later, and you are now a Major in the Founders. This would be the remnants of the civilians and army that have coalesced after the rise of the machines. The machine army is called the Legion. 

Another pic from the third mission

 I was quite pleasantly surprised by the demo and the gameplay, especially the pause button. For a demo of a game it was very immersive and really left me wanting more to play.

Another screenshot from the third mission

 The game will come with the ability to play either side, at least in skirmish mode, and that is another point on the plus side. The only thing about the demo I did not like was the inability to zoom out much at all. You can zoom in to see separate soldiers. However, there is an inset map that even if the zoom is not increased can be used to keep an eye on your units and the enemy. Thank you Slitherine for letting me take this demo for a ride.

Robert

Slitherine

Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance

1212 Las Navas de Tolosa

by

Draco Ideas

 The year is 1212 and El Cid has been dead for thirteen years. The deadly conflict between the Muslims and Christians for Spain is still going on. In fact, the Reconquista will continue for almost three hundred years. The tide had turned and the Muslims, commanded by their Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir, were taking a good number of Spanish fortresses. It had gotten so bad that the pope, Innocent III, had called for a crusade in Spain. I am simplifying the historical tale. Both the Christians and Muslims were a loose group of smaller states that fought each other as often as they fought against their supposed enemies. The crusaders and a number of Christian states banded together to fight against a similarly made-up army under the Caliph. This is the backdrop behind the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.

 This is an excerpt from a written account of the time:

 "They attacked, fighting against one another, hand-to-hand, with lances, swords, and battle-axes; there was no room for archers. The Christians pressed on." – (The Latin Chronicle of The Kings of Castile)

 This is what comes with the game:

Board

54 Unit Markers

9 Combat Cards

6 help cards

12 special cards (6 from each side)

 

 This is what Draco Ideas has to say about the game:

 "1212: Las Navas de Tolosa is an asymmetric, two-player wargame in which Almohad and Christian troops face each other, reliving the emblematic battle of the Reconquista.

Fast games and a very contained deployment, in which the battle is decided in about 30 minutes, with a card engine to determine the initiative and the outcome of the combat.

Although small in size, 1212 Las Navas de Tolosa perfectly integrates the theme in a reduced number of components, placing special emphasis on the asymmetry of the sides to revive the different strategies that took place in the battle that would change the course of the Reconquista.

Among other features, Christian units receive bonuses if they are activated by cards with their King’s shield, adding a further decision to the player on when to play the cards in his hand.

For his part, the Almohad player can use a free ‘Tornafuye’ (karr wa-l-farr) action, which allows him to make a counterattack after a Christian cavalry charge, and also has special units such as the Black Guard protecting the Caliph an-Nasir, or the Jihad Volunteers, fanatical troops that will throw themselves into combat advancing if they manage to create a breach in the Christian defense."

A Muslim Counter

 I know it is a cliche, but sometimes good things do come in tiny boxes. Most of the parts of the game are small. The board is a mounted one. It measures around 11 3/4" x 8". It consists of eighteen rectangles (nine for each side). It is pretty much made up of open terrain with a few trees and the Caliph's stockade on the edge of one side. The counters are large at 18mm and come pre-rounded. Each counter comes with a very nicely done picture in the middle of it. The designer/artist (Pablo Sanz) has drawn them to look like period pieces of the battles' time. The Rulebook is small, about half the size of a normal Rulebook. It is however, done in full color. It is only twenty pages in length with the last page being a quick reference for the rules. The regular rules are fifteen pages in length. Then there is a two-page Advanced Variant for the rules. The game comes with two Rulebooks: one in English and one in Spanish. Next up are the Victory Conditions and a Historical Context. The Cards come with six cards for quick refence. On one side is English and the other is in Spanish. There are nine regular cards to be played with the normal game. A further 12 cards (six per side) are used with the Advanced Variant. That sums it up for the game's components. Draco Ideas does put a lot into the physical presentation of their games.

One of the Cards for the Regular Game

 The game was designed to take up a very small footprint and to be played in about thirty minutes. Draco Ideas has succeeded in both of these endeavors. This is a quick playing fun game that also has both strategy and tactics built into it. The addition of the Advanced Variant makes it so the game does not get stale or boring. The regular game is a good game, but it might get too repetitious for some people. The Advanced Variant Cards are either commanders in the game or units. These Cards give the player either Action Points or extra attack power when played. 

 This is the Sequence of Play:

Initiative Phase: 1 card from each player. The highest wins the initiative and ties go to the Christian player.

Action Phase: 2 cards for Action Points, playing alternative turns.

Exhaustion: Tilted units (exhausted units) can neither attack or rally. They recover at the end of the turn.

 These are a few of the rules:

Ties in the standard attacks = 1 damage per side.

If there are no cards left in the game deck, turn over the discard pile Without Shuffling.

 Action allowed per turn:

Maximum 3 units per board zone

Maximum 2 combat actions per turn

Maximum 1 archer attack per turn

Christian Counter

 The Victory Conditions are:

The Christian Player wins if Caliph al-Nasir's unit is eliminated.

The Muslim Player wins if the Christian Player is not occupying any of the nine Muslim zones and there are less than four Christian occupied zones.

Either side wins if they control twice as many zones as the other side.

 1212 Las Navas de Tolosa was designed to be a fun short game that can be setup and taken down with ease. The price point of the game is also easy on the player's wallet. This is not just a beer & pretzels game. It is certainly not as deep as some wargames but to win you have to put on your thinking cap. 

 Thank you Draco Ideas for allowing me to review this game. This game and their SCOPE series of games are built on the same premise. Please take a look at their War Storm series of games. They are tactical gems of games. Their two games on the Spanish Civil War (A las Barricadas! and Help Arrives) are two of the finest tactical games on the subject.

Robert

Draco Ideas:

Draco Ideas editorial | Boardgames publisher

1212 Las Navas de Tolosa:

1212: Las Navas de Tolosa (English) | Draco Ideas editorial

 HALLS OF HEGRA

FROM

TOMPET GAMES

When my gaming friends and I first heard of this title, the general consensus was that it must be a game in the fantasy genre.  Intrigued, I'm glad I delved deeper to discover that it was a distinctly unusual WWII battle in the Norwegian defence against the invading German army and so I contacted the publishers, Tompet Games, who generously provided me this review copy.  On its very rapid arrival, a first sight of the components and a reading of the historical background made me think I had got my hands on the next David Thompson design in his series of "siege" games.  Though that is not the case, the reasons for thinking so will quickly become obvious.  First the components - they are all excellent whether it be the mounted playing board, the variety of cards, the wooden pieces, the cardboard counters and the full colour rule book.  Second, the historical situation - quoting from the back of the game box and the front of the rule book -  "From an abandoned mountain fortress you command a group of Norwegian volunteers fighting numerically superior German forces in the early days of WW2."  

The continuation again quoted from both back of the game box and the front of the rule book sounds very familiar - "Halls of Hegra is a solo only game where you play as the commander during the siege, which is divided into three stages.  The mechanisms you will use are worker placement, bag building and area control/tower defence."  Certainly the game shares many of the system features seen in David Thompson's designs and three stages calls to mind Postmen in Soldiers' Uniforms, while the map section of the game board has visual echoes of Lanzerath Ridge.  Considering both are set in snow bound locations that's not surprising.

Map section of Halls of Hegra

Knowledge itself of the Norwegian campaign is for most British citizens very, very limited and despite playing most of the few rare games related to either individual battles or the whole campaign, this last desperate defence was a revelation for me.  Its details certainly promised some intriguing and novel situations.  The situation spans 11 turns corresponding to 11 days.  As mentioned,  the game plays out the three stages of the historical event.

Stage 1 Mobilisation [Days 1-3] - during this stage, you as the defender will explore, clear snow, find equipment  (some damaged and needing to be repaired), establish supply routes and gather supplies and defenders.

Stage 2 1st Attack [Days 4-6] - you will be defending against a variety of German attacks, while continuing final preparations for the siege and gathering supplies.

Stage 3 Siege [Days 7-11] - Fortress Hegra is defended by you against bombardment and infantry attacks while you try to maintain morale amongst your volunteer force.

So, there's the overall picture in brief, now on to how the game fairs accomplishing this.

The complexity of the mechanics of playing this game is reflected in the two pages of the rule book dedicated to SetUp.  There are eleven tracks needing a marker cube to be placed to record each's initial starting point, German artillery pieces to be set out on the Artillery Track; Air tiles, Damage tiles, and Status tiles to be placed; German Patrol tokens; wooden discs for the Defender units and Doubt discs and wooden German unit meeples.  All these have their allotted places at start either on the game board, in a Reserve Area [any conveniently handy area near the game board] or placed into one of the colourful three draw bags.

... and when that's all complete, there is a wealth of cards to be sorted into a variety of decks and shuffled!  49 Event cards get sorted into five decks, 22 Morale cards into  two decks, Hope & Despair cards into two decks and last but not least 11 Snow tiles!

Above are some of those Snow Tiles revealed that give one-off benefits or provide permanent actions that you can allocate defenders too.

While below is the busy game board before any of these elements are placed on or near it.

The bottom left hand section even has a double-sided mini-board placed on it at the beginning.  

The side above is needed for Stage 1: Mobilisation and then turned over for Stage 2: 1st Attack and then removed to reveal  the section of the whole game board it covered, which is used for Stage 3: Siege.

As you can see, there is quite a lot to follow through carefully in the Rule Book just to set up the game. 

When it comes to Gameplay, which is the meat of the rules, the outline beckons as tantalisingly simple.  The eleven turns are broken down into three Stages.  Stage 1: Mobilisation covers turns 1-3.  Stage 2: 1st Attack covers turns 4-6 and Stage 3; Siege covers turns 7-11. These three Stages are each divided into the same three Phases: Event Phase - Morning Phase - Day Phase.  What follows and how it is organised in the Rule Book belies that simplicity.  First of all, the actions for the Event Phase for each of the three Stages are explained in order. Then the shortest Phase - the Morning Phase - is explained Here steps you carry out are  identical in each of the the three Stages and are largely simple steps.  Hurrah!  

Finally, you come to the third and last Phase for each Stage and that is the Day Phase.  This is by far the most complex and lengthy section in each turn of the game. The basic concepts are logical.  Each Stage prepares for the next Stage.  So in Mobilisation you are largely creating supply routes and gathering supplies, building up the numbers of your defenders and clearing snow to reveal actions and objects that you can use in Stages 2 and 3.  As you move into these later two Stages, the enemy actions gather in number and power and work to reduce the number of your defenders and limit the range of actions available to you.

Everything set out at the start of the game

I love these ideas and the realistic feel it gives to the game.  I just wish the rule book could have explained them more clearly.  There are two major difficulties to learning and understanding the rules.  The first difficulty is the tendency to explain a number of actions for Stage 1 and then move on to Stage 2 and tell you which are identical to the previous Stage and then explain what's added and finally Stage 3 tells you what is the same as in Stages 1 & 2 and now explains what's new in Stage 3.  Take for example, the Day Phase.  There are in total Seven numbered sections (0-6) to learn.  BUT there is no turn when all seven sections are ever performed in full.  For example section 0 only occurs on turns 1 to 3, while section 01only occurs on turns 4 to 11.  Similarly what actions may be carried out in each section is not consistent for every turn.  Sometimes, a specific action is just not performed on certain days. Other actions depend on a variety of circumstances, such as whether the item to be used has been dug out of the snow on earlier turns or damage has been repaired to make it usable and, of course most important is whether one or more of your defenders has been allocated to perform it.

Here we are for example part way through the game. Working from left to right.  Gun 1 has one section active, the next is jammed and the third is damaged.  The ability to send out a new Supply Run is available, but no Defender has been assigned to activate it.  Below is the Medicine Cabinet that was dug out of the snow earlier on and has had a medic Defender allocated to gain its benefits. To the right is another action, Counter Patrol, that was revealed earlier in the game.  It too has no Defender currently assigned to take this action, but notice the cross on the medic symbol, which tells you that a medic defender cannot be placed here.  After all, your medics are far more valuable doing jobs elsewhere!  This is just one small area of the board with the potential for so much to be happening there.

On top of all that is the need to work through different steps on each Event card as it is drawn. which add a lot of flavour, but also mechanics to the game system.  The outcome I've found is that you will spend quite a few games with the rule book in hand with frequent reference to it and, even with much more familiarity, it will be a game where you will still forget whether you can or can't perform an action and will need to check.

The second major difficulty is that there are quite a number of symbols to be mastered, some of which direct you in adjusting markers on the many tracks in the game or affect actions that you can take.  These are not all clearly explained and has led to doubts about interpretation of rules. These add to the central complexity of the game that stems from the many interactions that build up and multiply as the game progresses.  It's fascinating, but I've found there's a steep learning curve that only comes through repetition.  

In my view the key to learning and coming to enjoy the game is to avoid trying to take in everything at once.  In fact, it is one game where I would suggest that you don't even skim through all the rules.  

Start by playing through Stage 1 Mobilisation [Turns 1-3], perhaps even practising them several times.  Then move on to play Stage 1 and Stage 2: 1st Attack and finally settle down to play through the whole game.  The other important advice is watch the several excellent videos on YouTube that play through several turns.  I would particularly recommend  "JP Plays Halls of Hegra", but as always with such videos remember that there will be a few changes, often minor, that have taken place since the videos were made and the game was published!

So what are my final thoughts.  First of all it is a quality product in all its many components.  The situation, like quite a few other Siege games, is unusual and focuses on a brief and for most people unknown and obscure incident in WWII.  It's engrossing and has so many options with the constant pressure of multiple choices of action clamouring for your attention, but so few defender units to carry them out.  It has great replayability, both because of these many choices of actions, but also because the different Event cards and the order in which they get drawn will always throw up new problems to solve each time you play.  Consequently, it is a game that will constantly test you out with little likelihood of a winning formula emerging- for me that's always a good quality.  I hate games, especially solitaire ones if they turn to have either a limited focus or a method that's soon mastered  All these are very positive elements, but you will also need to put in a good deal of time and effort to learn and understand the game's mechanics.  It's definitely not a game for beginners in the board war game world or those who want a "light" game. Nor is it for the gamer who must have absolute certainty or suffers from "analysis-paralysis".  On the other hand it is definitely a game to get your teeth into and bury yourself in the action.

 Bloody Verrieres

The I. SS-PanzerKorps' Defence of the Verrieres - Bourguebus Ridges Volume II

by

 Arthur W. Gullachsen

 This is volume II of a comprehensive look at the defense of the ridges during the Normandy Campaign. This book will have a tough time equaling its older brother. Volume I was full of history tidbits that I have not seen anywhere else and there are tons of books on this part of the Normandy Campaign.

 Have no fear, the author has continued in Volume II to shine a light onto the history of the battles for the ridges. He also never fails to report on the bravery and tenacity of the British, and Canadian etc. attackers. He does, however, find fault with what he calls their "bite and hold" tactics. He feels that they are using outdated World War I tactics in World War II. This is a point that he makes throughout the book with plenty of examples. He shows us how the German 1st SS Panzerkorps used a defense in depth to absorb the British and Commonwealth attacks. He also contends, along with other writers, that the British and Commonwealth attacks and losses were not in vain (although they could have been better commanded and planned out). They kept the main striking power of the German Army in Normandy in a desperate battle for Caen and the surrounding area. This allowed the Americans to break through on the German left flank. 

 In the book he dispels some of the myths that we have been taught about the campaign. Such as, Sepp Dietrich did not know how to read a map or that the SS in Normandy were just fanatics that had no real tactical ability. The author shows that the Germans were able to halt the Commonwealth forces even though they were completely outmatched in artillery and air power.

 The book comes in at just under 300 pages including the appendices, end notes, bibliography, and index. It shows the battle for the ridges from July 23 - August 5, 1944. The author concentrates on the 2nd Canadian Corps attack during Operation Spring starting on July 25th. The book continues with the German counterattacks after Operation Spring. This shows how the German forces were still resilient even after the long battle for the environs of Caen. 

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this second volume from this author. He is a captain in the Canadian Army and also a teacher of military history in the Royal Military College of Canada's History department. The books are two of the best to read about the tactical warfare during the Normandy Campaign. They should be in the library of anyone who has any interest in the campaign.

Robert

Book: Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-PanzerKorps' Defence of the Verrieres - BourGuebus Ridges Volume II

Author: Arthur W. Gullachsen

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

 Detour to Disaster

General John Bell Hood's "Slight Demonstration" at Decatur and the Unravelling of the Tennessee Campaign

by

Noel Carpenter

 This is a small book which is just over 160 pages in length. The book is also printed in large type, so it is not a hard read by any measure. The center of the book has fifteen pages of black and white photos of the people mentioned and towns of the area. The book is followed by three appendices. The first one gives and Order of Battle for the Army of Tennessee. The next is a list of ferries and fords across the Tennessee River between Chattanooga and Florence. The third is the evacuation order for the people living in and around Decatur Alabama.

 Lieutenant General John Bell Hood has lost Atlanta and a good portion of his troops trying to attack General William Tecumseh Sherman and stop him from taking the city. Hood now comes up with an audacious plan. He will do exactly what Sherman has decided on doing except in reverse. Sherman plans to cut his lines of communication and march from Georgia to the sea. Hood intends to cut his lines and head north trying to pull Sherman after him. The disparity between the forces makes Hood's campaign not only a desperate chance, but one that in hindsight is almost assuredly useless. The author tells the story of the beginning of Hood's campaign and Hood's 'Detour to Disaster'.  

 On page 146 the author uses some quotes from other historians about Hood's campaign plans. "An impossible dream" another wrote "Hood's activities after Sherman left Atlanta (to follow Hood) seemed to have been scripted in never-never land".

 However, a lot of other pundits believe that had Hood acted with more speed his campaign would have been successful. General Beauregard, in his report, said that the original plan "would have led to the defeat of Thomas ... if executed without undue delay and with vigor and skill". Which, as the author shows, was not done. Hood's four lost days at Decatur pretty much put paid to the entire campaign. In the Epilogue the writer explains what happened next in Hood's Tennessee Campaign.  Hood was given a last chance to destroy a large part of the Union force against him before the Battle of Franklin, but once again victory was turned into defeat. This would lead to the tragic and useless battles of Franklin and Nashville.

 This is a great book that shows off the truth of the expression "for the want of a nail". It also should be required reading for anyone trying to sift fact from fiction during Hood's days in army command. Unfortunately, we lost the author in 2000. In his retirement he dedicated twelve years to research and write this book, and it shows in this detailed account. Thank you, Savas Beatie, for allowing me to review this book. I do not know anywhere near enough about the Western Campaign in the Civil War. I am just starting to fill that gap and this book has done its job admirably.

Robert

Book: Detour to Disaster: General John Bell Hood's "Slight Demonstration" at Decatur and the Unravelling of the Tennessee Campaign

Author: Noel Carpenter

Publisher: Savas Beatie

 The Battles of Antiochus the Great

The Failure of Combined Arms at Magnesia That Handed the World to Rome

by

Graham Wrightson

 Antiochus III, or the Great, was a ruler of the Seleucid kingdom from 223 to 187 BCE. He ascended the throne at eighteen years of age after the assassination of his brother Seleuces III. His throne was not secure by any means. The provinces in the east had left the empire a few decades before. He was also faced with a revolt by the satraps of Mesopotamia, Medea and Persia. The Ptolemies had almost crushed the Seleucid kingdom a few years before. Syria was also lost to the Ptolemies at the time of his ascension to the crown.  The author informs us of all of the history written above at the start of the book. He also goes into the state of the nations around the Seleucid kingdom so that we readers know exactly where the Hellenistic world, and beyond, stand at this time.

 The book describes itself thusly:

"The author analyses Antiochus' major battles, Raphia, Arius, Panium, Thermopylae and, of course, the disaster at Magnesia which opened the door to Roman dominance of the region."

 The author's take on the militaries of the later Hellenistic kingdoms is that they had not learned the lesson of Alexander or the Diadochi very well at all. He extols that the militaries of the later kingdoms were just a pale comparison to the great armies that had conquered the Persian Empire and beyond. Not just because there was no longer an Alexander to lead them, but because they did not understand what made those armies invincible for their time. The book shows how the percentage of infantry to cavalry, approximately 3 to 1, had changed so that it was more than 10 to 1 by Antiochus' time. The main idea of the book is that these newer rulers did not understand the combined arms approach that was needed to win with a Hellenistic army. He uses the battle history of Antiochus to prove his point. In this the author easily succeeds.

 However, the book gives the reader much more than the above. He goes into the tactical uses of each of the parts of a Hellenistic army. The author shows us how to use a Hellenistic army and where Antiochus went wrong. Antiochus was a singular unlucky king. He ruled at a time when Rome was branching out to make the Mediterranean Sea a Roman lake. It did not help that one of the greatest Roman generals, Scipio Africanus, was present with the Roman forces. While he deserved his appellation 'Great' by reconquering all of the Seleucid territories in the east, Antiochus ensured the death of the Seleucid kingdom by his loss to Rome. This is a tour de force about the military history of Antiochus' reign. I can easily recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn about him and the militaries of the Hellenistic kingdoms. Thank you, Casemate Publishers for allowing me to review this excellent book on an era that hardly ever has some light shed on it.

Robert 

Book: The Battles of Antiochus the Great: The Failure of Combined Arms at Magnesia That Handed the World to Rome

Author: Graham Wrightson

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 War Along the Wabash

The Ohio Indian Confederacy's Destruction of the U.S. Army, 1791

by

Steven P. Locke

  The United States was only eight years old when this campaign took place. One tends to be a bit shocked that only after so few years that the country and Army that had defeated Britain was almost totally destroyed by an Indian Confederacy. This book goes back in time a few years to show how the smoldering resentment of both the English and the Native Americans burst forth into war. We are shown that Britain ceded all of the territory up to the Mississippi River to the new United States. There was only a small matter of the indigenous population who were not a part of the treaty. The native tribes had been pushed farther and farther back by the colonists, even though Britain had tried to stop the colonists from encroaching farther inland. 

 As the book shows, the British were still upset about their loss during the American Revolution and were very slow to, or not at all, follow the treaty's stipulations in the Northwest Territories. They refused to leave most of their forts. Not only that, but they were fomenting hatred among the Native Americans for the new rush of settlers that were encroaching on their lands. The British were also arming the Native American tribes of the area.

 The author explains that just like after every war until the Cold War the United States had shrunk its Army to an incredibly small size. Governor Arthur St. Clair was authorized on March 4, 1791, to raise the Second American Infantry regiment. This, along with the First American Infantry Regiment (The U.S. Army at the time) and with some six-month volunteers, only amounted to 4,000 soldiers! This force was to be used to create forts and strike out at the Ohio Indian Confederacy.

 This sets the stage for one of the U.S. worst military defeats with losses more than three times that of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The three Native American chiefs Buckongahelas, Little Turtle, and Blue Jacket are almost forgotten now except for historians. The fame of Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse now far exceeds these earlier warriors. 

 The book goes into the hows and whys of the campaign. It then traces the resulting campaign and the trek through native American land. The battle does not really have a name like Tippecanoe or other battles against the Native Americans. It is called St. Clair's Defeat or the Battle of the Wabash but again it is mostly lost to history.

 The author has given us an excellent book about the era just after the American Revolution in the Ohio River Valley and the Northwest Territory. The book follows St. Clair's expedition day by day and gives all of the bad decisions that were made on many levels to lead to the crushing defeat. Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this deep and well written book. It is a must for anyone who wants to know about early American history or the history of the Native Americans trying to defend their land.

Robert

Book: War Along the Wabash: The Ohio Indian Confederacy's Destruction of the U.S. Army, 1791

Author: Steven P. Locke

Publisher: Casemate Publishers