The Other Eye of Jiān - A Hunter-Killer Scout Platoon in Combat - An ArmA 2 AAR

In Chinese mythology, the Jiān bird has only one eye and one wing. Two such birds become inseparable, as they depend on each other to survive.

This is a story that I found interesting not because of what my virtual troopers and me have achieved, but because of what I have learned.

Breaking the Aerial Phalanx - Debrief - Cliffs of Dover with the Team Fusion Patch

Since I've got my wings, our commanders had made a habit of throwing the Hurricanes against the bombers and the Spitfires against the escorts. When dawn hinted a day of glorious weather, we braced for long hours of hunting enemy fighters.

The ebb and flow of battle is in full swing. We change our tactics almost daily. So does the enemy. Commanders, in their desperation to parry the next jab, try to find the most faint pattern in the enemy's behavior. As of lately, the German escorts are showing a tendency to stick to their bombers.

Historicon 2013 - Pictures

What a fantastic convention! It is the first time I attend to a convention themed around a hobby (I have attended more scientific meetings that I want to acknowledge ...) and boy, this one was fun.

I drove down to Frederiscksburg, VA (USA) for a one-day visit. This convention is for miniatures gaming, something I have never covered in the blog before. So this is not any sort of "coverage" of the convention. It's just a few pictures I took and that I want to share.

War Machines During Peacetime - DMO's Sikorsky S-92 for X-Plane 10

A couple of weeks back I received an updated Sikorsky S-92 (DMO Flight Designs' addon for X-Plane 10).

I don't know if it is because I have logged so many helicopter hours with the DCS Huey, but the Sikorsky feels very stable now and I am now able to fly it like I stole it. This a pictorial record of a short mission (maybe 20 minutes of total flight time) with a Canadian CH-148 Cyclone (included in DMO's addon).

An Apparent Tactical Dilemma - Combat Mission Fortress Italy - Gustav Line

This little devil of an scenario is as small as tough. It's a tiny scenario of the stock Gustav Line module called something like "Kiwi Soldiers" or so.

Spoilers ahead!

Mortar Section Supporting a US Cavalry Troop - Steel Beasts ProPE - Briefing

Thanks to the magic of desktop simulation, it is possible to experience or just try out stuff your read in your military books. This weekend, after going half way through Warrior's Rage by Douglas McGregor, I wanted to go to the desert and command a US Cavalry troop. 

The particular topic that interested me is the use of a mortar section (two tubes mounted in M113 vehicles) in support of the troop. In page 26 of the printed version of Warrior's Rage, there is a mention of the use of this mortars to mark the enemy's position for the other platoons and to suppress the enemy while the troop maneuvers into a firing position.

Modern Air Power for Android, Kindle and iPad - John Tiller Software Goes App

This free app has been around for a while (maybe three weeks or so?). It's the Modern Air Power engine ported to the mobile format.

I've played this in my Android tablet and it was just great to use the fingers to move flights around.

Small Unit Tactics - The SMARTbook Series

If you play ArmA and have a collection of field manuals regarding tactics, this book from The Lightning Press  may interest you.

I bought it in digital form, but hard copies are also available. This publisher has many books covering all the way up to operations. The great thing about this book is that I now have all the stuff concerning small units tactics from many field manuals condensed and consolidated in just one publication.

HistWar Les Grognards - New Patch V03.x is Out

HistWar Les Grognards is an impressive 3D tactical war game about the battles of Napoleon. It is almost a single man's show and it has been improving enormously during the last two years.

A Guards Regiment on its way to an old redoubt. They are marching in a column formation and they are the spearhead of  the entire VI Corps during the battle of Grand Champ.

A feature that was introduced in the recent patches is option to show every single man in a regiment. It is quite a sight to see tens of thousands of men engaged in combat. Some screenshots of a recent battle inside.

Command Ops: Battles for Greece - Review

Command Ops: Battles for Greece, by Panther Games

Published by Slitherine/Matrix Games

Boxed Edition: U$39.99 (includes immediate download)

Download Edition: U$29.99

This is an expansion pack that requires ownership of Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge.

The war was young and the Germans were seemingly unstoppable. The inopportune and unsuccessful offensive of Il Duce Benito Mussolini against Greece has prompted a British intervention. From a reluctant and lukewarm response first, the British ended up deploying some 60,000 troops on Greek soil. The "W Force" (6th Australian Division, the New Zealand 2nd Division and the British 1st Armoured Brigade) proved too small to stop the Axis forces, despite a mountainous terrain that favored the defender. The German Twelfth Army advanced through Greece not without difficulty, but in less than a month from the H-hour the entire country was under the Axis boot. One gets the impression that from the grand tactical point of view, maybe this campaign was just a delaying action of gigantic proportions for the Allies. For the Axis, in particular the Germans, this operation must have looked like a déjà vu on steroids that made the recent crossing of the Ardennes look like a cake walk.