Scourge of War - When a History Book Becomes the Scenario Briefing

Many war games (both board and digital) are well known for representing battles to a high degree of historical accuracy. Game developers of tactical war games have the additional challenge of simulating battles with the most detail, down to the smallest maneuver formations. For the American Civil War history enthusiast, there are plenty of historical research and off the shelf bibliography narrating battles to an astonishing level of detail.

My recent forays have taken me to the Battle of Antietam. The map shown above is for the initial stages of the engagement at Fox's Gap.

Command Modern Air/Naval Operations Updated to v1.04

Massive patch last week, some fixes and many improvements to this excellent air and naval operations simulation. My favorite new feature: sprint and drift for escort ships.

From my submarine vs convoy scenario, which is still being edited. A NATO convoy consisting of tankers (central column). In the left right and front of the tankers, the escorts. Note how the Descubierta frigate has a station to keep, but it was sprinting forward and just started to stop for a drift that it will be centered in the station. The sprint and drift feature is accessed through the formation editor (right window) and is as simple as checking a box.

Deploying at Sedan - Blood and Iron, A Board Game About The Franco-Prussian War

I've just got some time to take a look at Blood and Iron, a grand tactical board game I've got this weekend at the Gettysburg Miniature Soldiers store.

Blood an Iron includes two battles: Fröschweiler and Sedan. Shown in this entry is the Battle of Sedan.

Battle of the Bulge as a Tactical Reference for Cold War/AirLand Battle Scenarios

AirLand Battle was the 1980's US Army doctrine. Controversial and flawed as it was, I keep trying to revisit it in my Cold War simulations and games like Steel Beasts ProPE, Flashpoint Campaigns, Fulda Gap, North German Plain and Danube Front. It is no secret for the seasoned Cold War gamer that the majority of the routes of advance towards the West would have been a nightmare for the Soviet Pact forces. Relatively narrow corridors between steep hills covered in forests ... Déjà vu?

The semblance of this type of terrain and the force composition of forces have the Battle of the Bulge written all over it. In his monograph/book (available from Amazon or for free if you search it), Major Fontenot takes those comparisons to the next level with his analysis of the performance of the US 7th Armored Division in the fateful WWII battle. His argument is that the expediency of artillery support, the use of patrols and blocking positions all contributed to a fight that looks pretty much like a poster child of AirLand Battle.

Command Ops Battles from the Bulge is my gold standard for all things Bulge and the picture above shows an scenario that features the battle for the 7th AD. This is going to be very interesting.

Cheers,

The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 - #1: Border Patrols and Staff Rides Near Gori

In a previous entry, I mentioned that I will use the board game Russo-Georgian War of 2008 by Bruce Costello to provide a template and keep track of the high level actions in which my usual small AARs are embedded. I've spent some time playing the board game and it is very easy to learn and relatively fast to play, which makes it ideal for this purpose. For the first entry, which is written from the point of view of a Georgian Mi-8 pilot a couple of days before the start of the war, I will fly over one of the likely Russian axis of advance.

A picture of the board game in the Tskhinvali-Gori axis. The South Ossetian-Georgian border is marked with an orange line. During the deployment phase, the Georgian forces are represented by white counters and the South Ossetian forces by white, red and yellow counters. Note that odd Russian (green counter) mechanized battalion. I think these are the infamous Russian "peacekeepers".

Linear Warfare's Odds and Ends, New and Old

In this blog entry, a good oldie that has defied completion status for years and two newborn speeders that break the speed of playability.

HistWar Napoleon Got Patched

With ... New stuff? Whatever. It is hard to keep track of happenings when the developer is so remarkably cryptic, and insists to keep comms in a godforsaken forum. Only thing I know is that HistWar is the Napoleonic grand/tactical (operational sometimes) gold standard.

As for myself, I have been enjoying the game for quite a while now.

Infantry Combat in Built Up Areas - Two things I Learned the Hard Way - ArmA 3

I usually fight alongside AI bots and against AI bots, but still I hope somebody who plays multiplayer will find this entry useful.

Turning the "Time Flank" - An Spoiling Attack in Conquest of the Aegean - AAR Part 2

This is a continuation from a previous blog entry. Just as a reminder, I post again the plan for day 1.

My objective for day one is to delay the enemy force at or near the river crossings. On my left, my most powerful formation is the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment and with this unit I will launch a spoiling attack across the river. My expectation is to disrupt the enemy forces while they prepare to cross the river across the main highway. On my right, an assortment of infantry and support weapons are to assemble a hasty defense at the buildings and forts in Amyntaion.

Situation at 0940, Day 1. See text for details.

The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 - Using Bruce Costello's Board Game as a Template for Computer Simulation Scenarios

If not heavily inspired by real events, my Russo-Georgian War scenarios for Steel Beasts ProPE, ArmA 2, the DCS series of flight simulators and the Command Modern Air/Naval Operations are made up from what I consider plausible. However, any type of continuity in the war events was difficult to track and iterate.

Initial deployment in the South Ossetian-Georgian border.

Insurgency in the North Caucasus District - Preemptive Raid Against An Insurgent Operation South of Nalchik - Briefing - DCS Black Shark

Whenever an insurgency goes quiet and you don't have evidence they have dropped their weapons or completely eliminated, be very careful. They are just shifting their strategy.

It has been one year of peace, no assassinations, no convoy or military bases attacks and most importantly, no violence against civilians. Then, all of the sudden, the insurgents stunned the high command of the Russian 34th Mountain Brigade and the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division with a show of force a few miles south of the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, the city of Nalchik. The insurgents started building defensive positions around Kashhatau, a small town near the Caucasus Mountains. The intelligence the Russians have is that the insurgent force is based around (of all things!) remnants of the Riyadus-Salikhin Battalion of Recon and Sabotage.

This mission is a custom-made scenario edited in DCS Black Shark, played solo and commanding a flight of two Ka-50s.