Revolution Under Siege - Review - The Birth of Deep Battle During the Post-Bolshevik Revolution Years

A couple of readers have asked me to resurface some old reviews I have written in the past. This one was originally posted back in December 2010.

During the chaos of post-World War I, the young Bolshevik revolution had the fight of its life. Against the White Army, against the Polish Empire, against Western Allies expeditionary forces and against Japan. This conflict, where almost everybody ganged up against the Bolsheviks is loosely consolidated in the pages of history as the Russian Civil War.

Combat Mission Black Sea - The Drone, The Drone!

This is a repost from an old blog entry. My first time using a drone in Combat Mission.

Quite a challenging scenario. Following SOP, my troopers stay away from the main road and dismount in search of enemies. The need for eyes in the air was very evident.

This is from one of the canned scenarios that shipped with Combat Mission. Potential spoilers ahead.

Tank Warfare Tunisia 1943 - Retaliation is Better Served with a Side of Heavy Armor

I wouldn't dare to call this a counter-attack, it is rather an attack that came two hours late! 

This is a continuation of the actions reported in this blog post.

Nobody Does Microterrain Like Arma 3 - AH-64D Apache Longbow, an Arma 3 Mod

Upset by my inability to run Jane's Apache Longbow, I drifted and landed on the helipad of this great mod for Arma 3.

Graviteam Mius Front Now Includes the Panzerkampfwagen T-60 743(r)

In the latest patch, Graviteam has introduced the Panzerkampfwagen T-60 743(r), which is the Soviet T-60 light tank converted for German service. 

Rotary Wing Pixels in Kazakhstan - Hind (Digital Integration 1996)

The minute I felt compelled to start the training missions, I knew this seminal combat helicopter simulator would grab me and don't let me go. So here I am flying like it is 1996. And having a blast, nonetheless ...

Combat Mission Black Sea - Pedro Navaja Got Reactive Armor

In the immortal Ruben Blades' salsa song "Pedro Navaja", a pimp stabs a woman of the street without noticing that she is carrying a Smith & Weason revolver. Both end up dead, Pedro shot and the woman stabbed. A similar quick end by simultaneous blows almost happened to my Russian T-90. Fortunately, there was reactive armor ...

Busting the Bocage, The Final Push - Steel Beasts ProPE

I do have a YouTube channel and I occasionally post a video. A month ago or so I posted a video about an action from the Soviet side. This was in hedge country and I was in charge of the advance guard of a battalion tasked with securing OBJ Troika. A US Cavalry force with at least one M1A2 platoon was sitting on top of the objective. I could take care of two tanks, but the rest of the mission will need help from the battalion. In this video I'm presenting the rest of the action, played from a save game that matches exactly where I left.

Scheldt '44 - Less Playability Can Lead to a Shortage of Realism

In the year 1876 General Jules von Verdy laid the foundations of the so-called "free Kriegsspiel" in which the complicated rules and book keeping of the "rigid Kriegsspiel" were replaced to a great extent by an umpire that would use his own criteria to decide the outcomes across the board. This pivotal shift in the implementation of wargames is meticulously documented in Peter Perla's The Art of Wargaming. 

Combat Mission Black Sea - I'd Would Have Preferred my Engineers Not to Explode

The business of maneuvering armor in tight spaces is a dangerous one. In this scenario, I'm fighting as the Russians, trying to clear up a road for a further reconnaissance mission. The road had only one bend, yet the route was tactically tortuous. The first stop of the tactical route: clearing mines.