Somme 1918

With Russia out of the war, Germany’s Oberste Heeresleitung  OHL saw the chance for a last destruction blow on the crumbling Western Allies before the new American divisions  could make a numerical impact. Operation Michael was the code name of this last major German offensive. It was aimed at the joint of the British Expeditionary Forces and the French in order to seperate them from each other. The preliminary objectives were Arras and Amiens to be taken as a requirement to push the BEF into the sea.

Galicia: The Forgotten Couldron

Entering the twenties of our 21st century the Great War is long ago and nearly forgotten. But our contemporary conflicts are more often then not a consequence of the results of this war. Many issues between nations remain unsolved. In the wake of the downfall of old empires national borders prove to having been drawn arbitrarily and thus get contested, especially in eastern Europe, the western Mediterranian,  and in the middle East.  Therefore to deal with the campaigns of the Great War in reading and wargaming to me means also learning about the basics of todays international relations.

Wargamers can never have too many dice

In wargaming I love to use dice that somehow support the theme set by a specific game. Also I prefer to use dice that are not alone functional but good looking too. Thus having played Warfighter a lot lately and having just received Warfighter Shadow War I wanted to replace the dice included in the game with more attractive ones.

Observation Post North

Sitrep: Puzeh-E Yshan, Baghlan Province, Afganistan, Mai 2010: A squad from Gebirgsjägerbataillon 231 “Reichenhall” is to move to a compound at the near town and to support the extraction of hostages in an ongoing rescue mission. 

Our player character is Hauptfeldwebel Altman, a member of the Kommando Spezialkräfte and  veteran of several tours of duty in Jugoslavia and Afganistan. On this mission he is attached to  the patrol as a special forces combat corpsman.

Old Wargaming Magazines

Since the Corona SARS-CoV-2 induced lockdown I had it on my mind to go through my old stuff boxed away in the cellar and in the garage. Several boxes with old books, old magazines, and old paints await a selection process – a veritable triage – of staying or beeing removed for good. Today is the first day that I have the spare time to take a look into these boxes.

SHOW OF FORCE [AP94]

In March 1943 Army Group South’s operations led to the Third Battle of Kharkov. This scenario takes us to the town of  Graiworon some 40 km northwest of Kharkov during a German attack on 12 March 1943. The forces involved are elements of Soviet 305th Rifle Division and 3rd Tank Corps opposing the advance of armoured elements of the Großdeutschland Division. 

     

Oliver commanded the Germans and I had the task to come up with an defensive operational plan for my small Soviet force.

NLG Ligny Mini Campaign 1815

Having played the new Last Eagles: Ligny 1815 I wanted to compare how the battle plays with Napoleon’s Last Gamble my first game from the The Library of Napoleonic Battles series. The game has been dwelling in my shelf for some time and now its about time to give it a go.

As for rules I am quite comfortable with the OSG Version 7.33 rules by Kevin Zucker. But I wanted to find out how the alternative Last Battles of Napoleon by Markus Stumptner work. So I use the structure of the original rules with the movement rates, the command rules, the combat, and the morale blended in.

The Battle that saved Washington

Today Sven and I went for the smaller version of the Battle of Monocacy respectively scenario 4 in MMP’s TO TAKE WASHINGTON ~ Jubal Early’s Summer 1864 Campaign.  I played the Confederates and he took the Union defenders. Our main aim was to get into the rules and see how we would like the game. And off course to have a pleasant day with a friendly game.

Last Eagles: Ligny 1815 II

As I mentioned I want to see the counters on this beautiful map of the Ligny battlefield. So there it is in its full splendor. The red cubes show the 7 Objective Flags each worth 10 VP at the end of each turn. Losses and the exits to the lines of communication of each army are taken into account via VP as well.  Killed and captured leaders count too, and should Napoleon get himself killed, well this war wouldn’t be Napoleonic any longer no matter how the outcome of this battle might otherwise be.

Last Eagles: Ligny 1815

Probabely every wargamers has a spell of time of being fascinated by the Napoleonic period. The colourful uniforms, the wide spanning strategy, the epic battles, the cultural and legal effects on Europe all make for a very intersting historical study.  I am no exception of this. I have painted miniatures, taken part in several smaller and larger Napoleonic wargames. The more memorable ones were two occasions of large teams playing the battles of Katzbach and Quatre Bras. I recollect having attended to an one week Napoleonic Spanish team campaign in a lodge in England.