Category: AARs

12/10/16

Order of Battle Pacific: US Marines – AAR, Scenario 7 Part 1

After a hiatus for TANKSgiving, Airboy resumes the fight across the Pacific  ~

Avery Abernethy, 8 December 2016

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Scenario 7 – Marshall Islands

Part 1: Kwajalein and Roi-Namur Islands:

The Marshall Islands scenario is different from previous scenarios. First Kwajalein and Roi-Namur are invaded. A secondary victory condition is earned if both islands are controlled within twenty turns. Then you redeploy to invade Eniwetok and Parry islands. The second invasion has the airfields captured on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur. The second difference is firepower from the US Navy is available throughout the scenario.

Victory Conditions for the Marshall Islands
Victory Conditions for the Marshall Islands

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11/26/16

TANKSgiving! – Kursk: The Biggest Tank Battle

tanksgivingheaderRefighting Kursk, on-the-go! ~

Michael Eckenfels, 26 November 2016

The Conflict-Series of games on the Android device are great little hex- and turn-based wargames that cover a wide variety of battles from World War II. The developer of these games, Joni Nuutinen, is a solo programmer that creates these games in his free time, and he heavily supports them as well by constantly updating them and listing detailed reports of what he’s done to improve his games.

At 3.99 USD per game, they’re inexpensive and terrific time wasters. To date, I own 19 of them (yes, nineteen), which I’ve purchased here and there over a year and a half or so. As you can tell, I’m fairly addicted to them, and even went so far as to ask Joni several questions and create a Q&A article, which I am currently working on.

Check out his “Conflict-Series” in the Google Play store if you’re interested.

In the spirit of TANKSgiving, I decided to take a deep dive into the Conflict-Series title, Kursk: The Biggest Tank Battle. Can I lead the Germans to victory where they failed historically? Or will I get the German armies shredded even worse?

This game isn’t easy, but admittedly, I’ve played through it more than a few times. I’ve won only one time out of multiple attempts; the Soviets are damned difficult to defeat, especially as they have a lot of tank reserves. Since I control the German forces (and there’s no option to play the Soviet side; in every Conflict-Series game, you play one side only, though Joni has developed more than a few titles that look at a battle from both sides), I have several tough Panzer divisions at my disposal, but not nearly as many as I’d like.

You can find a plethora of information on the Battle of Kursk online, or in hundreds of books available out there. If you’re reading this site, chances are you’re already passingly familiar with the battle and what happened.

overviewmap

(This map was found at EmersonKent.com, which credits the United States Military Academy Department of History.)

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11/13/16

Order of Battle Pacific: US Marines – AAR, Scenario 6 Part 2

Airboy’s Pacific campaign continues in the latest AAR episode ~

Avery Abernethy, 13 November 2016

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Scenario 6 – Gilbert Islands (continued)

After seeing my 2nd wave at Tarawa stopped on the beach I moved my 2nd wave far to the East on Makin for several turns. Hopefully the Japanese defenders were flanked.

Tarawa Turn 8
Tarawa Turn 8

 

Tarawa 2nd Wave Barely Off the Beach
Tarawa 2nd Wave Barely Off the Beach

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11/12/16

Order of Battle Pacific: US Marines – AAR, Scenario 6 Part 1

Airboy’s Pacific campaign continues in the latest AAR episode ~

Avery Abernethy, 12 November 2016

click images to enlarge

Scenario 6 – Gilbert Islands

Tarawa is surrounded by landing zones. It was tempting to use four or more landing zones to chop up the Japanese defenders. I (mostly) resisted temptation. Thus far the Japanese have limited armor and no mechanized units. This limits their mobility. The one time I did not concentrate my forces got my Marines chopped up.

Tawara Landing Zones
Tawara Landing Zones

My strategy is landing on one end of Tarawa and sweeping to the other end of the island. This provides two advantages. My forces are concentrated and heavy artillery can be landed on a secured beach. Long range fire from my 155s has been devastating. There are three landing zones, but they are clustered together. Landing zone one is a risk because it is slightly isolated from landing zone two and three. But if landing zone one is successful it should destroy the Japanese HQ and diminish the effectiveness of Tarawa’s defenders.

 

Tarawa Landing Zones
Tarawa Landing Zones

 

I must knock out five bunkers on the larger island of Makin. But the bunker locations are unknown. Because Tarawa has air strips I committed a larger force there.

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11/5/16

Modern-Day Napoleonic Battles & Travels, Part the Second

Cyrano’s next entry to the travelogue ~

Jim Owczarski, 05 November 2016

One of the great joys of travel is discovering something you never thought to find.  This is particularly true for me if it’s something that runs the risk of being lost to time or cultural preference.  A good example is the small memorial sign atop the Stare Vinohrady (Old Vineyard) at Austerlitz.  For all the effort that went into making the battlefield ready for the 200th anniversary back in 2005, it seems no one bothered to put up something more permanent than a simple metal sign, painted white-on-blue, and mounted on two stakes at the site of one of the greatest cavalry charges in history.

Admittedly, depending on how one gets up there, the route to the top of the Stare Vinohrady can be quite the hike and, based on the fair number of beer bottles and cigarette butts in evidence, it seems a popular location for late night fire pits and drink-a-thons.  Still, not long after I laid eyes on the sign — and worked my way through a rough translation of its Czech inscription — I was determined at least to leave it standing and its restoration, however brief, is something I will always remember.

There, better!
There, better!

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