08/29/13

Allied Corps AAR – Part 2

When we left off my intrepid heroes were had finished Turn 3 and were heading toward a 50 mm PaK, A Wurfrahmen, an SdKfz 234/2, and two units of Pioneer infantry. Because several of my units were open topped I was giving that Wurfrahmen a healthy distance. But at some point it would need to be addressed.

The German AI, on the other hand, had the opportunity to take some shots at my advancing force, but mysteriously held its ground and did nothing.

 

Allied Turn 4

I’m more shocked by the lack of initiative by the German Pioneer and Wurfrahmen. They just sit there. That seems crazy. I decide to focus on the Wurfrahmen first. My P-51 makes a pass and does some damage.

Allied Corps AAR-027

Now I have some choices. Along my line of advance there is a river, the Nederrijn to my south. The way the Panzer Corps engine works friendly units cannot move if adjacent to an enemy unit. So no matter how weak that 50mm PaK is, I won’t be able to squeak past it. I have to destroy it. The Chaffee fires but does no damage while taking a beating itself. The P-47 does a little more damage and then I pull it back to base for refueling. The Wellington, now refueled moves up and eliminates the PaK. That’s good news. Now I can advance. I pull the Chaffee back and move the Airborne up to take the airbase that the PaK had occupied. Their chances of taking on the Pioneers don’t look good so I just let them hang. We’ll figure out what to do with the Pioneers shortly. Continue reading →

08/28/13

Book Review: Africa’s Commandos

Brant Guillory, 28 August 2013

A new collection of memoirs and first-hand accounts of the actions throughout the distinguished history of the Rhodesian Light Infantry makes for a compelling read and memorable look into the first-hand accounts of Africa’s bush wars of the 60s and 70s.

We took off en masse, ten G-Cars carrying the 2Cdo troops; ten K-Cars; two
command helicopters and ten G-Cars carrying the Support Commando troops detailed
to man the forward admin base and ferry in fuel and supplies to the target
area.

The flight provided us with some impressive and memorable visuals.
All 32 helicopters were flying in single file through the majestic Penhalonga
Mountains, some of the most magnificent terrain in the world. The troops gazed
in awe at the spectacle as they leaned out of the Alouettes and looked around.

Two or three Canberras thundered low over us en route to their targets.
For a few minutes there was the amazing sight of the command helicopters and the
ten K-Cars peeling off in front of us to position over their allocated targets;
the six paradaks dropping the 3Cdo and the SAS paratroopers; and the Hunters
diving in on their targets. The air was thick with dust and smoke and the
streaks of SNEB rocket trails.

And the tales of Op Dingo – the Rhodesian raid on an ZANLA camp inside Mozambique – put the reader front and center in the battle.  These are not analyses of secondary sources with discussions of geo-political implications.  These are the memories of the men on the ground, at the sharp end of the spear, pulling triggers and “culling floppies.”  This isn’t the news conference soundbite; this is the scene in Blackhawk Down when the choppers are taking off and the trucks are rolling out and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s cover of Voodoo Chile is providing the soundtrack.

As you read the book and pore over the memoirs, however, you realize that although the raid on Chimoio was an abberation in its size and distance from the RLI’s bases inside Rhodesia, the action wasn’t.  These men were a battle-hardened brotherhood who had chased “terrs” (slang for “terrorists”, the ZANLA and ZIPRA guerilla forces) across their entire country, protecting the population from invaders whose semi-safe bases outside of Rhodesia’s borders gave them a geographic and demographic edge.  The RLI didn’t care.  They found a way to succeed in every battle they faced, and along the way became perhaps the most successful counter-guerilla force in history.
Continue reading →

08/27/13

Tuesday Screenshot – Divinity: Dragon Commander

2013-08-13_00010

 

 

A half-dragon’s work is never done.

Trying to save my father’s kingdom from the greed and ineptitude of my step-siblings has proven quite the task. Here I’m slugging it out with one of them on an island filled with valuable…stuff. Every territory I conquer brings me one step closer to crushing the insurgency and unifying the kingdom. Here my airships close in on the enemy’s forces. My ground troops follow behind as we prepare to punish them for aligning with the wrong side. Soon it will be done.

Game: Divinity: Dragon Commander

08/24/13

Space Hulk – PC Game Review

Bless your armor and consecrate your weapons as Grogheads boards the Sin of Damnation with Veteran Space Marine Craig Handler leading the charge.  Find out if Space Hulk, the latest PC game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, is worthy of the Emperor’s praise.

Developer & Publisher: Full Control Games

First, A Shameless Disclaimer:

For purposes of full disclosure, my love affair with all things Warhammer 40K began in the latter half of the 1980s, when I stumbled upon the first edition of Rogue Trader and a box of plastic Crimson Fist Space Marines at my local hobby shop.  Since that day, there has been no turning back.

For the next decade, I was an avid player of the table top game.  I fielded large armies of loyal Space Marines, Imperial Guard, and at one time, I even dabbled with the Eldar.  Although I no longer play the game on a table top with minis, I am still hopelessly obsessed with the universe, reading as much of the fiction as I possibly can, and pre-purchasing any game released electronically on PC or console.

Despite the above, somehow, I still managed to avoid buying or playing Space Hulk, the board game. I knew of its existence, but I suppose I preferred the wide open table-top battlefield to the confined corridor style maps encountered in a game of Space Hulk.

So, while I am admittedly biased towards loving everything Warhammer 40,000, I am a relative neophyte to the world of Space Hulk.  This, combined with my faith in the Emperor, I hope will permit me to approach this review with the love of a dedicated fan, but with the objectivity of a newcomer. Continue reading →

08/23/13

Book Review: House to House

“A riveting and sober account of war in all its horror and glory.”

Authors: SSG David Bellavia with John R. Bruning

Publisher: Pocket Star (Kindle eBook Edition Reviewed)

Reviewing Author: Jim Zabek

housetohousebigMany of the memoirs written by contemporary veterans have a predictable structure. This is especially true of the writings of elite troops such as Navy SEALs. They often open with a discussion of how difficult their training was. I believe many these accounts spend so much time focused on training not only because it is difficult and dramatic, but also because many of the operations the authors undertook aren’t declassified. It’s difficult to write a memoir about operations that aren’t supposed to have taken place.

SSG Bellavia’s book is different. He was a regular infantryman in the US Army. He allots most of his time not in avoiding his combat experiences, but rather in bringing them to the reader’s attention. In the Author’s Note he clarifies that some events have been slightly altered, either due to timing so that events can be better understood in context, or reconstructed as best he could when he wasn’t there to directly witness the action himself. The result is a riveting and sober account of war in all its horror and glory.
Continue reading →