Fantastic Video of the Weald Foundation operational Jagdpanther, presented by Hilary Doyle (renown German Armour Expert) with some absolutely fascinating and obscure facts included. A must watch if you are a WW2 Tank fan. Continue reading “Jagdpanther with Hilary Doyle”
Tag: World War 2
Christchurch Wargaming Club Refights D-Day Battles
The Christchurch Wargaming Club are remembering the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Normandy (6 June 1944) by refighting key battles and actions from the campaign. Read more at Stuff’s Displays and refights will mark D-Day anniversary.
Continue reading “Christchurch Wargaming Club Refights D-Day Battles”Engle Matrix Games
I’ve recently been introduced to Engle Matrix Games (well perhaps re-introduced as I had read about them briefly in an issue of the SOTCW Journal sometime ago) by Steve Thomas. This came about in a discussion around how to play a Crossfire campaign where the majority of players are in different countries. The idea is to find a system that is rule set agnostic, is ‘story’ driven, and is not constrained by technical details – in many ways in keeping with Crossfire’s own philosophy (although Engle Matrix games are quite suitable for any period and use with any miniatures rule set – heck you don’t even need miniatures or a set of rules to resolve the battles). “Engle Matrix Games are a simple low-tech game engine that allows players to do an amazing number of things” as one gamer has described (in a MS Word Doc). Continue reading “Engle Matrix Games”
Polish Army Video 1939
Here’s a fantastic video of the Polish Army’s equipment (taken sometime pre-September 1939) showing lots of great shots of things like Bofors 37mm AT & 40mm AA Guns, both types of tanks (the Vickers and the 7TP), Armoured Cars, Infantry & HMG teams, various motorcycles, trucks, half-tracks and fully-tracked tractors (e.g. C2P / C4P / C7P), Skoda 220mm Heavy Howitzers and an Armoured Train! Continue reading “Polish Army Video 1939”
Operation Crossfire: World Event Aftermath
As mentioned in my “Operation Crossfire: A World Wargaming Event” post, following on from the hugely successful “World Crossfire Day” event in 2009, Nikolas Lloyd organised Operation Crossfire in 2014; another global Crossfire event. You can read the details of some of the individual battles in my Operation Crossfire: The Battle Reports post. These previous posts feature the introductory briefing video and after action reports of some of the battle sectors, so now find out exactly what happened in the grand operation directly from the organiser himself… Continue reading “Operation Crossfire: World Event Aftermath”
Operation Crossfire: The Battle Reports
As described in my Operation Crossfire: A World Wargaming Event post Nikolas Lloyd had organised to stage a global Crossfire game that featured players in many countries all playing Crossfire games simultaneously, and games that were connected to each other and controlled (if that’s the right word) by an overall C-in-C who did not have direct visibility or access to any of the games other than via email! Continue reading “Operation Crossfire: The Battle Reports”
Operation Crossfire: A World Wargaming Event
Following on from the hugely successful “World Crossfire Day” event in 2009 is Operation Crossfire, another global Crossfire event staged in 2014. Originally mooted in July 2010 (see my Operation Crossfire: 11 September 2010 post) it was unfortunately postponed, but finally took place 4 years later. “Operation Crossfire” may well have been another world first as it was a wargame played on many tables around the world simultaneously, with two overall commanders basing their decisions on the e-mails sent to them during the game from the individual players and the the overall referee. View this introductory video by Nikolas Lloyd, covering the concept of the event and how it was planned and structured. This video served as the promotional advertisement for the event… Continue reading “Operation Crossfire: A World Wargaming Event”
The Impact of Terrain in North Africa 1940-43
From Tobruk to Tunis: The Impact of Terrain on British operations and Doctrine in North Africa, 1940-43 is a new book by Neal Dando, published just recently by Helion & Co. The author/publisher states “This book focuses on the extent to which the physical terrain features across Egypt, Libya and Tunisia affected British operations throughout the campaign in North Africa during the Second World War. One main theme of the work analyses the terrain from the operational and tactical perspective and argues that the landscape features heavily influenced British operations and should now be considered alongside other standard military factors.“
Continue reading “The Impact of Terrain in North Africa 1940-43”
Steven Zaloga Says Fury OK
Stumbled across an interview with Steven Zaloga (c/- Mad Padre Wargames Blog) and it’s discussion around the movie “Fury” and the performance of the Sherman (and Allied Armour in general) in North-West Europe 1944-1945. Zaloga criticises some of the accepted truisms on tank warfare in NW Europe (namely about the Sherman’s vulnerability and the claimed 5 to 1 ratio of how many Allied tanks it took to destroy one German tank) – he also cites a disproportionate reliance on British authors describing their experiences of Normandy, which obviously is not representative of the campaign as a whole (in Normandy Montgomery used his armour as a battering ram to (a) keep infantry casualties down, and (b) ensure German armour and other resources were continually drawn to the northern sector in preparation for the breakout in the centre & south). Continue reading “Steven Zaloga Says Fury OK”
Wargame Holidays 2014
Wargame Holidays have announced their 2014 Schedule. They include World War 2 (20mm Normandy 1944 and Crete 1941); Anglo-Zulu War (Isandlwana in 15mm and Rorke’s Drift in 28mm); Black Powder in 28mm (American Civil War, Indian Mutiny, and French & Indian Wars); Pirate ship to ship action (in 28mm); and new in 2014: