“As a consequence, carrier battles were risky, unstable affairs that hinged on striking effectively first. To do so, a carrier force had to locate its adversary before it was detected itself, or not long after.” – Robert C. Rubel, Deconstructing Nimitz’s Principle of Calculated Risk This is an expansion to my ruleset There's The Effing Scheer, which allows...
“Ship unmanoeuvrable. We shall fight to the last shell.” – Vice-Admiral Günther Lütjens This is a scenario for my ruleset There's The Effing Scheer, and its expansion Striking Effectively First, which allows you to wargame early- to mid-war WW2 naval combat. I really enjoyed researching, writing and playtesting this scenario. And it is a very challenging...
“The most dangerous moment of the war, and the one which caused me the greatest alarm, was when the Japanese fleet was heading for Ceylon and the naval base there. The capture of Ceylon, the consequent control of the Indian Ocean, and the possibility at the same time of a German conquest of Egypt would have closed the ring and the future would have been...
“In a dive-bombing attack, it’s not just a case of getting one plane or ten or even fifteen. You’ve got to get them all, you can’t afford to get hit.” – Lieutenant Commander Elias B. Mott, Gunnery Officer for USS Enterprise This is a scenario for my ruleset There's The Effing Scheer, and its expansion Striking Effectively First, which allows you to wargame...
On the eve of the critical battle of Santa Cruz, in which the Japanese ships outnumbered ours more than two to one, I sent my task force commanders this dispatch: ATTACK REPEAT ATTACK. – Admiral William Halsey This is a scenario for my ruleset There's The Effing Scheer, and its expansion Striking Effectively First, which allows you to wargame early- to...
"When the American Civil War began both sides were expecting the issue to be settled quickly, by one decisive battle. The Union was enlisting men for just three months! The first battle took place around Bull Run river (the battle is also known as First Manassas)." "The battle was a chaotic affair. Neither army had been properly trained, and the...
Commonly known as the Stand of the 300, Thermopylae was an amazing battle. The Persian Empire troops, led by Xerxes I, faced 300 Greek forces, led by the Spartans, led by Leonidas. Are you able to hold off the Persians? Are you able to defeat them before the flanking forces attack from the surrounding hills? Stand and become the object of legends!...
In Thermopylae: Last Stand, you step into the sandals of King Leonidas, commanding his 300 Spartan hoplites and their Greek allies in a desperate stand at the narrow pass of Thermopylae. The Persian army under Xerxes vastly outnumbers you, and each turn brings relentless pressure: infantry charges, volleys of arrows, and the dreaded Immortals. Your...
There might not have been a “sun of Austerlitz.” It was a bit after four that afternoon. The Russians had moved a column behind Gazan into Durenstein. His men, though victorious up to this point, were exhausted and nearly out of ammunition, with no relief in sight. Brigadier Jean Graindorge begged Marshal Mortier to escape the encirclement by boat to avoid...
These Fields of Blood is a rule set for playing wargames of the American Civil War. The game is designed to play with forces from Brigade to Divisional level, and has the flexibility to play higher and lower level games. The game uses a unique 'game engine' intended to move players away from tradional 'I-GO-U-GO' systems, and the slow randomness of...
The famous battle at Hoovers Gap started a legend for Wilder's Brigade. Like all legends it was subject to many stretches of the truth. Uncovering the story has taken some time, reading battle accounts, sorting through many inconsistencies. As with all battles there is much confusion, soldiers recall their perspective which may be clouded by many factors....