Forgotten Bloodbath in “Haunted” Hürtgen Forest 1944
Recommendations: 1904
About the Project
Lately, I've been running war games every weekend with members of the community via web conference. Players log on and play wargames with each other in real time, regardless of location, and we usually have at least a couple spectators as well. Many times it’s been Darkstar, but we’re also running wargames in Panzer Leader, Arab-Israeli Wars, and now Valor & Victory.
BoW/OTT community members @brucelea, @damon, @davehawes, and @rasmus have taken the plunge, leading battalions across thousands of meters of desert, starfleets in pitched battles across the heavens, or vicious firefights in the jungles of Vietnam, all without leaving the comfort of their home.
Hard-core, old-school command-tactical wargames can now be run (complete with spectators and recordings) in real time, with BOTH PLAYERS moving pieces across THE SAME virtual game board, thus maintaining player agency, speedy and instant results (no play by e-mail), interwoven turn sequences, any questions / feedback instantly received and addressed, and with the game being virtually recorded as it goes, a ready-made battle report can actually be created as we go.
All of this without the players having to install any new software on their computer, on any platform (PC or Mac). All that's needed is to agree on a time, a handful of dice, and a bellyful of courage!
Every weekend can now be a boot camp! All without costing me thousands of dollars in airfare, too!
Related Game: PanzerBlitz
Related Genre: Historical
This Project is Active
Game Video - Rasmus v Oriskany at the Hürtgen Forest - late 1944 - Valor & Victory
Good afternoon, everyone ~ We had a great stream today on Seitrep Podcast, where rasmus and I had a bloody skirmish with German and American infantry, panzerschreks, bazookas, 88s, and Shermans. The setting was the Hürtgen Forest, an eerie and hotly-contested forest along the German border in October-December 1944.
Check it out and see if the game turns out as desperate as the historical battle!
Forgotten Bloodbath in "Haunted" Hürtgen Forest - Autumn 1944
Hello, everyone –
Join us for a live stream tomorrow at 2PM EST (7PM UK) as we take Valor & Victory into the Hürtgen Forest, a forgotten bloodbath fought along the German border from October-December 1944.
Infantry elements of German 116th Panzer Division and 28th US Infantry Division will tangle in this eerie, fog-bound, frigid “haunted forest” – just a small part of a brutal battle that would go down as probably Germany’s last operational victory of World War II.
Live Stream from Sitrep Podcast: Historical Pirate Battle
Today we’ll be streaming our first crack at a historical pirate encounter, a game of Letters of Marque crafted to approximate an encounter that took place at the Bay of Hounds off the northwest coast of Cuba on 4 April, 1716.
A small flotilla of brigantines and sloops under the flag of Henry Jennings came across two pirate sailing canoes led by future pirate luminaries Samuel Bellamy and Paulsgrave Williams. They were looting a ship that thought Jennings was coming to save them. They were wrong. With his far more powerful ships, Jennings simply took pirate and prey alike without a shot fired.
While Jennings was deciding whether to cut Bellamy and Williams in on the plunder or simply kill them, a large French merchantman was discovered. Some of Jenning’s captains didn’t want to attack, as their privateering commission allowed them to attack only Spanish ships. Seeing their chance, Bellamy and Williams supported Jenning’s decision to attack, and together they went after the French merchantman Saint Marie. Meanwhile, a second French ship (either the Mary of Rochelle or Amiable Marie, records seem unclear) was also spotted, and some of Jenning’s ships gave chase to that ship as well.
Characters in this drama will also include a young Charles Vane (a crewman aboard one of Jenning’s ships) and Benjamin Hornigold, a figure who will play prominently in the upcoming “Pirate Republic” of New Providence.
Join us today at 2PM East US (7PM UK time) for a live stream where we see if our pirates can match or exceed Jenning’s plunder that bloody day.
Here is the map for today's live game! PzKpfw VI "Tiger I" Build Video - 15mm Plastic Soldier Company
Hello, everyone
– In this Sitrep video, “Oriskany” Jim takes his first faltering try at a “hobby build” video. The luckless subject of this macabre experiment is the 15mm PzKpfw VI “Tiger I” by Plastic Soldier Company.
We go through the steps of building this great kit, point out a few tricky parts that hobbyists should look out for, make a few mistakes (cough, cough), and review some of the options this kit gives the historical wargamer.
At Long Last - Benghazi Transit Game Will Run "For Keeps"
Today (Saturday, September 26) at 1:30 East US / 6:30 UK time the Thirteen Days to Thirteen Hours Project finally comes into the home stretch.
On the night of 11-12 September 2012, the US Ambassador’s Compound in Benghazi, Libya came under attack by Libyan insurgents, despite being under the protection of “friendly” local Libyan militia of the “February 17 Brigade.”
About a mile away, six ex-military, private military contractors of GRS saw the attack begin from their positions at the CIA Annex building. They were not allowed to go assist the ambassador’s compound for 35 crucial minutes, by which time fires in the ambassador’s compound had already caused the passing of the US ambassador.
Today we will run the “transit game,” where we will imagine what might have been if the GRS operators were allowed to leave right away. They’ll face much more deadly opposition from a hostile Libyan militia still engaged in a full attack on the ambassador’s compound, but just might reach the compound in time to make a crucial difference.
The end conditions of our “transit game” will impact the setup conditions for a 28mm miniatures game (yes, our Sitrep Team has built a 28mm table recreating the Benghazi embassy compound) to be run next weekend. Stay tuned for that!
But to see how many of our GRS operators make it to compound, and how fast they get there … or if they make it at all … check out tomorrow’s LIVE STREAM between myself, Gaz, and Bill!
We hope to see some of you there!
Panzer Leader in the Western Desert - Wadi el Feregh
Good afternoon, everyone ~
In this video, @Yavasa and @Oriskany talk about their recent game of Panzer Leader. This time they’re in the Western Desert, with British and Germans in the Cyrenaican foothills of Libya in early 1942 – where they’ve recreated an interesting little “in-between” engagement during the maneuvers between Operation Crusader and the Battle of Gazala.
In summary, a British column of 2nd Brigade / 1st Armoured Division is trying to withdraw eastward through Wadi el Feregh when they are cut off from the north by lead elements of the 15th Panzer Division (33 Panzer Recon, 33 Antitank, 115 Infantry Regiment, 8 Panzer Regiment).
Replay of Sunday's Stream
Well, we had a rough ride on Sunday to say the least. But after a few attempts we were finally able to put out a usable steam which is now hosted on our YouTube Channel. Hope you enjoy – and for those who came by, apologies for the technical issues.
Live Stream Sunday 7PM UK / 2PM ET - Letters of Marque
I’m re-awakening this thread to track and announce tabletop games run over the web for members of our community.
In our continuing effort to get more pirate-themed content out to everyone, we’re hosting another live game of Letters of Marque, trying out a new faction and also SHORE FORTIFICATIONS.
In this scenario, we’ll see how a small French flotilla deals with a pirate stronghold, with shore-based fortifications guarding their hidden lair. Can the local French marquis tame this stretch of the Caribbean?
We hope to see some of you there!
The map for today's game - A French frigate and barque up against a Pirate fort and two sloops.ORISKANY WEB GAMES – PROJECT COMPLETE AND CLOSED
I’ll be closing this thread, since it is at a nice round number of recommendations (1700 at time of this publication) and it’s getting so large that it often crashes the site when I try to add new content (504 error).
The weekend wargames will continue so long as people are interested in participating. We do Panzer Leader, Valor & Victory, Naval Command, AirWar C21, and others. Gameplay is anywhere, anytime … it’s all done over the web and we’ve had great games and campaigns on four continents.
With the new Hercules War thread in Darkstar taking up may Saturdays recently and and HK Ops seemingly poised to take up many Sundays (and these campaigns have their own project threads), I have a feeling it’s time to put this thread to bed while it’s in a good place.
Thanks everyone for all the support since November, 2018! And of course, if anyone’s ever interested, just reply to the mass mail-out that goes out each week, or you can ping me here at OTT. If nothing else, we can always start a new thread.
JIM “Oriskany” JOHNSON
CONCLUSION - 3 Para at Mount Longdon - Falklands War 1982
“Oriskany” Jim and Elessar2590 finish up their game of Valor & Victory. This time they’re recreating the assault on Mount Longdon during the Falklands War of 1982.
On the night of June 11-12, 3rd Battalion of the elite British Para Regiment attacked elements of the Argentinian 7th Infantry Regiment, securely lodged among the rocks of this key high ground.
In particular, this game will test out new “symmetrical” modern warfare expansions to the V&V system, as well as night fighting rules, absolutely crucial to ANY wargames taking place during the Falklands War.
Commanding “B” Company / 3 Para, can Elessar take the high ground from Oriskany’s Argentinian defenders?
Valor & Victory Rules by Barry Doyle
(WW2 base system)
http://valor-and-victory.com/
3 Para at Mount Longdon - Falkland War 1982
“Oriskany” Jim and Elessar2590 square off in another game of Valor & Victory. This time they’re recreating the assault on Mount Longdon during the Falklands War of 1982.
On the night of June 11-12, 3rd Battalion of the elite British Para Regiment attacked elements of the Argentinian 7th Infantry Regiment, securely lodged among the rocks of this key high ground.
In particular, this game will test out new “symmetrical” modern warfare expansions to the V&V system, as well as night fighting rules, absolutely crucial to ANY wargames taking place during the Falklands War.
Commanding “B” Company / 3 Para, can Elessar take the high ground from Oriskany’s Argentinian defenders?
Valor & Victory Rules by Barry Doyle
(WW2 base system)
http://valor-and-victory.com/
82nd Airborne at the Waal - Stream Concludes
The game is now complete! We had a great game out and a lot of fun! Thanks to @stvitusdancern for a great game, a great result, and to everyone who came out!
A full-scale report on this game will be coming out somehow (either in written or video form) soon.
In the meantime, the raw playbacks are available on Sitrep YouTube Channel!
Meanwhile, we’ll be shutting down this thread soon, as it’s nearly at 1600 recommendations, and very slow to open (it’s just too big). We’ll start a new fresh one to take its place.
82nd Airborne at the Waal - Live Stream P2
Here are a few screen shots from our five-hour live stream last Sunday at Sitrep Podcast (Twitch and YouTube). We didn’t quite finish the game, but Gianna and I plan to finish this one off for the record books on our Thursday night live stream (7PM EST – 6PM CST, Midnight UK Time).
Live Stream - 5PM UK Time - 82nd at Market Garden
Gianna and Jim are sitting down for a recreation of the Waal River by 82nd Airborne Division (3rd Bn / 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment). This was part of Operation Market-Garden in the southern Netherlands, as famously recreated in the movie “A Bridge too Far.”
In order to seize a vital bridge over the Waal River, elements of 3/504 PIR (along with C/307th Airborne Engineers) must cross the river in improvised assault boats under heavy German fire (Kampfgruppe Reinhold, 10th SS Panzer Division) in order to attack the bridge from both ends at once.
We’re a little late for our 75th Anniversary recreation (20 September 1944), but this is a project we both wanted to do.
We’ll be live streaming this game at 12 Noon EST / 5PM UK time on the Sitrep Twitch Channel. We hope you’ll join us!
UK in the Gulf War - 1991
Come join us at Sitrep Podcast LIVE STREAM for a look at ROyal Scots Dragoons Guards vs, Iraqi 52nd Armored Division, February 26 1991 during Gulf War One.
Sunday, September 22
7:00 UK Time
2:00 East US Time
Panzer Leader 1939 Poland - CONCLUSION
Myself and @yavasa CONCLUDE our 80th Anniversary Commemorative Panzer Leader Series of the Polish Campaign of 1939.
This is Part 3 of our third game of the series, where we’re recreating part of the Battle of Jordanów. This is where 2nd Panzer Division tangled with the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade in one of the first mobile engagements of World War II, fought primarily on 2 September 1939, opening the southern invasion routes toward Kraków.
System: Panzer Leader with Arab-Israeli Wars (3rd Edition) retrofits and minor “house rule” modifications (infantry movement rates, stacking limits, etc).
SITREP LIVE STREAM – PARAS IN FALKLANDS (9PM UK TIME)
Come join us at Sitrep Podcast LIVE STREAM for a look at B Company, 3rd Para on the southern slope of Mount Longdon during the Falklands War. This assault was made on the night of 11-12 June 1982, and today we’ll see if the British can carry the day again (or technically – carry the night).
Sunday, September 15
9:00 UK Time
4:00 East US Time
Poland 1939: Panzer Leader Games
A while ago, my friend @yavasa and I resolved to undertake a project we felt was pretty special. We wanted to “sound the starter gun” on the 80th Anniversary of World War II, with some commemorative publications and wargames centered on the official opening of the conflict, Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939.
September 1, 2019 marks the 80th anniversary of that fateful morning.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be putting up a series of write ups, battle reports, wargames, documents, maps, and photos to put a spotlight on this often overlooked and misunderstood opening chapter of the Second World War.
We wanted to do this as a forum thread instead of a project or an article series so we could invite participation from the community as well. Where have you done Poland on the table top, game board, or even computer screen? What documentaries, books, magazine articles, or wargames have you found insightful on the topic? What stories have you heard, what questions do you have?
USMC at the DMZ - 1967 (PART 2)
Now it’s time for the conclusion of the Valor & Victory Vietnam game between myself and @elessar2590 . Do my US Marines have what it takes to seize the all-important high ground from the NVA, limiting their ability to establish artillery fire on key targets for the upcoming Tet Offensive?
No spoilers, but suffice it to say … this one is CLOSE!
