Ultramodern Wargaming – Ukraine 2024

Greetings – here is the replay from last night’s stream, where we kit-bashed / scratch-built a VERY approximate “Gepard” SP air defense system for use with my Bundeswehr modern Germans in a game scheduled for this weekend.

We talk about the merits and flaws of missile vs. gun-based air defense systems in the modern battlespace, the new “Stand” miniseries, Picard Season 3, LOTR trilogy, and why the new “All Quiet on the Western Front” is in fact an insultingly terrible movie.

Join us for a 15mm game of “Seven Days to the River Rhine” by Great Escape Games.  This time we’re using the system to recreate a historical battle during the closing days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Recovering from the shock and early defeats inflicted by a resurgent Egyptian Army, Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula have now crossed the embattled Suez Canal.  Establishing a bridgehead on the canal’s west bank, the Israelis are now maneuvering south to cut off the Egyptian Third Army.  Determined to halt this drive, Egyptian reserves had been mobilized to hit the Israelis in their right wing as they advance south to Port Suez.  So as they advance to cut off the Egyptians, will the Israelis be cut off in turn?

Units include elements of Egyptian 113th Mechanized Brigade (6^th Mechanized Division) and 3^rd Armored Brigade (4^th Armored Division).  Their missions is to stop via flanking counterattack elements of Gabi Amir’s 460^th Brigade (Adan’s 162^nd “Ugda”) reinforced by elite light infantry of the 890^th Paratrooper Battalion.

It’s time to go “in country” for a Vietnam War scenario in Mark Mitchie’s 15mm “Tactical Combat game system.  This is the Battle at Xuan Dai, part of what would very soon become Operation “Allen Brook” at Go Noi Island, Quang Nam province.

Elements of 2/7 Marines (reinforced by a platoon of 5^th Marine Tank Battalion) have crossed “Liberty Bridge” onto Go Noi Island, intent on clearing this area once and for all.  They’re going to run into a carefully-laid ambush and vicious defense mounted by elements of 36^th Regiment, 308^th NVA Division and 44^th Headquarters group, main force Viet Cong.

Join us, everyone, for the conclusion of our 20mm tabletop wargame approximating the Battle of Hubbardton.

Fought during the American Revolution in what would become Vermont (7 July 1777), this was a rear guard action to cover the retreat of Patriot units who’d just been forced to give up Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.

On our tabletop, the Patriots have taken a bit of a beating so far … but can we salvage the situation and turn the battle around in Part 2?

Apologies that this video is in two parts, our live stream crashed and we had to start a new one to finish up.

The Germans land some very lucky rolls with their armor overruns, and before you know it the Americans are hard-pressed to hold the El Guettar pass. The Italians are also rolling up the American left . . .

Could the “Big Red One” actually LOSE this battle?

No spoilers, but this was a close one, folks.

Rally to the colors and shoulder your flintlock, it’s time to step back through the centuries a little for a look at the American Revolution in 20mm.   We’ve got a 20mm miniature game depicting the Battle of Hubbardton, fought in what would become Vermont on July 7, 1777.

The Crown has amassed an army in Canada under General “Gentlemen Johnny” Burgoyne and is invading upstate New York.  Their goal is to split off New England from the rest of the colonies by way of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River.  Their first obstacle is Fort Ticonderoga, which they’re actually able to take with barely a shot fired.

As the American forces pull out of Ticonderoga, however, Burgoyne orders a pursuit.  His Advance Corps under Brigadier General Simon Fraser catches up with the American rear guard near Hubbardton, in present day Vermont.  This kicks off a sharp, vicious action with British line infantry, grenadiers, light infantry, and Jaegers of Crown German regiments (commonly called “Hessians”) – pitted against rear guard elements of the 11th Massachusetts, 2nd New Hampshire, and patriots of the “Green Mountain Boys” militia.

Join us as we return to Avalon Hill’s “Panzer Leader” wargame system , where I’ve created a scenario depicting part of the Battle of El Guettar on March 23, 1943.

It’s the 80th Anniversary of this key battle, where the US Army finally overcame a string of bitter defeats against the Germans and established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the North African Theater.

Now we’re recreating the main part of the battle in Panzer Leader (far more accurate than the Hollywood version seen in the movie “Patton”) – can the Americans pull off the upset again?

Had an awesome game of Seven Days to the River Rhine at Dask Krieg Haus today, where we used the system to recreate a battle between elements of Gabi Amir’s 460th Israeli Tank Brigade (890th Parachute Battalion / 35th Brigade attached) up against leading elements of Egyptian 3rd Armored Brigade / 4trh Tank Division – West Bank of the Suez Canal, 22 October 1973, near the end of the Yom Kippur War.

Israeli forces include Magach 3 tanks (M48A5s), Magach 2s in reserve (older M48A2s), M113 APCs, with some infantry, jeeps, paratroopers, and some A4 Skyhawks with airstrikes (carrying either “snake & nape” Mk 82 bombs and napalm, or Rockeye cluster bombs for antitank work). Egyptian forces include T-55s (a lot of T-55s), IS-3s from Third Army reserve, BTR-60s, infantry (well-equipped with AT-3 “Malyuka” Sagger ATGWs and RPG-7s), ZSU-23-4 “Shilka” SPAAGs, and off-board D-30 122m howitzers for support.