I have much going on in thinking terms, including the Ramadi design, so its time to unburden myself on the interweb.
New stuff.....
There appears to be quite a lot of interesting things on the way and some have already arrived.
Red Alert: Just on Kickstarter this is another Richard Borg/PSC collaboration. Command and Colors in space! Not sure its my cup of tea but interesting nonetheless.
Barbarossa: Kicking in the Door... A Russia 1941 campaign game for platoon level rules (of whatever ilk). I came across this on Wargames Vault here. It looks like a really substantial piece of work at the princely sum of $4.95 for the PDF. One for my Father's Day list I think!
New books.......
Well, new to me anyway. Stout Hearts by Ben Kite is a detailed technical description of how British forces actually did things in NW Europe. Lots of technical detail with good snippets from combat veterans. Also written by a real soldier so it has much veracity. Bolt Action players should read and inwardly digest :).
The Defense of Hill 781 by James R McDonough. Another book by a real soldier (his Platoon Leader memoir from Vietnam was superb). This one is a Duffers Drift re-run featuring an unfortunate Lt. Col who is condemned to purgatory (the US National Training Centre) and must successfully overcome the resident OPFOR to get to heaven. Excellent descriptions of how to lead a combined arms mechanized battalion in modern combat.
Last but not least, Losing Small Wars by Frank Ledwidge. This is a book by a former Naval Intelligence Officer. This one analyses the failings of the British Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. Brilliant, well written and insightful. If you need to read a book about the real world this is excellent. Also a brilliant exposition of the need for strategic leadership and a book I would happily take to work and make my colleagues read (along with Platoon Leader and Hill 781).
I have been playing Zombie in My Pocket, a free solo RPG. Very simple and quick. I was incited to do this by Alan on The Stronghold Rebuilt. A potential candidate for re-purposing into a modern house clearing game (Battle Drill 6 brilliant YouTube video). Also, I am being incited to play Norm Smith's Tigers at Minsk again after seeing this great replay on Sound Officers Call.
I knew the unburdening would work, my current themes seem to be centered around platoon level combat and realistic combat mechanisms. Time to get to work on the Grey Zone project again, hence my sniper icon at the top. Thanks for listening folks!
Sorry about the spelling, I seem to be speaking American today.
nothing wrong with speaking American. What was the famous saying? We're 2 similar peoples, separated by a common language? :)
ReplyDeleteSteve at the 'Sound Officers Call' did a nice post on the Tigers at Minsk stuff, I enjoyed that.
ReplyDeleteI noticed a couple of days ago on a forum somewhere that Andrew Rolph posted that he had just completed 'another' book. It was a Barbarossa title, from memory, it allows the player to run a campaign game that could generate up to 50 battles! He also ran a 4 or 6 part series in the Miniature Wargames magazine a couple of years ago on the opening weeks of Barbarossa, so I am guessing that subject is a something of a speciality for him.
That's a good chunk reading list, I have just got my hands on Beevor's Arnhem, the local mobile library know I like military stuff and they had put the new book to one side for me.
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteYes indeedy! I enjoyed your TaMs post immensely, thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Norm,
I see Bob has reviewed the Barbarossa campaign book today. Looks good.
What is interesting about my reading list is that I have read them and thought them very enjoyable. I'll try to catch the Beevor book in the library as well in a bit. I just can't afford to get diverted, Arnhem is one of my obsessional subjects!
Cheers
Jay