karwansaray publishers
TRANSCRIPT
ISSUE 83
THIS ISSUE: Real and imagined wargaming of present-day conflicts
ThemeThe Second Chechen War & The Battle for Hill 776
Bac Ky: battles in a modern imagi-nation
Swedes, Soviets and submarines
•
•
•
SpecialsPractice at war in 19th century England
A committee game with Macro and Cato
Let’s play Team Yankee
•
•
•
WW
W.W
SSM
AGAZ
INE.
COM
//
KARW
ANSA
RAY
PUBL
ISHER
S
PLAYING IN THE PRESENTMODERN WARFARE ON THE TABLETOP
83
725
27472
175
7
US/CN $8.99 €5,95APR / MAY 2016
wss83.indd 1 04/02/16 18:14
wss83.indd 2 04/02/16 18:14
wss83.indd 3 04/02/16 18:14
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 834
Publisher: Rolof van Hövell tot WesterflierManaging director: Jasper OorthuysEditor: Guy BowersCopy editor: Duncan B. CampbellLayout, design: Christianne C. BeallMaps: Rocío Espin©2015 Karwansaray Publishers
Contributors: Mark Backhouse, Steve Beckett, Erik Blakeley, Paul Burkin, Richard Clarke, Colin Farrant, James Graham, Rob Harper, Tony Harwood, Arvid Kappe, Jan Kärrman, Eoghan Kel-ly, Michael Leck, Joseph McCullough, Chris Payne, Colin Phil-lips, Rick Priestley, Andy Singleton, Ruben Torregrosa, Rossco Watkins, Steven Wilkie, Craig Woodfield
Illustrations: Georgie Harmanwww.redfoxillustrations.com
Print: Grafi Advies BV
Editorial officePO Box 4082, 7200 BB Zutphen, The NetherlandsPhone: +31-575-776076 (NL)(Europe), +1-800-549-4742 (US)Email: [email protected]
Customer service:[email protected]: www.wssmagazine.com
Contributions in the form of articles, letters, reviews, news and queries are welcomed. Please send to the above address or use the contact form on www.wssmagazine.com
SubscriptionsSubscriptions can be purchased at www.kp-shop.com, via phone or by mail. See above for the address.
DistributionWargames, Soldiers and Strategy is sold through retailers, the in-ternet and by subscription. If you wish to become a sales outlet, please contact us at [email protected]
The exclusive distributor for the UK and the Republic of Ireland is Comag Specialist Magazines, Unit 3, Tavistock Road, West Dray-ton, UB7 7QE, United Kingdom. Phone: +44 01895 433600.
Copyright Karwansaray BV. All rights reserved. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior writ-ten consent of the publishers. Any individual providing material for publication must ensure that the correct permissions before submission to us. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, but in a few cases this proves impossible. The editor and publishers apologize for any unwitting cases of copyright transgressions and would like to hear from any copyright holders not acknowledged. Articles and the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the editor and/or pub-lishers. Advertising in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy does not necessarily imply endorsement.
Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is published everytwo months by Karwansaray BV, Zutphen, theNetherlands. PO Box 4082, 7200 BB Zutphen,the Netherlands.
ISSN: 2211-503X
Printed in the European Union
CONTROLLING THE BATTLESPACE Ultra-modern warfareOPERATION RED WINGS The Battle of Abbas GharGROZOVYE VOROTA The Storm Gate - Battle for Hill 776BAC KY - BIRTH OF A NATION Building a modern imagi-nationWHISKEY ON THE ROCKS Soviet submarine stranded in SwedenSHADOW WARS Building an ultra modern armyCHECKPOINT AMBUSH Painting a firefight
34
36
40
44
48
52
56
THEME: Modern warfare
THE IMJIN WAR A bitesize battle from 16th century Korea
THE FIGHT FOR THE THIRD FORD A Macro and Cato committee game
THE FROSTGRAVE AUCTION Shall we start the bidding?
THE BATTLE OF PORTSEA ISLAND Refighting mock battles of the 19th century
BUILDING STOCKHOLM 1392 How a game was planned and built for Salute
SO WIRD MAN FALLSCHIRMJÄGER Planning and collecting an army
14
16
22
24
FEATURES
MINIATURE REVIEWS Our usual roundup of new releases
THIS GAMING LIFE Any questions?
THE IRREGULAR A bridge too far
LET'S PLAY TEAM YANKEE Battlefront's take on modern warfare
GAME REVIEWS Et sans résultat, Iron Cross and more
UP FRONT Could less be more?
BOOK REVIEWS More books reviewed by the WS&S team
PARTING SHOTS Hints, tips and laughs for the wargamer
6
12
60
70
74
78
80
DEPARTMENTS
82
IBERIAN KNIGHTS Painting a Spanish caballero
MAKE MDF LOOK REAL Building an MDF farm outbuilding
62
66
HOBBY
28
30
A bitesize battle from 16th century Korea
A Macro and Cato committee game
Soviet submarine stranded in Sweden
Our usual roundup of new releases
TEAM YANKEE
Building an MDF farm outbuilding
wss83.indd 4 04/02/16 18:14
WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY 83 5
EditorialWar does not determine who is right – only who is left.
— Bertrand Russell
Wargamers are a curious bunch. We’ll happily game ancients, where our Romans chop their bloody way through their enemies, or roll dice for our grapeshot against charging infantry at Gettysburg. But when it comes to moderns, it’s suddenly too soon or too di�cult to game. War-fare has always been bloody, and wargames are, after all, just games.
That said, there are some things I won’t game. I’ve had a 15mm modern Israeli army for over a decade, which I’ve found myself unable to paint. Likewise Daesh and the Syrian conflict. I’ve learnt much about these barbaric conflicts and find myself with no stomach to game them, much like the feeling I have with the Schutzstael.
Our popular culture of movies, TV, and computer games is full of action, adven-ture, and death. People seem to accept this completely without question, as they can recognize it all as being a story, and not reality. The recent rise in Cold War gaming allows us to game “What If?” battles where no one was really hurt. When I wrote the Osprey Black Ops rules, that’s exactly the approach I had in mind. Fac-tions were kept generic, as were the scenarios.
I personally believe that ultra-modern gaming is probably best kept in this realm of fiction. But whatever you do, be it modern imagi-nations or scenarios, have fun. Imagination is the only limit.
Our next issue focuses on the ‘Storming’ Normans of Normandy, the Cru-sades, and Sicily.
Guy Bowers
Now on the website m In the next issue&
Back to Bac KyAn extra scenario and more background for fighting in our Southeast Asian imagi-nation.(http://www.wssmagazine.com/wss83_extra)
The Normans on campaign In this issue, we take a look at the campaigns of the Normans and the various wars they waged all across Europe... EXCEPT their famous victory in 1066.
wss83.indd 5 04/02/16 18:14