Captured Vehicles in German Service Part 2
HISTORICAL ARTICLE posted on 24 SEP 1999 by Scott Parrino
The Afrika Korps used any extra equipment they could lay their hands on, and took into service all sorts of British equipment. They performed homegrown modifications in the field, mounting weapons on different types of vehicles. They also quickly absorbed any captured tanks directly into their units. This was all done locally by the units, and was used until lack of spare parts forced them to be destroyed.
Captured Vehicles in German Service Part 1
HISTORICAL ARTICLE posted on 24 SEP 1999 by Scott Parrino
During World War II, all combatants made use of captured enemy equipment, but no nation would make such extensive use as did the Germans. This was partially due to the fact that no other participant captured as much material en mass as the Germans did. More important is the fact that they never had enough of their own equipment to satisfy the demands of their armed forces.
Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun: Engineering a Bridge to Victory
PC GAME REVIEW posted on 21 SEP 1999 by Scott Parrino
Let’s get this review over with in one short paragraph: Tiberian Sun is the most technically advanced and most innovative of the many sequels in Westwood’s Command and Conquer series. It has a new story line, new units, new graphics and new challenges, but it is still essentially just "more of the same," albeit served up and dressed up in a grand style. If you are hungry for another Command and Conquer-style RTS (real-time strategy game), then look no further, for this is easily and by the far the best of the genre.
Civilization: Call to Power
PC GAME REVIEW posted on 15 JUN 1999 by Scott Parrino
In summary, Civilization: Call to Power is a worthy successor to a long line of great Civilization titles. Despite its drawbacks in gameplay, I would still recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed other Civilization titles, and to new Civilization players.
Hobbled Tigers
HISTORICAL ARTICLE posted on 4 JUN 1999 by Scott Parrino
No German tank in World War II, or possibly any tank in history for that matter, is as well known as the Tiger. The Tiger I ausf E, as it was officially known, is as much an emblem of German armored warfare as the word blitzkrieg. Anyone with even rudimentary knowledge of World War II, or tank warfare, has heard the name Tiger. Its very name conjures up images of a mighty beast dominating any battlefield it prowled. Massive armor plating protecting a deadly 88mm gun made it an opponent to be feared. The Tiger's battlefield debut, however, was less than stellar, with its first two outings giving little hint of the Tiger's future ferocity.
East Front II
PC GAME REVIEW posted on 30 MAY 1999 by Scott Parrino
East Front II is a turn-based platoon-level combat game with a scale of 250 meters per hex and representing 6 minutes of time each turn. Battles are fought with battalion, regiment, brigade, division and corps size formations. There are over 150 scenarios, 17 dynamic campaigns, 2 linked campaigns, random scenario generation, and player scenario creation, so that gameplay can be limitless. Random and player created scenarios will allow players to battle their enemies in nearly any terrain, weather condition and type of battle.
Panzerkampfwagen II and Variants
HISTORICAL ARTICLE posted on 20 MAY 1999 by Scott Parrino
In the early 1930's, Germany began to map out plans for their future tank program. The route they planned on taking called for a light training tank in the form of the PzKpfw I, and two medium combat tanks which would be the PzKpfw III and IV. As is usually the case, however, things did not go quite as planned. The PzKpfw I would end up being used in combat, and development and production of the combat tanks went slower than anticipated. This brought about the decision to build another light tank to fill the gap.
Panzerkampfwagen I and Variants
HISTORICAL ARTICLE posted on 20 MAY 1999 by Scott Parrino
Germany had been slow to grasp the concept of the tank in WWI, the lumbering dinosaur that they fielded reflected the lack of importance the high command had given this new mobile weapon. With her defeat in the war Germany was stripped even of these armored boxes, and the Treaty of Versailles forbid them from building any new tanks in the future. In the 1920's however they began to work covertly on tank and armored car prototypes disguised with tractor serial numbers. Testing was carried out secretly in Sweden and Russia to further hide their development. One of the guiding hands in these early programs was Heinz Guderian "the father of the Blitzkrieg."
Panzerkampfwagen 35
HISTORICAL ARTICLE posted on 20 MAY 1999 by Scott Parrino
Prior to World War II the little country of Czechoslovakia developed an arms industry that earned a well-deserved reputation for producing excellent weapons. The Czechoslovakian battle tank at the time, the LT vz 35, was on par with those of any nation. Waiting in the wings and just getting ready to go into full scale production in 1939 was the LT vz 38, an improved version of the LT vz 35. When Germany annexed Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939, they took possession of approximately 300 Lt vz 35's as well as the production lines that were literally poised to begin cranking out the even better LT vz 38. These two spunky little tanks would have a great effect upon the expanding Panzer forces by immediately bolstering the number of tanks available right at the time when the Germans own industry was unable to keep pace with their expanding military's demands for more tanks. The Czech vehicles would be among the most widely used foreign built tanks in German service.
Pacific General Z-Plan Campaign
STRATEGY AND TACTICS ARTICLE posted on 16 MAY 1999 by Scott Parrino
Z-Plan is a hypothetical World War II German western campaign (you cannot play as the Allies) which assumes that the Germans enact the actual pre-war Z-Plan, which called for a massive expansion of the Kriegsmarine, specifically the construction of six H-Type battleships, greater in size than the Bismark, together with aircraft carriers and other supporting capital ships. As a result, Germany becomes a significant naval power with even greater ambitions for conquering the rest of the Western world. This proposition is an ideal vehicle for making full use of the Pacific General naval engagement rules for a World War II western campaign, improving the naval actions way beyond what was possible in Panzer General.
Combat Mission AAR
AFTER ACTION REPORT posted on 16 MAY 1999 by Scott Parrino
Although we didn't play it to the very end, it's doubtless that the US would have been completely annihilated by the remaining German force, which still had most of its tanks intact, while the Americans had none. As in no wargame I have seen before, Combat Mission gives you the feeling of being right in the middle of the action while leading a company or a whole battalion into a fight. Big Time Software's incredible attention to detail (including historical research as well as gameplay issues), the innovative orders phase/action phase engine, and the true 3D surroundings put Combat Mission, even in its alpha state, far ahead of any existing wargame in development right now. If you don't believe me, check out the Combat Mission homepage and download some of their preview action movies. If you want to know more about Combat Mission, please check out the exclusive interview with Charles Moylan from Big Time Software.
Panzer General II: The Ostfront Campaign
AFTER ACTION REPORT posted on 16 MAR 1999 by Scott Parrino
The Ostfront campaign covers all combat operations from June 1941, when Operation Barbarossa began over a 3000km front-line, to May 1945, when the Soviet armies had reconquered their lost territory and more. The player is placed in command of a German Armeekorps and depending upon his success in the individual scenarios of the campaign will be assigned to different Heeresgruppen along the front.
Death of a Battlegroup
HISTORICAL ARTICLE posted on 24 JAN 1999 by Scott Parrino
The following is an unpublished article about one battle in the Normandy fighting in which a battlegroup of armour and infantry of 4th Canadian Armoured Division became lost in the heat and confusion of an advance during hours of darkness. Subsequently, it would suffer utter destruction at the hands of the tanks and panzer grenadiers of 12. SS-Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend and Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 101.
Soviet Tank Development
HISTORICAL ARTICLE posted on 1 JAN 1999 by Scott Parrino
According to Soviet sources, the earliest official record pertaining to the formation of Soviet armoured units is dated November 1917. It was then that the Provisional Armoured Board was established under the direction of G.V. Elinim. The first task assigned to this board was the convocation of the 2nd All-Russian Armoured Car Conference for the purpose of creating armoured units for the Armed Forces of the new Soviet State.
TalonSoft's Battleground Series Round-Up
PC GAME REVIEW posted on 1 JAN 1999 by Scott Parrino
Here's a quick snap-shot of most of the titles found in TalonSoft's award-winning Battleground series from the forests of Belgium during the Bulge to Napoleon's treck across Europe and Russia, and finally to the American Civil War. This series is a true classic that launched TalonSoft into its permanent seat of honor on the MVP list of computerized wargame publishers.
East Front Campaign Strategy Guide
STRATEGY AND TACTICS ARTICLE posted on 16 DEC 1998 by Scott Parrino
The Campaign Game in East Front is one of the features that brings high replay value to the game. The addition of the role playing element helps to immerse the player into the struggle which occurred on the Russian Front. Unfortunately the Campaign Game was probably the buggiest portion of the initially released product. Thankfully Ver 1.06 corrects some of the campaign games short comings, therefore it is highly recommended that if you don't have the latest patch to head on over to Talonsoft's Web site and install it. This strategy guide is focused primarily on the campaign game, however many of the strategies discussed can be applied to the scenarios themselves.
Panzer Elite
PC GAME PREVIEW posted on 15 DEC 1998 by Scott Parrino
Panzer Elite is a World War II tank simulation with players commanding either a German or American tank platoon from 1942 to 1944. The action takes place in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Normandy. When Teut Weidemann of Wing Simulations was asked how the game would deal with the inferiority of American tanks early in the war, his answer was that they simulated the real techniques employed by the Americans. More explicitly, the Americans will generally have one additional tank per platoon, and a nearly unlimited supply of replacement tanks, artillery support, and more infantry support. (Obviously, careful scenario design will also factor into this equation.)
West Front
PC GAME REVIEW posted on 13 DEC 1998 by Scott Parrino
After the East Front patches I thought that TalonSoft potentially had one of the better World War II tactical games on the market. Now, with the matured game play and design found in West Front, TalonSoft may very well possess the best game in that category. It may not appeal to the professional grognard, but adding it all up - the multiviews, interface, graphics and animation, quality of scenarios, attention to detail, the editor and campaign choices - West Front should prove to be a very successful game.
StarCraft
PC GAME REVIEW posted on 5 DEC 1998 by Scott Parrino
In the end, where does this leave us? Well, StarCraft is simply the most addictive game I have played in a long, long, time. It offers a very competent computer opponent, the ability to build your own custom scenarios and campaigns, and probably the most addictive online play I have seen in years. To top that off, it has the most impressive and epic storyline in its included campaign that I have ever seen in a real-time strategy game. StarCraft simply has no competitor in this genre when it comes to gameplay and longevity. True, the graphics are dated, but it is not simply "orcs in space," as some would lead you to believe. Moreover, it has won me over to the real-time strategy camp, something I thought would never happen. That makes it at least the best real-time strategy game put out this year, and quite possibly the best yet in this crowded genre.
East Front: AAR Kharkov
AFTER ACTION REPORT posted on 16 NOV 1998 by Scott Parrino
OBJECTIVE KHARKOV is one the largest scenarios that comes with the new East Front Campaign Disk 1 tracing the development and execution of Manstein`s plan to retake Kharkov on 11th March 1943, some four weeks after losing it. The II SS Panzer Corps led by General Hauser scored a brilliant victory over the Russian 3rd Army and 69th Tank Army. The Germans retained a hold on Kharkov until a withdrawal was ordered shortly after the Battle of Kursk. The scenario runs for 40 turns and must have one of the largest maps 134 x 75 hexes ever seen in a wargame. Taking on something this size for the first time is a daunting task, so to give myself some extra incentive and interest I decided to write up my experiences as I went along, firstly recording the battle plan and then documenting how it worked out. The purpose of this article is to analyse the scenario and look at the strategy and tactics largely from the German point of view.
