By Paul J. Calvi Jr.

A modified version of this article orignally appeared in Critical Hit: Tactical Level Gaming, 1997 Special Edition.

Besides the thrill of being a big fat sniper target and the refreshing feeling of the wind whipping around them, tank commanders pop themselves out of their hatches to get a good look around. It is amazing how much more you can see when you are ten feet off the ground. It was with this thought in mind that I named this column. Like many gamers, my interests propel me into all kinds of related areas. It is refreshing to occasionally pop your head up and take a look at things both old and new that you may have missed.

A BIT OF THE FAMILIAR I was a Squad Leader fanatic in my younger days. It was such a revolutionary system for the time who could resist getting hooked?! When ASL debuted I resisted, probably more out of financial reasons than anything else; "You mean I have to buy all this stuff...again?!" I cried and there I stayed. Not too long ago, I discovered Critical Hit products, All American and Tips for Tankers in particular, and they inspired me to take another look at all the ASL modules I had been collecting over the years. Like many newcomers to ASL, I found the rulebook daunting. Paratrooper, which provides Chapter K, is a great help, and I discovered that if you ignore half of the rules in Chapters A and B and hold off on reading Chapters C and D, the elegance of the original SL is preserved and the progression to ASL made easier. I will be adding in the left out bits slowly. If you are new to ASL, Paratrooper is a must.

SOFT WARS The computer wargaming front continues to mature and expand. 1997 was probably the best year yet for silicon wargamers and 1998 may be even better. Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far by Atomic Games and Microsoft is my current favorite of the new breed. CC2 is probably the best sequel ever made. They kept all the good and got rid of most of the bad. CC2 is a tactical level real time simulation covering Operation Market-Garden in WW2. The original Close Combat began as a candidate for computer Squad Leader but Avalon Hill and Atomic had some disagreements and went their separate ways. Do not let the real time aspect deter you from this game. In CC2, real time works. You command a platoon (plus or minus) of infantry along with a few tanks and supporting assets such as mortar or machine gun teams. By simply clicking and dragging you can order your troops to move fast, sneak, fire or lay smoke. The key to CC2 is that, like real troops, your men may decide they do not particularly like your order or may carry it out in a way different from what you intended. This makes for some great battles. The AI in CC2 will occasionally do something very stupid with your troops but for the most part it performs well. During one scenario, I had a couple squads of men who needed to take a farmhouse that was surrounded by a wall. I could crawl up to the wall and launch my assault from there, but I did not have the time. I called smoke in on the house and ran one squad up to a position in front of the house to lay down covering fire as I advanced the other squad around the side to prepare to assault. Well, when my assault squad reached the wall the AI decided that it was a good idea to have a few guys in the squad run along the side of the wall facing the house! Naturally, the Germans opened up and cut the unlucky fellows down. Initially, I was very upset the AI did this and determined it was a perfect example of how bad computer AIs still were. Then I thought about it a bit and remembered a time in training when a couple of my fellow squad mates decided it was better to walk on top of the big boulders rather than around them because it made less noise. The AI is certainly not perfect but in many ways this only adds to the flavor of the game. Sure, in ASL you would never run your troops along the wrong side of the wall but who is to say they would not? With head-to-head capability over the Internet even this fault drops away. With the addition of linked scenarios forming a campaign of Operation Market-Garden and the latest 1.1 patch, Close Combat 2 is a fine addition to any wargamers hard drive.

Talonsoft’s East Front for Windows 95 is another game I have been tinkering with lately. With the current 1.5 patch the game is quite a bit of fun. Many have complained about supply existing in a game with six minute game turns, but if you replace the term supply with command and control you can play with piece of mind once again. This is not to say EF does not have its faults. The number of leaders in EF can make their presence in ASL seem almost desolate. The sheer number of units in many of the EF scenarios can be daunting at best. You would think a game with 250m hexes, six minute turns and platoon sized units would not be that big, but EF sometimes has multiple divisions on a side! I have not played a campaign yet, but I have heard from others who have that it is simply a waste of time due to random unit placement and generation. Hopefully, Talonsoft will address that shortcoming next. Bugs aside, if you enjoy tank warfare East Front is still worth a look.

Though now ancient by software standards, I still find myself returning to SSI’s Steel Panthers I, II and, to a lesser degree, the new III time and again. Steel Panthers is still the closest thing to ASL on the computer. SPI and II are turn based with 50yd hexes and three minute turns. SPI covers 1939-1945 and SPII picks up from there and brings it through to modern day. SPII got some flack for not changing the ground scale to bring it inline with modern engagement ranges. This is a valid complaint, but if you stick to the Middle East scenarios you will not have much trouble with this aspect; and you will still get to play with the early wire guided missiles and helicopters. From a gaming standpoint, the Mid-East scenarios have far more flavor than their modern day brethren anyway. SPIII ups the scale to 200yd hexes and five minute turns to allow brigade sized battles. The SP series is great fun by email, and, if you play the reality instead of the system, the AI is more than adequate to give you a challenge. SPI and II both have scenario expansion packs, which include the patches, and one is on the way for III. In addition, the Web (see Critical Hits’ Web site for links) has a wealth of user made scenarios available for the picking not to mention the design your own scenario editor available with each of the games. SSI recently announced that there will be a Steel Panthers IV but did not provide any further details. SPI-III are all DOS games but I have never had any trouble running them through Windows 95.

TINY TANKS After over 18 years of board wargaming and over six years playing computer wargames you would think I had amassed enough games to play? I guess not. 1997 marked the start of new campaign for me into the steppes of miniature wargaming. I guess board and computer gaming were not taking enough of my time and money, so I had to start buying and collecting lead miniatures to paint and push around. I have found it a wonderfully enjoyable portion of the wargaming hobby. Much of my enjoyment stems from the group of fellows with which I game. Miniature gaming seems to be a far more social event than board gaming. I do not know if this is due to the simpler game mechanics or because the size of the tables just demand louder conversation. Another bonus is that few miniature games cannot be completed in an afternoon. It is not an easy part of the hobby to get into. Between the number of rule sets, figure scales and terrain making possibilities, a newcomer can get quickly overwhelmed; I certainly did. Keep an eye on the CH Web site for my article devoted to getting starting in miniature gaming. If you think you are ready for something different, give miniatures a try.

The best WW2 miniature rules I’ve found so far are Spearhead by Arty Conliffe and Quantum Printing. SH uses a 100yds per inch ground scale and 15 to 30 minute turns. The basic stand represents a platoon of troops or vehicles. This scale combined with rules that are only 30 pages long allow SH to recreate division sized engagements. The rules are streamlined enough to let these large battles flow smoothly. What is unique about Spearhead is its focus. It keeps the detailed mechanics simple so players can focus on the larger picture of division sized engagements. Command and control, planning and the use of reserves play a large part in the game. What make the rules even more attractive are the three scenario expansion books currently available. Where the Iron Crosses Grow covers the Eastern Front, Blaze Across the Sands covers North Africa and the new White Star Rising brings SH to the Western Front. Each scenario book provides over 15 historical scenarios with orders of battle and terrain layouts. Highly recommended.

The best miniatures game I have never played goes to Easy Eight Enterprises’ Battleground: World War Two rule set. Through a weird twist of mail order fate, I ended up the proud owner of BG:WW2’s two expansions, Red Devil’s in the Night, British 6th Airborne’s Assault on Normandy in 1944, and Panthers East, the Panther on the Eastern Front 1943-45, but not the main rules set. Unfortunately, the two expansions only made me yearn for the main rules. These are two extremely well done products. The physical quality is excellent and the material is terrific. Each expansion is about 50 pages long and contains a historical narrative, technical details of particular weapon systems, specific rules, vehicle hit charts and over ten scenarios. What makes them so special is the attention to detail provided. The Panthers East module contains a number of unique photos of the vehicles along with incredible drawings of the interiors and other portions of the tank, including esoteric items such as the night site and crew mortar (Nahverteidigungswaffe). The scenarios are particularly well presented with separate sheets for each side giving the historical situation, orders, forces involved and, of course, the terrain set up. These modules are easily adaptable to any tactical game system and I think any WW2 gamer would find them of interest. More on the actual rules when they arrive.

Long before I ever thought of playing miniature games I used GHQ’s Microarmor (1/285th scale) in the Army as training aides for everything from formation drills and platoon tactics to vehicle recognition. Even then I was amazed how something so small could be so detailed. GHQ’s miniatures quality is simply unsurpassed. In addition to their obvious use in miniature games, Microarmor is perfect for use with Deluxe Squad Leader, and some of Critical Hits’ historical modules have hexes large enough to comfortably accommodate a Microscale vehicle. GHQ also produces a set of U.S. WW2 TO&E’s that are a great supplement to miniature and non-miniature gamers alike. I will look at GHQ’s Terrain Maker system next time.

IN THE BREACH I am currently reading Michael D. Doubler’s Closing with the Enemy: How G.I.s Fought the War In Europe 1944-45. If you have any interest in WW2 warfare get this book. Doubler’s goal is to demonstrate that the American G.I. was not the bungling fool much previous research portrayed. He does a masterful job at showing the true difficulties the American ground forces faced after Normandy and the skill and professionalism with which they fought. The American G.I. may have been learning on the job but he learned fast and he developed a few tricks of his own to show the Germans, "We employed common sense, normal tactical principles, and maximum firepower." (Doubler, 112)

I recently finished Ben R. Rich’s Skunk Works. Rich became the head of Lockheed’s Top Secret aircraft development group, known as the Skunk Works, after Kelly Johnson retired. This book is a fascinating look behind the scenes of one of the most famous companies in aviation history. The book is a quick read and details the development of the U-2, the SR-71 and the F-117. It includes short pieces from test pilots and other notables such as former Secretary of Defense Harold Brown.

ON THE WEB Two notable sites this issue. First is Critical Hits’ own site (www.criticalhit.com). Kurt Martin has put in a lot of work and is slowly getting it back up to form. A new design with all the information you need on CH products and a whole lot more. Check it out! The second site is AFV Interiors (www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/5182/) by Mike Kendall. This site has a super photo selection of the interiors of various armored vehicles, hence the site’s name. Mike has a varied selection including all the vehicles you would expect plus more esoteric ones such as the U.S. M50 106mm SP Rifle Carrier "Ontos" to name just one. A well done and interesting site.

IN THE READY RACK Here are a few of the items I’ll look at for next time: I recently received GHQ’s Normandy! book describing how to use their Terrain Maker system. This stuff will make the best looking game terrain you have ever seen. I just installed HPS Simulations’ Aide De Camp 2: Universal Board Game Conversion and Assistance Utility. It looks to be a leap above the original. My next book will probably be Michael Reynold’s Steel Inferno: I SS Panzer Corps in Normandy. Steel Inferno gives a quick overview of Panzer formations and a blow by blow account of the I SS in Normandy.

Check our Movement to Contact section for links to most of the items mentioned in this article as well as even more goodies. Target! Cease-fire.

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Paul has been wargaming for over 18 years. He has been a pilot, an enlisted M60A3 tank crewman as well as a commissioned armor officer and tank platoon leader. He holds a M.A. in 20th Century U.S. History and currently works in publishing as a print and Web production specialist. You can contact Paul with comments or questions at tanker@wargamer.com.

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