It's a bit quiet on the wargaming front, but Ian has something he'd like to get off his chest.

An Operation Flashpoint full conversion that costs $980? Thankfully, that's peanuts for the military as they've been enthusiastically using VBS1, or Virtual Battlespace Simulations 1, to train their soldiers for the next frontier of combat. Read on to find Craig Handler's impressions of this "three-dimensional training system."

"Air Assault Task Force can be unforgiving to the beginning player (or the advanced player, for that matter). Don’t feel bad. U.S. Army officers train their whole life to fight wars and still get their butts kicked by the OPFOR at places like the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk , Louisiana . Fighting wars is hard stuff..."

$150 for a game? Well, it's not quite a game. It's not even a typical simulation in some respects. Jim Cobb takes a detailed look at eSim's Steel Beasts Professional Personal Edition and wonders who should buy it.

"Wild Bill" Wilder returns with his latest historical article, this time detailing the famed Blitzkrieg that tore apart Europe in 1939-1940.

The idea of turning technical Luftwaffe personnel into rifle-carrying infantrymen was one of many disasters perpetrated by the German High Command during World War II. Michael Eckenfels provides an in-depth article on the history of the Luftwaffe Field Divisions.

During the First Gulf War, the Iraqis' nickname for the Marines was "Angels of Death". Wild Bill Wilder recounts one of the incidents in the war that gives credence to such a title.

John Walsh speaks at length with famed author and wargame expert Bill Trotter on his series of Civil War epics.

Colonel Bill reviews a two volume set on the last war where pageantry as well as weapons ruled the battlefields of Europe.

The historic battle for Guadalcanal is recounted by The Wargamer's "Wild Bill" Wilder.