Fires of Space is a space combat game with a WWII naval flavor. From the author’s introduction:
Here is my take on battles between big ships in space. This rules set has a deliberately 20th century naval warfare flavor, but with adaptations for space and far future technology. Included are the rules, tables, designer’s notes, a series of ships from various space navies, scenarios, a probability table for 20 sided dice, counters, and a 50 by 50 hex map. With the map are marked map sections showing showing the map’s center hex and deployment areas for tactical scenarios. Ideally, the game is played with two 50 by 50 hex maps: one for operational movement and the other for tactical engagements. In a pinch, a single map can double as both the operational and tactical map. Finally, I include a copy of the Excel workbook that I used to create the ships in the game.
Casemate Publishers recently sent a copy of a new book titled Operation Barbarossa 1941: Hitler Against Stalin. In more than 300 pages, author Christer Bergstrom offers a fairly detailed overview of the Nazi invasion of Soviet Russia from June to December 1941. Bergstrom offers a nice narrative of the operation, along with a wealth of data, quotations from participants and official documentation. The book is also well illustrated.
I call Operation Barbarossa 1941 an overview only because I recognize that the Nazi invasion has over the years attracted an astonishing amount of research and publication. Amazon alone offers nearly two hundred titles on Operation Barbarossa, many of which are dedicated to individual facets of the story, such as the Siege of Brest, or “Operational Logic And Identifying Soviet Operational Centers Of Gravity During Operation Barbarossa, 1941.”
I had only a general knowledge of Operation Barbarossa (mostly from my general reading years ago when I was in my Squad Leader days) prior to going through this book, and thus felt that it was quite worthwhile. Operation Barbarossa 1941‘s utility and interest will very depending upon how much a reader already knows about the invasion. And, because I am not an expert on the Second World War, I am in no position to judge the accuracy of either the narrative or conclusions. However, the book is very well documented, and the author has a stellar reputation. Old Grognards will nonetheless invariably find something to criticize.
From the publishers’ description:
Operation Barbarossa was the largest military campaign in history. Springing from Hitler’s fanatical desire to conquer the Soviet territories, defeat Bolshevism and create ‘Lebensraum’ for the German people, it pitted two diametrically opposed armed forces against one another.
The invasion began with 4.5 million troops attacking 2.3 million defenders. On one side was the Wehrmacht, without any doubt the world’s most advanced military force. On the other were the Soviet armed forces, downtrodden, humiliated, decapitated and terrorized by an autocratic and crude dictator with no military education whatsoever.
Based on decades of research work in both German and Russian archives, as well as interviews with a large number of key figures and veterans, Operation Barbarossa brings our knowledge on the war on the Eastern Front several big steps forward. It reveals and dispels many myths and misconceptions including: the myth of mass surrenders by Soviet soldiers; the myth about the vast differences in troop casualties between the two sides; the myth of the Soviet partisans and the myth that it was the Arctic cold that halted the German offensive. It also does not shy away from difficult truths such as the true nature of Finland’s participation in Operation Barbarossa, and the massive scale of rapes committed by German troops.
Illustrated with over 250 photos, many never previously published, and several clear and detailed maps, this is an objective, balanced account, published in time for the 75th anniversary of the start of Operation Barbarossa on 22nd June 2016. Christer Bergström has once again produced what will be the definitive account of this monumental campaign.
F.A.D. is a skirmish rules set for science fiction and 20th century wargaming. The rules aim to provide a fun, fast and most importantly, realistic game.
Rather than troops charging blindly into gunfire, your men will be affected by suppression and losses. Officers are leaders and commanders, not supermen, and the emphasis of a battle is on men over materials.
During a battle, you will find troops getting pinned down and locked in bloody firefights, while trying to evacuate your casualties or bring up reinforcements to outflank that railgun position!
The game has its own background setting, but is generic and can be used with your existing miniatures and armies. The rules assume models to be mounted individually, but can work with any scale where this is practical. Typically this means 15mm and above.
The rules, as they stand now, cover infantry, artillery weapons, vehicles as well as peripheral scifi stuff like powered armour, drop troops and lots of other nonsense.
They will work for most 20th century and beyond games, with the emphasis being on modern day and near future warfare
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