"Wargames from World War II: Book Review" Topic

I have just written a review of John Curry's latest book – WARGAMES FROM WORLD WAR II – on my blog and I cannot recommend it too highly to anyone who thinks of themselves as a serious student of the history of wargaming. In fact, i would go as far as to say that anyone who is or aspires to be a professional wargamer should have this on their reading list.

link

"professional wargamer" -One who draws a salary?

Who's recruiting? I need to know!

"Who's recruiting"

wargaming.com/en/careers

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link

link

Wolfhag

Well who knew?

Uk Strategic Command have recently opened an experimentation and wargaming hub at my old alma mater Southwick Park in Hampshire. Professional wargaming is very much a thing.

Professional wargaming is a growing sector, with almost all major – and a lot of minor – nations employing designers, analysts, developers, Red Team players etc.

and facilitators too. The Marines also have openings at Quantico.

Wolfhag

Don't forget the great wargaming department at the US Army Command and General Staff College.

Legionarius,
You mean the one at Carlisle Barracks in PA?

Wolfhag

I'd add a word of caution to anyone equating military wargaming with hobby wargaming, I suspect you'll find that they have as much in common as cricket and Australian rules football.

Mark,
Yes, very different.

I've been to several of the Connections events where the military branches evaluate war games from civilian companies. The one held last year Bolt Action had several tables set up for their games and no one was at their table. They don't seem to be interested in miniature games.

A friend of mine is a "professional wargamer" and retired military officer. Here is a list of games they play and evaluate:
Pub Battles: Shall I advance?

Pub Battle: Antietam

COIN Series: British Way, Mayla Scenario

COIN Series: Fire in the Lake

COIN Series: A Distant Plain

War of Whispers

Littoral Commander

Operations Wargaming System (OWS)

War Chest

Twilight Struggle: Red Sea

Race to the Rhine

Reckoning of Vultures

A Game of War

I'm writing a proposal for a US company that wants to sell the Marines a series of games for a one-hour classroom exercise. The game is targeted at O-3 to O-6 officers. The idea is to show the command, control, and logistics problems both sides have and put together assets and tactics for defending or attacking. I returned from Ukraine last month visiting several friends that have been fighting the Russians for over a year. I conducted many interviews to get details on lessons learned, tactics, and weapons. The Battle of Bakhmut will be the first scenario but there will be other historical scenarios if they accept the design.

I'll be part of a team that will be doing a presentation "Tactical Lessons Learned in Ukraine" at the next Connections in June: connections-wargaming.com

Anyone can attend.

Wolfhag

Wolfhag:

Good for you. Good luck at Connections. But whatever you do, don't tell them it's all subjective. ;-7

What are your impressions of the situation in Ukraine?

What are your impressions of the situation in Ukraine?

This is a discussion for the Ultramodern Warfare group. I'd be more than glad to discuss my findings and experience but unfortunately, it seems I've been banned for life from that group. IIRC about 4 years ago I posted a historical fact about a "protected" group and hurt someone's feelings. My bad.

I visited Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zapo. We spent New Year's in Odesa and Putin supplied the fireworks with dozens of drones. We watched the AA fire, some of which seemed to come from Gephards. A few did hit apartment buildings. It was the largest drone attack of the war and I didn't even get a T-shirt.

In every city, it seemed like every 3-4 hours the warning sirens sounded but people just ignored them. There isn't much you can do. The Ukies spoof and jam the GPS so the drones and missiles miss their intended infrastructure targets and hit civilian apartments and businesses. At one point when we were driving through southern Ukraine, the GPS was showing we were in Crimea.

The only battlefield I visited was Balakliya, outside Kharkiv, which was liberated during the Sept 2022 offensive. We couldn't go into the trenches and fighting positions because the mines had not been cleared.

The hotel I stayed at in Kharkiv was hit by an S-300 missile a week after we left: link

Last year at Connections we had a US Army Ranger and a British SAS give a presentation on the Kharkiv Offensive. This year I'm hoping to get a few guys to the event. Their team has been deployed to the trenches east of Kupyansk doing drone and artillery FO work for a Russian offensive of 500+ tanks, AFVs, and 40,000+ troops.

They had a team of 12 throughout the Battle of Bakhmut and didn't lose anyone. Since March of last year 4 are still in Ukraine, four went home and four were killed.

Wolfhag

Wolfhag:
Thanks for the insights. And as for the Ultramodern Warfare group. A little History can always throw a spanner in the works for gamers.

Dana Lombardy and I have been contacted by a group that wants to do a documentary film on the war focusing on the multi-national volunteers. Should be interesting.

Wolfhag

Wolfhag:

It does sound interesting. Cell phone warfare is another fascinating aspect of the war. I just hope the volunteers' situation don't degrade into a Spanish Civil War outcome.

Say hello to Dana for me if you see him. I haven't talked to him in a long time.

This guy thinks so too: link

Exploiting cell phones and cell towers and putting up bogus hot spots is what my son did in the Marines with a SigInt MOS.

Wolfhag