Hexsides & Hand Grenades – Books, Games, and Things of That Nature

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Next War: Korea and Red Phoenix

I just finished reading Larry Bond’s classic 1989 military thriller, Red Phoenix.

What a great read! It’s an epic tale of a Second Korean War set during the late 1980s just at the tail end of the Cold War.

There’s plenty to enjoy – taut military action, intrigue, and a look at the political dynamics that such a war might have involved during that time.

In case you haven’t read it, Bond’s tale starts off with a growing crisis on the Korean peninsula. North Korea’s ailing father-figure Kim Il-sung is in the twilight of his life. His son, the de facto leader of the regime, is hungry for a war of unification to make the old man happy before he croaks. Sensing vulnerability in the political turmoil of South Korea’s student demonstrations, Dear Leader decides to stir the pot with some fancy footwork by double-agents in high government positions.

Soon, the South Korean military is cracking down hard and shooting into crowds of unarmed protestors. This violence doesn’t sit well with Washington lawmakers, who see an opportunity to do a little political grandstanding by slapping the country with trade sanctions and a threatened military withdrawal. None of it matters.

As the turmoil in South Korea deepens, the American president announces a punitive withdrawal of all US military forces from the peninsula. Too late, he learns that he has been misled by his national security advisor. Left with no choice but to go ahead with the pullout, he asks the local American military commander to intentionally drag out the process.

The growing instability in South Korea leads to an attempted coup by the country’s senior military leaders, who are caught at the last minute and arrested. Thus begins a purge of the ROK military’s best and brightest officers. Soon the army is a mere husk of its former self.

M48 tanks of the South Korean military in the 1980s.

Seeing his chance, the North Korean leader puts into motion a plan called “Red Phoenix”. This is a military strategy aimed at defeating the South Koreans and uniting the country under the communist banner. The US and its South Korean ally are surprised by a massive attack on Christmas Day as the DPRK hurls its troops across the DMZ and over the Han River. The Soviets are only too happy to help feed the offensive with supplies and the latest military technology. As the US Army and the ROK retreat south, things begin to spiral out of control and the conflict threatens to become a much wider war.

I won’t spoil the ending here. I would rank this as one of my favorites – up there with Clancy’s Red Storm Rising and The Hunt for Red October. I also enjoyed Bond’s Vortex, which is an underappreciated classic.

Red Phoenix put me in the mood to play Mitchell Land’s excellent debut in the Next War series, Next War: Korea. I got this game when it first came out and made a real mess of the rules while learning the Standard game. Since I finally had a bit of time, I returned to it with the determination to get things right.

Over the course of ten days, I played and replayed the game’s first Standard scenario, Seoul Train. Admittedly, I was pretty rusty with the rules and made many mistakes trying to get the system down. Reading Mr. Land’s AAR on Boardgamegeek helped immensely in getting the rules straight once and for all (though the part about Advance/Control checks should actually be replaced with Clearing markers to reflect the latest rules iteration).

While I was playing this scenario, I wondered a little at how it could be adapted to fit the situation in Larry Bond’s novel. I think you could create a variant based on the Seoul Train scenario. Basically, just keep everything the same with the following adjustments:

reduce the Efficiency rating of all ROK units by 1 to reflect the loss of morale and leadership before the start of the war
reduce the Efficiency rating of the US 2nd Division by 1 to reflect the loss in equipment due to the withdrawal of US forces
ROK 20/VII unit sets up in 3018 to reflect the fact that the S. Korea political leaders order several units up north near the DMZ so as to avoid another coup attempt. This unit cannot move for the duration of Turn 1.
No ROK units may move into or through an Urban hex during Turn 1.
At the start of Turn 1, roll a d10. If the result is even, remove ROK’s single Air Point for this turn to reflect the chaotic evacuation effort and the attacks at Gimpo International.
Map: Row 31xx and everything to the west of it are in play.
Tunnels: The DPRK gets only two tunnels instead of three for Turn 1. One of the tunnels is discovered at the beginning of the book.
Objectives: In the book, the DPRK’s strategy was to surround Seoul rather than capture it. To reflect this, the victory conditions are changed as follows: 1 VP for capturing each of the following: Gimpo, Goyang, Guri, Hanam. 1 VP for every 2 stacking points worth of units off the the south edge of the map (row xx22).
- A major DPRK victory is achieved at 10 or more victory points. Anything else is an ROK victory.

I haven’t fine-tuned the above rules yet but I think this is a good starting point for a decent Red Phoenix scenario. Any feedback is much appreciated.

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Anti-Submarine Warfare: A Review

Author: Rear Admiral J.R. Hill
Year Published: 1984
Published by: Ian Allan Ltd.

In the mid-1980s, UK-based publisher Ian Allan Ltd. noticed something was wrong. The market had become saturated with military books that featured photos and dry numbers about the latest equipment. Very few of these publications, however, addressed the basic question of how all this stuff was used. Knowing a weapon’s range or a ship’s sensor suite was all well and good, but understanding why it had been built that way and how it worked in combat wasn’t really clear.

Ian Allan attempted to fill this gap with a three-part collection called Combat Roles. Written by men who were experienced and knowledgeable in each field, the books explored the various aspects of modern warfare. Written for the layman, they explored the central dilemmas and tradeoffs that drove weapons design and development throughout the years. They also offered an idea of how each system would hold up in major combat (i.e. the outbreak of World War III).

The first of these offerings, Anti-Submarine Warfare sets a high bar for the rest of the Combat Roles series. Its writer, Rear Admiral John Richard Hill served 41 years in the Royal Navy. Much of that time was spent on destroyers and frigates before working at the Ministry of Defense. Hill wrote no less than 14 books and countless articles that were published in defense journals throughout the world. He was an editor of the Naval Review and the Chairman of the Navy Records Society. So we’re in good hands here.

Hill opens with an introduction that covers the history of anti-submarine warfare and its development from the Second World War to the mid-1980s. We get an outline of the various roles of the modern submarine, from strategic deterrence to tactical employment against shipping and inshore operations. From the outset, he makes it very clear that the start of submarine warfare marks a clear step from tension to war. And for that reason, the rules of engagement in these areas will be fairly liberal. This is the underlying assumption that Hill works with for the rest of the book.

The Soviet threat to NATO convoys in event of WW3 in Central Europe

Chapter Two describes the current threat to NATO. Since the book is from 1984, this is obviously the Soviet Union. More specifically, NATO had planned much of its sea strategy around dealing with the Soviet ballistic missile submarine force, which was designed to attack and destroy NATO countries. Proof of this threat came from the USSR itself – with Gorshkov’s books placing great emphasis on “Fleet against Shore” activities (interpreted as sea-based nuclear attack on an opponent’s homeland) in his own writings.

Hill outlines the development of Soviet ballistic missile nuclear submarines since the end of the war. For decades, the Russians were plagued with problems in attempting to find a satisfactory sea-based ballistic program. A long string of failures led to the development of the dreaded Typhoon class submarine, which he describes as a “submarine battleship.” Its titanium hulls (Hill speculates it has two – actually, it has five), displacement (Hill estimates 30,000 tons – actually its 48,000 tons), and missile-capacity must have seemed fearsome to any naval analyst in the early to mid-80s.

In the same chapter, we get a look at the other side of the coin. The Soviet attack submarine force was largely neglected during WW2. The Russians didn’t seem to know or care much about how to use them. This changed dramatically after the war ended. With one eye toward protecting their homeland against the Polaris submarine threat and the other at taking on American aircraft carriers and NATO shipping, the Soviet attack submarine program took shape in the decades that followed. The design and development of nuclear-powered boats soon took precedence over conventional diesel boats.

Basic ranges and positioning of ASW assets at work

In Chapter Three, Hill writes about the “how” of ASW. Here we get a rundown of how sound travels through water and how the thermocline influences its propagation. Two major factors in understanding the underwater environment are 1.) the volume and quality of data that can be collected and 2.) the depth at which sensors are placed.

There is a constant tradeoff being made in an effort to determine a.) whether a submarine is out there (condition POSSUB) and b.) how to find it (CERTSUB). Advanced sensors pick up more noise and are therefore more susceptible to false alarms. Active sonar has its own particular problems – its range can be increased but at the expense of accuracy. Furthermore, the range of active sonar does not increase proportionately with the power applied. At some point, the law of diminishing returns steps in.

Non-acoustic detection has its own host of problems. Magnetic Anomaly Detectors (MAD) can detect submarines by looking for changes in the earth’s magnetic field caused by the presence of a submarine’s composition – ferrous metals. Unfortunately, their range is limited. Hill discusses the possible future ability to detect minute temperature changes on the water’s surface created by the passage of a submarine far below. This phenomena, known as “thermal scarring”, may be detectable to airborne and satellite observers.

Destroying a submarine consists of five distinct parts: Detection, Classification, Localisation, Tracking, and Kill. Hill describes how this is achieved through the use of bottom arrays, processing equipment such as computers, the use of active sonar and MAD, sonobuoys, and explosives. All of this equipment has its drawbacks and each step is fraught with the possibility for error. A successful ASW campaign involves understanding the intentions of the enemy as well as one’s own capabilities to detect and ultimately kill the enemy.

Chapter Four deals with Weapons. Hill shows how ASW has, by necessity, become a complex and integrated system with various weapons platforms working in concert.

Since submarine speeds have increased considerably since World War 2, the major issue has become how ASW platforms can deliver weapons systems quickly against a detected underwater threat. At the time of writing, rocket-propelled torpedoes such as the Sea Lance system were being developed to address this issue. Helicopters offer even greater flexibility, but are constrained by weight and fuel capacity in terms of the weapons and detection equipment they can carry. Hill goes into considerable detail about the proliferation of towed arrays and how they work.

In Chapter Five, Hill postulates how the ASW battle would be carried out in a hypothetical World War III between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Winning the sea battle would be essential for NATO victory in Central Europe. The primary roles of the navy would be to reinforce Europe, preserve the West’s own strategic deterrence, and either destroy or deter the use of Soviet nuclear ballistic submarines. Sea power would also determine how the war progressed on NATO’s northern and southern flanks.

A look at how ASW assets might be deployed during periods of tension between superpowers

On the offense, Hill suggests a free-for-all approach to defeating the Soviets rather than a set-piece naval battle. He sees independent anti-submarine operations as a way to deceive and confuse the Russians. Only when it suited them would NATO’s submarine and surface forces work in concert to eliminate the Soviet threat.

The Support Group concept as illustrated

As for protecting NATO convoys against Soviet submarines, he believes that sea lanes are impossible to protect given the increasing range of modern cruise missiles and torpedoes. Rerouting convoys to the south would only lengthen supply routes to Central Europe.

Convoy protection boils down to the problem of scale and resources. Hill argues for a shifting support group concept where a constantly-moving collection of ASW platforms (ships, helicopters, carriers, ASW patrol craft) would operate with each other to detect and destroy threats as merchant shipping is passed along each successive patrol area like a conveyor belt.

The book shows that ASW is as much an art form as it is a matter of technology. There is no single simple solution that can be applied to each problem or scenario. Even with all the systems working together, conducting these operations is fraught with the very real possibility of human or machine error.

Overall, Hill’s book is an excellent introduction to the concepts and practice of anti-submarine warfare. It is written simply and with numerous charts, photos, and maps to elaborate his points. Although some of the data on Soviet subs was understandably unavailable at the time, the basics of how to deal with – and ultimately kill them – are no less applicable. I learned more about ASW in this short volume than from all the books about Cold War naval equipment I had ever browsed.

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Work Update – 2019 Books

This has been one of my busiest years so far with a ton of books completed and coming down the pipeline. Here’s a look at what’s been done so far:

First Strike

I started working on this one early in the year. This project was a request by David Heath from Lock ‘n Load Publishing. Keith Tracton had designed the World at War ’85 game and the first release, “Storming the Gap” was just about to be kickstarted.

David wanted a book that followed the World at War timeline and, with the help of Keith, we worked out a rough idea of what the final product would look like.

Everyone agreed that it should closely adhere to the events and scenarios in the game. That being said, the book needed to be enjoyable for those who had never played or even heard about the game.

For the next four months, I wrote a book that covered the origins of the war from both the Soviet and American side. This was probably the toughest part to write because it used historical figures and I wanted to capture their personalities and demeanors through dialogue and action. I ended up basing much of it on short biographies and TV clips as well as documentaries.

The next three parts of the book were based on the first three scenarios of the game and bore the same name as the scenarios. These were “Storming the Gap”, “A Matter of Bridges”, and “Iron Horse, Iron Spear.” Taken together, these stories recounted the first major battles between the United States V Corps and the Soviet 8th Guards Army in the Fulda Gap. The stories are told largely from the perspective of a company commander although I often switched perspectives to show what was happening with various platoon leaders, weapons teams, or individuals.

2. Army of Two

When I finished writing “First Strike”, I was left with the feeling that there was more to say and do with several of the characters and events from the book. My intention had always been to get back to them at some point, but I just didn’t know how or when.

LNLP asked to produce a second edition of my existing book, “Enemy Lines” as a one-off that was unrelated to – but in the same setting as “Storming the Gap.” I started to revise “Enemy of Lines” but it just felt off.

All at once, inspiration hit me like a sledgehammer. By changing names and details, I could fill in the details of what had happened after “First Strike” and use it as a bridge that could connect to other books in the series. I almost completely rewrote “Enemy Lines” and submitted the rough draft before getting swept away by another project, “Space Infantry”.

When I came back to “Enemy Lines” (which was going to be renamed “Army of Two”), I was less than pleased with what I had written. It had a subplot that didn’t make much sense and it wasn’t clear how the events in the book tied in with the broader timeline of the series.

I ripped out one of the subplots and fleshed out another while drawing out connections between characters in the books. The focus shifted dramatically from a “POW” story and instead turned into a book about two very different men trying to run guerrilla operations behind enemy lines during World War III. The result was MUCH more satisfying and I’m very happy with the way this book turned out. There are still fragments of “Enemy Lines” in this book but they are almost unrecognizable.

3. The Ghost Insurgency

Here’s the cover image I used for “Insurgency”.

“Ghost Insurgency” is a second edition of “Insurgent”, a story about two Vietnam veterans who are brought back into service to help advise an insurgency in East Germany during World War III.

This was one of my favorite books and I wasn’t sure what kind of improvements needed to be made with this story at first. A part of me felt like I was giving up a favorite child when I sat down to work on this again. I didn’t change much from the original story but I tightened up the writing and fleshed out some further details about the broader operations in support of the book’s main characters.

When I got to the ending, I realized that my original version of World War III did not gel with the events of Keith Tracton and David Heath’s game narrative so that needed to be rewritten. The character decisions and fate is altered just slightly enough to deal with these changes. I think it worked out quite well.

The biggest change in the book was including a prologue that dealt with events in Vietnam. I wanted to show why these events haunted Joe Ricci and also illustrate his thorny relationship with Baker, who now has a larger part in the book. David Heath gets a mention as an ambitious CIA officer running ops in Southeast Asia and makes an appearance fifteen years later as World War III erupts.

4. Storm and Steel: Second Wave

Another second edition. This was based on the original “Storm and Steel”, which is about a West German panzer company commander during the first days of the conflict. This one is set south of the events in the Fulda Gap. It’s situated in southern Bavaria and the opponents are both the Soviets and the Czechoslovakian People’s Army.

In the original book, I always felt that the tension among the characters wasn’t really explained well. I added in a prologue that explores the roots of this a bit further. It also explained some of the problems that Mohr was having as the new commander of a unit that was having deep morale issues and personal conflicts.

I included a “news article” that talked about the performance of Leopard I tanks during World War III. It delves into the limitations and advantages of the tank as well as the tactics and performance. This was a particularly fun article to write.

Marc von Martial did some excellent illustrations for this book. He drew up several maps that showed the general position of the enemy as well as Kurt Mohr’s tactics around Grafling as well as other battlefields described in the book. This put the book into solid territory as a second edition and, in my humble opinion, makes it worth the purchase price for fans of the first book.

Keith Tracton took the events from Storm and Steel and created an expansion for “Storming the Gap”. You can now play as Kurt Mohr and command the West Germans (or the Czechs). The scenarios recreate each major battle in the book. From what I’ve seen of the product so far, it is very high quality with tons of maps, counters, and a rulebook that look stunning.

5. Space Infantry

This was a blast to write. Years ago, David Heath had written a draft called “Outpost 13”, which was premised on a team of soldiers much like the old Starship Troopers: Roughnecks series. Both of us loved the show and so we had a common idea of what we were going for with the book and the atmosphere we wanted to create. Since David was busy getting “World at War” and “Space Infantry” games out the door, I took over the writing of this book.

I based my draft heavily on the story that David had created. The major changes I made were at the start of the story. I slowed things down a bit and introduced a few characters at a time and tried to show how the men and women in the squad related to each other during training and downtime. I also worked exposition into an action scene in an attempt to flesh out the setting for the reader in a way that was easy to digest.

David had complained about his ending but there was nothing wrong with it that a little tweaking couldn’t fix. I also slid in two arcs that developed two characters and ultimately made them seem more human. There are elements of intrigue, betrayal, and loss at play and I think these changes add a bit more power to David’s original draft.

What’s next?

There is more to come, but as you can guess, I am now in need of a little break before I get back to work. This year’s crop of books have all been written and submitted at this point. Once the final production (layout, audio, printing, etc.) has been done, they should be available.

I would like to finish up one more second edition before the year ends and plot out the next book in the “Storming the Gap” series. I already have several ideas about where to take things and the characters we’ll see from previous books.

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Sixth Fleet – ASW in the Med.

This is a brief report of Scenario 1 from Victory Games’ 1986 classic, Sixth Fleet designed by Joltin’ Joe Balkoski.

This is a simple short scenario with clear objectives: sink the other guy’s subs before the end of Turn 9.

The background is pretty basic. The USSR wants control of the Med so it can have a free hand at destroying NATO merchant shipping bound for Israel. A couple of US submarines need to stop this from happening.

Setup is as follows:

SS Byngi (Kilo-class) and SN Drabov (Victor III) set up in the Western Mediterranean. Both subs are decent with ASW values of 6. Both are pretty quiet and hard to detect. The US gets a Sturgeon-class boat, USS Drum (SSN-677), just east of Gibraltar. It’s not as sturdy as a Los Angeles-class submarine, but still packs a punch with its ASW value of 9.

SN Sumy (Victor III) and SN Nezhin (Alfa-class) are placed in the Tyrrhenian Sea, ready to strike the USS Baltimore! The Nezhin is the true threat here with an ASW value equal to the Los Angeles class submarine and a tough hull value of 7. What’s most amazing here is its speed.

The Alfas could run at an estimated 42 knots and this is reflected by their counter speed of 5. They are among the fastest naval units in the game. As a side note, they could dive down to around 2000 feet or more, which was far deeper than any NATO sub could travel.

To say that the West was concerned about these subs is an understatement. The capabilities of the Alfas dominated NATO naval weapons development well into the 1980s. Most notably, this lead to several new torpedo programs, including the American ADCAP Mark 48 torpedo and the British “Spearfish.”

	Sturgeon	Los Angeles	Kilo	Victor	Alfa
Speed (kts)	25	25+	20	32	42
Displace. (tons)	4,270	5,714	3,950	7,250	3,680
Test Depth (m/ft)	396/1300	450/1470	240/780	320/1050	750/2460
Complement	109	110	52	~100	31

All that worry was for naught. Only 7 Alfas were built. They were noisy, unreliable, and insanely expensive to boot. All seven boats were decommissioned and slated for the scrapheap by the mid-90s. Great article about them here.

The Soviets have a T16 recon flight sitting in Annaba, Algeria. I had no idea that Moscow and Algiers were buddies. A little digging revealed that the Russians provided 11 billion dollars worth of military equipment to the country during the Cold War. That explains it!

The Soviets outnumber the Americans but the US player has more air power. There are four P3 Orions available. A good mix of recon and tactical coordination should be enough to even the odds.

Turn 1:

Strategic Air:

The Russians try to detect the USS Baltimore and fail miserably with a roll of 6. The US has no luck detecting the Byngi or the Sumi. The noisy Alfa, though is detected quite easily. A Detected marker is placed on the Nehzin.

The Drum moves east three hexes while the Baltimore moves west in hopes of joining up with it and wreaking havoc on the Soviet sub fleet. Byngi and Drabov move west to cut off the Drum while Sumy and Nehzin pursue the Baltimore.

Turn 2:

The Baltimore moves 4 hexes straight west while the Drum moves one hex toward the Byngi.

Sumy and Nehzn catch up to Baltimore and Drabov closes in on Drum. Drum and Byngi are detected. Baltimore and Sumy detect each other. A fight is brewing.

Turn 3:

Baltimore vs. Sumy:(w/ Tac Coord): 3 + 1: 4

Sumy is damaged!

Drum vs. Byngi: 4

The Byngi is damaged!

Drabov moves north and attacks Drum. We roll a 5. No effect!

Nehzn chases after Baltimore and damages it. The run of luck for the US ends.

Turn 4:

Strategic Air Phase:

Both sides commit everything to Tac Coordination in the Western Med.

US gets initiative and send the Drum up to deal with the Nehzin. We add three Tac Coordination planes in to seal the deal. Rolling a 5 for a modified 8, we deal 5 damage to the Russian sub, which is enough to flip it over. The damaged Baltimore attacks the Drabov but fails to inflict damage.

The Drabov moves one hex east and attacks the Drum, hoping to damage it with the help of Tactical Coordination. The result is a modified 3. Not a chance.

The Soviets go and the Nehzin deals a hit against the Drum. Both US subs are now damaged.

Turn 5:

Both US subs attempt to deal damage against the Drabov. Both fail.

The Soviet Drabov manages to sink the USS Drum! The Americans are down to a single damaged sub. Things don’t look good. The Baltimore is trapped on all sides by the Soviets.

Turn 6:

Every Soviet sub takes its turn hammering away on the elusive Baltimore. Can it survive?! A string of bad rolls results in no damage! The Americans try to strike back but are stymied. The Baltimore races west in an attempt to outrun the Russians.

Turn 7:

Strategic Air:

Russians on reconnaisance and American planes on Tactical Coordination.

Here we go! The Soviets fail to detect the fleeing Baltimore! The US sub goes toward Gibraltar. The Soviets give chase!

Turn 8:

The Soviets are hot on the heels of the Baltimore!

Turn 9:

The Soviets take a parting shot at the Baltimore before it leaves Gibraltar. The Nezhin nearly damages it with a roll of 5. Had I put the Soviet T16 on Tac coordination, this would have meant the death of the US sub. The Drabov takes a shot and misses too. The Baltimore sneaks off a parting shot at the Drabov, damaging it and then races out of the Mediterranean.

Result: Since neither side was able to sink all of the other side’s subs, this is a draw. Interesting to see how this scenario can turn on a dime from straight up combat to desperate retreat. Back in the Kremlin, Admiral Gorshkov bangs his fist on a desk. Over at the White House, Secretary of the Navy John Lehman has some explaining to do.

Reagan: “Stand a little further away from me, John. And for God’s sake, fix your tie!”

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Air Superiority in Gulf Strike

In Scenario 1 of Gulf Strike (VG, 1983), the Iranians are set to invade the Gulf Council States. With the US presence in the area growing more powerful each turn, Iran has to move very quickly to gain control over and consolidate its hold on the Straits of Hormuz. Time is of the essence and an Iranian player who does not move quickly will almost certainly lose the game.

One of the keys to keeping your armies moving is to gain and keep air superiority. Iran’s army has a lot of ground to cover in its march through the region, so its long supply lines that are quite vulnerable to attack from enemy aircraft. Even a rusting pile of junk is able to fly interdiction missions that will create havoc among your ground forces and slow your advances considerably. Yes, you have air defenses and aircraft – but they cannot be everywhere at once. As Stanley Baldwin once said, “The bomber will always get through.”

With that in mind, the Iranian player needs to have a solid strategy for knocking out the enemy’s air forces before they have a chance to do any real damage. To that end, the Iranian player needs to dedicate his fixed-wing air units to the task of eliminating enemy airbases until they have achieved supremacy.

The scenario setup gives Iran the following air units:

10 x F-4 Phantoms
8 x F-5 Tigers
3 x AH-1 Cobras
2 x CH-47
1 x C-130
1 x P3
1 x S-3

The AH-1 Cobras should be the only aircraft dedicated to ground support for the early turns. The Iranian army is strong enough to take care of itself without needing to call on tons of CAS, especially when dealing with Kuwait. Plunk an airbase down in 1140 and put these guys on Offensive missions.

As for the other planes, we’ll focus entirely only on combat aircraft. That’s the F-4 and F-5s.

The Phantoms are excellent fighters with a “6” rating for anti-air. However, they are also your best bombers with a “5” bombardment rating. The F-5 Tigers are poor bombers (“3”) and decent fighters (“5”) so this should be a no-brainer. The F-4 Phantoms will deliver your air-to-ground ordnance and your F-5s will escort them or be sent on air superiority missions. Of course, the F-5s have a much shorter range than the Phantoms and here’s where things get hairy. In order to gain and keep air superiority, the Iranians will either need good luck and a lot of patience or they’ll need to make some incredibly aggressive moves from the first turn onward.

To Strike or not to Strike

On the first turn of Scenario 1, the Iranian player has the choice of either restricting their attacks to Kuwait or going all out. If they keep their units out of the other countries, the Gulf Council States will mobilize on Turn 2. On the other hand, moving into or attacking any countries besides Kuwait will result in the GC states mobilizing immediately.

Although the former may sound like a good way for the Iranians to catch the other countries with their pants down on Turn 2, I’ve come around to thinking that it hurts Iran more than helps it. If the Iranian player wants to win the scenario, they need to go all out from the very start. Turn 1 should be about taking out Kuwait as fast as possible while beginning the process of dismantling enemy air. My buddy Mark has written about Kuwait at length over at Boardgaming Life and the article is so perfect that I have little to add. On the subject of airpower, though, I think there is room to consider a possible approach.

The Opposition

Let’s go country by country and look at what we have to deal with:

Saudi Arabia

The Saudis have, by far, the most powerful air force in the game outside of the major powers and Iran. They have:

2 x F-15 Eagles
3 x F-5 Tigers
1 x Lightning

The F-15 Eagles are better than your Phantoms with an impressive “7” anti-air rating. The F-5s are certainly no joke here either. Coupled with the AWACS for early warning, these become deadly interceptors.

Kuwait

The Kuwaiti Air Force is very small but can still throw a punch. The single Mirage squadron has a “6” anti-aircraft rating. With only one airbase and one scramble opportunity, they won’t be able to do much though. The two A-4 Skyhawk squadrons are poor fighters with only a “2” rating. They are probably more effective at making ground attacks for the short time they manage to stay alive.

Qatar

A single Mirage squadron. Not too much to worry about in the first turn but should be taken care of soon. These long-range aircraft are able to provide air cover for its small army. They might also be used for interdiction as the Iranian army marches down the peninsula.

Oman

Oman has an antiquated air force with only a single squadron of ageing Hunter aircraft (“1” bombardment and “2” anti-aircraft) and Jaguars apiece. The Jags have a very decent bombardment rating (“5”) so shouldn’t be underestimated. Not likely to do much against your armies in the early game but would almost certainly be used for strike missions against eastern Iran or enemy ships that stray too close to its shores.

UAE

The UAE has a pretty decent air force with two Mirage squadrons that could do well enough as interceptors or ground attack aircraft. They also have a Hunter aircraft that would almost certainly be assigned to interdiction.

Aircraft comparisons

Aircraft	Anti-air	Bombardment	Range
F-4	6	5	10
F-5	5	3	4
F-15	7	5	10
Mirage	6	4	8
Hunter	2	1	2
Lightning	3	1	5
Jaguar	1	5	3
A-4	2	3	5

As you can see from the table above, there are only really three types of enemy aircraft that pose any real threat to Iran’s air force: F-5, F-15, and Mirage. Two of these three aircraft are owned by the Saudis. Consequently, the bulk of our air activity in the first turns should be dedicated to destroying their air force. There are just two problems:

The AWACS provides long-range detection of Iranian aircraft, allowing the Saudis to scramble far in advance of our arrival over target. Since we cannot club the Saudi Air Force over the head with better aircraft, Iran will have to rely on good ol’ quantity to get the job done.
If the Saudis set up their air bases in a defensive area around Riyadh (thereby ceding air defense of the other allied nations around it), the airfields will be out of range for Iran’s F-5 aircraft to use as escorts for the F-4 Phantoms. Thus, the Iranian Air Force will be forced to pair up the Phantoms and use them exclusively against Saudi Arabia. It will take several turns to knock the Saudis completely out of the air. The Iranian Air Force will be hurting by the end of it.

This dilemma reveals the true limitations of Iran’s air capabilities (namely, its limited range) and highlights the need for a much more aggressive strategy based on the fact that Iran, if it is going to survive the game, will need to take drastic measures early on to capture and seize airfields. This will play a key role in keeping the Americans out of the Gulf and the Soviets in a position where they will be able to protect Iran’s gains in the region.

The options in the early turns include capturing Bahrain immediately with a marine landing in 2157 (after sinking their FAC, of course). It’s also a supply source. You might try for a foothold on the Saudi coastline by landing near Al Kubar in 1957 but the enemy Corvette and Frigate will both need to go first. A safer option might be to grab Al Hufuh at 1760. This could also be captured by a C-30 airlifted brigade in the first turn. The only problem is that reinforcement in subsequent turns can only be achieved by air.

In my experience, achieving at least two of these three objectives will at usually get the ball rolling. From the second turn, you’ll be using C-130s and your ships to transport your airbases into the newly captured airfields. Start ferrying your air units down there next. This will give you a huge advantage from Turn 3 onwards. You’ll hopefully have two dedicated airbases that can be used to launch F-5 escorted region-wide strike missions with your Phantoms.

You’ll also have a place to hang your F-14 Tomcat EW aircraft. These bases will help protect your ground forces as they move south from Kuwait. They’ll also be a great staging area to move your airmobile and naval forces east when you’re ready to attack the UAE and Oman (which should be very soon).

If the Soviets can be handed a toehold for their MiG-23s based at 4458 at the tip of the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian forces will have a chance of pulling off a win. The key to this game is air superiority and any strategy that begins with considering how to achieve this will win over a commander who focuses only on the ground war.

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Lessons of Volume: Writing Reflections

I’ve just finished my latest book for Lock ‘n Load Publishing: Space Infantry. The tentative subtitle for the book is “Outpost 13” but that may change according to the publisher’s desire. The story was based on something that was already written by another author and most of my job consisted of cleaning up the scenes, fleshing out the characters, and fixing the ending up a bit. Don’t get me wrong – those were huge tasks, but the basic building blocks were already there.

Like my books in the upcoming World at War ’85 series, this one was set in a universe based on the upcoming Space Infantry: Resurgence game. Not having had a copy of the game to work from, I was using images from the kickstarter to help with drawing out the details of the universe that the characters inhabited. In some cases, I could get pretty specific about stuff while in others, I was deliberately vague so as not to step on the toes of the designer. This made my job much tougher than I expected, but it’s a challenge that I was glad to have.

Space Infantry marks the fourth book of 2019 that I have produced. That seems to me like an insane amount of words and it does represent the major thrust of my daily productive life from late January of this year. It’s pretty hard to write this much stuff and tell these stories without learning a thing or two about writing, so I believe what I have gleaned from this experience is this above all:

Writing gets better the more you do it. It also gets easier.

In the early period of this year, I was struggling to pump out a thousand words per day as I hummed and hawed over my scenes and fiddled with words that ended up getting cut from the final version anyways. It was late April when I finally got my act together and started aiming for double that amount as my daily quota. Most of the time I got close – but not enough to satisfy my goals.

So here’s the other thing about writing stories: Planning scenes out ahead of time – even just a little – will help you immensely.

I know that seems obvious to many people, but believe me – when you’re a writer and you’re focused on word count and productivity, the temptation is real to just sit down at your computer each day and write stuff. These writers are known as “pantsers”, as in they write by the seat of their pants. Stephen King is this kind of writer – he mentions in his book “On Writing” that he doesn’t know where a story will take him as he writes.

I’m sure that works for some writers – I suspect though that their brains are just wired a bit differently and that some part of them just KNOWS where a story is going without having to sit down and put it all down on paper beforehand. It’s not that they are being disingenuous about not planning out their stories – it’s more that the productive side of their subconscious is more accessible than others and how the heck do you even begin to understand how that’s different from most people?

I have tried to write by the seat of my pants before and the results were mixed. The method of freestyle writing that produced Storm and Steel (my most successful book to date) was the same one which produced Task Force (a book that was rightly panned by most reviewers).

When I switched over to writing out and planning my scenes beforehand, the word count shot upward and so did the quality. “Insurgency” was the product of a long brainstorming session that, in my opinion, resulted in an interesting book with a satisfying ending and deeper characters. There are still lots of problem with “Insurgency”, but it’s one of the books I’m most proud of.

The fact that the rough draft of Space Infantry was already written before I got my hands on it helped to reinforce these lessons. Without having to worry about exactly where the story was headed, I basically painted inside the lines and helped straighten out the bigger issues. I am pretty sure Space Infantry will be a success – it certainly has a few things to think about and has a twist or two to spur the readers on to a huge climactic ending that sets things up for a sequel.

I think it’s a great story – one of the better books that I have written. Hopefully, it will have a positive reception and I can delve back into the setting and characters for a sequel.

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Team Yankee: Cuts Like a Knife

Behold! The thriving metropolis over which our battle is joined.

I’ve been working on my Team Yankee kit lately and slowly adding to the terrain and Order of Battle. As with most minis games, I find that the more you acquire stuff, the more interesting and varied your battles become. Having said that, there is always the real danger of getting hooked on expanding your army and terrain set until the garage is filled with stuff and your spouse is ready to file papers.

I’ve always had a problem with diving headlong into things and finding out too late that I’ve gotten myself in trouble. Despite being aware of that weakness, I now find myself the proud owner of a small and growing collection of Team Yankee vehicles and infantry.

So what to do about that?

Well, get them out and play a game with them, I suppose!

In this scenario, I’ve got a mixed NATO force of Americans and Canadians versus the Soviets in a really confined space. The centerpiece is a small house next to a highway

Here’s the lineup:

Soviets
3 x T-64
1 x Air Assault Company

NATO
2 x Canadian Lynx reconnaissance vehicles
1 x Canadian Mechanized Infantry Platoon
2 x M1 Abrams tanks

The NATO side has a 7 point advantage over the Russians here, so I’ve decided to bring in the NATO side piecemeal while allowing the Soviets to set up all their forces right off the bat.

I am rolling to randomly determine which of the Canadian units gets sent in on the first turn and it ends up that the infantry get that honor. A roll of “5” or “6” at the beginning of each turn brings in one of the other units.

A look at things from the Soviet side of the table.

Turn 1:

We start off rolling initiative. The Canadians get a 4 while the Russians get a 5. The Canuck player rolls a “6” at the start of the turn and it appears the Lynx vehicles will be coming on board earlier than expected.

The Canadian infantry moves up to the center of the table and takes cover near the old house. Small arms fire erupts as the GPMG rakes across the line of advancing Russian infantry. Aware that there are tanks in the area, Carl Gustav anti-tank launchers and M72s are at the ready.

The mortar team fires smoke to the front in a bid to block advancing fire. The Lynx vehicles let loose with the .50 cal MGs and decimate the Soviets, who lose two rifle teams.

The Soviet infantry takes its punishment in stride and moves up to challenge the oncoming NATO infantry. They grab whatever cover is available and fire back.

The T-64s move up on the Canadian flank – a big risk considering they are near assault range – and open fire. The Canucks start taking casualties almost immediately. The mortar team is completely wiped out.

At the end of Turn 1, we can see the fun the beleagured Canadians are having:

Turn 2: The Canadian player rolls a “3” and our remaining M1 Abrams platoon stays off the board this turn.

First off, the Can. mechanized platoon gets into position, shifting its anti-tank weapons to the flank to deal with the onslaught of Soviet armor. A squad of men pour into the house and start firing down on the infantry from the second floor.

Carl Gustav teams get into firing position.

“I see it. Straight ahead! Taking a shot!”

Our GPMG team, now with an ROF of 5, starts to rip into the Soviet infantry. The Lynx takes out the Soviet commander and an AK-74 team.

The Russians, undeterred by the losses, start firing back. Two RPG-7 teams run out from behind cover and fire at the Lynx vehicles from close range. Both rockets tear into the thinly armored vehicles.

The T-64s start to pour fire into the Canadians, who are pinned down and unable to do much with the intense return fire slicing into the air all around them. The platoon leader is killed. Things look grim for the Canucks.

A look at things from the T-64 perspectives.

Turn 3: Mercifully, the Canadian player rolls a “5” for his reserve roll and the M1 Abrams may now enter the board. Shots taken at the thinner side armor slice through one of the T-64s.

Meanwhile two Canadian AT teams move around the corner and open fire.

Both shots score a kill. The T-64 platoon is wiped out.

The Soviet infantry stages a desperate last-ditch assault against the remnants of the Canadian infantry in the house. The early stage of the melee is marked by Soviet success. Two Canadian squads are wiped out.

But the counterattack by the remaining NATO squad succeeds and the attacking Soviets are whittled down until none remain. A pair of Soviet infantry units watch helplessly from the flank and decide that enough is enough. The game ends in a marginal NATO victory.

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Team Yankee: Autobahn Defense

Since I’m enjoying Team Yankee so much, I thought I’d write up a quick post so you can enjoy some nice pictures of my awful model assembly and painting skills and see how this game plays. In this scenario, I’ve designed a quick defensive battle between two small forces. Here we have the Soviets with:

3 x T-64 tank company

1 x Soviet Motorized Infantry Rifle Platoon

versus:

2 x M1 Abrams tanks

2 x Canadian Lynx Recce armored vehicles

The NATO side sets up first with the objective located at behind the group of trees located near the roadside. The Soviets will enter their tanks on turn 1. The infantry are reserves and must be rolled for each turn to see when they enter the game.

Turn 1 – Soviets

We roll for reserves and get a lousy “1”. The infantry will not be coming on the table. The Russians send their three tanks on the east side of the playing area at tactical speed and in echelon left formation. Only one of the T-64s has a valid LOS to the Abrams tanks.

Rear view from the Soviet tank platoon towards NATO positions.

The T-64’s shot hits the closest M1, but bounces off the front turret armor.

Turn 1 – NATO

I definitely want to keep the Canadians hidden from the Soviet tanks, so I send out my Abrams to flank the Soviet approach.

Both Abrams fire. One shot hits and glances off the turret armor of the T-64. A Bail-out result is achieved.

Turn 2 – Soviets

We roll for reserves and get a “5”. Wow! Much to the surprise of the Americans, the Soviet infantry comes on board and heads straight toward the nearby American tanks. The Russian tanks try to drive clear around the enemy flank on the other side.

T-64s about to fire on American Abrams tanks. Soviet infantry closing in for the assault.

The Russian tanks all manage to miss or for the shots to be ineffective. It is up to the Russian infantry to complete a successful assault.

Both Abrams throw out a ton of defensive fire but only manage to take out one team of infantry. The rest of the platoon surrounds the American tank. Two of the RPG teams manage a hit on the side skirts but the Chobham armor keeps the Abrams alive. Only a lucky charge by a Soviet infantry team manages to kill off the tank.

Turn 2 – NATO

The remaining Abrams pulls back toward the objective and fires on the nearest T-64. The Lynx recce vehicles come out of hiding and lay down a thick stream of .50 cal and 7.62mm fire at the approaching Russian horde.

The Lynx vehicles manage to take out two Russian RPG-7 squads while the Abrams manages a kill on the T-64.

Turn 3 – Soviets

It is do or die now for both sides. The Soviets commit totally by sending their two tanks straight toward the objective while firing at the sole remaining Abrams tank. The Soviet infantry races across the road towards the Lynx vehicles.

Unfortunately, for the Americans, the Abrams is hit and destroyed by tank fire. The two Lynx vehicles manage to whittle down the assaulting infantry force to nearly half its size before being overwhelmed by RPG and grenade fire.

The result is a total loss for the NATO forces.

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Progress Update – Army of Two

Halfway through writing “Army of Two” for Lock’n Load Publishing. This book has gone from being a fluffy action piece to becoming a linchpin of the series. The novel features most of the characters from First Strike and follows up their story as the war rages on around them. I’ve had to make a very minor tweak to Keith Tracton’s storyline as written in the scenario books, but it’s worth it for the payoff in the end.

Keith is a very smart fellow, so it follows that he does a lot of smart world-building. One of the things that gave me the freedom to plant these little adventures in his world was the fact that he was vague enough with the timeline in the scenario book. Because of this, I’m able to stretch the timing of events around so that they are both plausible and can fit in with the other books in the series.

While I’m enjoying the writing of Army of Two (I would say it’s my best book so far), I think it will be time to take a little break from the series after this. I’ll be changing up genres to write “Space Infantry”, which will be a welcome break from World War III 1985. I usually find that time away from a book series lets story ideas germinate and mature in my mind. After SI is published, I’ll slowly but surely return to World at War.

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Enemy Lines – Army of Two Progress

I am currently going through several of my older books and retooling them for Lock ‘n Load Publishing as part of the World at War ’85 universe. I’m quite proud that my newer and older fiction is being published by LnLP. Some of the older books are being changed to adapt to the WaW universe as created by Keith Tracton while others add bits to it and flesh it out. Some of the changes in the newer books are small while others are wholesale overhauls. Enemy Lines (which will be republished as “Army of Two” is one of the latter.

When I first wrote “Enemy Lines”, my idea was to recreate the feel of a Hollywood action movie from the ’80s. There was an attempt to entertain while at the same time pay homage to the era in which these books were set. The reason was simple enough – I grew up during this time and was fed a steady diet of Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone action flicks just like all the other kids. Enemy Lines was written for pure fun.

When I re-read the book, I noticed several ways that the plotlines and characters of First Strike could be adapted to Enemy Lines and it hit me that I would write a kind of sequel to the final battle that takes place in First Strike to sort of explore what happens to various characters in the book. I also managed to draw a thread into Insurgency/Ghost Insurgency that I won’t delve into here.

The new version of Enemy Lines (Army of Two) is a major overhaul that draws on the story of the WaW ’85 universe so far and it also hints at some of the stories coming down the road. In many ways, it’s become a lynchpin of several books in the series. Recurring characters are starting to “grow” within the series and the stuff that’s going on behind the scenes in the war is being more fully explored within the pages of this book.

I’ll write another update once the final draft is submitted, but so far I am very pleased with the progress of Army of Two and I hope fans will enjoy it.

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On The Way

Over the last several months, I’ve been extremely busy writing new material for Lock ‘n Load Publishing. Helmed by David Heath, LnLP is a wargame company that has been around for more than ten years. They are the license holders for the upcoming World at War ’85 series, which is designed by Keith Tracton.

Back in January, David got in touch with me and asked if I wanted to write something for the World at War ’85 universe that Keith had created and I was more than happy to oblige. The result is the upcoming book, Storming the Gap: First Strike.

Based on the first three scenarios in the first module of the game “Storming the Gap“, the action takes place in a world very similar to the one I created with my own books though of course there were some key differences about the origins of the war and the events that followed.

Keith was extremely helpful and patient in working with me to help devise three stories that took place during the early days of the war in Fulda Gap. The result is one of my strongest efforts yet. With the support of a publishing company behind my work, the production values are way better than with my earlier books. The work benefits enormously from a professional team that includes illustrators, voice actors, and editors.

Storming the Gap: First Strike will be available as an e-book, paperback, and an audiobook.

Speaking of which, you can check out an audiobook sample here.

I am extremely proud of the result and the book is set to be released very soon. Keep your eyes out on the Lock ‘n Load Publishing facebook page for more information.

Team Yankee – Counterattack at Ludermund

One of the battles in my newest book, “First Strike” features a battle between elements of an American task force facing off against a Soviet counterattack near Ludermund. Without giving too much away, the US sends three combat teams to reclaim two bridges just north of Fulda City, near the towns of Hemmen and Ludermund. One element of the task force deals with a Soviet counterattack to try and retake Ludermund. This battle, using Team Yankee rules and miniatures, is loosely based on the story.

It’s okay to laugh.

So the very basic terrain I’m using is a mixture of the 2D cardboard houses and concrete walls provided with the Hammerfall starter set. The top of the photo is east and the bottom is west. The starter scenario uses a similar setup but I’ve modified it a bit to make it slightly more interesting. The first was to use the seam between the tatami mats running through the middle of the picture as a road.

The Soviet objective in the middle of the picture is right in the middle of the town – the Soviets are attempting to recapture it. The little piece of dark material in the lower left is rough-going terrain and the lighter colored pieces are rocky hills.

The left boundary of the battle is marked by the American objective marker and the right one is marked by the seam of the tatami mats.

The Americans start at the western edge of the layout. The tatami seam here represents the Fulda River. It is impassible to both sides.

Looking west toward US position.

The Soviets have three T-64 tanks and they set up to the east of the town. The Americans and Soviets roll a d6 for initiative and the Americans win. One of the Abrams tanks actually has LOS on the Soviets to start with but the enemy is just beyond the 1 meter range of the Abrams’ 105mm gun. The Americans close the distance with a tactical move toward the nearest house, hoping to find some concealment and blast the Soviets as they move in. The Soviet commander obliges, bringing his tanks straight west. One of them catches a glimpse of an Abrams and fires but the shot goes wide of the mark.

US on the left. Soviets on the right.

Things start to happen very quickly from here. The Americans push into the town and start firing at the encroaching enemy tanks.

The Abrams manage three hits on the enemy tanks. Despite that, the 105mm rounds cannot penetrate the hull front of the T-64s. The Soviet player needs a 3 or greater to remain unscathed and all three rolls are enough to shake off the incoming rounds.

“In Mother Russia, tank drives YOU!”

The Soviet commander decides to move two of his tanks up into cover while one of them remains stationary and provides covering fire.

T-64 tanks move behind cover of building.

The Soviet tank at the rear misses. The Americans decide to push it, seeing the opportunity.

US tanks move in and start shooting.

The Abrams pop up right behind both Soviet advance tanks. One of them fires and manages a hit that kills the nearest T-74. The other Abrams goes for a close range shot against the Soviet tank that was providing covering fire. Unfortunately, both rolls miss. Sigh.

BOOM! BOOM! Both American tanks are nailed by the two remaining Soviets. Game over.

Conclusion:

Wow! Promise me son, not to do the things I’ve done. Get behind cover if you can. The Americans had an unlucky break at the end, but they basically deserved what they got. Instead of using their mobility to get behind cover and shoot and scoot, they went straight for the enemy and wrapped up in a kill zone. There wasn’t too much cover in this setup but the buildings were definitely enough to try out some honest-to-god tactics that would have increased their chances by a whole lot. Let’s try that one again with a smarter approach.

Update:

So I tried this again and even threw a Soviet Air Assault Company into the town to even up the points a little for the Soviets (even though they didn’t need it last time).

The result this time was an American win, thanks to better use of cover and cross-country dashes to force the enemy into splitting up their forces a bit. The Americans did take some potshots from the infantry as they came into town and an RPG-18 round managed to disable one of the Abrams. The other Abrams avenged its death, taking out all three T-64s to garner a US win.

Abrams taken out by an RPG-18 hit near Ludermund.

The aftermath: Our lone Abrams manages three Soviet tank kills for a win.