Michael Yon : Online Magazine

This is a very interesting blog by an imbedded reporter in Iraq. The "Gates of Fire" post is jaw-dropping. Quite a vivid picture of the fight in Mosul, Iraq and modern urban combat.

Gametime Over Weekend

Well, I did get in a game over the weekend but not Panzer Command but the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit #2 (ASLSK2). The scenario was Ambitious Assault (S9). It has American paratroopers taking on Italians in some urban terrain with British reinforcements coming on in the last half of the game.

All in all a great scenario. It came down to the last Defensive Fire by the allies but the remaining Italians (most had either broken or were KIA) held tough and eeked out a win. Only two squads were still in good order by the end of the game while the allies were just about untouched (only lost a British squad and an American half-squad) and were mostly in good order. Poor shots by the allies at the end coupled with good morale check rolls for the axis brought the victory for the much bloodied Italians.

The two pictures are both from the game end. The one highlights the whole board and shows the movement of the forces over the course of the game (Allies in Red). The other shows where the pieces were at the end and also shows how much fire was brought to bear with little effect against the grey colored Italian squads.

This scenario is definitely worth keeping and using to show how to move in ASL as well as conducting a defense with few quality assets. Very fun.

How the game progressed 

Back to History

I wanted to note that as September approaches, we are nearing the 66th anniversary of the onset of WWII in Europe. I do not think that any other human conflict in history has had as great an impact on how we see the world than this one.

As someone who is interested on conflict simulation (or wargaming), this has to be one of the most written about and gamed subjects in that community. I have not found very many games or books that discuss the early war but it is a topic I am interested in.

On other fronts (?) my life is settling into days of study and driving my dad back and forth for his various check-ups at the hospital. I hope that the cancer will be gone by the time I am inducted into the service. It would also be nice to have a little time to spend in my hobby. Maybe I can get a couple hours later this week. Perhaps I will pull out the old Panzer Command series and play the campaign in Poland that is depicted above.

Catch up

Things are still go, go, go. My dad has come home from the hospital and thankfully responded to the chemo treatments very well. "A textbook patient," his doctor said.

This is a great relief to our family. I hope that as we complete the second round that it will indeed by the last one and he will be cured.

It also looks like I will still be in the area until January. My paperwork for the Army did not get to the Chief of Chaplains Office until it was too late. The next board is set for 20 Sept. and that will be after the September Chaplain Officer's Basic Course (CHOBC) has started. At least I will be around to help Dad through the second round.

I also will need the time to complete my ordination exams for the PCA. Half of my exams were sustained (meaning I passed) but I need to do half of them over. My next meeting with the committee is set for mid-September. I hope that I will pass the remaining portions of the exam so that I will at least have the news that I will be ordained before Dad goes back into the hospital.

I will be so glad when this is all over.