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The Strategy & Tactics
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6 18 38
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6 14 any aspect of military history. Contact Ty Bomba,
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Partisan: Design Corner
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A Strategic Analysis of the by Joseph Miranda & Tactics and World at War magazines. We value critical
War in Yugoslavia, 1942−44 analysis over summaries alone. Maximum word count is 500.
A confused war that worked 48 Contact Chris Perello at chris@christopherperello.com
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online forum at STRATEGYandTACTICSpress.com
by Javier Romero The South Seas Campaign
18 50
Myths & Realities of Carrier Observation Post PUBLISHER
Dr. Christopher Cummins
Warfare in the Pacific, 1941−42 • Historical Perspective
Was the aircraft carrier really a Flight as Propaganda in Fascist Italy ASSISTANT PUBLISHER
Callie Cummins
revolutionary new weapon that by Nathaniel Edwards
replaced the battleship? • Movers & Shakers SENIOR EDITOR
Ty Bomba
by Joseph Miranda A Tough & Smart Enemy
by Nick Capo EDITOR
Joseph Miranda
28 • Compare & Contrast
Planning for the Churchill’s Personal Security DESIGN
C.J. Doherty
Invasion of Malta, 1942 by Roger Mason
COPY EDITORS
The war in Europe might’ve been much • Behind the Lines Jason Burnett, Jon Cecil & Eric Harvey.
different had the Axis ‘pulled the trigger’ Frank Loesser’s WWII Songs
MAP GRAPHICS
on their detailed plan to conquer Malta. by Jorgen Rasmussen Meridian Mapping
by John D. Burtt & David Pastore • Strategic Backwaters
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The Poltava Raid:
Act One of the Cold War? 60
On 22 June 1944, a Luftwaffe strike on a Media Reviews
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with a lot of Soviet-American mutual trust. NEXT ISSUE (#17) WORLD AT WAR (PE25504) is published bi-
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Partizan! correspondence should be sent to World at War c/o
Decision Games, P.O. Box 21598, Bakersfield CA 93390.
by Javier Romero
2 carats of
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Save near $700!
A determined looking woman Partisan shoulders an Italian rifle. During the war, 100,000 women served with the Partisans and estimated 25,000 died.
During the second half of the 20th century, Tito passed from decoration. In April 1915 he was captured and made a prisoner of war.
being idolized at home and hailed abroad as one of the most In 1917, during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution, he declared for
outstanding leaders of his era, to being reviled in his own country the Bolsheviks, joining the Communist Party. By 1920 he was back in
and all but forgotten abroad. He passed away on 4 May 1980, and the newly created “Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes,” also
in 1982 then US Secretary of State Alexander Haig wrote in the known as Yugoslavia (“Land of the South Slavs”), where he joined the
visitors book at his tomb that Tito had been the: “great leader and Yugoslav Communist Party or KPJ (Komunistika Partija Jugoslavije).
world statesman who led the Yugoslav peoples out of the ruins of After several years of political activity he was imprisoned by
war, to stability at home, to respect and prestige in the world.” the royalist government and served five years. After his release in
Since the break up of Yugoslavia into its constituent March 1934 he lived clandestinely under the new name of “Tito.”
republics, virtually every monument, statue and bust of Tito has That was the first of the some 70 nom de guerre he used during the
been stored away, obliterated or otherwise covered up. inter-war period. For example, within the Komintern he was known
The seventh son of a peasant family of mixed Croat and Slovene as “Comrade Walter.” In early 1935 he visited Stalin’s Russia, where
ancestry, Tito was born Josip Broz on 25 May 1892 in Kumrovec, he impressed many with his steadfastness and loyalty. When the
then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1914 he fought with head of the Yugoslav Communist Party was purged in 1937, on
distinction in the Austro-Hungarian Army, first against the Serbs then Stalin’s orders, Tito was given that post, the same one he held in
against the Russians, being promoted to sergeant and proposed for a April 1941 when Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers. ★
Marshall Tito
Bearded Drazha Mihailovich addresses villagers in west Bosnia to gain support for the Serbian Chetniks.
Partisans use a captured 50mm German gun to fire on advancing tanks in Bosnia in December 1943.
PARTIZAN!
P
artisan warfare has always been (VP). Players gain VP in the course of whole rail lines down to individual
a difficult topic to simulate. play by attacking objectives and captur- motor pools. That gives more color (or
One reason is that it involves ing cities and towns. That represents the “chrome” as we call it) to the game, and it
irregular forces that have little in the incremental effects of partisan warfare also shows what’s going on down below
way of a solid order of battle, therefore across the theater of operations. You can the level of the individual map hexagons.
making force structure more difficult see the VP index moving, representing Limited intelligence is accounted
to translate onto a wargame map. overall progress in the campaign. for by the hoary wargame device of
Another difficulty comes from the fact Historically the German anti-partisan Partisan units being deployed facedown.
it involves an additional dimension of command realized its best bet was to Thus the Axis player must fight for
conflict, usually with an underground hold the economic and population information if he wants to get a picture
organization of some kind. That means centers necessary for the Reich’s of enemy strength. The Partisans
the game has to simulate intelligence prosecution of the wider war. That meant also get weapons caches that can
operations and psychological warfare the countryside could, for the most temporarily vary their combat strength.
on top of conventional combat. part, be abandoned, while a credible There are also specialized units.
There are also game-play aspects. victory could still be claimed as long as The Germans get the 500th SS
Wargame guru Jim Dunnigan has stated the economic centers remained under Parachute Battalion, which they used
that, for a wargame to “work,” there Axis control. That’s modeled in the way historically to try to kill or capture
must be movement (while wargame objectives are generated in the game. Tito in a daring airborne assault. On
sub-guru Richard Berg has argued Then there was the bigger picture. the other side, the Partisans can get
there merely needs to be the “illusion of Axis forces consisted of a range of the support of the British Special
movement.”) Players have to see units units: German, Italian, Hungarian, Air Service. There is Tito himself,
moving across the map. Partisan warfare Bulgarian, as well as “friendly” (if that represented as a unit in the game. He
mitigates against movement on the stra- word can be appropriately used here) brings with him a certain amount of
tegic/operational scale. Most partisan local forces. That force mix changed prestige points, a quantification of
actions are local, involving such things as depending on such things as the Italian the personal dimension of this kind of
sabotage, ambushes, raids, and recruit- surrender in 1943, and the relative warfare. Prestige points can be translated
ing. A successful partisan war might importance of the Balkans to Hitler’s into additional reinforcements.
end with a wide-open conventional larger calculations as the war continued. For those wanting a more conven-
offensive, but that only takes place after On the other side, the Partisans got tional conflict, Partizan includes an
much time has been spent in guerrilla support from various Allied forces, such option for an Anglo-Allied invasion.
warfare. Those were all challenges faced as bombers and commando units. During the historic campaign the
by Partizan’s designer Javier Romero, One of the unique features of Germans had to keep guard against
and by its developer Eric Harvey. Partizan is the Target Objective Matrix. the possibility of amphibious landings.
One way movement is put into the It generates a range of objectives that That creates a real strategic dilemma
game is by the concept of victory points can be attacked by the Partisans, from and something of a two front war. ★
DMZ
MODERN
The Next BATTLES
Korean War
FOLIO GA
ME SERI
Technically spea
has remained
king, the Korea
active since the
n War ES
agreement of cease-fire
1953
have never actua : the belligerents
lly ratified a fi
accord. Since nal peace
1953, the Korea
has remained n peninsula
devo
only South Korea id of open war, though
DMZ
has prospered
that time. In contr during
ast, North Korea
has become
isolated, bank
confrontational rupt and
. Indeed, as the
Korean economy North
continues to
more starvation implode, and
ensu
a desperate North es, it’s conceivable
Korea could resor
war to try to
avoid its own t to
final collapse. The Next Kore
DMZ utilizes
combat syste
the new Fire
& Movement
an War
m that’s desig
can augment ned so players
their units with
fire” during the “support
course of the
artillery to helic turns. From
opter gunships,
can receive supp units
ort to engage
positions and enemy
formations, allow
combat to deve ing
lop at all levels
armor brigade, . A single
for example —
with close air perhaps
supp
to assault a lone ort — could be tasked
enemy infantry
defending an corps
airbase. As that
underway, that attack gets
armor brigade
itself under fi may find
re from rocke
more support t batte
fire will be nece ries;
take the airba ssary to
se, but asset
s are limited.
In DMZ, the attrit
ional design of
Combat Resu the new
lts Table simu
true nature of lates the
modern warfa
typically two- re.
sided formation Units are
incur casualties s that
, accurately replic can
realities of comb ating the
at and the high
likely to be susta losses
ined by both
during another sides
Korean War.
a battle is thus Winn
a matter of mane ing
firepower and
asset manageme uver,
nt
Game Conten
ts:
• 17 x 22” (43
x 56 cm) terrain
• 100 die-cut map
counters
• One Standard
• One Exclusive
Rules booklet
for this series DMZ
Rules booklet
for this title
PLAYERS
2
P.O. Box 21598 | Bakersfield, CA 93390-1598 | (661) 587-9633 phone | (661) 587-5031 fax | decisiongames.com
Myths &
Realities
of Carrier Warfare in the Pacific,
1941−42 by Joseph Miranda
O
ne of the enduring myths of two Allied signatory powers, were each power — surface, submarine, aviation,
World War II has been that the allotted 1.75 tons. There were also limits amphibious — could be integrated into
aircraft carrier, starting with the on such things as the size of naval guns. a single service. Leading the doctrine
Pear Harbor raid, rendered obsolete Given the limits of those treaties, race were the two major powers in
the battleship. A careful analysis of naval staffs looked for new ways to the Pacific, Japan and the US.
what happened in the Pacific Theater maintain combat strength. Aircraft car- IJN planners worked from the
of Operations (PTO) during the riers were seen as a viable way around premise their country couldn’t win a
campaigns of 1941– 42, however, reveals the restrictions, since they could, at protracted war with the Allies owing to
a more nuanced picture, one in which least theoretically, project great power superior American industrial power.
the aircraft carrier, while certainly a at a relatively low tonnage per ship (and IJN doctrine, therefore, aimed to take
critical weapon, proved effective only gun size wasn’t a concern). Accordingly, advantage of Japanese strengths at the
as part of the array of combined both the US Navy (USN) and Imperial start of a new war. Japan would begin
operations — what today would be Japanese Navy (IJN) converted a number hostilities with a surprise attack to
called “joint warfare.” Within that of large ship hulls — which would’ve neutralize the USN in the Pacific, seize
picture, big-gun ships were still critical, otherwise been scrapped by the islands for use as bases for land-based
even if no longer decisive on their own. treaties — to carriers. The Japanese also airpower, and then fight what they
The aircraft carrier had its origins constructed the first purpose-built car- termed the “decisive naval battle.” The
in World War I, when the British Royal rier, the Hosho, commissioned in 1922. expected Japanese victory in that battle
Navy added improvised flight decks Meanwhile, forward looking would give Tokyo the upper hand in
to several ships. The British utilized naval officers, such as Japan’s Isoruku negotiations to end the war. As will be
those carriers to launch air attacks Yamamoto and America’s William seen, that plan wasn’t unrealistic, and
against German Zeppelin bases and in Halsey, actively promoted aviation to the it brought some short-term successes
support of their ground forces in various point of becoming qualified pilots them- after Japan struck in December 1941.
theaters. Following the end of World selves. Alongside the carriers, the navies Alongside the IJN, the Imperial
War I, the great powers continued the also built up land-based airpower under Japanese Army (IJA) was also planning
development of naval aviation. That their own commands. The IJN organized for war. At the start of hostilities it would
included both carrier and land-based Eleventh Air Fleet, made up of land- seize the resource areas of Southeast
aircraft. Naval aviation enthusiasts based aircraft whose pilots were trained Asia and the Dutch East Indies. Those
advocated planes be used in a range to attack ships at sea. Both the US Navy resources were expected to give
of missions: reconnaissance, attacking and Marine Corps also developed their Japan the economic wherewithal to
ships, supporting ground forces and own land-based airpower. The carriers sustain a war long enough to convince
providing general air cover. Carriers, continued to be reckoned most critical, Washington to negotiate peace on
their supporters pointed out, had a however, since their mobility allowed terms favorable to Tokyo. Within that
major advantage over land airfields them to be used as a fleet element all larger strategy the carriers were to
in that the ships were mobile, thereby across the expanse of the Pacific. operate as the naval strike force.
being able to appear anywhere in One IJN innovation in support of
an oceanic theater of operations. Decisive Battle that strategy was to form a higher-
Additional impetus was given to the level organization to control all their
development of naval airpower by the As the 1930s unfolded, and with carrier aviation, First Air Fleet. Under
Washington Naval Treaties of the 1920s. another global war taking on the aura its auspices carrier task forces oper-
They were intended to limit naval arms of inevitability, the major powers’ naval ated as “carrier divisions,” each with
races via the 5:5:3 formula. That was commands looked to come up with a a commander who could assemble
the ratio of warship tonnage allowed doctrine that would bring victory at large air formations from several flight
to each signatory power’s navy. The US sea. Doctrine was critical because it decks to make coordinated attacks.
and Britain would each be allowed five created the premise on which training
Naval Strengths in the Pacific, 7 December 1941 *(see pg. 23 for NOTES)
CV BB CA/CL DD SS
Japan 11 11 41 129 67
United States 3 9 24 80 56
British Commonwealth 2 8 13
Netherlands 3 7 13
Coral Sea
CV CVL/CVE BB CA/CL DD Naval Aircraft Other
4 – 8 May 1942 (CC)
Japanese present 2 1 9 15 127 1 YP
Japanese lost 1d 1 1 + 1d 92
Large numbers of
Allied present 2 9 13 128 LBAC but ineffective
Midway
CV CVL/CVE BB CA/CL DD Naval Aircraft Other
4 – 6 June 1942 (CC)
Japanese present (CSF) 4 2 3 12 248
70
Japanese lost 4 1 248 LBAC being transported
233 127
Allied present 3 8 15 land based aircraft
180
Allied lost 1 1 (naval + LBAC)
Savo Island
CV CVL/CVE BB CA/CL DD Naval Aircraft Other
8 – 9 August 1942
Japanese present 7 1
Japanese lost 3d
Allied present 8 15
Allied lost 4 + 1d 2d
Eastern Solomons
CV CVL/CVE BB CA/CL DD Naval Aircraft Other
24 – 25 August 1942 (CC)
Japanese present 2 1 2 16 25 175 1 YP
Japanese lost 1 1d 1 75 1d YP
Allied present 2 1 4 11
176
Allied lost 1d 25
Santa Cruz
CV CVL/CVE BB CA/CL DD Naval Aircraft Other
26 – 27 October 1942 (CC)
Japanese present 2 2 4 10 22 199
Japanese lost 1d 1d 1d 99
Allied present 2 1 6 14
136
Allied lost 1 + 1d 1 + 2d 81
Naval Battles of
Guadalcanal CV CVL/CVE BB CA/CL DD Naval Aircraft Other
12 – 15 November 1942
Japanese present 1 (a) 2 8 16 ?
Japanese lost 2 1 3 41
Henderson
Allied present 1 (a) 2 5 12
? Field LBAC
26
Allied lost 1d 2 7 (naval + LBAC)
*
NOTES
In some cases, the number of ships varies depending on their presence at individual actions within a battle.
Damaged ships are indicated by “+ d”; in several of the battles, damaged ships aren’t listed.
(a): carriers provided air cover from a distance. but didn’t engage each other.
(CC): carrier vs. carrier battle. Other battles are surface versus surface or combined air-surface.
Abbreviations
BB: Battleships and battlecruisers
CA/CL: heavy and lighter cruisers
CV/CVL/CVE: fleet aircraft carriers/ light carriers/escort carriers
DD: destroyers (sometimes includes lighter ships)
LBAC: Land based aircraft
SS: Submarines
YP: Seaplane Tender
The usual interpretation of the Battle of Midway was that it was a blow to Japanese naval air-
power and, of course, the loss of four carriers and their pilots was important. Yet the Japanese would
continue offensive operations elsewhere in the Pacific, notably the Solomons, for the remainder of
1942. One thing allowing for that came from the fact, by the late autumn of 1942, the USN was down
to one fully operational carrier in the PTO: CV-3 Saratoga. That was in part due to the attrition of the
Coral Sea and Midway operations, and in part due to losses owing to IJN submarine operations.
Overall in 1942, the USN would have three aircraft carriers sunk by enemy carrier air attacks (CV-2
Lexington, CV-5 Yorktown, CV-8 Hornet), and one to land-based airpower (the old CV-1 Langley). A
Japanese submarine sank CV-7 Wasp, while another damaged Saratoga. That could’ve been decisive, since
in 1942 the USN had only eight operational carriers globally (CV-4 Ranger was in the Atlantic); so those
losses represented the majority of the American carrier force in the first year of the war. The next year
would see American industry begin to produce the great fleet of carriers that would sweep the Pacific,
but that was still in the future, and Nimitz and the USN had to fight with what they had in 1942. ★
upper-left
USS Hornet CV-8
lower-left
USS Yorktown CV-5
bottom
USS Lexington CV-2
Decision at Sea
Background seriously about taking the island. The proceeded. Gen. Alfred Jodl, Chief of
chief of the Italian high command the Operations Staff of the Army High
W
hen Italy joined the war (Comando Supremo), Gen. Ugo Command, echoed his master’s doubts
in June 1940 there were Cavallero, instructed his chief of staff, by telling Kesselring to continue plan-
no plans to invade Malta, Gen. Mario Roatta, to begin drafting a ning but not to expect the operation to
despite the obvious importance of plan under the bland and innocuous ever actually take place. The German
its location. Later that same month, codename “C3.” Then the British approach to C3 thereafter appeared to
Adm. Domenico Cavagnari, Italy’s North African offensive, Operation be mostly concerned with limiting their
naval Chief of Staff, declared the threat Crusader, took place, driving German involvement, which in turn resurfaced
Malta posed to Italian communica- and Italian forces west; so resolving that the Italians’ earlier doubts about the
tions with North Africa was only of emergency had to take precedence. operation. They went ahead, however,
“secondary importance” because Planning began again in January by rationalizing the continued planning
the British had “abandoned its use 1942 with a combined group of 25 and training would at least create a
as a main base of operations,” and officers from all three services under the reserve of troops that might eventually
thus it didn’t need to be taken. Aerial supervision of Cavallero’s chief opera- be put to good use elsewhere.
bombing, Cavagnari decided, would tions officer, Gen. Antonio Gandin. The Jodl and Rommel met in April to
be sufficient to neutralize the island. task took a further step forward when discuss follow-on operations to be
Part of his assessment also cited the Hitler assigned Field Marshal Albert conducted once the latter had regained
difficult conditions invaders would face Kesselring as Germany’s “Commander- all of Libya. They agreed to launch an
in going against the island’s defenses, in-Chief-South.” Kesselring pushed assault on the Allied line near Gazala
which included 12,000 troops and an for an invasion from the very start toward the end of May, but Rommel
estimated 100 tanks. (That last number of his new assignment. Though his wanted Malta taken first: the loss of
would’ve come as a surprise to the actual responsibilities extended only all those supplies the previous year
defenders, because at the time there to Luftwaffe operations — the Italians was still vivid in his memory. That
were no tanks at all on the island.) maintained nominal control of their insistence brought Hitler around again,
Thus the Italians didn’t start planning own army and navy — Kesselring at least tentatively; so he sent paratroop
an actual invasion until late 1941 when, attempted, by force of personality, to commander Gen. Kurt Student to Rome
contrary to Cavagnari’s prediction, take charge of the overall C3 operation, to get involved in the C3 planning.
Malta-based Allied aircraft, submarines suggesting a surprise assault at a At the end of the month, at Schloss
and surface ships began taking a major conference in March, hoping to invade Klessheim near Salzburg, Hitler and
toll on Axis shipping to North Africa, as soon as the preparatory aerial Mussolini met to chart their course of
severely impacting operations there. offensive by Fliegerkorps II achieved air action. What came out of that meeting
The slaughter of the Duisberg convoy supremacy. In April, Mussolini approved was a commitment to launch C3, but
(seven ships, totaling nearly 40,000 tons, the idea in principle, but he wanted only after Rommel had attacked the
400 vehicles and an escorting destroyer) it attempted toward the end of May. British at Gazala and taken Tobruk. Once
by the cruisers and destroyers of the Hitler by then had little faith in the that port had been taken, the bulk of the
Royal Navy’s Force K in October finally Italians or their schemes; so he became Axis air forces would be transferred to
got the Axis high command thinking increasingly skeptical even as planning continued on page 30 »
Famagusta:
This is a sea-level shot from offshore of the Famagusta landing “beach.”
Famagusta:
This is the same “beach” seen from on top of the plateau the Axis assault troops would’ve had to climb while carrying all their equipment and supplies.
CRUSAD
ER
WORLD W
Battle for To AR II BATT
bruk LES
The port-town
of Tobruk was FOLIO GA
Libya. The Axis
had been besie
the key to
ME SERI
since April 1941
Allies back into
, threatening
ging it
to push the
ES
Egypt. The Afrika
commanded korps,
by Irwin Rom
defeated the mel, had alrea
Allies’ previous dy
relieve Tobruk, attempt to
Operation Battl
new, surprise eaxe, but a
Crusader
Allied offensive
1941, Operation in November
Crusader, woul
into one of the d evolve
most chaotic
battles of the and
entire North Afric near- run
an campaign.
Crusader utilize
s the new Fire
combat syste & Movement
m that’s desig
players can augm ned so
ent
“support fire”
durin
their units with
battle. From mort g the course of the Battle for Tobr
can receive supp
enemy positions
ars to tanks,
ort assets to
units
engage
uk
and formation
combat to deve s, allowing
lop at all levels
recon battalion, . A single
for example —
supported by perhaps
air cover — could
to assault a lone be
enemy infantry tasked
defending a key regiment
hilltop. As that
underway, the attack gets
recon battalion
itself under the may find
guns of enem
So more supp y artillery.
ort fire will be
to take the hill, necessary
but assets are
limited.
In Crusader, the
attritional desig
new Combat n of the
Results Table
true nature of simu
battles in North lates the
are typically two- Africa. Units
sided formation
can incur casu
alties, accurately s that
the realities of replicating
combat and the
losses sustained high
by both sides
actual fighting during the
around Tobru
the battle is thus k. Winn
a matter of mane ing
firepower and
asset manageme uver,
nt.
Game Conten
ts:
• 17 x 22” (43 x 56
cm) terrain map
• 100 die-cut coun
ters
• One Standard
Rules booklet
• One Exclusive for this series
Rules booklet
for this title
Crusader
PLAYERS
2
P.O. Box 21598 | Bakersfield, CA 93390-1598 | (661) 587-9633 phone | (661) 587-5031 fax | decisiongames.com
The Poltava Raid:
Act One of the Cold War? by Jonathan Lupton
The VVS but basic characteristics, like speed the VVS was still losing four aircraft for
and rate of climb, steadily improved. every German plane shot down. By
T
he Soviet Air Force (Russian- By the summer of 1944, then, the VVS 1944 that ratio had narrowed to 1.5:1.
language acronym: VVS) was the had reached approximate performance As for bombers, the VVS had some
world’s largest when Germany parity with Luftwaffe aircraft over the good designs, like the fast Petlyakov Pe-2
attacked in June 1941; however, much front. One fighter type, the Yak-3 (which, and Tupolev Tu-2. It could also saturate
of the VVS was then destroyed on through a numerical identification error, German ground defenses with its robust
the ground in the war’s first days. was actually a later model than earlier and numerous Il-2 Sturmovik attack
Badly outclassed by the Luftwaffe, Yak-7 and Yak-9 designs), was so good bombers, of which 36,000 were pro-
the VVS gained distinction only for its that German fighter pilots were given duced during the war. By the summer of
scale of sacrifice: some Soviet pilots instructions to avoid combat with it. 1944, the overall VVS numerical advan-
resorted to suicidal ramming attacks During the Battle of Kursk in mid-1943, tage over the Luftwaffe exceeded 6:1.
to bring down German planes they The VVS was used mainly as a tacti-
couldn’t outfight any other way. cal support arm of the Soviet ground
Aided by the Soviet Union’s ability to force. The air war on the eastern front
manufacture huge numbers of aircraft, was carried out almost entirely at low
the VVS absorbed vast losses and kept altitude, and usually within a few miles
up the fight. The Soviet aviation industry on either side of the front. While the
steadily improved the aircraft designs VVS lacked a strategic capability, by
with which it started the war, and intro- 1944 it held air superiority over the
duced a handful of new types. Soviet front, and was well suited to assist in the
aircraft lacked sophisticated instru- titanic ground war going on beneath its
mentation, and were designed only for wings. The VVS had just one remaining
low- and mid-altitude performance, Flag of the VVS vulnerability in 1944: night air defense.
Operation Frantic
Operation FRANTIC: Badly damaged B-17 bomber and Russian soldiers. Poltava, Russia 22 June 1944
When USAAF aircrew arrived in the Ukraine, they found little to like.
Conditions were primitive. They had to live in clothes worn during their flight
across the Reich, plus whatever small stash they’d carried along in duffel
bags. The young airmen were delighted, though, when pretty Ukrainian girls
greeted them with questions like: “Say, would you like to f***?” and served them
in the mess line by asking: “Would you like a g*******d cup of coffee?”
The girls had been taught a few phrases of scatological English by US ground crew-
men who’d been sent to the Ukraine earlier in order to get the airbases operational.
When the girls greeted higher-ranking USAAF officers the same way, those brass
hats weren’t amused. They confronted Soviet officers, who in turn understandably
took offense at the way US personnel had exploited the young women’s ignorance.
The money, resourcefulness and cocky arrogance of USAAF personnel contrasted
sharply with the poverty and fear of Ukrainian civilians under Soviet domination.
Fraternization was discouraged, but bored and lonely airmen made contact with
local civilians anyway. By late summer it was hard to find civilians living near the
bases who weren’t wearing USAAF clothing items, which had been gained by trading
food, trinkets and sex. Some of Stalin’s distaste for the US bases stemmed from his
fear of what would happen when airmen from the foremost capitalist democracy
came face-to-face with the impoverished civilians of his police state. ★
The Macedonians
Alexander in Persia, 334−331 BC
In the Spring of 334 B.C., young king
Alexander of Macedon with an army
40,000 strong, set out to fulfill the The Conquerors is a double game
centuries old dream of his countrymen that covers both of these theatres of
by launching the invasion of the Persian conquest at a grand strategic level.
Empire, the largest and most powerful Each game in this Twin-Pack has its
empire in the Mediterranean world. own counters, rules and game map.
However, the rules of both games are
The Romans based upon the same system so that
Mediterranean Expansion, 200−189 BC having played one it is quite simple
A century and a half later, the Roman to play the other. Also introduced is
Republic was just emerging from its 2nd an optional Tactical Battle System. Battle for Stalingrad
and most debilitating conflict with the
Mediterranean trading power — Carthage. Game components include: In the autumn of 1942, 14 German
Philip V was on the throne of Macedon, Two large rules books; two large divisions of the Sixth Army and Fourth
and his interventions in Greek politics playing maps, 1,200 die-cut counters; Panzer Army were poised to attack
would soon draw Rome’s response plus numerous player aids. the vital city of Stalingrad. Facing the
and eventual advance to become an German forces were dozens of divi-
Eastern Mediterranean power. sions and brigades of the Soviet 62nd
army. For seven weeks the Germans
Even after several years of conflict with would hammer at the city in a seesaw
Philip, Rome would not rest. Rome found conflict for control of the Volga River.
herself again involved in an immense con-
flict — this time in Asia. The great Seleucid Battle for Stalingrad simulates the cam-
King, Antiochus, threatened the very exis- paign that would halt the German drive to
tence of Rome’s two key allies — Rhodes the east in the Soviet Union. The playing
and Pergamum — and threatened to map represents the terrain in and around
march into Europe itself on a mission of Stalingrad, and the colorful cardboard
conquest. Thus began the Syrian War. playing pieces reflect the sizes and
strengths of the opposing military units.
available from:
Decision Games
(661) 587-9633 | (661) 587-5031 fax
P.O. Box 21598 | Bakersfield CA 93390
decisiongames.com
T
he South Seas Campaign, Japanese light cruiser destroyer leaders),
1942−43 (SSC), designed by and various numbers of other ship WaW UPCOMING
Joseph Miranda, is a two player, types. On the area map, each inch equals FEATURES
strategic-level wargame of intermediate 90 miles. Each turn represents from two
complexity that covers the struggle for weeks to two months, depending on #
18: South Seas Campaign
control of the naval, air and land lines the tempo of action at any given time.
of communication between Australia Special rules cover such things
#
19: Hardest Days
and the US during those two years. Most as: random events, reinforcements, #
20: Gross Deutschland
ground units in the game represent withdrawals, refits, fog of war, off-map
divisions, brigades or regiments. Aircraft bases, interceptions, invading Australia,
#
21: Rhineland 36
units represent two groups or air long-range bombers, protected targets, #
22: Minsk 1944
regiments (six to eight squadrons). Ship shore bombardment, commandos,
units mostly represent one fleet aircraft airborne units, seaplanes, and the Tokyo
Visit STRATEGYandTACTICSpress.com
carrier, “divisions” of two light or escort Express. The game uses the system
for previews of these issues.
carriers, two battleships, four cruisers, originally created for our earlier-pub-
squadrons of six to eight destroyers (plus lished game, Red Dragon Rising. ★
D-DAY — June 6, 1944, the day that decided the fate of World War II in Europe. Now you command the Allied and
Axis armies as each struggles to control the five key beaches along the Normandy coastline. If the Allied troops seize the
beaches, Germany is doomed. But if the assault fails, Germany will have the time it needs to build its ultimate weapons.
You get to make vital command decisions that send troops into battle, assault enemy positions, and create heroic sacrifices
so others can advance to victory!
MIDWAY — From June 4th to June 6 th of 1942, a massive battle raged around the tiny Pacific island of Midway that
changed the course of World War II. The victorious Imperial Japanese Navy was poised to capture the airfield on the island
of Midway and thus threaten Hawaii and the United States. The only obstacle in their path was an outnumbered US fleet
itching for payback for Pearl Harbor. You get to command the US and Japanese fleets and their squadrons of fighter planes,
torpedo bombers and dive bombers in this epic battle!
NORTH AFRICA — Covering the great battles of Erwin Rommel from 1941 to 1943, as he fought his way back
and forth across the deserts of North Africa. LNA uses cards to represent the military units, supply convoys and objectives
of the historic campaign. To win, you must consider your units’ combat power and maneuver options as well as their supply
situation. The game features: the Afrika Korps, Tobruk, the Desert Rats, Malta, anti-tank guns, resupply from Europe,
minefields and more. LNA is based around a new combat system that makes maneuver and planning as important as brute
force. That approach is faithful to the historic events, in which smaller forces were often able to defeat and rout larger ones by
using better tactics and planning. In LNA, battles can be won not only by overwhelming the enemy with firepower, but also by
out-thinking and bluffing him. The dynamic game system puts you in charge of one of the most famous theaters of WWII.
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First Unit . . . . . . . $ 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . $
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17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 36
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HISTORICAL that medium. Italian designs won the decades. In fact, between 1927 and 1939,
PERSPECTIVE Schneider Trophy, a highly publicized Italian planes set 110 aviation records.
international seaplane race, three of The Regia Aeronautica (Royal
Flight as Propaganda the 11 times it was held. Founding Italian Air Force) was one of the first
in Fascist Italy airpower theorist Giulio Douhet independent air services in the world
hailed from Italy, which cemented the and, at least on paper, it was one
T
he Fascist Italian leaders in country’s reputation as having a military of the dominant air forces among
the 1920s and 30s wanted their obsessed with flight and developing those of all the great powers in the
nation to be seen as a modern its myriad uses in military matters. late 1920s and early 1930s. During
industrial power deserving prestige Balbo, though, above all others, that period, Italy could claim to have
rivaling that of any other nation. One promoted the use of aviation for the second-largest air force in the
way in which Mussolini attempted propaganda. As Minister of Aviation world, behind only that of France.
to create that image was through the from 1929 to 1933, he personally led Even after Balbo moved on from
use of airplanes, then still a relatively two trans-Atlantic flights of flying his aviation post to become colonial
new invention just beginning to see boats. Those flights created excitement governor of Libya, the Aeronautica
use in everyday life. By making and everywhere they landed. When he continued to make technological
flying planes that set new standards, landed in Chicago, for instance, a advancements. Most interestingly, in
Italy could appear modern without column was dedicated in his honor, 1940 the RA claimed to have flown the
having to spend too much money or and even today Balbo Avenue still first jet aircraft, the Caproni Campini
tie up too much of its industry and, runs through the city. The flight also N.1. Though the aircraft was underpow-
with the help of Aviation Minister earned him the Distinguished Flying ered, the achievement was publicized
Italo Balbo, that was accomplished. Cross, given directly from the hand of at the time as yet another first in world
Through the use of large formation President Roosevelt. The Sioux Indians aviation. (It would later become known
flights across great distances, record- made him an honorary chief, naming Germany had flown a jet aircraft a
setting flights by prototype aircraft, him “Flying Eagle.” In slang English, the year prior to Italy without making the
and the swagger of Balbo himself, word “Balbo” for a time came to mean event public.) The Fascist regime had
Fascist Italy enhanced its image any large formation of airplanes, and been so focused on achieving another
through propagandistic aviation. the Marx Brothers even parodied him in propaganda coup, as opposed to
Bablo wasn’t working from a clean their film A Night at the Opera. Balbo’s actual military development, they’d
slate: Italy had a strong history of seaplane flights set a number of long- rushed ahead with an underpowered
aviation despite its lack of industrial distance speed records that stood for and impractical jet simply to be first,
power. The Italo-Turkish War of 1911 making their progress public while the
had seen the first-ever use of airplanes other great powers secretly developed
in war as Italy conquered Libya. their own deadlier machines.
Mussolini had a keen interest in Despite all that seemingly quantifi-
aviation starting in his youth, and he able success, then, the Italian Air Force
wanted Fascism and flight to be as still found itself outclassed in actual
linked as closely as possible in the warfare when it eventually came in
popular culture of the world. That 1940. The RA then still fielded many
outlook was furthered by popular writ- squadrons of obsolete biplanes. More
ings of the Italian futurist school, which disastrously, Italy had failed to develop
was made up of writers and artists torpedo planes, carrier-based aircraft (or
devoted to the romance of industrial carriers for that matter), as well as dive-
progress and machines. Leading futurist bombers. Their air force was also woe-
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti had penned fully short of strategic bombers, despite
“Manifesto Aeropoesia” in 1931, which having been Douhet’s homeland.
codified poetry devoted to airplanes Many historians have in fact
and flight, and that went along with blamed the Aeronautica’s wartime
the already existing aerially themed failure on the pre-war concentration
futurist music and painting. In the on aviation as propaganda. Even
theater, Giannina Censi performed contemporaries of Balbo shared that
aerodanze (aerial dances), which sought view. The Aeronautica’s Chief of Staff
to model aeronautic experience in Francesco De Pinedo went to Mussolini
led the army that captured Singapore, banzai charges and prisoner executions COMPARE &
didn’t speak English, but he’d served to mask the deeper competence and CONTRAST
as a military attaché in Switzerland. professionalism of those forces actually
Col. Masanobu Tsuji, his chief opera- serves to diminish the accomplishment Churchill’s & Hitler’s
tions planner, had a nickname as the of the victorious Allied soldiers, sailors, Personal Security
“god of operations.” He managed to marines and aircrews. The Allied forces
elude war crimes investigators by in the Pacific defeated a tough and During the Second World War the
hiding in Southeast Asia, and was later smart enemy, one driven by a quasi- governments of Great Britain and
elected to the Japanese Parliament religious militarism and a deep belief Germany were both concerned about
before finally vanishing back into in ethno-racial superiority. That truer the security of their leaders. The threats
Southeast Asia in the early 1960s. narrative, then, is the one that led USMC and counter-measures employed were
Col. Kunio Nakagawa, who organized combat veteran and author E.B. Sledge illustrative of the larger outlooks of
the defense at Peleliu, was another to state: “To defeat an enemy as tough the leaders both regimes had during
interesting case. He was one of the few and dedicated as the Japanese, we had that war. The British favored a simple
officers in the IJA well studied in the to be just as tough….On Peleliu the civilian-based protection scheme, while
use of armored forces. He was informed opposing forces were like two scorpions the Germans developed a complicated
enough on that matter to realize the in a bottle. One was annihilated, the and multi-layered military solution.
need for a shift in overall tactical other nearly so. Only Americans who In the late 1930s war loomed. Hitler
doctrine, preserving a large portion excelled could have defeated them.” had been in power since 1933, and
of his force from the cauldron of the he’d attracted attention from more
landing beaches, and instead defending — Nick Capo than one group who wished him
strong positions in the interior on high dead. From 1933 to September 1939
ground. When Maj. Gen. Kenjiro Murai there had been numerous attempts
was sent to command the island, he and on his life. They ranged from the
Nakagawa worked effectively together bombing of a Munich beer hall where
as a team. As a result, the US 1st Marine he was speaking, to lone gunmen who
Division was effectively rendered hors attempted to breach security around his
de combat in capturing the island. vacation home in the Bavarian Alps.
Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Hitler could be said to have been the
commander on Iwo Jima and better first truly modern politician of the 20th
known now because of Clint Eastwood’s century. He spoke regularly on radio and
film Letters from Iwo Jima, was also traveled by train, car and plane to politi-
fluent in English. He used many of the cal functions. His security arrangements
same tactics as Nakagawa. In addition had started with a small group of plain-
to stints at embassies in Canada clothes detectives and brownshirts from
and Washington, he’d also traveled the Sturm Abteilung (SA). As he became
extensively in the United States. more of a public figure, his security detail
Col. Hiromichi Yahara, the operations expanded into three branches: the Reich
planner for Thirty-Second Army, which Sicherheitsdienst (Reich Security Service),
defended Okinawa so tenaciously, spent the SS Begleit Kommando (SS Escort
two years (1933−35) in the US in Boston Detachment), and the Fuehrer Begleit
and Washington, including six months Abteilung (Fuhrer Escort Battalion).
with the US 8th Infantry Regiment. The RSD were recruited from former
Yahara also spent time in China with police detectives and were a hybrid
a field army and as a spy in Southeast civilian/military organization. That gave
Asia. He left one of several stints as an them flexibility and jurisdiction in any
instructor at the Imperial War College situation. They were authorized to wear
to join Thirty-Second Army’s staff. any uniforms, including those of the
Of course, organizations as large as SS, civilian police, and any branch of
the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy the military. They fell under the direct
contained their share of nitwits and control of SS Chief Heinrich Himmler.
incompetents. At the same time, though, The SS Begleit Kommando also
allowing the foolishness and savagery of Gen. Masaharu Homma came under the control of Himmler.
from April 1945 showing Soviet soldiers siding until the train left the station. BEHIND THE LINES
near the Reich Chancellery posing with Air travel with Hitler involved using
a corpse resembling Hitler. Experts a rigid protocol of dual aircraft and Frank Loesser’s WWII Songs
have speculated that was actually one pre-departure altitude flight checks for
of the doubles, Gustav Weler, killed bombs. Churchill at first generally com- Students of the history of American
in the final fighting in Berlin. mandeered whatever was available that popular song know Frank Loesser as
Both Churchill and Hitler were met his schedule. He eventually had a the writer of both the lyrics and the
familiar with firearms; both had combat military plane converted for his use. music for Guys and Dolls, the classic
experience and were comfortable car- Hitler’s travel and personal appear- celebration of postwar New York City
rying handguns. Churchill occasionally ances evolved into a standardized gamblers and their molls. Few are aware,
carried two types of handguns: a Colt .45 choreography of movement and however, of the many songs he wrote
revolver and a Colt .32 semi-automatic. security cordons. From 1933 on, the during World War II to strengthen morale.
Thompson reported Churchill liked ability of crowds to come close to him “In My Arms” is the fervent request
to set up targets in the garden at his gradually subsided. Newsreels from of a soldier for a final night of romance.
home in Kent, and then conduct target his entry into Austria and during the “Comes the dawn, I’ll be gone, I’ll be
practice with him. During Hitler’s early Berlin victory parade in 1940 show heading for the thick of the fight.”
years as politician he relied on a short crowds approaching his Mercedes What’s needed: “was for something
leather whip as a means of discouraging with children throwing bouquets into nice and cute in female, I’ll never get it
attackers. He also sometimes carried a the open car. That practice generally in the V-mail, give me a girl in my arms
.22 Smith and Wesson revolver or one ended by 1941, coinciding with the tonight.” (V-mail was a process devised
of several Walther and Mauser pistols. start of Operation Barbarossa. to reduce the weight of letters to and
Travel security was different for each Churchill was the opposite. As the from those serving in the military. The
leader. When Hitler traveled by train, blitz on London began to take a toll, original letter was photographed and
he was accompanied by a full detail he routinely motored to the hardest hit then reduced in size. Thus it took up less
that included members of the RSD, neighborhoods along with members space at a time when military equipment
the SS Begleit Kommando, the Fuehrer of the royal family, cabinet ministers and supplies needed all the transport
Begleit Battalion, as well as detectives and local politicians. He would take room they could get. How lucky for
from the Reichsbahn (railroad) police. D.I. Thompson for protection, but on Loesser V-mail rhymed with female.)
The Begleit Battalion would pre-posi- arrival he would immediately plunge One of the favorite pastimes of those
tion armored and convoy vehicles at into the crowd to shake hands and con- in the service was grousing, complaining
destinations, and also transported a sole the bereaved. That kind of thing about conditions, food or anything else,
compliment of vehicles on a follow-up culminated the night the surrender just to keep from having to face how
train for contingencies. Upon stopping, of Germany was announced. Then boring things were. Loesser captured
Hitler’s train would immediately be Churchill commandeered a London those sentiments in “What Do You Do
protected by up to several hundred cab near Downing Street, climbed on in the Infantry?” The answer, of course,
local police, area military units, and the the roof, and sat down with his feet was: “You march, you march, you march,
Fuehrer’s personal bodyguard troops. on the hood. He was driven through your back as stiff as starch. There’s many
The Begleit unit also formed the the crowds for several hours while a fall in cavalry, but never a fallen arch,
convoys of military vehicles for the waving his bowler hat and cheering. and what do you do in the infantry?
Fuehrer’s transportation away from From 1933 through 1945, Hitler You march, you march, you march.”
planes and trains. Known as “Grey had many unsuccessful attempts Others always had it better. “The
Columns,” they were particularly against his life. His personal security son of a gun in the signal corps is riding
active after the victories in Poland and meanwhile evolved from a handful on a bike and what do you do in the
France, when Hitler left Berlin to tour of brownshirts to a unit equivalent to infantry? You hike, you hike, you hike.”
the newly conquered territories, as an infantry regiment. Churchill had But it would be all right in the end.
well as behind the eastern front. no attempts on his life, and he mostly “What do you do in the infantry? You
When Churchill traveled by train relied on a handful of lightly armed win, you win, you win. What do you do
he was sometimes accompanied by detectives for his protection. Given in the infantry? You march into Berlin.”
military staff officers (who might the relative threat level to each leader, Loesser’s lyrics didn’t avoid the reality
carry handguns) along with his the extent of their personal security of death and the demands that made
Special Branch detectives. When the efforts was probably appropriate. on those who served. Consider “Praise
train stopped it was customary for the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.”
one of the detectives to patrol the — Roger Mason “Down went the gunner, a bullet was
STRATEGIC located on the island was a powerful on the abnormal concentration of Free
BACKWATERS French radio station. The Canadians French Naval Forces (FFNF). He said
were particularly concerned to control he was unsure if it was prudent to allow
De Gaulle’s North American it, lest it begin broadcasting Axis propa- such a strong FFNF group to cruise in
Teacup Tempest ganda (it never did). The Canadians also the vicinity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
alleged the station was assisting U-boats, Muselier then sailed to Quebec
A tiny archipelago of islands, a mere but they could never prove it. Initially aboard Mimosa, where he met with the
93.4 square miles in area and just 6.2 working to merely place Canadian tech- Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs,
miles off the coast of Newfoundland, nicians at the station (they never did), who communicated the ongoing US
Canada, was the last remnant of the the Canadians also began making plans reservations over the situation and
former North American empire of “New to invade. As the Battle of the Atlantic counseled patience and prudence (traits
France.” Officially called the “Territorial began to rage, the British themselves never noted of De Gaulle). It was also
Collectivity of Saint Pierre and became concerned Vichy might be explained Canada was contemplating
Miquelon,” its two main islands, Saint coerced to provide U-boat refueling and occupying the islands temporarily,
Pierre and Miquelon-Langlade, respec- replenishment facilities on the islands and that they would be handed over
tively, were home to approximately 4,000 (if they didn’t do so voluntarily because to the Free French “sooner or later.”
French citizens in December 1941. They of the British attack at Mers-el-Kebir). After the Japanese attack on Pearl
were economically sustained by the De Gaulle was driven to seek Harbor and the subsequent German
fishing industry. Facing the same choice control of the islands to publicize both declaration of war on America, De
as all overseas French territories and the Free French movement and as a Gaulle decided the time had come
possessions, the citizens of that territory demonstration he wasn’t a mere tool of to rush the operation into action.
decided to remain loyal to the Vichy gov- the British. Already angry with the US Reinforced in Halifax by the Surcouf
ernment of Marshal Petain rather than for unilaterally “requisitioning” French with its twin 8-inch guns (the super-
declare for the uncertainty of Charles commercial shipping stranded in US submarine also carried a single Besson
De Gaulle and the Free French cause. ports in 1940, without reference to his MB.411 observation float plane, eight
After the 1940 armistice the islands Free French delegation or even the Vichy 550mm and four 400mm torpedo
came under the temporary administra- government, De Gaulle simply decided tubes, a 15 foot motor launch, two
tion of the French High Commissioner to take the islands. Adm. Emile Muselier, 37mm AA guns and four 13.2mm AA
of the French Antilles, Adm. Robert, on though not a favorite of De Gaulle, was machineguns), the FFNF group set off.
Martinique. Thus they were included senior Free French naval commander The waters around the islands are
in the special agreement between the in Britain. He was ordered by De Gaulle treacherous, with the three-mile strait
Vichy government and the neutral to take the islands in what the general separating St. Pierre from Miquelon
United States, the aim of which was to declared would be a “domestic affair.” especially difficult, the local fisherman
respect the status of the islands in their Muselier thus departed Great calling it the “Mouth of Hell.” With over
loyalty to France and Petain while also Britain aboard the corvette Lobelia, 600 shipwrecks along the coasts of the
certifying they would have no contact officially to conduct an “inspection islands, and with neither purpose-
with the Axis powers. A part of that tour” of her sister corvettes, ships Britain designed amphibious landing craft nor
special status was the granting to the had handed over to the Free French personnel trained in amphibious opera-
US of facilities on the islands for the in mid-1941 to reinforce their small tions, the ad hoc task force opted for
dissemination of propaganda and other “fleet,” which otherwise consisted of the the direct approach. The ships steamed
activities (intelligence collection). Thus submarine Surcouf and some colonial into the harbor of Saint Pierre on 24
the US was keen to maintain the status sloops. The plan was to collect three of December 1941, sidled up to the pier and
quo on the islands, and communicated the corvettes (each armed with a single off-loaded the “invasion” force. Groups
that De Gaulle, who the US did then not 4-inch deck gun and two .50 caliber of armed sailors quickly rounded up the
yet recognize, via his British handlers. machineguns), the Mimosa (in Iceland, four-man Vichy garrison and arrested
Saint Pierre and Miquelon at the time where Muselier transferred from the the governor, Gilbert de Bournat, bring-
was over-populated, as many of the fish- Lobelia, which didn’t participate in the ing Vichy rule to an end within 30 min-
ing vessels there were from ports along operation), along with the Alysse and utes of landing. Then a plebiscite was
the Atlantic coast of France, which tradi- the Aconit (both in Halifax, Canada). conducted to give the action a veneer of
tionally worked the fishing from France The sailors from those ships would also legality and thereby stave off American,
to the islands and then back. Due to the constitute the landing force. While in Canadian and British political repercus-
war and the armistice, many declined Halifax, the local commander of the sions. The phrasing of the plebiscite
to return to their occupied country. Also Canadian Navy commented to Muselier question didn’t offer a choice between
— Vernie Liebl
NOT SO ELITE BEAT That led to the neglect of the Canadian manpower served during World War I.
armed forces during the inter-war That set in place a continued politi-
Canadian Army Deficiencies, years. With a population of 11 million, cal inability to fully mobilize for World
1944−45 Canada had an army of only 5,000 just War II. Conscripts weren’t required to
prior to the start of World War II. serve overseas, and 80 percent declined
Ed’s Note: this was sent to us as a Deep divisions also existed in to do so. That left Canadian units
counter-analysis of the piece on the Canadian society between French- overseas deficient in replacements,
Canadian Army we ran a while back speakers and English-speakers, which which in turn led to over-cautiousness
under the heading “Elite Beat.” had been further exacerbated by the on the battlefield due to the impera-
experience of World War I. The infamous tive to minimize casualties. (On the
The Canadian Army in World War II “Regulation 17” of 1912 had outraged positive side, it also meant all Canadian
suffered profound and grave defects that French-Canadians by limiting the troops overseas were volunteers.)
in many ways crippled its effectiveness teaching of their language in schools. A conscription crisis again erupted
in the campaign for Northwest Europe in During World War I, Francophone militia in 1944, though there was less actual
1944−45. They began with the Canadian units had been broken up and those rioting than had occurred in 1917. All
cultural and geographic situation. men dispersed into English-speaking told, then, only five battalions of
Culturally, within Canada there’d units. Because of that, the war had been French-Canadians served overseas,
been a strong post-World War I backlash unpopular among French-Canadians, and those formations suffered even
against militarism, as well as the popular precipitating a full-on conscription more severely than the rest of the
acceptance of the belief there would crisis in 1917. The upshot was only army from replacement shortages.
never again be the need for a mass a small percentage of the otherwise Pre-war neglect of the Canadian
army to fight another such conflict. available French-speaking Canadian armed services also caused over-reliance
I
t’s well known that, after the of the history of the 1944 campaign
breakout from Normandy in in the European theater. He takes us
1944, Eisenhower pursued a inside the high-level staff meetings,
cautious “broad front” strategy that as well as the lowliest foxhole, in an
by November had stalled into a war attempt to establish historical reality.
of attrition on the German border. He’s passionate about his findings,
Less known is that farther south, but carefully objective, citing a range
in Alsace, Lt. Gen Jacob Devers’s of official documents, interviews and
350,000-man Sixth Army Group, at other confirmed sources. His method
the end of a drive as rapid as Patton’s elevates the book from the easy “what
across France, was massed and ready if” of some counter-factual analyses,
to attack over the southern Rhine. If but the account also remains dramatic.
successful, Devers would’ve flanked
the German front, thereby likely The book’s only faults lie in its
averting America’s costliest battle, the attempt to be all-inclusive. The chapters
Bulge, and ending the war quickly. segue between the “big picture” and
But Ike stopped that assault, and this various actions (all needing maps) as
book illuminates that decision. Colley builds his case and we follow
Sixth Army Group through southern
Cooley provides ample evidence that France. Importantly, he digs deep into
Devers’s well supplied forces could’ve the involved leaders’ complex biogra-
Decision at Strasbourg: Ike’s Strategic reached their objectives at minimal risk. phies and illuminates the personality
Decision to Halt the Sixth Army Group The crossing points were well planned, conflicts among Monty, Patton, Ike,
at the Rhine in 1944, by David Colley and patrols had revealed the bunkers on Bradley and Devers. Into that mix he
(Naval Institute Press, 2008). the opposite shore to be empty. To put it adds DeGaulle and the French generals.
Reviewed by Steve Conlon. simply, however, Ike didn’t like Devers, Nonetheless, Decision at Strasbourg is
and therefore wasn’t prepared to give a convincing critique and an important
him the green light for a bold stroke one. One suspects this book will be
that ran counter to his own cautious seminal, in that it forces serious reas-
strategy. Cooley’s careful reconstruction sessment of the strategy as well as cur-
of events and personalities provides an rent historiography of the Allied victory.
interesting reassessment of this portion
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6–7 Ap
ril
Wins
at Shiloh
at Kursk
| AtomiC WAr
& tactics
Battl
Wilur
Sh
Pe
| Fulani
| HUrtGEn
of World
e zbur
oh omic:
186
g
nt
Jihad
Army: ForESt
War ii
2 That Never W
The Battle
| tHE
Davy Crockett
| mAnCHUr
& Elvis
BULGE
#264 SEP–OCT
as
Presley
2010
| Caesar’s Last
: Hitler’s
iA: Japan’s
Last Stand Battle
View
| russia
invade
s Georgi
a, 2008
#13 AUG–SEP
2010
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