Miniature Wargaming the Lorraine Campaign
Miniature Wargaming the Lorraine Campaign Starting with this posting we will look at scenario development, types of forces, terrain and weather considerations, and special rules for wargaming operations in the Lorraine campaign. Challenging Scenarios Scenarios from...
Reading about the Lorraine Campaign, Part II, and Map Study
This posting continues with additional recommended reading on the Lorraine Campaign. Most include very helpful maps and orders of battle. Unit Histories and Battles within the Lorraine Campaign Don M. Fox’s Patton’s Vanguard: The United States Army Fourth...
Reading about the Lorraine Campaign, Part I
Future postings will list some books and studies that provided information on and analysis of the Lorraine campaign. I’ll share my what I’ve learned from my study of this campaign, especially with regard to the command decisions at the operational and...
Lorraine Campaign Case Study: Introduction
In the early days of this blog, I posted a series of articles using the Normandy campaign as a case study on how to use reading, map study, miniature wargaming, and battlefield visits to study military operations in the European Theater of Operations. One of the...
OOBs and TOEs References — Part II
The previous posting makes the case for researching Orders of Battle (OOBs) and Tables of Organization and Equipment to better understand the battles and campaigns in the ETO in 1944 and 1945. The goal of this posting is to provide leaders sources of reliable...
OOBs and TOEs — Part I
Whether visiting a battlefield, playing a wargame, or simply reading the history of the European Theater of Operations, it is extremely helpful to have a good understanding of Allied and German Orders of Battle (OOBs) and Tables of Organization and Equipment...
Miniature Wargaming — Learning from Scenario Development Fundamentals
A scenario provides the setting, context, and essential information for designing and playing a miniature wargame. Unsurprisingly, scenarios for fighting a battle within the larger context of a campaign and with greater emphasis on the operational art are far...
Memorial Day — WWII Veterans
I was born in 1956, and grew up among a large number of WWII veterans. Members of both my parents’ families served in the war and, fortunately, none lost their lives. I’ve met many other Second World War veterans and learned of others; all have inspired me over the...
Visiting Cherbourg – An In-Depth Look at Fortified Ports
To understand the role of Cherbourg and other Fortified Ports lets look at Military historian James A. Huston’s definition of Logistics. He says logistics is “The application to war of the factors of time and space and takes into account the three Ms: Material,...
Miniature Wargaming — The Operational Context
The concept of adding the Operational Art to miniature wargaming was previously introduced. In the real world, a scenario playing out on a miniature battlefield would be impacted by the fighting taking place all around it. Therefore, to game in a realistic manner,...