Ultramodern Wargaming – Ukraine 2024
Recommendations: 13004
About the Project
Lately, I've been running war games every weekend with members of the community via web conference. Players log on and play wargames with each other in real time, regardless of location, and we usually have at least a couple spectators as well. Many times it’s been Darkstar, but we’re also running wargames in Panzer Leader, Arab-Israeli Wars, and now Valor & Victory.
BoW/OTT community members @brucelea, @damon, @davehawes, and @rasmus have taken the plunge, leading battalions across thousands of meters of desert, starfleets in pitched battles across the heavens, or vicious firefights in the jungles of Vietnam, all without leaving the comfort of their home.
Hard-core, old-school command-tactical wargames can now be run (complete with spectators and recordings) in real time, with BOTH PLAYERS moving pieces across THE SAME virtual game board, thus maintaining player agency, speedy and instant results (no play by e-mail), interwoven turn sequences, any questions / feedback instantly received and addressed, and with the game being virtually recorded as it goes, a ready-made battle report can actually be created as we go.
All of this without the players having to install any new software on their computer, on any platform (PC or Mac). All that's needed is to agree on a time, a handful of dice, and a bellyful of courage!
Every weekend can now be a boot camp! All without costing me thousands of dollars in airfare, too!
Related Game: PanzerBlitz
Related Genre: Historical
This Project is Active
Prep Materials Complete for Today's Stream Game
Prep materials are just about complete for today’s stream game.
Large scale strategic overview of the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa (80th Anniversary unfolding over the next couple weeks). Red rectangles show successive zoom-ins to today's game at Dubno-Brody.
Operational scale overview of the Battle of Dubno-Brody. Each annotation is a DIVISION, 10-15000 men. There are close to a million people on this map. We see five German Panzer Divisions and five Soviet Mechanized Tank Corps (each with at least 1-2 tank divisions). Yeah, this was a BIG battle - 80 years ago this week.
The map for today's game. 150-meter hexes, each hex about five feet across in 15mm. German forces set up on the northern half of the table. Soviets enter along the southern edge in a massive counterattack (spearhead of 12th and 34th Tank Divisions / 8th Mechanized Corps). Victory is determined by how many Soviet combat units remain on the northern half of the table by the end of Turn 8.
German forces. Note these are June 1941 units, so no big Tigers, Panthers, or even tank-killing Panzer IVs. In FoW terms, this is the very end of "early war," juuuust shifting to mid-war. German aircraft arrive on Turn 4.
Soviet forces. Note the T-34s and KV-1s are the earlier versions with the short L-11 30.5 caliber gun, which results in slightly shorter range and reduced armor-piercing hitting power. The "famous" T-34 and KV-1 have the longer, higher-velocity, harder-hitting 42.5 caliber F-34 model gun. These are just earlier versions used at the very start of the Russo-German War. Also, plenty of the BT-7 ("Knights in Plywood" as Katukov called them), T-26s left over from Finland and the Spanish Civil War, etc. This is what was available to the Red Army of Workers and Peasants when Barbarossa first hit in late June, 1941.Sunday Live Stream: History's Second Largest Tank Battle
It’s late June, 1941 … and Germany has launched the largest single offensive in the history of man into the western borderlands of the Soviet Union. As von Kleist’s “Panzergruppe I” makes its opening drive through the northern Ukraine, they run into a determined line of resistance near the town of Dubno. The delay gives the Soviet 5th and 6th Armies enough time to mass five additional tank corps that strike von Kleist’s multi-division spearhead from almost every side. Although these attacks were badly coordinated, the combined four-day battle would constitute history’s largest tank engagement until Kursk in 1943.
This is one of the first battles where we see new-generation Soviet tanks T-34s and KV-1s on the field. Has the German panzerwaffe finally m et its match?
Join Chip and I as we tackle a scenario of Avalon Hill’s classic PanzerBlitz system, specifically designed to portray command-tactical mechanized combat on the Eastern Front of World War II.
Sunday June 27 – 7PM UK, 2PM East US
The PanzerBlitz Situation Card from when I ran Barbarossa through PanzerBlitz about 10 years ago. Tomorrow's game won't be this big (keeping it light, fast, and stream-friendly) - but this gives the general idea. Video Replay: Damon v. Oriskany - 1982 Lebanon (Battle Carry Sabot)
Here is the video replay of the recent game of Battle Carry Sabot played between myself and @damon. The setting was the 1982 “Peace for Galilee” invasion of Lebanon.
The game features Merkavas and Magach 6b battle tanks taking on Syrian T-72s and BMP-1s on 11 June, 1982.
Israeli (252nd “Sinai” Division):
Elements, 82nd Battalion, 7th Brigade (Merkava Mark I)
Elements, 52nd Battalion, 401st Brigade (“Magach” 6b)
Syrian (3rd Armored Division):
Elements, 1st and 3rd Battalions, 47th Armored Brigade
The system being used is Battle Carry Sabot, developed as a “slightly more than “light” miniature game for the Sitrep Podcast, friendly to stream over a virtual platform.
Scales are 1″ = 50 meters (1:2000), each piece is an individual tank or APC.
This is the first time we took the Battle Carry Sabot system out of the 1991 Gulf War, so we’ll see how it goes!
Might be a fun listen while sitting down for some painting or other hobby.
Video Replay: Battle of Pruzana (22 June 1941 80th Anniversary)
The Battle of Pruzana, the first real tank battle on the Eastern Front during World War II, took place at sunset on the first day of Operation Barbarossa, 80 years ago today (June 22, 1941).
At this engagement, lead elements of 18th Panzer Division (Panzergruppe Guderian) engaged responding units of RKKA 30th Tank Division.
This would be the first real tank clash in a campaign that would see by far the greatest tank battles of World War II, and perhaps all of history. We’re using the World War II mod of People’s General system by SSI.
June 22, 1941: 80th Anniversary of Operation Barbarossa
Good afternoon, everyone:
Today marks the 80th Anniversary of what is still considered my many to be the largest single offensive ever launched in the history of warfare. “Operation Barbarossa” was the initial Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, launched in the early morning hours of June 22, 1941. This would start the most brutal campaign in the history of warfare, change the face of the world forever, and set the Third Reich on its path toward eventual and final defeat.
Five years ago I published a series of wargaming articles on this event to mark the 75th Anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, using a variety of wargame systems. These are linked below:
https://www.ontabletop.com/board-games/barbarossa-1941-ussr-invaded-75th-anniversary-part-1/
https://www.ontabletop.com/board-games/barbarossa-1941-ussr-invaded-75th-anniversary-part-2/
https://www.ontabletop.com/board-games/barbarossa-1941-ussr-invaded-75th-anniversary-part-3/
https://www.ontabletop.com/board-games/barbarossa-1941-ussr-invaded-75th-anniversary-part-4/
Prep Complete - Today's Live Community Game!
So I’ve been working on and off for about 12 hours here (okay, two hours off for two episodes of The Expanse, an hour for cardio, and an hour for shower / dinner) … and everything is set for today’s game of Battle Carry Sabot.
- Map complete (3600 meters of Beqqa Valley, eastern Lebanon, June 1982)
- New graphics for Merkava Mark I MBTs
- New graphics for “Magach-6” MBTs (M60A1s upgraded with “Blazer” ERA)
- New camouflage for Syrian T-72M1s and BMP-1 APBs
- Research on specific units involved in this engagement (June 10)
- Statistics for the new units in the Battle Carry Sabot system
We’re just about ready. After some sleep I’ll put in some victory conditions and we’ll be all set for the stream.
Hope to see some of you there!
Sunday June 20 – 7PM UK, 2PM East US
Here's the map. This system is designed as a miniature game (even if we are playing virtually here). Each grid is an inch - 6 feet by almost 4 feet. Each inch is 50 meters (making the game about 1:2000 in scale)
Pieces for the Merkava Mark Is. These were the ones used in Lebanon 1982. The dot in the center of the piece shows the "true size" and precise position of the piece (each inch is 50 meters, so these pieces cannot be to scale with the map). The "halo crosses" are for terrain rules and to precisely measure what arc of the tank is actually hit by incoming fire (no more arguments over flank fire). 
Here are the pieces for the "Magach" 6Bs also heavily used in Lebanon 1982. These were old M60A1s left over from the Yom Kippur War, outfitted with the "blazer" explosive reactive armor panels. 
Soviet export T-72M1s, the same we used in our 73 Easting and Medina RIdge Gulf War battles, but here they've been "repainted" in Syrian camouflage. Numbers beneath each piece show individual command and gunnery skills, and ammunition loads (for sabot, AP, and AT-3 "Sagger" ATGW shots)
BMP-1 APCs, again "repainted" Syrian army camouflage.
Here are the new statistics for the new vehicles. The T-72M1 and BMP-1 are honestly the same as we saw in the "Medina Ridge" and "73 Easting" Gulf War battles. But the Merkava 1 and Magach 6 are new. Note these are the earl Mark 1 Merkavas, with the very slow movement rate (damn, these things were slow) and the old 105mm rifle. Yes, the Magach GENERALLY has the same British L7 105mm rifle, but notice the Merkava's Sabot stats are slightly better because of better optics, sights, ammunition, and upgrade to the gun system and mounting. Of course the T-72s are not as good, a disparity made worse by the better crew stats in the counter screen pics above. Of course ... the Israelis are also outnumbered over two to one ... and are allowed to take FAR LESS losses in the upcoming victory conditions.
Victory conditions and scenario rules are set up. We're ready!Battle Carry Sabot: IDF Merkavas vs. Syrian T-72s, Lebanon 1982
Hello, everyone: @damon and I are taking a look at the Battle Carry Sabot system with a small unit tank skirmish during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in June 1982.
As the IDF’s 90th and 252nd Divisions push north through the Bekka Valley, however, they are met by flanking spearheads of the intervening Syrian 1st Armored Division and supporting mechanized units.
This is probably the first combat action of both the new Merkava “Chariot” and T-72 battle tanks, and here we take an educated guess at what that engagement might have looked like.
Sunday June 20 – 7PM UK, 2PM East US
Here's my map from "Ops Center" Episode 04, showing the high-level dispositions of the 1982 Lebanon War and the approximate location of Sunday's game.Spetsnaz in Afghanistan 1985: Video Game Replay
Good morning, everyone! Here is the replay video for yesterday’s wargame between myself and @rasmus. He took the Russian Spetsnaz commandos (411th Special Operations Detachment, 22nd Special Service Brigade / GRU, 40th Combined Arms Army) against my swarm of mujahadeen.
With some fun gameplay, light skirmish system, a little smidge of historical commentary, and some Russian radio chatter with battle sound effects and helicopters, might make for a fun background listen while working on hobby.
Hope you enjoy it.
And if anyone ever wants to be “part of the show” and play one of these games with us on line, we run historical wargames every Sunday. You can reach out to us on the Sitrep Discord and see if any of our games catch your interest!
