By Robert Kelly

Wow.  All I can say is that almost anything Canadian that one could have wished for in the new Nato Forces book that was not in the first book is in the new edition. Christmas will be early this year as Santa’s elves in New Zealand read everyone’s wish lists and granted most of those wishes.

Canadian Airborne Regiment, Cougar, Grizzly, Leopard 2, Iltis, Tow Under Armour (TUA), ERYX, long-barreled M109s, Twin Huey and the Coyote. About the only things missing are the Leopard C2 (with and without Mexas armour), the L5 pack howitzer and the Chinook helicopter.

For extra flavour the book allows you the option of fighting with lists for 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (CMBG) in Germany or forces in Canada (Force Mobile Command) defending against a Red Dawn scenario with an invasion of Canada starting on the west coast in British Columbia.

We have another great interview with George Washington University’s  Strategic Crisis Simulations  leadership. Our own Caroline “CWIS” Gilmore is joined by Cormac Brown and Cassandra Micah and we talk all about the excellent program these talented students run.

By Jim Naughton

THERE’S THE HIGHLAND DUTCH, AND THE LOWLAND DUTCH…The Dutch in NATO FORCES

For no specific reason, I was reminded of an old Pennsylvania drinking song when I first read the Dutch section of the NATO FORCES book. I was disappointed (but not surprised) when I saw the new book, which takes fantasy to a new level, postulating things that didn’t happen until the ‘90s (five to fifteen years after the Team Yankee notional date of 1985). And most couldn’t happen in 1985 even if Andropov sent Reagan a memo in January 1985, saying “War in August, you-all come.”

For example, Dutch Leopard 2A5. The Dutch get this beast at a slight discount compared to the West Germans. You could hypothesize that the clever West Germans could slap some prototype applique on their limited production of Leopard 2A4s and produce perhaps a company of ‘advanced’ tanks in 1985. But give them to the Dutch? Leopard 2 production was no more than five tanks a week for the life of the production run.

By Matty MacKenzie

It’s the dawn of a new era in warfare, weapon development, tactics, and clandestine operations are all the rage in the 1980’s. The Cold War is in full swing, the Russians have pushed into Europe.

Their first step is moving deeper into Europe via Eastern Germany. Encountering heavy resistance and Canadian forces, who are ready to push back against the onslaught of T-72 tanks, this is where the new NATO book from Battlefront’s Team Yankee picks up.

The book opens with a nicely laid-out index, that I believe has gotten better over the years and through the course of several games produced by Battlefront. Team Yankee NATO Forces gives each country an equal shake in this publication.

What you will find inside is a little over 150 pages of NATO formations from Canada, France, Netherlands, ANZAC forces, and finally, Belgians. Each one of them receives about thirty pages apiece for you to go through and pick from should you wish to field formations from the new NATO countries available.

By Troy Hill

Forces are gathering in the Tri-State area of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio for a full-on offensive of Bolt Action tournaments. As lockdowns eased, game conventions, game days, and especially tournaments have blossomed like dandelions across the world. And gaming tournaments in the tri-state area of the Ohio Valley are no different.

Over the next eight weekends, across three states, players have the opportunity to play in one Bolt Action state championship, and three beginner-friendly Bolt Action tournaments in a variety of convention styles and locals. There may never have been a better time to be a table-top gamer with all of the opportunities available.

If you’re in, or want to come to the Ohio Valley area (Michigan, Indiana, or Ohio) between now and mid-November, you’ll find the details for the gaming below.

Even if you’re not a Bolt Action player, each of these events is held at a convention, from HMGS-Great Lake’s Advance the Colors, to GT style (Michigan GT, and Rumble on the Rivers) events, and even a new kid on the block, Hold The Line. 

Details below:

Today we have Adrian Mandzy who published a miniatures scenario book that focuses on the Ukrainian partisan movement during WWII. We also talk about the great game By Fire and Sword, the use of wargames in academics and historical archeology.

By Kreighton Long

The German Eichenlaubmuster, also known as Oak Leaf, camouflage pattern began being issued in 1941 and was used by the Waffen SS until the end of the war.  Below are the steps I take when I paint Oak Leaf camouflage.  The paints I used are Vallejo’s German Cam. Pale Brown (825), German Cam. Black Brown (822), German Cam. Dark Green (979), and German Cam. Bright Green (833).

“I used to say of Napoleon that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men.”  – Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington

By Patrick S. Baker

Battles of Napoleon: A Construction Set (BoN) was developed by Chuck Kroegel and David Landrey of Tactical Design Group (TDG) and released by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI) in 1988. BoN was the last of twelve serious war games developed by TDG and marketed by SSI. On a note, SSI arguably produced the first “serious war game” for the microcomputer (read personal computer), Computer Bismarck, in 1980.

BoN was a turn-based strategy game, where players would take control of either French or Allied armies during the Napoleonic Wars and make decisions on movement, formations, and tactics. The game incorporated various factors such as weather, terrain types, and troop morale and training to simulate the complexities of real battles.

Today we have Eric Hansen the designer of Blood & Crowns, a new game about the 100-Years War from Firelock Games. We talk about the game and the work involved in the design process.

Join Glenn, Tom and new regular Garrett Swader as they discuss all news Blood and Plunder related. They are joined by guest start Niguel Vega for a supersized episode. The Crew discuss Historicon, Adepticon, and the summer of plunder’s action.

Find the Podcast Here!