Contemporary Combat Inspirations

This junk heap is now the most important place in this ruined city...

...because I'm behind it!

It's not that hard to find material on modern conflict. But not all of them are useful to the gamer.  I'm looking for inspiration to play, to paint, to make scenery. Some of these really deliver. Others are fantastic ideas for scenarios. Many are free!

This post will be regularly updated as I discover books or films that I find inspirational and are perhaps off the beaten path a bit. I am usually not going to do a thorough in-depth review, as those are usually found elsewhere, like Amazon, and you can check them out.  I'm going to focus more on why these are inspirational and / or useful for *gaming*.

Ratnik gear pics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratnik_(program)

New EDIT: July 7, 2024

Kobane - 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KcC7mBpoKo

Decent movie. Incredible inspiration for terrain in both countryside and city, as well as irregular troops [Kurds] and ISIS types. Plenty of painting inspiration here, I will be capturing some stills for my In Country bad guys. Kurds:

ISIS

13 Hours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDZgtl4OsXk

From director Michael Bay, 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI is the gripping true story of six elite ex-military operators assigned to protect the CIA who fought back against overwhelming odds when terrorists attacked the US diplomatic and CIA compounds in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.

Based on the nonfiction book "13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi" by New York Times bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff and Members of the Annex Security Team.

Great book, great movie - a rare occurrence in the media world.  A book where the journalist and men on the ground knocked themselves out to make a strong account of what happened somewhere, followed by a movie that honored that purpose.  A few scenario ideas, but lots of inspiration for fig painting, scenery, etc.  Bought the book, and watched the movie multiple times they're so good.

Hyena Road - full movie free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWuxeDm1SGA

The Canadians in Afghanistan. Nicely done if not spectacular, checks the boxes.

Lots of other free movies pop up when you find this one.

Escape from Tarkov

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9OIT7W24V8

From a video game, Russian with subtitles. Great action scenes involving two "fictional" PMCs fighting in the ruins. Great firefights with some personality and plot added. Makes you want to get the figs on the table, that's for sure!  Wonderful inspiration for scenery and painting figs.

The Best in Hell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_ab_XBS1gE

Great action, great painting inspiration [Ukraine], great illustration about how a modern tactical fight escalates for a few buildings deemed important by higher-ups. The less you know about modern company level OPS, the more you will learn from this. That it is intended as a sort of propaganda piece makes it even better - it reveals how bad the Russkies have fallen in their propaganda skill since they were commies.

Gritty, explicit, opinionated, and with dozens of scenario ideas, especially of the escort, protect, etc type, often with light weapons. While the narrative wanders a bit into history, his conversation on the fact of Private Military Contractors [aka mercenaries] and the past use of mercenaries is pertinent. It by no means covers the issue fully, but it is an interesting conversation. Same with women in combat and as contractors. 80% is Geddes experiences, anecdotes, opinions, encounters, including a hilarious gunfight in his hotel. About 10% is "big picture stuff" and includes the narratives from others. Another 10% is all over. I got this from the library, and if you are working on some narratives of scenarios for contemporary skirmish wargaming, or perhaps some older ones from even the 60s on up, you will find plenty of ideas in here.  Also, it's not boring.  Sure, you may find some of his "up the British" tiresome, as well as his critiques of non Brits, but overall it is worth taking with a bit of Cadbury to sweeten.

If you have any interest in asymmetric warfare, these 14 accounts of actions in Afghanistan will provide you with multiple scenarios from small to medium.  Some will provide you with several scenarios if you are doing small-unit skirmish. They also are enlightening of the difficulties in conducting operations in hostile terrain, weather, etc.  While you still need to translate these into your rules and a scenario, a lot of the ideas are right there for you.

[CLICK]

Best of all, they are free downloads! Altho I bought hard copies of both cuz they are great!

"Fangs of the Lone Wolf" is another free download courtesy of the US Army [CLICK].  You can pay for the book at various sources, or just run with the free download.

Book has plenty of diagrams and is focused on the study of tactics through vignettes.  Doesn't matter if you aren't interested in Chechnya, there loads of scenario ideas and plenty of things to learn that will enhance your moderns game.

100% John Lambshead! Sci-fi Skirmish and OHSW

Two books that go great together: 

"One-Hour Skirmish Wargames" & "Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios" 

For this playtest, ultimately a test of both the OHSW rules and the SSS scenario, I decided to go with a campaign listed in the SSS book. I am such a sucker for a good campaign effort! There are three and all look very well done. I picked Campaign 2: Corporate Rivalry with the intent of using this matchup over a few playtests which would result in a strong narrative, enhancing the enjoyment of the scenario. It seemed to me that the clash between the lowest level of The Empire and the Rebel Scum resembled two corporations more than the alternatives.

I marshalled my WoC Star Wars plastics, Infinity terrain, and ESS game board, and threw it all together in about 30 minutes.

The Defenders of Law and Order in the Galaxy: 4 stormies [one a Leader] with Assault Rifles [2Shots @ 18", 1 Shot @ ∞], a fifth with a SAW [3 Shots / 2 Shots]. I didn't get into more weaponry because this is not an intense combat mission.

Scum & Villainy. 10 Scum, variety of weapons including 3 with nothing but Close Combat weapons. Rest with pistols, ARs, Rifles.

The table: hardboard by Enemy Spotted Studios, a generic arid ground at 2'x2'. The cardboard buildings are from Infinity, and are a great inexpensive grab for a busy gamer.  Few of us have the time and money to buy solid terrain and paint it as well as these have been illustrated. Altho the cardboard attachments [flap and slot] are visible, during play you don't really notice them.

This scenario is #1.2 Data Drip from the SSS book. It involves 6 locations where data is being randomly downloaded. The Sides are both trying to secure the locations, insert their thumb Drive [or whatever], and therefore be in a position to successfully acquire the data. Interestingly, and a good plot twist, is that the data is rolled for randomly with 3d6 at the end of each Turn. The 6 locations are numbered 1-6, and the rolled value of the dice is where the data arrives for that Turn.

The four buildings and the two taller signs are all data download sites. There are also 4 low "jersey barrier" type obstructions that are simply terrain. To make the board a bit more interesting, I used a Rezolution scatter die and also angled each piece to vary where the steps were and how the sign/barrier was aligned. This immediately made the board a more complex situation that had to be analyzed.

For the game the Stormies were outnumbered 2:1, so had a bit of a weapon edge, and also the option to use their Initiative [IN] card or a drawn card for their Action Points [AP] when they won IN.  This reflects their superior training.

In OHSW, a Game Turn can have multiple "Impulses" of player turns, which alternate until a Joker is drawn. So it's not unusual [depending amount of Shots, usually] for there to be 2-3 Player Turns before the end of the Game Turn.

Turn 1, Impulse 1. Imps win IN and choose to enter the East board edge which has the most Data points closest together. They draw 8 AP and get a solid foothold on the East edge of the board. The Scum draw a 2 AP and bring two scum from the opposing West edge. Outnumbered, they have to await a better impulse to come on in force!

Turn 1, Impulse 2. Imps draw 13 AP with the King. They move into position, inserting their drives ito the data dump points, and secure all four. Their first Shot, they draw a Joker... Turn over! They get 2 points of Data with the 5 and 6.

Turn 2, Impulse 1. Scum win IN, draw 12 AP, occupy the two Data points on their side easily, Down one Imp with a Shot.

Turn 2, Impulse 2. Imps do well, getting a buncha AP, Down two Scum and put 2 Imps on Overwatch. This is a house rule, allowing a side to pay one AP and take a Shot at any enemy that complete a Move in their Line of Sight. Joker is drawn during shooting. One Scum retreats to the back of a building like the cowardly Scum he is, and the other Scum and the Imp stand up, Back in the Fight [BiF].

Data dump results in one to Scum, two to Imps!

Turn 3, Impulse 1. Scum get more people on the board, Down two Imps. Imps shoot back, Down 3 Scum. During shooting, Joker drawn, Turn ends. One Scum is dead. one Imp retreats, another is lightly wounded, needs first aid. Other two Scum stand up, BiF.

Once again, Fortune favors Law and Order, and Imps get three data dumps, for a 7-1 lead!

Turn 4, Impulse 1. Shots all around result in two Imps going Down. One is fine, the other is lightly wounded. Situation is getting dicey as the Scum build up their strength! Still, Imps are winning 10-1 in Data Drips, so only question is when the game will end.

The yellow chips are Overwatch chips. The mechanic seems to work OK thus far. Knowing that if you cross an open space over 6" wide the opposition can take a Shot in the open has discouraged some closing in from the larger Scum force, which is half pistol or CC weapon armed. OTOH, they have managed to scoot across when there's no Overwatch, so it isn't an overwhelming advantage, and you do need the AP to use it.

Turn 5, Impulse 1. Effective use of numbers has resulted in Scum presenting numerous threats.  At top, a Scum [no gun] may attempt to steal either Data drive [on the building, at the tall sign] or get on the roof and attack the Down Imp.

At bottom, Scum managed to Down lone Imp on roof - he's getting surrounded. They also managed to advance two Scum to the data point next to the building at the sign, altho one was put Down. Having secured 2 Data points, and threatening 2 others... can they seize the Initiative and catch up?

Turn 5, Impulse 2. Resolving Down Figs, one Imp has light wound and needs first aid [9 hearts], the other is BiF. The Scum take one Out of Fight [OOF] near the Data point to right. They still have an active threat across the board, but have to catch up with the Data drip die rolls. Under time pressure, the Scum are going to have to take risks to steal a win. The best way to do that in this scenario is to seize the Data drives [disk, thumb drive, whatever] from the Data points. The Data 'drips' are on them, so it is literally stealing the win from the Imps. Let's see how it goes...

Scum manages to remove the Data drive from Data point #5!

Imp manages to gun down said Scum, altho we don't yet know if he's dead, etc...

No matter! Imp engages the Down Scum in CC, OOFs him and seizes the Data drive back for the Imperial cause!

Meanwhile, at Data point #2, another Scum makes the same attempt, successfully removing the Drive [blue marker]. Imp manages to Down him.

Imp engages Down Scum in CC, but manages to lose and is himself Down. I modified the outcomes for CC a bit in this playtest - the main issue is around what "Down" represents...possibly Pinned, Wounded or Dead and how to handle this. 

Turn 6, Impulse 1. Scum seize IN and spend buncha AP to Down the Imp with the Data drive, then send Scum over to steal it and escape most of the way back to their table edge. This Drive has 3 Drips on it, so will put them in the run for a win.

Not having any of that, Imp dashes over from NE building and guns Down the Scum!  Now, to secure that Data drive again...

Drive #2 has been secured by OOFing the Scum at Data point #2.

Turn 6...Impulses 2-7. There ended up being a lot of Impulses this Turn. In the end, the Imps managed to secure all the Drives and gather together to hold out at their main building for the game to end. The two Drives that were nearly stolen did contain enough 'drips' [6] to change the outcome to a 9-7 win for Scum if they had pulled it off. However, the Imps managed to edge out the Scum at key moments to desperately hang onto or retrieve the Data.

After a very rough Turn 6, the Scum also flee the field after taking 8 of 10 casualties. This and the Data drip points mean that the Imps can claim a decisive victory in all aspects of the operation, casualties and Data collected.

This scenario was somewhat thrown together, and the 2-1 ratio of Scum to Imps was a best guesstimate. The Imps had a firepower advantage man to man, but the same firepower force to force. The Imps also had superior First Aid outcomes, and about half their "Out Of the Fight" outcomes resulted in mere retreats instead of actual wounds. As for the wounds, they consistently ended up with only a light wound [with the possibility of a serious wound instead] due to fortunate cards.

Regarding fortunate cards... the Imps managed to win Initiative and draw high AP cards on at least 2 occasions at the game start. This allowed them to:

- pick the table side that had the most Data points to enter from,

- quickly secure the points and insert their Drives,

- outnumber and easily hold off the Scum from challenging them,

- the random rolls for Data point 'drips' were almost entirely in their favor. The Scum secured points #1 and 4, the Imps #2, 3, 5, 6. Most of the data came in at 3, 5 & 6. This forced the Scum to have to try and secure Data drives in high-risk maneuvers.

This scenario could easily have gone either way if fortune had been a bit different. The Imps may not have been able to secure as many points as quickly, and more Data may have arrived at the 2 points the Scum secured [as it was, only 1 point did!]. Still, the Scum may have gotten away with enough stolen Data drives to win had the Imps not successfuly fought them off.

Overall, I feel like this scenario was a nail-biter that could easily have gone either way, and was mostly about player decisions being driven by the scenario, not luck.  I think the possibility of either securing Data Points OR stealing Data Drives leaves both sides with options, and all that a "steal" attempt needs is the right tactics and cards.

So this start to the campaign leaves me with a very positive impression of "Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios", and eager to play the next campaign game!

Spanish Civil War: Book Reviews

EDIT 2024.06.10: Orwell and Kemp's memoirs

from Dreamtime.com

Be wary of inflammatione librorum! 

It is easy to find books on the Spanish Civil War, but hard to find books where the author doesn't have a "perspective" they value more than history, facts, or quite possibly "reality". Ergo, I'll be putting the books that have been helpful to me in this post which I will update as I read them. Regrettably, I'm limited to English at this time, altho I'm working on Spanish...we'll see!

If anyone cares, I have a degree in history and a passion for it as long as I can remember. Modern Europe and military history are my areas of specialty. I am a former investigator and presently in the military, which means my interests and credibility criteria will likely not match yours. Feel free to just use these brief summaries as an opportunity to look these books up in greater depth elsewhere to determine if they would suit YOU and your interests!

What am I looking for in my SCW books? Strong historical narrative [storytelling...but using historical practices, e.g. Barbara Tuchman] and authentic voice are my priorities.

Memoirs are a great way to get that "authentic voice" and perspective, e.g. "I was there and this is my experience of it"; this may occasionally be at the expense of facts and involve intentional manipulation of that which is included or left out. Such is the limitations one pays for the exciting immediacy of an eye witness account.

I prefer a history book to be more balanced. If an author discusses war crimes [or civil crimes] I expect them to present the Red and Republican excesses coherently alongside Nationalist ones.  If memoirs are used I expect them to be representative and back up the historical narrative, not just create drama or sympathy for the author's preferred side. As I don't have a dog in this fight, I'm uninterested in being manipulated into sympathy for either side at the expense of the other. Neither Red Revolution or authoritarianism in any form are appealing to me, personally.

As for the Spanish Civil War, or ANY civil war...let's turn to some great philosophers:

Look - in the doubt we've wallowed

Look - at the leaders we've followed
Look - at the lies we've swallowed
And I don't want to hear no more

I don't need your civil war... What's so civil 'bout war anyway?

Yep...this is GnR... 

OK, not exactly Alexis de Tocqueville, but whatever.

ON TO THE BOOKS!

CONCERNING THE WHOLE WAR

Some are not for the casual reader...but some are!

Nice, relatively short and manageable overview of the war.  Appears to be politically neutral [hard to find on this subject] or at least "balanced". Leaves you with the distinct impression that you have actually learned something that is useful to know in a way that you can remember. Written in plain English - doesn't have you looking up erudite words constantly, and explains foreign terms well. A great place to start!

This is an old [and inexpensive] reader. The perspectives and excerpts should catch the interest of nearly anyone interested in the war. There's a wide variety of points of view, and it's a cheap way to discover other authors and books that may be of interest. I found all the accounts to be engaging and well selected.

MEMOIRS

A great way to get a biased perspective!

Two wonderful memoirs in English. 

The first, "Homage to Catalonia" is by the well-known author of "1984" and "Animal Farm", George Orwell. It is impossible not to find Orwell a completely creditable witness, especially since he specifically refers to the limits of his personal witness; what are his best guesses, and what he gathered from those whom he deemed reliable sources, his speculative conclusions, etc, are explained. 

He has lovely observations like, "I suspect it is the same in all wars - always the contrast between the sleek police in the rear and the ragged soldiers in the line." [which Bill Mauldin wrote and draw about in some detail]. 

Also, "The Fat Russian agent...was the first time I had seen a person whose profession was telling lies - unless one counts journalists." 

This and many more wry and insightful observations are yours to enjoy!

Finally, his chapter of analysis concerning the betrayal of The Revolution by the Government and its Communist String-Pullers is prefaced by, "It will never be possible to get a complete, accurate and unbiased account of the Barcelona fighting because the necessary records do not exist. Future historians will have nothing more to go upon except a mass of accusations and party propaganda. I myself have little data beyond what I saw with my own eyes and what I have learned from other eye-witnesses whom I believe to be reliable. I can, however, contradict some of the more flagrant lies and help to get the affair into some kind of perspective."  This is the essence of honest  witnessing, IMHO.  

Highly recommended!

The second, "Mine Were of Trouble" is even more interesting in several ways. Author Peter Kemp, MC DSO [CLICK] who fought in several wars and theaters and then became a very competent journalist and writer. Basically, he was a literate adventuring Brit Soldier, in the best sense. Kemp volunteered on the Nationalist side, which had only a fraction as many foreign volunteers compared to the Republicans.

[this was due to the communists having a far superior international organization and propaganda / press system; this greatly facilitated recruitment until word started to get around that the communists were getting rid of the volunteers in a variety of ways...but this is covered in detail in another excellent book to be reviewed soon!]

Got my copy through Mystery Grove Publishing Co, and it is a solid paperback with a soft waxed outer cover to protect it. There are only rare opportunities to buy any other edition of this book. 

Kemp finds a nice balance of his eye witness, repeating what he hears from others as it seems pertinent, examining the same with a critical eye, and occasionally give a "big picture" with some of the key names.  Overall, you do not have to be more than wiki-level familiar with the war to get thru this book, largely due to Kemp being an excellent writer who uses clean simple prose.  Orwell is a bit more long-winded and inclined to self-analysis and some lengthy explanations [which is fine if you want to hear about process].  Kemp's style is more journalistic and less reflective.

Kemp saw heavy combat on a number of occasions, and is excellent at explaining complex military situations in a way that anyone can understand. In other words, you don't need to be in the military to understand his account of his fighting at Jarama. Very occasionally, some of the technical details are incorrect [e.g. 37mm guns on the Russian tanks...an easy mistake to make as the German gun was copied by the Russians - stolen, most likely - and enlarged to 45mm]. But, considering how eventful his service was, it is amazing he was able to write a coherent account of it at all.  

This is an excellent memoir to balance out the plethora of Leftist apologetics, as well as their irritating style and thoughtless repetition of propaganda [more on this anon].  

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This was a quick read, and an unvarnished perspective. Lee didn't see much fighting, so the title is well chosen. It still has a bunch of punch and a minimal amount of sentimental ruminations. His experiences show what a sad, dreary affair the whole thing was for so many people. A useful tonic for those who are inclined to romanticize an ugly conflict. 

MEMOIR or NOVEL?

This is a great novel!  It is also a thinly disguised memoir by William Herrick, a former Communist. It is well written and without a distracting style that encroaches on the plight of the people in the book [a great contrast to Hemingway]. While it is mostly about U.S. volunteers in an international battalion [the author fought for the Republic] you do get a broader picture of the internal issues that undermined the Republic as a democracy and ruined its morale claim to being a legitimate government of Spain. This made defeat inevitable as the Republic lost not just confidence in its military potential but confidence in its political practices. 

The combat scenes are hair-raising. The hilarious and vulgar lives of the volunteers are presented in an authentic way that is emotionally riveting but without sentimentalism. Some characters are clearly created as foils to demonstrate the situation and times, while others are clearly based on real people; I guess it is obvious who they are "if you know them".

This book is available as a free download in a few locations. I liked his writing enough that I'd consider reading almost anything by him.

  

MILITARY

For those with a wargaming problem! 

Zaloga... Osprey... predictable but solid. Lots of good pics and some nice illustrations. Too much emphasis on the T-26, Pz Mk I, CV 33 & 35, and other well-known vehicles.  As there is good coverage of armored cars, the title seems insufficient. I would have preferred more on the less common but unusual Spanish vehicles and their use, also, including the improvised armored cars.

The sub-title is with very little supporting evidence in the book. It would be more accurate to state that the SCW demonstrated a need for training in combined-arms operations in support of infantry attacks, which sounds more like French doctrine to me. There were no armored breakthroughs and no rapid advances... or at least no advances much faster than infantry can march!  Still, I didn't find that it fabricated or attempted to make fantasy a reality. My opinion is that Osprey simply felt they had to put the words "tank" and "blitzkrieg" on the cover for sales purposes.

Hooton's intent is to focus on a succinct coverage of the military conflict. This book  does succeed in that goal altho the style is dry and in the vein of a military journalist...which Hooton is. While the political aspect of the war is complex and important to the course and outcome of the war, there are so many books about it that Hooton intentionally includes only the minimum needed to create the military narrative. This keeps the book at a manageable 240 pages of text. 

It will likely be necessary to keep Wikipedia or the like nearby, unless you are familiar with Spanish geography and the military campaigns. As a resource of the Spanish battles it is not that useful, the organization and index being insufficient. I think that the 2nd edition should be done with that approach, which would make this a much more valuable book, and suit the author's style. Still, with very few alternatives, one has to make do with this and Esdaile's book.

Check in for more books later!