GROWING THE HOBBY! We are going to a local High School next week to start a wargames club. There are five guys and one girl fired up and ready to tackle Medieval Warfare. Some of them are already ordering figures! Paul Schneider, a recent MW convert, teaches Social Studies there and thought the kids would like the rules. They do. To combat the greying of the hobby, it is necessary for all of us to be more involved in attracting young people into gaming. Player friendly rules are part of the process. I encourage younger players to play in our demo games at the conventions as well as to ‘help out’ as divisional commanders during our tournament games. These kids bring new life and excitement back into the hobby and I’ll continue to do all I can to keep them interested and coming back for more. - Terry Gore That’s a great Idea Terry, good luck with it and let us know how it goes. - DICK BRYANT BAD ISSUE REPLACED Just a note to say Thank you for replacing issue #78 so quickly (it had missing pages). It has been read by now and was one of the most interesting one of you issues. Looking forward to the next. - BOB HORNE, Livonia MI. The Courier will replace any damaged issue if you let us know about it. Don’t suffer in silence if you get one. Get in touch and we will put it in the next mail. - DICK BRYANT CLUB CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF GAMING On June 10, 2000 THE WARGAMING SOCIETY celebrated 25 years of gaming with a 25mm recreation or Marengo, using Classic Napoleonics rules. While the society is still in existance aand has not technically lost any members, attendance at club games has declined following the “High Water Mark” of 22 in March of 1996. But they are actively seeking new members. If interested, contact Ray Jackson at 224 Cedar Ave., Atwater, CA 95301. (209) 358-8510. Congratulations Ray, My club (Old Colony Wargamers) has been gaming since 1968 and I understand the special feeling of having life-long friends with such a mutual interest. I would like to hear from other long-lived clubs and hear of some of their experiences. - DICK BRYANT “IN THE LIFE” I just read the latest issue and agree with the editorial, I am “In the life,” my wife laughed at the fabric store and gift shop remark. I also like the dollar store for boxes and containers. The local hardware store is constantly seeing me in the toolbox isle looking for just the right paint box or drawers for my collection. I love your mag, keep at it, happy gaming! Steve Hazuka We’ve had a lot of comments on this editorial. Many wives and significant others have commented on how true to life the depiction of an “In The Life” wargamer is. I’m sure the same is true for any dedicated hobbyists, Model railroaders, for instance. - DICK BRYANT BEST ARTICLE IN YEARS Greg Rice’s article in #78 (Operational Level Campaigning- ED) was tremendous! One of the best articles I’ve seen in The Courier in years. (No name on this Volley Fire comment - ED). We’ve had a lot of positive feedback on this article. Campaigns are still the hardest wargaming process to accomplish realistically while still having fun. Greg’s campaign’s have been the most fun our club has ever experienced. And it is done with, literally, a postcard side of rules - Dick Bryant Hadn’t seen the movie The article in #78, “You’ve Found a Real War at Last” was totally enigmatic tome. Maybe I’d have known what the heck this was about if I had seen the movie. The article gave no context for the action. Sorry - “ She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” is another of those “In The Life” movies I had assumed that most, if not all, Historical Wargamers would have seen - especially those interested in Western Gunfight or or similar periods. It shows up on TV a lot and is readily available through Video Tape rentals. I should have been more careful and give an introduction that would have directed readers to the movie or the background of the rules/scenario-DICK BRYANT ADDENDA TO KORPETSH ARTICLE I have just found a copy of the article ‘Assault on Kepetsch by Bill Rutherford from Issue 71 of your magazine ‘The Courier’ on the website MagWeb. I am sorry that I have no idea how old this article is. I have found this quite a useful source of information on the equipment of 22nd Pz.Div, something I am looking into. However, I wonder if you could supply me with the book references Mr. Rutherford refers to in the article, as these are not known to me. I would also like to offer an addenda to the information in this article - perhaps you might print it or pass it on to Mr. Rutherford? In the article he refers to Kerpetsch as being part of the defences of Sevastopol. From research I carried out into the Crimean Battlegrounds of World War Two, the villages mentioned in the text are not on the Sevastopol Front of 1942 (around the city). They are in the Kerch Peninsula, and the action recorded was the holding actions of the Germans in the face of the Soviet winter offensives along the Eastern Front. 22nd Pz Div was heavily mauled in this action and withdrawn from the line, but were actively involved in Operation Bustard in May 1942 to clear the Kerch Peninsula. After this they appear to have been rested again before being sent to 48th Pz Corps. - TONY LITTLE, UK Thanks for your inquiry! Here are the references I used for the article: Jentz, Thomas, ed.; Panzertruppen Vol I; pp. 224 - 228; Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA; 1996. Traces development of German panzer forces up to 1942. Filled with organization tables, battle returns, and German after action reports. Very detailed. The source of this scenario. Good! Sharp, Charles; Soviet Order of Battle World War II; George Nafziger, West Chester, OH; 1995. Volume I “The Deadly Beginning” - Soviet Tank, Mechanized, Motorized Divisions and Tank Brigades of 1940 - 1942. Volume VIII “Red Legions” - Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941. These two volumes provided a wealth of organization information on subject organizations, as well as short histories of all such organizations in the Soviet army. Extremely useful. Watkins, H.; Panzer Divisions of World War 2; pg. 55; Profile Pubs. Ltd., Berks., UK; date unknown. This volume provided a short history of the 22nd Panzer Division, along with its establishment while in the Crimea. My note that “During the German Army Group South’s advance on Sevastopol, in the Crimea, the 22nd Panzer Division was ordered to attack the village of Korpetsch as part of an effort to break the Soviet’s outer defence lines.” was based on Jentz’ note on pg 224, column 2, paragraph 5, of his work that “HGS pushed down into the Crimean peninsula to cut off Sevastopol. The 22.PD, which had never been in combat, was sent in to break through the defenses...” That’s a somewhat general statement which I obviously incorrectly crystalized into my comment! I strongly recommend reading Jentz’ work - it’s an after-action report from the German side on the assault and is a great read... I’d be interested in hearing what you turned up, though - it sounds as if Jentz (and, as a result, I) may have missed the boat a bit. My focus was the details of the battle - taken from the after action reports - more than on the strategic picture.- BILL RUTHERFORD AMAZED It never ceases to amaze me how you’ve managed to maintain such a consistantly hig quality, hig interest magazine. There is always something neat to read about in every issue. It’s like the pleasure wone feels when seeing an old friend. Thanks for lots of great, relaxing (and inspiring) reading. - WAYNE DOWNEY, Severena Park MD It never ceases to amaze me either. When I begin an issue, I always despair or having varied and informatife articles. - its the readers who always come to the recue with great articles. Please don’t stop! - DICK BRYANT FROM VOLLEY FIRE COMMENTS Steve Haller’s article on the American Revolution had a major typo... ! The Missouri Flag should have been labelled “MARYLAND”. True enough - but if there was a typo in the original work some 25 years ago shouldn’t I be faithful to the reprint and carry it over? [grin] Actually you are correct, I should have caught it second time around - DICK BRYANT The place names in Glorias Mundi initially gave me the impression that it was a stupid article. However, I found it interesting and intend to try it someday. Many gamers enjoy (myself among them) using “pun” names in games, scenarios and campaigns. This hardly takes away from the essence of what may be a very good idea under the patina. You would probably have problems with my characters, M Gluteus and Neosynephrine in Ancients and Cess Poole in Western Gunfight games or Commodore Makin Piddle in Age of Sail. - DICK BRYANT Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #80 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com