Lee Hanna

I just received TEM #25, and I loved it! I have read many, many articles on how to "fix" the air system, but Gary Dickson's is one I finally agree with. Although our group never uses DAS or harassment to dodge airbase attacks, it is an abuse that should be remedied. Restrictions on type B air units when flying certain missions (such as GS) and eliminating patrol/intercept ambiguities are also helpful.

On another note, I think that Dean Brooks' article on sea zones was a crowning achievement. I've sweated for hours and hours over "fixes" that I could come up with, but Dean's "kludge" is most elegant indeed. Supermarina's 14-segment naval turns were just too much.

I was also pleased to see a report on Second Front, and I eagerly await A Winter War (which is a game I can play in my small apartment).

Keep up the good work.

Robert V. Simmons

I have just finished reading the article by Gary Dickson in TEM #25 concerning "messing" with the Europa air system. I believe the changes suggested would greatly enhance the forthcoming Second Front, as air power had a decisive influence on the Western Front. The only fault I find with any of Gary's points is the assertion that Heavy and Medium bombers would have to fly at low level to perform GS missions. Historically, this was not always the case; the bombing of Monte Cassino and Operation Cobra in Normandy are cases in point. The -1 for AA would accomplish his aim of discouraging the use of type B and HB air units in GS/DAS missions.

An optional rule allowing bombing at altitude could be included with the provision that for every two air units involved, a die would be rolled and on a result of "1", an RE of the attacking ground forces would be eliminated due to "friendly fire". This would allow a historical use of the bombers, but would include the risk that bombing at altitude entailed when executed so close to one's own troops. In conclusion, I think that Gary's suggested changes provide the best possible combination of simplicity and accuracy while providing a more historical use of air power.

There is a carpet bombing rule currently under development for Second Front which will probably work much as you have outlined above. Thanks for the input. -RG

Martin Duke

I'd like to comment on a few of the air system suggestions which appeared in "GEnie Exchange" in TEM #22. 1 strongly favor most of Gordon Johansen's ideas from his message of 5/2/91, particularly the concept of doubling TBFs if there is no AA present, and halving it in certain types of terrain. I have observed in our group's play of Balkan Frontthat the Allied player tends to mass all of his AA in Beograd and Athenai to foil terror bombing missions; spreading it around dilutes it too much to do any good. Gordon's rule would make for more realistic deployment of AA. Balancing this out is the halving effect of forest, swamp, and mountain terrain.

I also love the rules on flexible DAS and incremental odds set forth in message #10.

Even though there are still a few quirks to be worked out, I find Europa to be the finest wargame system on the market, and I hope you keep on churning out the ultimate in gaming realism.

Gordon Johansen is well known. to GEnie devotees as the driving force behind "One-week Europa". As the name implies, this set of rules (developed in Canada) is a four-turns-per-month adaptation of the Europa system. In addition to the difference in time frame, Gordon and his friends have also added a number of other game mechanics, such as the above air rules and reserve movement, to create a unique design which is recognizably Europa, but with a decidedly novel flavor. You will likely be hearing more about this endeavor in future issues. -RG

Walter Hard

I've been most taken in the last couple issues of TEM by the hints and previews Charles Sharp has been dropping about his new and revised Soviet order of battle. I had heard that Glasnost wasn't going to tell us much more about the Great Patriotic War than we already knew, so I'm intrigued to hear that Mr. Sharp is digging through a mountain of new material.

It's especially nice to hear that there will be more Soviet ants early on, as that will do something to curb the bizarre bag of tricks German players execute with Brandenburgers, paratroops, and motorized battalions. The increased Soviet armor replacements that he mentions will also be welcome since, in my experience, the mid-war armored forces of the Red Army are a bit brittle and overly precious when it takes a month's production to replace one tank corps. In any case, I hope we'll be seeing a lot more about updates and corrections to the Soviet OB.

A word of caution here, Walter. Charles Sharp is an expert researcher, but only John Astell may authorize such changes to the Soviet OB, and he hasn't spoken on the subject yet. -RG

James Broshot

Thanks for printing my article.

I have been neglecting Europa for several months, as I got hooked on my son's HO train set. I think that I am cured of this temporary aberration and promise not to stray again. I have now set up First to Fight, and am deep into looking for nits to pick in the orders of battle.

I have finished reading TEM #23 and it was excellent as always. I appreciate the explanation (at long last) of those strange fivedigit designations for the Wehrmacht Ersatzheer units. These first surfaced in the draft copy of Second Front, and have had me puzzled ever since. Astell's article on the 1939 German forces was the best summary of the state of the Wehrmacht that I have ever seen in one place.

Unfortunately, my opinion was not the same for Mark Pitcavage's "The Great Western War", and I must disagree with some of its premises and ideas.

Firstly, if one is going to postulate the absence of the Weserubung operation, then one must add substantial forces to the initial German order of battle, some of which will come in handy in mountainous Spain, such as the 2nd and 3rd Mountain Divisions. Presumably, the 69th, 163rd, 181st, 196th and 214th Infantry Divisions will be available for Fall Gelb, rather than sitting out the war in Norway. Plus, the 11th Rifle Brigade will be available earlier.

More importantly, with an extended campaign in the West, OKW would have let the formation of the Tenth Wave infantry divisions go forward: 270th, 271st, 273rd, 276th, 278th, 279th, and 280th Infantry Divisions. These began forming in May 1940 but were disbanded on July 1, 1940 (see Werner Haupt, Das Buch der Infanterie). The formation of 4th Mountain Division, begun early in 1940, would also have probably gone forward. (The formation of this division was halted with the victory in the West and not resumed until October 1940, see James Lucas, Alpine Elite).

Secondly, I must. submit that all of the attention paid to the ships and locations of the French and Spanish Fleets is a sideshow. The Royal Navy is much more important. The ships of the Mediterranean Fleet and the forces based on Gibraltar (Force H) are not in Their Finest Hour and will have to be accounted for. The Mediterranean cannot be ignored. What if the Italians had tried to take Malta in 1940, like their naval high command wanted? Would the British have called back the Mediterranean Fleet and Force H to defend the Narrow Seas or would they have left them in the Med to protect the Suez Canal?

An assumption that one must also make for "The Great Western War" is that Churchill did not join the Chamberlain war cabinet, but still became Prime Minister. The Norwegian adventures were his idea as Admiralty head (as were the Commandoes: remove the five Commando battalions from the Dec I 40 reinforcements). And without Churchill, if the recent book on Hess's flight to England (the title escapes me) is correct, the British Government would have been under the control of the appeasement faction and would have made a separate peace. There would have been no "Great Western War'.

As a footnote or two, it is extremely unlikely that Germany would have taken on Spain in 1940. Serious planning for the attack on Gibraltar (Operation Felix), did not start until July 1940 and was based on the assumption that Franco would either join the Axis or let German troops pass through. See Charles B. Burdick, Germany's Military Strategy and Spain in World War II. Also, C.S. Forester, in a short story, "If Hitler Had Invaded England" (which appears in Gold From Crete), postulated a German invasion right after Dunkirk on June 30, 1940, with planning and preparations beginning before France surrendered and with no further reinforcement of the Narvik operations (which cost the Kriegsmarine more ships). This story would have made a good basis for Mark's scenario. I applaud Mark's efforts, but his idea needs some fine tuning.

Another reason for my neglect of other Europa activities was that, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Barbarossa, I started a solitaire game of Scorched Earth on June 22, 1991. 1 got up to February 1943 before I gave up in exhaustion. The Axis took Leningrad in late 1941 due to failure to start fortifications early enough on the part of Stalin. Murmansk fell early in 1942. The Wehrmacht held the Volga from Saratov to Stalingrad, but two German offensives north of Moscow had failed. The conquest of the Caucasus had fallen seriously behind schedule due to the heroic efforts of the defenders of Rostov and General Mud.

The Battle of Moscow had just begun with a bold attack by the II SS Panzer Korps, despite the weather, that bypassed Tula and reached the outskirts of the capital. Pointwise, the Germans still only achieved a marginal victory.

If you are interested, I am working on yet another "first divisions" article. This one is about the less than famous 1st British Armoured Division. I am in the process of acquiring the multi-volume English translation of the unit history of the Leibstandarte. How about an "Infamous First Divisions", series?

Send them in, James. We'd be pleased to publish your articles.

I must rush to Mark's defense. Of necessity, magazine scenarios undergo less development than regular Europa games. We have very limited resources and the magazine schedule dictates a short gestation period for each scenario. Critics should also note that we ask scenario designers to use as many existing counters as possible and try not to mix components from many different games. In view of these arguably unreasonable constraints, I feel Mark did a fine job. -RG