WWII Resurgence

It is somewhat appropriate that the first Herald of the 21st Century is jam-packed with articles about 20th Century warfare. Sort of a "Century in Review" issue, you could say. Some readers have wondered if my passion for Ancients has caused a bias towards those types of articles.

However, I assure you that isn't so. I have gone as far as holding back Ancient articles till a later issue to free up space for ones on more modem eras.

I had been wondering when the resurgence of World War II gaming would translate into a flow of related articles. "Saving Private Ryan," the flood of new WW II minis available as well as the release of Battle Front rules by the ACW Fire & Fury folks have doubtless helped. I wonder if the upcoming "Pearl Harbor" movie will ignite interest in World War II naval and air combat? Speaking of which, my friends and I got together for an early way naval clash off Norway, recently. Allen and Joel have been collecting 1/2400 scale ships for years. Both have run many scenarios or mini campaigns for us, using General Quarters rules. It is a perfect rules set for those who play a period only a handful of times a year -- the mechanics are simple and fun.

Joel's scenario this time had Tim and I as German commanders, tasked with escorting a bevy of tankers into a harbor for resupply of the German blitzkrieg. We also had a small airfield with a couple recon planes, and a handful of ME 110 fighter-bombers and JU 88s torpedo/medium bombers. Tim and I scrambled the bombers into action right away, with two sorties within several hours of daylight. A coastal watcher had spotted a small group of British destroyers, which we were unable to damage (losing one plane in the process). We hit paydirt, though, when our destroyer group nosing around the entrance to our fjord stumbled into a British cruiser flotilla. The JU 88s, with fighter escort, screamed in and sank one British cruiser. Since the game was "to be continued," I have yet to find out the identity of the unfortunate Brit. Naturally, we claim it was the Battlecruiser Hood (Allen, the British player laughed it off, saying a light cruiser is more likely!).

Finally, you may notice a different look to The Herald. I received Adobe Pagemaker (a professional desktop publishing program) for Christmas, along with the brand new iMac that I bought myself. Pagemaker should handle graphics better and will make layout easier. There may be an issue or two of "growing pains" till I get used to the software, though. So bear with me. It is my goal to make The Herald better and better each year.