warspite1
Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008 From: England Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: brian brian I meant one where the action continued across a time frame longer than just an hour or 2 of enemy contact. And was all in a sustained operation well into the Axis air umbrella, determinedly so. Crete had some similar ops perhaps, but with shorter risk periods, and I think without CV cover for various reasons. warspite1 It sounds like you are thinking of things like Watchtower or the island hoping operations - which of course is completely different and, as you say, the two theatres in many respects can't be compared. But I would certainly disagree about the lack of sustained operations and an 'hour or two of enemy contact'. Although not all convoy operations were the same and much depended on the where the Luftwaffe was. It took circa four/five days to get from Alex or Gib to Malta (depending on the nature of the convoy of course). The Axis could attack via sub all along the journey, and by air not just from Sicily, but from Sardinia in the west and from Crete and North Africa. Then there was the Regia Marina both pre entering the straits (larger surface vessels and subs) and after entering (smaller ships, subs and boats). Yes Crete would definitely be included as being sustained operations. quote:
ORIGINAL: brian brian The theaters can’t really be compared, yes, but in WiF we use the same systems to fight in each, and the key unit on the Allied side becomes FTR3s. warspite1 No - the key unit is the bloody dice As for the game, I think that regardless of the operation, whether supply of forces, transport of troops, amphibious invasions, sub war or naval gunfire support, World In Flames can't differentiate in detail because it uses a 2-month turn and the sea boxes. But its a strategic game and to drill down further in a manner that would be seen as more realistic would need a tactical approach. Naval movements and operations were complex but the time needed to mirror such things in a game would be out of proportion to the overall game experience imo. I mean one could argue that what the sea boxes do in this strategic game is no different from the land or air battles. For example in land combat we stack corps/armies and perhaps some divisions and attack an opposition stack, roll a dice and there you go. There is no finesse or detail - no tactics. But that's accepted because its not that sort of game. The 'tactics' are limited to what units attack. Same for the navy. I think those sea boxes do a pretty good job bearing in mind these are 2-month turns and the ships and aircraft put into those boxes will be a players best attempts at completing whatever operation(s) they need to complete. It means of course that one misses the detail, but in terms of game scale I think that's fair. As I have been bleating on about for years, the Mediterranean June 1940 - May 43 is one of the most interesting theatres of World War II. A properly detailed land, air and sea game is crying out to be made. This is genuinely a game that could be 'won' by either side without resorting to artificial rules and counter values. There is just sooooo much to be explored - diplomatic as well as military - before even getting to the actual detail of running air and naval operations in support of the troops on the ground. Italians, Germans, Commonwealth, Iraqis, French, Free French, Vichy French, Americans, Greeks, possibly Spanish, possibly Turkish..... carrier warfare, surface ships, subs, merchant vessels, biplanes, modern fighters, bombers (tactical and strategic), tanks, paras, infantry, special ops, political in-fighting German/Italian, British/Indian/Australian/New Zealand, British/French, German/Spanish/Vichy/Italy, supply is of overriding concern to all ooooohhhhh make no mistake, this game has everything one could wish for in a war game. If only such a game could become reality......
< Message edited by warspite1 -- 1/16/2021 7:04:43 AM >
_____________________________
England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805
|