
Author’s Note: Tonight’s entry is just a hodgepodge of updates and information about a handful of WWIII related topics. Saturday will a brief piece on World War III-themed comic book and then we will begin setting the stage for the remainder of D+24 next week.
Microprose Unleashes Regiments
Earlier this week Microprose released the long-awaited war game Regiments. We’ve discussed it here on the blog recently. Officially, Regiments is a Real Time Tactics game set in 1989 West Germany. The player commands forces belonging to either NATO or the Warsaw Pact and takes these forces through a campaign or individual battle scenarios. If the game looks similar to titles like Steel Division or European Escalation that’s became it is similar in a number of regards. For some of the more casual-minded gamers Regiments might seem like World In Conflict.
I have not even started to explore the game just yet and probably won’t until after Labor Day. But the initial reviews do seem to be quite promising. I’ve yet to see any traditional wargamers offer their takes on the game but I’m very curious hear what they have to say. Personally, after the two hours I’ve played, my initial opinion is that Regiments appears to be lacking the depth hardcore wargamers might be looking for. After spending a weekend or two with the game my opinion could change, mind you. But for now my first run through has left me unimpressed and rather disappointed.
A Trip Down The World War 1990 Rabbit Hole
The other evening I came across a new book by William Stroock set in his alternate World War 1990 universe. This book is titled The Weser and covers the initial battles of the Third World War on the Central Front in a hypothetical 1990 conflict. I’ve read three chapters and have to say, this book is pretty much what I expected it to be. I will not denigrate another techno-thriller writer’s efforts, but can’t notcicing that Stroock’s primary weakness appears to be his inability to present the plots and characters in a cohesive, fast moving manner. I’ll finish it up one day soon and present a review at some point in the fall. If you’re looking for something to fill your World War III fiction bug though, give this title and the others in the World War 1990 line a try. Personally, I much prefer Brad Smith’s WWIII books and recommend them without reservation. And he’s put out a pretty darn good wargame in NATO Air Commander as well. 😊
Western Pacific and Ukraine
Real world conflicts and flashpoints continue to capture the attention and anxiety of the world. To be honest, I’ve only given Ukraine passing attention over the summer. The conflict is mired in a veritable stalemate right now no matter what the Ukrainian government and Moscow say. The amount of disinformation coming out of this conflict is astounding. If you listen to some Western news reports and statements by Ukrainian government officials, you’d believe HIMARS has turned the tide entirely and the Ukrainian army will be in Moscow before the first snow falls.
The Western Pacific is another story. Something is brewing there although it could be some time before it comes to fruition. China is a much bigger threat than Russia and I believe we need to start paying more attention to events in the Western Pacific. Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taipei brought about an aggressive Chinese response that took many people here in the States by surprise. Now it needs to be seen if China’s aggressive movements will be a wakeup call for the majority of Americans or not.
Thanks for the recommendation. I just grabbed Brad Smith’s series.
WestPac is going to get very interesting. The big question is whether the Red Chinese want to continue profiting off trade or make a play to wall off the South China Sea. Another interesting development is India’s participation in joint Russan-PRC military exercises.
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Always a pleasure. Hope you enjoy them.
One aspect that’s not getting much attention are the economic issues China is beginning to face now. They’re going to impact the way Beijing is looking at the overall situation.
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Hopefully the Ukrainians stop their push to Moscow and take some selfies by the monument to how close the Germans made it. 🙂
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I expect to see Zelenskiy posing in front of Lubyanka by Halloween 🙂
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Napoleon Bonaparte would appreciate some love. After all, he started from much further back than the Germans.
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True. Hey, if you ever want to get a Russian really mad, infer that Napoleon eeked out a win at the Battle of Borodino. The simple idea of that drives them nuts LOL
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Don’t forget, Brad also has Warsaw Pact Air Commander coming out soon.
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I’m seriously looking forward to that!
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On a whim I read a bit of The Weser. The mention of the ‘ 4th Armored Division’ in the prologue was a sign that basic homework was lacking.
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Yep, I’m a Yank and even I keyed in on that. He needed to do better research
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And by 1987 when I spent a summer with them at Hohne, QOH had Challengers. Just basic stuff. The tank on the cover is an M60A1 – long since replaced by M1s in 1990. Cmon man!
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Yeah, and the M-60 has REFORGER stickers on it. Should’ve selected a better photo
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We are running out of time to fully arm Taiwan…
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Yeah, I agree. We’d never have the chance to fully arm them anyway. China will move before then.
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That really depends on the PLA’s timeframe. If they intend on making the attempt on 2027 then we still have some time.
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I’m worried they may move sooner due to unforeseen circumstances. Then it gets interesting
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The issue of course is that they would be trying to invade while lacking enough amphibious lift.
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They already have more than enough Ro/Ro capability to get the job done, so do they really need 100 Phibs in the Strait? Either way, just establish a naval blockade and initiate an air campaign. A few weeks of pounding Taiwan into submission and softening up their defenses will go a long way.
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They do have sufficient Ro/Ro ships but those things need a usable port to offload their cargo. That’s a feat not even the Allies in Normandy were able to accomplish and Taiwan’s amphibious geography makes Omaha Beach look like a freaking vacation in comparison. They have the same probability of taking a usable port as Russia does taking Odessa.
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Well, if they gain air superiority over Taiwan and take control of the Strait, there is always the airborne option. I dare say they’d be a bit more successful than our Russian friends were in Ukraine.
But its all speculation for now….thankfully!
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Remember CCP historically uses Taiwan/Nationalism to divert attention from internal failings. At least that’s my hope. Not sure they are ready for a full scale cross strait invasion, but neither are we or the ROC.
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No one is. Problem there is that China has other options it can use to help bring Taiwan back into the fold
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Outside of an outright invasion I don’t see how they can make Taiwan join them. There is no interest in unification at this point.
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Not really. But it is fun seeing everyone who was an Iraq/Afghanistan expert become a Ukraine expert and then become a China//Taiwan expert.
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If you’re saying “not really” to whether or not China has options it can use aside from an invasion to bring Taiwan back into the fold, I’d love to hear why you believe that.
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The only other option is blockade which is a tremendously risky operation with 7th Fleet being right there.
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That brings up an interesting point. How scared would the PLAN be of the 7th Fleet if the game is being played in China’s front yard
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Pretty damn scared because our most powerful naval formation is parked right in front of their most likely embarkation ports. If an enemy state had a similar formation parked off of our East Coast we would be pretty damn freaked out as well.
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Right. Makes you want to try and see the situation from their point of view. How does Beijing view this?
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The biggest issue is time. The ROC intends on pumping out 500 missiles a year pretty soon. They just need the time to build up that stockpile.
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