WWIII In Numbers (Entry #2)

WWIII In Numbers Entry #2 14- Senior Soviet generals who were relieved of command and arrested between 9 July and 4 August, 1987. Three TVD commanders, two fleet commanders, three TVD deputies and four senior Soviet Air Force generals. All were executed with the exception of Marshal Ogarkov (Western TVD commander-in-chief) who was simply forced …

First Half of February, 2023

Happy Groundhog Day, everybody. Apparently, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning which means six more weeks of winter. If the coming weeks will be anything like the previous six, I think I can put away the rock salt and snowblower for the rest of the season. Winter has been a major bust so far …

Odds And Ends 21, January, 2023

Here we are once again on a January weekend. Which means NFL playoffs and since the Giants are playing this evening it is now officially Gameday. I’d apologize to the British and other European readers about how swept up us Americans get in playoff football, but I don’t think it’s necessary. You guys can relate, …

The Central Front Mobilization Race Part III

On 28 June, 1987 the Soviet general secretary informed the Ministry of Defense that Zapad ’87 was to commence on the first of July. A final decision on the date hostilities were to commence was not mentioned. Senior Soviet generals suspected Zapad would transition directly into a broader mobilization and from there to war. Marshal …

The Central Front Mobilization Race Part II

In the early June, 1987 senior Soviet military leaders were being queried daily by the new leadership in the Kremlin about theater mobilization procedures. Specifically, General Secretary Romanov was most interested in the amount of time that the vaunted Soviet military would need to prepare for a conventional conflict in Europe. Chief of the General …

The Central Front Mobilization Race Part I

Mobilization has played a key role in war planning for centuries. Only in the later half of the 19th Century, with the advent of railroads and industrialization, did it take on a new importance and standing. In Europe during the years leading up to World War I, Mobilization was transformed into nothing less than an …

Gaming WWIII: Lessons Learned While Modeling A Global War

Over the years here I’ve talked about the benefits and trials of simulating and modeling a global conflict from scratch. As is the case with most long-term projects, modeling World War III in large part through commercial PC and tabletop wargames was a journey made up of numerous peaks and valleys. The final product was …

The Plan For January, 2023

I should’ve posted this on New Year’s Day but didn’t. Anyhow, here is a brief summary of the main subject points that will be posted about in January 2023. As always, there also be either a few reviews or posts about wargames or World War III pop culture. I try to keep these topics as …

Memories of WWIII: Destination Bitburg Part III

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Andrew Baker, USAF (Ret.)- “The next morning, Drool (Major Ed Leahy, 27fth TFS operations officer) and I hit the ground running. By first light Drool was busy working out air plans with the Bitburg wing staff and contemporaries from our sister squadrons there. For most of the morning on 5 July, I …

Holiday Wargaming Patchwork 2022

The Christmas season always provides me the opportunity to catch up with wargaming odds and ends. Whether it be a forlorn examination of all the tabletop titles I’ve purchased in the previous year and haven’t taken out of the box yet, or selecting a PC game and making an empty promise to dedicate 12 straight …