Military History

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

Makin Island is a triangular shaped atoll in the Gilbert Islands about four degrees north of the equator, It is eight miles in length and less than a half mile wide and covered with coconut palms. It had been under Japanese occupation and control since 10 December 1941. D-Day for Carlson’s Raiders was set for 0300 hours on 17 August 1942. If all went well, the raiders would come ashore unobserved while it was still dark. However, “Murphy’s Law” soon made an appearance and would remain in evidence throughout the entire raid.

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U-47′s attack on the Battleship Royal Oak in Scapa Flow October 1939

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

Scapa Flow naval base held great significance to both Great Britain’s Royal Navy and Germany’s new Second World War Kriegsmarine. It was here that Kaiser Wilhelm’s German High Seas Fleet of 74 battleships, cruisers and destroyers were interned immediately following the end of the First World War. As part of the Armistice and the later Versailles Treaty ending the war, Germany had to turn over its entire navy to the victorious Allies and promise to build no new warships as part of the hated document’s “War Guilt Clause.” The shame and unfairness of this clause remained a painful bone in the throat of the German Navy long after the signing of the treaty.

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Wargaming is excited to announce its sponsorship of the Band of Brothers Actors Reunion in Normandy, as part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The event will take place on June 4–7. “Wargaming is proud to sponsor this year’s D-Day commemoration events, in partnership with the World War II Foundation,” said Tracy Spaight, Director of Special Projects at Wargaming. “We share the World War II Foundation’s passion for history, both in the design of our games and in our work with museums, and we are thus delighted to work together to tell the stories of D-Day.”

Over the four day event, visitors will have the opportunity to mingle with the stars of HBO’s critically acclaimed Band of Brothers series, visit the Overlord and the Utah Beach Museums. They will also tour coastal fortifications from the Atlantic Wall and other historical sites with historians, as well as visit a re-enactor’s camp. On the last day of the commemoration, there will be a wreath laying ceremony with the actors at the Richard D. Winters Leadership Monument in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.

“The World War II Foundation is honored to have Wargaming as our presenting sponsor of the 2015 Band of Brothers Actors Reunion in Normandy,” said Tim Gray, Chairman of the World War II Foundation. “As well as being the top online military gaming company in the world, Wargaming truly cares about the history of those who served in World War II. They are dedicated to the preservation of that history through the efforts of organizations and museums and share a similar mission to that of the World War II Foundation, which is to preserve our history for future generations.”

War History Online, one of the world’s leading providers of online military information pertaining to the 20th century, will also join Wargaming in support of the Normandy events this June.

Part of Wargaming’s mission is to give back to the community. The team has worked with museums around the world to conserve and exhibit the vehicles of World War II, including USS Iowa, the RAF Museum, and The Tank Museum in Bovington. Wargaming is also a proud sponsor of Military Charities that support veterans.

PRESS RELEASE

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

USS Nevada, one of two Nevada class battleships was launched early in 1914 during the final pre-WWI leap in battleship building technology, was nearly sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. However, she survived and went on to make a major contribution in a number of theatres during World War 2. Here John Dudek gives us an overview of this famous ship’s long and illustrious career.

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By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

One of the greatest enduring and accepted myths of the Second World War, and one originally promulgated by the Nazi German propaganda ministry, is that the Polish Air Force was surprised, caught on the ground, and completely destroyed in the opening hours of Germany’s undeclared blitzkrieg war with Poland. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Here, John Dudek looks at those very first days of the war and their aftermath.

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Gallipoli, March 1915

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

Last Saturday, 25 April, was ANZAC Day when Australia and New Zealand take time to remember those who died for their countries in various conflicts. However, it is the fighting at Gallipoli in World War 1that is most usually associated with ANZAC Day and is seen as a defining moment in the history of the two nations and a major factor in their progress to independent statehood. Whilst the tragedy and heroism of the fighting at Gallipoli is remembered the naval actions that were a prelude have a lower profile. Today we take a look at the failed naval operations of March 1915.

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9 August 1942 – AKA “The Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks”

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

Large scale strategy games set in the Pacific Theatre of WW2, such as Matrix Games’ War in the Pacific – Admiral’s Edition or their upcoming Order of Battle: Pacific, are extremely popular. However, by their very nature these large scale strategy games cannot show the nitty gritty of what actually happened in individual battles and encounters. Fortunately, the Second World War is one of the best documented conflicts of all time and there is an abundance of material available to fill this gap. Here at Wargamer.com we regularly carry historical articles for the Pacific Theatre of Operations penned by regular contributor John Dudek. Here we delve back to August 1942. We hope this adds context to your games.

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By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

Something a bit different in our regular historical piece slot this week. It is a sad, but inevitable fact, that the number of living veterans from World War 2 is very small. However, our regular columnist, John Dudek, had the privilege of meeting one recently and took the opportunity to chat with him about his experiences in the US submarine service.

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The 241 Day Long Siege of Tobruk; Part 2 The Siege Continues

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

The Siege of Tobruk lasted some 241 days from 10 April 1941 until 27 November of the same year. During the entire siege Tobruk remained a painful thorn in the side of German Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel who desperately needed that key sea port town to provide vital logistical support for his far flung Afrika Korps in order to continue his military offensive against the British into Egypt. His closest base of logistical support lay in the port of Tripoli, almost a thousand miles away across North Africa. Everything necessary to sustain his army in battle had to travel on a long, arduous overland trip oftentimes in the teeth of Allied air support.

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The 241 Day Siege of Tobruk April-November 1941

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

The Siege of Tobruk lasted some 241 days from 10 April 1941 until 27 November of the same year. During the entire siege Tobruk remained a painful thorn in the side of German Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel who desperately needed that key sea port town to provide vital logistical support for his far flung Afrika Korps in order to continue his military offensive against the British into Egypt. His closest base of logistical support lay in the port of Tripoli, almost a thousand miles away across North Africa. Everything necessary to sustain his army in battle had to travel on a long, arduous overland trip oftentimes in the teeth of Allied air support.

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