BATTLEGROUPS IN CAPTAIN'S LOG

This is Steven Petrick posting.

For some time now we have done a "battle group" article in each issue of Captain's Log. In the last few issues we have switched to a greater emphasis on tactics as opposed to simple force selection. Moreso, we have kept the submitters in the dark as to the mission they would be sent on so that they are forced to adapt, adjust, and overcome when they find that the mission is not really suitable to their force pool.

This is reality. No matter how carefully an operation has been planned, sometimes the unexpected happens, and you have to work with the tools to hand.

An example from World War II was the dispatch of the 101st Airborne division to Bastogne (and the 82nd Airborne was sent to the St. Vith salient at the same time). These were both very light divisions (airborne) and neither was fully recovered and re-equipped after their participation in Operation Market Garden. They were, however, ordered to stand at those two vital cross roads blocking the German armored formations because the Allies had no other strategic reserve.

So for each battle group, while most players will have the scenario and will sit down and determine exactly what they will need to accomplish the task, the submitters must review their forces and determine how to accomplish a mission for which theirs may be an inappropriate force. This is where a player has a chance to show that he can think and understands the systems that he, and his opponent (most often a notional one, i.e., there is no player on the other side writing counter tactics, although we have done that too with some battle groups) have to deal with.