19.73MB - View From The Trenches

22SO THAT'S WHATYOU'VE BEEN PLAYINGTitles Listed 134 Total Responses: 856Rank TimesLast On Freq.Rank: Title Pub Time List RatioI. Squad Leader AH I 10 8.82. Third Reich AH 4 10 4.13. Cross of Iron AH 3 10 4.04. COD AH 2 10 3.95. SOA AH 12 3 3.76. TRC AH 7 10 3.07. D&D TSR 6 10 2.98. Bulge '81 AH 5 5 2.49. fTP AH '7 10 2.410. Flat Top AH 8 4 2.311. War & Peace AH II 10 1.912. Midway AH 15 4 1.613. War At Sea AH 20 10 1.614. Afrika Korps AH 18 10 1.515. Panzerblitz AH - 1 1.516. Panzer Leader AH 16 5 1.417. Gunslinger AH 1 1.318. Kingmaker AH - 1 1.219. WS&IM AH 17 10 1.120. GOA AH 14 7 1.0Once again SQUAD LEADER dominates the pollingof our players' preferences. Four of the top three positionsare occupied by the most popular tactical gameever, and its offspring. OnlyTHIRDREICH, the moststrategic of games, can challenge this position-aninteresting dichotomy among our readership. As in thepast, the game featured in this issue makes itsappearance; GUNSLINGER moves onto the list for thefirst time, accompanied by the return of KINGMAKERand PANZERBLlTZ, which have been seen herebefore. After a brief reign, SUBMARINE andGETTYSBURG slip from the listings. Surprisingly,FORTRESS EUROPA too, after having been a memberof this exalted company since the inception of thiscolumn, has dropped from the top twenty games beingplayed by our readership.MANEUVER CARDSVol. 14, NO.4 of the GENERAL printed avariant for RICHTHOFEN'S WA R whichfeatured the use of a deck of 27 maneuver cards toaugment the mechanical movement system andadd a degree of uncertainty and excitment to thegame. Not just a random luck element, use of themaneuver cards is dependent upon such factors asturning ability, attack position, and pilot skill.Using the maneuver cards one can more vividlyexecute the classic maneuvers of the day: BarrelRoll, Falling Leaf, Flat Spin, Immelmann, Loop,Nose Dive, Side-Slip, Tight Circle, and VerticalSpin in an attempt (not always successful) to geton the enemy's tail, rather than just trade shots.This 27 card deck is professionally illustrated andprinted and available from Avalon Hill withinstruction sheet for $4.00 plus usual postage andhandling charges. Maryland residents please add5% sales tax.RICKENBACKER'~Historical Scenariosfor AH's Aerial War GameFor conspicuous gallantry andintrepidity aboveand beyond the call of duty in action against theenemy near Billy, France, September 25, 1918.While on a voluntary patrol over the lines, the thenLieutenant Rickenbacker attacked seven enemyplanes (five type Fokker protecting two typeHalberstadt). Disregarding the odds against him, hedived on them andshot down one ofthe Fokkers outof control. He then attacked one of theHalberstadts and sent it down in also.With these words, on 6 November 1930, PresidentHerbert Hoover presented the CongressionalMedal of Honor to Captain Edward Rickenbackerat Bolling Field, Washington D.C. Thus wasAmerica's finest fighting ace finally rewarded forhis contribution to the Allied victory in World WarI. During a brief seven months at the front in 1918,Rickenbacker was credited with twenty-six confirmed"kills"; of this seven months, two werespent in a French hospital following a mastoidoperation. As one British historian pointed out,Rickenbacker's score is a remarkable record for thelimited time he spent in action-one never equalledby any other aviator in either the First or SecondWorld Wars.By the time Rickenbacker came to the air war,the days of the "lone wolf" were numbered.Rickenbacker, in command of the famed 94th"Hat-in-the-Ring" Pursuit Squadron, provedhimself as able an administrator as aviator. And,with Billy Mitchell, was a proponent of the strategicuses of aircraft. Not given to solo flights, Rickenbackerwas a thoughtful and observant leader ofthemassed flights that finally defeated the Imperial AirService flights over the trenches. His formation wascredited with the greatest number ofvictories scoredby any American squadron-69. It was the firstAmerican unit to carry the air war over the enemylines, and totaled more hours of flying time overenemy territory than any other in the United StatesAir Service.A recognized hero in the fledgling sport ofmotor racing, Rickenbacker came to aviation byway of Pershing's motor pool. In January 1918, heBy Rex A. MartinWARwas commissioned upon graduation fromIssoudun, the first U.S. pilot training center set upin France. Early in March 1918, the slim man fromColumbus Ohio was posted to the nucleus of the94th Pursuit Squadron-then based at Villeneuve.When Rickenbacker joined the newly-formedsquadron, it had lots of pilots-but no airplanes. Infact, another month would pass before a fewsecondhand French Nieuports could be obtained.But once sufficient aircraft were on hand, theAmerican command felt justified in moving the"Hat-in-the-Ring" Squadron into the Toul sector.There the Americans, and Rickenbacker, threwthemselves into the grim and exhilarating businessof war among the clouds.Rickenbacker shot down his first enemy planeon 25 April 1918 . It was about as exciting as a publicexecution-and as professional. By 1 June, hewasarecognized ace. He flew a plain grey Nieuport (latera Spad) bearing only the 94th's symbol; there wereno bright colors or personal insignia in hissquadron. There was no flamboyance to the man.Many said there was little personality. He was not apopular commander, but he forged the concept offighting as a unit. As a result, the 94th was the bestof America's fighter squadrons.A young 94th pilot named Meissner once flewhome with his top wing gone. Just as a Fokker hadshot his Spad's wing wires away, Rickenbackerdrove him off. More noteworthy, Rickenbacker didnot go after the damaged German to increase hispersonal score, but instead escorted his man tofriendly lines. He insisted his men do the same. Headmired the German use of the parachute and dis·dained the scoring rivalries of the earlier aces.Richenbacker's boys were not colorful, but theywere the first modern fighter pilots. From themoment "Captain Eddie" took it over, the "Hat·in-the-Ring" Squadron was run as a business. Forthat was what the "art" Roland Garros had startedthree long years before had now become. Not ablood sport for young gentlemen-but a hard,tough profession for hard, tough professionals.The days of the Richthofens were over; thedays of Rickenbackers had dawned.