ATO Magazine Issue #49 Is Mailing Soon

Greetings,

Just a quick news flash this time from Against the Odds Magazine...  

At the printers, and next up from ATO is issue #49 where we journey back to the Summer of 1863. In the aftermath of the Gettysburg and Vicksburg campaigns, battles on land and sea were fought over control of the birthplace of the Confederacy, Charleston, South Carolina.

A Union victory here would send an unmistakable signal to the states in rebellion as well as the rest of the world that the “The Cause” was lost and further fighting a waste of lives and effort.

A Confederate victory in the face of the tremendous Union host, that included every Union Ironclad on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, as well as some of the most seasoned regiments that numbered among them the first formations of all Black soldiers (free US citizens as well as former slaves), would signify the war would go on and that two nations, not one, could be the result of this “second” American Revolution.

A Gate of Hell is a simulation of the Union's assault on the Confederacy's birthplace. This will be the first wargame on this important American Civil War campaign to be published. 




Components include one 22" by 34" inch area map, around 200 counters, and about 14 pages of rules and charts.

The area map portrays the entire area where the major battles were fought, and off-map zones cover the nearby islands and military districts that all played pivotal roles in the fighting for Charleston. 

Ground units are mostly regiments (a few battalions are in the mix). Artillery formations are part of the infantry and fortification units.

The individual ironclads are portrayed while the wooden warships, gunboats and transports are abstracted. 

The rules include bombardment and assault combats, Confederate mines/obstructions, the submarine Hunley, variable impulses and multiple activations, Military Support Points and Random Events. 

The game is of moderate complexity with three scenarios. Two are one-turn and only take about an hour-and-a-half to play (less with opponents familiar with the rules). They cover the first Union naval assault on April 7th using all of their ironclads to take on the city's defenses. This serves as a good introduction to the game's naval rules. 

The second scenario deals with the opening ground battles in July that included the assault on Fort Wagner made famous in the movie Glory. It also is a quick play match and good for learning the ground rules. 

The third scenario covers the entire campaign and uses all of the map and rules




Then we're off to the Middle East with our next Annual edition to learn about, well, "What happened in 1967?" Possibly the single most decisive “battle” in history, which was really a series of battles Israel fought against a series of foes, all with the declared intention to erase the name “Israel” from maps of the Middle East. How did this happen? As is usually the case, you can read about it in books from various perspectives, but understand it far better when confronted with the decisions commanders had to make on both sides.



Six Days of War comes with 180 full color, die cut counters representing Israeli and the various Arab states involved in the fighting, with a 22" x 34" color map divided into THREE distinctly different battlefield areas, covering the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and Galilee/Golan. Ground units are mostly brigades and regiments while air units (with extensive coverage of the many plane types) represent 24 to 36 planes. Each full game turn equals one day, with 10 turns as the maximum possible time.

Can you, as the Israeli commander, not only survive and defeat your opponents but create a better future for your country? Can you, as the Arab player, avoid the devastating pre-emptive strike and carve out a long-term victory against a powerful opponent?

Can either player make these “six days” something that makes for a better future? The choices are yours, with Six Days of War.

There’s still more. Check out all our upcoming issues here on our website.

Then visit our subscription pages here to easily start or renew a subscription.

Thanks for Reading,

ATO Magazine