Monthly Archives: July 2026

Strategy & Tactics 49

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Front cover of S&T 49 featuring an image of Frederick the Great on a horse in front of a battle scene.

Date of publication (as given): March/April 1975

Context

  • March 1975: a world record attendance (104,000) at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh see Scotland defeat Wales 12:10 in the Five Nations Rugby Championship. David Bowie’s Young Americans album, with John Lennon appearing on two tracks, is released. Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
  • April 1975: FIDE strip Bobby Fischer of the world chess title (because he refused to defend it) and award it to Anatoly Karpov. Bill Gates and Paul Allen form Microsoft. After the 1974 Carnation Revolution, Portugal’s first free election since 1925 sees the Socialist Party win.

Game Included

Frederick the Great by Frank Davis and Edward Curran is an operational level game about the campaigns of the Seven Years War (1756-163) with four scenarios covering (separately) 1756, 1757, 1758, and 1759.

The game was sufficiently impressive — it featured a number of then revolutionary ideas — that it was bought, repackaged, and republished by Avalon Hill. As far as I recall, there were no material changes to the system, but the new version included more scenarios. I’ve played this game fairly recently and it’s lasted well.

For more about the game (albeit it’s the Avalon Hill version) see here.

Articles

  • Outgoing Mail — editors

And then there was the oddest mass interest game of them all: War in the East. Why, we don’t know. It just sold a lot of games…

Generally, wherever you find large concentrations of college educated males between the ages of 18 and 35, you will find high concentrations of gamers.

  • Frederick the Great — Frank Davis

Quantitively, the 85,000 man army which Frederick II inherited in 1740 was the fourth largest in Europe. Quality wise, it was already the most formidable army in existence.

  • Blue & Gray — David C. Isby

In the years 1861-1865, Americans slaughtered their fellow countrymen with an expertise that no foreign nation, either before or since, has been able to approach.

  • Briefings — Short reviews of new games and books

SPI Games Advertised

On a Personal Note

This was a classic S&T encounter for me: the magazine arrived and introduced a whole new era of history that previously I had known nothing about. I devoured the covering articles and was hooked. Although it’s never been one of my most favorite periods, I keep my hand in with the occasional book and game purchase, all because of the Frederick the Great game.

I remember being impressed by many of the systems in the game and playing it fairly extensively, mostly solitaire. It was fascinating to compare the history as portrayed in the game with how books presented it.

About that Promise I Made…

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Zohran Mamdani
“…and I’ll pave the streets with gold.”

Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for him to become mayor of New York City included a promise that he would arrest Bibi Netanyahu if he entered New York.

There are several interesting points to be made.

  • The mayor has no power to arrest Bibi.
  • During the campaign, few called him out about this piece of fiction.
  • Also during the campaign, his supporters actively promoted this promise as a major reason for the undecided to vote for Mamdani.
  • Why is the mayor of New York City focusing on issues beyond his purview, when he has a whole city’s problems to deal with?
  • Why focus on Israel? Why not focus on, for example, the plight of Afghan women? (No jews, no news?)
  • It’s stretching credibility to believe that Mamdani didn’t know the promise could never be fulfilled. What does that say about his integrity? (If he, against all the odds, hadn’t checked this out, what does that say about his competence?)

Now in the closing part of a dreadful anti-Israel rant, he admits that the promise was legally impossible. He refuses to say when he knew this.

Do people really think this kind of behavior is acceptable? Is this what politics has become?

Coming Home Anniversary

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This week marks my umpteenth aliyahversary — my arrival in Israel as a new immigrant and my return to the homeland of the Jews. Although I reap the benefits every day I am here, it’s good to take time out to consciously mark the occasion and say thanks.

I love living life to a Jewish beat, to a Jewish rhythm.

Instead of going from New Year to Easter to Christmas, I go from Rosh Hashanah, via Yom Kippur, to Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, and Pesach — with a few fast days thrown in.

I love seeing the various Jewish festivals being marked in the shops, on buses, on the streets, and in the media.

I love that I live my life as a Jew, free from worries about the temperamental hostility of my fellow citizens. I can wear a kippah, should I choose to do so, and it’s not like putting a target on my back unlike in the rest of the world. (Isn’t that shocking and sad?)

Instead of going from Monday to Sunday, I go from Sunday to Shabbat.

I love the growing calm, peace, and quiet that Friday afternoon brings as people get ready for Shabbat, however they may mark it.

And Friday night dinner is a major family occasion here, regardless of religious belief or observance. It’s wonderful and life affirming to experience and see it. Sometimes, on my way to shul on a Friday night, I see visitors coming to our apartment block, typically loaded with one or more trays of food, joining family or friends or both to enjoy a Shabbat evening meal.

I love the regular surprises that the Israeli people bring to the world. For the avoidance of doubt, I’m not arguing any superiority, just celebrating our successes. And, yes, we have our failures to mourn, mainly our political leaders. Our current Prime Minister and government are an embarrassment. Hopefully the next election will sort that out. If not, next year’s aliyahversary post may be more somber!

So, another glorious year of living in Israel has gone by. Here’s to the next one, and many more.

(Let’s not forget this benefit.)

Judgement Time

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Who said this:

I believe that a strong, independent court allows for the existence of all other institutions in a democracy…  Show me one dictatorship, one undemocratic society, where a strong independent court system exists. There’s no such thing. In places with no strong and independent court system, rights cannot be protected. In fact, the difference between countries in which rights are only on paper and those in which there are actual rights — that difference is a strong, independent court. That is the reason that I am doing, and will continue to do, everything I can to protect the court system [so that it remains] strong and independent…

Over the past few months alone, I have scrapped every law that threatened to harm the independence of the system — from the attempt to hold hearings for judges in the Knesset, through limiting petitions to the court, to changing the composition of the committee for selecting judges. I will continue to operate this way. Every time a bill comes across my desk that could harm the independence of Israeli courts, we’ll take it off the table

Was it:

a) Bibi Netanyahu

b) Yehud Olmert

c) Arik Sharon

And the answer is… Bibi Netanyahu.

The hypocrisy is off the scale. The brazen self-interest he promotes is shocking. And yet, there’s every chance he will win the next election. When people say democracy is a poor system — though better than all the rest — this is an outstanding example.

I do, however, wish to make one clarification. Much of the hateful invective towards Israel is allegedly driven only — ha! — by antipathy and worse towards Bibi. If we had a different prime minister, things would be different. That’s what people say. But I don’t believe it. Israel is facing a relentless campaign against the country and all it institutions. Regardless of who is prime minister, they won’t stop Fortunately, we won’t either.

Am Yisrael Chai. Despite Bibi.

Diplomatic Coup

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A sign of the times. Yesterday, I successfully negotiated a tear-free and tantrum-free transit of my two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter from play room to bath. As things stand, this may be the most significant achievement of my week.

Games Played — June 2026

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The games I played included the following:

Old School Tactical: Battle for France 1940

I’m a sucker for WW2 tactical level games. This is the latest series I have started playing, though I am still committed to ASL.

I played the first scenario in the French 1940 expansion, primarily to familiarize myself with the rules again. Although the system is quite solitaire friendly, I dislike playing tactical games solitaire unless they are specifically designed to be played that way.

Overall, I like the system, but there are a number of house rules that I am trying out as sometimes the design doesn’t deliver as well as I think it can, even if the emphasis is on game ahead of simulation.

Commands and Colors: Ancients

I played the Piraeus — 403 BC scenario from Expansion Pack #6 which has an Athenian force (whose forward line is atop hills) facing a slightly bigger Spartan force (14 units to 13).

The Spartan advantage is that their hoplite units are 5 blocks (as opposed to 4) so are more durable. The Athenian advantages include the terrain and a superiority in missile units.

This was one of the classic battles as it went down to the wire, victory being attained (by a one point margin) on the last combat. A thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Advanced Squad Leader

I played Curries Favor (AP141), an August 1944 encounter in France between Commonwealth (Canadian) tanks and infantry tasked with seizing strategic points from a small German infantry force stiffened by an 88 gun and an 81mm mortar and set up in good defensive terrain.

I was the Canadians. I probably chose the wrong entry point but I got through the first turn without casualties and my forces in semi-decent threatening positions. At the start of turn 2, my key tank (with an armor leader) was perfectly positioned to place smoke to cover my advance. Unfortunately, I rolled a 12 which meant no smoke, no main gun, and no cover for the advancing forces.

Things went downhill from there and I conceded the game half way through. Although I could blame my luck, not choosing the best entry point didn’t help. All part of the continuing (and losing) ASL education.

Combat!

After playing the introductory scenarios a few times, to get the rules clear in my mind, I moved onto the regular scenarios. The first involves attacking a farmhouse. I played it twice as the first time I made a mess of too many rules. The second scenario is about defending the farmhouse. This one I managed to complete without screwing up the rules. I won both scenarios.

The rules, as mentioned before, are lacking. I secured a copy of the newest rules which helped a fair bit, though there are still gaps. I have yet to make time to gather all the queries and submit them to one of the online forums for clarifications.

Seapower and the State

This WW3 naval game has been on my radar for a long time. It’s a strategic (i.e. broad-brush) view of what might have happened had WW3 broken out in 1984, 1989, or 1994. The system seems to pack a lot into a system that isn’t complex, as you might expect, and offers plenty of opportunity for house rules to tweak the parts that may not suit you. For example, BGG has a great suggestion about alternative targeting rules.

I have only managed to set the game up and try out some combats. It’s going to be a long game and I need to be in the right state of mind to start playing it.

Memoir ’44

Breakthrough is one of the expansions for Memoir ’44, a WW2 game in the Commands and Colors family. The expansion includes a double-sided hex game board for both beach landings and countryside combat and 15 scenarios. I played the Operation Crusader scenario as the Germans and was crushed 12-4.

I started with enough cards to get my key units moving, but then went through about six or seven turns with the wrong cards and being unable to get my units into combat. That was probably the tipping point.

The dice weren’t exactly helping, though my trusty opponent also had a couple of encounters on the fringes of the probability graph.

A couple of things to stress.

  • Despite the one-sided result, it was great fun. This is a game that never forgets its mission is to entertain and it does that repeatedly.
  • Of all the Commands and Colors type games, this is probably my least favorite and yet I love playing it! See the preceding paragraph.

Back to School

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I’ve gone back to school. I’m taking a summer course at Reichman University, Herzliya.

The course runs 08:30-13:00 Sunday to Thursday until the end of July, ensuring a bit more hectic life as I try and pack the usual errands and leisure activities into the reduced free time.

It’s strange being back on a university campus after such a long time. In a way it reminds me of working here — surrounded by people most of whom are decades younger than me.

Reichman is a modern campus with just a few hints of its history. It’s interesting to compare it to my first university campus, the University of Strathclyde. It was a city center collection of disparate buildings of varying ages from old to modern. Reichman is almost completely modern though a sprinkling of the older stuff — like what now forms the student union building — remains. The campus is compact, with plenty of open space. Its country setting gives it an added air of detachment.

Modern and old buildings at Reichman University.

The university is on land that was a Royal Air Force base during the British Mandate. In the War of Independence, it housed the Israeli Air Force’s very first squadron, becoming the main base of the IDF’s anti-aircraft force. Herzliya airport, which I presume was part of the original setup, is across the road. You are reminded of this by the regular buzzing as small one and two-engined planes land and take off in close proximity.

The IDF gave up the land in 1994, title passing (I believe) to the local authority. At this time, law professor Uriel Reichman stepped in. He wanted to establish a new kind of Israeli higher education institute modeled after elite, private Ivy League schools in the United States. Thus was born the private, non-profit college called the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, or IDC Herzliya.

The first year there were about 240 students learning in classrooms made from repurposed military barracks. Since then, it’s grown into a full, private university and one of the major centers in the country for international students. For example, my classmates include students from Argentina, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Panama, Russia, Switzerland, South Korea, Ukraine, and the USA

In 2021, the name changed from IDC to Reichmann University to honor its founder.

This place is one of the many jewels in the Israeli state. As much as I’m enjoying my time, I remind myself that I’m lucky to be able to be here and do this.

Duality of Antisemitism

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Much of the hateful discourse in the media (mainstream and social) during the hot war with Iran has been about the relationship between Trump/USA and Netanyahu/Israel.

The general thrust of the poison was (and is) to the effect that Trump does what Netanyahu wants, that the war was Israel’s, and that the USA had no option but do what its Zionist overlords ordered. In other words, The Jews controlled America.

This, of course, is hateful nonsense.

As Sartre said:

Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies.  They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge.  But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words…

The anti-Semites…like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors.  They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert.  If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.

Source: Anti-Semite and Jew by Jean-Paul Sartre, 1944

With that in mind, let’s turn to an article in today’s Times of Israel:

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warns that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding obligates US President Donald Trump to “muzzle” Israel and prevent it from militarily threatening Iran, in response to remarks by Defense Minister Israel Katz.

“The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see. POTUS has committed the US to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them. Any threat against our People and Leadership will receive Immediate Powerful Response,” Araghchi warns in a post on X.

Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently, the story has changed: now it’s America that controls Israel.

Truly, to be an antisemite is to be especially blessed: you have the capacity, if not the requirement, to hold two conflicting racist tropes in your mind at the same time. Such is the duality of antisemitism.