Cold War Resources

[Raellus]

We have a couple of threads dedicated to non-fiction book recommendations but I think it would be helpful to have a single clearing house location for links to resources- books, PDFs, documentaries, war games, etc.) that are still available on the primary market (as opposed to items on the secondary market such as out-of-print books, used games, etc.).

When posting here (and everywhere else on the forum), please note the following forum guideline:

Keep It Legal

We do not tolerate piracy or copyright infringement here. Do not post links to bit-torrents or other illegal content-sharing sites.

Osprey has a couple of titles- one aviation, one on submarines- coming out in the next few months that may be of interest to all you Cold Warriors out there.

https://ospreypublishing.com/in-cold-war-skies

https://ospreypublishing.com/store/military-history/upcoming-books/preorder-3-months/soviet-cold-war-attack-submarines-pb

[Tegyrius]

Two wargaming items:

Plastic Soldier Company just released Battlegroup NORTHAG (https://www.theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk/product/battlegroup-northag-ruleset/), a wargaming rules set for the 1980s. Our comrade Jason Weiser was a contributor. There are also accompanying 10mm minis - UK and Soviets first, others to follow.

Battlefront is also in the process of rolling out the second edition of Team Yankee, including some new 15mm minis as they advance the timeline from early/mid-'80s to late '80s/early '90s. The official site (https://www.team-yankee.com/) is a bit of a sack of cats but there is good info out on the web if you look around. The minis update includes the RDF/LT, which we all know and love as the LAV-75...

- C.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

If you want to include websites dealing with the Cold War era, there's quite a few but for the moment I'll just name a few.
If nothing else, some of these sites have images that can be useful for showing the Players what things looked like.

Tanks Encyclopedia - Cold War: - https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/cold-war-tanks.php
Despite the site name, it also lists other armoured vehicles such as IFVs, APCs, SP artillery/anti-air and of, I think, greater interest, some lesser known vehicles including projects/prototypes such as the Thyssen-Henschel/Bofors "Infantry Escort Vehicle" for those who like to throw in a "What if" or two: - https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/West_Germany/begleitpanzer-57-aifsv/

Some lesser known West German Cold War locations: - https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/cold-war-sites-west-germany/index.html

Arcanum. Urban Exploration - military sites: - https://arcanumphoto.blogspot.com/search/label/Military
Again, another one with images but lots of them with some subjects that we don't often see a lot of, such as accommodation/recreation buildings and command post bunkers.
Plus due to the nature of urban exploration focusing on abandoned sites, many of the images are of ruined facilities or repurposed buildings (hay bales stored in a former hardened aircraft shelter for example) that can be used for gaming.

[Raellus]

This interactive site is really useful for getting an idea of what kind of damage various kinds of atomic weapons would do to cities.

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

And for those interested in kit,

https://camopedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

-

[StainlessSteelCynic]

I know this site has been mentioned here in the past but it's particularly relevant for campaigns in the USA so here it is again!

A Secret Landscape: America's Cold War Infrastructure: - https://coldwar-c4i.net/

Plus, a book recommendation: - Cold War: Building for nuclear confrontation 1946-1989
I don't have any ISBN for it but it was published in 2005. The authors were Wayne D. Cocroft, Roger C. Thomas & P. S. Barnwell
There's some more specific info on the Historic England website: - https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/cold-war/

[Jason Weiser]

Two wargaming items:

Plastic Soldier Company just released Battlegroup NORTHAG (https://www.theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk/product/battlegroup-northag-ruleset/), a wargaming rules set for the 1980s. Our comrade Jason Weisler was a contributor.

- C.

And they misspelled my name, oh well.

[Tegyrius]

And they misspelled my name, oh well.

I wasn't sure if it was an intentional ploy to separate your professional and personal lives from search engines. But I have corrected myself upthread. :)

- C.

[Adm.Lee]

Compass Games is reprinting two good games from the 1980s:

NATO, originally from Victory Games- covers Austria (some) to Denmark (some), East & West Germany and a bit west of the Rhine. Division and brigade/regiment counters, abstract airpower. The original maps were pretty clean-- roads and rails are abstracted out, leaving cities and terrain features. Three scenarios originally, based on levels of NATO surprise and/or preparedness. IMO, this played like a standard wargame.

Third World War series from GDW- originally a four-game series, now in one box. Covers all of Scandinavia (options for Sweden & Finland), western Europe (new box said to include most Poland), all of Italy and the Balkan peninsula, western Turkey, all in contiguous maps. Also, eastern Turkey (not linked to above), Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait, and pieces of Saudi, Syria, and Afghanistan in a separate map set. Also divisions & brigades/regiments, aircraft are lumped into counters of 100 or so. Maps are also "clean", as NATO. This series features a unique sequence of play, levels of unit proficiency that double as hit points-- highly skilled units are hard to kill. Soviet/Pact doctrinal rigidity is enforced by the stacking rules and SoP, and I really liked that. A few alternate scenarios, based on entry of neutrals into play, or some Balkan states trying to get out of NATO or the WP, or where the Soviet Reserve Front deploys. IMO, this was a lot more fun & realistic-feeling. This game cemented my opinion that Frank Chadwick is my favorite game designer; GDW were already my favorite publisher.

Compass is also running a Company Scale Series, which is mostly WW2-- games are out for Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Novgorod, and Montelimar, but also a Fulda Gap game. As the title says, counters are companies, a player pulls chits from a cup to see which division/regiment/unit may activate some companies, so the action can be unpredictable. I've only played one WW2 game once, but it's pretty good. Given that it covers the two tech levels of the 1940s and 1980s, I wonder if it could be hacked for a "run-down" 2001 game, like Ruins of Warsaw or Krakow vs. Silesia?

Compass also has a Ty Bomba game, Brezhnev's War, advertised as a 1970s game, but really it's closer to 1978-1981. The map is huge, relative to the brigade (NATO) and division (Pact) counters, so the action is freewheeling and fast-moving. IMO, Pact doctrinal rigidity is nowhere to be seen, the Pact divisions felt like bands of Cossacks, deploying willy-nilly all over the map.

Thin Red Line Games, a publisher from Italy, has produced 1985: Under an Iron Sky. This is a reboot of an old SPI game, again division/brigade/regiments, but air, artillery, helicopter, air defense, EW assets are on the map. Units can spend a lot of movement points to do a lot of things. Many elements that are abstracted out of the above games are in here. I'm still learning it, it's very crunchy. A second game for Scandinavia is out, but I've not picked up any details on that.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Contested Ground Studios (CGS) produced a game called Hot War, a scenario where the Cold War went hot. While the game is, like T2k, set in the aftermath of World War Three, Hot War is set in the 1960s and more importantly, it's a horror game and has weird science and the occult as central elements.
While this is obviously not going to be everyone's cup of tea, the game deals with factional splinter groups, paranoia, hidden agendas, investigation and subterfuge on top of the survival and rebuilding themes.
Hot War preview: - https://www.flamesrising.com/hot-war-preview/

Again, it is a horror game but people might find elements of it useful for T2k and at the moment, it's in a bundle with a parallel game from CGS on DriveThruRPG for free. I say parallel because although Cold City also takes place during the Cold War and has a similar theme of horror, weird science, conspiracy and investigation, it isn't so much a companion game as an alternate reality version (for example, the timeline is earlier in Cold City so WW III has not happened).

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/57279/The-Cold-War-Bundle-BUNDLE

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Another website and again for the photos it hosts, because nothing says 1980s-90s Soviet Union quite like this image (yes, that is the Russian White House in the background, after the coup attempt):

https://englishrussia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/7-3.png

EnglishRussia:
1980s tag: - https://englishrussia.com/?s=1980s
1990s tag: - https://englishrussia.com/?s=1990s
Soviet tag: - https://englishrussia.com/?s=soviet

[Jason Weiser]

Compass Games is reprinting two good games from the 1980s:

NATO, originally from Victory Games- covers Austria (some) to Denmark (some), East & West Germany and a bit west of the Rhine. Division and brigade/regiment counters, abstract airpower. The original maps were pretty clean-- roads and rails are abstracted out, leaving cities and terrain features. Three scenarios originally, based on levels of NATO surprise and/or preparedness. IMO, this played like a standard wargame.


Having done a playtest against the designer? I can tell you, you're in for a treat. It's not your daddy's NATO. I tried to play it that way, and I got my clock cleaned. It's meatier, faster, and damned LETHAL.


Third World War series from GDW- originally a four-game series, now in one box. Covers all of Scandinavia (options for Sweden & Finland), western Europe (new box said to include most Poland), all of Italy and the Balkan peninsula, western Turkey, all in contiguous maps. Also, eastern Turkey (not linked to above), Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait, and pieces of Saudi, Syria, and Afghanistan in a separate map set. Also divisions & brigades/regiments, aircraft are lumped into counters of 100 or so. Maps are also "clean", as NATO. This series features a unique sequence of play, levels of unit proficiency that double as hit points-- highly skilled units are hard to kill. Soviet/Pact doctrinal rigidity is enforced by the stacking rules and SoP, and I really liked that. A few alternate scenarios, based on entry of neutrals into play, or some Balkan states trying to get out of NATO or the WP, or where the Soviet Reserve Front deploys. IMO, this was a lot more fun & realistic-feeling. This game cemented my opinion that Frank Chadwick is my favorite game designer; GDW were already my favorite publisher.


I am looking forward to this as well, but I was a little sad to hear Chadwick had not updated the OOB to match recent data. Ah well, if the new rulebook still has the conversion data..we can do it ourselves! :D

Some other news on this front, take a look at Adam Starkweather's "The Doomsday Project - Episode 1, Battle for Germany." (also from Compass Games) It's just plain awesome looking, has a lot of chrome, and I will be playtesting it with the designer soon. I am reading the rules now. What will I say? When this game comes out, you're in for a treat.

Link to the game is here: https://www.compassgames.com/the-doomsday-project-episode-one-the-battle-for-germany.html

Not to mention kiddies? Bruce Maxwell is re-releasing through Compass Games his magnum opus. Air and Armor is coming back through Compass Games!

https://www.compassgames.com/air-armor-operational-armored-warfare-in-europe-designer-signature-edition.html

Yeah, they may be my new GDW along with Free League....Oh wallet, please forgive me.

[Louied]

Having done a playtest against the designer? I can tell you, you're in for a treat. It's not your daddy's NATO. I tried to play it that way, and I got my clock cleaned. It's meatier, faster, and damned LETHAL.



I am looking forward to this as well, but I was a little sad to hear Chadwick had not updated the OOB to match recent data. Ah well, if the new rulebook still has the conversion data..we can do it ourselves! :D

Some other news on this front, take a look at Adam Starkweather's "The Doomsday Project - Episode 1, Battle for Germany." (also from Compass Games) It's just plain awesome looking, has a lot of chrome, and I will be playtesting it with the designer soon. I am reading the rules now. What will I say? When this game comes out, you're in for a treat.

Link to the game is here: https://www.compassgames.com/the-doomsday-project-episode-one-the-battle-for-germany.html

Not to mention kiddies? Bruce Maxwell is re-releasing through Compass Games his magnum opus. Air and Armor is coming back through Compass Games!

https://www.compassgames.com/air-armor-operational-armored-warfare-in-europe-designer-signature-edition.html

Yeah, they may be my new GDW along with Free League....Oh wallet, please forgive me.

Jason that’s great !!!
Not to blow my own trumpet, but .........I worked with Bruce on his new NATO game (I obviously concentrated on BAOR) and will be helping him on Air & Armor as he is looking to expand it into several games in different areas of the Central Front.

[Jason Weiser]

Louied, et. al.

I spoke to Mr. Maxwell, and he has given me clearance to give away the store. The Designer's Edition is a far more mobile beast than the old NATO, where the NATO player could use the ZOC rules to hold every other hex and turn cities into veritable Stalingrads.

The '88 ORBAT for NATO makes them a tough customer, and even in the Strategic Surprise scenario, do not count on a quick win as the Warsaw Pact. This was even with me doing a division sized paradrop on the BAOR HQ and taking them out to clear the way for Third Shock!

Another thing is the game punishes low odds attacks ruthlessly, whereas most games usually give you a bit of a slap on the wrist at 1-1 or 1-2, not this sucker. It will make you bleed, as I found out.

Supply is a come as you are affair, in fact, Mr. Maxwell theorizes any war would be a quick affair, citing the logistical demands of Desert Storm and the Yom Kippur War as both sides ran dry of POL and munitions in pretty short order. Airpower plays a big role, especially on the tactical level (I sent my operational air to go hit REFORGER sites, to varying degrees of success). But even so, even cut off units fight at half strength for a turn or so, to reflect the fact they at last have a basic load of fuel and ammunition aboard most vehicles. There is no free lunch in this version of NATO.

We didn't use nukes, but the nuclear rules as written are very weighted towards the "two nukes or so, and it's all Threads, the LARP" sort of school on nukes, definitely no limited nuclear war here. Which, I think, Twilight: 2000 fan aside, would probably have been the most likely outcome. Chemical weapons are also well handled, and I thought very similar, but not identical to the old rules.

This note on the old rules, he includes (helpfully!) a "Veteran's Summary" in each rules section, (so if you've played the 1983 version, you're not killing yourself trying to read every section in its entirety), as well as copious (and I mean copious) designer's notes that are appreciated by this gamer (and considering I edited a version of the rules for him, it was my favorite section to actually read as I edited, as it's a rare look "under the hood" of a design.) I prefer when game designers do this, it's a great way to "show your work. It also illustrates the new sections of the rules. The new map looks great, and is easier to read than the old one, with many of the charts in the margins.

The new reserve rules, and the ability of NATO to laterally reinforce threatened sectors of the line, plus the coordination rules really shine here. I was impressed how the new ZOC rules work (and how they really punish folks who were used to the old "defend every other hex" model.) You really have to pay attention to how that works, and with the older rule about cities having intrinsic defense strengths? Hamburg becomes a real obstacle. Trust me.

In short, I give the new NATO 5 out of 5 mushroom clouds. It plays smart, it plays fast, and you get a good experience of what a European war in the 1980s probably would have been like.

[pmulcahy11b]

Contested Ground Studios (CGS) produced a game called Hot War...

I went ahead and bought this one based on your recommendation. I've only skimmed it so far, but it seems to have a lot of stuff that could be ported. Thanks for the heads-up.

[Adm.Lee]

Well, the new NATO has moved up on my "to-buy" list!

[Top-Break]

http://www.operationeastwind.com/

This site is all that's left of a defunct Airsoft MilSim game. Interesting photos and loadout information.