The Blitz Wargaming Club 20 years coming up!

[Big Ivan]

""Helping the Rookies, Connecting the Regulars and Honoring the Hardcore since 1999!""

We have a 20 year anniversary coming up next year!!?

I was just curious when exactly is the anniversary date?

Maybe some of you old CS farts were here since its inception and remember. I didn't become a member until 2003 or somewhere there about.

Before the blitz I was over at another WG club that had forums and leagues and went defunct. Was that the Wargamer, maybe not?? Help me out Scud, 'cause I think you were a member there also. The Wargamer is still around but doesn't have leagues as such.

Maybe its not the Wargamer and I'm thinking of something else...sucks getting old!

[Laza]

I came across from Leadeaters after an invite from Jim in Mar 1999 so I be guessing January or February was its inception mate

[Cole]

I came across from Leadeaters after an invite from Jim in Mar 1999 so I be guessing January or February was its inception mate

Laza is correct.  Leadeaters was the Blitzs predecessor.  Think Jim and a couple of others started the Blitz as I remember talk of the "Triumvirate". 

BTW, is Jim von K still around?

Not sure when Leadeaters was started but I remember finding them right after Talonsoft released East Front in 97.

[Laza]

I came across from Leadeaters after an invite from Jim in Mar 1999 so I be guessing January or February was its inception mate

If you check Jim's ladder profile, he joined the ladder 31st Jan 1999 so i be guessing that's far chance for an anniversary date Ivan

[Scud]

Before the blitz I was over at another WG club that had forums and leagues and went defunct. Was that the Wargamer, maybe not?? Help me out Scud, 'cause I think you were a member there also. The Wargamer is still around but doesn't have leagues as such.

Maybe its not the Wargamer and I'm thinking of something else...sucks getting old!

No, not wargamer, it was Gamesquad, though the owner Don Maddox(?) kept changing the name and tweaking the site, but gamesquad.com still exists and I can still login. He founded it in 2001. Ray Macilvey(sp) (Krink) was the CS forum mod and a brilliant player, he passed the reigns to Robert Cousins (Sorched Earth) and Jason Petho, who still mods the campaign series forum there, but it's dead. All became Blitzers. It was a good club, but one day Don Maddox did his usual site tweak and wiped out the ladder. Completely gone and didn't bother making a new one, so we all left and came here. That was in 2009, I think.

Jim had a history of the site posted at one point, but who knows where it is? As for Jim's whereabouts, he hasn't visited the club since 2017. He's still the owner and pays the hosting bills using donation dollars. Recently he stopped communicating with me at all, not sure why, but he was often difficult to reach. I know he left the army and went back to school, then dropped out. That has to be a really difficult transition, career army back to civilian life. Hopefully he's well and will show back up at some point, he's a nice guy.

Dave

[ADDENDUM]

I found this old post from Jim. The internal link is no good anymore, so don't bother clicking it:

I added this to the CS MB in response to a question about history. If you can, please add a piece about your experience. Especially you guys that have been here from the beginning or near the beginning. Thanks for all that you do and keep up the good work.

This link is the official history. It does need some updating, but it has the early history. https://www.theblitz.club/chain_of_command...eblitz.php

Basically, we moved over from LeadEaters. We put together a website, recruited some of our friends and friends of friends (word of mouth) to come game with us. 

When did this site open up?

Opened 1 March 1999. 

Are Jim and Mark the original owners/inventors of the club?

This site was creation of three members (Phil Baker, aka Panzermeyer; Brian Wynott; and Jim Mays, aka Jim von Krieg). 

We referred to ourselves as the triumvirate. We made our decisions by committee. Not always the best method to accomplish things, but it worked for a while. Over time, the triumvirate leadership model broke down over many issues and personal disagreements. I sort of became the leader of the entire club by default as Phil and Brian departed the scene. I never intended to be "the guy". I was always happy just to work the CS portion.

Phil was the website guru and the original creative force behind the Blitz. He also served as a Ladder Commander for several of the Ladders.

Brian was the administrative and financial honcho. He also served as the Op Art Ladder Commander.

I was the CS Ladder Commander and a tweaker of some of the website html.

Mark Higgins, aka Thor, came along later when the Triumvirate was breaking down. He was a player I was gaming with at the time and a big reason the club survived the early leadership breakdown.

Phil built the original Blitz site, but his creative bent led him to look for greener pastures and new territory to explore. He was always tinkering with new ideas and sites. This led to work on creating another club, aka the Grognards. 

At the time, I was working for unity of effort. Get all the war-gamers pushing in the same direction so that we could have a reliable place to hang out and maybe have some pull with the game companies. As I couldn't control much outside my foxhole, I focused on building the CS portion of the club. I wanted to establish a club and community that would have longevity with many people contributing to it. I wanted to always have a place not commercially driven to hang out in.

Most clubs of the period would operate for a while, then close down. Part of this was the result of everyone wanting to do their own thing. Phil went off to build Grognards, but eventually couldn't do it on his own. This brought him back to the Blitz. He merged the Grogs into the Blitz and essentially dropped out of sight. We had other guys go off to start up clubs, but most eventually returned or disappeared.

Brian and I worked well for a while, but as time progressed he became more and more a difficult person for me to work with. From my perspective, he was always worried about Phil or I scheming against him. I don't know where this came from because I always thought of myself as a pretty upfront guy. I say what I mean and mean what I say. With Phil absent and Brian and I having issues, it was not a good situation. Brian's wife was having health issues and he was having problems with me and others.

I decided that I was going to quit as I was frustrated with the whole situation. When I went to Brian to resign, he said he couldn't hold the club together and that it was my baby. He just wanted to recoup the investment he made. Of course, I was in no position to buy him out.

This is where Mark made his impact for the community. I was venting about the whole situation to him. I told him it looked like the club was about to fold. He asked why and I explained what was going on. At this point, he stepped in, bought out Brian, then handed the unfettered reigns to me. Mark's selfless act ensured the continuity of the Blitz.

Did the Campaign Series start this site?

This site was never intended to be a one game site. We started with Steel Panthers, Campaign Series, Operational Art of War, Battleground Series, and Close Combat. We expected to evolve as time passed. Drop some ladders and add others as game came and went.

I was the original CS ladder commander and was accused many times of attempting to subvert the club into a one game site for the benefit of my ego. I always scratched my head on that one. I just focused on my foxhole and worked to improve it. It's what Soldiers do. 

I always felt that accusation was inaccurate, as the CS Community has always been the granddaddy and the most vibrant of the communities. Until the Combat Mission Community came on board and grew, the CS was the largest and most active by far. It is still active and vibrant, but the other ladders are pretty active as well and that suits me just fine. 

I'd also like others to chime in on this so I can get other perspectives, especially the old timers. I'd like to get Mark (Thor), Paul (Steel God), Tony (Thunder), Ed (Currahee) and Randy (Red Devil) to contribute their thoughts and observations from their foxholes of their time in the club. If you've served in a leadership position, please add some commentary to the club history.

Regards,

Jim

[fritzfarlig]

my anniversary story / anecdote
I remember the club here back to 2001 or 02, I first noticed it, I started my wargamer "Career" with Panzer Generals
The first time I became acquainted with JTCS was in the late nineties
I lived in Copenhagen, one of my friends who was a Jew, I visited him on a Saturday, remembering he was sitting with his kippah on, at the computer and was very busy
out of the speaker thundered "panzerlied" I asked: what the hell are you doing
"Laughing" I just bought a new game he reply quickly
I remember he drove a motorcycle platoon directly into enemy fire
it was gone like snow in the sun
I thought: what a fool I can do better, I told him of course
I was hooked on the game right away and ever since

[Big Ivan]

Thanks Dave for the clarification on "The Gamesquad"!!

This fat old 64 year pre-retiree beer consumption machine forgets crap that happened with increased regularity it seems.

Thanks Budweiser for adding to the acceleration of dementia...

Anyway,

Hell we had a great bunch of guys as I remember over there at the Gamesquad just like we have here.

Those were the day my friend!

Cheers Dave!

[Tankertony]

I remember the first time I heard of this game, East Front, was in an ad in a glossy mag back in 97'. I got it the day it hit the shelves. Literally, they had games on shelves back then! Same with West Front, I remember going to the gaming store in the mall. Beautiful day. 
I was first involved with the old East Front Club. They had a nice little ladder going and there were about 50-60 battlers if I recall. This lasted a couple of years, then we all, or most of us, moved over to theBlitz. My start date here is January 21, 2001.
It's been great ever since! No other club rivals theBlitz for its ladder, scenario lists, or resources. And of course, its camaraderie.

Thanks Blitz!

[Cole]

Warning: long and rambling post and may be my subconscious attempt to answer why I'm still playing CS all these years later...

I was serving overseas at the time so must have discovered East Front in a gaming magazine and I most likely was able to pick up a copy at the local Exchange. I do know that once I learned about EF it became a priority to get it. I was with Leadeaters then came over when the Blitz started up in 99 even though my profile states I joined in Apr 30, 2000. I believe there was an update to the database and some old info didn't get ported over. How I came across Leadeaters, I have no idea.

Years back Jim Von K (haven't heard from him in ages) told me he found EF in the PX on Yongsan Garrison in Seoul. If there is a birthplace for the Blitz it is probably there. Yongsan is gone or will be gone soon but that would make it easier to build a shrine on the site. Small pagoda open 24/7 with a couple terminals to play Campaign Series. Check back on that plan when I win the lotto.

I would play for a few years and depending on my career would go on hiatus for a few years. There was also the burn out factor but I always returned to this game. Some factors or memories that keep me coming back:

The scenario designers. Every time I came back into the club there would be a ton of work done on excellent scenarios. I won't name names as there are so many that put a lot of effort into their work and don't want to leave anyone out. I appreciate all that work, especially as I have always had ideas on scenario creation but never did the hard work and put one out. Earlmann has been working on his magnum opus "V Panzer Army" for at least a decade and it may only just now be complete. Thanks to all designers for the hard work.

The work done to keep Campaign Series relevant by Jason, Petri, Mike and others. Can't wait for EF III.

A lot of friendships have developed over the years. As with all friends some we stay in touch with forever and some move on as life goes forward. Some remain friends even though we never meet in person but because of the Blitz I have been blessed to meet some great friends. Grateful to Huib and Remko for taking me to the Hartenstein airborne museum and even though it wasn't on the itinerary I was glad for the chance to see the new Arnhem bridge from the southern bank or the point of view of the Germans (always wanted to go there after seeing a Bridge Too Far).

[Warhorse]

Not a rant at all, Scott! Real good playing you over the years, am enjoying our flip-flop games right now, matter of fact!!