The first week of January begins with a shortened schedule of Special Events, but next week will be back to the full schedule.

This week we have another AHXARL on the 1^st.  For those of you not familiar with our Special Events, that is an Aces High XTreme Air Racing League, and it is a great free-for-all race around obstacles, just you and about thirty of your closest friends.  Great fun for all involved.

On the 2^nd we will have our first Snapshot of the month, and on the 4^th our first Friday Squad Operation, or FSO.

HiTech Creations is proud to present our next installment of the World War 2 timeline.  This week we will feature December, 1944, a month when the outcome of the war was pretty much settled upon, and it was just a matter of finishing up the task at hand.

As with all wars, December is somewhat of a down month for activity, and so it was during December, 1944.  Inclement weather prevented most troop movement, but there was still enough activity to keep things real and interesting.  Here, then, is the timeline of events for December, 1944.

• 1^st Heinrich Himmler ordered the gas chambers at Aushwitz to be destroyed.
• 3^rd Rioting in Athens begins.  Called the Dekemvriana, it is a clash between leftist members and the government forces, backed by the British.
• 5^th Allies take control of Ravenna, Italy.
• 8^th Bombing of Iwo Jima begins in preparation for a land assault.
• 14^th Aircraft from USS Ticonderoga flew air strikes against Japanese in Juzon.
• 15^th Americans land at Mindoro, the Philippines.
• 16^th Battle of the Bulge begins as Germans try to break through the Ardennes region.
• 17^th Three destroyer of the Third Fleet are destroyed by typhoon.
• 17^th The Malmedy massacre occurs as Germans execute 86 American prisoners.
• 18^th Bastogne is surrounded.
• 20^th General McAuliff demands surrender of German officers at Bastogne.
• 22^nd Battle of Bastogne continues.
• 23^rd Allied aircraft bomb Germans at Ardennes.
• 24^th American counter-attack at Bulge begins.
• 24^th Manchester is attacked by V1 flying bombs
• 26^th Siege at Bastogne is broken and the Ardennes offensive fails
• 29^th Soviets launch Battle of Budapest against Germany
• 31^st Hungary, controlled by Soviets, declares war on Germany.

And with that December and 1944 came to an end. At this point in the war, Germany and Japan were both fighting for survival and in a very defensive position.  The insurmountable numbers of troops and armament against them was to prove too much to overcome.

If you are a World War II student then we invite you to try Aces High, our combat flight simulator that puts you in the action in lifelike WW2 scenarios.  Because of our dedication to WWII and Aces High, we have created an online game that is a challenge for any serious flight sim player.  We hope you give it a try soon!

Hopefully one of your loved ones thought to give you Aces High for Christmas.  If that was the case, then you might want to get involved in our community as soon as possible, and there is no better way to do that than sign up for some Special Events.

If you go to our Community Page, you will find a calendar of each month’s special events.  Pick out a few that interest you and then follow the instructions on how to sign up.  Don’t worry if you are new to our combat flight sim game; you will learn fast enough.

In case you missed the news, there is a new version of Aces High, namely Version 2.29.

The changes are too numerous to list, but you can find out all about it by going to the version info page.

This is just another example of why Aces High is the best combat flight simulator on the market.  We keep changing so that we get better, and we keep getting better so that you will continue to be challenged and entertained.

Strap on your helmet and fly the skies with Aces High!