We at HiTech Creations are willing to bet that the majority of gamers who play Aces High, our online combat simulator, are students of history. It only stands to reason that players who devote many hours to playing a game, who are constantly aware of changes and new versions of our flight simulator, would know a great deal about the actual aircraft, ships, and land vehicles used during World War II. It also stands to reason that a majority of our players know a great deal about the battles of World War II so that they can be better versed when playing our World War 2 flight simulator.
Well, let’s talk about another of those battles, one that was relatively unimportant with regards to total casualties but one that had pretty large significance regarding the history of warfare.
The Battle of Crete was fought between May 20th and June 1st, 1941. On the morning of May 20th Germany launched Operation Mercury, an airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete. Defending the island were troops from England, Greece, New Zealand, Australia, and also civilians from Crete.
Germany suffered heavy casualties the first day of fighting, but eventually gained control of Maleme airfield in western Crete and was able to fly in reinforcements and eventually overwhelm the defenders of the island.
So what made this battle so noteworthy? First, it was the first time a country had attempted such a massive parachute drop of military personnel. It was also one of the first mainly airborne invasions in military history. It was also the first time German invaders encountered strong, organized civilian resistance.
The Germans suffered huge losses among the paratroopers, prompting Adolf Hitler to forbid such large scale airborne operations during the rest of the war, but the Allied commanders were so impressed by it that they began to organize their own airborne divisions which played a huge part as the war continued.
By battle’s end there were over 23,000 casualties and 370 aircraft destroyed, fairly insignificant considering the huge losses that would follow, but rather important considering military lessons learned.
The makers and players of Aces High love military history like that, and through our flight simulation game history comes alive for us each and every time we play our game. If you have never played Aces High then what are you waiting for? Download the free trial and then sign up for the action.
Not to beat a dead horse, because this horse ain’t dead, but we think it bears repeating the main difference between Aces High and our competitors, namely Total Sims and Battle Ground Europe.
We have said from the very beginning that the main focus at HiTech Creations is to create one game and one game only, and to make that game the best combat simulator on the market. That game is Aces High and it continues to lead the pack because all of our talents, all of our concentration, all of our revenue, goes into making Aces High the best flight simulation game.
Unlike our competitors!
HiTech Creations is not staffed by a bunch of computer geeks but rather by a team of history buffs who are incredibly knowledgeable about World War II. How else could they have produced a combat flight simulator that so closely simulates World War Two?
Knowledge of individual battles, strategies, and war machinery was crucial in the development of Aces High. One such battle was the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, the longest battle on German ground during World War 2. It was a series of battles fought from September 14, 1944 to February 10, 1945 within a fifty-square mile area east of the Belgian-German border. The Allied forces were intent on pinning down and trapping the German forces and preventing them from reinforcing along the front lines further north.
This was an incredibly costly battle and is generally considered a defeat for the American dominated Allied forces. Going into battle the Americans had approximately 120,000 troops in the First U.S. Army, the V Corps, and the VII Corps. The Germans defended with 80,000 troops. When the battle had ended the United States had suffered close to 33,000 casualties and the Germans 28,000 casualties.
This battle, or series of battles, preceded the eventual Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, the last major German offensive on the Western Front. It could be argued that in the defeat the American forces accomplished very little or it could be argued that they managed to further cripple a German army that could not afford such losses at that stage in World War Two.
Combat simulators are only as good as the knowledge had by the creators. Attention to detail is crucial in order to hold the interest of a gamer seeking realistic flight simulation games. It is this kind of attention to detail that has kept Aces High the leader of World War 2 flight simulations since its inception.
Ask yourself what you are looking for in a combat simulator? Are you looking for incredibly accurate depictions of World War 2 aircraft? Are you looking for accurate depictions of ground vehicles and ships? Are you looking for seemingly life-like arenas in which to do combat? Are you looking for a support staff that knows World War II almost as well as it knows how to produce a simulation? Well if your answer to all of those questions is YES then look no further because Aces High is the flight simulation game for you.
As we continue to look at some of the major battles of World War Two, keep in mind that only a student of warfare and World War Two in general could be responsible for making a combat simulator like Aces High.
Today’s battle that we will look at is the Battle of Iwo Jima, fought between the United States and Japan between February 19 and March 26, 1945. Otherwise known as Operation Detachment, this was a major conflict that involved the United States capturing the island of Iwo Jima and retaining control of the three airfields on that island. This battle has gone done in history as having some of the fiercest fighting in the entire Pacific Campaign.
It was noteworthy for several reasons, one of which is that it was the only battle where American casualties outnumbered Japanese casualties, 33,000 to 21,000, but the loss of life was crippling for the Japanese. Over 21,000 Japanese were killed in this battle and only 6,812 Americans lost their lives.
The outcome of the battle was never really in doubt as the American forces and weaponry far outnumbered the Japanese and the Japanese had no means of escape. This was simply a battle of attrition where the only thing in question was how long it would take to eliminate the Japanese forces and take control of the island.
The battle was also immortalized by the famous Joe Rosenthal photograph of the Americans raising the American flag on top of Mount Suribachi.
WW 2 games need to simulate as closely as possible the actual events, arenas, weaponry, and vehicles and that is where Aces High holds the upper hand in flight simulation games over its competition. Technical knowledge is held by any computer technician; the playing field is pretty level when talking about the computer programmers involved in the creation of a World War 2 flight simulator. What sets Aces High apart from the competition is that it was created by history buffs employed by HiTech Creations and it is constantly being updated with new versions that keep it the most realistic combat simulator on the market.
A special shout out to the team of volunteers who spend countless hours working behind the scenes so that Aces High continues to lead the way. This is truly an ongoing process but attention to detail is our thing at HiTech Creations, where our only goal from the start was to make one game and one game only and make that game the best World War 2 flight simulator on the market. Our game plan seems to be working.
Special Events to jot down and be ready for are:
- Scenario Coral CF on July 23rd
- Snapshot Frankfurt on the 27th
- Squad Dueling League on the 30th
Because of the dedication and hard work of our loyal band of volunteers, these and other special events for Aces High are constantly being staged to test your abilities and give you new challenges each and every month. We invite you to go to our Community page and sign up for the next special event on the calendar and each month print out the calendar, put it somewhere you are sure to look, and be ready for upcoming challenges on our combat simulator.