the franco-prussian war - Strategy & Tactics

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WARGAME REVIEWS by Martin CampionThe reviews in this article are a continuation ofa project begun in S&T Guides, nos. 1 and 2,MOVES #4 and MOVES #7. This additionbrings the list of games in print up to thosegames that arrived in my office before June 1,1973. As usual, the list is limited to games that Ibelieve are in print and immediately available tobe shipped to people who order them. But thegames of some organizations go out of printwith bewildering speed. Some of the games 1have seen have gone out of print before I had achance to include them in the reviews.Therefore, some of the games included heremay be out of print by the time you read this.In these lists, I have attempted to review allwargames in print. I have failed not onlybecause some go out of print too fast, but alsobecause I had difficulty getting some games,and I ,can't review a game unless I can see it.Right now I am working on a supplementarylist of out of print games (with designer,publisher, original price, and a little otherinformation when available).Another project is to design a workable gamecataloging system. I began assigning numbersto games in S&T Guide # 1 in order to make iteasier to refer back and forth between games.At first the numbers were to apply only to thegame for that issue. However, it soon becameapparent that the numbers assigned should bepermanent. Now the whole system iscollapsing in a pile of rubble as it has beenbombarded with an unprecedented barrage ofnew games. So I am working on a permanentlyexpandible classification and filing scheme.Each game 0% the "in print" and "out of print"lists will be assigned a number. Eventually allwargames published will be fitted into thesystem which can be used by anyone toorganize a large wargame collection.I want to thank the following for theirinvaluable assistance: the members of theKSCP Historical Games Club, particularlyRichard Rydzel and Charles Maxwell, and thestudents in my classes in War in WesternCivilization and Historical Games and Simulations.Correspondence relating to this and previousarticles may be sent to:Martin C. CampionHistory DepartmentKansas State College of PittsburgPittsburg, Kansas 66762AMENDMENTS, CHANGES, ERRATATo the information in MOVES #4:War Games:015. Decline and Fall now has a new edition.011. Alexander :he Grear now costs $4.00, and092. Dunkirk now costs $4.50 and they now comewith gummed paper maps in envelopes instead ofwith hard boards in boxes.187. Wehrmachr is now out of print, probablyforever.PEACE GAMES:021. New Town now has an all new edition, price$8.95.To the information in MOVES #7:CWC Cobra Wargaming Club is now defunct as apublisher. -016. Hannibal: new name for publisher is Histo 093. Guerre a Ourrance is 'out of print untilGames (Hi).sometime in 1974 perhaps.035. Spirir of '76 is out of print. 204. Barrle Plan: prices should be $0.35 for the rules036. Minureman is out of print and will not beand $0.50 per play the game.republished when reprints of the magazine are made, The publisher of 1944 (221) is The Courier, 45 Wilsonbut a new, designer approved version will be Street, Brocton. Massachusetts 02401.published somewhere else.WAR GAME PUBLISHER Mor Tony Morale, Box 53, N'ark,AND ABBREVIATIONS New York 11040.--- ...ADA American Designer's Association, 17 Pa Robert Partanen, IW WecTurner Street, Greene, New York 13778. San Jose, California 95123.wive,AH Avalon Hill Co., 4517 Harford Road, PzP Panzerfaust Publications, : C,Baltimore. Maryland 21214. Belfast, Maine 04915Bb Blutbad Enterprise, c/o Tyrone Bomba, 405 mu;dtions Design Co rporation, 3347Fireline Road, Bosmanstown, Pennsylvania 18030Court Suit e B, San C liego, Califc xniaBGC Balboa Game Company, P.O. Box 81021,. . - ..-San Diego, California 92138. -. . rulat~ons rubl~cat~ons, lnc., 44 tast 23rdStreet, New Y0rk:N.Y. 10010. SPI has two linesCGC Conflict Games Company, P.O. Box 2071.of games, Simulations games which are sent viaWest Lafayette, Indiana 47906, is a new publisherUnited Parcel Service, and:of high physical quality games. Its wargame mapsare plastic and multi-colored; its counters are S&T Strategy 8 Tactics games ~hich aredie-cut and glossy; and its games ; 3re boxed. published in that magazine. The price givenFurthermore, it intends to sell mainl ly through includes a boxed game plus the issue of SBT inwholesalers to local retailers.which the game originally appeared.DC Drumco, P.O. Box 1421, Colle~ le Station, Sp Loren Sperry, 1014 North 4th Street,Texas 77840. Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53081.DDI Dynamic Design Inc., 1433 No1 .th Central Spa Spartan International, 5820 John Ave !nue,Park. Anaheim, California 92802. Long Beach, California 90805.. .-- ...De Decalset, 16 Davenport Road, Sic jcup, Kent TMI Third Millenia Incorporated. 465 WoodlandDA 14 4 PW, England.Hills, Philadelphia, Mississippi 39350, produces aline of wargames and promises games on otherGG Guidon Games, P.O.ast, Mainesubjectsas well. They fall somewhat short of SPI04915.in physical quality. The maps are reminiscent ofGR Games Research lnc.In Avenue, SPl's but a little crude in the artwork. The die-cutBoston, Massachusetts a ,.counters are unevenly cut, not as badly as hasHI Histo Games (formerly Laurence Rusiecki), been the case with GG games ;, but still I need34 Sharon Street, Brooklyn, New York 11211. trimming,Lo Richard F. Loomis, 8149 East Thomas Road, 98736,TTA Tl 'A Enterpri: ;es. GE Co I., APO Se attleScottsdale, Arizona 85251F.UTR U'- . .L W Donald 1 .own/, P.O.ln tnrerprlses, 617 14th Avenue S.E.,Box C, Bell 'ast, MaineMinneapc >lis, Minnesota 55414.04915.WRG V1 Jargames Research Group, 75 ArdinglyLA^^^..^ 4,-L A..--..-Ma Alfred R. ~vlallyus, 1345 East 27t11 nva~~uw, Drive, Gc )ring-by-Sea. Sussex. Enaland.-Anc aska 99504. Zo Lou Zocchi, : 388 Montaville,Mi Harry M. Mishler, tLa Mesa, California 92392.Cal ifornia 9204 .I.The following publis hers are de.-:-- CI..LMO DIUC;~ IVIUU~~, YLI cas~ r~or~aar_nver~ue,CWC Cobra Warga~~~l~~u LIUUSal idy, Utah E 14070.Do Terr01 la. Alexander's Orher Barrles (1972, PzP, $3.00).by Gary Gygax, graphics by Julie Lowry, deals withthe battles of Granicus and Issus, in which Alexanderdefeated the first Persian forces to be sent againsthim, and the battle of Hydaspes; his last battle, inwhich he defeated the Indians under King Porus. It isa supplement to the game, Alexander the Grear (01 1)and is useless without the parent game. For Granicusand Issus, the game uses the same system asAlexander, which features a complex morale systemwhich alters combat effectiveness and a system ofrecording casualties by flipping two-sided counters.Granicus and Issus, however, are smaller battles thanArbela, the Alexander :he Grear battle, and theytherefore offer an easier game. Hydaspes has moredifferences. Here the opposing sides begin bymaneuvering, with semi-hidden movement, on astrategic board covering a large territory up anddown the river. When armies or detachments meeton the strategic board, they reveal themselves andare lost on the tactical board. It is a good concept butthe relationship between the two boards is uncertainand making the transfer depends on having a friendlyworking arrangement with your opponent. Furthermore,the time relationship between the two boardsis unclear and this in a game which is supposed to belimited in its number of turns. It is a valuablearrangement in spite of the uncertain development ofthe rules at this point.018. Granicus (1972, order from ADA, $1.50), byStuart Schoenberger, is an unusual treatment of oneof Alexander's battles, his first in Asia against a forceof Persian cavalry and hired Greek infantry. Granicusis actually more a game sketch than a fully developedgame. There is no board and no unit counters.Instead there is a description of a board that wouldhave 20 squares by 20 squares and only one terrainfeature - the river Granicus which separates it intoto parts. The units are listed with their combat andmovement factors but they, like the board, have tobe home made. The rules themselves are very simple.Unfortunately, several of them are incomprehensible.There are two combat results tables, one apparentlyfor missile weapons but poorly explained; the other,apparently for melee, is much like the old AH CRT.
This game represents some effort in assembling anorder of battle, assigning combat factors, androughly designing a battlefield, but the rules areterribly inadequate and players will, on the whole,have to figure out their own.018a. Pharsalus (1972, order from ADA, $1 50). byStuart Schoenberger, deals with the battle of 48 B.C.in Greece between Caesar and Pompey in whichPompey was decisively defeated. The treatment isvery much the same as that of Granicus: a 30 squareby 30 square map is roughed out and an order ofbattle with combat factors is provided, but not actualmap or unit counters. Pharsalus has many more unitsthan Granicus: Pompey has 112 combat units andCaesar 42. There is a great disparity of force betweenthe two sides, but some of Pompey's troops may bedropped to balance the game. The rules are morecomplicated but also even more incomprehensible.The combat system is very much like that of thestandard Napoleon at Waterloo 1046). The ADArecommends with this as with several of theirofferings, "Buy this game if you want to know hownot to design a game."018b. Thapsus (1972, order from ADA, $1.50). byStuart Schoenberger, deals with the battle betweenCaesar and the Senatorial forces in North Africa in 46B.C. It was Caesar's last battle. It is done in the sameoutline fashion as the other two (018 and 018a), butsince the game is more complex, the problems arecompounded several times. The map is suggested,but since the terrain is very complex, it is quiteuncertain how to make the board. Caesar has over100 beginning units, some of which can be brokendown somehow according to extremely unclearrules. The Senatorial Forces have only about 80 unitsbut also have the benefit of walls of Thaosus. The-game involves naval forces and siege units as well asland combat, but all is described in a set of rules thatare truly remarkable for their disorganized incomprehensibility.Again, ADA recommends, "Buy thisgame if you want to know how not to design0 n0mP "~ . ~ - ~ -019. Decline and Fall (2nd edition, 1972, WRG,$9.50 including postage by surface mail), by TerrenceP. Donnelly, is basically the same game reviewed inMOVES #4 lp. 14, 015). The main changes arephysical: the board is now mounted and printed infour splendid colors; the counters are laminatedcardboard, already cut and with attractive symbolsand colors, and the whole is in a box (too weak a boxas yet, but the publishers are attempting to get newones). The game is still an excellent and historicallyinformative game for four people who must combinewargame skills and diplomatic skills to survive or towin. Some changes in the rules have been made:ambiguities in the sea movement rule have beenresolved with an example of such movement; theconflict resolution table has been altered slightly; theretreat after combat rule has been changed to makeit more unlikely than before that an enemy piece canbe destroyed by forcing it into an unfriendly zone ofcontrol. A few new optional rules are added whichwould have the effect of increasing the eventfulnessof the game and its element of chance. The gameshould still have a strong appeal to historians,wargamers, Diplomacy players, and admirers ofgames which are fairly simple in their mechanics butcapable of a wide variety and sophistication in play.032. Breitenfeld (1972. order from ADA, $1.50, byStuart Schoenberger, deals with the decisive battlewith which Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden burst intothe Thirty Years' War. It is not to be confused withanother game of the same name and subject (S8TGuide no. 1,032). Like the other games in this series,this comes without board or counters but with roughinstructions for making both. There is nothing wrongwith the idea of a do-it-yourself game, but this is avery bad example of that idea. The sellers, the ADA,confess, on their list, "Buy this game if you want toknow how not to design a game," and that is thetruth. The rules are unbelievably vague, incompleteand ungrammatical. There is very little attempt toreflect the warfare of the period and the wholepackage of 5 typewritten and duplicated pages isfantastically overpriced.033. Musket and Pike: Tactical Combat, 1550-1680(1973, SPI, $7.00), by John M. Young, graphics byRedmond A. Simonsen and Manfred F. Milkuhn,deals with the tactics of the period including the CivilWars in France and England, the Revolt of theNetherlands and the Thirty Years' War. It was aperiod of great confusion in tactics because of theincompatibility of the two main infantry weapons,the musket and the pike. The soldiers of the timefound that both were unnecessary, but constantlystrained to find a tactical system which wouldcombine them without destroying thevalue of one orthe other. This dilemma is neatly reflected in thestacking and other rules of this game. You can mixthe two kinds of units this way, but no matter whatyou do it will be wrong. The game also shows thepower and weakness of pistol wielding cavalry, but itprobably gives the Swedish cavalry a little too muchpower. The game is smooth and simple to operate,the map is not overly cluttered with terrain. The rulespresent few difficulties with one major exception: theoptional (but really necessary) rule for using infantrysquares is nearly useless. There are 18 variedscenarios. There has been an attempt to describe thetendency of each scenario as favoring one side or theother or being evenly balanced, but I found thesepredictions to be very dubious. Nevertheless, it is afine and valuable interpretation of the warfare of.the period. [Note: The above was written before Ireceived the errata sheet for the game. The sheetclears up several things including the squareformation rule.]037. American Revolution (1972, SPI, $7.00). byJames F. Dunnigan, graphics by Redmond A.Simonsen, is a game of grand strategy dealing withthe entire war, four moves to a year, from Spring1775 to Winter 1783. The total is 32 moves. Thecounters represent Continental or Militia forces forthe Americans and Regular and Tory forces for theBritish. This loses many distinctions. Cavalry andartillery are averaged in with the infantry. Hessiansare subsumed into the British regulars. The map isdivided into movement areas with some designatedas wilderness which is more difficult to move into.especially for the British. But rivers and lakes play ndpart in the game except as they were used as thebasis for designating areas. The map also containsregions (one to five movement areas each), fromwhich the American draws his recruits and which areworthy victory points to the occupier. The Britishplayer wins by occupying and holding, with ananti-militia garrison, 51 points worth of territory, i.e.,Canada and a little over half of the 13 states orcolonies. There is a system for the entry of theFrench into the game after a major American victory.Meanwhile, the British, who have overwhelmingstrength during most of the game, are dependent onrolling good numbers on a die in order to move theircounters according to any plan. The rules arerelatively simple and the game is easy to learn andplay. However, most of the task of the Americanplayer is rather dull, since most of the time the onlything he can do is get out of the way. So far, indeed,it appears that the American player has little chanceto win. It is possible for the British player to movecautiously so that he never takes any chances ofbeing attacked by the Americans, at least until verylate in the game. The only chance the Americanshave is to avoid all battles involving Continentals untilnear the end of the game.042b. 1812: The Campaign of Napoleon in Russia(Strategic Game) (1972, SPI, $12.00 with grandtactical game), by John Young and Phil Orbanes,graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen and Manfred F.Milkuhn, is an innovative, valuable and evenfascinating game on Napoleon's fateful invasion ofRussia. Unfortunately it does not quite work. Thereare several problems: Battles, for which a matrixsystem is used, are either too potentially disastrousor too inclusive. Although the matrix system iscomplex, it still does not allow enough choices.Forced marches are much to chancy to be tried bymore than one or two units per game. Then thesupply rules, when understood by the French player,work to his advantage. The French player can movehis units in groups of three corps anywhere in Russiawith a depot and supply unit and never suffer for lackof supplies, while the Russians do not have the depotunits to pull that trick. So the game becomes a puzzlewhich can be solved by the French player while theRussian player either looks more or less helplessly onor tries a succession of desperate gambles in aneffort to stop the process. Most often the Frenchplayer will win with this relatively simple formula:fight no battles unless necessary; attempt no forcedmarches unless you are going to lose the unitanyway; concentrate enough to force Russians toconcentrate and deplete their supplies; then marchthrough depleted Russia with expeditionary forces ofthree corps each; do not try to take Moscow; justtake everything else. These remarks, of course, referonly to thecampaign game (Scenario 1). Scenarios 2and 3 start after the French have made mistakes.Thus, in Scenario 3, the French situation isimpossible, while Scenario 2 might be the closest to abalanced game.042c. 1812: The Campaign of Napoleon in Russia(Grand Tactical Game) (1972, SPI, $12.00 withstrategic game), by John Young and Phil Orbanes,graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen and ManfredMilkuhn, is the companion of the other 1812, but isbased on the veteran Leipza system for marchingand fighting. This allows a little more freedom inforced marching than the strategic version and muchmore certainty in battles. Now the French player canseek a battle with more confidence while the Russianwill avoid all clashes with the French main force. Thesupply and several other rules are virtually the samefor this version as for the strategic. Thus small forcesof French troops can march around with depots andsupply units without suffering while the Russianarmy gets progressively worse off. Again there arethree situations or scenarios with the game: Scenario1 (the campaign game), heavily favoring the French;Scenario 3 (with the French beginning in Moscow)virtually assuring their destruction; and Scenario 2being a little closer to a balanced game.0453. Waterloo 1 (1971, ADA, $1.00). by StephenMarsland, is not to be confused with Waterloo 1(045). and is not recommended even by its author. Itdoes not attempt to deal with the actual battle ofWaterloo. Instead; it is supposed to represent theconditions of warfare of the period in a situation thatis vaguely reminiscent of Waterloo but is made up.The game is very poor physically. The unmounted,uncut, typed and hand-drawn counter sheet is alsopoorly colored and needs to be nearly all recopied.The mapsheet is small and unattractive but usuable.The rules contain several unnecessary complexitiesbut are for a basically simple game with fewdifferences among the three arms.048. Napoleon (1972, ADA, $4.00), by StephenMarsland, is a hypothetical situation reflectingNapoleonic warfare on the grand tactical level. Theunits are infantry and cavalry divisions and artilleryunits; the French player chooses from among 41possible units, the Austrian from among 28 units.The mapboard represents "someplace" in Germanyapparently, but the hypothetical scale is notannounced. Basic movement for French infantry is 4hexes for a two-hour move. The game is quitecomplex so it is fortunate that there are relatively fewunits. It would be much better to operate the gamewith an umpire, although the rules are written in theassumption that the game will be played by twopersons who are not only scrupulously honest, butalso painstaking in their bookkeeping. Bookkeepingcomes from complex movement and combat rules.The counters on the board ordinarily are "strategiccounters" which represent up to 9 divisions. They aremoved only according to orders that have to bewritten one turn before they start to take effect.When opposing strategic counters meet, they areremoved and their constituent units are deployed onthe board according to simultaneously writteninstructions. The Combat Results Table uses twodice and has eight different possible results, some ofwhich are combined. Then the results have to bekept track of for three or six phases. Victory is basedon a complex point system. The game is certainly notfor everyone. It is well-thought out and subtle. It hasnumerous difficulties in its innovative rules, but itoffers command problems not met with in morepopular games. Physically, the game is uninteresting,with a hand drawn map on an SPI hex sheet, spiritduplicated rules, and crudely drawn countersmounted on uncut cardboard. But is a valuablesimulation of some aspects of Napoleonic warfare.
Page 7 and 8: I.D. will be used to plot the movem
Page 9 and 10: TORPEDOES:Mark/Model Dia - - wt - -
Page 12 and 13: 12AIRCRAFT ANALYSIS(I) F-104: Many
Page 14 and 15: 14THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WARby Omar De
Page 16 and 17: Footnotes is a collection of the ma
Page 18 and 19: in general are a lot of fun, and us
Page 22 and 23: Ma. Austerlirz (1973, SPI, $7.00),
Page 24 and 25: terrain that is more difficult than
Page 26 and 27: PlaybackAnythingREADER REVIEWor bet
Page 28 and 29: CONSOLIDATED ERRATASoldiers and Nor
Page 30 and 31: FeedbackMOVES nr.11, published Oct.
Page 32: SIMULATIONS PUBUCATIONS, INC.44 Eas

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