the franco-prussian war - Strategy & Tactics

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Ma. Austerlirz (1973, SPI, $7.00), by John M.Young, graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen, is a fairlyaccurate representation of the fateful battle of 1805in which Napoleon destroyed the Austro-Russianarmy and thereby became Europe's chief mapmakerfor nearly 10 years. The game board shows the areaof the battle and lasts for 13 turns or 13 hoursstarting, I presume, shortly after sunrise. Except for afew units which arrive on turn 2, all the units have anassigned place on the mapboard. So the allies arepoised to launch their attack on the French rightwhile the French are massed opposite the allied rightcenter. If I am right about its accuracy, the gameshows that the allies had lost the battle before it evenbegan. At least I have not seen them win the gameyet. The allies have few large units. The French havemany more and faster though generally smaller units.But some stacking is allowed so the French canconcentrate when they want to. However, thecombat system is basically the same as that ofNapoleon at Waterloo which saves its richestrewards for those who surround enemy units. ThusFrench speed is worth much more than concentrationanyway. The game gives points to the allies ifthey can put men off the board to the west (if theybreak through the French right) or if they bring menoff to theeast (if they retreat). I've seen few go off ineither direction. It is possible that the best alliedaction is to retreat the fastest units and sacrifice therest of the army to safeguard their retreat, but I'm notsure if that would work either. The game is fast andeven a little tense at times. The rules like those ofNAW and Borodino are nearly perfectly clear.049. La Grande Armee: The Campaigns of Napoleonin Central Europe, 7805 to (1972, SPI, $7.00). byJohn M. Young, graphics by Redmond A. Simonsenand Manfred F. Milkuhn, is three games in one: the1805 campaign against Austria and Russia, the 1806campaign against Prussia, and the 1809 campaignagainst Austria. The game uses the Leipzig system ofmoving and fighting. That is: the units are armies,corps and divisions, which can build up and breakdown into each other; the combat results table hasseveral sets of odds between 1 to 1 and 2 to 1;attacks from different stacks cannot be combinedand retreats are allowed through zones of controlwhich tends to result in battles of one large stackagainst another; leader counters are used to affectthe offensive or defensive.value of the combat units.The major new element in the system in La GrandeArmee is that it is now possible to use up a supplyunit and accomplish a double forced march safely.Otherwise, double and triple forced marches arerolled on a table which can result in elimination,disruption or safe arrival. Another difference is not adifference in the system but a difference in thecounters. In Leipza the opposing armies are identicalin all but numbers and leaders. But in La GrandeArmee the differences between the Napoleonicarmy, the Frederician Prussian army, the ancienregime Austrian army of 1805, the new modeledAustrian army of 1809, and the cumbrous but toughRussian army are all reflected in different countervalues and systems of building up as well as indifferences in numbers and leaders. It makes for amuch more interesting game. The three scenarios, orgames, are very well put together, with some of thepolitical factors included by such provisions as apossible Prussian intervention in the 1805 campaign.In all of the scenarios, the French have the edge, ofcourse, but they also have the burden of theoffensive.052. Rifle and Saber: Tactical Combat, 1m- 1900(1973, SPI, $6.00). by John M. Young, graphics byRedmond A. Simonsen. deals with company levelbattles of the mid- and late-19th century, with 17scenarios from the Sepoy Mutiny (18571, Austro-Sardinian War (1859). American Civil War, the SevenWeeks' War (1866). Franco-Prussian War (1870),Russo-Turkish War (1877). War of the Pacific (1879).Spanish-American War (1898), and the Boer War(1899-1900). The game contains three different setsof infantry and artillery counters to show the rapidtechnological changes in weapons during this period.The action is fast paced, the playing system isfortunately simpler than that of Grenadier. There isan ingenious road movement system which showsroads at closer to their time tactical value than inmost games. Unfortunately, the game as a wholedoes not work. Almost all of the most importanttactical conditions of the period are distorted or evenreversed. Artillery is nearly useless on the defensivewhile it is fairly useful on the offensive when it shouldbe deadly on the defensive and only mildly useful onthe offensive. It is advantageous for all units tobunch up most of the time. Cavalry charges andbayonet attacks are devastating while rifle fire isrelatively innocuous. A highly ambiguous set of rulesfor retreats, ambiguities in special rules for thescenarios, an erratic optional morale rule, anincomplete order of battle which renders Scenario#10 useless, all add to the confusion. The gameshows the result of much research and thought, butit definitely needs more work on translating researchinto game mechanics. [Note: The above was writtenbefore receipt of the game errata sheet. Unfortunately,this sheet does nothing to save the game as awhole, although it does clear up the problem ofScenario # 10.1054. Wilderness Campaign: Lee vs. Grant (1 972,SPI, $7.00). by John M. Young, graphics byRedmond A. Simonsen and Manfred F. Milkuhn,deals with the two-month campaign (or one of themonths) which brought Grant from the Rapidan tothe gates of Petersburg in May and June of 1864.The units are generally Union corps and Confederatedivisions. The Union army has larger units and agreater total strength, but the Confederate has moreunits and is therefore difficult to outflank. Victory isbased on a variety of criteria: territory and casualtiesgive assorted amounts of victory points. By thecriteria of the game, the original General Grant lostthe original campaign by a good margin, and it isdifficult to see how it can turn out otherwise here.However, the Confederate must try to win in .adifferent way than Lee did - it is difficult to see howhe can hang on to the Shenandoah Valley or how hecan make any attacks at all. The game has a numberof good points: the command system based onGrant, Lee and Early Counters with units outside of"command influence" being required to roll a die formovement does reflect the difficulties of communicationsand the cussedness of subordinates in theCivil War; entrenchment rules demonstrate the habitthat the armies had fallen into by 1864 - a habitwhich made attacks increasingly costly; the supplysystem and the Union sea movement are workableand faithful to the spirit of the situation. The gamehas a semi-hidden movement system which adds avital note of uncertainty to the movements of theopposing army. But there are also some oddities ofthe game: the "Wilderness," the important terrainfeature after which the campaign and the game werenamed, is not on the map; and the rivers, because ofthe operation of zones of control, are a source ofweakness to units trying to defend behind them.There are a number of difficulties brought on mainlyby hidden movement and command rules. It is atense game and a variety of "what if" scnearios,which are included, might make it a closer game.062. The Marne (1972, SPI, $7.00), by John M.Young, graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen andManfred F. Milkuhn, deals with the action northeast,east and southeast of Paris from August 30 toSeptember 15, 1914. Each move equals one day sothe long game is 17 moves, a shorter game dealingwith the German advance is 7 moves, and the gamedealing with the German retreat is 10 moves. Theunits are mostly divisions and with 6 allied armiesfacing 4 German armies, there are a very manageablenumber of units on both sides. Stacking up to 3 unitshigh is allowed but less practiced than in most gamesbecause the front line is long in proportion to thenumber of units and because special advantages aregiven to flank attacks. The game is unique in SPl'scollection for its sequence of play: each player hastwo combat phases as well as the two movementphases that are quite common. In the second,set ofphases, units which did not attack in the first combatphase may move again and attack. The result of allthese factors is a much more fluid game than oneusually thinks of in connection with World War I. Infact it is so fluid that the disadvantaged player (theallied in the first week, the German in the second) haslittle choice but to run like hell for most of the week.The game is also unique in that both sides in thecampaign game or the first week scenario enter theempty map from the same map edge. This results insome tricky situations which are not fully covered inthe rules but which are adjustable. The Germansalways move first but have to "pass" on the first turnsince they don't have any units on the board. Victoryin any of the games hangs by a point system whichweaves together the destruction of enemy units, theoccupation of specific towns and the exiting of unitsoff the map. There are an assortment of what-ifswhich alter the victory conditions and the Germanorder of battle. The game mechanics are quite simpleso the game could be used to introduce new peopleto wargaming.072. Tannenburg lsicl (1972, ADA, $4.00), by GuyHail, is not to be confused with the early PoultronPress (now SPI) Test Series Game, Tannenbergwhich may someday be republished. This Tannenbergdeals only with the situation around East Prussiaand requires the Russians to attempt their fatalinvasion. The Germans must only retain Konigsbergto win. The game is starkly simple. There is, forexample, no supply rule. The combat systemeliminates chance, and attacking is voluntary, so it isunlikely that those combat results which hurt theattacker will be used. Terrain affects the "combatnumber" and also changes the part of the table usedin the attack. Defenders are always separated for theattack. The game is interesting and demands skill. Ithas a little to do with the original situation, but it isnot very realistic and even though it is simple, therules are so undeveloped that numerous interpretationproblems arise in the course of a game. Thegame map is hand drawn very adequately on acut-down SPI blank hex sheet. The counters are justadequate, but the nubmers have to be darkened byhand in order for them to be used with ease. Theywere mounted but not cut. The rules are on two spiritduplicated pages.073. PBI (1972, TMI, $4.00). by Vernon JayStribling, is a simple infantry game which presentssmall actions from World Wars I and II. The titlestands for "poor bloody infantry" and the subject issquad to squad fighting. Each counter represents asingle individual and the only weapons in the gameare rifles, submachine guns, automatic rifles,machine guns, knee mortars, grenades, and flamethrowers. The mapboard represents an indeterminatearea across which a rifleman can run (indefinitely) atthe rate of 5 hexes per one minute turn(approximately). There are four simple scenariosfurnished with the game and the promise of more tobe published in Battle Flag magazine. The scenariosinclude the soldiers of several nations and times andhavea very few rules to represent these differences.The map is well drawn but the terrain is poorlydefined in the rule book. The playing routine is quitesimple; the firing routine, using simultaneous fire,involves adjustment for cover, movement of thefiring unit, position of target, but not for themovement of target. The rules say that more thanone man may occupy a hex, but the rules do not sayhow many. This and a few other problems make thegame uncertain in spite of its basic simplicity. It canbe compared with Move Out (159). which issomewhat more complex in allowing for individualdifferences among the infantrymen and whichcontains many more situations. PBI, however, isbetter presented physically with a printed map sheetand printed counters, die-cut but faultily so.096. Battle of Britain (1968, Zo, $5.00, without box,soon to be raised to $7.00 with box), by Louis B.Zocchi, is available again. It was reviewed in S&TGuide no. 1 (092). It is a good game but a lot of workand only fairly reflective of the actual campaign.096a. Battle of Britain Revision Kit (2nd ed., 1971,Zo, $3.00), by Louis B. Zocchi, is a necessary additionto the original game. It was reviewed in S&T Guideno. 2 (095). The revision complicates the game andmakes it more realistic in several particulars, but itstill does not reflect the actual situation.102. Sink the Bismark [sic] (1971, Sparta, $4.001,by Tony Morale, deals with the foray of the Germanship Bismarck into the North Atlantic in May, 1941.Partly it is a revision of Avalon Hill's now extinctBismarck, but it is more sophisticated and realisticthan that effort. It is played with a strategic boardvery much like that of the earlier game, but now the
German ships have a reason for being out in themiddle of the ocean - they are stalking nine Britishconvoys attempting to go across the board duringthe time the Bismarck is out. As in the AH game, thetwo players move on separate boards and then locateeach other or fail to do so with a calling out system.The major difference is in what happens when thetwo sides find each other. Then instead ofproceeding to the very abstract combat of the AHgame, the players here take out their cut out deckplans and proceed to a convenient floor to fight aminiatures-type naval engagement, using the sameor virtually the same system as Mr. Morale used inFlighr of rhe Goeben (Tactical Game) (082) andVictory at Sea (212). This system is moderatelycomplex in ship to ship actions and very simple for airattacks on ships. The strategic game includes aprovision for both sides refueling. The rules includethree hypothetical situations ("what ifs"), all ofwhich give the Germans more ships to sally out with.115a. Salerno (1972, TMI, $4.00). by Vernon JayStribling, is a battalion-level game of the first landingon the mainland of Italy. The action takes place on aninvasion turn followed by seven days of two turnseach. The game is basically not difficult, but the rulesare in a disordered state and several areas are fully ofambiguities, especially the use of artillery. The victoryconditions are also ambiguous. There are no rulesregarding supply. It is a mildly interesting game, butanyone who plays it will have to spend some timediscussing and deciding on an interpretation of rules.The mapboard is black and white, reminiscent of oldPoultron Press (now SPI) games. The counters areattractive and die-cut but with a slight flaw in thecutting, so that each of the counters has to betrimmed to present a neat appearance. The game$includes many kinds of pieces (infantry, armor,reconnaissance, engineers, assorted artillery, commandos),with a few different powers. Thecommandos can land in special areas; the engineerscan move faster on roads (I'm not sure why); theanti-aircraft artillery can protect against air attack;the other artillery can fire at ranges from 6 to 14hexes. The game has some value, and is no doubt abetter effort than the other Salerno (115, MOVES#7), but it is still more unfinished than mostpublished games (again reminiscent of the old SPII.117. The Invasion of Sicily (1972, PzP, $4.00). byHarold Totten, graphics by Julie Lowry, is a 12 movebasically simple game dealing with the conquest ofSicily in July and August 1943. At 4 days per turn,the game lasts two turns longer than the originalcampaign. Taking the island is not sufficient for theallies to win the game since victory is determined bya lengthy point table. Most of the units are regimentsand each unit has two steps. The loss of one step isindicated by turning the counter over. There are sixwhat if situations which allow different set ups,invasion beaches, and reinforcements. The mapsheet is in four pieces which can be assembledwithout much trouble. The counters are, I believe,die-cut, although I have only seen a set with papersheets unmounted by the publisher.118. Rommel: The Campaign for Nonh Africa(1973, Sp, $5.50). by Loren Sperry, is a basicallysimple, but in its campaign form, quite a lengthytreatment of the war in Libya and Egypt. The gamebegins in September 1940 and proceeds, at the rateof 3 turns per month, to December 1942, for a total of84 turns in the long game. The game begins at thetime of the Italian invasion of Egypt although theAxis player, since he knows true value of his army asprinted on his unit counters rather than theirapparent value in numbers of men, will usually startretreating on his first move. The units are divisionswhen possible, otherwise brigades or smaller units.The game uses a step reduction and rebuildingsystem which resembles that used in Anzio withseparate counters representing replacements. TheAllies have a constantly changed order of battle asunits are withdrawn and reintroduced. There is asupply system for attacking and defending, but lackof supplies does not prevent but only slightlyweakens the attack. Oddly, there is no way to deprivea unit of what is sometimes called "general supply."A unit will continue to move and attack at fullstrength even when completely surrounded. Combatsupplies, like replacements and reinforcements,arrive according to a schedule printed on the timerecord track. Also, both sides get some air powerfrom time to time. The struggle is faithfully portrayedin that the game turns into a see-sawing battle fromEl Alamein to El Agheila, unless a player is foolishenough to try to stand against a much stronger force.During many of the game's turns nothing muchhappens as the exhausted armies wait for newstrength to arrive on the field. In most ways, it is animprovement over AH'S Afrika Korps, except in thewriting of the rules which leave several large areas ofambiguity. For those who don't have time for thelong game; there are four short games: on the Italiandefeat (15 turns), Rommel's first offensive (10 turns),the Crusader battles (12 turns), or the Battle ofGazala (6 turns). All of these have separate victoryconditions and are quite playable and sometimesmore faithful to the original situation.119. Kasserine Pass (1973, CGC, $8.95). by JohnHill, presents the twelve day battle between Rommeland a mostly American force in Africa in early 1943 atthe rate of one turn per day. It is a game much likeBattle of the Bulge, except that since there is nosupply rule, the allies must stop the Germans headon. It is very difficult to do; impossible for the firstfew days as the German player enjoys theexhilaration of conducting a real blitzkrieg attack.Victory is decided by a simple point system. Theunits involved are mostly battali8hs. There areseveral kinds of units involved and a few functionaldifferences between units. There are also nationaldifferences: American and Italian infantry haveweaker zones of control than the other units. Artilleryfires at ranges of 2 to 4 hexes and can support a unitbeing attacked (as in 1918, another similar game).The game allows several different lines of strategy tobe applied, and therefore, it is difficult to tell so earlywhether one or the other side has the edge. But JohnHill prides himself on producing evenly balancedgames and so far Kasserine Pass seems wellbalanced here. The board is attractively printed inthree colors on a light plastic board which isguaranteed forever by CGC. The counters (and ofcourse the hexagons on the map) are larger thannormal, well printed and die cut. The game is wellworth looking into. In addition to its other virtues itcontains a two die combat results table which allowssome very unlikely things to be included in thepossibilities, for example, on the roll of a 12 (1 out of36 chance), a 1 to 2 attack will produce a defendereliminated. Of course, the chances are much betterthat the result will be attacker eliminated orsomething in between (contact, engaged, as in Barrleof the Bulge, retreats, or exchanges).137. Desrrucrion of Army Group Cenrer: The SovierSummer Offensive, 1944 (1973, SPI: SbT #36, $7.00for the boxed issue-game), by James F. Dunnigan,graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen, is for a time atleast the last of SPl's eastern front series which takethe war from The Moscow Campaign through TheBattle of Sralingradand Kursk (the three having beenpublished in reverse chronological order) and now tothis game which begins on June 22, 1944, andproceeds by two-day turns to July 11. The gamemechanics follow closely those of the other games.The units are German divisions and Russian corps,but there are no air units on either side. The twoimpulse system for mechanized units is used to allowthe possibility of breakthroughs or to force a defensein depth. The territory is large: from Vitebsk in theEast to Warsaw in the West, and the advancingRussians have to cope with moderate to severesupply problems; but the objective in the game is toacquire points by killing enemy 'units not by takingterritory. This is fairly simple for the Russians in thehistorical game in which the German is set up in hisoriginal salient and is required to obey Hitler's orderto stand fast (for the first turn). So a number of"what-ifs" are brought in to balance the game: theGermans can pull out of the salient before the gamestarts or at least respond to the Russian attack moreintelligently. The result is varied. The Game is a littleeasier to work than the other games in the series andcan be mildly recommended to historians and garnersalthough the situation simply lacks the dramainherent in its predecessors.151a. The Invasion of France and the Barrle ofGermany (1972, Hi, $5.00). by Laurence J. Rusieoki,deals with Western Europe from June 1944 to March1945. In order to win a tactical victory the allies mustpenetrate into Germany past the Rhineland on theRuhr. To win a strategic victory, they must penetrateinto central Germany, which is off the board. Eitherone is a very difficult task. The game is played mostlywith infantry corps and armored divisions. In manyways the game resembles Barbarossa. Each move isa month but a two-impulse movement system andthe ability to overrun small forces allows thepossibility of deep penetrations. These can beprevented only by a defense in depth. Forces notfighting can be shifted anywhere on the boardbehind friendly lines. Attacks need supply counterswhich are sometimes scarce for the allies. The gameis different from Barbarossa in that its combat resultstable is relatively bloody, but the bloodiness isbalanced by a high replacement rate which keepsmost of the allied units on the board most of thetime. The German replacement rate is not quite sogenerous, but they get many new units. This was oneof the factors which caused the allies to lose most ofthe games we played here, but they always lost by sonarrow a margin that we couldn't be sure it wasinevitable. Almost all of the rules, including, ofcourse, rules for paratroops and two invasions, areclearly stated. Tactical air power restricts Germanmovement and allows the allies extreme advantagesin attack and defense, but only from June toSeptember. The Germans in our games were notfoolish enough to use the lack of allied air power (oranything else) as an excuse to launch a Decemberoffensive. This was another reason they were so hardto push back. But in spite of this difficulty, 1944 is asmooth, fascinating game. Two "mini-games" areincluded which offer the possibility of a 1942 or a1943 invasion (with altered victory conditions). Themap is multi-color, nearly as attractive as some SPImaps. The counters are professionally designed,thick, glossy and die-cut.152a. Omaha Beach (1972, Spartan 4, Sparta,$2.501. by Norman Beveridge, Jr., is a supplement toPanzerBlitz enabling the owner of that game to fightthe D-Day sea and airborne landings. The playerneeds PanzerBlirz, from which he uses the boardsand the German counters. The kit furnishes eightmap sheets (each one half the size of a singlePanzerBlirz map section), six are beach areas, onefeatures a large flooded area, the last features a largenumber of hedgerows, which are also present on thebeach area maps. These are combined with thePanzerBlitz boards to form the terrain for ninescenarios which cover every area of D-Day action.The Allied units are on two 8 x 11 sheets. Most of theunits of course are infantry, paratroops, engineers,mortars, rangers; but there are also someself-propelled guns and tanks, some of which areself-landing and others of which are equipped withflails for clearing mines (with a little luck). There are afew extra German units: dug in forts, minefields, andseveral kinds of long-range guns. The rules used arethe same as those of PanzerBlirz with only a fewextra rules to cover the new terrain and weapons,beach and parachute landings, and naval and airsupport for the landings. This is a very carefully donekit which shows a great deal about the D-Daysituation. Of course it is primarily an infantry andartillery grapple - there are only eight Germanarmored fighting vehicle units in all nine scenarios.Nevertheless, this kit ought to be enjoyed by anyonewho appreciates PanzerBlirz.1533. Overlord: The Normandy Campaign (1972,CGC, $8.95). by John Hill, is a 28 turn game, in whicheach turn represents 3 or 4 days. At the beginningthe allies are already on the beaches and must fighttheir way inland and off the board. The board coversan area of about 120 miles by 90 miles including theinvasion beaches, Cherbourg, St. Malo, Avranchesand Argentan. The breakout from this area tookplace historically just after August 1, 1944. The gamegives the allies much more time, to the end ofAugust. The time will most often be necessary sincethe Germans are fortunately not subjected to a Hitlerrule to require impossible holding actions and.counterattacks. The campaign in the game is atough, closely fought, step by step advance through
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