Ah Gen v17n1

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7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


I The Game Players Magazine

IThe Avalon Hill GENERAL S dedicated to the present

tlon of author~tat~vertlcles on the strategy. tactlcs, a

varlatlon of Avalon HIII warqames Hlstorlcal artlcles a

Ini'~c.aednly msomuch as tney prov~de lsef ul ackgroun

tnlorn~at n on c ~ r r e n t va~on i 1 1 1 t tles The GENERAL I

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EDITOR: Donald J. Greenwoo

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&a~4 I~O.\- HILL^

4

Avalon Hill Philosophy Part 79t

Those of you who pay any attention to the his chance o write the Philosophyoccasionallya

credits (at eft) already realizethat Ihavebeengiven what follows constitutes his maidenvovaae.

an "assistant" in th e form of Alan R. Moon. Aside

from his zany attempts at humor with the now in-

stitutionalized"ASYLUM" column and hosting the

newer Staff Briefing Interviews, Alan has been

responsible for a number of behind-the-scenes

efforts in his few brief months here. As our reper-

toire of games increases, I find myself lessand less

capable of sitting in judgement of articles about all

of them. Fortunately,Alan's tastes are somewhat

different from my ow n and therefore we havebeen

able to split game responsibilities to some

degree-he editing articles on games I know little

about and vice versa. Similarly, Alan will occa-

sionally write the RBG commentary when he is

closer to he reviewedgame than I. Perhapsyou've

already noticed a change in style there occasional-

ly. It, therefore, seems only right that heshouldget

. -This is the first AH Philosophyto be written

any AH employeeotherthan DonGreenwoodsin

Don took over in Vol. 9, No. 2 (Jul-Aug 72).

about time. The previouseditor of THE GENER

his majesty Tom Shaw (whocan still be found luing nthe shadows aroundhere),was the only ot

person to act as company spokesman. So

number three. What an honor! Sort of like be

given a Purple Heart for getting wounded.

Before I came to work at AH in Septembe

was a member of the wargaming hobby. Thoug

am now a member of the AH staff, I have not l

the hobby. While beinga hobby member and be

an AH staff member are two entirely differe

things, they are not mutually exclusive; a pers

Continued on Page 4 1, Colum

NAPOLEON'S EMPIREA Tour DeForceo f WA R & PEACE

DESIGN ANALYSISWAR& PEACE Errata& Clarifications

POP QUIZA Short Quiz on BasicStrategy nTHIRD REICH

RECOUNTINGA Second Look at the Scenarioso f CROSSOF IRON

OFF THE SHELFA Look At New Books

STAFF BRIEFINGAn InterviewWith Mick Uhl

WHERE DID HE COME FROM?DeepSixing StepSeventeen nMIDWAY

ARMS & ARMORA Reviewo f he CRESCENDOOF DOOMUnits

MERLIN'S USED HORSE LOT?A DwellingsVariant for MAGIC REALM

OPERATION ADLERLUFTWAFFEStrategy& Tactics Vs. OperationCuster

WAR AT SEASeries Replay:SoMuch or the Med

By Mark G. McLaugh

1By Frank Dav

1By William Nightinga

1By Rich Hegeman& Bert Bak

2By The Sta

2By Alan R. Moo

2ByL. Ross, S.Tyrer, and K. Se

2By Lorrin Bi

2By BruceDe

3By MichaelMasto

3By A. Moon, R. Hamblen,& D. Greenwoo

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NAPOLEON'S EMPIREA TOUR DE FORCE OF WAR AN D PEACE by Mark G . McLaughlin

To many, war is the crashing sound of multi-engined Allied bombers devastating Germa n cities,the noiseless prowl of U-Boats seeking heavily-laden North Atlantic tankers o r the grinding mightof the panzer armies crushing their way across theendless Russian steppes. There are some of us,however, who tire of these constant replays of th elate night movie and prefer to recall the da ys whenwar at least seemed more glorious, m ore civilizedand more manageable. T o this grou p, war is mor efondly fantasized as the martial beat of a tho usandmassed drums, the terrific thunder of brass can nonin battery, the staccato of regiments of gaily-tailored cavalry and the bright gleam reflected offraised sabers and b randished bayonets: For us, waris Napoleon.

WA R AND PEACE (with apologies to Mr.

Tolstoy for borrowing his catihy title) is the firstboardgam e which presents this era of war not as anoccasional remake of the battle of Waterloo or theslugfest at Borodino, but as a strategic enterprisefor the mastery of Eu rope. T he ten scenarios pro-vided allow the players to m eet on those ab ove men-tioned fields of glory but, more important, allowthem to circumvent those overtraveled roads andshape their own paths t o conquest o r ruin.

The game can be played per campaign , from thebright sun of Austerlitz to the rainy morning ofWaterloo, in short scenarios of ten or fewer turns,or in more ambitious undertakings such as the twoPeninsular.campaigns which deal w ith all or part ofthe six-year war in Spain. Th e entire scope of theNapoleonic Wars, from Lisbon to Moscow, from1805 to 1815, can be played ou t in the grand cam-

paign.

The difficulties in designing a gam e which lentitself both to the sho rt and long term struggles forcontrol of E urop e were problems of exclusion, notinclusion. There are more books on Napoleon (c.250,000 according to the Library of C ongress) thanon a ny other figure in history, with the possible ex-ception of Jesus. There are several dozen board andminiatures games which deal with varying aspectsof the period, an d every gamer who has ever playedon e of those games or painted a battalion of figureshas his own idea on how those wars should have,could have and were fought. W ith all of this wealthof in fo rmat ion avai lab le , cer ta in commondenominators had to be found.

As with most games, the first requirement forW&Pwas a mapboard. AH'S decree that it wouldhave to fit the dimensions of a bookcase gam e box

happily narrowed down the overblown "monster-game" options to a more workable proportion. Amap of Europ e was sectioned off to exclude thoseareas marginally affected by the Napoleonic Wa rs,reduced to a playable surface and then "tilted" tomake maximum use of the gameable areas (the ar-row which marks North o n the mapbo ard is actual-ly northwest). Borders, physical featur es, cities an dsome artwork completed the board. The superim-posed grid set a diameter per hex of 40 miles.

Napoleonic armies maneuvered in large corps-sized formations. This formation, however,became too restrictive for the game, as armiestended to be m assed in one or two huge stacks andall maneuver became incidental. To allow moreflexibility and "feel" in the game , the scale for unitswas dropped from the cumbersome corps to the

more maneuverable division. Each strength point

represents 5,000 men-roughly the sizeof a divisor brigade, depending upon the army. Cavastrength po ints resemble corps, since a cavalry dision rarely exceeded 2,000 men.

This level of representation m ade research mueasier-although on occasion a strength point hbeen rounded up or down, especially for specunits and some satellite forces-but there were tmany independe nt units of march around. The troduction of leaders (which, in effect, act as corheadquarters) solved that misrepresentatioLeaders move infantry units, which d o not possindependent movement capabilities, an d thus corand armies can be formed a nd split up at will by tplayers, each force tailored for its own strategpurpose. Cavalry, already in corps-like formationretains independent movement so it can scree

guard supply lines and race ahead to secure impotant positions, a s did Napoleonic cavalry.

The rate of movement was based on the combination of three factors: (1) how far a unit coumarch in a m onth, (2) how many mon ths it actuatook a unit in a real Napoleonic campaign to from one point depicted on the board to anothand , (3) the roa d con ditions in early 19th centuEurope. The month-long turns were chosen allow for several short scenarios a s well asthemultyear campaign s, a nd because they seemed to fit wwith the scale of hexes and units. The second factwas easily determined from historical performanand the third, road conditions, was a matter record in first-hand accounts, both military acivilian. These were tempered with the necessity funits to stop, rest, forage and, to a lesser exten

with reasons of playability. As pointed out in t

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game's Designer's Notes, n o army can march a t fullspeed for more than a few days without completelyfalling apart. The Force M arch Table allows playersto attempt to force march their men into theground, but constant use of this tactic rapidlyreduces the overall number of strength pointsavailable for imp ortant battles.

Despite popular opinion, Napoleonic warfarewas not just a series of one-battle campaigns. T rue,each campaign which Napoleon embarked uponhad its decisive battle, but all of them had numeroussmaller engagements-most of which did not in-

clude the Emperor himself-which set the stage forthe climactic grand battle. These smaller fightsranged from the cavalry and rear guard skirmishesbetween small divisions to sieges and full set piecebattles between corps of 25,000 men or more perside. The famous "battalion" square" order ofmarch by which four or more corps moved withinhalf-a-day's march of each othe r was designed toenable the corps to fight these types of com bats withthe security of knowing they c ould be rapidly rein-forced by an adjacent corps. Th e corps itself was acombined arms unit set up to fight on its own for aday or moie t o gain time for the rest of the arm y tocome to its aid.

The combat system in W&P eflects this type ofmaneuver. Co rps travel in stacks of 5-10 strengthpoints to cover strategic areas, to minimize attrition

and to engage enemy forces, fortresses or otherobstacles in their path. Com bat is between adjacentstacks. After each ro und of com bat (i.e., o ne roll ofthe dice) adjacent corps have an opportunity toreinforce each other an d thus broaden the scale ofthe fighting: this ch ance is increased by the value ofthe corps commander who is attempting to join thebattle. A combat can go on for several rounds anddraw several stacks into the inferno, thus creatingthe meeting engagements and reinforcing battles socommon to the era.

The com bat resolution itself depends partiallyon numbers, but morale, terrain, leadership andother factors are equally im portant. The C ombatResults Table is set up in a mann er th at o ne level ofnumerical super iority (i.e., 3 :2,2 :l) is equivalent toa difference of on e in morale, leadership or terrain

factors. Combat results are set up to prevent oneside from becoming completely annihilated in asingle battle (demoralization eventually forcesretreats) but allow for crushing victories in whichone side takes far fewer casualties than the opposi-tion. Even a victor loses men, however, and thereare very few comb at results that leave the winnerunscathed.

Cavalry pursuit favors players who keep theircavalry as a reserve: superior cavalry allows abeaten player to freely retreat from a battle orgrants the victor the bonus of riding down hisenemy's stragglers. When the tactical matrix op-tional rule is used, the use of cavalry for coveringwithdrawals becomes even more pronounced,because a forceo utnum bered in cavalry can literallybe eliminated as it is unable t o escape from a vic-

torious enemy (as were the Prussians in 1806).The morale factor which separates the armies isbased on several points: organization at the tacticallevel, performance in comba t, motivation of the in-dividual soldiers and the training and doctrine ofthe combat units of a n army. Th ere are four levelsof morale: Poor (untrained militia, semitrainedLandwehr and nearly anarchic Cossack units),Regular (average military units). Su perior (troop sof nations whose training, motivation, etc. clearlyoutmatched those of the average armies) and Elite(Guards). These levels of m orale are represented ona scale of 0 to 3 (lowest to highest). Spanish, Prus-sian, Austrian and satellite armies are regulars(morale of 1) while the forces of Britain, Russia andFrance are considered superior (morale 2). Frenchand Russian guards ar e morale grade 3. The tenaci-

ty displayed by the Russians in defense of their

hom eland (map board "4") merited a specialmorale grade of 3 inside Russia.

The leadership value of the generals who arerepresented in the game is based o n a similar scale.Na ~o le on nd Wellinaton were unauestionablv in ac~aHs y themselves a& thus deserved a rating bf 3.A number of French marshals and allied generalsshowed remarkab le strategic o r tactical talents andthus received a 2 rating. Othe r generals received thisrating either on the merit of their outstandingorganizational ability (such as Barclay) or for p uretenacity (Blucher). Many generals were granted a

rating of 1 (albeit some received this rating as aplaybalance gratuity). The unidentified leaders whohave a 0 rating represent the constantly changingpool of corp s-grade officers whose contribution tothe armies they led was either m inimal or unspec-tacular. Joseph Bonaparte, sometime king ofSpain, and several of the Spanish generals (a term Iapply to them loosely) were given a 'zero ratingbased on their incompetence. They were named andincluded in the game for color.

The other matters which affect a battle-ter-rain, entrenchments, supply and fortifica-tions-are self expla natory .

Continual battles will, of course, leave an armytoo exhausted to fight the climactic battle of a cam-paign (unless the battles have all been victories up tothat p oint) and players should choose their battles

carefully, as did the soldiers of the era. Continualbattles force players to keep massing their troop s inlarge stacks which suffer horribly from attrition.Corp s movement helps reduce losses from attritio n.

Supply lines, which were extremely impo rtant t ohow an army lived and fought, are based on supplyheads (i.e., majo r cities) and on local depots androutes of march, which are represented by "string-ing" units behind an advancing army. This simplerule also takes care of representing supply columns,garrisons, stragglers, reserves which constantlyflow up to the front and other facets of an arm y onthe move. It also fits the maxim that the farther thearmy advances into hostile territory, the w eaker itbecomes. Armies which fight at hom e thus receive atangible benefit from shortened supply lines.Harassing supply lines with roving partisans or

cavalry is an art in itself, and thenecessity of leavingstrong detachments to guard these lines is thusrepresented in the game.

There are a few simple rules in W&Pw hich wereadded for flavor and realism. The basic rationalebehind these rules was to allow fo r the exigencies ofNapoleonic warfare without cluttering up therules-or the players' minds-with a lot ofperipheral data. Whenever possible, rules havebeen generalized, shortened and simplified withthat doctrine in mind.

One example of that doctrine of short, sweetelegance is the French Imperial Guard rule (whichthe developer, Frank Davis, deserves credit for).The French can add a force as small as a singlestrength point of Guard to a battle and dramaticallychange the die roll of the battle. T his often assures a

high chance f or victory, but it also eliminates theGuard at a rapid rate. Napoleon rarely used hisGuar d in battle. Often, the mere sight of the Guardwould terrify his enemies or inspire his own troo psto prodigies of valor. The Guard's effect on themorale of both armies in battle was far greater thanits numerical effect. For this reason Napoleonjealously hoarded his guard; it always stayed in thereserve and w as committed only after the battle h adpassed its crucial stage or in dire circumstances.Napoleon's refusal to commit the Guard at Bordinocost him a victory in that ba ttle, but allowed his ar-my to escape the Russians later in the campaign.Had it been ruined at Borodino, no French wouldhave escaped Russia. Players have the same choiceas Napoleon: throw in the Gu ard to win a battle, orconserve it for the really crucial moment in the cam -

paign. This choice becomes even more pronounced

in the grand campaign, when the presence of Guard can affect not only a battle, but the witself.

The Scenarios

Although the Napoleonic Wars covered a tyear span and were fought over an entirecontinethe war was not a continuous conflict. There wseveral separate campa igns between France andfew, rather than all, of the major powers, and thwere occasional periods marred by a n unexpecoutbreak of peace.

These individual campaigns are reflected inseries of short scenarios which can be played on oor two boards with a fraction of the counters acan be completed within one to four hours, depeing on the scenario, familiarity with the rules aindividual gaming speed.

Chart A lists the seven scenarios which are usto cover the major European campaigns Napoleon. The chart lists the strength poiavailable to the French and nowFrench playerthe start, middle an d end of the game. This numbdoes not reflect losses, but is a maximum available forces. Add itional forces which may enor be removed from play are listed in the "Noteco lumn. Al l scenar ios l i s ted assume freplacements and reinforcements except the 18scenario, which assumes four Austrian cities froMarch-May, three from June-August and twoSeptember and Octob er. Starting forces do not clude first turn reinforcements, which are usuaminimal. "Assume" in the notes section means ththese forces have already been included in totals. Th e bias represents a rough estimate of tchances of that player winning the scena(10%-90% ). Victory conditions for all the scenarare based on equalling or slightly improving on performance o f the coalition which won the actucampaign.

Austerlitz-1805

This scenario is a simple, clearcut introductito the W&P game system. The French player hone, straightforward objective: take an d hold Vina. If he accomplishes his task he wins; if not, loses.

The French player has the opportunity to smathe Austrian army around Ulm on the first movNapoleon an d most of th e French units can enter to this battle and wipe out ab out half t o two-thirof the 14 strength points in the area, dependinghow they are deployed, French forced marchiand, of course, pure luck. The destruction of tharmy is essential to French victory. It must beaten and then, in the second turn, completeerased. Once that mission is accomplished, tFrench must race for Vienna before the Russiaget there. Stro ng forces have to be detached, alowith the armies in Italy, to shadow the Austriawhich start in Italy and to prevent them from m aing with the incoming Russians. Judicious movment, blocking positions or a majo r battle mayneeded to halt the Austrian southern forces. T

French will have to protect a n extended supply ldown the Danube Valley (Munich to Vienna) or up an alternate one through southern Austria Milan.

The limitations on French strategy are based the Austrian's first two turns. T he nowFrenplayer has several options. First, he can delay tFrench on the Danube by contesting every halong th e way to Vienn a. Th is will surely eliminathe Austrian army, but might cause enough batand attrition (due to their constant need to concetrate) losses to save Vienna from anything mothan a 1:l battle. Entrenched Austrian reiforcements and the Russians combine to presenstrong front to the tiring French. This strateeliminates an y possibility of Prussian involvemdue to the nu mber of victory points the French w

achieve.

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Second, th e Austrians ca n race fo r Vienna. T heItalian theater armies ar e set up close to Austria(Charles a t LL20 northeast of Venice) as ar e th eBavarian army (Mack a t LL14 southeast of Ulm).Everybody force marches a t maximum speed.avoids combat an d steals a march on th e FrenchUnless th e Russians have forced-marched suc-cessfully, th e Austrians will either have to give upVienna without a serious fight an d then counterat-tack when th e Russians arrive, o r risk a battle,alone, fo r th e city-a battle they will almost surelylose.

Both of these strategies base th e Allied.chanceof victory on luck: th e luck of forced march an d lastditch battle die rolls. A third strategy is an indirecta p p ro a c h which , hopefu l ly , reduces th isdependence on luck. The basic idea is to leave th edefense of Vienna to th e Russians an d th e meagerAustrian reinforcementswhile th e main army headsfo r th e Innsbruck mountain region. Charles an d th ecavalry from John's army lunge at Massena (whomthey should defeat a t 2: l o r 3:2, depending on th esuccess of th e Florence garrison in reachingMassena) an d his satellite army an d thus equal th evictory point gained by th e French a t Ulm. Mackjoins John's entrenched infantry a t Innsbruck,which acts as a supply base.

Par t o f Mack's force could move to th e Bohe-mian mountains north of th e Danube o r reinforceVienna, depending o n th e numbers which remainfrom th e original army. A major Austrian armyaround Innsbruck (which ca n be joined by Charleson th e next turn) threatens th e French supply line a t

Austcrlitz-1803: Austrian Partisan strategy. Austrian forces under Mack, John and Charles are XI up as depicted. After initial Frenits If th e French toward they

moves (Napoleon attacks Mack, Leader A marches Florentinegarrison north) the Austrians react. Charles and Hiller attack Milan (Blaca n be cu t off an d thus ar e halved in combat an d arrow A) while John fortifies Innsbruck. Mack joins John while sending Ferdinand to organize the Vienna defenses. (Band E espectivelhurt in attrition an d forced march situations (and Leader A o f Austria shuttlesBudapest forcesto Vienna, which entrench.(F).Kutuzov's Russians forcemarch. leaving unitsbehind for supp

they cannot overrun enemy units). ~h ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ h ,urposes, and join the Austriansat Vienna. The French must eliminatethe threat to their supply lines by attackingInnsbruck (H and I) befo

therefore. ar e forced t o tr v an d dia th e Innsbruckmarching in force down the Danube (J).

army o u t of its mountain-fastness, This costs th eFrench tw o badly needed marches: on e t o go southto Innsbruck, another t o return to th e DanubeValley. If th e French d o no t win a n overwhelmingvictory (or, worse yet, if they lose) they will have todetach a sizeable force to keep hammering a t th eAustrians with th e remainder of th e army racingalong a perilously unprotected supply line towardsVienna. A small Austrian cavalry force in th e Bohe-mian mountains will no t retard French movement,bu t might deflect it slightly.

T he entrenched Russian army in Vienna, whichis strengthened by th e handful o f replacements an dreinforcements ~ r o d u c e dhere an d shuttled in bv a"0" leader frbm Budapest, should be strongenough to hold th e city against th e on e attack th eFrench will have time t o launch. The illustration a tth e upper right shows this "partisan" strategy, so -called because it concentrates o n indirectly tacklingth e French via a threat to their supply lines. Evenafter th e Innsbruck concentration is broken, therewill still be a handful of Austrians an d some decentgenerals wh o ca n be hurled against weak lines in theFrench supply chain o r wh o can physically block it .

Jena to Friedland 1806-1807

The wa r against Prussia in 1806 should befought like a blitzkrieg: th e French must move asfast as possible, with as much force as possible, andliterally destroy every single Prussian strength pointwest of th e Vistula before they ca n be reinforced byth e Russians. T he French player must, however,know when t o rein in his far-flung pursuingsquadrons an d regroup, lest th e Russians crushthese outlying units.

T h e French begin with a considerablenumerical, qualitative an d leadership advantageover th e Prussians. The entry of th e Russians inDecember an d January erases th e qualitative an d JENA TO FRIEDLAND 180647: Suggested non-French player positions at the end o f the October, 1806 turn. The bulk of the armyleadership advantages o f th e French and. d e ~ e n d - concentrated n three stacksbehindtheOderriver, each led by aone-point eader. The "0" Leadershave beensent to nick uaratelliteforcesan~ - - ~ . ~r.-........-.----.-

ing on thorough th e massacre of the-Pr"ssian the Berlin reinforcements, while a Saxon holds Dresden's river ciossing. The shaded blue area represents the French main armies undNapoleon. Prussian positions in November and December (shown by Pmssianscircles2 and 3 respectively)makeoptimum useofthe riverlin

army was* th e numerical edge might and keep the army partially intact to join the Russians (green arrow). Swedish and Prussian garrisonsare shown in their original position

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vanish. Th e Baltic cities must be besieged, takenan d garrisoned before th e Russians ca n move by se ato reinforce them an d threaten th e French rear. Th ewinter, as Napoleon found out, is a lousy time towage a war, an d th e French should use that time tosit on th e defensive west of th e Vistula while rein-forcements can be brought forward. Th e Frenchcan cluster stacks of five strength points in one o rtw o groups around either Danzig or between Posenan d Thorn to threaten Warsaw an d Konigsberg.

Th e French should be able to take on e of thesetw o cities by default; th e wooded zones between

them make it difficult fo r th e Russians to switchback an d forth between the two. The French shouldseek a series of decisive spring battles to eliminatethe Russian army. T he French can afford t o stayconcentrated fo r battle in th e spring. (especially ifthey ca n take Warsaw an d ad d those extra strengthpoints to the army) an d should plan o n driving th eRussians back toward their own border, so they canonly threaten on e of th e tw o Polish cities.

Th e difficulty th e French will have in this finelybalanced scenario is dependent on th e initial Prus-sian play. T o pu t it mildly, a smart Prussian willhave to swallow his pride an d learn th e value of sur-vival. T o d o what th e Prussians did-advance onth e French-can just about hand the game over tothem. October will probably start ou t poorly fo r th ePrussians, with th e French attacking the Leipzig

an d Weimar forces, an d unless poorly coordinated,th e French should win three battles, thus effectivelynegating any Austrian chances of entering th e war.T o continue to fight fo r western Prussian cities justmakes it easier fo r th e French player to completelydestroy th e Prussians.

When th e three Prussian main stacks ar e forcedto retreat, they should retreat to th e Elbe river hexesand, in their ow n turn, forcemarch across th e Oder.By putting this river between themselves an d th eFrench, th e Prussians will at least partially equalizeth e morale an d leadership advantages their op -ponents enjoy. Since th e Saxons would bedestroyed once Dresden falls, the non-Frenchplayer should tr y to use them to fulfill an y battle orforce march casualty requirements he might have.A single Saxon strength point in Dresden will denythat river crossing to th e French.

The Berlin force should cross th e Oder an dmake fo r 110. Th e Posen force should advance toI1 1 so that the entire Prussian army stands concen-trated in on e area, behind the river line an d able toreinforce itself in case of a battle. The one-pointleaders should be distributed one per stack.

The zero leaders should dash of f to gather in thescattered garrisons a t Cassel an d Brunswick. Aleader should go back to Berlin to pick up th e rein-forcements which appear there in November(probably th e last th e Prussians will ever get).

In November an d December th e Prussiansshould continue to fall back behind th e Posen an dThorn river lines, an d link up with th e Russians.Once th e Russians arrive, th e Prussians should besplit u p into stacks with th e Russians, so that eachstack is at least half Russian (for combat purposes).

Prussians can be used fo r half th e battle an d al l at -trition an d forced march losses, since they ar e lessvaluable than th e Russians.

The relatively short supply lines, winter attri-tion, sea movement an d rapid reinforcements allwork to th e advantage of th e Russian army, whichonly needs to dig in an d defend on e of th e Polishcities: Konigsberg o r Warsaw.

Wagram 1809

The non-French player should hit hard with th ecombined Austrian army in th e March, 1809 turn.With proper positioning of th e variable-locationforces, he should take Munich, Warsaw, Dresdenan d Ratisbon that turn, as well as defeating a t leaston e French army of five strength points o r more fo ra victory point. Although th e French will probably

WAGRAM: 1 Situationin April, 1809, before the French attacks begin. Austrian forces are shown at the end of the March turnFrench forceshavernovedtocounterattack.Even if d l the Frenchattacksare victories, thenon-Frenchplayershouldretain a + advantageothe Allegiancedie roll.

retake Munich an d Ratisbon, conquer Innsbruck before Landwehr an d variable forces allow th e non

an d defeat on e Austrian army, the allegiance die French player to achieve parity in numbers.will still be in favor of th e non-French player.

Th e non-French player should avoid attackingNapoleon directly, focusing instead o n his other ~~~~i~1812corps, especially if they cannot be reinforced by Th e initial advantage of numbers rests with thNapoleon. Th e mountains around Prague an d French player, whose forces outnumber th e RuInnsbruck make an excellent base for the Austrians sians by 2:1. Attrition, long an d vulnerable suppto defy th e French march on Vienna an d t o harass lines, winter an d numerous little battles will rapidlits supp ly he s . Smaller forces ca n Contest th e Sax- wear down th e French army and, as the Russiaon cities. If German, Russian an d Prussian forces reinforcements roll in, th e invaders might even finenter play against France, victory becomes very dif- themselves outnumbered (sound familiar WWficult fo r the French player. lovers?).

The French player is in th e unenviable postion The Russian army gains from all of the abovof being caught by surprise an d facing a first turn as an d from a n increase in its morale which reflects thexplained above. A quick counterattack Can recoup incredible determination shown by th e Russiamuch of th e political aspects lost by the early soldiers in th e defense of their homeland (maAustrian victories, an d a major portion o f the board 4). The Russians will, however, need all oenemy army can be eliminated. The French are, these pluses to defeat an d then push the French ouhowever, in a race to regain th e lost allegiance o f Russia an d prevent a draw.points before variable forces start entering play. A drawn game is an exceedingly easy thing foThe French should use Poniatowski an d some "0" th e French to gain. Historically, Napoleon coulLeaders to pickup th e scattered garrisons in Prussia have advanced part way into Russia, consolidatean d use them to help defend Germany. A 2-point his supply lines an d struck ou t fo r conquest in 181leader should go into north Germany to lead th e Politically, he did no t feel secure enough to d o thdefense of Cassel o r Amsterdam, whichever is most an d risked everything on on e quick thrust. Itthreatened. assumed that a French player would prefer to go fo

The main French effort must be directed against th e kill rather than a mere crippling of th e RussiaAustria. The French can either focus o n first secur- bear. (For those wh o prefer this other ploy, use thing Saxony an d Bohemia (Prague) an d then driving 1812-1814 "linkage" scenario which appeaon Vienna o r vice versa. A thrust down th e Danube elsewhere in this issue).is no t advisable if a sizeable army is based in The French have several strategies which thePrague. A Prague force ca n always slip north and, ca n adopt. There is sufficient leeway in the set up teven unsupplied, cause difficulties fo r th e French. enable th e French to adjust it to a northern oTh e French must move rapidly an d ruthlessly southern strategy.

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RUSSIA 1812: Variable dacrment and strategiesfor 1812. French: Red lettersindicateplacement o f forceswh o x initial hex may vary(i.e.. "within one hex o r ' etc.): Red lines show axisof northern strategy'sadvance. Blue lettersand lines indicate variable southern strategynlacemenr and line of march. Black line showscombinedcentral strateay.(0 leaders,PJ = Poniatowski-Jerome.M = Murat. E = Eugene,-

S = Scwarzenbcrg). Russians: Green letters and arrows depicta centralized trategy,yellow a southern approach. (BT = BarclaydeTolly. B =

Bagration, D = Doaurov, W = Wittgenstein.T = Tonnawv).

Th e northern strategy concentrates th e army fo ra crossing of th e Nieman between Kovno an dMemel, with th e army then dividing into tw o veryunequal columns: Davout and th e Prussians withsome other satellites head through Riga fo r St .

Petersburg while Napoleon an d everybody else (ex-cevt Schwarzenbern wh o nuards Warsaw) heads for~ m o le n sk .Once that objective is reached, th e main

'army digs in , acts as a flank guard for Davout an dmight be able to send him a few reinforcements.

Th e southern approach takes th e main army, in-cluding Davout, across th e Nieman between Grod-no an d Kovno, an d then drives fo r Smolensk an dMoscow. Schwarzenberg, with Poiniatowski an dJerome, attack toward Kiev where they engageBagration, ac t as a flank guard an d might reinforceth e main army. T h e Prussians guard Poland.

Either before o r during th e game, th e Frenchmight decide to switch from one of these strategiesto a modified central strike: everybody up th e mid-dle to Moscow. Although this concentrates th e ar -my, it sacrifices it s supply lines. Without flank

guard forces, th e French cannot prevent Russianraiding corps from interdicting their communica-tions.

Regardless of which strategy th e French playerchooses, he must march as fast a s possible t o catchan d destroy th e Russians before winter sets in . Sup-ply lines will have to be guarded, especially bycavalry who ca n stalk th e bothersome cossacks.

The Russian player ha s fewer options than hisopponent, and , a t least in th e early stages, mustreact to th e French. If they adopt a northernstrategy, th e Russians should fall back aboveVitebsk where they ca n concentrate o n th e supplylines of both French forces. A one-point leader,some infantry an d a few cossacks should be sent t oSt . Petersburg to entrench th e city so that when th eSeptember reinforcements appear there they will

have a better chance of holding of f Davout. Th e

main army should then be used t o whittle away th emain enemy army an d eventually hope to confrontit in a massive battle around Smolensk in October.T he Bagration-Tormazov army ca n operate in th eFrench rear an d cu t apart detachments which th e

French will have to send t o protect their supplies.If th e French move south, Bagration an d Tor-

mazov ca n withdraw to Kiev, while th e rest of th earmy digs in fo r a losing battle a t Smolensk. Theyca n then retreat to prepared positions in th eMoscow woods. They should no t fall back an y far-ther since they have to farther west to push th eFrench back. A French army should no t be able t obypass a considerable force of entrenched Russiansin th e Moscow woods without sacrificing hi s supplyline (in which case th e French would have th e Rus-sians attacking their rear areas, thus rapidly clear-ing th e French ou t of Russia while Napoleon sits inth e Kremlin, temporarily).

The Russians, too, ca n fight fo r a draw just byfighting forever fo r Smolensk an d hoping th eFrench will never get much farther than that. A

Smolensk meatgrinder, however, works to th eFrench advantage an d a draw could turn into a lastminute French victory as th e Imperial Guardcavalry races t o Moscow.

The War of Liberation 1813 'T he 1813 scenario is an extremely hard one fo r

th e French. The lack of cavalry an d th e loss of th efavorable attrition an d forced march die rollsdecidedly inhibits the French player's ability t ooverwhelm th e smaller Rus'so-Prussian army hefaces. Th e French must pick a n objective an d goafter it with all o f their forces if they wish to win.Although it is possible to drive deeply into Prussiaand rescue th e beleaguered garrisons, such a moveexposes th e French supply line an d army to a nAustrian blow from Bohemia, if they intervene. If

the French have no t crippled th e initial Allied ar -

mies before Austria enters th e war, the French whave to retreat and mass their troops a t on e majcity. T he French should always tr y to counterattaPrussian an d Austrian armies even a t 1:1 to wethem down. Higher odds ar e needed against tRussians to hurt them.

The French have several options which they cbegin with. They ca n keep thea rmy concentratedwin a few battles an d Drevent allied victories agaithem, or they ca n adopt a "shotgun" approawhich will maximize casualties (for both sides) bwill focus on gaining political an d military points

delay Austrian entry into th e game.The shotgun approach tackles four allied arm

o n th e first turn: Lubeck, Dresden, Leipzig an d tBerlin forces. It a ttempts to gain four victorideny tw o cities t o th e allies fo r points, securethird, seize another fo r French points an d gain tallegiance of Saxony. This approach requires aof a minute in which French leaders must mov"drop off" units an d then go to other hexes to letroops in battle or prepare fo r th e next movemephase.

Eugene begins th e move by going to F8 (adcent to Berlin) an d dropping of f nine strengpoints (one of which is Guard). H e then movescommand th e Danes a t Bremen. Victor takes twstrength points to Hanover to secure it an d thmoves to Hamburg to lead th e attack agaiLubeck. Davout moves to Hamburg, drops his mof f (SOVictor ca n lead somebody) an d then cotinues o n to F8 to take charge of th e Berlin attac

In th e center, Napoleon goes t o BI 1 an d formarches from there to C1 1 with Ney. Soult splof f a t B11 with six strength points an d force maches to D l . Each of these forces contain a t leone Guard strength point. Marmont goes to comand Hanover an d Bessieres travels to Mainzpick u p th e next turn's reinforcements.

In th e south, a "0" n Bavaria brings his armyB11, leaves one strength point there fo r supplan d force marches th e rest to join Soult. Th e leadthen goes to Stuttgart. The other leader in th e staimmediately moves to Wuzburg. Both leaders wpick up small satellite forces in May. The Milan amy force marches t o JJ18, whereit is me t by Mur

th e "0" leading it returns to Milan. Poniatowbegins his move into th e Bohemian mountains.

The result of this move is four battles: VictorLubeck (1:l + 3); Davout a t Berlin (2:l +2Napoleon a t Leipzig (2: 1 +3) an d Soult a t Dresd(2:l + 1) . The three later battles ca n al l ad d +

more if th e Guard is committed. O n an average droll o f seven (before modifiers) th e losses woutotal four French an d eight allies. T he losses to bosides could increase through use of th e Guard orth e allies were foolish enough to hang around fosecond combat phase. Par t of th e French loss wbe made good through th e immediate additionth e Saxons. Allied forces could reduce th e oddsgoing into fortress an d probably double th e Frenlosses, bu t their entire army would be destroyedth e fortresses fell. Such a move would, of cours

give th e game away to th e French.After this initial onslaught, th e French shou

keep trying t o rack up victory points. T he temption to plunge into Prussia an d rescue th e eastegarrisons, as noble as it might seem, plays into thands of th e Austrians who, when they enter twar, ca n sweep across th e French rear an d knoth e pedestal right ou t from beneath th e emperoTh e French will eventually need t o pick a last staarea t o hold on to to win th e campaign. The twSaxon cities a re almost indefensible, especiallywth e sanctuary of th e Bohemian mountains imediately adjacent. Austrian forces ca n be supplidirectly ou t of Prague an d even attack from tmountains, thus limiting French counterthrusT he northern group of cities is preferable fo r tfinal defensive line. since thev ar e adiacent to o

another (and thus mutually supportke) an d th

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Tbe War of LlknUon-181% French "shotgun" approach, April, 1813. French army is separated into four main attacking columns

designed to wrest control o f western Germany from the allies in one swoop and gain the French a +5 on the AllegianceChart.

also allow occupation of Berlin fo r a few moreturns.

Th e nowFrench player, initially outnumberedbu t possessing an incredible potential force, mustru n o n th e first tu rn to keep his army intact. T hecavalry superiority they enjoy will benefit th eRusso-Prussians as they ca n escape from unpromis-ing situations. T h e incoming reinforcements an dth e original forces' remnants should m op u p th eFrench garrisons and then come forward to snipe a t

French supply lines. If th e Russo-Prussians are ingood shape when Austria enters, th e combined ar -mies should be concentrated to overwhelm Frenchcorps which are no t led o r adjacent to Napoleon.The French must be prevented from concentratingin depth in on e area. If Napoleon can pull all hisforces into one city fo r th e last few turns, th e alliesmust d o th e same. T h e resulting battle, needless tosay. would no t favor th e allies unless th e o d d s areheavily in their favor.

Napoleon a t Bay-1814The 1814 scenario requires th e French player to

literally dance around his enemies and defeat smallforces in detail. This is a difficult task, even fo r anarmy with superior marching an d combat skills, no tto mention a large leavening of Guards and ex -

cellent leaders. The French player must decide, each

turn, which enemy army mosi threatens Paris an dthen go after it .

Soult and th e other Spanish theater army ca neither delay th e allies there o r race north to take upth e defense o f Paris, forcing th e Anglo-Spanish towaste abou t half of their force o n a supply line an dfreeing up th e Paris garrison fo r field service. A t n otime should Paris be without a t least six strengthpoints, a one-point leader an d an entrenchmentmarker. Anything less will enable a flying columnof allied cavalry to slip into th e city.

T h e non-French player ca n either send everyonehurtling forward in an attempt to swamp th eFrench, keep them off balance and sneak up th eSeine, o r he ca n pull back, reorganize hi s forces intoo ne tight concentration an d bludgeon his way toParis. Both th e broad an d th e narrow front optionsoffer th e allies a fairly good chance a t victory.Although a majo r force is hard to defeat, a series ofcorps threatens Paris from several directions andforces th e French to disperse as well.

Waterloo-1815T he French player is faced with an extremely

brittle situation which is nearly impossible fo r himto win. (But what would a Napoleonic game bewithout a Waterloo scenario?) Napoleon must take

enough me n forward to crush th e Anglo -Pruss ias

an d still leave enough in Paris to foil an en d ru nth e survivors of a "Waterloo". This first tuhowever, is th e only tu rn o n which th e French han opportunity to take th e offensive an d pu tAllied force ou t of commission fo r most of thecapaign. If they lose this battle, they will surely lth e scenario; if they win it, they ar e a t least stilth e running. The scenario largely comes down ttwo-turn (o r less) gamble fo r th e French player

T h e non-French player's strategy (as if he neone) depends o n th e results of th e French playfirst turn. If th e French have lost, o r wo n o

marginally, th e Allies ca n either force marchParis and hope fo r a quick blow or regroup, letAustrians move a little closer to Paris an d thenback down from Belgium, thus catching Napolein a pincers (which also gives him th e central potion). T he main choice is ho w close th e Allied plawants to come to refighting th e 1814 campaign1815.

The Spanish SfenariosB o th of th e S p an i sh P en in su l a r W

scenarios-VIII an d IX-offer th e French plaan exciting challenge: to conquer tw o countricompletely, in th e face of supply-cutting partisanever-ending hordes of militia, ineffective bu t ctinually reincarnated regulars and a small bu t nely unbeatable English army, led eventually by

Iron Duke of Wellington.T he French forces need t o follow a few ba

tactical rules to conquer this forbidding peninsuFirst, th e supply line must be guarded, almost hby hex, to keep th e means of wa r flowing to th e fward troops. Second, stacksof fiveo r less shouldused, occasionally in tandem, to advance, tacities and fight field battles. Larger stacks offersecure communications and take useless attritilosses. Third, cavalry should be jealously hoardfo r it s pursuit, retreat, speed an d partisan-hunticapabilities. Neither player ha s very much cavain th e Peninsula, and th e occasional horse sold

'can make a great difference in a turn. Fourth, tcities which are occupied need t o be held by at letw o strength points, because forlorn attacks by ptisans o r even unsupplied militia against sing

strength point garrisons will cause both sidescasualty, thus leaving th e city devoid of Frentroops an d , therefore, in Spanish hands.

Th e last, majo r advice th e French must heedto advance deliberately. Where speed pays of fcentral Europe, it is a hindrance in Spain. Movito o fast, to o soon , invites destruction, partisan ativity an d swift Englishcounterattacks. Th e Frenneed t o consolidate, advance; consolidate and thadvance again. T he Spanish ar e easy to beat infield battle, bu t fortresses are difficult to attack:is rare that th e French can afford to tie up a stafo r several turns of siege an d rarer still to remainsupply throughout it . Large forces ar e neededstorm cities, an d th e French cannot field to o masuch armies without stripping their garrisonscheating other sectors of reinforcements.

T h e supply line back into France should goToulouse since Bayonne ca n be easily cu t byEnglish naval expedition. The French should thestablish themselves, early in 1808, in t"bastion" of northeast Spain. From there they cflood Andalusia (southern Spain) in 1809. Onthat is secure, th e French ca n push towards th e Potuguese frontier in 1810. The British will udoubtedly fight fo r Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoth e "keys" to Spain (so named because they contrth e tw o main valleys into an d ou t of Spain). Thcomplete conquest of Spain should be completed1811, and th e advance into Portugal should nbegin until that conquest is complete.

The 1812 invasion into Portugal will surely ruagainst th e entrenched lines th e British will costruct outside and in Lisbon, bu t th e French shou

keep hammering away. Th e English will probab

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open up a city o r tw o an d thus slowly pull Spainback into th e game. Small corps should remain inSpain to prevent this.

If th e French see that victory is impossible by1812, they ca n begin a gradual withdrawal backtoward and into th e bastion line. This line shouldno t be abandoned before mid-1813o r it will be im -possible to hold on to anvthinn else. as th e Spanish.&m y will rapidly regain;ts numerical strength. Bythe en d of 1813 th e French ma y have t o retreat tothe last line of defense-the Pyrennes, bu t they

must occupy at least o n e Spanish city to remain inthe game.

Th e non-French player must play a waitinggame, tempting th e French to advanc; a little to odeep into Spain an d then cutting their advancedforces off. A seaborne invasion o r several partisansin northeastern Spain ca n cutoff th e ~ r e n c h up -plies at th e source an d make it extremely uncomfor-iable fo r th e emperor's forces. Th e Spanish ar ebasicallv worthless in a field battle. unless com-bined k i th a force which is a b o h two-thirds laBritish/Portuguese, bu t they are useful to cu t sup-DIY lines an d hold fortresses.-

Th e small British army, with its two excellent Ileaders, Moore an d Wellington, is well-served bysteady reinforcements and can be easilv supplied.The main function of this force is to form a-strong I

pai& of th e forces needed to cover th e numerous 'Bcities an d supply line connections throughoutSpain.

Chart A shows th e balance of forces in th e

counterpunch against o n e point o f th e farflungFrench Empire in Spain and punch it in . T he Frenchwill need to keep relatively large forces wherever th eEnglish ar e an d thus denude anti-Spanish cam-

Peninsular campaigns, year by year. T h e discrepan-cies between th e tw o scenarios, a t least in th e Frenchforces, ar e accounted fo r by troops lost towithdrawal an d th e number o f casualties whichwere never replaced due to th e other campaignswaged by France a t this time. T h e Spanish forcesdiffer becauseof th e collapse of th e Royal army andthe subsequent reduction in its maximum strength.

Th e French will rarely have more than two-

thirds of th e forces shown a t an y on e time. Th eAllied totals will vary with th e fortunes of th eFrench.

War and Peace-The Grand CampaignThe Grand Campaign should no t be played by

those wh o have no t fought al l o r most of th e in -dividual scenarios, as it combines elements o f playfound in al l of them, plus several new rules. Th ecourse of th e game will be set by th e mood of th eFrench player and th e number of people wh o par-ticipate. It ca n be a traditional recreation of th eNapoleonicWars, o r a six-player free-for-all, morefamiliar to multiplayer games.

Th e solitaire an d two-player games suffer froma handicap that wa s inadvertently developed into

the Campaign Game victory conditions: by luck ofbattle an d die, th e French ca n win th e game in 1806or 1807 by forcing al l th e majo r states, exceptEngland to become pro-French o r neutral. Note:

Th e Campaign Game victory conditions a re revisedin th e War and Peace errata printed in this issue.

Th e tw o player version should be played withthe English player as th e better of th e opponents fo rpurposes of balancing ou t this rule. The three an d-four player games offer n o room fo r th e above, an doffer th e most vivid recreation of th e NapoleonicWars, allowing France th e opportunity to fightAustria without fear o f Prussia, a t least fo r a while.an d offering th e English th e security,of a non-variable Russian ally, regardless of th e outcome ofan Austerlitz campaign. T h e French, in this ver-sion, have to invade Russia to en d th e game before

1815.

The Peninsula:Gradual Conquestof Spain. Solidblue line is the "bastion" positionwhich should be secured in 1808.A. Band C reercmajor forceconcentrationsrequired o holdandadvancein Spain. Theopm arrowrepresents he 1809advanceintoAndalusia,with thedashline theexpected limit in the year of the advance.The solidarrows show the 1810-early181 I moe-ue of S ~ a i nowards he Portuceuseborder athe fortr&ses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz. Green lines show the 1811-1812 conquest o i ~ & t u g a i if Spain is subjugat2).

Chart A Spanish Scenarios' Balance of Forces

Scenario VIII

French Non-French (British-Portuguese) (Spmish) Bias7 1 25 -

II1809 69 70 27''

Bias refers to French chances of winning the game during that year. Forces listed are maximum available for that year* = the Spanish 10M and 6P are included; ** = inclusion o f Portuguese 6M nd 3P; ***includes the 81 1C o f thPortuguesearmyand # is the lossof French satelliteforces. The inability to produceall militia, partisans and army unitdue to time limits in a year is reflected.

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qeutrals fo r French. Assume + 4

ians an d Swedes

issume 2 P fo r French.

Possible +6Dutch, +-lossi- - - -

The five player game, and especially the player version, force the French to playdiplomatic as well as a military game. The noFrench players have an almost uncontrollable yto gang up and pretend it's 1814 and not 1805.

injudicious or abrasive mannered Frenchmen wfind himself ou t of a job very early in a multiplagame. Players may w ish to temper this and force Spanish and Pruss ian players to remain pro-Frenand neutral, respectively, until the allegiance rolls free them from their initial status. Onanother statu s has been opened up for them, th

can act freely and choose their own alliances for rest of the game.A six player free-for-all eventually develops

France is conquered early, as the players havejockey for production centers. Wars eventuabreak out, which enable Napoleon to return to game an d can result in s ome amazing alliances (suas an Anglo-French-Prussian alliance agaiSpain, Russia and Austr ia, for example). The gais subtly designed so that the players themselves cdecide how faithful to the Napoleonic Wars thwish to game.

Chart C shows the maximum available forcfor each country in each year of the game. Frensatellites are listed separately and the non-Frentotals d o not include satellites (except for the inc

sion of Portugal in to England's column and noted inclusion of Holland at the expected datThe Swedes, Danes and variable Saxons (wchange sides many times in the game) are ncounted in any of the totals.

All Landwehr and Militia/Partisans are cluded in the table where indicated. As can noted, the French and French satellites are onumbered about 2:l throughout the game. Tvariable alliances, conquest of states and othdiplomatic maneuvers can lessen or even revethese odds. In 1805, for example, the Spanish pro-French an d the Prussians neutral, which meathe French outnumber the no wFrench , dependion the establishment of minor states.

Chart D reflects the comparison in number

leaders available to the armies. This shows homany corps, or stacks of maneuver, are availabsince leaders must be used t o move the foot soldieChart E presents the naval balance. Britain mighave a tough time of it early on, but will rapiddraw ahead to an unchallengeable naval positiounless the French are very crafty. Chart F lists tproduction cities' distribution among the majstates and the m inor groupings.

Chart E

I Naval Forces in Campaign Gam

Fr Sp Brit Other

Start F 9 4 12 4

T 2 1 2 4

Max F 9 4 15 4

T 2 1 4 4

F = Fleet; T = Transport. Other includesPortugal (BriSatellite), Russia, Sweden (Neutral) and Denm(Neutral) with IF and IT each.

Th e French player begins th e Grand Campaiin an 1805 scenario-type situation. A crushingtack on th e Austrians a t Ulm should be followedas quick a victory as possible in Austria, befoPrussia enters th e war. Although th e time costraints of th e first scenario ar e lifted, th e conquis more difficult since Prague an d Budapest malso fall. A two-point leader will have to be le

along with ten or so strength points in th e north

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keep an ey e on th e small bu t mobilizing Prussian ar-my . Paris should be held by a skeleton force whichca n be quickly built u p by production. It should bedu g in and a leader of at least o n e point in valueshould always be in marching distance of Paris.Concentrating th e French fleet into o n e clump hasits advantages, bu t th e English will follow suit andthus increase the overall effect o f Nelson an d thatshould eliminate any French chance of a naval vic-tory. Th e sea campaign is interesting, an d th eFrench first turn an d its consequences ca n set th estage fo r an even wa r a t sea.

The French, once Austria ha s been defeated,normally turn o n Prussia to cripple he r an d bleedRussian manpower an d English production points.New wars against other majo r states should no t beconducted until th e losses of th e tw o above-mentioned wars are completely replaced. T h eFrench ca n then elect t o sit it o u t until thegame endsby holding down th e Germans, o r go fo r broke inS p a in o r Russia (o r , if they a r e reallymeglomaniacal, both a t once.)

The Austrian player has a n excellent chance fo rvictory: a large army, a lo t of good defensive terrainan d easy access to th e production cities of Italy andsouthern Germany make fo r a strong contender toth e crown of victory. Th e Austrians will need helpto defeat a French invasion, but, even if conquered,th e addition o f Landwehr to th e force pool helps

make up fo r it.Prussia, initially weak an d indefensible, doeshave a lo t of northern German production centersopen to it an d ca n negotiate with other players,especially Austria, fo r timely assistance an d toestablish spheres of influence.

Russia, although it ha s a large an d tough army,is hemmed in by its tw o natural anti-French Ger-ma n partners. Th e Russians ca n deal with th eFrench to carve them apar t , blackmail th e Germansfo r some of their ow n cities (I won't help yo uunless . . . ) o r trust to their allies sharing th e Ger-ma n spoils with them.

England, although possessing a small army , ha smobility, bribery (production points and naval ex -peditions) an d quality o n its side in th e campaign. A

lo t of production cities are within o ne o r tw o hexesof th e coast and thus easy prey t o a swoop from th eocean. As wa s its historical policy, however, a con-tinental ally is needed t o help it protect these con-quests.

O n th e surface, Spain appears a mere after-thought as a player country. A weak army, fewstrength points an d limited access t o productionireas seems to doom it to a continual sixth-placecountry. Like Italy in THIRD REICH, however,Spain ha s t o base it s strategy o n threats, diplomacy,blackmail and pity. Although it ca n d o little morethan defend itself, it ca n stab France in th e back insouthern France o r by refusing to work with Franceat sea, thus dooming th e French navy to ro t in port.With English cooperation, Spain ca n shuttle troopsinto Italy an d thus dismember that portion of th e

French Empire. Portugal is a tool to ge t a t th eEnglish: th e English can't hold Lisbon against th ewhole Spanish army and still fight somewhere elseeffectively (a bargaining point which ca n be used toconvince th e French to be nice an d give Spainsomething in Italy). Spain probably cannot win, bu tha s o ne of th e best chances fo r second place of an yplayer.

Spain need no t be defended with much of an ar-my , since an y invasion will result in a rapid build upof militia, partisans an d leaders to control them,thus giving th e main army time to return to defendMadrid.

All things considered, th e more players thereare, th e more possibilities ar e opened up in th egame.

I I

PzKw Vla L 5A 2 4 - BUN 88mm/LI6 LffRnm 3OOOm-

AMMO 92 PEN 4.9" 2 MO34

WAR AND PEACEERRATA AND CLARIFICATIONS

By Frank Davis

Since its publication, WAR AND PEACE ha sbeen generously praised fo r it s ease of play, an d fo rit s faithful recreation of th e Napoleonic era. We arepleased with th e initial response we have received,an d have paid special attention to th e lettersgenerated by th e game's release last February.. As aresult of these comments, we have assembled th efollowing errata an d clarifications. Most of th eerrata printed here applies only to th e CampaignGame. Although these changes significantly affect

play, th e basic structure of th e Campaign Game ha sno t been altered. Players should find it easy toassimilate this errata without forfeiting th e strategiclessons they have already learned from th e game.

Note: The errata is presented in th e same sequenceas th e subject matter to which it applies appears inth e WARAND PEACE rulebook.

pules Sections:C.6. T he city of Prague o n Mapboard 3 shouldcontain a black (not red) infantry production sym-bol.

D.6. There are actually three different types ofcavalry units, regular, guard , and Russiancossacks.

G.3e. (Change to read) ( + 1) if th e hex is o n Map-

board 1 o r 4.

K.Sd. (Changeto read) (+ 1) f th e moving strengthpoints were o n either Mapboard 1 o r 4 at th e start ofth e Movement Phase.

O.ld. (Add new rule) if th e odds fo r any combat a redetermined to equal o r exceed 4 to 1, th e smallerforce is automatically eliminated, with n o loss toth e larger force.

O.2b. (Clarification) If a force is composed ofequal numbers of strength points of tw o o r moredifferent morale values, th e morale value of th eforce is automatically th e lowest morale valuepresent in th e force.

P.3. (Clarification) If there is a conflict as to whichstrength point must be eliminated, players should

tr y to follow th e priority sequence indicated in thisrule. If there is still more than on e alternative, th edecision should be made a t random by placing th eunits in a cup an d picking one.

Q.la. (Changet o read) If a withdrawing force doesno t occupy a city hex, it must retreat one hex in anydirection, providing it ends its withdrawal n o fur-ther from a friendly supply source (in terms ofMovement Points) than th e hex it originallyoccupied. If a withdrawing force is currently unsup-plied, th e opposing player ma y determine where itma y retreat, within th e restrictions specified above.

X.G1 (Add new rule) During th e Alliance Phase, ifa majo r state which is not represented by a playerbecomes neutral (due to a die roll), al l of th e units ofthat state which ar e not inside th e borders of that

state must return to their home country by th e most

direct route during th e following Neutral PlayerMovement Phase(s). Once inside their home coutry, th e units may no t leave as long as th e statemains neutral. The movement of th e neutral unshould be executed by another neutral playerpossible. If there is n o neutral player, th e Englplayer executes th e units' movement.

The Scenarios

I.C3. (Change to read) T he scenario beginsSeptember 1805 an d ends in December 1805. NoThis change should be considered an optional ruwhich ca n be used t o balance play.

I.Ela (Deletion) The French leader Murat shoube deleted.

II.Dle. (Change to read) Note: In this scenaran d al l subsequent scenarios except th e CampaiGame, Austria does not control an y territoryMapboard 2.

11I.Dlb. (Clarification) Venice is a majo r cityth e French satellite Kingdom of North Italy an dno t part of Austria fo r Alliance o r Supply purposit is part of th e French satellite state fo r Allianand supply purposes.

1II .Dle . (Clar i f icat ion ) T h e Russian forc

scheduled to arrive a t Pinsk ma y be deployed in anhex o n th e east edge of Mapboard 3, within thrhexes of Lvov.

VI.DSa. (Change to read) During th e first turnwhich a hex in France is occupied by an enemunit . . .VI.E2c. (Clar i f icat ion ) T h e Austr ian fo rdeployed within o n e he x of Geneva must be insiSwitzerland.

VI.E2d. (Clarification) The tw o Prussian reiforcements deployed at Munster both appearMunster (combine them into one stack).

VII.F6. (Add new rule) T h e blue Spanish satellinfantry unit is automatically added to th e FrenForce Pool a t th e instant a French unit ente

Madrid. The blue Portuguese satellite infantry unis automatically added to th e French Force Poo lth e instant a French unit enters Lisbon. Note: Thrule is considered in effect in Scenario IX an d Xalso.

Grand Campaign Game

X.Cla. (Change to read) If th e French player coquers England, Spain or Russia, an d controlsleast futeen production cities (anywhere on tmap) a t th e instant of conquest.

X.D3f. (Add new rule) If th e French player do, ot achieve an automatic vicrory, th e Spani

player (only) receives double value fo r each produ

tion city he controls a t th e en d of th e game.

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X.F3d. (Change to read) A transport maytransport a maximum of five production o r supplypoints, o r one infantry or cavalry strength point.

X.F3g. (Change to read) Production points mayonly be disembarked in a coa stal hex in a neu tral oranti-French ma jor state.

X.F6f. (Clarification) Nelson also affects the dieroll for Naval Pursuit. The die roll is increased byone if Nelson is aboard any ship which is attemptingto intercept or pursue an enemy force.

X.Gj. (Change to read) During this scenario, the

anti-French faction receives three V ictory Poin ts ifNapoleon is forced to withdraw a s per Rule H4 (o npage 5). Th e pro-French faction never receives Vic-tory Points for an y reason. All Victory Points ar eforfeited whenever a major state is conquered.

X.H1 (Clarification) These states may only becreated when French (not French satellite) forcesoccupy the appropr iate production cities. Note alsothat the minor states of Poland, Dalmatia andWestphalia may only produce French satelliteunits-no anti-French units may be produ ced inthese states.

X.H3. (Add new rule) For ease of play, wheneverSweden is conquered, the controlling player mayuse Swedish units to represent Sweden. T he con-trolling player assumes that Swedish units are thesame color as his own units for purposes of Move-ment, Combat, and Supply; the Swedish units re-tain a morale value of one. Note: Th e optional rulespresented in this issue include an explanation ofhow units may reach Stockholm via land move-ment.

X.H4. (Add new rule) For ease of play, Danish a ndPortug uese naval units remain in play regardless ofwhich player controls these states; the units areautomatically assumed to be the same color as theunits of the controlling state.

X.12~. Change to read) The state immediatelybecomes a neutral power and may not join eitherthe pro or anti-French faction until there are not landcombat units left in its Force Pool, nor may eitherfaction roll for the s tate during the Alliance Phaseas long as any land combat units remain in the

state's Force Pool. Note: Th is rule means that once

a state is conqu ered, it must remain neutra l until allof its available land combat u nits are deployed onthe mapboard!

X.12f. (Change to read) When there are no landcomb at units left in the Force Pool o f a previouslyconquered major state, it becomes subject to thenormal Alliance Phase rules.

X.J2b. (Change to read) . . . f the result isfiveo rless, the state receives one P roduction Point . . . fthe result is sixo r greater, the state receives w o Pro -duction Points . . .X.J2i. (Add new rule) Th e English player controlsthe production of a ny neutral or anti-French statewhich is not represented by a participating player.The French player controls the production of anypro-French state which is not represented by a par-ticipating player.

X.JC. (Add new rule) England may lend produc-tion points to either Spain or Portugal. EachEnglish production point is equivalent to six"native" production points. England may lendeach country a maximum of two English produc-tion points per turn. Note: English productionpoints lent to Spain or Portugal should be kepttrack of on a sheet of paper, separately from the"native" production points recorded on the Pro -duction Track printed on the Campaign Game.

Card.X.JSn. (Change to read) . . . to any major orminor state by transporting them to any port orcoastal hex in the receiving state via navaltransport .

X.JSd. (Change to read) The maximum number ofProduction Points which may be used to purchaseunits from the English Force Pool during a singleReinforcement Phase is two fo r land units, and fivefor naval units.

X.J6d. (Add new rule) Spanish and Portugueseproduction points may be used to purchase navalunits from the state's Fo rce Pool. Th e total cost topurch ase such a naval unit is thirty "native" pro-duction points. T his cost may be financed in six in-stallments of five production points each as ex-

plained in Rule X.J6c.

X.K4b. (Add omitted sentence) . . . infantstrength p oints. If the die roll is seven or grea ter, thFrench player receives two cavalry, and the idicated num ber of infantry strength points. In addtion, he receives one name d leader which should bchosen in a random m anner from a cup in which aof the available named leaders are mixed. Threquisitioned force. . .X.K4d. (Change to read). . . f n o player controthe state, the French player may not move any otheunits of th at sta te unless it is invaded by anti-Frencforces. If the state is invaded, the French play

may move all of the allied state's units . . .X. (General Note) All rules governing partisanand cossacks in Scenarios IV, V1, and VIII, are considered in effect in the Campaign G ame.

Terrain Effects Chart No tes

3. (Clarification) The important effect on Movment specified in this note is not mentioned in thbody of the rules. It is assumed that players pay amuch a ttention to these notes as any other portioof the rules.

7. (Add new rule) Army u nits may move across anall-sea hexside on M apboa rd 3 (only), treating suchexsides as normal land hexsides for purposes oland movement. This rule allows land units tom ovont o the island on which C openhagen is located v

normal land movement.

The Campaign Gam e Card

All additions to the various states' Force Pools arsubject to th e limits of the co unter sheets. If there no available counter, n o addition to the Force Poois permitted.

The C ountersheets

The English militia and p artisan counters represenPortuguese (not English) forces, and should havborne yellow symbology. The English landwehcounters are used to represent the forces of thminor states which England con trols.

B I N D E R SThese b inders a re ruggedly const ruc ted in

attractive red leather finish vinyl, with gold

e mb o sse d l o g o s o f t h e T H E G E . V ER A L a n d t h eA\ a l o n Hi l l Ga me C o mp a n y l o c a t e d o n t h e f ro n tand sp ine . Each b inder measures 9" x 12" x I % " a n dholds twelve (12) copies of T H E G E . Y E R A L .

Spring-steel retaining wires hold the issues firmly inp lace . ye t your magazines are no t damaged in anyway. and can easi ly be removed from the b inder a tyour desi re . The b inders a r e avai lab le from AvalonHill for $5 plus 75 c postage . Mary land res iden tsp lease ad d 55 s ta te sa les tax .

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The Final GloryRules to Link the 18 12 ,18 13 and 1814 Scenarios of

WAR and PEACEBy Mark G. McLaughlin

A. INTRODUCTIONNapoleon's marshals were not overly in favo r of

his grand scheme to conquer Russia in one swiftblow. Many of these old warriors argued for a haltat Smolensk, w here the army could collect its far-flung detachments, repair the failing supply linesand comfortably spend the winter before pushingon to M oscow in early 1813. The emperor, fearfulfor his throne, 1,500 miles away in Paris an ddistrustful of his .Prussian and Austrian "allies"overruled the marshalate and struck out for theKremlin, only to meet disaster.

Abandon ing his army shortly after it recrossedinto Poland, Napoleon set about rebuilding anarmy to counterattack the growing Allied forceswhich had forced the remnants of the GrandArmee, now under Eugene, back through Poland,Prussia an d to the bank s of the Elbe. The disastrous1813 and 1814 campaigns w hich followed resulted

in the complete collapse of Napoleon 's empire.

B. GAM E EQUIPMEN T1. The scenario begins with boards 3 and 4,

with m apboards 2 and 1 added at later intervals.2. Initially, th e scenario requires French,

French satellite, Russian, Prussian and Austrianunits, although British and Spanish units may beadded later in the scenario.

1812 victory cond itions, namely, he c ontrols W ar-saw, Smolensk and either Moscow or St.

Petersburg. If these conditions are met on o r afterthe end of the December, 1812 game turn, the gam eis over and is declared a French victory.

3. If the French player fails to gain a victoryunder th e 1812 rules, the game continues throughDecember, 1814. If the French control Paris,unbesieged, at the end of the December, 1814 gameturn, they win. Otherwise, they lose and the non-French player wins the game.

D. SPECIAL RULES1. Linking the Scenariosa. The players set up and complete the 1812

scenario (Scenario IV). If the French have notachieved a victory, the rules for the scenario (in-cluding Russian and French reinforcements andreplacements) are continued through the February,

1813 game turn.b. In March, 1813, mapboa rd 2 is set up and all

special rules from Scenario IV and Scenario V(1813), including allegiance rules are in effect, asmodified by the Reinforcements and Replacementssection of this linkage scenario.

c. In Janu ary, 1814, map board 1 is set up andall special rules from all three scenarios (IV, V andVI) are in effect except where contradictions arelisted below. in which case these rules take effect.

from Jan uary , 1813 until the end of the game.b. If, at any time, both Prussia and Austria

at war with France, the alliance phase is deleted the remainder of the game.

3. Prussiaa. Prussia e nters the war against Fran

automatically on the turn in which non-Frenplayer forces occupy, unbesieged and in suppKonigsberg or Berlin. The following Prussforces are IMMEDIATELY placed in or adjaceto that city: Blucher, Bulow, Kliest, Yorck (unlalread y in play) Leade r (O), 101, 3C, 8L . Prussiaconsidered a non-French country and on the nnon-French player turn they maybemoved normal

4. Swedena. Swedish forces listed in the 1813 Scenario

Russian Satellite Neutral forces arrive at or adcent to Straslund in April, 1813 and remain neutuntil activat ed in the Alliance Phase as per the 18

scenario rules.5. Suppliesa. Supply sources, after Janu ary, 1813,

majo r cities in the home cou ntry of a state and major city of a minor state which is controlled that major state.

b. English forces are supplied in any coastal hand may trace supplies inland from any ma jor poccupied by a red unit.

C. VICTORY CONDITIONS 2 . ~ l l i a n c e h as e1. The players set up and complete the 1812 a. All alliance ph ase rules for the 18 12 scenario E. INITIAL

scenario (Scenario IV). If the French player wins, are in effect until January. 1813. after which the 1. Set up the 1812 (Scenario IV) forc esas list

the game is over. If the Russians win or there is a 1813 scenario alliance ruiis become effective in-draw, play continues through the addition of the stead of the 1812 rules. The French d o receive one F. RELNM )R- AND REPLACEMENTspecial rules listed below. city point for each m ajor city inside Russia and for 1. French Reinforcements

2. At anytime in the game, the French player Berlin and Warsaw, if occupied, unbesieged, by

may win if, at the e nd of a turn, he has fulfilled the pro-French units. These city points are effective Continued on Page 44, Colum n

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OPTIONAL RULES FOR WAR AND PEACE

A number of political and military eventswhichoccurred in Europe affected the outcome of thecampaigns and the wars of Napoleon. Severalscenarios are affected by these events and the

following rules allow the players more leeway andvariety in playing the game. As with all optionalrules, all players should agree to them beforehand.

Scenuio 111-Optional British InvasionThe British army did not have to invade the

marshy, disease-infestedWalcherin island group, itchose to do so. The non-French player need notcommit this blunder and may choose to land in anyunoccupiedcoastal hex on the board. Units are sup-plied while in a coastal hex and may trace suppliesinland from any major port city which is occupiedby red units. (This rule slightly favors the non-

French player's chance for victory).

Scenario VIII IX-Napoleon in SpainNapoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812severely

handicapped his marshals in Spain and doomedtheir campaign there to ultimate failure. TheFrench player may assume that Napoleon has notcommitted his greatest blunder and use the follow-ing rules:

In March. 1812. Napoleon. 6 GI and 1 GCarrive at Bayonne. The French replacement rate isincreased to four a turn and no units or leaders arewithdrawn from the French playa's forces,regardlessof listings to that effect in the reinforce-ment schedule. All other units listed as rein-forcements arrive as scheduled.

The presence of Napoleon in Spain greatlyfavors the French player and, politically. wouldhaveplaced a great strain on the French to maintainthemselves in the rest of Europe. Therefore, tobalance the gameand reflect this, the French player

must gain an automatic victory through the con-quest of Spain and Portugal by the end of hisDecember, 1813 turn, or the non-French playerwins the game. (Massive European uprisings andthe introductionof Russian and other armies wouldforce the French to retreat from most of the Penin-sula and concentrate against these threats).

Scenario VIII & IX-No Wu f 1812The War of 1812 with America strained the

British effort in the Peninsulaand robbed it of rein-forcements and supplies. The non-French playermay assume there is no such war and continues toreceive two English replacement points a turn forthe rest of the game. If this rule is used, however,the non-French must achieve an automatic victory

by the end of their December, 1813turn or lose the

game (for play-balance reasons).The two options listed abovemay be combined,in which case the French victory conditionslisted in

that option still apply for the French, the non-French conditions apply to the non-French: anyresult other than the automatic victories listed isconsidered a draw.

Scenario VII-1815 Southern FrontThis option is listed purely for those wholike to

kick someone when he's already down. As ifNapoleon didn't have it tough enough there was a

royalist rebellion in the Vendee and threats ofSpanish and Portuguese armies invading France.

To reflect the southern forceswhich might havebeen drawn into the scenario (all of which were

present but never fought due to the brevity of the

By Mark G. McLaughlin

campaign) the following forces are added to thescenario.

France: At Tours: lI* At Bayonne: lI* AtToulouse: 21

England: Within one hex of Tours: 2PEnglish Satellite: At San Sebastian: Leader (O),

51, 1C(Portuguese)Spanish: At Saragossa: Blake, Cuesta, 61, 2CReplacements: Each turn 11Portuguese at San

Sebastian, 11Spanish at Saragossa.

Allied Guards

Allied GuardsBritain. Prussia and Spain possessed guard

regiments of excellent quality. These units, eitherdue to their deployment in small groups or to their

lack of effect on a campaign have been excludedfrom the force pool in WAR AND PEACE. Theplayers may elect, for historical reasons, to in-troduce these guards into the game. A singlestrength point of each is provided in this article.

The British guards have a morale of three, thePrussian and Spanish a moraleof two. They do notuse the Imperial Guard rule. They are deployed inthe capital city of their respectivecountriesor withthe largest field army deployed in the setup for thescenario being played, at the discretion of the own-ing player. A 11 of regular troops must then bewithdrawn from the game in their place.

1805 NeutralsThe Swedes and Neopolitans, listed in the

scenario as neutral and uncreated, respectively,were actually members of the anti-French ThirdCoalition. Sweden,under Gustaf The Mad, refusedto fight unless Prussia entered the war, whichPrussia refused to do until later on, and pulled out

of the coalition. Naples, a Bourbon kingdom, wasconqueredwithout a fight as its army fled to Sicily.

A British division did land and attempt to contestthe kingdom later in the war but, otherwise, thecountry peaceably became a French satellite.

The players maywish to ignorethe petty bicker-ings of history and place Naples and Sweden in thewar as anti-French states. Sweden is treated as aRussian satellite.

Naples isan Austrian satellite and receives 1L infortress, besieged, in Florence. Once conquered, itbecomes the Kingdom of Naples and a French

satellite is created.

Overland to FinlandThe Russiansand Swedeswere preparedfor and

fought over Finland, which is off the map betweenSt. Petersburgand Stockholm. Players whowish todo so may traverse Finland between these two

points.Units which begin the turn in St. Petersburg

may be removed, temporarily, from play andplaced off the map. They are considered in Finland.Units must remain in Finland for two turns, afterwhich they can either reappear adjacent to St.Petersburg or in the Stockholm circle on boardthree.

Units which begin the turn in Stockholm maybe

removed, temporarily, from play and placed off the

map. They are considered in Finland. Units must

remain in Finland for two turns, after which thcan either reappear in the Stockholm circle or ihex adjacent to St. Petersburg.

Units in Finland take supply as if they were

board four, although the Russians do not recethe benefit for being in a home country; Swereceive the home country attrition benefit. Unwhich are in Finland can be considered as adjacto each other for combat purposes; units which

forced to retreat in combat in Finland retreat topoint where they started their move into Finlan

Units which traverseFinland to Stockholm menter the Stockholm box and fight either a fieldfortress battle, depending on the mode of the unwhich are already in the circle. Units may not enthe Stockholm box if they are hostile to the occuing units without fighting a battle or a siege.

Units may be supplied when they leave Finlaby leaving two units behind, in Finland, for a chof supplies back to either Stockholm orPetersburg.

HollandThe Batavian Republic became the Kingdom

Holland and was given to Louis Bonaparte,Emperor's brother, in 1806. It was formallynexed as part of France in 1810.

To simulate annexation, anytime in 1810French player may take off all Holland sateltroops from the board and force pool and replthem, in the force pool, with tbee regular Freninfantry strength points. France can consiAmsterdam as a regular French production city (stead of, but not in addition to, other French ma

cities) and doesn't have to fear for the desertionHolland to a non-French player's conquest.

If Holland is completely conquered (Brussand Amsterdam) the English player may form

Holland satellite force (lM, 2L, 51 and 2C) inforcepool. No French units are removed from plaThe French Holland satellite units are never usagain once Holland is annexed. *

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7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


POP QUIZA Short Quiz on Basic Strategy in THIRD REICH

By William Nightingale

So you think you know how to play THIRDREICH, eh? Well, we'll see about that. Close yourrulebooksand take ou t a pencil and paper, because

it's time for the dreaded "o p quiz"-the bane ofevery serious student of THIRD REICH. No , thisisn't an open book test. Let's see what you'velearned in the past four years of THIRD REICH101. After you've handed in your papers anddepartedyou canfeel free to look up the answersonpage 42 of your text.

In answering these questions assume that you

are playing the campaign game with coalition vic-

tory conditions. You have no partner, so there is

only yourself to blame for any mistakes. The rules

are those of the Second Edition as modified and in-

terpreted through the Question Box in the

GENERAL.

1. AVOIDING A DISASTERTHE SITUATION: You are the Allied player

and your Axis opponent is unknown to you. In

making your initial setup, you decide to test his

nerves and aggressiveness by deploying in Poland

so that he will have to attack across the river in

order to get a 2-1 on Warsaweven though hecan do

sowithout armor exploitation.Now this lineof play

isn't all that bad. Granted you allow a lot of armor

and infantry to be availablefor duty elsewhere,but

if you get lucky and your opponent rollsan attacker

exchange, that costs him 30 BRPs. In addition,

thereis THIRDREICH'sversion of an atomicblast

if herolls a 4 on the attack followedby a 6. At least,

if he is a worrier, he may sweat a bit before tossing

thedie. On the WesternFront, theFrench forcesare

deployed as shown in Diagram 1.

You don't have long to wait to find out aboutyour opponent. He proceeds to deploy two 3-3s on

the Polish border in preparation for the Warsawat-

tack, one 3-3 in Finland and the balance of his in-

fantryand the armored units in the west. The fleets

goto East Prussia and the 5-4air units are placed at

Kolberg. Berlin, Leipzig and Prague. He then takes

a Western Front Offensiveoption and declares war

on Luxembourg. Belgium and the Netherlands.

Without a doubt this particular opponent is ag-

gressive, some might even say stronger words than

that. However,youare now faced with the problem

of deploying the minor country forces. The Dutch

units are easy, they must go on The Hague, but

what about the infantry units in Belgium? Your op-ponent isapparently trying on the first turn to take

notonly Poland, but the Low Countriesaswell. Isit

conceivable that he can get 2-1s on all threeCapitals?

THE QUESTION: How should the Allied

player deploy the four Belgian infintry units? In

answering this, state the hex on which each unit

should be placed.

2. TH E UNWANTED INITIATIVE

THE SITUATION: This time you are the Axis

player and the Winter. 1940turn is about to com-

mence. Your play to this point has been above

reproach and the die rolls have been cooperative.

Germany has 53 BRPs remaining with Poland.Norway, Denmark, Netherlands. Belgium, Luxem-

bourg and France under control. Italy has 15BRPs

and occupiesYugoslavia jointly with the Germans.

The German army is a little thin in armor and air,

but has the airborne unit available and plenty of in-

fantry. The western defenses have been setup and

the remainder of your forces are in position to at-

tack Russia. You have to decidewhether to wait oneturn to launch Barbarossaand use your remaining

BRPs to build additional units, or if you shouldhave

a go at it now. Great Britain has 18BRPs and a few

units off the board, however Russia has the 116 it

started the year with (no turkey dinner), and of

course all units in place to resist your invasion.

THE QUESTION:(a) What is the order of movement for the Winter,1940turn?

@) What would your answer beif this were a multi-

player (Alliance)game?

3. AIRPOWER-THE KEY TO VICTORY

THESITUA TI0N:Oneoption available to the

Axis player is to make a first turn attack in-to France and defer the fall of Poland. Even if this

option is taken, there is still the problem of pro-viding for the Eastern Front garrison. One way of

meetingthis requirement isto placea 3-3infantry in

Finland plus four 3-3sand two 5-4s adjacent to the

Polish border. The two air units can stage to

western bases to particpatein theattacksthere. This

leaves three infantry units, four armored units, two

5-4 air units and both fleets available' for setup in

the west. The fleets can be positioned on K29, the

port beach hex next to Bremen, preventing any

Allied invasionattempt and threatening o interceBritish transport missions to France. If you do

like this German deployment and appare

strategy, then assumeyou are the Allied player a

this is what that character across the table hasdon

TheAxis player has Germany take a Western Fro

Offensiveoption and declares war on Luxembou

and Belgium. Italy declares war on the Allies a

takes a Mediterranean Attrition option. In answing this question, assume the following:

Germany: Stages to western bases the two 5that started in the east; losesa 5-4air unit in the

tack on France; builds units worth 40 BRPs,

cluding five air factors.Italy: Loses no units duringthe Fall turn; bui

two replacement counters; retains control of its

force and redeploys it to Libya to threaten Suez

France: Loses one 5-4air units and two 2-3

fantry units in the German attack; takes only Att

tion or Pass options and makes no declarations

war; builds all of its Force Pool except for oreplacement counter.

Great Britain: Loses no units during the Fturn; takes only Attrition or Pass options a

makes no declarations of war; builds all of

ground and air units, but no fleets.

THE QUESTION:Including the builds indicated above and any un

moved during the Strategic Redeployment phahow many air factors is it possible for the Axis a

Allied players to have available on the Weste

Front for the Allied player's Winter. 1940turn?

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4. PRESSURE TACTICS

TH E SITUATION: As th e Axis player, yo u a renow in th e unit construction phase of th e Fall, 1939turn. The Polish 'problem' ha s been taken care ofby attacking through Brest-Litovsk and then ex-ploiting into Warsaw. Fo r this attack yo u ha d to usefour armored units an d 18 ai r factors, sustaining aloss of only tw o ai r factors during th e battle fo rBrest. In th e west yo u have invaded Luxembourgan d taken an Attri t ion option, bu t nothing excitinghappened there. The German builds a re tw o ai r fac-tors, four armored units, three replacement

counters, five infantry units and th e airborne. Yo uhave Italy declare wa r on th e Allies and intend toplace under German control th e ten Italian ai r fac-tors. Your strategy is to mass in th e west everyavailable unit except fo r those required to be o n gar-rison duty in th e east. Because of th e Allied deploy-ment in th e Mediterranean, there is n o possibility ofa first turn attack on an y of th e Italian beach hexes.Diagram 2 shows th e location of units in th e west a tth e en d of th e combat phase. Yo u are no w ready toposition th e new units and make redeployments.

THE QUESTION:Where do you want to have the airborne unit by theend of your Strategic Redeployment phase?

5. A DIFFICULT DECISION

THE SITUA TION: The time is Spring, 1940and you , the Allied player, m ust determine what ac-tion to take during your portion of the turn. T heoutlook in the west is grim, with the G erma ns nowhaving five4-6s on a Bridgehead counte r occupyingParis. Th e Axis player's luck has been exceptionalas he went throug h Pol and without loss and in thefollowing turn , with the help of his airborne unit.broke through a screen of units in the Low Coun-

tries to defeat the B ritish forces defending behindthe Belgian border. German losses during theWinter turn were a pair of 3-3s and 15 interceptingair factors, including 10 borrowed from Italy. T histurn the Germans defeated French forces at N23and 0 2 3 and then made an exploitation attack onyour two 3-5s defending Paris. Both French 5 4 swere intercepted, by the borrowed Italian air for ceagain, when they attempte d to intervene in the bat-tles.

The situation in France at this time is shown inDiagram 3. In England you have three fleets an d a4-5 at Portsm outh, two 3-4s together with areplace-ment counter in London and five replacementcounters scattered around to discourage any air-borne attempt to grab a p ort . All of your other units

are either out of action or deployed in the Mediter-

Diagram 3: Theair units displayedupsid, already been u x d this turn. Th e "A" counterreunit and one 4-5 armored unit. The "B" counter is five 4-6 armor units on a bridgehead counter.

ranean area. Yo u have not yet been able to activatetw o British fleets because o f th e need t o replace ai r

units lost during the Winter turn Axis attacks. Thesituation in th e Mediterranean up until now ha sbeen stable, with Italy occupying Tunis, but other-wise neither side ha s been able to advance.However, th e Axis player ha s concentrated sizableforces o n th e Yugoslavia border and in Libya. TheB RP situation is Britain with 113, France with 91 ,Germany with 134 and Italy with 40.

Even though yo u cannot ge t better than 1-2odds, yo u intend t o have Britain join with France intaking Offensive options on th e Western Front. Inaddition to th e ground units in France that ca nmove into position fo r th e attack on Paris, you in-tend to transport over th e tw o 3 4 s from Londonand then add an appropriate number of British ai rfactors as combat ai r support. Yo u would like t obeef up th e forces in Egypt by sending a t least one

unit there during th e SR phase. There is a British 3-4of f th e board as a result o f being ou t of supply a t th een d of th e Winter turn . (S o yo u don' t like ho w th eBritish an d French forces have been handled up t othis point, well most o f us humans make a mistakenow and then. If .you are immune t o such faults,assume that th e Allied player wa s called away an dyo u were asked to sit in until he returned.)

THE QUESTION:Do yo u agree that Britain should take an Offensiveoption and, if your answer is yes, how many ai r fac-tors should be added to th e attack on Paris?

Leave your papers at the front of th e room onyour wa y out . You'llfind th e answers on page 42 of

your text.

Florence

f leets. one 5-4a

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Although we enjoyed Bob Medrow's COIscenario review "Counting Down", which ap-

peared in Vol. 15, No. 6 we felt that there werecases

where the play analysis was skewed from resultsobserved in numerous games. In other cases we felt

that a number of conclusions were not drawn and

pursued. In all cases we have attempted to offer an

alternative. These may not be better, but they will

serve to stimulate new alternatives and conclusions.

SCENARIO 13

There are a number of problems with the il-

lustrated set-up. First, the stone building is too

isolated to justify the commitment of the Russians'

most powerful pieces (the 9-1 leader, the rad io, and

the HMG), especially when rapid rallying is of

recognized importance. The set-up restrictions pre-

vent the Russians from using the building effective-

ly at the s tar t, and a good German player will have

the best entrance and exit routes cut by the second

turn, notably by occupying the wooden building

directly across the street (in M5). The set-up restric-

tions do not allow for a sufficient garrison, and the

only readily available squad for reinforcement is

theone from hex3P2.

This is still inadequate to face

the advancing Germans. The roadblock can be used

as an LOS block, but the only readily available

squads are needed for defense of the critical village

center. Further , the disadvantages of starting at the

higher elevation probably outweigh the advantages.

The Germans will only suffer from a real lack of

cover on their first move. After crossing the wheat-

field there will be so few open hexes remaining bet-

ween the bulk of the German pieces and their objec-

tives that smoke can easily be counted on t o make

up the difference. The unit on the second level of

the building will probably be the only target for

German turn one defensive fire which, if effective,

can be followed up with a smoke round from the

STG in turn one prep fire. Thus, the HMG would be

of use only for its own defense. Assuming the Ger-

mans successfully negotiate this first obstacle, they

may advance against the only remaining shots of

eight each (adjacent) from the two 4-4-7's. From

this point on, the Russians would get only deeper in-

to trouble. The AT gun could be quickly forced

back (allowing greater freedom of movement to the

STG) and the village center would be critically short

on infantry support weapons and good leaders.

I must admit tha t I tried t o base my defense on

the two-story building the first time I played the

scenario, and it did work. However, an all-out ef-

fort is required. By all-out , I mean two leaders, at

least two MG's and all the infantry that can

doubletime over there on the first two moves. Of

course, the town must still be fortified to prevent

the Germans from ignoring the strong point and

walking around it. In addition, the mortar should

be in hex 302 with a spotter (8-0) in thesecond-story

adjacent hex taking advantage of the new artillery

spotter rules. The mortar can then be used to break

up the Axis advance on board four. Using this

general plan resulted in the Rumanians and Germ

reinforcements being kept out of play until turn

(with respect to the objective hexes that is) and

bloodbath in and around the building. The G

mans lost but only by virtue of the time restrictio

as almost nothing remained of the Russians. Si

then, I have placed only nuisance pieces in

building and have concentrated on a give-and-ta

defense of the village center.

On the other board, the single Russian squ

should be shifted over toward hex AA4. The giv

set-up would allow easy Rumanian passage towa

the sole defender located in hex N5. This sin

squad would probably be gone by the time

engineer reinforcements arrive. The Axis infan

would not then be allowed unimpeded passage

the center and the more dangerous western en

area would be strengthened.

One way of dealing with the engineers and th

equipment is to set up one or two "killer stackwhich sit behind a screen of single 4-4-7's. If

German is content to break these with fire attac

they can be routed back and rallied (use of the 9

leader is important here), while others move up

take their place. If the German takes these hexes

close combat (or advance phase) the Russian shou

still unleash the 36 + attack as theGerman will ha

much more to lose. Note that this requires the use

6 squads, a heavy, a medium and a light to establ

two 18 factor stacks, the 9-1 leader to rally the co

stant flow of screen units, plus another 5 or 6 squa

to man the screen. The radio should be kept out

German LOS until the lOOmm module is availab

This artillery battery is potentially the most pow

ful weapon in the game and to risk it before it is e

fective is not the way to maximize the possibility

its use.

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SCENARIO 14Here, the general tone of Mr. Medrow's

analysis is correct. However, the German side can

be played even more defensively, planning

somewhat more deliberately for the end game. That

is, keep the Tigers on level three hexes, ready to

drop back and stall for time when the Russians get

close. With a stack of entrenched infantry in hex F7

and the AT Gun in hex 13 or thereabouts a Tiger in

hex E5 would be well supported. Another possible

location for an end game redoubt is the gap in the

ridge (hexes L4-LS), with the AT gun in hex M7. In

either case, the Russians would have to regroup in

order to press the attack, thus buying more time forthe Germans. If some artillery rounds were saved

for the end game also, the German could smoke

some attackers while concentrating his fire on the

most threatening units. Even 150mm barrages are

not all that effective in eliminating armor (unless

there are several targets in the blast area o r someone

drives through an FFE set off in defensive fire,

either way yielding multiple rolls) but they have ex-

cellent harassment value as an LOS block.

SCENARIO 15

In playing Hube's Pocket, 1 have seen a pattern

developing which is different from that proposed in

the "Counting Down" article. The key to the

scenario is the proper use of hill 621. When in

possession of the hill, the German has the height ad-

vantage to aid in doing away with Russian tanks, as

well as improved fields of fire. From the hilltop he

also presents a hull down target which aids sur-

vivability. To this end, a Panther should occupy hex

H3 on turn one. The 9-1 armor leader should be in

one of these vehicles. This positioning gives the

Germans a first shot in defensive fire and puts them

in good position to move to hex 2N5 or thereabout

on turn two. To avoid being flanked, the third Pan-

ther should make its way around board 5 to the rear

of hill 538 and the two Pz IV's should take up

screening positions on the o ther flank.

Proper use must be made of the SS infantry in

order to guard weak points while the tanks assume

dominating positions. The three critical points are:

either end of the hill (where Russian armor could

slip through) and the center (where enemy tanks

could climb the hill at least to level two before the

position is secured, thus negating the hull down and

kill advantages). Remembering that the Panthers

need two moves to fully deploy, the SS infantry

must work closely with the tanks and provide cover

against both infantry and tank swarms. The squads

should be within a couple of hexes of the tanks they

are screening, and should have enough AT equip-

ment to discourage the Russians from sending a

group of several tanks after a single German AFV.

They should be positioned so as to maximize the

chances of side and rear shots in the event of such an

attempt. By way of example, the protection of Pan-

thers in hexes 0 5 and N5 would require squads with

panzerfausts in hexes 4 4 and N3. These latter

squads should receive support from a t least one MG

on the hill. In any case, the Germans must avoid

isolating their fields of fire which would encourage

a Russian charge.In the suggested set-up, the German tank in the

center is too exposed. A good Russian player would

rush such a target, not being discouraged by the

presence of one panzerfaust in the adjacent hex.

Panzerfausts need 7's to hit most adjacent, moving

targets and further, need 6's to kill the T-34's.

Given enough shots, one can expect a kill now and

then with such odds but should not count on a

solitary panzerfaust t o come through. Even assum-

ing that the infantry could knock out one tank

(either with the panzerfaust o r through immobiliza-

tion or with an ATM during the next move) and the

Panther another, the final result would be a fairly

normal two for one trade with the Germans losing

one of their best tanks. As some Russian infantry

would certainly get through on the tanks, the Ger-

mans would find the entire center badly disor-ganized, and his convoy route cut.

SCENARIO 16

In reading the commentary o n Sowchos, I had

the strange experience of agreeing with many of the

details of analysis yet disagreeing with the overall

picture. This scenario presents both players with a

somewhat desperate situation at the start. The Rus-

sian is asked to hold a vjllage which is surrounded

by excellent fire positions (the two-story stone

building, hill 547 and hill 522). Unfortunatley, each

of these positions can be easily isolated from the

village center and the Russian does not have the

necessary pieces (either men or material) to hold

every one independently. To divide the pieces three

or four ways and try to defend each is the formula

for a quick defeat.

On the other hand, the Geman cannot sit back

and fail to take advantage of his opponent's

predicament because he has problems of his own:

inferior numbers of men and, later, armor inferiori-

ty. In such a situation, the German board 5 starting

force can in no way be seen as weak and cannot

adopt a defensive stance. It must be prepared to

isolate and reduce a Russian position either in or

outside the village, then fill the vacuum and con-

tinue the assault. Remember that at the outset the

German has at least one fire mission of artillery and

four 75mm shots per turn available for support. He

also has the usual leadership superiority. Thus, just

as in Balta the elevated terrain, if occupied, can

become the target of several heavy attacks and

perhaps a barrage as well. Also be aware that the

presence of the Marder on hill 547 (which is difficu

to prevent) makes routs and/or movement out

the building quite tricky.

A good strategy for the Russian would be

develop the center of the village as fully as possib

while gracefully surrendering the surrounding hi

and buildings, perhaps sacrificing a few squa

along the way if it seems worthwhile. The order

the day should be "Dig in!" and fortify the villa

center. This will provide the Russian with a viab

hedgehog until the armor arrives. At that time t

hedgehog can be expanded to recover lost groun

However, the Russian should not be too eager to atack as over-enthusiasm will generally result in e

cessive armor losses. The turn four assault must

played carefully to prevent exposure to too man

shots.

The German should move both 75mm weapo

up onto hill 547 while the 9-2 leader, MMG a

radio dominate the village from the two-sto

house. He should hope to have armor on hill 5

and a foothold in the village by the time the enem

tanks arrive. The Russian armor can regain wood

houses later in the game merely by driving in

them, so they must be kept in check.

SCENARIO 17

There are several problems with the suggest

set-up for Korosten. The most serious however

what appears to be an over-all lack of direction o

the part of the German defenders. The only forc

which are permitted some degree of freedom in i

itial placement have been deployed in scatter

positions with restricted fields of fire. Such plac

ment does not reflect the objectives which are

primary importance to the German. The key to t

scenario is the preservation of the depot's mora

and position. If the reinforcements ar rive to fin

only a few units still unbroken with morale ratin

of six, all busy hiding from the Russian cavalry, t

game will likely go to the Cossacks. If, on theot h

hand, the armored column finds the depot

relatively good order (morale still normal) and

possession of some semblanceof a position, it cou

well be the German's turn to mop-up. In the faceo

being badly outnumbered, casualty reduction mu

be the primary consideration.

To this end, pieces must be placed in such a w

as to be capable of supporting each other, and som

provision must be made for the protection

vulnerable units such as weak leaders and broke

infantry. The problem is where is this to be a

complished? The village center can be quickly an

decisively assaulted, as can most of the outlyin

areas. One of the the few positions which can

adequately defended against immediate attack

the two-story stone building which also happens

be the place where the armored car must sit for tw

Russian moves. Other motivations for developing

strong point around this building are its excelle

fields of fire, its + 3 DRM and the fact that 40%

the crew counters start in or near it. Furthermor

consider that the German has a total of 17 sho

(four weapons, three squads, and ten crew

available on the first turn. If these are deploy

along both flanks of the village the Russian wou

be wise to rush the side with fewer shots. The actu

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


number of shots will vary, depending on Russianmovement and German firing patterns, but oddsare that at least nine Russian squads will make itthrough in good order. This number is sufficient t oresult in several close combats and a consequentdeterioration of the depot's position.

By establishing a strong point, the German canget enough shots in one place to truly discourage theRussian from trying to overwhelm that one loca-tion. Of course, it is not easy to discourage a saber-wielding Cossack, but then again 13 rolls on the twoand up tables with a minimum of a -3 DRM is

something to be feared. The only way to establishsuch a threat is to concentrate all availableresources in and around the strong point (fourcrews will have to be left out due to set-up restric-tions-17 less 4 is the 13 referred to above).

If this is done, the Russian will be left on thehorns of a dilemma. He can either risk earlydemoralization through a direct attack on thestrong point (which will shorten the game in anyevent), or he can stow the sabers and prepare adeliberate assault, risking the intervention of themotorized column on an incomplete maneuver.Given the problems associated with each alter-native, the choice becomes less a tactical decisionthan a reflection of one's wargaming personality. Iprefer the latter choice because it leaves the Russianwith more options. If he succeeds in capturing the

four or five most exposed crews, a lucky roll an d/ora German mistake later in the game would makevictory impossible, and if the German is unfor-tunate in rolling for his reinforcements, thesteamroller approach could come off.

SCENARIO 18

In this scenario, the German player findshimself short-suited in many ways. First, he isdesperately outclassed in mobility. Second, his ATguns are not really up to the task of dealing with thebetter Russian armor frontally. And third, he hasinsufficient infantry to defend the area involved(especially considering set-up restrictions). Oncediscovered, a German position can be overcome

quickly. The Russian tanks with zero and above ar-mor modifiers can get into position and finish offan AT gun with fire or, if Russian losses have beenlight and the dice comply, the gun can be overrun bythe lighter tanks. If the AT Gun is unsupported byinfantry, the Russian can use the MMG's to workover the crew(s). All the above argues for twothings: the German must never deploy an AT gunwithout support from both other AT guns (or AAguns) and infantry. This requires some disciplinebecause there is a strong temptation t o think: "Hereis a beautiful, obscure, little woods hex where Ivanwon't bother t o look (at least for a while). I'll justset a 37 gun right in here and when the first (or sec-ond tank rolls by . . . zap! In order to avoid thiskind of thinking, one need only play against a goodRussian opponent once. Time is on the German sidebur

there is enough of it for the Russian to recon-

noiter the majority of potential hiding places on hisline of advance. Therefore. German faith insneaky, isolated positions is not warranted.Anyway, just think how embarassing it will bewhenone of your AT guns is captured by a human waveof Russian conscripts.

A more reasonable German approach to theproblem is to accept the advantages of HI P withoutmaking a crutch of it. He should consider what hisdeployment would be like without HIP and then

make adjustments as appropriate. This wouldresult in one of two strategies. Either a defense of

one particular area with all the resources at hand(which, du e to set-up restrictions would have to be

around the intersection of the four boards) or, adefense in hedgehog style of two (or at most three)areas along the line of advance. In the latter case, acareful balance must be maintained between theamount of infantry and the amount of weaponsdeployed on a given board. Placing two guns (andattendant crews) on a board leaves only eightcounters to play. Two leaders, three to four squadsand two to three MGs would seem to be areasonable mix. Addition of a third gun wouldleave one with only six pieces to play (probably oneleader, three squads, and two MG's) and this is get-ting a little light on infantry support, especially iftheir positions are not closely linked with positionson ano ther board. By using bore sighting on a MG

and having a leader to direct its fire, likely paths ofinfantry advance can be covered nicely. Carefulstudy should be made of the ter rain when deployingguns. One should attempt to maximize thelikelihood of getting a side or rear shot attemptwhile simultaneously limiting the number of poten-tial LOS's to the gun. When the guns finally arerevealed the Russian should be forced to maneuverin order t o silence them.

In the suggested set-up, a defense in depth hasbeen achieved by scattering pieces around theboards and hoping that uncertainty on the part ofthe opposing player will fill the gaps. The 37mm ATgun on board 4 is isolaled and unprotected. The5Omm gun on board 1 has some covering fire, but isnot screened by penetration to prevent a charge byRussian infantry. Mutually supporting fields of AT

fire are minimal, and do not appear to be keyed inon coaxing side and rear shots out of the enemy.The desire to keep the Russian guessing appears tohave overshadowed the need for a closely-knit,mutually supporting defensive belt, resulting in thescattering effect found in the published set-up.

SCENARIO 19

When one first looks at this scenario from theGerman point of view there is likely to be a sense ofawe at the number and strength of enemy pieces.However, when the total situation is reviewed, theGerman may find that his prospects are not all thatgloomy.

In the first place, there is a 75% chance that theairborne assault will not arrive on the first turn.Assuming this is the case, the German will have the

opportunity to concentrate his efforts against the

Russian cavalry. In doing so, the Russian horshould be deflected from the most critical pointswell as being forced to show their hand. Fear German counterattack may lead them to dismounthus further reducing their threat value.

Secondly, special rule 19.2 virtually prohibthe partisans from developing a serious assauGiven the usefulness of the snipers and the patisans' ability to aid the parachutists later, it is proably to the Russians' advantage to avoid ovecommitment of these pieces early in the game. Tcase for holding them back grows stronger wh

one further considers that they can accomplish paof their mission (distraction of the enemy) withoexposing themselves to t oo much fire.

Thirdly, the sniper threat can be greatly reducthrough effective German set-up. If the area in anaround the village and two-story building saturated with pieces so as to prevent the deploment of snipers therein, the Russian will probabnever get better than a roll for craps against Germleaders (- sniper, +2 DRM, 1 to kill = 3). Sinthe Germans move first, the inconveniencassociated with this kind of set-up can be easimade up. To shrink from engineering such a set-ubased on one's first turn plans is to ignore the fathat leadership superiority is a potent weapon anone of the few advantages the Germans aregiven, least initially.

Lastly, the German begins with the superioposition. As in Korosten the two story building cabe readily exploited as a strongpoint. With twMMG's, two squads and a 9-2 leader stationethere, Russian dispositions would have to be wedispersed, and open terrain movement minimal.

All that has been said so far can be translated ito a set-up and first move for the German. Beyosaturating the village and manning the two-stobuilding as already noted, the German must keepstrong mobile force (the three halftracks, twsquads, two LMG's and a leader-minimum) readto take up position on turn one between the boaedge and thelarge building. This deployment allowfor 11 shots against a frontal attack by the cavaland provides for a potent mobile force countera

tack.While the German is thus establishing himse

the Russian must keep a few things in mind. Tenemy force is small and, although it begins withwell defended perimeter, it is highly vulnerableoncthe boundary is pierced. A few good units, once the village could successfully absorb most of thGerman fire allowing others to move on more ealy, reducing the scenario to a close combat whithe German must lose. The real problem is gettinthose first few in. One solution to this problem is present the German with more targets than he cahit. Remembering that he has (at most) 18 shoavailable, the placement of the a irdrop right on thtown would seem to do the trick. Given the requireparachute drift rolls, such a plan may seem a brisky. However, the odds would still favor the Ru

sian if he has had the foresight to preserve a part ohis cavalry force mounted and within one move the village, along with a few of the par tisans similaly positioned. If he has, these additional unishould provide a safety factor in getting at leastfew units into selected village hexes.

The difficult part is the maintenance of thcavalry threat. As noted it is important for the Rusian to maximize the number of mounted uniavailable on the turn of the drop. Since he will noknow which turn will bring the drop, the Russiamust leave theu nits allocated to the supporting rusin a continual state of readiness, i.e.,mounted. Unfortunately cavalry is highly vulnerable in this condition (a - 1 DRM for being mounted and a maimum of a + 1 DRM for cover). If attacked by weled squads ( - 1 or -2 leader) they can expect t

take heavy casualties.

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The Germa ns have the firepower, mobility, andleadership to build such attacks. H e must put his ef-forts into a series of counter-attacks using hismobile force in order to prevent the Russian fromlaunching a concentrated effort. Yet, the sameuncertainty about the dr op which plagues the Rus-sian also limits German action against him. Sho uldthe German send his mobile force out to o far todisperse a kn ot of ready cavalry units, he risks thedisastrous consequence of a direct vertical assaulton a lightly held village. Ignoring the cavalry,though perhaps safer, will ultimately add to the

overall strain on his 18 available shots when thelanding comes. The important point for the Ger-man is to create a situation in which the Russian,has trouble deciding if he is the attacker or thedefender, but not endangering his strongpoint.Conversely, the mobile group must not stray out-side the protective fire of the stro ngpoin t so that it isnot needlessly endangered.

SCENARIO 20Borisov has, perhaps, th e most potential of all

the original CO I scenarios. Both sides have suffi-cient units to pursue tactical objectives without be-ing overly concerned about the fate of any singlepiece, and the large number of boards provideenough objectives to prevent any one line ofdevelopment from being immediately obv ious. Theexpanded playing area leaves the nume rous mobilepieces (12 Russian vehicles plus six cavalry squadsand 20 German vehicles) with more opportunitiesfor maneuver, and the victory conditions requireboth sides to attack. As if all that were not enoughto create a sort of COI utopia, the designer ofBorisov threw a mind-boggling assortment ofequipment. However, the two forces remainbasically true to form for the time period

represented. The Russians have superior numbers,both in infantry (54 to 24) and tanks (11 to 5),superior mounted w eapons (a 152 and fou r 76 guns)and the benefit of a few "super-heavy" AFV's. T heGerma ns field a combined arm s operation with bet-ter leaders, more mobility, engineering equipment,an A T arm, arti l lery and perhaps air support.

With 12 of th e Germans' 20 vehicles falling intothe transport category, it is obvious that mobilitymust m ake up for their deficiency in gun size andar-mor thickness. However, a force geared formaneuvers is impotent if deprived of room inwhich to exercise its specialty, and considering theboard arrangement and the extent of the Russianarmor holdings, this is a very real possibility. TheGerman must make the breakout from board 1 hisfirst priority, for it will only take th e Russians a few

moves to seal it off.

Having recognized the need to exit the cityboard, one must next decide where to attem pt this.Assuming the main Russian e ffort is directed acrossboard 4 and into the village, there will remain thetwo basic choices of going northwest o r south. Eachcourse has advantages and disadvantages. Asoutherly breakout is faster and establishes thepotential for dominance of hill 621 with all thebenefits that implies. Due to the presence of theroad, such a thrust could be well on its way in 1Yzmoves and even vehicles towing guns could keep upfairly well. On the other ha nd, th e corner that was

turned leaving board 1 would remain a problem.Though o ut of the city , the armored group couldstill become somewhat tied u p an d would certainlybe separated from the bulk of the infantry. Thisseparatio n, in addition to being dangerous, wouldrequire that more infantry accompany the mobilegrou p than would otherwise be necessary (it wouldbe hard t o reinforce). Another prerequisite for sucha move would be the deployment of the SOL gunwith the infantry left behind in order to keep themfrom being overru n while the armo r is away.

A breakout to the north would be slower asther e are tw o hills in the way. Because it is slower,the Russian would have more time to react.However, it would have the advantage of beingnearer the main force and thus better able to sup-port it (and vice versa). The potential for circling

behind the two-story bu ilding would be established,and th e Russian would be forced to react. Given thebalance of armored forces, it is essential that theGerman either force the enemy to come to him(strained through 18.1) or that he maximize hischances for top, side, or rear shots on pieces thatrefuse to engage (as he would by holding hill 621).

Naturally, the G erman choice of direction willbe affected by the actions of his opponent, but itwould be a mistake to give away one's intentions onthe first move, assuming the Ge rmans move first.For this reason, it is probably best to keep the arm oreither centralized, or divided in such a way a s to benon-commital on that half move. Note that the fourRussian fast tan ks mou nt guns every bit as good asany the Germans have and will be able to respondquickly to German movements.

A last consideration in forming th e breakout iswhich pieces to include. Although the three MkIII'sand th e MkIV are obvious candidates for the coreof the group, their rate of fire coupled with theirunimpressive kill numbers makes support man-datory. Sup port for these tanks sho-~ld ncludesome faster firing weapons in order t o deal with thepotential wave of BT's an d T26's. A 28LL and thearmed halftrack suit this need without adding ex-cessively to the problems of traffic control anddeployment. Two infantry squads with a leader,radio and MG's would als o be necessary (one or twoadditiona l squads if using the southerly move).

Once the issue of maneuver is settled, one mayturn to a consideration of the infantry struggle.Assuming the main Russian effort is aimed at board1, the village becomes a n atural choice fo r a defen-

sive stand. It is far enough forwa rd that it becomesimpossible to reinforce. It contains some of the bestcover available and can be readily suppo rted by MGpositions in the city. However, these advantageswill be nullified if Russian armor is permitted todrive through the infantry positions while they arebusy defending themselves from their numericallysuperior coun terparts. Since a single failed mo ralecheck could be fatal under these circumstances,overruns and adjacent attacks from heavy ord-nance must be prevented. To do so requires moretha n infa ntry anti-tan k devices-the SOL is anecessity. Firing at short range, it has an excellentchance at stopping all but the K VIIA with a singleshot. Because the 50L must concentrate o n protect-ing the infantry, something further is needed toprevent Russian movement aro und the flank of the

gun and /or the outskirts of the village. The StGIII

would d o well in this role, being basically a defsive weapon.

This deployment leaves a 28LL. the Pz38t athe PSW222 unaccounted for. They may be putgood use in defensive positions at the entrancesthe city. As the rest of the German pieces becomheavily engaged, it would not be surprising to fthe Russian player mounting a brief rear area tack. T he two weakest pieces, though vu lnerablethe assault might be just w hat it takes to discourasuch thoughts. The 28LL would certainly be wplayed if used at the corner of boa rd 1 after the

mor ha s swept past in a southerly breako ut.Three final recommendations for infan

deployment are:1. Use the engineers and their equipmen t in t

village for close action.2. Establish at least two powerful MG/rad

positions in th e city.3. If using the smoke/satchel charge combi

tion, beware of a Russian counter-attack throuyour own smoke.

A word about the authors' recommendAT/M G emplacement at 356: Given the unloadand movement limitations of the 50mm gun,would be necessary to spend two turn s on the getting the gun into position. The infan try couldthere sooner, but would be subjected to numerosmall arms attacks from the plethora of Russi

squ ads pressing on the village. It would be possifor the Germ an to expend som e of his precious fmissions to smoke screen the development o f sucposition, but this could be used in turn by the Rsian to counter-attack the unsolidified AT/Mnest. The fact that such a position could have a ting effect on the game would provoke maximuRussian reaction. If the Russian armo r becomes volved in the effort to prevent the form ation of subject strongpoint, the Germans have a gochance of losing the gun and a po or chance of sting up the position. Considering the expenditurmen, vehicles, weapons and fire missions requirfor the a ttempt, plus the risk (losing your best ga G erman player carefully considers the desirabilof such an operation.

For better o r for worse, the Russian's position

extremely straight forward. Given the starting fodistribution and make-up, a thrust across boarfollowed by an attack on the village is the ological choice. If successful to any degree, sucmove would absorb the bulk of the German fothrough its threat to board 1 and would thus enathe Russian to domina te the other boards with otoken forces. A thrus t at any other point surrendthe importan t two-story building from bo ard 3, village itself, and (almost by definition) the restthe board sooner or later. Without the villaboard 4 is indefensible and since the Germans given the city, th e game would be decided. Th e oreal decision the Russian need make regarding fantry is how many to start in the south. Here, six conscripts (unfit fo r assault), a guard , two risquads, a leader and some equipment (including

ATR) would seem to be a reasonable commitmeTo d ouble this contingent would require more tha third o f the G erman force, and its absence woupainfully be felt by the Ger man in dealing with main assault. T he cavalry should probably be ufor th e quick occupation of the two-story buildwhich they can reach without ex cessive exposureGerma n fire. They should bring two MG's and tATR's.

The real Russian work is in the proper use of tarmor, with which an attempt must be made satisfy two divergent needs. First, t o suppo rt thefantry attac k o n the village and second, to inhGerman maneuverability. Although several prciples of war argu e against the resulting divisionstrength, there is simply insufficient time to set

Continued on Page 29, Column

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OFF TH E SHELF is a semi-regular column

devoted to the review of the latest military history

books which might offer background information

of interest to our wargaming readers. In theprocess

we add to our own humble research facilit ies by in-

corporating these review copies into our library.

Publishers of military books are invited to send

releases of interest to the attention of Frank Davis

c /o Avalon Hill. Not all books received will be

reviewed but each one will be listed in a section of

the column entitled: "Books Received". Inclusionin this section does not preclude the possibility of a

more extensive review at a later time.

Attacks. By Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. P.O.Box 776, Vienna, Virginia 22180, Athena PressInc., 1979.325 pages, $14.95.

First published in 1937 und er the title InfantrieGreift An, this book became "Patton's bible," theclassic account of Rom mel's early career in WorldWar I. Translated from the original German text,this edition, which includes numerous redrawnmaps and sketches, is the first complete andunabridged version published in the United States.The book is an exciting, autobiographic account o fRommel's experience in The Great W ar, fr om his

first patrol to the heroic actions for which he re-

ceived Germany's highest military honor. Unlikemany German officers, Rommel's experience wasnot limited to the static Western Fro nt; his unit alsosaw action in the Carpathian mountains, and tookpart in operations against the Italians during Ger-many's Tolmein offensive in late 1917. Thus,throughout the boo k, Rommel provides first hand ,vivid accounts of platoon and co mpa ny actions onall the ma jor fro ntso f the 1914-1918 War. R emarksand obse rvations, written directly after com bat, areappended thro ugho ut the text, allowing the readerto trace Rommel's development from an inex-perienced lieutenant into a master tactician. Longconsidered a classic in military literatur e, Attacks ishighly recommended to th ose with a special interestin World War I as well as to readers who enjoystudying the art of command in the complex war-

fare of the Twentieth Century.

Dale Sheaffer

CASSINO TO TH E ALPS. By Ernest F. Fisher, Jr.Center of Military History, 584pp, maps,photographs, 1977. $17.00. Available fromSuperintendent of Documents, W ashington, DC.

It has taken over 31 years but now the job iscomplete. This is the final volume of the officialU.S. Army's four-volume history of the Med iterra-nean Theater of Operations in WWII. Moreprecisely, it is a well-researched, authoritativechronicle of the operations of General MarkClark's 5th Army in Italy from M ay, 1944 to May 2,1945.

The action picks up in the spring of 1944 when

Adolph Hitler was supremely confident that

Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring would havelittle trouble carrying out his order to keep theAllied armies south of Rome. Der Fuehrer had pro-vided "Smiling Al" with 23 divisions of well-equipped, first-rate parachute, panzer, grenadierand infantry troops t o defend a 150-milewide frontthat contained some of the most precipitous mou n-tains and convoluted terrain in the world.

In the book's comprehensive index there are 112mountains listed which immediately says this is notgoing to be a fast moving history of an Allied ver-sion of the blitzkrieg. Rather, it is the story of acruel and bitter campaign that starts with thebreakthrough of the formidable Gustav Line that isanchored at Cassino and moves along "almostalways at a foot-slogger's pace" to the Alps whereArmy Group "C" finally capitulates.

Fortunately, the reading of this book does notmove along at a foot-slogger's pace. ColonelFisher, who was a paratrooper in Europe duringWWII, has a lucid manner of working the dry,sparse facts and figures of military op erations into anarrative style of writing that makes for interestingreading for b oth the m ilitary expert and the layman.

He presents the results of his in-depth researchto provide answers to two basic questions that deep-ly concerned those who fought the prolonged fight

in a campaign that all too o ften seemed to be goingnowhere:

-Was the longest sustained Allied campaign ofWW II, which lasted 570 days, worth the cost?

-Was meeting the objective of tying down twoGerman arm ies so they could not be used onother f ronts all that could have been accom -plished in Italy?

The text has.many examples where the authorhas revealed the human, personal side of the costly,tedious battles for rivers, ridges, and towns in theface of determined resistance from a resourcefulfoe. The primary emphasis is centered arou nd theactions and events that make u p the comb at life ofthe U.S. Army's single armored and ten infantry

divisions. There are numerous accoun ts of platoon ,company and battalion level actions that include ex-amples of mutinous troops, outstanding leadershipby junior a nd field grade officers, acts of individualheroism meriting the Medal of Honor, one of thefew verified incidents of a bayonet charge byAmerican infantry in WWII and the pathos sur-rounding the aftermath of the unintentional straf-ing of U.S. infantrymen by U.S. fighter-bombersthat resulted in hundreds of dead and wounded.

Here also are the conflicts of personalities a ndcases of outright insubordination that afflictedboth sides at the highest command levels. MarkClark battled with Field Marshal Harold Alex-ande r, The Allied comma nder, over the relative im-portance of trying to trap and destroy the German10th Army o r releasing the U.S. 5th A rmy to race

northward to take Rome before the D-Day landings

in France. Clark did n ot want the British 8th Arstealing any of his glory by sharing in the c apturethe Italian capital and he threatened to open fire8th Army tro ops who tried to interfere with the prress of his army.

The German 14th Army faced Clark's foralong the Tyrrhenian Sea and its commandGeneraloberst E. von Mackensen, was at odds wKesselring about what tactics to use to contain tbeachhead a t Anzio. Their feud ultimately led toopen breach between these two skillful adedicated soldiers and Mackensen resigned.

There is no q uestion this history book is ideasuited for the library of history students, militaprofessionals and wargamers. You d o not havebe a military professional to enjoy the story awesome tenacity and courage of the "Queen Battle", the infantry-both American aGerman-who fought harsh weather and ruggterrain in a backwater of the war to c arry out thmission: find, fix and destroy the enemy.

George J. O'Ne

The Napole onic Wars-An Illustrated Histor1792-1815. By Michael Glover. 171 MadisoAvenue, New York, N.Y. 10016, HippocreBooks Inc., 1978. 240 pages, 100 illustration$22.50.

In this concise account of the E uropean wars1792-1815, Michael Glover h as woven together military, naval, economic and diplomatic stranwhich fashioned the greatest conflict prior to tTwentieth C entury. Unlike David Chand ler'sCampaigns of Napoleon, this volume is not a detailmilitary account but rather an informative ahighly readable overview of the events, aespecially the statesmen and soldiers, who shapthe course of the Napoleonic Wars. The narratiprovides relatively few statistics, but is lacthroughout with interesting and often humoroanecdotes which breathe life into the fascinatinstory of Napoleon's rise and fall. Readers who amainly concerned with tactical minutiae may ganew insights into the equally complex but far m oimpo rtant considerations of grand strategy, as was into the true nature of "them en of destiny" wfought for or against the French evolution anEmpire.

Arnold Blumbe

Born in Battle Magazine-Issue 7, Novem ber 197Edited by Lt. Col. David Eshel, IDA (Ret.), EsheDramit Ltd., P.O. Box 115, Hod Hasharon, IsraBi-monthly publication, 64 pages. Six isssubscription (surface mail) for $ 22.00.

This publication caters to the reader who is terested in modern weaponry, organization auniforms f or both land an d naval forces. The iss

reviewed contained a n article on the combat effe

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tiveness and contem porary equipment of the IsraeliAirforce; an article on the unifo rms and insignia ofthe Israeli Armored Corps; details of the SovietBRDM-2 Sagger missile launcher; an article on th eAmerican nuclear a i rc raf t car r ie r , U.S.S .Eisenhower, which included a four page color pull-out of the ship and its aircraft complement. Thefeature article, accompanied by several tacticalsi tuation maps and numerous photographs, con-centrated on th e decisive arm or engagement in theSinai on O ctober 14, 1973. The authors are gen-erally Am erican or Israeli military officers, either

active or retired. The m agazine also includes a ques-tion and answer column o n current military topicsand will interest many gamers who a re chiefly con-cerned with mo dern military history and hardware.

Arnold Blumberg

BOOKS RECEIVED:

A-20 Havoc at War by William N. Hess, 597 FifthAvenue, New York , N.Y. 10017, Charle s Scribner'sSons, 1980. 128 pages, $17.50.

Avenger at War by Barrett Tillman, 597 FifthAvenue, New York, N.Y. 10017, CharlesScribner 'sSons, 1980. 128 pages, $17.50.

Lancaster at War-2 by Mike Garbett and BrianGoulding, 597 Fifth Avenue. New York, N.Y.10017, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980. 160 pages,

$17.50.

P-40 Hawk s at War by Jo e Christy and Jeff Ethell,597 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017, CharlesScribner's Sons, 1980, 128 pages, $15.95.

Thunderbolt-A Docum entary History of theRepublic P-47 by Roger Freeman, 597 FifthAvenue, New York, N.Y. 10017, Charles Scribner'sSons, 1980. 152 pages, $14.95.

Air Forces of the World by Barry C. Wheeler, 597Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017, CharlesScribner's Sons, 1980. 112 pages, $1 1.95.

World Military Aircraft Since 1945 by RobertJackson, 597 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y.10017, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980. 160 pages,$10.95.

World Civil Aircraft Since 1945 by Michael Hardy ,597 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017, CharlesScribner's Sons, 1980. 128 pages, $10.95.

Modem Comb at Vehicles: 1-Chieftain by GeorgeForty, 597 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017,Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980. 128 pages, $14.95.

Mounted Comb at in Vietnam by General Donn A .Star ry . Avai lable f rom Super in tendent of~ o c u m e n t s ,Washington, D.c.. 250 pages, soft-bound, $4.25.

The Bunker by James P. O'Donnell, 666 FifthAvenue, New York, N.Y. 10019, Bantam Books,1979.400 pages, softbound, $2.95.

RUSSIAN

CAMPAIGN

PBM KITEach kit comes with full instructions for both

pbm in general and R U S S I A N CA MP A I G N i nparticular. A kit includes 4 pads-two each fo rRussian and German moves, and includeseverything necessary to record movement, combat,and retreats plus special functions like rail move-ment, sea movement, weather and replacements. Acomplete kit sells for $6.00 plus postage. A half kitwith only two pads costs $3.00 plus postage.Maryland residents please add 5% sales tax.

WHITE WIND, BLUEMOON,AND CRANNY* *(Patton Pending)

By Alan R. Moon

WWBMNAC is a fantasy, role-playing game,presented here as a bonu s for ASYL UM readers.

Players may sit around, under, or on top of thetable, though the latter will make play extremelydifficult.

Place Nook in th e Palaceo f the Evil Mountains.His mother the witch known as Nan Nook of theNorth, may be placed anywhere within the EvilMountain Kingdom, since she spends her timeroaming around aimlessly. Though young, Nookhas recently inherited the throne because hismother's spells have become impoten t.

Place Cranny a nd the pum as in the cravices.Doroth y should be placed in the balloon-shaped

area marked Kansas. She's just dust in the windanyway.

Distribute the goblin's and the food countersrandomly about the m ap. Th e food counters rep-resent packets of high-protein nourishment, in-cluding stuff like bologna, egg rolls, rye bread, andchicken noodle soup (which can also be used as aremedy for certain ailments).

Each player selects his character. A player maybe any character listed on the character chart,himself, or Richard Hamblen. Of course, the sec-ond two choices are the same thing if you arealready Richard Hamblen. EXCEPTION: Onlyone player may be Richard Hamblen in any onegame, and Richard himself, if playing, has firstdibs.

Each p layer receives one survival kit (consistingof one plastic knife for eating purposes only, onesmall jar of m ayonnaise, water, and a pack o f Washand Drys), three magical spell cards, an d a m ule.

All players begin the game at the Gates ofParadise.

Movement

The ugliest player goes first. If n o one claims thehonor or disputes arise, the matter can b e settled bymajority vote. Players should note how other

players vo te during this proced ure and begin to hogrudges where applicable. Revenge should be undconstant consideration.

Players may crawl, walk, jog, run, hop , skiand jump. No gum chewing or littering is allowe

Fate Spaces

When a player lands on a fate space, he mu

throw tw o dice and consult the Fate Table.Fate Tabk

Die Result2 Nook (You are captured by Nook's evil munchki

and taken to the Palace of the Evil Mountains)

3 Divine Wind (You must attack yourself)

.4 White Wind (You may wear the Good W itch's hafor the rest of the tu rn)

5 Breaking Wind (Fill out an Environmental Protetion Agency report)

6 Nitpick (You may change any game rule for the reof the turn)

7 Lie, Cheat, and Steal (Normal play proceeds)

8 Dark Moon (Lose one turn while your eyes adjust

9 Blue Moon (You must sing two lines of the sobefore moving on )

10 Full Moon (I f you are Lon Chaney, you must turn ito a wolf and attack the nearest other player)

11 No Moon (No romantic missions allowed)

12 Cranny (You are captured by Cra nny's flying pumand taken to the nearest crav ice)

Supply

Since it is ill-advised to drink the water in foreign land, players do so at their ow n risk. If yorun out of water and are forced to drink fromlake, river, or mud puddle, you must roll one deach turn beginning the turn after drinking thwater. If you roll a 4 , 5 , o r 6, you have diarrhea anmust proceed immediately to the nearest woods. you have diarrhea for three turns in a row, yo

Continued on Page 29, Column

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STAFF BRIEFING

Next on the list of victims, err staff m embers, isMick Uhl who suffers occasionally from arthritiswhich is why Alan was able to corner him s o fast.Feel free to send in any questions you'd like asked

of particular individuals on our staff t o Alan's at-tention. He is setting his sights on bigger game infuture issues so we need all the help we can get inprepping for his incursions.

ARM: What did you d o before coming to work forA H ?

MU : I was a teacher in Baltimore City, teachingmath. But after putting up with a lot of eighthgrade, self-proclaimed adults f or a year, I decided Ineeded a more leisurely line of work so when the op-portunity arose to work for AH, I grabbed it.Before becoming a teacher, I had s pent three yearsat the University of Mar yland getting my degree inBiology. Before that , I had spent two less tha n en-joyable years in the U S Army touring t he US.

ARM: By the information o n your "bubble gumcard", we can see that you've d one a lot mo redeveloping than designing. Is this in keeping withwhat you would like to be doing?

MU: I'm primarily a developer because A H is acompany that primarily publishes outside designs.There is simply more need fo r developers thandesigners. I'd like to d o a little more design work,bu t I wouldn't want to go all on e way or th e other.

ARM: Which d o you think is harder, designing ordeveloping?

MU : It depends on the game itself. A lot of gamesthat a re polished and basically finished games are ajoy to w ork on because they are easy to finish andput out. A lot of other developments take a longtime to finish because there's a lot more work in-volved. There is really no way to decide which iseasier or faster, except game by game.

ARM: Do you still play games you've worked on?

MU : It takes at least a year fo r me to get over a proj-ect, so I can look a game in the face, but basicallyno. Not because I don't want to, but because I amalways looking forward. Once I finish a project,I'm into someth ing else and most people just playgames that are currently new on the m arket. I playvery few games more than two o r three times.

ARM: Then, are your favorite games ones you'veworked on or games you only play two or threetimes?

MU : Games I like to play mostly have no connec-tion with AH o r games I've w orked on. My favorite

games are CLUE, VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC,RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN, and card games likeHearts. I like games you can play in one evening.I'm not one to sit around and play a game that takesover four hours, and that's why I've never gotteninto monster games.

ARM: So are you saying you like non-wargamesbetter than wargames?

MU: I got int o the hobby because I like challenginggames and at the time wargames provided the mostchallenge. The re weren't t hat many adu lt games onthe market then . I never limited myself to wargamesand I still don't.

ARM: I know you like detective games. W hy?

MU : I like detective games because I've alwaysliked CLUE, ever since I was six or seven years old

as a kid back in New Y ork. I like detective novels.

An Interview with Mick Uhl

I've read all of Sherlock Holmes and most ofAgatha Christie. I like the milieu and the deductivereasoning.

A R M : I also know you are somewhat of a sportsnut. Do you like sports games?

MU : I like sports games with the emphasis ongames. I do not care for statistical games that much.Games like SPEED CIRCUIT, WIN, PLACE &

Mick UhlBorn: 11/14/47 . New York. NYStarted Wargaming: 1%1PBM Experience: NoFirst Wargame: Chancellor svilleFavorite Wargarne: '61 Gettysburg (hex)Favorite Non-Wargame: ClueOutside Interests: magic. biology , rock & roll. American Civil

Wa r abaseball historyEmployed by AH: 1975AH Designs: Gettysburg '77AH Develop ments: WS& IM, Kingmaker. Submarine.

Bismarck. Dune. Wizard's QuestAwards: 1975 CR Best Game-Kingmaker

1976 Best Game Campaign M agazine-Kingmaker1977 SC Creativity in Gaming-Kingmaker1978 Silver Hexagon-Gettysburg '77

SHOW, BASEBALL STRATEGY. FOOTBALLSTRATEGY. an d BASKETBALL STRATEGY. I- -don't care about replaying a season; I just w ant thegame to be fun.

ARM: How ab out solitaire games and multi-player

games?

MU: I can't play games by myself. I've never beenable to go more than two turns playing a game bymyself. That's not why I'm into games. I like a lotof multi-player games, in fact I like multi-playergames more than two player games. I likeMACHIA VELLI an d JUNTA in particular.

A R M : How much interest do you have in sciencefiction and fantasy games?

M U: Zero, but th at doesn't m ean I would not playone if it was an enj oyable system. I really got intoCOSMIC ENCOUNTERS when that first cameout.

A R M : Do you see science fiction and fantasy gamesas a threat to wargames? Do you think they will

begin to influence wargames more?

By Alan R. Moon

MU: I don't care. I'm not interested in fantasy science fiction and I don't spend time consideriwhat that pa rt of the hobby does. I don't read thmagazines or get into their games. As long as

have an audience for wargames, and I think always will, we'll never be in trouble in regardfantasy an d science fiction.

A R M : Getting back to wargames, d o you havfavorite historical period?

MU: The Civil War. I grew up in Kansas CiMissouri where a lot of people have an interestthe Civil War. The city got its start around ttime. My first exposure to wargaming came whefriend showed me his books on military histoThe first game I played was GETTYSBURG, whmy friend's aunt w ho lived in Baltimore sent to hfor Christmas.

ARM: Is the Civil War also your favorite historiperiod in games?

MU: Not really. The reason being that the CWar is a very hard period t o recreate in a game.you know something about a certain period ybecome much more involved in the historical curacy of the gam e and less interested in thegam ea game, which never works because the gam e hasbe a game first and a historical recreation secon

ARM: Do you have a basic design philosophy oryou treat every game separately?

MU: I'm beginning to formulate one. One of tproblem s early in my illustrious career, w hen I gmy first design project, was trying to create tultimate Civil War game. I went a little overboaand forgot a bout making the game fun. I think Ichanged my attit ude since then. I prefer games wclean game systems. The history and accura

should take a back seat.ARM: Since we're talking about GETTYSBURalready, d o you feel the game is a success?

MU: It is a success in what I wanted it to be. TAdvanced Game is probably the most accursimulation of the battle of Gettysburg to date. Othe other han d, th e Advanced Game is not a succas a game. Compounding the problem is the fathat people who buy gam es invariably go directlythe most complicated version and skip the easones. Th e Basic and Interme diate versions of GETYSBURG are much more playable and enjoyabthan the Advanced Game, which takes so mutime to play.

A R M : Wha t would you d o differently if you hadto d o over?

MU: Well, I would do what I wanted to do in tfirst place, which was mak e the mapbo ard largerwouldn't have changed the style though becausethink it has a lot of information on it. The main prolem though w as that I did not have the time to irout all the weaknesses of the game. I was tryingsay too much in too short a period of time.

A R M : Do you think GETTYSBURG has fluenced your work on other games?

MU: Definitely. I try to sw ear off any game that wtake more than a year to develop. I also wouprefer not to work on a game whose concept is complicated that I can't keep it up fron t in my miat all times. W ith a lot of gam es you can get buriin the detail and fo rget the major direction you atrying to follow. With a simple game, you can ke

it in front of you and never get too far astray.

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ARM: Do you feel you would have done othergames differently as well now?

MU: SUBMARINE, no . KINGMAKER, yes.There is an inherent weakness in theKINGMAKERgame system which I tried t o correct. However, Ithink my first attempt was not totally successful.The variant cards improve the game, but it stilltends to be to o defensive oriented. In BISMARCK,I followed my urge to make the game morehistorically accurate tha n it needed t o be. A lthoughI feel the game mirrors history well, this was don e atthe expense of the playability of the game. Many

games are very boring, because the BISMARCKshould escape about half the time and this makesfor a poor game. Still, 1 h ink there is a lot going forBISMARCK and it has been well received. DUNEwas a simple, straight forward game th at was verypolished upon submission and I had to d o only asmall amo unt of work on it. I only wish mor e peo-ple would try the game because it has a lot going forit. WIZARD'S QUEST is another game whichworked well fro m the beginning. I rewrote the rules,but most of the work was done by RichardHamblen. The game has received a lot of praise andI am quite pleased with it. 1also worked a s the silentpartner on the development of RAIL BARONwhich is, in my opinion, as close to perfect as agame can be.

ARM: Your style seems to be sort of the basic game,advanced game, option al rules type format. I s thereany reason for this?

MU : When I first started working o n games. I triedto design a game in which players could choose howmuch difficulty o r detail they wanted t o put into thegame. If a player wanted a simple game, he couldhave that. If he wanted an historical simulationwith lots of detail, heco uld hav e that too. H e couldchoose. Since then, I've changed my mind aboutthis. From experience, I have come to feel the au-dience does not want to mak e these decisions. Theyprefer to be told how to play the game. I don't meanto say that they want to be led, but they prefer tohave official versions. Still, I prefer not to ha ve tosay you must use this rule and not this one, and soforth. It's like somebody telling you to rea d a cer-tain chapter of a book or skip a certain chapter.That means the work is not organized. Now I try toorganize my games more and mak e the choices forthe players in the presentation of the rules.

ARM: When you include option al rules, do youthink they add something significant to the game,or are they something you take out o f the originalgame and make optional?

MU : A lot of significant events in a battle o r cam-paign are hard to fit in to the game system, for on ereason or another. They just dirty up the basicsystem. But I want the game to teach somethingabout the event; what went into the event, whatkind of planning preceded the event, etc. So, inmany cases, optional rules show significant factors

that should be considered, but aren't or were fac-tored out to keep the game system clean. Everydeveloper has to decide where he's going to dra wthe line between playability and realism so as tosatisfy what he perceives as the majority of his au-dience.

ARM: What are you working on now?

MU : I am currently involved in three projects,which are in various stages of completion.SOURCE OF T HE NILE is the main project, an das of today, it should be ready for Origins.Everything is do ne except for the rules. I've beenworking for the past year on the remake of BAT-TLE OF T HE BULGE, but that has low priorityright now. I have the mapboard finished and therules are almost set. The third p roject I picked upwhen we bought the Battleline games; that being

SAMURAI. I really haven't don e much with it yetother than play it several times to get an idea ofwhat it is like.

A R M : Who designed the new BATTLE OF THEBULGE?

MU: Bruno Sinigaglio, who many of the readersmay know. H e hasestablished a reputation a s an ex-cellent Classic game player. Back in the middleseventies when Don (Greenwood) and AH werelooking to upd ate the Classics, they looked f or peo-ple like Bruno. B runo lived close by and seemed likethe ideal choice. He helped with the revision of

WATERLOO, and did a fine job with that. H e is avery thorough person and d oes a top-notch job.

ARM: 1 know the main emphasis with the newBATTLE OF THE BULGE has been to make itmore historically accurate. H ow ha s this been ac-complished?

MU : First, let me say that although BATTLE OFTHE BULGEis mo re historically accu rate, it is stillprimarily a n enjoyble. Classic style game. It is mo reaccurate in terms of the mapboard and the Order ofBattle. B runo spent almost three years pouring overgovernment records a nd field reports of every regi-ment involved in the battle. He did the mostthorough research possible, because he was doing itat his leisure and because he had access to informa-tion because he works for the government. Mosi

people would find it difficult or impossible to un-cover some of the information Bruno found. Thegame has been expanded t o include artillery units.and m ore detailed rules. The mapb oard is similar tothe old mapboard except that the new mapboardhas cleaned up the discrepancies and errors of theoriginal. However, it is still somewhat abstract.Don't expect to see woods all over the map becausethis is handled abstractly. Rest assured though th atthe terrain of the battlefield has been analyzed andincluded or excluded for a reason. The CRT isbasically the same, though the probabilities havebeen changed. New rules include the 15th Army of-fensive, the Von de Heydt paradrop, the 150 SSSkorzeny Brigade infiltration, and Commandojeeps running around behind the Allied lines. Allthe nice little things that everybody romanticizes

but d idn't actually play a big role in the campaign.ARM: How much has SOURCE OF THE NILEchanged?

MU: SOURCE OF THE NILE is an adventuregame, designed by people who got their startthrough DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS. It ismore of an adventure than a game. Therefore,when I first got it I tried to make it mo re like a game.I felt the AH audienceexpected it to beag am e. I raninto a lot of problems trying to make thischangeover, because I didn't want to m ake any in-depth changes. I wanted to add m orede finite objec-tives, but after four o r five mon ths of trial and er-ror, I decided I couldn't d o it. The end result is thegame will remain a n adve nture game. It will have amore game oriented approach, but people whowant a competitive game should loo k elsewhere. It

will be something to play on a n afternoon when youhave nothing else to d o and you just want t o enjoyyourself on a nice afternoon in Africa.

ARM: Who d o you think the game will appeal to?

MU: SOURCE OF THE NILE falls into a categoryof games I believe are good games but appeal to n oone specific group. They are too simple for thewargame fanatic, yet they aren ot simpleenough forthe social gamer. It lies in sort of a never-nev er landwith games like RAIL BARON an d WIZARD'SQUEST.

ARM: Is it role-playing and /or solitaire?

MU: To a n extent it is role-playing. Ea ch player isan explorer who sets up his expedition a nd journeysto Africa where he must find contentment withnature. He is playing against the environment and

not against the other players. There is very littplayer interaction and th e game is more like a rato see which player can gain more points fdiscoveries and get back to civilization alive.

ARM: I know oneof thecom plaints abou t thegamwas that it never ended. H as this been corrected?

MU : This was really the major problem I cofronted in thegame. Thegame could be played unthe whole map had been explored and this woutake ten to twenty hours. W hat I've do ne is take temphasis away from exploring Africa and put it ito making discoveries, so that players have certa

objectives depe nding upon the specialty of their eplorer. A journalist, for example, will want discover Dr. Livingston. The player who gets tmost discovery points and gets back to port is twinner. So, the game can now be played in reasonable length of time.

ARM: I've heard SAMURAIcalled KINGMAKERin Japa n. Do you feel this way abou t it?

MU: It's definitely based on the KINGMAKEs y s t e m . I ' m s u r e t h e d e s i g n e r p l a y eKINGMAKER and enjoyed it and decided to dogame like it on anothe r period. It does have its owunique rules which add the Japanese flavor ofeudal warfare.

A R M : How much will it change under youdevelopment?

MU: Probably not at all. It works as well aKINGMAKER already.

ARM: These three projects we've talked abou t; arthey things you wanted to work o n?

MU : You are never really told to do anythinaroun d here, or a t least I haven't been. It is alwa"Would you like to d o his game?" I enjoy workino n BATTLE OF THE BULGE because most of thwork was done when I received it. SOURCE OTHE NILE I am sort of ambivalent about. I haplayed the game on my own, but since I'm not infantasy, the game was not especially attractive me. I prefer the mo re comuetitive type of gameS AM URAI naturally evolved to mebecaus; I haworked on KINGMAKER.

ARM: Do you have any special moments at AH yowould like to tell us about?

MU: Though there are many interesting things thhave happened here, I don't want to get involvedany law-suits, so I will have to duck-this questionI'm sure someone like yourself would be better bare the naked truth anyway.

ARM: Wha t does the future hold for Mick Uhl?

MU: In the immediate future, and if you concuplease send the ca rds an d letters in, 1 would like tdesign a detective game. I think it is certainly a subject that can be do ne well by AH and it could bepopular subject. I would a lso like to see a strategCivil War game, as would some of the o ther stamembers. *

BISMARCK VARIANT

SEARCHBOARDS

Readers wishing to play the Battle of thRiver Plate variation may order additionasearchboards for the modest sum of $1.00 eachMerely send us your request for the "BISMARCK VARIANT SEARCHBOARD" andyour check fo r $1.00per board plus 10C postagand handling. Maryland residents please add 5 %state sales tax. NOTE: This variant offer doenot include diecut counters.-

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


Where Did He Come From!Deep-sixing Step Seventeen in MIDW AY

By L. 'Doone r' Ross with Sa

Dooner R oss and his fellow C anadian sidekickshave been enjoying a wid;? ange of AH gam es fromCAESAR'S LEGIONS to WIN. PLACE & SHOWfor years, but their main interest lies in the realm ofnaval games. Like many gaming enthusiasts, theycite the tension and excitement inherent in multi-player games of WS&IM and the surprise attacksinherent in M ID WA Y's hidden movement systemto stand naval games a bit above and beyond con-ventional land battle games. Unlike other variantrules propo nents, they deplore comp lexity and feelthat their variant adds even more suspense to thegame without bogging it down in a sea of details.For that reason, we'll forgive them or theirsug ges-tion that we rename WS&IM Ships of Woo d andIron Men just so the acronym would read SWIM.

Step 17 of M idway's Battle Board procedures re-quires that right after you've come over yourenemy's fleet and delivered a withering blow fromout of nowhere, y ou'vego t to fill him in not only onwhere you came from but also the Zone to whichyour aircraft ar e returning.

You've maneuvered all day.You've dodged his Searches.Your planes are ready on deck.And you're in range.If you're playing Ste p 17, you'd better hit him

hard when you go in 'cause you'regoing to hrow allthat hard won surprise away as soon as your aircrafthead for home.

And now we take you to Latitude 30' North,Longitude 179".

The time is 10:30, Jun e 4th 1942.American dive bomber and torp edo aircraft arereturning from a deadly strike at the Japa nese FirstCarrier Striking Force.

Three Fleet Carriers are burning and dead in thewater.

Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagum o is preparing toleave the bridge of his stricken flagshipAkagi fo rthe safety of the destroyer Nowaki when CaptainAoki calls him to the radio room.

The airwaves crackle with static, m imicking theflames licking the bridge. Unfamiliar frequenciesare active. Between the detonations occurring onthe hangar deck fifty feet below Nagumo gapes atthe strange American voice calling: 'Fletcher toNagumo . . .Fletcher to Nagum o . . . ow'd yalikethem apples. Adm iral . . .we got more where theycome from . . . nd, o h yeah, Step 17 obliges me totell you we hav eCV Yorktown bearing 70°, distance120 miles and CV's Enterprise an d Hornet bearing80°, distance. . let mesee. . abou t 1 omiles . . .Fletcher to Nagum o . . . ver and out! '

Come on. guys.There's only one way to pu t the full spirit and

thrill of carrier combat into this great game. W henyou come in over the guy's fleet with everythingyou've got, just tell him to set 'em up on the oldBattle Board a nd let th e die fall where it may.

Stick that Step 17 in an old Brewster Buffalo an dlet it fend fo r itself.

He can count your aircraft . He should be able totell how man y carriers are sending planes. He knows

~ t tyrer and Kennedy Self

they're within seven Zones. Som e of his Searchesshould have ruled ou t a couple of possible points oforigin. If your attack makes him desperate enoughto send out a few isolated ship searches next turnhe's got as much chance as any WW II Admiral everhad.

Just f or the record, plot the moves of your shipson a piece of grap h paper as the game progresses.Record successful searches by putting th e timein theproper Zone. Color the Japanese red and the USNblue. Color in your own locations when they'rediscovered by enemy searches. Use a new sheet foreach day, an d you've got a detailed record shouldquestions arise when its all over. The data's all thereat a glance whenver you can take five to prepare anintelligence estimate of enemy locations. No morequestions about 'Where was that I.J.N. Fleet sixturn s ago?' If you haven't found him since then,you can at least tell where he COU LD be by now.

Aband oning S tep 17 also opens us some new tac-tical possibilities. Playing the autom atic disclosureprocedure means you hand your oppon ent a goldenopportunity to return your sneak attack hit for hiton th e next turn if you leave him an y serviceablecar-riers. (Unless you're good enoug h to launch everyattack at 17:00!)

So you've got to keep your ships together fortheir AA strength on defense. There's n o other wayto w ard off his return engagement except with lotsof C A and BB screening power.

I guess no on e told Yamamoto that when he sentNagum o off t o Pearl with all six Fleet Carriers andonly the Tone an d Chikuma for protection. Hedidn't play by Step 17. The record of '42 an d '43speaks continually of carriers going out with much

less surface escort than any half-sane Midwayplayer would attach t o his precious CV's today.

When you ditch the automatic disclosure ruleyou have a much more viable option of dividingyour fleet into smaller units. No one's saying youhave to, or even that you should. It's hard to beatthe protection of massed surface vessels if theenemy breaks through your search screen for anattack. But the option to detach single vessels forsurfacesearching, or to gamble on sending off smalldetachments should be given better odds of stayingafloat if they do get to strike the first blow.

Playing without Ste p 17 also negates the 'stalk-ing horse' tactic which is particularly to theJap an ese p l ay e r ' s ad v an tag e . A p rev io u sGENERAL article already spelled out that th e onlyreal utility to th e I.J.N. Comm ander of th e tinyCL's Nagara, Yura and Sendai is for isolatedscouting. Their '1' AA value means they're justfloating liabilities if attacked. So why not gainsomething both by using them as scouts, and ifattacked, by forcing the American commander toreveal his location . Perfe ct stalking horses if backedup by Japanese carriers in position to counter-attack. (Reduce the value of Japanese CL's to 1when you play without the automatic disclosurerule: there's n o way these little guys are equal to th eAtlanta with its AA value of 6.)

Give it a try. There's n o way to simulate carrierbattles better than to hear that classic question:'Where did that Q#& ** come from!'.

P. KemF.R. FrP . S i r a ~. . .,

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W.B. S(S.D. M;P. Cars(.., -

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I . W . Dobson 17 25l l KJ P I2. K. Com bs 15 2496SJQ 23. R. Chiang 23 2178GHN 34 . D. Cornell 17 21750HK 45. T. Oleson 24 2104RSZ 6

6. D.S. Burdick IS 2083ED J 57. D. Garb utt 13 2060DFJ 8

8. 2034EE9. 2018DI

10. 2012CE11 . J .L . Kreuz 1 1 2001FFK I 112. P.D. Huf fman 18 1978EEG I213. M . Sincavage 4 1972CC H 1314. L.J. Kelly 8 I%7 UU Z 1715. L.New bury 17 1964EGK 1416. J.C. Beard 5 1%2CEI 1617. D. Barker 22 I%2GG M 1518. R. Leach, Jr. 17 1933GJN 1819. J. Angiolillo, Jr. 17 1906EGI 2020. F. Preissle 12 1891JKT 1921. J.Z ajice k 18 1865GJP 21

22. C. Combs 5 I843MFD 2223. N. Markevich 7 1827CEE 23

24. G. Charbonneau 2 l82OCEG 2625. W. Knapp 9 1795JKR 2426. B. Down ing 4 1791CEG 25

27. C.J. Olson 4 1771CEH 2728., F.J. Sebastian 1029. D. Greenwoo d 1630. W.E. Letzin 1131. P. Dobson 13 171XDEF 3232. K .A. Blanch 17 1705FG K 3433. D.R. Munsel 10 1698FD H 3534. D.R. Wilcox 4 1697 HJQ 3735. E. Miller I I6% EHM -36. R. Zajac 4 1682DFG 4237 . T ( . ~ - m . - I n 1681EF" 3 3

38. 1673GF39. 1668DF40. 1650EC41. J . M . K ~ ~ I C K J I M ~ C F I 4442. D.L. McCarthy 1 1647CEG -43. B. Hayden 8 1624HIN 43

44 . R. Phelps I I611CDH -45. J.E. Gardner 5 1607DGK 4146.

J.R. Uram 1 1607FFJ-

47 . 1605CE48. 1605FH49. I605DF50. 1600DF-

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7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


ARMS AND ARMORA REVIEW OF THE

CRESCENDO OF DOOM UNITS

by Lorrin Bird

While CRESCENDO OF DOOM adds quite a

few "finishing touches" to the SQUAD LEADERsystem that really spice up the game (and make o ne

wonder what innovations the next gamette can

possibly offer), it is the units themselves that are

the "meat" of the gamette and form the real at-

traction. As one of the playtesters, I spent con-

siderable time prior to receiving the game thinking

about the way the French, British and others

would be treated and what their major short-

comings would be. I am happy to report that

CRESCENDO OF DOOM has captured the flavorof the units to a "T" (and satisfied my curiosity).

The British

When one usually thinks about the "poor

chaps" who fought for the Commonwealth, one

sees a bunch of soldiers who stood up to the Ger-

mans with unusual pluck and fortitude despite the

handicaps placed on them due to the idiosyncrasies

of the British Government, and the bungling of-

ficers who commanded them.

In C O D , the Anglo's are represented fo r the

most part by 4-5-7 counters, which one might

assume formed the larger part of the armed forces

(they are listed as "line" troops in the gamette,

and there are no conscript types). Just from the

numbers on the counters one sees that the

Englanders knew how to shoot (not as well as theGermans, but not as poorly as their Russian allies),

were reasonably resilient (they rally with the same

unbroken morale number as is printed on the face

of the counter) and were able to stand up to most

German infantry units they faced. Since the

English were fighting for their survival as a people

throughout the early part of the war but were bet-

ter educated than the Russians, and were known

for their "stiff upper lips" (especially after a night

at the pub), the C O D counters are pretty much in

line with what we'd expect to see.

The 4-5-8's. which represent the Elite types, are

fairly easy to explain in view of the forces which

made up the Commonwealth. Throughout the

war, Commonwealth forces were made up of

"foreign" units such as the Australians, Polish

"survivors" and Jewish Brigades which fought

with a special vengeance against whoever they hap-

pened to come up against. At Tobruk, in 1941, the

Aussies refused to let Rommel's forces unnerve

them, and they fought many vicious close quarters

battles with the Afrika Korps where the knife and

the bayonet were the principal weapons. Included

here, of course, would be soldiers from England

who showed exceptional fortitude and drive in-

battle.

The problem with the British and Com-

monwealth infantry was not so much that their

character or skill was inferior to the enemies' asthat their weapons were severely limited. One may

have noticed that the Elite and Line infantry car-

ried rifles, and used them with an effective range

of 10 hexes. Since the British Military Establish-

ment viewed submachine guns as "gangsters"

guns, which were proper for American criminals

but quite unsightly for soldiers of the Crown, the

men had to make due with their bolt action rifles.

In terms of SQUAD LEADER games, the im-

plications are easy to appreciate, and especially

when the Tommies come up against SS or

Parachute infantry. Comparing the 4-5-7's with

the Leibstandarte o r Das Reich 6-5-8 troopers, one

is faced with a multitude of differences:

1. SS men fire their assortment of machine

pistols, rifles and assault rifles with the same range

characteristics but with more effectiveness.2. Hitler's Elite rallies with an even better

number than their normal unbroken morale, and

Desperation Morale hardly affects them.

3. In close combat with 6-5-8 or 8-3-8 infantry

(the latter make excellent counters for representing

Parachute Infantry), the English are at a major

disadvantage due to their low firepower factors.

Perhaps even more of a handicap to the forces

which fought with the Commonwealth was the

long time that it took the Military Command to

appreciate the value and importance of the light

machine gun. The LMG, while forming the basis

of German infantry tactics, was sadly lacking as a

squad support weapon for the Tommies early in

the war.

As has been previously described, the English

insistence on rifles put them at a disadvantage

when coming up against troops armed w

SMG's, especially during close quarters fighti

where the time spent playing with a bolt

maneuvering a bayonet wielding rifle gives the o

ponent an opportunity to fire off a clip with h

machine pistol. Light machine guns during clo

quarter s engagements not only added to the adva

tages of SMG squads, but gave rifle troops a lit

extra on the attack.

Most importantly, the LMG gives the infant

squad the ability to sweep a large area, which

SQUAD LEADER translates into not only a twhex long firelane for the light machine gun (with

17% probability of KIAing any moving targe

without cover) but the ability of a squad to fire

two or more (depending on how many LMG

there are) directions simultaneously. In effect,

squad with a LMG becomes about three to fo

times more effective on the defense (as the Tom

mies discovered at Dieppe) and considerably mo

potent on the attack.

Without light machine guns, the Com

monwealth had to depend on the heavy machi

gun, which could put out fire and fo rm a solid ba

for tactics, but is relatively immobile and on

knocked out leaves the infantry with just rifles.

Rounding out the English forces in C O D a

the Gurkhas and Airborne commando

represented by 4-4-7's and 6-3-8's. The Gurkhare not especially keen with the rifle, but used

short sword with great effectiveness and their w

of life was based on skill in battle. During t

Tobruk battles in North Africa, the Germans oft

found themselves engaged in streetfighting wi

the defenders. Probably due to their jungle trai

ing, and the silence of the sword, the Gurkhas we

able to wipe out many DAK strongholds an

escape before their presence was noticed which n

doubt made the remaining DAKers very uneasy.

CRESCENDO OF DOOM, the Gurkhas fight

close combat with an attack factor of 14(th

swords are obviously as good as a SMG, if not f

the skill of the users than for one's innate fear

being carved up-the ultimate citydweller fea

Against. the Italians, the Gurkha guys attack wi

12 factors since the common knowledge th

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


Gurkhas didn't take prisoners froze theBrownshirts (who normally didn't mind surrender-ing as long as they were sent to camps in America).

Since commandos normally participated in"dirty tricks" sort of activities anyway (like throatcutting and using pistols with silencers, "dirtypool" by English standards of fair play), they wereallowed the use of machine pistols which makesthem somewhat superior to the Germans theycame up against during their midnight raids.

While COD scenarios are basically concernedwith 19 39 4 happenings, there are several infantry

support weapons that were used beyond thatperiod but are fairly interesting and do deserve afew words.

Mortars ar e generally used for their high trajec-tory fire, which allows one to fire from cover andover some obstacles that would normally block theline of fire. The British used two mortars, the29mm Bombard and the 2" light mortar, for directfire (in the literal sense, since the minimum range isone hex).

The Bombard fired a 20 pound bomb, andweighed 405 pounds, which kind of limits its useby infantry squads as a tactical weapon. Surpris-ingly enough, it was used by the Home Guard foranti-tank defense (one uses the lOOmm column onthe IFT), which makes one think of thoseAmerican Civil War mortar monstrosities being

fired at moving targets with a rush of activity (butno hits).

Not to be outdone in terms of practicality (anoften claimed but seldom observed trait of theEnglish during the war), the 2 " mortar can be firedhorizontally. which allows it to be fired directly attargets from one to eight hexes away. While this issupposed to be great for streetfighting purposes, i tdoes bring to mind the PIAT anti-tank devicewhere the projectile often slid out of the tube whenthe thing was aimed down at targets.

Since the British Tommy fought under a varie-ty of unhappy circumstances tha t tended to reducehis effectiveness (British shortages caused inferiormetals to be used in grenades and HE shells, with alowering of lethality), it is very fitting that thedrawings on the counters show English soldiers in

a fairly casual posture that suggests the resignedattitude of the men towards a difficult war.

While the gamette scenarios only call for theuse of 1940 British armor , it is very interesting tostudy the evolution of English armor throughoutthe war with regard to the panzers they would bat-tle against.

In 1941, in the desert battles, the major AlliedAFVs were the Matilda, Valentine, Crusader andthe close support versions of each tank (main ar-mament replaced by a 95mm howitzer). Againstthese the DAK used the PzKw IIIE and the PzKwIVD, and a tank-by-tank comparision is presentedbelow for analysis purposes:

Vehicle Speed Armor Gu n Kill No .

Valentine 9 0 40L 4

Matilda 8 + I 40L 4Crusader 11 14 0 / - 2 40 L 4

PzKw HIE 14 - 1 50 4

PzKw IVD 14 - / - 2 75' 4

NOTE: Dice score needed for a kill is the Kill Number of the gun

minus the appropriate frontal armor rating at 6 hex range.

Despite the great claims that have been madewith regard to the speed of the Crusader tanks.they were matched by the panzers. In addition, theCrusader tanks were produced in a great hurry dueto the need for better tanks, and were prone to avariety of mechanical malfunctions causing thehigh breakdown tendencies in the SQUAD

LEADER system characteristics.German tanks were generally faster than their

adversaries in the desert which meant a lot in thebattles of maneuver over the often featureless

North African wastes (many Crusaders brokedown while moving to the front, which at leastsaved the crews from the many disasters that badleadership brought on).

Weaponwise, in 1941 the British 40L was stillone of the superior guns in action, and Valentinesand Matildas represented very strong opponents tothe PzKw 111's which made up Rommels DAK.Fortunately for Rommel, the inferiority of histanks was made up for by the intelligent use of theanti-tank guns along with the panzers, and theweaknesses of British armor. Even though the

Valentine and Matilda were 'infantry' tanks, theycouldn't fire high explosive shells, and, even moresurprising, didn't carry a bow machine gun (whichis more effective than the coaxial machine gun).Against anti-tank guns the infantry tanks werereduced to charges, either to overrun the positionor get within range where they could hit the oftendug-in guns with an AP shell (German tanks nor-mally carried two machine guns, bow and coaxial,and together with their HE capability they wereable to deal with British guns without having toresort to costly charges).

Late in 1942, prior to El Alamein, the PzKw111's were uprated with heavier armor and betterguns, which put them on an equal footing with theMatildas and Valentines:

Vehicle Speed Armor Gu n Kill No .PzKw IIIJ 13 0 / - 1 50L 5PzKw IIIh 13 -O/ -1 50 4

Crusader 111 14 0 / - 2 57L 5Valentine VIII 9 0 57L 5

Despite the British upgunning to the 57L inplace of the 40L, the Mark 111's of the AfrikaKorps still held a slight advantage due to theirgreater mobility on a tank-versus-tank basis.

After El Alamein, the Sherman with its 75 gunand "+ 1" armor made it the predominant tank,with the Churchill and its "+2" armor/57L gun adistant second (in view of the 9 speed). AlthoughBritish armor had started out with the 40L gun,which was "hot stuff " in 1940-41 battles, the 57Lwhich was used to upgun was hardly better than

the German 50L which had been in use for awhile,and the 57L didn't fire HE. By the time the tankswith 57L's were becoming predominant the Ger-man 75 (more lethal and with a bigger HE shellthan the 50L) was on the scene in the PzKw IV's,and British armor never did seem to catch up.

In Italy, the Churchills with 57L and 75 guns("+2" armor in front which was impressive in1942) and Valentines would encounter Tigers (88Land "+2" armor) and Panthers (75LL and "+ 3"frontal rating), as well as the PzKw IVh (75L and"+I"). By the middle of 1944, the English haddeveloped the Cromwell (an undependable 75 and"+ 1" armor) as their most advanced AFV, avehicle that was hardly any better than a PzKw IV(the 75 was a 1942 gun for the Germans but themost ambitious tank gun on an English type in'44). While there was an English 76LL gun whichwas equal to the Panthers' weapon, it had to be fit-ted to the Sherman when no suitable tanks to carryit could be designed.

In 1944, the tank lineups looked like Chart A.

Cromwells offered speed and fair armor (1944 standards), as well as a small target aspebut the 75 gun only had 28% frontal kill perceage against + 1 armor after a hit, and 17% ver+ 2 ratings. In comparison, the 75L gun carriedthe Mark IV could KO a Cromwell IV on 43%the hits at 12 hexes, with the Panthers' 75LL doithe job 72% of its ontarget shots.

The "best" all around British tank (in termsarmor and gun, as well as size) has got to be tChurchill VII, which can defeat 75LL hits with i+ 3 armor 57% of the time, and despite its' slspeed makes an excellent assault tank, hard knockout and capable of drawing out the enembest armor (like the Sherman Jumbo) and antank guns.

The use of 75 guns in 1944-45 hurt the Britvery badly in terms of their ability to take Tigers (which are reduced to kittens against tmighty churchill VII's armor) and Panthers, anumbers had to take the place of an effective gwhen dealing with the panzer toughies. Since tGerman tanks all had flank armor that was withthe 75 guns' ability to penetrate, a few Cromweor Shermans would be thrown into the duel, tempting to work their way around the flank foshot at the weaker armor or the suspension (ahexes, a 75 gun has a 43% chance for a knockoafter a hit against the Tigers' side armor). Wh

the Tiger has a BPV of 178 and a Cromwell IV oof 168, in tank-to-tank duels the Tiger has almotwice the killing power, a fact that should be kein mind when Cromwells are thrown into the fra

In fact, while the scenarios provided wCRESCENDO OF DOOM are quite interestiand deal with many of the battles that one usuais totally unfamiliar with, the British counters cbe used to set up many fascinating design-youown games dealing with Arnhem, the Battle of tBulge, Normandy o r the Rhine River crossings (triver board in COD comes in handy here).

In addition, one can always base a game on imaginary but well defined battle, such as a Britiassault on a bunker complex, bridge or town, wthe defenders made up of SS men instructed fight to the death. A fast way to set up the DY

scenario is to assume a size for the attackers (batalion level infantry group with six tanks suppoing, roughly 2000 points worth of units) and thallow the defenders half of that according torough outline (so many tanks and mines/wire sinthere is some recon assumed, with the infanttype clearly spelled out-volksgrenadiers requidifferent planning than the Hermann Goring Divsion).

DYO scenarios are especially instructive sinthey penalize very heavily the wrong choice of suport weapons when approaching a certain ta(tanks with 57L guns are not recommended fbunker work), and develop a feel for tactical planning (too much emphasis on support weapons cacripple the assault troops who have to drag thealong). But the most fun of all comes when thCromwells and Churchills lead an infantry assauagainst a German strongpoint guarded by a KinTiger and men of the SS Leibstandarte AdoHitler who are copiously supplied wi

Chart A Tank Comparisons

Vehicle Speed Gu n Kill No . Front Armor Kill % Against + 2 Armor

Cromwell IV 16 75 6 1 17%Cromwell VII 16 75 6 2 17%Churchill VII 8 75 6 3 17%Churchill IV 9 57L 5 2 8%Tiger 13 88L 8 2 43%Panther 15 75LL 9 3 57%King Tiger 12 88LL 1 1 4 83%PzKw IVh 13 75L 7 1 28%

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THE ASYLUM . . . ontinued from Page 22

become too weak to move. Three turns afterbecoming too weak to move, you die, delirious.

Death

Any player who dies at any time during thegam ecan select another charac ter and begin again. T hree-deaths and you're ou t.

Lying, Cheating, and Stealing

Are allowed.

Combat

By tooth and nail, claw and fang, sticks andstones, and the old pie in the face bit.

Romance

Players may go o n romantic missions with theirheart in hand (yuck!), foot in m outh, o r ear to thegrindstone. Players with overactive libidos (see thecharacter specification chart) must undertake oneromantic mission each day the temperature is abovefreezing.

Transformations

There are two types of transformations;Religious and Physical. A player may make areligious transformation at a ny time, including aname change. Physical transformations are onlypossible with the aid of certain potions (drugs). Fly-ing may also be possible at this tim e.

A Sample Game

There are four players. They have chosen astheir characters; Wilma Witch, Milgrim thePilgrim, Captain Video, and Pip.

No one claims the honor of going first so a voteis necessary. Wilma Witch receives three votes,Milgrim the Pilgrim one. W ilma looks angrily at theother players.

Milgrim the Pilgrim goes next and opts for aroma ntic mission. (It has been so long). H e decidesto go foot in mouth, fancying himself a charmingclown. H e heads toward the Pit o f Passion.

Capt ain Video's desire is for fame and recogni-tion. He heads straight for the Green Wood, thehome of many sour-faced monsters. Once inside, heis attacked by a giant yellow parakeet. With onlyseconds to react, he draws his Space Ranger RayGun and blasts away. The parakeet chirps once,turns green, and dies. Captain Video smiles. He isglad he ate all those breakfasts and saved his box-tops.

Pip decides to eat lunch before starting out.Such great expectations. *RECOUNTING . ontinued from Page 20

each issue in turn (especially considering thevagaries of special rule 18.1). Furth er, the infa ntry

attack is to o critical to be left unsup ported, even ifthis condition is meant to be temporary. The com-position of the two task forces should followlogically from t he duties assigned them. T he T28B'sand the KVIIA should constitute the core of theassault on the village while the T26S's provideescort. The KVI, the T34 and the BT's should con-centrate on the enemy armor. Individual tankswithin these groups must stick together even thoughthis may mean forfeiting an entire move, i.e., if themovement roll is particularly bad. Though thesuperior German mobility, engineer assaults (withflamethrowers, satchel charges and close combats),potential sm oke barrages an d air support will prob-ably neutralize the Russian armo r in the end, it willhave served well if it results in success for theinfantry.

Merlin's Used Horse Lot?A Dwellings Variant for MAGIC REALM

By Bruce Degi

Now tha t Magic Realm has enchanted the pagesof the G eneral( Vol. 16, #4), it will just b e a matt erof time before loyal magic trippers flood the shire

of Baltimore, with all sorts of fantastic variants forthis gem. The possibilities a re endless; the resultingcomplexities may be staggering. Before anyTREMENDOUS variants wind up in the CHA RGEbox, I'd like to take a SWING at a NEGLIGIBL Evariant; if it's not a SMASH, feel free to DUCK.

THE DWELLINGS VARIANT

All of the Dwelling counters provided with thegame have a Brown and a Grey side, but theor iginalrules make nothing of it. Using these rules, theplayers will find more uses for the dwellings andhopefully, f or the varied nature o f these dwellings.

1. All Dwelling counters are set up at t he begin-ning of the game BROWN side up. Dwellings thata r e ~ r o w nide up function exactly as state din theoriginal rules.

2. Dwellings can be ENCHANTED using thesame procedure to enchant a tile (section 48). En-chanted dwellings are turned Grey side up.

2.1 The character doing the enchanting must bein the sa me clearing as the dwelling.

2.2 Only the dwelling is enchanted; the Tile isnot enchanted du e to this action.

2.3 All "normal" functions of the affecteddwelling CEASE. Natives, weapons etc., (but notother characters) "disappear" into anothe r world.They are "out of play" but will return intact whenthe dwelling is enchanted again.

2.31 Enchanted dwellings can be "turned backover" by anoth er enchanting attempt, just like en-chanted tiles.

2.32 The dwellings can be enchanted anynumber of times during the game.

3. Enchanted Dwellings have the following newcharacteristics:

3.1 The INN, when Grey side up, becomes aBLACKSMITH SHO P.

3.11 Any character can attempt to repair hisDAMAGED ARMOR a t the Blacksmith ' s .Characters have two choices:

3.12 They can pay the local smithy to repair thearmor. Repairs cost one half of the armor's listprice (roun ded down). Each "R" phase spent at theBlacksmith's will repair one piece of armor. Sub-tract the price paid from your recorded Gold.

3.13 They can attempt to repair the armorthemselves. T he smithy will provide an instructionbook free of charge but will not help beyond th at. Ifyou select this option, pay no gold for each attemptbut roll two dice. A "6" on either die means you've

botched the repair attem pt beyond hope-the pieceof armor is now Destroyed. One can attempt oneself repair for each "R" phase spent at theBlacksmith.

3.2 The HOUSE, when Grey side up, becomesJA CQ UE S FUR TRADERS.

3.21 When playing this variant, monsters thatare killed are not merely set aside until the nextmonth. Whenever any one of the monsters listedbelow is slain, the characte r can spend one "Alert"phase during the next turn to "skin" one monster.

3.22 A character with "pelts" can sell them toJacqu e by spending one "R" phase at the FURTRADERS. The character can sell one pelt perphase. Pelts are carried just like inactivatedcounters/treasures.

3.23 Characters who have pelts when the lunar

month changes loose them to the Treas ure set-up

card-they get nothing for them as they've rott3.24 Jac que will pay the following, in Gold

MONSTER PRICE (eachWo lfs Fur 2Viper's SkinGiant Bat's WingsSerpent's SkinSpider's LegsFlying Dragon's WingsDragon's HideT. Serpent's SkinT. Spider's LegsOctopus' TentacleT. Dragon's HideT. Flying Dragon's Wings

3.3 The GU ARD HOU SE, when Grey side ubecomes MERL IN'S USED HO RS E LOT.

3.31 Any character who spends a "R" phasethe CAR LOT can trad e in his Horse counter fobetter one. Characters have two choices:3.32 They can trade-in a horse at one-third of value and then buy any other horse at list valuMerlin will conjure the desired horse from aavailable spot on the treasure set-up card, and echange it for yours. The advantages here are thyou d o not have to find the proper natives, and ywill pay only th e list price.

3.33 You can do some old-fashioned "hortrading" with Merlin if you desire (instead of 3.3Merlin gets your horse. It is placed on the treasuset-up card on the spot that has the most horses that type already. Merlin will conjure any othhorse that you desire from thetreasure set-up carBUT you must roll tw o dice. If the high die isa "5

the horse is Lame-its carrying capacity is reducone level and all MOVE times are increased olevel. If the high die is a "6" the horse is a relemon and dies the first phase that you move outtha t clearing.

3.4 The CHAPE L. when Grey side ub ec om e s O U R L A D Y O F T H E S H I RHOSPITAL.3.41 On e "R" phase spent at the hospital returall Fatigued AND Wounded counters of thcharac ter to play. It will also remove any Curse.

3.42 One full turn spent at the hospital wgrant the character one roll on the WISH tabl(Limit: one per month).

3.5 The L and S CAM PFIRES are not turnGrey side up when enchanted. Instead, the camfires are EXTINGU ISHED.

3.51 Whenever any on e of the campfires is etinguished, both are removed from the board both are on the board). Characters in t

Campfire's clearing are not affected, but anatives which are not hired are returned to thtreasure set-up card.

3.52 Remove all of the "W" warning countefrom the WOO DS Tiles. Mix them (upside dowand replace them on the W OODS Tiles. The camfires have probably changed locations now anmust be found all over again. When fo und, they aBrown side up and function normally.

3.53 The campfires can be extinguished anumber of times during the game.

There you have it. As I warned, this is not thultimate MAG IC REA LM variant, but it does adsome more possibilities and, I hope, some m ore fuIf MAG IC RE AL M isn't a "wargame" it realdoesn't matter. MAGI C REA LM is fun. Enjoy.

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Operation AdlerLuftwaffe Strategy and Tactics Against Operation Custer

By Michael Matson

While recently preparing as th e German playerfo r an Operation Custer PB M game of LUFT-WAFFE, I decided to search through my past issues

of th e GENERAL an d look fo r optimum Americanan d German plans for the game. T he search wa shalf successful in that an American plan wa s foundentitled "PBM Luftwaffe-Operation Custer byMail on th e American Plan" by Dean Miller (Vol.14 , No . 1, p. 18).M r. Miller's plan, outlined later inthis article, presents a real challenge to th e Germanplayer. I assumed my opponen t would have accessto M r. Miller's plan an d since I could no t find an ydefensive plans fo r th e German in OperationCuster, I concluded that an in-depth analysisof M r.Miller's plan an d a German strategy against it werein order.

Operation Custer and Mr. Miller'sBombing Offensive

In Operation Custer it is March, 1945 and th e

American mission is to seriously cripple th e Ger-ma n oi l industry. T h e American player wins bydestroying a t least 14 of th e 17 German oi l targetsand keeping his losses at less than double th e Ger-ma n (computed by combat factors). The Germanplayer wins if 13 o r less oi l targets ar e destroyed and

American losses ar e a t least double thoseof th e Ger-mans. Anything else is a draw. T o accomplish histask th e American ha s th e following air g roups a t

his disposal: B-17(9), B-24(12), B-25(1), A-26(2),B-26(5), P-38(1), P-47(10), an d P-Sl(11). Fo r th eG e r m a n d e f e n s e : J U - 8 8 ( 5 ) , M E -1 0 9 (1 l ) ,

ME-llO(l), ME-163(1), FW-190(7), HE-219(1),and ME-262(2).M r. Miller's plan involves a multi-pronged at-

tack o n th e Reich shown in red below. Force com-ponents, targets, and entry times ar e given in Table1. Th e rather ominous threat of M r. Miller's plan isth e destruction of 16 oi l targets, tw o more than re-quired. The Luftwaffe commander, however,should no t despair. In spite of th e well-coordinatedAmerican plan there is a strategy whereby, even inth e dark davsof March. 1945. th e Luftwaffe can. a tth e least, i b t a i n a draw i n d possibly a &in.Although th e German plan that follows isspecifically meant to be effective against M r.Miller's bombing offensive, with some modifica-tions, discussed later, it ca n also blunt th e varia-tions of M r. Miller's plan.

Operation Adler-The Defense of th e ReichT h e aim o f Operation Adler is to limit th e

American to th e destruction of 13 o r less o f th e oi ltargets, thereby obtaining a t least a draw. The in -itial German setup leading to this goal is shown inblue below. T he key to th e defense is th e Balticforces (three ME-109's. tw o ME-262's, and on eME-110). Note that th e ME-262's ar e stationed in

this area fo r tw o reasons. First, they ca n infdamage o n th e sneak force an d soften it u p fo r fther attacks by th e 109's an d 110. Second, th

bases are deep enough within Germany to lessenchance of ground attacks an d yet close enoughcontribute to th e defense of the oil targets in cenGermany. Th e ME-262's will have tw o passesth e B-24 bomber force before refueling an d shoaccount fo r theloss (on a statisticalaverage)of ffactors. Th e ME-109's attack in conjunction wth e second ME-262 pass an d should account fo r tm o re b o m b er fac to r s , lo s ing tw o factthemselves. Finally over Berlin th e tw o ME-26refueled, join th e remaining four ME-109's andME-1 10 to eliminate th e remaining four Ameribomber factors, losing one fighter factor inprocess. The ne t result is th e saving of th e Berlin aRuhland oi l refinery complexes.

T he defense no w shifts to th e Italian front. Oo n e more oi l target needs to be saved to obtain

draw. Th e defense o f this front consists ofJU-88's an d on e HE-219 and ca n take two fodepending o n what happens o n th e Baltic fronboth Berlin an d Ruhland ar e saved then al l ofJU-88's are concentrated o n th e A-26's (Forceheading fo r Budapest. After tw o attacks th e Aforce will be eliminated, Budapest saved, andraw assured. If by some chance th e Americdestroy either Berlin o r Ruhland (they should ne

Op~atlon dkr: Mr. Miller's bombing offensive for OperationCuster is shown in red below. Numbers representAmerican forces as given in Table I. "P" and "M" representP-47's and P-51's. respmively. Res initial basing for Luftwaffe forces is printed in blue. F = F W I W ; M = ME109; J = JUBB; H = HE219: MI = ME1 10; J1 = ME163. J2 = ME262.

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Am&can Bombing Offensive

Crosses ltalian R-line o n turn 3.

Dulmen (2 groups)Hamburg (2 groups) Crosses English R-line o n turn 3.Hannover (2 groups)Braunschweig (2 groups)

Mannheim (1 group) Ctosses EngliJn R-Iine o n turn 7.

Crosses Italian R-line o n turn 7.

be able t o get both unless your luck is atrocious!)then th e Luftwaffe will have t o concentrate o n sav-ing the Mistelbach-Bratislava-Vienna oi l complex.Five B-26's an d one P-47 close escort (Force 5) a retargeted fo r this area an d have three turns to reachit. As soon as this force crosses th e R-line the.HE-219 should attack th e P-47, thereby eliminatingon e factor. The process is repeated o n th e secondmovement stage fo r Force 5 an d th e five JU-88'salso join in . Assuming th e P-47 is eliminated o n thisturn, th e JU-88's should knock down three to fourof th e bomber factors, losing on e themselves. Theremaining B-26 groups will now separate over th eoil targets an d th e Luftwaffe will have to split theirforces to insure th e saving of at least tw o of th ethree refineries. Of course Budapest is lost to th eA-26's of Force 6 bu t they will be eliminated on th ereturn trip to th e R-line. Remember that thisdefense is predicated on th e loss of Berlin orRuhland, a n unlikely possibility.

While all of th e action on th e Baltic an d Italianfronts is occurring th e main American forces 2 an d3, an d th e P 4 7 ' s an d P-51's ar e moving deep intoGermany. Yo u ar e assured of a draw by th e suc-cessful defense of th e Baltic an d Italian fronts. No wyou must decide if you want to win by destroyingtwice as many American ai r combat factors as yourown. Ai r losses from the Baltic an d Italian fronts over th e Leipzig-Bohlen-Merseburg oi l complex on th e defense is th e Baltic front an d th e savingalready give th e Luftwaffe a substantial lead (three turn 8, thereby forcing th e German Baltic force t o Berlin an d Ruhland. By preventing the destruct

Ge rma n fac tors maximum versus fourteen (a ) concentrate o n either th e sneak force o r Force 2, of these tw o oi l refineries th e Luftwaffe shouldAmerican factors minimum, on average and based or (b ) split th e Baltic force an d tr y to defend Berlin able to also save Budapest an d obtain a t leason saving Berlin, Ruhland, an d Budapest). This, with one group an d Ruhland with th e other. At th e draw. A successful battle of attrition by Luftwahowever, will only hold up if th e Luftwaffe avoids most, however, th e American will destroy Berlin o r fighters against American fighters over central Gcrippling attacks by th e eight P -4 7 ' ~ an d nine Ruhland bu t no t both. If this happens th e German many will lead t o a win. Thesuccessof thiselevenP-51's. If possible th e seven FW-190's an d eight defends th e ltalian front as outlined earlier when hour attempt to preserve what remains of tME-109's should attempt first strikes on these either Berlin o r Ruhland is destroyed. Reich's oil refining capacity may mean fuel fgroups. Such attacks should take place near th e jet T he American commander ha s threeoptions fo r tanks needed to delay th e Russians headed fbases so that th e jets ca n be used as support along improvement on th e Italian front: provide more Berlin. At least a long enough delay to negotiatwith the rest of th e Baltic group. By luring th e close escorts, provide more bombers, o r provide separate peace on th e Western Front. Unlefighters deep into Germany th e Americans will be more of both. Providing more close escorts ca n en - perhaps, M r. Miller comes up with somenew offeforced to retain their fuel tanks, thus diminishing sure that th e American bombers of Force 5 an d sive wrinkles.their E-rating. A battleof attrition must continually Force 6 reach their targets. An y additional bomberstake place with th e American fighters. The bombers will be of th e slower type, will no t be able to main-

*of forces 2, 3, an d 4 must be ignored until th e tain pace with th e faster B-26's an d A-26's, an d willAmerican fighters ar e neutralized. Always keep in be susceptible to an extra turn o r tw o of enemy SQUAD LEADERmind that fo r th e win you want to keep th e fighterattacks.Allthreeoptionshavethedrawback

American losses twice those o f th e Luftwaffe. Even of weakening on e or both of th e other tw o fronts.if you fail to accomplish this your successful In balance, providing more close escorts offers th e T-SHIRTSdefense of th e Baltic an d Italian fronts ha s assured most gain a t th e least cost, th e cost being about tw o Yes, we are following up on th e success of thyou a draw! bhterroups. When

PANZ 'RBL ITZ T-shirts with ye t another offefronted by this option th e German commander ing on what has become ou r hottest game. Nowmust concentrate al l of his available Italian front you too can become a LEADEforces for saving Budapest. If this can be whether you play th e game or not. The back 0Operation Adler.and American Alternatives complished an d Berlin an d Ruhland ar e saved a

the shin is adorned with the same AvalonThe above Luftwaffe strategy ca n be n~odif ied draw ca n be obtained. In order to save Budapestlogo you,ve seen before on th e PANZERBLITfor variations o f M r. Miller's ~ h n .here ar e really against this American option it ma y be necessary toshins. Be sure to specify size: small, medium:no alternatives fo r major American improvement pu t a n additional tw o ME-109 groups in the area.

in th e Baltic area. T he American ma y attempt to Of course such action is predicated on anticipatinglarge, o r extra large. $5.00 plus 500 fo r postag

forego a sneak raid an d tr y to use theextra B-24's t o th e employment of th e option by th e Americans!an d handling. Maryland residents please ad d 5%

bull hi s way to Berlin an d Ruhland from England However, if th e American does no t employ th e op -state sales tax.

an d Italy. Distance an d German fighter attacks, tion an d you as th e German commander have -however, will probably combine to weaken th e at - deployed th e extra 109's on th e Italian front you ar etack to the point where th e American survivors ar e still in th e pilot's seat, so to speak. T he Germans

easy Prey fo r th e German jets. If th e G ~ m a n can either keep th e 109's on th e Italian front,suspects that th e American is using this strategy thereby guaranteeing that Budapest is saved, o r(usually evidenced by th e fact that th e American has they ca n restage them back to central Germany innot announced a sneak raid andlarger-than-needed preparation fo r th e inevitable attrition battle withbomber forces ar e moving from England an d Italy), th e American fighters being drawn iilto th e area byhe should begin t o base hi s Baltic force so as to im - th e English front FW-190's an d ME-109's.mediately attack an y bombers which move north- Mr. Miller's plan fo r th e English front and theeast of th e Braunschweig-Leipzig line. With this bomber thrust deep into Oermany really leaves littleAmerican strategy, German fightersbased in north- room fo r improvement. The forces fo r this thrustwestern an d western Germany will have to be corn- can increase o r decrease slightly depending onmitted to attacking Allied fighters earlier than usual American variations on th e Baltic an d Italianso as to prevent them from protecting th e bombers fronts. The battle over this area will, however, stilldesignated fo r Berlin an d Ruhland. remain one of attrition.

A promising American alternative in th e Balticarea is to designate three sneak B-24's to arrive Summarynortheast of Anklam on turn 7 an d targeted fo r Operation Adler is designed t o give th e Luft-Berlin, th e other tw o B-24's being included with waffe a better than even chance of preventing an

Force 2 an d targeted fo r Ruhland. Force 2 arrives American victory in Operation Custer. T he key t o

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WAR AT SEA

Axis: Alan R. MoonAllies: Richard HamblenCommentary: Don Greenwood

Whenever he Series Replay coffers are bare, an

all too commonplace occurrence, I have to cast

about the immediate vicinity for bodies to fill the

void. People then start to disappear faster than

Mandrake the magician, and excuses fall like

autumn leaves. You'd be amazed how busy our

staff can become when it's time to do another Series

Replay-or how few games they "know how to

play. " The "I'm a designer-not a player" line is

one that particularly turns my stomach. Be that as it

may, this is just the first of a series of staffgenerated replays you'll be seeing in upcoming

issues.

In all fairness though, you really can't blame

them. The prospect of having your every move put

under a microscope or the whole world to see andbeing declared a chowderhead by some self pro-

claimed expert with the advantage of hindsight is

not very appealing. Taking the role of the neutral

commentator and pretending to be the final

authority on what constitutes good play ain't what

it's cracked up to be either, unless you happen to be

an ego maniac.

Nevertheless, the readers want Series Replays.

They don't want to writethem-but they do want to

read them so here weare. Why W AR ATS EA ? AN

our volunteers were quite amiliar with it and it is a

short gamesuitable or illustration. Besides encom-

passing the two major needs of a Series Replay,

brevity and clarity, no available back issue contains

one. More importantly, we believe we can sway the

majority opinion of the WA R AT SEA playing

public to the fact that a Med strategy is not only aviable course of action but indeed is the best Allied

strategy.

Unfortunately, the Med strategy increases the

luck factor in a game which is already occasionally

referred to as "Yahtzee at Sea" by its detractors.

Because the Medstrategy orces the Axis into major

battles early in the game, hot dice on one side or the

other could blow the game wide open before the die

rolls get a chance to even out over the course of a

fullgame. Inshort, if the Axisget decidedly the bet-

ter of the die rolls on the irst turn, our little exhibi-

tion will prove nothing and may indeed set the Med

strategy back a ew years. But all three participants

are agreed that the Med strategy offers the best

chances of an Allied win and so, reinforced in our

belief, by the use of a play balance rule used at

the last four ORIGINS tournaments and soon to beincorporated into the rules (i.e., add a + 1DRM to

the American reinforcement roll for every turn

after turn four), we set out to challenge Murphy's

Law.

I might add that I was originally scheduled to

direct the Allies in thisaffair with Richard Hamblen

handling the neutral commentary. He indicated

that he would rather play, however, and after

watching Alan practice salvos from a cup into an

empty box I quickly acquiesced.

BRITISH PREFAC EIn this gam e 1 will be using my version of the

'Mediterranean Strategy', which is based on theidea that the British can greatly increase their

chances of victory by m aintaining a stron g presence

in the Mediterranean from the first turn on. Sincethis strategy leads the game into new situations thatwill be unfam iliar to players used to the more com-monplace non-Mediterranean strategies, I willpreface my turn-by-turn commentary with an ex-planation o f the whys and wherefores of fighting inthe M editeranean.

The key idea behind the Medite rranean strategyis that the British can adopt a conservative ap-proach against the Germans in the Atlantic and usethe forces conserved to deny the Mediterranean tothe Italians, w ith the net result that the B ritish gainmore P OC in the Med than they losein the Atlantic.Several traditional strategies involve invading theMedite rranean later in the game but the 'Mediter ra-

nean Strategy ' emphasizes fighting for the Mediter-ranean f rom the very first turn in order to gain threebenefits. First, the British can place units in the Medwithout speed rolls on turn one, so they can usetheir slow ships there an d increase the efficiency oftheir fleet. S econd, a British fleet in the Med early inthe game gains unexpected P OC an d cuts into theinitial Axis PO C gains. Th ird, the continual B ritishpresence in the Mediterranean wears down Italianstrength and makes it easier for the British to gaincontrol la ter in thega me , which increases the speedwith which the British regain POC and makes thesafe and chancy arrival of the convoys less vital.The strategy also involves subsidiary benefits(which in fact are w hat makes th e strategy feasibleat all). First, control of the Med blocks the Italianraiders from leaving and thereby reduces the force

that needs to be committed to the South Atlantic.Equally imp ortan t, the British player gets the max-imum flexibility in redeploying his force to meetdevelopments, since from the Med he can returndirectly to England without speed rolls.

The big question with the Mediterraneanstrategy is choosing how much force to commit tothe Mediterranean at the start of the game, andthere are (at least) two schools of thought on thesubject. Many players choose to clearly outnumb erthe Italian fleet, which means that the Italiansusually do not sortie and th e British, with extraforces tied up in the M editerranean, are forced to beeven more passive in the Atlantic. C onsequently, inmy application of this strategy I prefer to offe r theItalians an even battle, a t the star t, relying on a ttri-tion (which is advantageous to the British) and the

British capacity for reinforcement to lead to even-tual control of the situation. I then use the addi-tional British forces to pursue a slightly moreadventurous policy in the Atlantic. That's thetheory, anyway.

My WAS game is very rusty, so I will have torely on notes and calculations I made a long timeago, particularly the 'Fuzzy Wuzzy' factors I in-troduced an d explained in Volume 13. Number 3 ofTHE GENERAL. Necessarily I will be referring t othese factors in my commentary, so I will explainthem briefly for those of you who do not have thatout-of-prin t issue. Basically, each ship is assigned anumbe r of b attle points which defines its effect onwinning a battle, a nd a killing factor which definesits ability to sink enemy ships and withstan d beingsunk. S ome typical values are 7 battle points and 2

killing points for British/Italian cruisers and 14 bat-

tle points a nd 14 killing points for British 4-4 battlships. Air factors and U-Boats subtract 4 froenemy totals. These values are meant t o be direccompara ble, so the side with more battle points inbattle shou ld win the battle while the side with mokilling points should inflict more damage.

AXIS PREG AME COMMENTARY

One of th e things I had to get used to ab out DGreenwood is that he mumbles a lot, both whyou're talking to him and when he's by himseHaving been a ra dio oper ator in the service thougand. being used to a lot of static during transm

sions, it only took me several months to deciphmost of his more unusual sounds. One of hrepetitive mumblings is that he never has any goSeries Replays for THE GENERAL. Well, in tlast few weeks, numerous suggestions have bemade by me that we, thestaff, do some. I mean wbetter to do Series Replays? Every chicken hasstick his neck ou t sometime.

Finally, the light broke through and Dagreed.

Lots of talk followed. Eventually it took a btodo to get words into action even then. I prclaimed myself ag oo d, if not the best player at VI

TORY IN THE PACIFIC, WAR AT SEA, anNAPOLEON, clearly challenging Don an d RichaHamblen t o a contest to dispute me. Their interesuddenly grew. Coun ter claims were aired. I put m

money up and told them to d o the same. And so tAH grudge match was arranged.Actually, while I do consider myself to be

good player in all three games I mentioned, WA

ATSEA ranks third among the three. So what doend up playing? Of course, of course. But, for thoof you who t ake anythin g and everything seriousPLEASE DON'T! Don, Richard and 1 are friendI'm not crazy about my mother, but that's anothstory.

The psychological warfare began a few daago, w hen it was decided Richard and I would compete in WAR AT SEA. I said I'd like to bet $10Richard said he'd prefer to make it more like $20agreed, having won th e first battle. You see, I didnwant to bet $100. I'm looney, but I'm not crazyjust gave Rich an inflated fig ure so he's settle at

slightly higher figure than he would have if I'd sa$10. And that's the psychology of it. I want thighest figure I can get to make R ichard nervousalso wanted t o mak e Richard believe I wanted to ban amount like $100 to show confidence and to lhim know that I am serious about my claims. Thawhat it's all about. Confidence without arrogancfriendly intimidation, and surface humor with iner concentration are the ingredients of a winnipsychological warfare strategy. I also grin alo t anact like I'm taking th e game lightly while inside I'vgot all the wheels turning. Now, isn't gaming fu

Don an d Rich both w anted to be the Allies anshowcase the Mediterranean Strategy. They fethis is the best way to win a s the Allies. As a mattof fact, so do I. It certainly makes for a more iteresting game, and the Axis still have an ev

chance. at least.

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I should mention that Don offered me a way out.at th e last minute. H e said I could be th e neutralcommentator an d he'd play th e Axis. What a niceguy. That didn't appeal to me though. After all,Do n always gets th e last word in THEGENERAL,an d if I wa s th e neutral commentator he'd just editou t an y last words 1ha d about him. So , tis better toplay. The play's th e thing anyway. Besides, I needth e twenty bucks.

Of course, win o r lose I'll have a good time.That's th e major difference between garners. Sometake their games to o seriously. I take fu n seriously

and fake th e rest. However, there is respect to begained here fo r both Rich an d I in th e eyes of you,th e readers, an d in this wecan both be winners. Th e$20is small potatoes compared to that. I'll still taketh e money if I win though, just to show Rich heshouldn't gamble.

This game will be my attempt to prove th efallacy of th e Fuzzy Wuzzy method of playingWAR AT SEA (See Vol. 13 , No . 3). The formulawill be destroyed forever. It's Fuzzy Wuzzy againstFuzie Bear. This game will exemplify the differencebetween Richard's style of exact odds calculationsan d my gaming odds. I feel most players go by theirhunches an d th e feel of thegame. They don't figureou t anything exactly. I assume I will be lucky an d Itake chances because of it. When there is a chance,I'll go fo r it!

BRITISH TURN O N E COMMENTARYI have four objectives on th e first turn: control

th e North Sea, contest th e Mediterranean, controlth e South Atlantic (t o trap an y intruders in th eNeutral Country) an d d o something to penalize an yAxis move into th e North Atlantic (t o deter oiling).Committing units to four areas is a little tricky withonly a 30% advantage in overall strength, since th eAxis ca n concentrate against all four to varyingdegrees, so my initial placement is necessarilya littlethin an d technically subtle. In practice, I will se t u pthree types of occupation fleets. First, th e controlfleet that is designed to win a battle an d control th esea area bu t which ma y be low in killing power.Secondly, th e killing fleet which may be weak in

battle-winning ability bu t which ca n inflictdisproportionate casualties-this is a particularlydevastating threat because th e British fleet isunusally strong in killing punch. Finally, a balancedfleet that is meant to hold its ow n in battles an d inkill ratio. Now fo r th e deployment in detail:

MEDITERRANEANThe key to th e strategy. Slow ships ca n start here

free an d ca n return to England at will a t th e en d of aturn; a great improvement over their normal move-ment limitations. As a result I will start th e bulk ofth e slow units here an d withdraw them to Englandas needed o r allowed by th e course of th e game. Thestrength is calculated carefully an d is less than someMediterranean strategists prefer. 1 calculate thatwith normal airstrike luck on both sides I should

have a slight advantage in killing power an d be at aslight disadvantage in battlewinning capabilitywhen the battle is joined. On this first turn I am no tnecessarily aiming a t control of th e area; I am will-ing fo r th e Italians to win, as long as ship losses ar eeven o r in my favor.

NORTH SEAThis is th e area that the-British must control, so

naturally I pu t a control group, weak in killingpoints, here. My good control/poor kill ships ar e alllight an d fast, which gives me a few more advan-tages here: the ships' speed means that th e Axismight no t be able to get away if he fights here an dhas to withdraw, an d since th e Axis will probablyno t go up against superior battle strength an d speedthen th e fast ships will not fight an d will take no

losses on th e first turn.

acb vessel is listed bynlme and gunnery, armor, speed and .Irenh (exponmtial) fmctom na constitutedat the bqinningof tbe

t ~ . - .Followingeach llrting is a code digit &owing how it f a d . Code digits are M follows: S = sunk, X = disabled,C = coatml

Z = speedmll failed. 0 = oiled, R = repairing. W = withdrew. P = punne, X = numberof dlmagepoints received,M. N. F, R.U= port retuned to if other than England, Germany, Italy or Leningrad: Malta, Neutnl, F n w . Russla, USA. Lmd based dr i

signifledby LEA.

SOUTH ATLANTICThe British really want to control this area to

trap an y intruders o r failed oilers in th e Neutralport, bu t they lack th e strength to ensure controlsuperiority. Consequently, 1 pu t enough killingstrength here to make th e intrusion unpalatable.The Axis ca n come here with battle an d killingsuperiority, bu t they risk being irreparably crippledeven if they win.

NORTH ATLANTICYo u might call this th e North Atlantic Gambit.

The Axis is almost forced to strike here, bu t th e tw o

heavy battleships ar e extremely powerful in killipower. The Axis will probably win th e battle, bthey ar e likely to take major losses. As a result thAxis usually feels obliged to send a few pockbattleships in (risking th e die roll), since that's thonly way he ca n gain killing superiority, whistretches him thin. TheEagle affects all this by ading an imponderable-the British can actually where with a lucky airstrike a t th e start-andpenalizing th e U-Boats should they appear in suport of a major Axis sortie. Statistically, I expeon e of th e British ships to come limping home an d

expect th e Axis to lose on e ship and to have on

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damaged. Even attrition is not to be feared by the

growing British fleet.

SUMMAR Y

I am off ering attrition battles in the North

Atlantic, Mediterranean and South Atlantic, rely-

ing on each group's killing strength to ensure even

attrition. In addition, the South Atlantic and

Mediterranean forces have a reasonable chance o f

maintaining control. The North Sea I have

guaranteed with a control group.

BRITISH COMM ENTARY ON COMBATA 5-5-3 averages nearly three damage points per

broadside, so the natural choice o f argets is to fire

each at a pocket BB or to mass them on a bat-

tlecruiser. Since the German fared well on his speed

roll I have two pocket BB's to fire at, which are

preferable targets due to their weaker defense and

stronger net gunnery. They are also sinkable in-

dividually, which is helpful in case my luck is below

par-which it is .

MEDITERRANEAN

Since I am seeking an attrition battle in hopes o f

ultimate victory, I will concentrate on his killing-

power ships with airstrikes and gunnery. After the

peculiar results o f he first round my losses are not

too bad but the ships that remain in the battle are in

deep trouble. 1 must save what I can for next turn.Consequently I run in two groups, forcing him to

win two battles to wipe me out-and my luck turns

a bit.

AXIS TURN ONE COMMENTARY-

I was surprised by Richard's setup. 1expected to

see either more or less ships in the Mediterranean. Iwas especially surprised the Glorious was there in-

stead o f he Ark Royal. I was intrigued by his use o f

the fast ship force (Hood , Repulse, Renown, and

the cruisers) n the North Sea which is something Ihadn't seen before.

I must fight in the Mediterranean. It's a better

than even battle. His extra two air factorsare more

than balanced by my extra three cruisers. I f I don't

fight now, he'll just put more ships in there next

turn andI ' l l

be cornered tillI

do fight. My best oddsare this turn.

The decision o fwhere to put the German fleet is

easy. In fact, it is no decision at all. The North

Atlantic is too inviting. With a diff erent setup I

might have considered attacking in the North Seaor

South Atlantic or not attacking at all, but my

strategy here is obvious.

The odds are heavily in my favor in the North

Atlantic. The U-Boats join in to get a shot at the

Eagle; they are not there just to break control

because I will win the battle anyway. Wi th five

ASW rolls against my three U-Boats , they have a

better than even chance o f surviving. Getting rid o f

the Eagle will prevent Rich from sending one o fmy

big ships home with a disabled result from the air

factor. I want all my ships so I can sink both his

battleships.

I lef t the Graf Spee in the Barents to pick up the

easy two points. I considered leaving another 2-2-5

in the Baltic, but decided the extra ship in the North

Atlantic was more important than one more POC.

Now, two 2-2-5s can try for the North Atlantic and

at least one should make the speed roll. Both actu-

ally do, and that's a big bonus. The 2-2-5s are the

ships left behind because the 1-2-7s are assured o f

making it to the battle. While two gunnery factors

are better than one, one is better than none and the

one is a sure thing.

I know the Mediterranean Strategy is a trap to

get both the German fleet and the Italian fleet into

battle, but I think the trap has some flaws here and Iwill test it. I will probably leave one or more ships in

the North Atlantic to oil at sea at the end o f the

turn.

TURN ONE NEUTRAL COMMENTARY-

I have already stated my approval of the overall

British strategy. It is only in the fine details of im-

plementing the strategy that I can find fault with

Richard's opening setup. I disagree with him in

allowing the Italians the potential upperhand to

control the Med. I feel that attrition should be used

vs. the Germans-not the Italians. The British Med

forceshould be able to expect to control the Med on

the first turn. The superiority edge they can enjoy

will be slight, but nonetheless, it should be theirs.

Control of the Med's POC and closure of the S.

Atlantic to Italian cruisers is necessary to justifythis type of effort against the Italians. If the British

are to ight the Italians they must win-they cannot

afford half measures. Otherwise, they would be

better off ignoring the Med altogether and concen-

trating on the Germans.

The British edge must beslight. They cannot af-

ford any more and still be able to extract reasonable

attrition from the Germans. This edge can be

gained by replacing the Glorious with the Ark

Royal and adding two more cruisers to the British

screen. The Ark Royal simply must be stationed in

the Med. There are six major Italian targets to deal

with and the Ark Royal's three airstrike factors

coupled with land basedair rom Malta willgive the

British the maximum ef fi ie nt use o airpo wer. This

three airstrike edge is all that stands between the

British and an Italian advantage. On the average, itshould dispatch or damage one more vessel than the

Luftwaffe and leave the British with one additional

capital ship and hopefully an even number of

vessels to screen the Ark Royal from an Italian bat:

tleship. Should the Italians refuse battle altogether

nothing islostyet. TheSouth Atlantic will be reeof

Italian cruisers on turn 2 and the British willstill be

able to contest three areas with the Germanson urn

2. Any British move into the Barentsbefore urn3 is

premature anyway. It is a battleground of the Ger-

man's choosing-an area where the Luf twaffegets

'Ifree"potshotsat themost vulnerable British ships

who must also struggle with speed roils until turn 4

allows them to base in Murmansk. Therefore, the

Mediterranean squadron can stay put on turn 2 and

await developments in the Atlantic. Oiler ailures or

battle results might ultimately dictate leaving the

Med but this decision need not be made on turn 1

just because the Italians ail to sortie. Depending on

the German success, control of the Barents can be

delayed till turn 4 and never should be attempted

before turn 3.

But what of the North Sea which I've just

weakened? Richard's setup here is unusual and

clever. He seeks to protect his most vulnerable and

valuable fast ships by grouping them together into

his strongest control group. The Germans could do

great damage to these valuable ships but stand to

lose the battle due to the sheer number of British

targets. Richard is banking, and cleverly I might

add, that the Gerrnan will be reluctant to throw aN

his eggs in one basket with a less than even pitched

battle here and take a chance on coming up POC-

less when there are easier ish elsewhere with almost

guaranteed POC. My gripe is that Richard hasmade this choice too easy for the German to make.

His control orce is obviously superior to anything

the German can muster. I would lighten the North

Sea force by an additional two cruisers (besides the

force already sent to the Med) and replace them

with the Valiant. If the Glorious can disable a

battlecruiser the British will still have the superior

force-albeit by a razor's edge.

The South Atlantic gains AS W strength in the

swap which is the immediate British concern. Con-

trol of the South Atlantic is essential to discourage

over-zealous oiling attempts at the end of the turn.

The Courageous also gains additional screening

protection should the entire Gerrnan leet come that

way and her chances of escape are enhanced. Not

that such a battle is expected. Richard's setup

designed to make the South Atlantic unpalatabl

Not only does it represent a major attrition oppo

tunity, but the battle is nearly even and should

result in Allied control, the result would

catastrophic or the Axis. My changes are only o

thesake o what I believe to beslightly better over

balance between the areas.

The North Atlanticsetup is identical to my ow

It is designed to invite battle. To hit the "easies

target the German must chance speed rolls and/o

leave uncontested POC behind. The German fir

will come against the strongest British ships-shipsthat will survive one hit 83% of the time and tw

hits28% of the time. These survivors have a16.7

chance of limping home with every die cast again

them. In the meantime they get 11 shots of the

own which should yield an average of 6.5 damag

points-enough to sink two of the lesser Germa

vessels. The loss of a 5-5-3 and the Eagle for a pa

of 2-2-5's is cause for celebration on the openin

turn and happens more often than not . On those o

casions when the Baltic& Barents are garrisoned

speed roil is missed, an airstrike delivered on th

Scharnhorst, and the British salvos are falling a

curately an actual victory is within the realm o

possibility.

The Axis response to the British setup is beyon

criticism. Abandoning the,POC or the Baltic to e

sure a more favorable ratio in battle is the corre

decision at this stage of the game as is leaving th

2-2-5 behind in the Barents instead of using a 1-2

and chancing a speed roll. Against Richard

defense, the decision to sortie with the Italians

easy-they have the superior force-although on

by the slightest of margins.

The irst die roils belong to AIan as the Lutzo

and Scheer pass their speed rolls and join the actio

in the North Atlantic. Surprisingly though. the tw

U-boatswhich manageshots both attack the Eagl

AIan seems to be placing great emphasis o

avoiding the Eagle's single airstrike before the su

face battle is joined. Moreover, he doesn't want

let the British battleships escape with a U-boa

induced disabled result. To my way of thinking th

is entirely the wrong logic. The British battleshi

are to be eared-even though they stand to lose th

battle, they could andshould each take down a Geman pocket battleship. The U-boats should eac

have fired at a 5-5-3, leaving the less dangerou

Eagle as the outnumbered prize of battle to th

massed guns of the German fleet. The smile o

Hamblen's face as the Eagle limped back t

England before the surface battle spoke well of h

feelings on the matter.

In the Med, the Luftwaffe's three airstrik

managed a near standoff with the Royal Navy

fire-both removing two capital ships from th

fray. This leaves the Axis with the advantage o

three extra cruisers. For that reason, I find fau

with the British choice of targets. TheExetershou

be iring on a cruiser with an eye towards mprovin

the eventual escape chances of the Glorious. Clear

the battle is now in the Italian's favor. Thoug

should be given to the problems posed bwithdrawal. If the Exeter had roiled an unneede

hit or disabled on an already dispatched Andre

Doria it would have had great cause to regret it.

As it is the British withdraw in two groups afte

the opening round and RamiNies, licking he

wounds, is able to sink the pursuing Andrea Dori

with more o f those excellent British damage dice s

much in evidence in the opening round. Onwonders why she didn't then return to England fo

repairs considering the hard hit fleet already i

Malta. The Exeter and Glorious are not so for

tunate and are set upon and sunk by concentrate

fire from the Italian cruisers in three rounds ofpur

suit. Despite the Exeter's heroics in disabling two o

the Italian cruisers, one doubts the wisdom of thi

combined withdrawal. The Italians enjoyed a 4-

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gunfire superiority and in the vast majority of cases

should have sunk the Exeter long before she could

have removed one of their number. The Italians

would then be free to turn their combined guns on

the Glorious and add her to the booty. The correct

move here would have been to withdraw separately

forcing the Italian to split his orce ifhe were to bag

them both. Alan would have probably ignored the

Exeter to increase his odds of getting the Glorious

but it would still have been a superior move.

Richard was extremely ortunate to escape with the

Exeter-heroics notwithstanding. Although the

Glorious is ar more important, the chances of Ex-eter saving her by close escort at that point were ex-

tremely slim.

It has been an interesting turn. The Allies con-

trol only the North Sea and South Atlantic and are

five POCdown. Aside from the lossof the Glorious

to the pursuing Italian cruisers the British might

have won the Mediterranean "war" while losing

the "battle." They sank two Italian battleships to

one of their own while putting two others hors de

combat or at least a turn with maximum irepower

and thus can be used in apinch. The German wisely

kept his oiling to a minimum due to the British con-

trol in the South Atlantic. It is still anybody's game

although the Axis hasgot the best o the irst round.

One wonders what would have transpired with the

Ark R o k l and two more cruisers in the Med.

Checking or the impact of the luck actor on allthis wefind that.fortunesmiledon Alan with13hits

and 8 disabled results where he should only have

had 10.33 and 6.67 respectively. He also got away

with three out of three speed rolls. On the negative

side the hits he did achieve should have racked up

36.85 damage points but actually netted only 30. A

check of the British ledger shows nearly a mirror

image of this with Richard having below average hit

resutts but scoring far more heavily than he should

have on the hits he did get. An examination of the

luck actor shows that Lady Luck was indeed active

this turn but very fickle. She favored both sides

about equally with Richard doing slightly better at

1.24 to Alan's 1.22.As an overall influence we can

dismiss luck as being a major factor this turn.

BRITISH TURN 2Well, notwithstanding his hot dice I am not

much worse off than I expected. I myself was par-ticularly lucky to get out o f the Mediterranean with a(reasonably) whole skin after the way the battlethere started.

I am facing a position that is a little peculiar.The effective loss of thr ee ships in the Atlantic whilethe Axis lost only one means that I am stretchedbadly in the Atlantic; on the other hand. I have akilling point sup eriority in the Mediterrane an eventhough I lost the battle there. This calls for a slightchange in policy, so 1 will attempt to clamp down onthe I talians while they are weakened while pulling inmy horns in the Atlantic. I cannot hold two area?against the massed Kriegsmarine, s o 1 will mass irthe North Sea and forfeit the North Atlantic to limit

unfavorable attrition. I will also clamp down o n theSouth Atlantic to trap intruders and unsuccessfuloilers.

This gives him more PO C than1 like, but I feel 1am just a little too weak to contest the North Atlan-tic with the area control situation out of hand; theScheer can go anywhere and the Italians can sortiein the South Atlantic this turn. Hopefully this turnwill restore the tactical si tuation s o I can redeploy aship or two from the Med and use my rein-forcements to be more aggressive next turn. Withthe Axis gaining extra P OC now , I will have to relyon the M editerranean control to regain points in themiddle and late game. Details:

AXIS TURN TWO COMMENTARYThings went pretty well in turn one. My on

regrets are that the Eagle an d Exetergot away, bucan't complain too much ab out the dice. The bblow was losing the Andrea Doria in the retreat.

The situation in the Mediterranean is now veinteresting. Though Rich has more firepower, hships are damaged and won't take much to sink. Mproblem is my two 4-6-6s which must both repair get their full firepower back.

I only oiled one ship at sea in the North A tlanbecause 1 figure that's all I need, and I didn't lithe possibility of being trapp ed in the Neutral PorI picked the Admiral Scheer because it was tslowest ship and the others can all make two arewithout speed rolls. One little trick I have up msleeve will be to p ut t he Scheer ix the Mediterranea

if the battle is close. It could m ake the differenc

ty a--_ J-Boat protection I need-I want to controlthis area this time. The carrier also allows me toairstrike both a sortying fleet an d repairing bat-tleships with land based air if th e circumstancearises. I definitely want to keep his heavies hurtingeven if he sorties with th e rest of his fleet.

SOUTH A TLANTIC

Once more I want to ensure control, includingU-Boat protection.

NORTH A TLANTIC

Again to ens ure control, even against U-Boat in-cursions.

MEDITERRANEAN

I have killing superior ity, but I need a few extra

cruisers and a carrier to give me the battle superi ori-

BRITISH COMMENT ON COMBA T

Pfui. My carrier, no less. This cheap attrition is

getting me in deeper and deeper.

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Things look rosey for the German fleet and Ihope to do a lot of damage this turn, while theItalians just ha ng o n so Rich will have to use m oreships in the Mediterranean for a couple of moreturns. One more +5 PO C turn, and th e game willbe mine no m atter what.

Richard surprises me again! And again leavesme no decision. I can pick up + 3 POC for the tu rnby just sitting in port, a nd I have more to gain byrepairing my Italian battleships than fighting. Hisbattleships can't repair an d they will still be easy tosink next turn. I will again attempt t o oil at sea with

th e Scheer for the same reasons as I did on turn one.

TURN TWO NEUTRAL COMMENTARY-

The difference between Richard's approach to

the Med strategy and my own has become very pro-

nounced. I try to defeat the Italians andattrition the

Germans. Early attrition, even slightly un-

favorable, is in the British best interests. Richard is

not putting anypressure at aN on the Germans while

suddenly putting too much strength in the Med.

Alan's non-move is beyond reproach. To do

anything else against this development would be

pure folly. I don't believe the British can win this

way. The stronger the German fleet becomes the

harder it is or the British to garrison all necessary

areas. The Germans must be whittled down. The

importance of gaining POC in the Med is to orce

the Germans to offer battle more readily. I must

condemn this as apoor move-not up to the norm

of Richard's usually excellently thought out play.

The British are strong enough to contest four

areas and blood the axis! True, they'l l have to take

chances but that's nothing new and now is the time

to do so-before they get even stronger!

Let's start with the Med which is a poor move

even if you disagree that the Allies can contest our

areas. It is ar too strong-the Italian would have to

becrazy to come out against it-and now, while he

is weakest with maximum damage on his battleships

is the time to tempt him. Send those reinforcements

back. Get the Sovereign out of port and let her sail

with three damagepoints. She will still have a salvo

of 4 on the opening round. The Med is still too

strong though and although Richard is correct innot chancfng speed rolls to return parts of his

Mediterranean squadron to England, the Ramillies

could have gone there free at the end of last turn.

This would leave the Med defended by five ships

with an initial gunnery count of 17.Assuming the

Italian will refuse to budge his maximum damage

battleships (a very good assumption) the Italians

can only counter with six ships with I2

firepower-and that would require all the Italian

cruisers-thusguaranteeing thesafety of the South

Atlantic. After the turn when the Italians don't

come out (and they probably won't), the British

could choose which ships to move to England for

free repairs rather than fooling with partial efforts

in Malta. Under no circumstances should a carrier

be in the Med this turn. Thereare not enough strong

targets there to warrant additional air supportabove the three already available from land based

air. The presence of a carrier only gives the Lu ft-

waffe a highly vulnerable and valuable target to

shoot at in an area which represents their only

potential attack anyway. That's like waving a red

flag in front of a bull. Fate seems to agree if one

credits the supernatural with the rapid dispatch of

the Formidable.

The North Sea isalso overdefended.A 4-4-4can

be spared for the North Atlantic and possibly two.

This would leave the North Sea vulnerable topossi-

ble German control but it would have to come

against a British kill group and should exact realat-

trition. The Ark Royal is the key. If she can disable

one or more of the German heavies the British

should win the battle and the game! Just to make

sure we'll throw in the two cruisers from the Med

giving the British seven ships with 22 shotsplus the

Ark Royal against seven Germans with 16 bonus

shots. And this counts on the Scheer being present

and the Baltic unclaimed!

The North Atlantic can now be manned by the

Ramillies, Barham, and Malaya plus the Renown

and Repluse and a cruiser from the South Atlantic

plus Courageous and Formidable or a total of six

ships and 19shotsplus the our airstrike actors of

the carriers. Against this the Germans wouldprob-

ably mass seven ships with I5 bonus shots before

the airstrike. Again, the carriers are all important

and actually make the British force slightlysuperior.

This leaves only four cruisers to defend the S.

Atlantic, but, so what? If the Scheer ventures here

that probably means the North Sea and North

Atlantic are safe. And if the Italians sortie then the

Med issafe. This is the only area where the Axis has

a clear cut advantage and it is slim-one 2-2-5

pocket battleship and the U-boat threat are all that

keeps this from being an even battle. An eight

cruiser melee is a tossup which is to the British ad-

vantage when you consider how valuable the Italian

cruisers are. A single lucky '5' or '6' against the

Scheer can put the British into a virtual standoff

with the Italians and if things do go badly the

British can run away from the Scheer. The cruisers

are also the least valuable targets to expose to the

U-boats. To top it all off asortie hereshould ensureAllied controls in the three surrounding seas and

prevent further S. Atlantic ventures.

The Axis can still concentrate and possibly win

any one battle but not two. This means that

Richard's defensegives up as much POCas I would

make the Axis fight for, and, hopefully, extract a

price. Richard's move gains neither attrition nor

POC while both are possible. Sooner or later the

British must offer an even battle. Whypostpone the

inevitable when later "inevitable" will include the

Tirpitz? The Allies now find themselves 8 POC

behind and unable to make a major mistake or lose

a major battle. They've used all the "rope" the

game allows. This is not the Richard Hamblen I

know.

The ailure of the Scheer's oiling attempt gives

small manner of solace to the British. Consideringthe British control of the S. Atlantic and the

decreased chances of oiling success, Alan should

have left well enough alone but he'sprobably drunk

on visions of victory by now. Nevertheless, Alan

pulled ahead in the luck department with a

cumulative figure of 1.3 compared to Richard's

1.28. The real damage done this turn, however, had

nothing to do with luck.

BRITISH TURN 3The tide is going against me but we are still

within the Mediterranean strategy's tolerance fordisaster. My loss of two carriers means that th e tac-tical stability I enjoy this turn is ephem eral; he'll bepoking holes in my control freely around theperimeter from now on.

Future plans have a big effect on my play thisturn. Next turn I need to clamp down on theBarents, which means that I will need the ASWcapabilities of the convoy-since I am nowoperating tw o carriers light. Thus, 1 must hold theNorth Atlantic and North Sea in strength. I ambeginning t o remem ber how this game is played, soI am willing to go a little thin here in hopes of d raw-ing the Germans out-l can stand to lose an occa-sional battle as long as I can inflict significant losseson the Germans. In the south the threat of U-Boatsand th e slow recovery of the Italian Navy portendsthat things a re going to get worse here in the future,so I want t o draw a battle this turn while things are(comparatively) under control. Once more I canstand to lose a battle in the Med, but only if 1 gainfavorable attrition on him-my dice canno t be

cold, nor his hot, forever!

NORTH A TLANTIC

I need a major fleet to protect the convoy. Hcan get killing and battle superiority, but can stand the attrition?

NORTH SEA

Here he can get battle superiority, but definitely should not be able to stand the attritio

SOUTH A TLANTIC

Unfo rtunately, I canno t spare much strengthdeal with the Scheer, so I must maximize the force

efficiency, particularly against the appearance his U-Boats. Using cruisers as my surface strengmaximizes my ASW and also reduces the surfastrength that can be sent home by a lucky torpedWhether the Eaglewill use her airstrikeand how swill behave in the battle depends on whether tU-Boats come here and how m uch damage they iflict. Hopefully I can pass up the a ir strike in ordto sink the Eagle with 'massed' gunne ry. I just withat I could afford more gunnery here. I will almocertainly win the battle, but the Scheermay well gaway.

MEDITERRANEAN

His position is improving while mine is noTherefore, I will tempt him to sortie by allowihim superior strength. Apart from the attrition

wish to inflict, this should prevent his woundebattleships from affecting repairs.

THE U-BOAT WAR

He should not be able to break the North Seand the North Atlantic should take care of aU-Boats sent there. He can break either tMediterranean or the South Atlantic, but not botMoreover, he should take some U-Boat losses in taction. In comm itting his U-Boats to either of theareas he will gain some tactical flexibility, but will still be limited to concentrating in only oarea-which I should be able to deal with.

BRITISH COMMENTARY ON COMBAT

Oop s. So he breaks control in the South Atlantwith U-Boats, an d breaks c ontrol in the Mediterr

nean by winning a battle. Things are going frobad to worse; I am going to have to rely on regaiing large amounts of PO C on the last 4 turn s if I agoing to pull this one out of the fire-and that wrequire luck.

AXIS TURN THREE COMMENTARY

The Scheer doesn't find the oiler in the vaNorth Atlantic, but that was a calculated risk.hope I can salvage something by taking a ship dowwith her in the So uth Atlantic this turn. Actuallturn two went my way as another carrier went dowand I picked u p 3 PO C without a fight, giving metotal of 8 POC. I f I can pick up 2 P OC this turn, Ibe at maximum and Richard will have to avera+2 PO C each turn for the remaining five turns. Neasy task!

Richard again surprises me with his setup. H egiving me the ad vantag e in the Mediterranean batle. Even more surprising though is his weak forin the South Atlantic. My U-Boats should ganother shot at the Eagle. I debated leaving tScheer in the Neutral P ort because I can afford t-1 POC , but I think the Scheer can justify her loby sinking one cruiser. Richard will need his faships next turn for the Murmansk run so if I ctake out an extra one it will hurt him. With aluck, I can get rid of the Ealgewith the U-Boats asink a cruiser, and maybe get away with a disablresult. If the Scheerdoes survive, the South A tlanwill be open (the U-Boats breaking control) andcan attempt t o put her in the Mediterranean or a

other area except the Barents in turn fo ur.

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


The main German fleet will stay homea s a battlein either the North Sea or the North Atlantic doesnot look good. Turn four should be tough for Rich.He will have to decide where to put his fast ships,probably splitting them between the Mediter raneanand the Barents. He will almost certainly have tochance some speed rolls to get ships to one or bothareas.

TURN THREE NEUTRAL COMMENTARY-

This s a good setup bu t it's a turn to o late! Th e

Axis has grown to o strong. Th e Allies need somebreaks like an appearance ro m th e Russians whichis no t forthcoming. Given th e situation my onlysuggestion o r improvement would be t o trade th eNorfolk fo r the Hood. This wouldgive he Brit ish aslight edge in th e Med an d not hamper th e No r thSea enough to make a sortie there advisable as th eNor th Atlantic iss t i l la better risk o r th e German ifhe wants t o ace an attr i t ion battle.

Alan's response is excellent an d reveals therestraint an d ability t o pace onesev which is foundonly in better players. H e knows that the Alliesmust move nt o the Barents next tu rn an d when theydo the Luftwaffe an d newly arrived Graf Zeppelinwi l l reverse th e ai r cover situation which is the onlything saving th e Brit ish now. H e also knows thattheir ranks are likely to be thinned th e irst t ime up

north du e t o speed ro l l ailures. Waiting is th e cor-rect decision even though the Russians ma y no t beso cooperative next time.

Similarly, th e sortie in th e M e d is well advised.N o t only does he have th e advantage here but this isprobably thelast turn that th e Luftwaffecan be lentto th e Med, what wi th th e anticipatedgoings-on inthe Barents. Some might argue that the U-boatsmight have been more valuable in th e M ed wherethere are more irnportant targets, a closer battle t oinfluence an d Italian cruisers to break into th e S.Atlantic, bu t theirplacement is reasonable an d doesgive the Scheer hope fo r continued adventures onturn four by removing Brit ish contrdl in th e S.Atlantic.

Tactically, however, these fellows are doingstrange things. Th e German again takes a ll three

U-boat shots on th e Eagle. This t ime th e Eagle isthe most important target a ll right, bu t Iwoulds t i l lsplit my shots to take in tw o cruisers an d improvethe chances fo r survival of th e Scheer. Fa r morequestionable, however, is th e British decision no t t ouse the Eagle's airstrike. Granted, yo u don' t wantto let the Scheer off th e hook wi th a '5 ', bu t on theother hand those three cruisersaren't exactly an ex-ecution squad! Th e Scheer is likely to take at leastone of them down with her and they are hardlyguaranteed to send the Scheer to her maker! Th eBrit ish losses have been to o heavy to afford th e ux -ury of passing up a free shot. H e can't afford t ochance the oss of a cruiser or tw o if there sa n alter-native. Th e loss of the Dorsetshire illustrates th epoint nicely.

I n th e Med the British came about as close to

pull ing i t ou t as ispossible, bu t i t needn't have beenthat close. Alan's poor habit of concentrating fireon one ship almost cost hi m dearly when the tw ocruisers rolled a '5' an d a '6' vs. Th e Devonshire.H a d he y been on different targets he wou ldn't haveha d to sweat ou t th e 3rd an d 4th rounds.

Richard reclaimed a slim margin in the uc k ac -to r wi th a 1.32 rating over Alan's 1.22. I t is in-teresting that th e "disabled luck" is exactly evenwhile A lan owes his success to h it superiority andRichard's t o good damage dice, bu t the + 10 P O Cfo r the Axis is th e only important figure now.

BRITISH TURN 4With tw o of my carriers gone an d his U-Boat

fleet approaching maximum strength, 1am going to

have to inflict some U-Boat losses an d then-atsome point-threaten to control th e whole board.Thus, this turn I will threaten to lock him in an dregain some tactical control. Hi s U-Boats musteither sortie or allow me th e board control nextturn. I d o no t anticipate a German surface sortie, soth e Russian will stay at home this turn. Th e Rus-sians will sail on th e turn I attempt th e mass control(1 hope), in order to add more pressure to hisdeployment. Similarly th e Yanks will stay homeagainst th e turn(s) of decision; I will let him keep hismaximum PO C lead this turn. After all, there ar efour more turns an d th e convoys. If I ca n gain masscontrol fo r a couple of turns I ca n still pull this on e

out.

M E D I T E R R A N E A NTh e tactical control in th e Barents an d Nor

Se a is th e key point of th e turn, so I avoid splittimy effort. After al l he (sob!) can't gain an y moP O C this turn.

BARENTSH e ca n break this area with U-Boats, bu t

should take some losses, which is what I want.

N O R T H SE AHere I want control, so I maintain ASW

superiority an d a powerful fleet.

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


Eu D A T I L ~ ,LO^xpected Actual Expected Actual

ittacker Target ;~?&fg& h i t s Hits ~ a r n a ~ e amage ~ i s n b l e d

TURN 1NORTH ATLANTIC5 AS W 3 U-BoatsRodney Scheer

n Lutzow

IEDITERRANEANBA Littorlo,, ,

BA * *>! $ 9 W 9

Doria k23%i*&BA cesare *v$J%.fTa. +{C'is i*rlorious Cavour3;'+A% 4: bh1

Glorious DuilioResolution DoriaExeter

Oak.O I

SECOND R O U N D W lT H D R A W A IRamillies Doria .t

SECOND R O U N D W IT H D R A W A LExeter Gorizia .16

TURN 2 MEDITERRANEAN1 BA Littorio 1

BA VenetoBA Cesare

TURN T W O TOTALS

URN 3 SOUTH ATLANTICASW 4 U-Boats

Suffolk ScheerCumberland ScheerDorsetshire Scheer

MEDITERRANEANLBA CavourLBA CesareLBA Veneto

Ramillies CavourSovereign LittorloRevenge ZaraNorfolk PolaDevonshire Gorizia

SECOND ROUNDNorfolk GoriziaDevonshire Fiume

T H IR D ROUNDNorfolk Fiume

F O U R T H R O U N DNorfolk Fiume

TURN T H R E E TOTALS

URN 4 ITALYBA Cavour

BA Veneto

BARENTSArk Royal TirpitzArk Royal BismarckArk Royal GneisenauPO W GneisenauDOY ScharnhorstKGV Graf SpeeAnson BismarckConvoy Eugen

ROUND 2Convoy Graf Spee

TOUR FOUR TOTAL

AM E TOTAL

Actual "All dice rolls are no t created equal," is anDisabled overused axiom o f mine bu t it remains a trui

when analyzing games. Disregarding old CR

0 which were no t constructed with results improv

1 in ascending o r descendingorder of th e die roll, ycan still make a strong case fo r th e importance ogood result in on e particular situation,outweighing th e importance of that same beneficdie roll in a number of other, less crucial, matteFo r example, a 2-1 attack involving 20 factorsusually obviously fa r more important than onevolving three factors. Th e same principleeminently true in WARATSEA. W h o would argthat a hi t o r disabled result against a German btleship is no t fa r more important in th e ai r attaphase than in th e following surface engagement?"5 " or "6" which removes o r cripples th e mighBISMARCK% guns fa r outweighs th e significanof th e same result after th e BISMARCK hunleashed a salvo. Indeed, th e "5 " die roll ca nth e most sought after result by both sides-depending o n thesituation an d which sideof thegun youon . Obviously, in th e above example a "5 "

preferred t o even a "6". T h e aircraft want to tuth e BISMARCK back before sh e ca n affect th e ipending surface battle. An undefended carrier bing pursued by a pack of cruisers, however, muhave that same "5" rolled against he r to surviv

Obviously then, there is a matter of luck witluck an d a straightforward accounting of hitsshot does not tell th e whole story. In a n attemptanalyze th e luck factor more precisely an d pu t itto perspective in regards to it s effect on this pticular game I have devised a formula fo r measur

ur participants' luck.Ak- A D x A-

uck Factor = E H E D EA H is th e number of actual hits obtained. E H

th e average number o f hits which can be expecgiven th e number an d type (bonus) of shots. Nthat this E H is based o n a percentage of .16 fevery non-bonus sho t and .33 fo r every bonus shWhile this is no t mathematically precise (five no

bonus shots actually have only a .59chance pf sca hit-not .83-the difference ca n be dismissth e possibility of multiple hits) it serves ou r p

pose as an average expectation. A D is th e damagsd di e roll minus an y overage above an d beyond th

necessary to sink th e target. ED is th e averanumber of damage points expected based o n tnumber of hits actually achieved. T h e average drollis,ofcourse,3.5(1+2+3+4+5+6 = 21 ;= 3.5) bu t if a target does no t require six damapoints t o sink th e average will decrease. Fo r exaple, th e Andrea Dorio only requires four damapoints to sink. Therefore, th e average damage drollagainstherwouldbe3.0(1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 4

18 - 6 = 3). A X is th e actual number of disablresults thrown after discounting any duplicatesthose thrown against an already sunk ship whi

have n o effect. In cases where a disabled result chave absolutely n o positive effect fo r th e firer (suas cruisers on a fleeing, defenseless carrier) they ano t calculated at all. EX is th e expected numberdisabled results based o n number of shots fired anagain disregarding already sunk vessels. FinalEX an d AX figures of th e opposing player ar e afected by adding th e probability of failure an d atual failures o f any speed rolls (including oilers)

While fa r from perfect, th e formula does atempt to weigh evenly th e affects of luck o n tthree aspects o f th e game affected by th e dice; hidamage, an d disabled results. Within eacategory, th e importance of each die roll can stvary greatly bu t this appears to be a good measuristick fo r overall dice distribution as it pertains to tgame. A perfectly "normal" game would measu" 1 "

on o u r luck factor f o r m &

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


AXIS TURN FOUR COMMENTARY

Incredibly, my hypothetical scenario in th eSouth Atlantic wasn't far from reality. I just didn'tsink th e Eagle. Richard cringed when th e Scheergotaway!

Th e battle in th e Mediterranean could have beenbetter, bu t I still can't complain much. I lost tw obattleships an d tw o cruisers to Rich's on e battleshipan d tw o cruisers. But, as I stated last turn, Rich willneed all th e fast ships available this turn.

With control of th e Mediterranean an d th eSouth Atlantic open, I have some interesting

possibilities this turn. I can use th e Scheer in th eMediterranean with th e Italians, o r 1 ca n use th ethree Italian cruisers with th e Scheer in th e SouthAtlantic. Rich ma y forget about th e secondpossibility in th e midst of all his other decisions.The Scheer could also go to th e North Se a o r NorthAtlantic if necessary. Fighting in th e South Atlanticlooks particularly good because it will allow me touse my land-based air in th e Barents where I expectth e big battle to be this turn. If I fight in th eMediterranean instead of th e South Atlantic, I willhave to choose where to pu t my land-based air.

Like I said, I expect th e big battle to be in th eBarents this turn. If Rich doesn't move in this turn,his convoys will be backed up . If I can get an even orbetter result, th e game should be over. The shipshe'll belosing will be his fast ships which will finally

have to be committed an d there ar e no replacementsfo r these.

Having th e Russian ship sail this turn is reallyth e first ba d break I'vegotten. My usual strategy incases where there is a big battle an d a ship can't bespared fo r th e Baltic is to pu t U-Boats there to denycontrol and/or sink th e Russian ship. Bu t I willhave to wait fo r Rich's setup. The U-Boats might bemore useful in th e Mediterranean o r South Atlan-tic. If POC oesn't matter, I will give up th e Balticaltogether.

I hate to keep repeating myself, but Richarddoes it again. I can't believe this setup. Richardcan't pick up an y POC hi s turn even if he wins th ebattle in th e Barents an d gets th e convoy to Russia(and th e convoy will be wasted), although th emethod to Richard's madness may be to leave itthere in th e Barents. Still, I'll be up + 10POCwithfour turns to go .

Since my land-based ai r is needed in the Barents,where it gives me a five to three advantage in air-power, I will no t fight in th e Mediterranean. I don'tneed th e tw o POC here anyway. I pu t th e Italiancruisers in th e South Atlantic to avoid th e airstrikein Italy an d so they can base a t France a t th e en d ofth e turn with th e Scheer. O n turn five, th e cruisersan d th e Scheer will threaten th e North Atlantic aswell a s th e South Atlantic an d Mediterranean.Allied control of th e Mediterranean will in no wayhinder my movement in turn five. In addition, Ima y return th e Blucher to France to make th eraiding force there a little stronger.

'

In other situations I might have ha d a hard time

stripping of f th e Blucher from th e main Germanfleet to take th e North Atlantic, bu t I didn't eventhink twice here. I have both more airpower an dmore surface ships in the Barents without th e extraship. Realistically, this should en d th e game, unlessRichard is incredibly lucky, which he hasn't been uptill now. The Repulse, failing its speed roll, isn't agood omen (though it is statistically probable fo ron e of six ships no t to make it).

My U-Boats ar e in th e Baltic fo r no reason a t all,bu t I am surprised Richard didn't sail th e Marat t otry an d draw of f one o r more of my ships from th eBarents battle. Though I am tempted to pu t th eU-Boats in the Mediterranean where they have agood chance of surviving (and getting a shot at th eVictorious), will resist temptation. I don't need tobreak control there fo r POC purposes an d I'd

rather have seven U-Boats next turn.

My Italian battleships will take an airstrike inItaly, bu t Richard will only get tw o shots instead ofthree an d th e Vittorio will repair before th e airstrikemaking him unsinkable.

TURN FOUR NEUTRAL COMMENTARY-

Richard is reduced to wild gambles no w so it ishard to be critical. His only hope is to entice theAxis into battles which he can win with hot dice. Hecannot afford the carrier and cruisers in the Med.They are there only in theforlorn hope of cripplingthe U-Boats which he hopes will venture orth. Alanis to o smart or this, however, and heshould realizeit . Those three ships belong in the Barents along

with another cruiserfrom the North Sea.

The strategy of holding back the AmericanRussians, and second convoy is viable andownright clever given the circumstances. POCimmaterial no w unless he can gain it in big batcheBy using Convoy IA as a combat vessel he increashis meager strength in the Barents and can leavethere to cash in on turn five once the blockadecomplete.

Alan's response is flowless. He has the advatage in number of ships, gunnery, and airpowNo w is the time to strike while he isat the zenithhis strength and before the British can reinforcAlmost regardless of the outcome, he isstill in cotrol with a maximum PO C lead and U-Boat orc

entering turn 5 .

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


AXIS BATTLE LOGExpected Actual Expected Actual Expected Actual

Athe&> T m t Hits Hits D m s n e Dnmafte Disabled Disabled

- 1... - - -TURN 1NORTH ATLANTIC I

2.50 2.0- -

4Cruisers Exeter .6

THIRD ROUND PURSUITCruisers Exeter .5

DURTH ROUND PURSUITCruisers Glorious .33-

IRSTTURN TOTALS 10.

TURN 2 MEDITERRANEAN .TURN 3SOUTH TLANTIC3 U-Boats Eagle .50

S c h m Dorsetshire .67

MEDITERRANEAN

SECOND ROUND.. 2 ruisers Devonshire

FTHIRDOUNDP k n e Norfolk

lURTH ROUNDume Norfolk

TURN THREE TOTAL

%URN BARENTS' BA y ." $.*@KGVLBA *LBA &$POWZeppel k a ~ n s o n

-Zcppel "b 2Renown~ i s m a t d n ~ ~ ~ n s o n~n e i sen au POWHipper POWScharnhora DOYGraf Spee KGVEugen KGV

ROUND 2Scharnhorst Ark RoyalI -ipper ~ r ko y a l

raf Spec Convoy

TOUR FOZ-- -0TAL*adjusted

.--A -E TOTAI

The dice ell in Alan' s favor though and Richarneeded to be overwhelmingly lucky to stay in thgame. Such was not the case andAla n'sgaf fe of noincluding the Zeppelin in the chase of the Ark Royacan be excused in light of his obvious win at thpoint.

AXIS POST GAME COMMENTARYThere was incredible luck, bu t it was all min

The game is obviously over as Richard will hatrouble garrisoning three, let alone four, area s neturn. There isn 't much else to say as the dice spea

for themselves and Richard's g roan s can be heafrom coast to coast . I f we do anoth er replay in tfuture though, I think I'll have the psychologicedge!

SUMMARY-And so the Mediterranean strategy sin

beneath the waves for another year. Actually, hope m y commentary showed how theMedstrategmight have succeeded on another day. I donbelieve luck was all that crucial in this game. Thfinal Luck factor was 1.09 for Richard and 1.05 foAlan thanks in part t o three Allied ships, whiRichard did not use, making "entry rolls". Whithis might well prove to be an excellent case or bing able to lie with statistics it is not too ar off basAlthough Alan rolled nearly double Richard's hi

(27 to 14). probability tells us that the expected diference was only 23 to 16. Richard made up or thdeficiency to some extent with a high damage coun(46 out of an expected34) while Alan rolledslightless than average (71 out of 74). While it may well bargued that hits are more important than thdamage resulting rom them, the point remains thluck did not decide this game. The participants dand the better player, at least this time arounwalked off the winner. *

RICHTHOFEN'SMANEUVER CAR D

Vol. 14, No. 4 of the GENERAL printed variant for RICHTHOFEN'S WAR whic

featured the use of a deck of 27 maneuver cards taugment the mechanical movement system anadd a degree of uncertainty a nd excitment to thgame. Not just a rand om luck element, use of thmaneuver cards is dependent upo n such factors turning ability, attack position, and pilot skilUsing the maneuver cards one can more vividlexecute the classic maneuvers of the day: BarrRoll, Falling Leaf, Fla t Spin, Immelmann, LoopNose Dive, Side-Slip, Tight Circle, and VerticSpin in an attempt (not always successful) to gon the enemy's tail, rather than just trade shotThis 27 card deck is professionally illustrated anprinted and available from Avalon Hill wit

sales tax.

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


A.H. Philosophy . . . Cont inu l .c l / ' ro t~ K.2. Col. 3

can be a member of both at the same time. I ealize

anything Isay will be seen as biased, but Ihope my

words will ring true for many of you because you

have had similar thoughts.

In 19 78 bought over one hundred wargames.

mostly sight unseen through the mail. In my career

as a wargame consumer, I have owned over t wo

hundred games. Of those t wo hundred plus, I have

sold or traded more than I currently own.

I estimate that I have read the rules to over

ninety percent of the wargames ever published. Ofthis ninety percent, I have played less than thirty

percent. There are several reasons for this. One,

there just isn't time to play every game. Fortu-

nately, reason number tw o alleviates the problem

reason number one presents because I don't wan t

to play every game. Reading he rules s more than

enough in many cases. I don't think I'm throwing

my money away. I buy games knowing that most

will not make it past the rules. Buying games and

reading rules is my way of constantly searching or

good games. I can usually tell i f I'II like a game just

from reading the rules. Sometimes a game with

good rules plays poorly and sometimes a game w ith

mediocre rules plays well, but these are the excep-

tions. I'm not suggesting you adopt the same buy-

ing approach. Far from it. Ralph Nader would hardly

consider me a smart consumer.At present, there are twenty-seven wargames I

have played over five times. T wo are by minor com-

panies, one by Metagaming, tw o by GDW, three by

SPI, four by Battle line, and fifteen by AH. Of these

twenty-seven, I have played welve over ten times;

one by a minor company, one by SPI, one by Batt le-

line, and nine by AH. There may be a few games

I've played between hree and five times, but this is

sort of a grey area. I either get to five or don't get

past the second game. The rest of the games I've

played lie in the t wo or less category.

Since Battleline is now part of AH, over tw o

thirds of my major gaming time has been spent on

AH games. The significance of this seems obvious.

Each of you will have your own lists, but in my

perception he average gamer spends somewhere

between fif ty and ninety percent of his playing imeon AH games.

The AH Philosophy s your insurance hat every

AH game has a better than even chance of being a

good game. There are three parts t o this

philosophy; 1 game development, 2 ) game quali-

ty, and 3) ame maintenance.

We don't put out games wi th know n flaws.

When our games are released to the public, the

developer has done everything possible to make

the game what he wants it to beand what he thinks

you want it t o be.

Sure, we miss a lot of deadlines. But w e don't

purposely build up your expectations and then keep

you on the edge of your seat for months (or years):

We certainly don't enjoy spending our time answer-

ing phone calls each day about where a game is and

why i t isn't ready.Development encompasses rules rewriting,

organization, and clarification; playtesting in search

of play-balance, rules problems, and excitement

level; analysis of the game system; and consolida-

tion or expansion of the game's scope. It can be an

extensive project. Indeed, a development can

sometimes become a redesign.

There are many problems hat can occur along

the way. Playtesting can be going smoothly, then

ZAP. A major flaw pops up. The problem can

snowball when changing one rule upsets other

rules. Each rule is an integral part of the game

system, and their interaction is a delicate thing.

Sometimes there are production problems. A minor

oversight can mean doing something completely

over. One person in the production chain can

misunderstand or misinterpret or just plain miss

something. And if that isn't enough, there are

always the machines to ruin the best laid plans.

None of this is an excuse. It is an explanation,

meant to help you understand he AH method. Ex-

cuses aren't necessary because your feedback has

told us you approve of this method. You'd rather

have a good game later than a fair (or worse) game

immediately.

One more thing. Even before we publish a

game, we've gotten some feedback on it. Our

playtesters, both local and by-mail, are some of the

hobby's best garners. When they like a game, we

feel confident that the general public will too.AH quality speaks for itself. One has only to

compare one of our games wi th one of someone

else's for the same price. You can't hide a lack of

quality wi th a fancy package. People ook inside the

box!

AH game maintenance is sort of an informal

warranty on your games. We don't forget about our

products once released. We update them when

necessary. We revise them when necessary. We

even put out a whole new game when necessary.

In addition, we put out accessories and extra parts

to many games. The more we do to help you enjoy

a game, the more likely you are to buy another one.

Once in awhile a game is dropped from the AH line,

but i t is like someone who has been sick for a long

time. We have done everything possible o cure t or

prolong its life. We won't ever treat a game'sdeath lightly.

Some people have said that AH pays ittle or no

attention to historical accuracy. While this may

have been rue to a certain degree n the sixties and

early seventies, it has been less so each year since

and is no onger a valid statement. Our products will

tend t o be games first and simulations second, but

we have listened to our critics and modified our

style. Adaptability and changing wi th the times is

the secret to success. This is he hallmark of the AH

Philosophy.

My nterviews (like he one with Mick Uhl n his

issue) should begin o reveal the diversity of the AH

staf f. Kevin Zucker and Frank Davis are interested

in games as history. They believe games shoyldteach the players something. Their goal s to design

games that force the players o think and act as the

actual commanders did, thus recreating what hap-

pened and why. Don Greenwood and myself don't

stress history. We take an historical situation and

try t o make t a fun game. We're not trying to teach

anybody anything. In between these tw o poles lie

Richard Hamblen and Mick Uhl.

Kevin and Frank do try t o make their games en-

joyable and Don and I do t ry to make our games

realistic. It's more a matter of degree. While taking

more of a middle road may seem the most logical

approach and the most likely to please the most

people, it is also the hardest path o follow. Realism

and playability mix, but not easily and never com-

pletely. And amazingly, most people are extremists

whenit

comes to games. Designing, then, can be ahopeless task because while you're pleasing some

of the people, you're displeasing others. Still, gam-

ing has expanded tremendously in the last few

years, becoming more sophisticated and special-

ized. We're trying t o touch base with each market.

By now some of you may be wondering what

this AH Philosophy is about. As much as anything,

this has been my way of introducing myself. I'II

probably be writing this column again, unless there

is a public uprising.

I'm a company man n that I believe in AH prod-

ucts. In this sense I was a company man long

before I moved to Baltimore. Games are a part of

my life. Gaming s a passion and though sex is still

first, gaming is a close second. Consistently, it cer-

tainly lasts longer. Gaming has become a natural

function like eating and sleeping. It wil l always

so. I wouldn't have it any other way.

AR

And that, minus some quick editing on my p

of some less than kind words about some of o

competitors, is it for the maiden voyage. You did

really think I'd let them phase me out that easily, d

you? Having had to delete a few of Alan's mo

vociferous paragraphs, we'll settle back into m

drier style for some concluding news.

No doubt many of you have seen some of t

Battleline games in your local stores bearing

Avalon Hill logo. Do not be misled. The only thi

altered on these games is the AH name and log

We have not published any revised edition of a

Battleline game as of yet. That is not t o say that th

Battleline editions are bad games and that y

shouldn't purchase them. We merely mention th

so that those of you who would rather wait for

revised AH edition do not buy the wrong versio

We will advertise each Battleline game whi

undergoes AH redevelopment individually in t

magazine as they become available. The first su

titles t o be released will beAIR FORCEand CIRCMAXIMUS. Watch for their new packaging and

special advertising blurb about them in the

pages.

By the way, the Battleline games are now f

fledged residents of the AH line and as such a

eligible for article coverage. We are interested n

submission of well executed manuscripts

Battleline games-be they the original versions

the AH revised editions.

ORIGINS '80 is two months distant at th

writing, but will probably be history by the time y

read this. Nevertheless, there are sure to be

number of new game companies making their a

pearance there. One of them w ill be a division

Avalon Hill. Microcomputer Games, Inc. is run

Avalon Hill although our normal R&D people ha

nothing to do with the operation. Computer expe

from National Micro-Computer Associates are t

creative people who have designed a new line

cassette games to be played on home compute

The cassettes will be usable on the TRS-80, App

and Pet computers and will sell for approximat

$15. Packaged in gamette style boxes similar

the CO I & CO D series, the initial offering will

limited to solitaire play versions of the followin

titles: 81 BOMBER, NUKE WAR, MIDWAY CAPAIGN and NORTH ATLANTIC CON VOY RAIDEMore details will be forthcoming as they are ma

available to us.

DJ

FOREIGNREADERS

Due to contractual obligations with ou

exclusive distributors we pnnot accept ma

orders for games from Australia, Britain, Ge

many, Greece, Ita ly or Japan. Such orders must b

placed with our exclusive distributors whos

addresses you'll find lis ted on Page 2 of th

magazine. Orders for parts and airmail subscrip

tions to the GENERALare not subject to this ba

APO and FPO addresses of U.S. serviceme

likewise are not subject to this ban. We also urg

you to get i n touch with the distributor for you

country in regards to placing your GENERA

subscription through h im which in most cases w

result i n considerable savings for you.

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


ANSWERS TO THE P

1. AVOIDING A DISASTERANSWER: The four Belgian infantry units

should be deployed by placing the 2-3 on Brusselsand 1-3s on Antwerp and each of the clear hexes(N25 and M 26.)

DISCUSSION: The Germans canno t beprevented from making 2-1 attacks on Warsaw,Brussels and Th e Hague, unless you are willing tolose France on the first turn o f the game. If you d o

not deploy as indicated, instead adding a 1-3 to the2-3 in Brussels, the Germans will be ab le to m ake abreakthrough and then exploit into and throughParis, blocking any attemp t by the French to recap-ture it. For example, move the 1-3 from M26 toBrussels (best choice of the three), the Axis playerwill then stage all of his air u nits to western basesand attack Brussels at 2-1 using one 3-3 infantry,one 4-6 armored unit and five air factors. Th e otherthree armored units will exploit, one to N 23, the se-cond to P22 and the third to P21. The armored unitsat N23 and P22, joined by fo ur air factors, attackthe French unit on 0 2 3 at 3-1. The remaining elevenGerman air factors are used to counterair and in-tercept the Belgian and French air forces. TheFrench will be unable to get a unit into Paris,resulting in the fall of France. If this occurs, the

Axis player is probably not going to be upsetbecause his infantry attack in Poland fails to takeWarsaw. The major cause of the dilemma for theAllied player is his inept defensive setup in Polandwhich allows the German to attack Warsaw usingonly infantry and air. The setup used may havesome economic advantages, but from a militarystandpoint it is a disaster. Of course, if you hadstarted the Frenc h 3-5 on N24, this Axis ploy willnot succeed, but that would create other problem s,and a different question.

2. THE UNW ANTED INITIATIVE

ANSWER: (a) The Axis player takes his turnfollowed by the Allied player, both for Britain andRussia even if Russia is neutral.

(b) Russia moves first (or passes) with its 116

BRPs, followed by the Axis with 68, and Britainwith 18. After the German declaration of war,however, the Russian an d British BRPs will be add-ed together to determine order of move for theirjoint turn.

DISCUSSION: (a) There are only two playerturns in the Coalition game, so the Allied playerperforms the various functions for all of his forces,including those of a neutral Russia, as part of onejoint turn. The order of movement is determined bythe total B RPs available to each side at th e beginn-ing of the turn, however the BRPs of a neutralRussia are excluded from the Allied player's total.

(b) Rule 3.3 specifically provides that in a multi-player game there is a separate turn for a neutralRussian player. When this turn occurs is dependenton BRP levels so until the Russians join the western

alliance there are three separate turn orders to bedecided. Note that this logic does not app ly to theAxis totals with a neutral Italy present. G erman a ndItalian BRP totals are always summed t o determineturn initiative whether actively allied o r no t.

3. AIRPOWER-THE KEY TO VICTORYANSWER: The maximum number of air fac-

tors that each side could have available on theWestern Front for the Allied player's turn is 10 forthe Axis and 30 for the Allies.

DISCUSSION: The Axis used their fullallowance of BRPs during the Fall turn andtherefore have a total of 113 remaining, while theAllies have 119 after Great Britain spent 49 ou t of apossible 62 BRPs and France used its full 42. Thismeans that there is an initiative conversion an d the

'OP UIZ QUESTIONS

Allied player moves first. In 1939 the Allied playerwill have an almost certain option t o convert the in-itiative, but this will not be to his advantage unlessthe Axis player is careless or takes some abno rmalline of play. One obvious example of when to m akethe conversion is if Italy is poorly defended andRome can be taken and held. Another is this Ger-man first turn attack into France. Granted tha t byconverting the initiative, the German s get two turns

in a row, but if the W inter turn Allied attack is pro-perly executed, the first of these two turns can berelatively harmless. Th e 30 air factor total for theAllies is easy to achieve providing the two 1-4s inEgypt are converted to a 2-4 before the build phaseand then the three air units from the Mediterraneanare redeployed into England to join w ith a newlyconstructed 1-4 to form a full 5-4air u nit. This givesthe British a total of 20 air factors and the Frenchhave 10 after losing a unit a nd rebuilding it. Lessobvious is why the Germ ans will have only 10 airfactors. The reason is that two 5-4s started the gameas part of the Eastern Front garrison and must bereturned there by the en d of the Fall turn. Rule 6.1requires tha t naval a nd air units used to satisfy the25 factor Eastern Front garrison must begin andend their turn on an Eastern Front base, although

they are allowed to conduct missions elsewhere.Note that a unit lost during such a mission must beimmediately reconstructed and returned to theEastern Fron t or be in default of the rules and thusforfeit the game. This leaves only 10 German a irfactors for the Western Front.

NOTE: The last two questions are of a typewhere a case can be made for mo re than on e answer.The best way to deal with questions of this n ature isto have them presented to a panel of experts whorespond with their answers and any comm ents theymay want to make. The panel of 'experts' used forthese questions is of cou rse simulated, but in orderto give a little reality to the following comments anddiscussion, assume that questions 4 and 5 appearedas part of a regular feature article in the quarterlyBulletin of the Emerald City Simulation Gam e and

Card Club. In each issue, five questions concerningthe strategy and tactics of a currently popularwargame are submitted to a panel composed of thebetter players in the club who know th at particulargame. T he panel members respond with theiranswers and commen ts, and these, along with someadded discussion by a moderator, are published inthe next issue of the Bulletin. The moderator mustgive the to p score of 100 to any answer that gets amajority of th e panel's vote, but otherwise he hasconsiderable latitude in determining the scores.Club members may submit their answers andanyone who gets a perfect score is invited to be on afuture panel. In the following discussion, allremarks not in quotes are those of the panelmoderator. It is always more fun to be themoderator because he gets in the last word, tha t is

barring some future confrontation with an iratepanel member who may not have appreciated themoderator's depth of understanding of the game in-volved.

4. PRESSURE TACTICSANSWER SCORE VOTESEssen or Cologne 100 4R25 on an airbase counter 80 2

Stuttgart 70 IAachen or Frankfurt 40 I

Bremen 20 I

DISCUSSION AND PANEL COMMENTSExpert opinion varies on what the Axis, and in

particular the German, strategy should be in 1939.

There is general agreement that Po land should be

taken in the Fall and Belgium, Holland, Luxbourg and Denmark by the end of the year. Axis player will also usually have Italy declare on the Allies in 1939, which turn being in pdependent upon th e Allied initial deployment inMediterranean. Beyond this however there is lconsensus, with some starting out with an A ttritattack on Yu'goslavia and others invading Denmso that N orway can be assaulted in the Winter tuAnother possibility is represented in this problewith the Germans taking a Western Front Attritoption an d invading Luxembourg. This has thevantage of bringing pressure to bear o n the Alliean early date and an important part of that pressis the threat o f the airborne unit. T he panel had aof different ideas on where the paratroopers shobe deployed, but the top goes to Essen/Cologbecause it is a reason able choice and it received most votes. Ou r first panelist states the case for winner and also pu ts in a plug for his own favostrategy to open the game as the Axis player.

WIZARD: "Essen. I have no worries about Allied player attempting to atta ck and advance French 3-5 adjacent to the airborne , which wobe a problem if I put the airborne on any hex soof Essen. From this location, the para unit cthreaten Paris and o pen up any do uble line of Allunits except in the south of F rance. T he inabilitythe airbo rne unit to reach beyond Lyons is no

loss since an armo red unit on S20 can effectivcontain any b reakthrough in the direction of PaOne of the advantages of this or nearby hexes is ability of the airborne to attack London in Winter turn, but this threat is practically noexistent because of the lack of bases from whichprovide combat air support t o the attack. ActualI don't like this opening for the Axis player. preference is to have Germany declare war Yugoslavia and together with Italy, mak e a 21Attrition attack in the Mediterranean. This givme a 5 0% ch ance of gaining the hex I will need totack Belgrade without the tripling effect of triver. If this is not successful, then theairborne cassist in making the Winter turn attack to acquYugoslavia and 20 BRPs for 1940. Having faileddo that, my choice for this turn should be to p

some infantry an d air in position to attack Belgrand the airborne on Brindisi from where it cthreaten Malta or jump on the YugoslavCapital, however the conditionsof the problem pvent this."

* * * * * * * * * *

To each his own, but there are some far ways that you can give yourself a 100% chancegaining that hex in Yugoslavia, such as by havthe Attrition attack mad e by German infantry owith Italy passing, o r by pulling the Italians off Egyptian border so that there ar e no Axis unitcontact with Allied units. Even if you don't gaihex, the Allied player will then h ave to remove or more of Yugoslavia's counters. In my opinithe problem with going aft er Yugo slavia in 193that you have to take two Offensive options in

Winter turn and the cost of these plus the declations of w ar tha t have to be made will leave very fBRPs with which to construct units for the 1940tack on France. The best strategy for the Aplayer is to concentrate his forces on the west atry to knock off France a s soon as possible.

SCARECROW: "Essen, or Cologne if you prefThis choice allows me considerable flexibility where to attack during the Winter turn, yet sulates the airbo rne unit from being grounded byenemy ZO C. In his turn, th e Allied player will nto hav e France spend some BRPs in addition to jbuilding units, or be faced with an unattractiveitiative conversion. Th ere is not much to be said making a declaration of war on som e insignificmino r, So he prob ably will have the French takeOffensive option with Luxembourg being an

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


viting target. If I were to place the airborne inAachen, the 3-5 could be moved up an d join the at-tack in order to keep the paratro opers fro m flying.An attrition option would have no chance of cap-turing Luxembourg since I would pick up my 3-3there even if the airborn e wasn't involved."

There are oth er possibilities besides Aachen tha toffer better defense and as good o r better offensiveopportunities, such as Stuttgart and R25. Thepanelist who voted for Aachen apparently intendsto challenge the Allied player to m ake an a ttack.

LION: "Aachen. I expect that most of the panelwill select Essen because of the safety of that hex,their reason being that the French will have a doubleincentive to take Luxembourg if they can get theFrench armored un it adjacent to the airborne. I willhave no problem against an Attrition optio n, so theonly real concern is if th e Allied player takes the o f-fensive. I intend to redeploy th e two Italian a ir unitsand the unused G erman 2-4 to bases where they canprovide defensive air suppo rt to my infantry unit inLuxembourg, yet be out of counterair range. If onlythe French make the attack, they cannot prevent mefrom getting two air factors through to assist the3-3, making the attack a 50-50 proposition. Withthe cost of taking a n Offensiveoption and having toreplace expensive air factors, the Allied player isgoing to be short of units when I make my attack inthe Winter. I really dou bt whether the Allied playerwill risk an attack at this point in th e game, an d ex-pect that the only action will be French attrition."

I am not a s sure as you appear to be that theAllies will not attack in this situation. Even a nor-mally conservative player is going to be very tempt-ed considering the prize you are offering him. Apassive defense during the early period of THIRD

REICH is usually the best Allied strategy, but an

occasional spoiling attack to d amage the Axis andupset their timing can be very effective. If theFrench 3-5 is able to advance adjacent to the air-borne, your flexibility during the next tur n will beseriously curtailed. Three 2-3s and the a rmor ed unitcan be moved into position to make a n assault andif the ten air factors are added as combat air sup-port, instead of stand ing by to intercept, the attackwill be going at 19-6. Now the sho e is on th e otherfoot and you must ma ke the critical decision. If youcommit the 12 air factors in defense, there is still a50% possibility that you will be successful,although in 2 o ut of 3 of those cases both sides willlose everything. It is the other 50% that you willneed to be concerned abo ut, fo r then the attack suc-ceeds with a strong probab ility that the French willlose nary a factor. If you commit less air supp ort,

your opponent's chances of winning the hex in-crease and if you do not add any, he has aguaranteed win at 3-1. Adding seven factors willlower the od ds as fa r as possible, and th e extra fivefactors are needed to eliminate the entire Frenchground force in a full exchange.

A lone vote for S tuttgard was tendered by WitchEast whose only comment was a terse "What's theproblem?". Well there must be some problem sinceshe was the only one submitting that answer,however, this location for the airb orne is very near-ly as good a s the second ranked answer an d has beenpromoted in the scoring. I like the answer put for thby the next panelist, it combines an aggressive at-tack position with excellent defensive potential.

WITCH WEST: "R25 o n an airbase counter. Withmy airb orne unit on this hex, the Allied player willneed to defend in depth along his entire front. Th etriple line required to prevent a da maging Germanbreakthrough will limit my opponent's ability tostack units even with optimum use of armoredZOCs. Since an airbasecounter has to be used in theattack o n Polan d, it can be brought over by SR forthe airborne to ope rate out of. My strategy for theWinter turn is to take the threem inor countries and,with the help of the airborne, a ttack into northernFrance hoping to gain two o r three hexes as a base

for a Spring attack on Paris. However, I can changethis if there is a faulty Allied defense in the southallowing for a deep penetration towards Paris andthe possibility of encircling a major portion of theFrench army. There are other tactics that can beemployed such as attacking through Sedan withparatroopers landing on P23 and armored unitsmaking exploitation attacks on 0 23 an d P22. Thisattack has some disadvantages including the nar-row base at Sedan and the exposed armored units.particularly if they take some lessons. No otherchoice for placing theairb orne will give me the samedegree of flexibility when I attack in the winter"

Apparently this panelist is not concerned ab outthe French getting an 11-20 Attrition attacktogether an d attempting to advanc e the French 3-5into 42 5, or of the Allies taking Offensive optionswith the same goal in mind. Such an attack will bedifficult to moun t because 4 2 5 can be assaultedfrom only on e hex and the attack would go against atripled defender. With the two Italian air units atMilan and Venice, the French will not be able to getbetter th an 1-2 odd s, and if Britain joins in theseodds ca n only be increased to 1-1. Any contestantwho answers this question with R25, but d oes notspecify the airbase counter, will get no score. Inorder to make adro p, theairborne unit must be on asupplied airbase a t the beginning of the turn.

TINMAN: "Bremen! From this location, 1 canthreaten both London and Paris, and if they areadequately garrisoned by the Allied player, ma ke adrop on Copenhagen, untripling the defenderthere. Th e airborne unit will then be in position toattack Norway in the Spring."

Why waste the power of the airborne onCopenhagen? Assuming that you counterair theDanish air un it, a n exchange will eliminate one 3-3whether the defender is doubled or tripled.Wouldn't it be better to place your paratro opers inEssen since you could still cover all threeof your o b-jectives and also be able to reach mor e deeply intoFrance?

5. A DIFFICULT DECISION

ANSWER SCORE VOTES

Yes and add 8 air factors 100 5

Yes and add 7 air factors 70 1Yes and add 5 air factors 60 0

No 50 2



DISCUSSION AND PANEL COMMENTS

The conditions of this problem are somewhatcontrived, what with the rapid German advanceand th eless than optim um placement of Allied unitsat the beginning of the turn. It was presented to thepanel in an e ffort to see how fa r players would go torecapture Paris a t the expense of British economicstrength. If the vote of the panel is any indication,they will not only put up the 15 BRPs for a n Offen-sive option, but risk a considerable amount m ore at

unfavorable odds. In part, this large vote for takiaction may be a result of the cond itions, with tAllied player knowing tha t he is behind, reso rtingdesperate measures in an effort to catch up. Excefor the top score, ranking this problem was neasy. Since the overall thrust of th e panel was to tack, an y reasonable action such as adding 5 or7 afactors should get a higher score than simply givup on France. Now let us hear from the panel, staing with a strong o bjection to the co nditions.

WITCH EAST: "Yes and add 8 air factors.should abstain fro m voting rather than agree tosaddled with the conditions a s stated in the Sittion. H ow can any player, knowing what is abou thapp en, position the Allied units so that the Frenget tangled up with their only Ally when movingto make the counterattack o n Paris? At least twothe 2-3s on the Italian border should have beplaced on 0 21 an d P21 rather than be in the sodefending against nothing. Since I have agreedtake over, I must attack and attempt to pull aheof the Axis player even though the od ds are agaime. With 17 aro und factors available for theatta cI will need to a dd 7 air factors so that tw o Frenunits can advance into P aris on a die roll of 3 andexchange on the German counterattack. In more likely event of a n attacker exchange, thesefactors will eliminate three of the doubled G erm4-6s. an d by adding on e more air factor, I willable to eliminate a fourth."

We cann ot all be perfect, however once you beyond the rhetoric, the logic is sound. Adding textra air factor will eliminate a German unit wortBRPs on e out of three times, while risking 3 BRin the event that you lose. The next panelist afeels trappe d by the Allied set-up, but arrives adifferent conclusion.

WITCH WEST: "No. My choice is to bow ogracefully and accept the elimination of FranArguments can be m ade on bo th sides of this issbut to me the compelling one is that Britainecon omic strength will be sorely taxed over the n

two years even without throwing away 50 orBRPs in this low odds attack o n Paris. I will needconstruct those two fleets so that the British nacan be strengthened in the M editeranean and reforcements can be deployed there a s required. 1alwill need to start shipping B RPs to Russia in 19and maintain in Britain some ability to attack mainland in order to siphon off from the EastFront as many German units as possible. I wounot give up o n France this easily perhaps, if moFrench units could mak e the attack , thereby reding the need for British air factors. I am not suthat I could make this decision at the game tabwhere the desire to retake Paris or a t least eliminsome German armor may allow emotions ovecome logic."

East is one thing and west is something else,whatever Kipling said. This answer is hard to figuou t coming from a normally aggressive player, bthe point is well made regarding the differencehow the problem arises. If you are sitting in tcalm of your home with only minor distractiosuch as your wife hollering a t you to get the chodone o r the kids wanting help with their homewoit is easier to arrive at a logically correct answerfiguring ou t a problem o r even in preparing a mofor PBM , than it is in the heat of battle at the gamtable. I think that th ere would be very few, if anplayers who, in practice, could resist the urge attack. Both of these panelists agree on one hingyou are going to attack, you should do so to t

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


fullest extent possible. A ttemptin g to have the bestof both wo rlds by making theattac k, yet keeping toa minimum , th e potential loss for the British is:

TINMAN: "Yes and add 3 air factors. I am caughtin a dilemma, if I do not hav e the British take a n Of-fensive option, France will fall without having beenable to d o much in th e way of at tr i t ioning the Axiseconomic strength, an d if I do, th e most likely resultis that B ritain's BRP s will be seriously impaired.Even though the re are a lot of things that th e British

need to d o and the chances of retaking Paris areremote, I don't think any red blooded player in thissituation would refuse to attack. By adding three airfactors I will be able to make t he 1-2 attack a nd atleast hope to eliminate three German armoredunits. In order to eliminate another one, I wouldhave to add five more factors and that would begoing too far."

Won't you be a mite unhappy if you are luckyenough to roll a 3 and then find that the G ermancountera ttack will come at 1-1, giving you only on echance out of six to reoccupy Paris? By adding justone more air factor, the counterattack would be at1-2 and your chances improve considerably, a nd if

you really want to go out on the limb, try addingtwo more so that a French 2-3 can advance intoParis even if there is a counterattack exchange.Even though n o panelist voted fo r adding 4 or 5 airfactors, they are certainly better alternatives thanthis answer and so an appropriate score has beenadded for each of them. The other panelist whodecided to attack but used less than the optimumnumber of air factors added an interesting observa-t ion as to why the at tack should be made.

LION: "Yes and add 7 air factors. If I get the luck Ineed, two French units will be able to adva nce intoParis forcing the Axis player to attack again. Th en Iwill use the remaining 30 BRPs tha t the French haveavailable for this turn to rebuild their airforce andplace these units out of c ounterair range bu t in posi-tion to provide defensive air supp ort to the units inParis. T he total cost to the Germ an economy is notjust the value of the five armore d units, but also thecost of another Offensive option and the air factorsthat will be required t o intercept the French, plusany losses sustained in the attack o n Paris. I figurethat by m aking this attack the expected cost to theBritish will be abo ut 40BRPs an d fo r the Axis it willbe about 20. The French BRPs d o not count sincethey arelo st anyway. I coul dcu t my potential lossesslightly by adding only five factors, allowing oneFrench 2-3 to advance into Paris o n a counterattackexchange. Th is will accomplish both of the objec-tives I am hoping fo r, retaking Paris and attrition-ing Axis BRPs, bu t will let the Germ ans get betterodds when they attack next turn."

You could dam age the Axis player's economicstrength even more by adding another air factor,but you are correct in stating the potential cost tothe Germ ans is more th an just the loss of five ar-mored units. I will wind up the discussion on thisproblem by quo ting from two panelists w ho seem tobe more preoccupied with what went on in 1939than they ar e with the cu rrent state of events.

DOROTHY: "Yes a nd add 8 air factors. This is notan easy decision to ma ke, but I'm sure that at thetable 1 would attack even thoug h the pro bable costis going to be high. Th is turn's problem is to a greatextent the result o f tactics employed in 1939. Whenthe Axis player concentrates his arm ed forces, in-cluding the airborn e unit, in the west at the end of

the Fall turn and is obviously intending to no t onlyoccupy the Low Countries but to advance intoFrance as well, French units should be used to backup the Belgian and D utch armies. If possible theyshould be stacked, but even when this cannot bedone, the tempta tion to use the larger B ritish unitsmust be resisted. This allows French air units to beused fo r defensive air suppo rt and conserves BritishBRP S so the tw o fleets can be activated in 1939. Inaddition, the Allied player will be able to moveBritish units into N23 and 02 3 without having totake an O ffensive option and forces the Germans to

attack throu gh them in the Spring before taking onthe French in Paris. Because of the Anglo-Frenchcooperation rule, Allied air strength is at a usad-vantage when in defense, but by making the Axisplayer attack ground units of one country beforethoseof theother , som eof th i scan beovercome. Ofcourse on those occasions when the Allies attack,this cooperation rule is not as much of a problemsince each country's air units can perform differentmissions."

WIZARD: "No. I cannot agree that the Alliedplayer should have the British take an offensive op-t ion that r isks almost 50 BRPs on a 15% chance ofsuccess. 1 will use them instead to construct the twofleets so that Britain will have greater ability tomove units around, particularly for sending rein-

forcements to the Mediterranean. This problem iscreated by the Allied player's in ept positionin g oThis forces at the end of the Fall turn a nd his use ofBritish air u nits in defensive air support. In prepar-ing for the German Winter turn attack. I would putFrench units in the 24 column, including two atSedan, an d the three British units redeployed in toFrance at N23, 0 2 3 and P22. This will require theAxis player to break through th e French before be-ing able to ta ke on the British, significantly reduc-ing the possibility that they will even be attacked.The British units will then be in po sition to screenParis when the Germans attack the following turnand ma ke them take on both countries' air forces."

I am no t too su re many players would agree withthese two ~ane l i s t shat the French should be used inthe 24 colim n in this situation. If only on e unit canbe in a hex because of the breakthrough threat,wouldn't it be better to use the larger British units inorder to make the German task more diff icult?Perhap s this would be a goo d question for the panelwhen THIRD REICH is again being featured. In-c i d e n t a l ~ ,when the Wizard is the Axis player, hisopponents would not have this problem, since hewould be using significant forces, possibly in-cluding the airborne unit, to play around inYugoslavia. *FACTORY

OUTLETWhenever in the Baltimore area feel free to

drop in at our Factory Outlet store located in ourdesign offices at 900 St. Paul and 20 E. Reed St.This store is the world's only retail outlet featuringa complete selection of Avalon Hill games. parts,magazines and accessories. Pay by cash or checkor bring your credit card. and if visiting onSaturdays feel free to stay and attend a gamingsession with Interest Group Baltimore and getinvolved with whatever playtesting happens to begoing down . Or just dr op by and play or talk thegames of your choice on Sa turd ay with any of thelocals and enjoy the competition.

FINAL GLORY . .Continued from Page

a. Each turn , M ay, 1812 through Februa1813-At Dresd en: I1

b. Oc tobe r, 1812-At Danzig-2Cc. Ap ril, 1813-At Mainz: 181,2GI, 1GC (o

if not already in play), Marmont, Soult aNapoleon (unless already in play).

d. May, 1813-At Mainz: 21e. June , 1813-At Mainz: 81f. Ju ly, 1813-At Main z: 101, 6G1, 6Cg. Aug ust, 1813-At Main z: Lead er (0), 21,

h. Septembe r, 1813-At Mainz: 41i . O c t o b e r , N o v e m b e r a n d D e c e m b1813-Each mo nth at Mainz: 21

j. Janu ary , 1814-At Paris: 81, Joseph * Bayone: Soult (if not in play) 111, 2C* Within ohex of Barcelona: 71, 1C

h. January-A ugust , 1814-Each turn: Par is: 31. At Lyon : 11

2. French Replacementsa. January-Au gust, 1814, each turn-At Par

I G I3. French Satellite Reinforcements:a. December, 1812-Withdraw: All Saxo

Naples, Swiss and Bavarian satellite units.b. Jan uary , 1813-At Milan: 21 (I)*

Stu ttga rt: 21 (Wu). Fran kfur t: 11 (R)* at Cassel:(W)* Initially Neutral French Satellities (deplface down): At M unich: 41 ,l C (B)* At Florence:(N). At D resden: 21 (S)* At Gen eva: 41 (Sz)

c. May ,. 1813-At Hano ver: 21 (W). At Mil11 (I)* At Stuttgart: 11 (Wu)

d. Ju ne , 1813-At Mil an: 31 (I) . Stuttgart: 11 (Wu)

4. French Satellite Replacementsa. May-Decem ber, 1812-The French play

may replace on e strength point of satellite infaneach turn. Polish replacements appear at W arsaall other satellite nationalities appea r at Dresden

b. Ja nu ary , 1813-August, 1814-The Frenplayer may replace one strength po int of satellite fantry each turn . Units are placed at the producticity of their minor state. Units may not be builtproduction cities which areoccupied by nowFre nplayer units.

5. Non-French Player Reinforcements

a. Russian player uses forces listed in ScenaIV up through D ecember, 1812.

b. Ma rch, 1813: Place all Austrian forces listin Scenario V face down (Initially Neutral). Schwarzenberg and any Austrians have remainedplay as French allied units they remain loyal France and remain so until Austria declares war,which time they become nowF rench units.)

All Swedish units listed in the 1813 Scena rio adeployed as listed, as neutral forces.

c. April-D ecem ber, 1813-Each turn-AtPrague: 21 ,2L (Austrian)* At Berlin: 21,2L (Prusian)

d. May , 1813-At Pragu e: 1C (Austrian). Berlin: 1C (Prussian)

e. Jun e, 1813-At Prague : 1C (Austria n)* Berlin: 1C (Prussian)

f. Janu ary- Aug ust, 1814-Each turn-AtPrague: 11, 1L (Austrian)*, At Berlin: 1 , 1L (Prusian)* A t L ondon : 21 (English)* A t S an Sebastia11 (Pt) , 1 (Spanis h)*

g. Feb ruar y, 1814-At Pragu e: Bellegar(Austrian)

6. Non-French Player Replacementsa. Each turn January, 1813-August, 1814:

Brest-Litovsk: 21, IC , IC C (Russian).7. All non-French player forces scheduled

arrive at a city which is occupied by French playforces may arrive at the nearest majo r city in thcountry's home state. French player forces scheuled to arrive at a city which is occupied by noFrench player forces are eliminated instead.

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


Dear Sir:

The January/Fcbruary GE NERAL (Vol . 16 .

#5) and a t tendant Phi losophy 77 demand somesort of comment. The fact that I received it in

April is worth a word o r two. Personally. if my bi-monthly magazine is going to come quarterly I'drather you kept the extra size. I wou ld think it isabout t ime Lt . Greenwood gora squad of h isown

to he lp h im carry a round the GE NERAL counter(its got to be at least 4 portage points).

I found it rather ironic that in the very issueyouexpanded the sizeof heGEN ERAL, you a lsoawarded AH the title of our 'less is best' com-

pany. I thought that several articles in this

GENERAL were clearly below your normal highstandards. While this is clearly a matter of per-

sonal taste I d o hope you will never resort to 'fill-ing' space with substandard material.

Of course you may say: 'Well that's w hy wewould like to see more of you out there writing ar-

ticles fo r us. Afte r all each issue has this little boxtha t says 'We want you ' . Tha t brings me to the

other topic you touched on: the near g lut ofg ameson the marke t .

With so many titles, and the fact that Joegamer buys many more t i t les than he can p lay

well. it would alsoseem that thcreareacomespo nd-ingly fewer number wh o can write with authorit yon a subjec t . I have no part icula r ax to grind onthis subject. I just h ope that you to ok th e possible

lack of m aterial into account when you decided toexpand your size.

I am a believer of 'less is best'. The glut of

games on the marke t (and ou t in my garage) issomething of a concern. That's why I plead withyou not t o release games that ar e not finished. In

this time of ever increasing inflation and tightmoney I think it is certainly cheaper for you (a ndless bothersome to me) not to have to release'revised' rulebooks and err ata by the ream. This I

th ink you have done on the whole . However,there have been some notable exceptions.M A G I C R E A L M probably received more hyve

than any game for a lo ng ime. Yet. no sooner

it released than vou anno unced olan s for a revisedr ul eb oo k. ~ h i i e H has bcen 'very good aboutproviding upda ted and second edi t ions a t no cost ,one must realize the excitement of a new ga me islost when incom plete rules are issued. 1 wouldra ther have todea l wi th the la rger price tag and ge t

it right the first time.An example is AIR FORCE/DAUNTLESS.

It looks like you got the titles, put your logo onthem and re-released them as hey were. If I'm notmistaken you a re now c leaning them u p and a re

going to re lea x a second t ime . This second ver-sion (your second) will bet he final product. If this

is indeed the case, I just shelled out goo d money

for a version o f the game tha t i s to bereplaced soon. To th is I can only say . . .A A A A RR RRG G G G H H H H ! To h e un l e arn e d i twould seem I've been had.

All that said and done, here's my point. I find

it much easier to deal with the high prices of a fewgood and comple te games than t o dea l wi th shod-dy material.

Avalon H ill is best because it listens to what

the gamers say an d usually releases complete pro d-ucts. I hope that you continue. Don't release anew Battle of the Bulgegame every year and cracklittle jokes about it. I think you hit on the rightformula when you re leased GETTY SBUR G '77.

Release the Intro. Intermediate, and advanced

versions in the same box. As fa r as A H is con-er ne d the subjec t of Get tysburg has beencoveredcompletely at all levels of play. Well done.

Michael Kennedy

Azusa. C A

We bel ieve we can handle the ormat switch to48 pages w ithout causing furth er delays in pro-

duction. O ne of the main reas ons is rhar we havepurchased a new four color press or insta l la t ionin Ju ly which wil l, hopeful ly , he lp us s p e d up

production. Shor tage of mate rial is really not ap ro b l e m . . . horta ge of g oo d material is. Asalways, I will publish the best material o n hand.

I t ' s up to the readership to see tha t the qua l i ty ofthar material is always on the rise.

A certain amount of rule updating cannot beavoided. G ames can be impr oved with rime-no

game is ever as good a s t could be g iven infin i tetesring so when t he chance comes a long to m akesignflcant improvements to a good game t seemsl ike the th ing to do . . . if n o t fo r t h o se w hoalready own thegame, then for thegenera t ions tocome. T HIR D REIC H is a case in poin t . Despi te

wrdely crirrcized rules, t he gam e has won a gre atnumb er of accolades including the Best Game ofAll Time award by one hobby magaz ine for the

par t several years. We think we can substantially

-L e t t e r s t o t h e E d i t o r . . .

improve on th is game an d will be re issuing a newrulebook, mapb oard an d scenario cards in thenear u ture . Whilesomeg amers may th ink we've

ripped rhem off by bringing out an upda ted edi-t ion for them topurchas e o keep the irgamescur-

rent, we feel that t he vast majority will bedelighted with the mprovemen tsmade. This com-mitment to long-term excellence is in the best in-terests of the consum er in my opinion.

As to you r experience with AIRFORCE, weare admit tedly on th e horns of a d i lemma. On th e

one hand we have gamers te l l ing us tha t AIR-F O R CE i s a n e x ce ll en t g a m e a s i t s r a n d s a n d t h e ywanr the game now. O n the o ther hand,others-such as yourself-will condemn us fo r

purr ing these games out wi thout any changesoth er than replacing the Battleline logo with thatof AH'S. Dealers are requesting these titles now.They don' t wanr to waif for us to " improve"

them. So, management has t r ied to p lease bothgroup s by reprin t ing the Bat t le l ine games as is

whi le assigning rheR dDpe ople to upda te them asquick as they can before they go in to new A Hpackaging. Fo r the t ime be ing, you can assum eany o ld Battleline game is still the Battleline edi-

tion-despite ou r logo on the box. When wererelease these game s thepac kagin g willbe enrire-

ly different an d they will be advertised as uch inthe magaz ine . So, i f you want to wai t for ourrevised editions of the Battleline series wait unti l

you see rhem advert ised as such in TH EG EN ERA L.

Gentlemen,

I enjoyed "Blood and Gut s Sta rship

Troopers" in Vol. 16. X5 very much. I would liketo add a few ideas and a correc t ion .

In the section "Guaranteed Bug Safety".Mr. Paxon says tha t i f th e Terrans p i le in to thesafe hex. fight and stay the next turn they can per-form a o ne man carry on the d isabled t rooper.

This won't work since it takes a whole turn to oada m an fo r a on e man carry (you a re ge tt ing h imout o f h is su i t ). T hus your t roops must survive

two a t tacks by the Bugs (and the man making thepickup can't fight back) or use a two man carry(which I prefer).

A two man carry ge ts your WIA (or evenstunned) uni t out the next movement phase so heBugs will get blasted by HE, nuke. o r anythingelse that can be brought t o bear, after getting only

one whack a t the rescuers. There a re two prob-

lems with using a two man carry. T he first is thatthe Bugs must not be able to stun or immobil izemore than o ne th i rd of the rescue force or one ofthese immobile units will not be recoverable, an dwill thus start the whole rescue cycle all over

again. T he other is that if the terrain is city orrough. th e pickup team won't get more than onehex from the Bugs. so an ukemissi le wi ll have fourchances to blast someone (the three men in thecarry and the nuke launcher man).

Furthermore. since the blast tones of mines

are additive. it is possible to set up mines to fo rm6-1 kill zones. A scale 3 mine four hexes from ascale 6 will create five hexes with 36 blast pts. andt w o e x t r a 2 4 p t . h e xe s. I f a sc a l e 6 a n d t w o o r t h re e

scale 3's are used it is possible t o cover quite a bitof gro und with 6-1 and 4-1 attacks. to say nothing

o f the2 - l ' s (2 sca l e3 -9A.E . . 106-1. 154-1 3scale

3- 10 A.E.. 15 6-1. 21 4-1). If the Ter ran can be

suckered in to the cente r of the a rea (by useof Mr.Paxon's Guaranteed Bun Safetv attacks. for in-.stance) 10-15 troop ers might get blasted i t once.

Or key pieces of terrain might be rigged. The areawhere the road c rosses the rough in scenario four

and the n arrow part of the rough in any scenario(since crossing the narrows is the quickest way toswitch troops between the barren and savannah)are good places for these traps. If the Terrans

drop a good number of men in to a b last zone ontheir Initial Drop, set off the trap . It really hurtsmorale t o see nine or ten m en get blasted b efore

they even get a chance to move.noth her use for protected breaches would be

to se t off the minedurinntheTerran movement or

extended jump phase a 'jter a stack of units hasmoved in to the hex. Even if t he mine is only nextto the stack the chance lo stun a whole stack so

that a beam weapon c an fry it the next turn shouldnot be passed up.

These two tricks may give Mr. Paxon newuses for scale3 mines. The 24 pt. blast from ascale

3 is guaranteed t o at least stun every unit in astacknext lo the mine and the extra blast hexes (com-pared t o a scale I) are very helpful in setting up the

large area attacks.

To he lp the Terrans here is another use forHNG. If the bugs send up a four unit stack that

you know is warriors and/or beam. drop a HNGinto their breach. If the terrain is anything butsavannah, the warriors will never move and thebeam will inch along at on e hex per turn. If these

four un its are killed thecell will be pretty well crip-pled. So it is Tunnel E xpedition Time, especially ifthe four units were all warriors. Since HNG can

get scarce(if a coupleo f your carriers get hit in the

general melee, you are down to a total of 6 at best)when in tunnels let one man lead and keep the

HNG in a 4 to 6 marauder group two hexes away.Th e Bugs will only be able to take out the leader,

and then you send up the HNG and moveon. This

is cheaper in many ways than dropping gas afterevery turn . The t roopers sea l off the tunne ls aswell as gas does (you must stop and fight enemy

units if in tunnels). By keeping the HNG in themain gr oup it won't g o up a two hex side tunnel

and be out of p lay a turn (or worse, be dropped inthe first hex of a two hex sidetunnel). Everytimey o u u se o n e o f t h e c a rc e m u n it i on s w a r r io rbugs will die, and finally if the Bugs manage to

ambush your main battleg roup. they will have toguess who is carrying the gas.

Roben BlakeBal t imore, M D

Dear Don:

I have just purchased CRESC ENDO O FDO OM and am qui te p leased with th is extensiongamettc . The qua l ity of the mapboard s andcounters are excellent, the rules well-written and

quite complete. It will be a while yet before I geta round to ac tua l ly p laying the scenarios andutilizing all the rules. which brings me to why I amwriting: may I strongly suggest that you release

the Italian and American counters a s soon as theyare ready, as I and a l l of my SL fr iends want to p i tthe G.I. against the Third Reich! And suggestingthat th e SL counters arc sufficient is no suggestionat all! You have done it with the maps already,and though theart ist hasobviously changed and i t

is rather difficult to ignore the day-glow colors,and even thoug h we have no idea what th e specialrules are concerning special terrain, we have had

no difficulty making up o ur own. Since my group

of gam ers has been engaged in design-your-ownCO If or he last year , we have a lso designed manyof o ur own ru les to handle unusua l c i rcumstances

and de ta i ls not out l ined in COI. The re lease of

C O D has confi rmed our gr aspof the ru les system,as some o f ou r own addi t iona l ru les have coin-cidentally appeared in COD. I bring this up topoint out th e fac t tha t we gamers can handle theAmerican counters withou t the rules particular to

them, with the full understandingthattheruleswe

make u p may diffe r drast ical ly from your la te r .official ones. W e have been on the Eastern Frontlong enough! Yes. 1 know tha t C OD is the

Western Front. but it just won't be enough tosatisfy our particular. native interest in WWII.ANV IL will be how long in the developing proc-

ess? You must have to design the counters firstbefore you can playtest them; the formula fordeciding the counters must be down to a fine

science by now; we would accept any errata youmight make for them. We would even buy thecounters again after thcir corrected issuance. but

give us the Americans, please!! In purchasingCOD. I was primarily interested in the counters,as I a l ready had bought the boards. and qui te

frankly, I'm sure it will be a long time before we

will play the scenarios. yet we have already uti-lized the counters. We had scenarios just waiting

to be filled in with Matildas. Grants. Brens and

the l ike . American a rmor would enable us to g oback an d really play theearly American scenarios.and see if the armo r could really hold its own.

In closing, I'll add that the S L series is a

hobby unto itself, and that you have foreveraltered the perspective of wargaming and set a

standard for the industry tha t wi ll s tand fordecades. For reward for including such a com-plimentary (b ut nevertheless completely true) let-

ter I urge you. I beg you. I plead with you to L ETO U R A RMO R G O !

Wayne Rice.

Rut land. MA

We've gotten a lot of letters like yours. Un-fortuna te ly , there a re some very good reasonswhy wecan ' t do asyou wish . Coun tersar enor he

fi rst th ing comple ted in agame. Fa r rom i t. Theyare usua l ly the last th ing to be f ina l ized as

playtesting results may affect the informatron o n

the counters and composi t ion of the counter mitself right dow n to th e last playtest report. Thei s n o w ay we can produce such counters before th

gam e s available. Besides, your wishes to thecoIrary, we receive many letrers of complaint frompeople who disl ike the amoun t of changes to eist ing systems an d counter mires which occur the gometres after a yea r of development. Thin

how these people would reac t to a counter shewhich underw ent ma jor changes even before th

corresponding rule book let was availoble! Nor athe news is bad, however. W e've recom misi onethe orig ina l a r t ist to d o more SL mapboards. Thcurrent boards 9 .10 and I1 will nor be inc ludedi

any upcom ing gamefres, an d will be avarlable ona s e x t r a t e rr a in f ro m o u r p o r r s m a i l o rd e r d e p

Boar ds 12 hrough I5 willdepicr entirely new te

rain configurarions leaving the SL enthusiast wia multitude of possible scenario situations.

*tnlr**Dear Sir:

I have just finished reading the RUSSIACAM PAIG N replay in Vol . 16 . No. 4 of T HGENERAL. While I agree with commenta toRichard Hamblen's view that ". . . t is easier t

point out flaws in another's hypothesis than fomula te one yourse lf" , I am one of those gamewho l ike to do th ings the hard way. My ow

defense is presented here district by district witnecessary commentary.

Baltic Military D isfrict-

G19-8th Inf.. G18-7th Arm.. 119-1st Arm.and 120-1 Ith Inf. to protect the Western Districflank.Western Military Din rict-

J21-10th Inf.. K20--6th C av., K 2 1 4 t h Inf.L23-3rd Inf., M21-8th Arm ., N22-5th Arm.

023-3rd Cav.

The only difference from th e Viipuri defens

is the placement o f 4th Inf. which is moved fromJ22. This prevents the AVing of hexes J22. J21

and K2O by AG C and stukas leading lo a panzebreakthroughtohexesG15.113.PI5(supply from

J20 is necessary) blocking rail reinforcement awell as possible encirclement of th e Baltic Distric

and blocking evacuation of the Minsk garriso

and remaining W estern District units.

Kiev Military Districr-

Q 2 4 4 t h Arm., R24-5th Inf.. R27-5th Cav.S25-12th Inf.. U27-3rd Arm ., V26-11thArm.. W24-6th Inf ., W25-26th Inf.

These last three units protect the flank of th

Odessa District and set u p thcir own withdrawal

Odessa M ilitary District-

X 2 5 4 t h Cav. , Z24--12th Arm. . AA25-9th

Inf.

This defense prevents a f i rst impulsbreakthrough which I believe is th e greates

dange r to the Russian player. By no means is this

"perfect defense", it is a compromise that fits mown defensive preferences and may be a "viabl

alternative" for others also. At least the criticmay now lake aim at someone else. Constructiv

criticism, co mrades, is always welcome.

Don Pierron

Lawrence. Kansas

*****Dear Don:

I enjoyed the new expanded GENERA(16 5) mmense ly andgo t a big k ick out ofthe snic le by Early Thomas o n propaganda. I t brough

back great memories of when I played PBM Stalingrad in high school. My most enjoyablccontest

were those where my adversary would reply to mtyped up prop agand a releases in kind. I can't te

you how much m ore I would look forward to mopponents re turn moves just to r ip in to one othose juicy scandle sheets!

However, there's an extremely practical sid

to all this sabre rattling and belicostity whichThomas ignored all together, that being deccp

tion. H is Red an d Blue merely describe the eventof the day through their appropriately tintedglasses. They never mention things that aren'

going on o r might.

The point o f this is simple. in FTF lay youcan put o n a poker face. mull over one section o

the ma p when you in tend to a t tack another . leavthe room while your opponent moves, or any

other psychological ploys. In PBM this is all lost.unless of course you sit dow n and zip off a little

propaganda. Spread rumors. use it to portrayyour iron backbone in th e face of disaster, even iyou don't have one and think you're losing. justbe subtle.

Stephen P. Herchak

Pine Bluff. NC

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


WAR AND PEACE one hex in any direction providing it ends itwithdrawal no further from a friendly supplsource (in terms of Movement Points) than thhex it originally occupied.

Q. For Attrition purposes, if a hex contains bothsuppliedand unsupplied units, are the units in thehex considered unsuodied?.A. Yes, if there is one unsupplied strength pointin a hex, all of the units in that hex are consideredunsupplied for Attrition purposes.

Q. For Attrition purposes. if a hexcontainssomeunits which are inside their home country andsome which are not. is the home country die rollmodifier used?A. No, the modifier isonly used if allof the unitsin the hex are inside their home country.

Q. During the Movement Phase. if the active

player wishesto attempt to forcemarch the unit@)he is moving, must heannounce thisat the start of

Q. If all of the combat units accompanyingleader are eliminated. what happens to thaleader?A. The owning player immediately rolls the dicto determine if the leader is wounded or killed. Ithe leader is unharmed, and his force waeliminated in a field battle. the leader iautomatically moved to the nearest hex containing an unbesieged unit of the same color. If thleader's force was eliminated inside a city. thleader is captured by the opposing player. Cap

tured leaders may be exchanged for other captured leaders, or by any agreement which is no

Basically. the player has two options. If he wishesto keep the entire force intact. he may ignore the

printed on the Terrain Effects Chart which affectboth Movement and Supply.

Q. Please outline the sequence followed duringthe Combat Phase.A. The Combat Phase consists of an unlimitednumber of roundsof Combat. E a ~ hound shouldbe resolved in the following sequence:

1. The active player indicates all of theattacks he wishes to initiate. Note: This step isomitted after the first round of combat.

2. The active player indicates all of theattacks he wishes to resolve during the current

modifiers which the regular French uniti and theFrench Guard un8tsarccnutled to. If he iswillingto divide the force, he may utilize these samemodifiers to maximizethe distance which the cor-responding units may be moved (as illustrated inthe example). Note, however, that he mustdesignate which units are attempting to forcemarch before rolling the die-if he attempts tomovetheentire forcesimultaneously,hemay only

roll once to determine the result.

the movement ofthose units?A. No, anytime while moving'a particular unit.or groupof units. the active player may announcethat he wishes to attempt to force march theunit(s) in order to increasethe distance the unit(s)may be moved. Note, however. that once this an-nouncement is made. he must immediately in-dicate the path of movement the unit(s) willfollow during the remainder of the MovementPhase.

Q. For Supply purposes, may a supply line betraced through aseriesof supplied units which arethe same color as the unit($ requiring supply?A. Yes, if a unit is within three Movement Pointsof a city supply source, that unit itself is con-sidered a supply source and a supply line may betraced through that unit to a more distant unit ofthe same color. There is no limit to the number ofunits which may serve as intermediate supplysourcesbetween anoriginal citysupplysourceanda unit requiring supply.

round of combat. For each attack; the dice arerolled once and a result is obtained from theCom-bat Results Table. For each attack. any requiredloss is immediately eliminated from the ap-propriate force(s).

3. After all of the indicated attacks havebeen resolved, first theactiveand then theinactiveplayer may withdraw any force which par-ticipated in combat voluntarily. Anytime a hex iscompletely vacated by a withdrawing force. theopposing force which participated in combatagainst the hex may immediately advance intothat hex.

4. After all voluntary withdrawalshave beenexecuted, first the active and then the inactiveplayer may attempt to reinforce any force whichparticipated in combat during the current round.

5. After all attempts to reinforce have been

expresslyforbidden in the rules. Note: If a leadeismoved to another hex. hemay not beused to influence combat for the remainder of the CombaPhase.

Q. During the Movement Phase, if all of the inactive player's units are inside a city, may theactive player move his unit(s) into the hex to conduct a siege?A. No. The units of the active player may movadjacent to the hex during the Movement PhaseIf the active player initiates combat against thehex during the Combat Phase. and the inactivplayer's units remain inside the city, the activplayer may now move his units into the hex toresolveeither an assault or to initiate a siege.

Q. What do I do if there are not enough counterto meet the indicated Force Pool additions?

Q. If the active player is attempting to forcemarch a force containing some French Guardunits, some French units, and some Frenchsatellite units, which modifiers are applied to thedie roll?

A. The answer to this question iscontained in theexample on Page 6. and is clarified as follows:

Q. Are Terrain Effects taken into account whendetermining the length of a supply line?A. Yes, including the provision that requires theexpenditure of an extra Movement Point to tracea supply line across a river. Note: Players shouldbe especially mindful of the explanatory notes

executed, all forces which possess a current A. All additions to the Force Pool are limited bymorale valueof zero must withdraw according lo the countermix provided. If there is no counte

the restrictions of Rule Section Q. Note: In available, the addition is ignored. Nore:There areaccordance with the errata presented in this issue also a few extra counters not required by the

T I T L E WAR & PEACE $15.00 RuleQl a isamended as follows: If a withdrawing schedules on the Campaign Game Card-theseforce does not occupy a city hex, it must retreat are not used in the game.

SUBJECT Multi-player Grand Strategic Game o f Napoleonic EmpireWAR AND PEACE is the 47th name to Realism (2.54). WAR AND PEACE seems to

AVALON HILL RBG RATING CHART

undergo analysis in the RGB. with-a 2.43cumulative rating, ranking it seventh on theoverall list, the way may now be open for moreAvalon Hill Napoleonic era games.

Usually a game which does well in theRealismrating sufferssomewhat in the playabilitydepartments (Ease of Understanding and Com-pleteness of Rules). Such was not the case withWAR AND PEACE. It is even rarer that a gamereceives ratings above average in every RBGcategory (RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN andBISMARCKare the only other two). and thoughWAR AND PEACEgarnered no outstanding in-dividual scores. the across-the-board good per-

formances combined for an excellent overallrating. Proving that consistency can be better

than a combination of extremes and that.perhaps, there can be a happy marriage betweenrealism and playability.

The well-rounded ratings for Physical Qual-ity (2.37). Mapboard (2.32). and Components(2.54) indicate an attractive product, inside andout. While the Ease of Understanding (2.34) andCompleteness of Rules (2.56) ratings hold theheart of the game, the game system, in equallygood stead.

The Play Balance rating (2.61) is strong andreflects a fine development job by Frank Davis.Coupled with the well above average rating for

have pulled off the integration of history andplayability, without detracting from otherelements of the game.

The Excitement Level rating (2.29) is ex-tremely high for a strategic levelgameand reflectsthe tactical subtleties within the strategic system.Use of the optional Battlefield Maneuver Matrixincreases the "gaming" excitement even further.The Overall Value rating of 2.32 ranks WARAND PEACE eleventh in that most importantcategory.

The Playing Time of two hours and fiftyminutes is a composite of the various scenarios.Thereare both shorterand longer scenarios in thegame and the Campaign Game ison another scalecompletely, and should be measured in days, not

hours.1. Physical Qua l i ty . . . . . . . . . . . 2.372. Mapboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.313. Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.544. Ease of Understanding . . . . . 2.345. Completeness o f Rules . . . . . 2.566. Play Balance.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.617. Realism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.548. Excitement Le v e l . . . . . . . . . . 2.299. Overall Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3210. Game Length . . . . 2 hr., 50 min.

The games ar e ranked by their cumulative scores which is a n average of th e 9 categories for ea1 aame. While it mav be fairlv araued that each cateoorv should not weiah eauallvaaainst th e othew e us e it only a s a of overall rank. &breaking down a game's r i t iGs into individcategories th e gamer is able to discern for himself where th e game is strong or weak in thequalithe values th e most. Readersare reminded that th e Game Length category ismeasured in multiplete n mtnutes and that a ratlng of 18 would equal 3 hours

p : 3 0

rn

1. CROSS OF IRON 2.17 2.09 2.04 1.88 3.37 2.52 2.44 1.60 1.69 1.94 2

2. RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN 2.24 1.98 1.65 2.02 2.24 3.07 2.78 2.41 1.78 2.07 2-. W.S.

&I.M.5. ANZlO

Ii o . c u c a u n a ~ E G l O N S ~ . ~ - L . J L L . J O L . J I L . I . ~ L , L ~ ~ .

17 . SUBMARINE 2.65 2.58 3.48 2.42 2.90 2.87 2.55 2.38 2.22 2.47 1- I ) C T A ~ C U I D T ~ ~ ~ P F ~ C~7 9 9 7 ( 1 9 n 7 7 A R 7 7 n R 5 7 R 30 7 7 0 2 3 2 1

I-- COMING UP NEXT TIME ii Ft,tkE%4

I!-8 MIDWAY

25. UILANU

26. RAIL BARON" 7 8 8 ,CT\A, , ,CCC

34 . 0-DAY '7 735 . BLITZKRIEG

41 DOAY 143 3 7 2 4 5 4 3 6 9 2 5 6 3 0 9 4 3 8 4 5 0 3 6 0 3 5 6 1

1 44 3-43 3 74 3 4 0 2 0 7 2 52 4 37 5 15 3 2 8 3 0 4 2

4 6 GETTYSBURI 3 8 8 3 5 9 3 8 4 3 5 4 2 6 8 3 3 9 5 0 8 4 5 1 4 3 4 3 9 8 1

47 KRlEGSPlEL 4 0 4 3 7 7 4 2 0 3 8 5 2 1 3 2 9 4 2 9 3 6 0 9 5 2 0 5 2 9

$3 .TACTICS 1$4 MAGIC REALM

. . - - -AVERAGE

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


Our first 48 page ssue didn't exactly wow the

readership if the issue ratings for Vol. 16, No. 5

are to be believed, but they may have been more a

matter of content than format. The supporting

cast really didn't measure up t o Paul Jameson's

feature article as is shown by the runaway margin

of victory over the nex t best article. The issue as a

whole polled a 3.27 which made it only the 4th

most popular of the preceding six issues. The

ratings for the individual articles on a basis of 3points awarded for a first place vote, 2 for sec-

ond, and 1 for third based on a random sample of

20 0 responses were as follows:Tactical Alternatives in 1941 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 3Blood &Guts STARSHIPTROOPERS . . . . . . . . . . 163U-505, Odyssey of a Submarine . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

More Bangs Per Buck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91BLITZKRIEG Propaganda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Montgomery At Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Staff Briefing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Design Analysis-Resolving FractionalOdds . . . . . 38A Primer on French Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Avalon Hill Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24RAILBARON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

In contest 93 , five contestants found better

solutions than our puzzle editor, sending up to 3 0

points south while protecting Leningrad! The

simplest way t o improve the solution (t o 29

points) is to place 7 points in F15, 5 points in D13,7 points n G13,2 points in F11 (toguard against a

bounce forward fro m attacking G13) and 2 points

in D10, but there are many variations on this tac-

tic. The best solution is to pu t 8 points in D14, 7

points in F12 and 5 points in E l l (plus the D l 0

tw o points) sending 3 0 points south.

Most of the wrong answers failed to guard

against the tactic of bouncing orward from an at-

tack in the G13 area, particularly in snow months

when the panzers can go through the swamps.

That's why a unit in F11 is essential. The next

most popular error was failing t o guard against a

second-impulse AV th at would clear the way for

the tw o Ha s to attack Leningrad by themselves.

Essentially, protecting against this required 5

points in a position where it could be attacked by

only tw o stacks (or only by armor). Other errors in-cluded stacking Russian units three high (only

corps can do that-no armies can be in he stack),

failing to move out of Axis ZOC on first impulse

(units in enemy ZOC can move away on first im-

pulse-it is only on second impulse tha t being in

ZOC freezes the unit) , and generally preventing an

Axis penetration on first impulse but not on

second impulse.

Incidentally, those panzers on K14 were sup-

posed to be placed at J14. In the original puzzle

setup, the solution published last issue is the only

correct solution. The ten winners were: A.

DeLaura, Hartford, CT; M. Hart, San Antonio, TX;

J. McLaurin, Islington, Ontario; J. Hartsell, Con-

cord, NC; J. Erickson, Andrews, SC; T. Steven-

son, APG, MO; R. Lambert, Troy, MI; G. Jones,

Warren, OH; W. Knapp, Blue Ridge, VA; and R.

Bottner, Bellevue, NE.

The key to the Guild win in contest No. 94 s

the ability t o take his turn at anytime. If he waits

until his turn occurs i n he regular order of play, he

will probably find every stronghold but Habbanya

Ridge Sietch occupied by two other players. He

has lost his chance t o wi n even before he starts. If

he takes his turn a t the beginning of the phase, he

ensures that his forces will occupy three

strongholds.

His strongest move would be to move the

eight token force in Imperial Basin to Arrakeen and

ship six tokens from Habbanya Ridge Sietch to

Carthag. In the next player turn, the Atreides

players can move his force from Arrakeen t o Car-

thag. The maximum strength of the Guild battle

plan would be ten: A 'five' leader, five tokens and

five spice. The sixth token must be kept aside to

keep control of the stronghold. The Atreides can

devise a battle plan of ten, also: a four leader, eight

tokens and four spice. But because he took histurn first, the Guild is now the "first player" and,

as such, wins all ties. Neither player will lose their

leaders as the Atreides prescience will always

allow him to select the proper defense.

The Harkonnen player can move forces into

Carthag. Here the maximum Harkonnen battle

plan would be a 'four' leader plus four tokens and

four spice for a tota l of eight. The Guild can dial a

'three leader', five tokens and three spice for a

total of seven. If the Guild plays his poison

treachery card, he guarantees that the Harkonnen

will lose his leader and reduce his battle plan to

four. By the same token, the Harkonnen will

eliminate the Guild eader by playing the projectile.

This reduces the Guild Battle Plan to four. Again,

as the "aggressor", the Guild wins the tie.

The question no w arises, how did the Guild get

the eleven spice needed o ship tokens to Carthag

and win t wo battles when he has only three spice

at the start. The trick here is to acquire spice by

killing your own and he opponents leaders while

winning battles. In the Harkonnen battle you can

only guarantee getting three spice from your o wn

leader loss. The Harkonnen player can prevent giv -

ing you spice by using a cheap hero. Unfortunately

you use your initial allotment of three spice to

make your shipment.

Here is the second trick of the puzzle. Note

that if you ship the five tokens from your reserve

onto Carthag (or Arrakeen for that matter) the

Atreides can defeat you or force you o use all your

tokens in battle which accomplishes the same

thing. You must have a minimum of six tokens in

one and eight in the other. The only way to get six

tokens to Carthag would be to ship them from

Habbanya Ridge Sietch. On the surface this may

seem to be suicidal as the Guild must win in Hab-

banya Ridge Sietch. but a timely placed Karama

card prevents the Bene Gesserit from shipping

reinforcements o her one token in he Sietch. The

Guild ust needs to match he one oken to win. His

battle plan is the one strength leader, no tokens

and no spice. The Bene Gesserit voice cannot pre-

vent the Guild from playing both of his weapons

and since she has nodefense, either Guild weapon

wil l knock of f her 'five' leader. This guarantees a

Guild victory and provides tw o more spice than

needed to defeat the Harkonnen. The Harkonnen

victory gives the Guild three more spice which

with the two left over from the Bene Gesserit,

gives the Guild the five he needs to defeat

Atreides and win the game.

The situation above is not the only one that

could happen. The Guild can adapt to all other

moves made against it. As an alternative, let's

say, the Atreides stays put and makes no

shipments. Since he has equal strength i n both Ar-

rakeen and Carthag, his best battle strength is

eight. Because he Guild s unable o predict where

the Atreides will commit his spice and best leader,

he must be able to match eight in both

strongholds. If he uses his 'three' leader wit h a

seven token force, he must use three spice to

reach eight. If he uses his 'five' leader with a five

token force, he needs only one spice to reach

eight. The five spice gained from the Be

Gesserit leader more than satsifies this spic

need. For any Atreides or Harkonnen shipmen

wha t he gains in token strength, he loses in spic

The shipments will not improve the battle plan

Winner: Guild

MOVES

FINAL LOCATION NUMBEROF TOKENS

1 Habbanya Ridge Sietch 121 Carthag 6

3 ) Arrakeen 8

BATTLEPLANS

Locatbn Strength Leader Wee~on Defense S

either11H.R. Sietch 0 G. Rep. weapon Snooper

either2) Carthag 5 S. Tusk weapon Snooper

3 )Arrakeen 7 M. ewt Poison Snooper

Notes: Karama must be used to prevent Bene Gesserit shipmeThe Guild must move first.

CONVENTION CALENDAR

The following list of gaming conventions i s madstrictly on the basis of the presentation of a date to us bthe convention publicity chairman. Avalon H il l does nonecessarily attend or endorse the gatherings listed belownor do we mean to suggest that events using Avalon Higames will be held there, although it s likely that at leascasual, open gaming with AH games will be presen

Readers are urged to contact the sources listed for furtheinformation before making plans to attend.

JUN E 27-28-29

ORIGINS VI. Widener, PA

Contact: ORIGINS '80, P.O. Box 139, Mid

dletown, N.J. 07748

JULY 4-5-6NA NCO N 88-111, Houston, TXContact: Nan's Toys, 1385 Galleria Mall, 501

Westheimer, Houston, T X 77056

NOTE: AK, K M ournaments

JULY 4-5-6

EMPIRICON II/ConSpiracy, New York, NY

Contact: POB 682, Church Street Station, New

York, NY 10008 NOTE: SF emphasis & DI P

JULY 11-12-13MINNESOTA CAMPAIGN IV, Minneapolis, MN

Contact: Jef f Berry, 343 E. 19th St., Minneapolis

M N 55409 (612) 871-6144 NOTE: RAIL BARON

JULY 11-12-13

GLASC V, Los Angeles, CA

Contact: L. Daniel, 7048 Keokuk Ave., Canog

Park, CA 91306

J UL Y 2 5 , 2 6 , 2 7

MAINECON '80; Portland, M E

Contact: John Wheeler, 102 Front St., Bath, ME

04530. (207) 443-3711. NOTE: Miniatures Em

phasis.

AUGUST 1-2-3CWA CON '80,

Contact: Tony Adams, 3605 Bobolink, Rolling

Meadows, I L 60038. NOTE: SL, COI/COD,NAP , WS&IM, PL, W&P , 3R, TRC, W AS,Classics tournaments.

AUGUST 2-3BANGOR AREA CON, Orono, ME

Contact: Ed Stevens, 13 South St., ME 04841

AUGU ST 21-22-23-24

GEN CON XIII, Parkside, W I

Contact: Gen Con, P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva

WI 53147. NOTE: DUNE, fantasy emphasis

AUG 30-31, SEPT 1

PACIFICON, San Mateo, CA

Contact: David G. Hinkley, PACIFICON, P .0.

Box 5833, San Jose, C A 95 150.

NOTE: SL, KM , & DI P tournaments.

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


AN OLD COMPANY

PRESENTS A NEW COMPANY

WITH AN OLD IDEA IN A NEW TWISTThe Avalon Hill Game Company introduces its brand new subsidiary,

Microcomputer GamesB, Inc. presenting4

wargames for home computers.Here are the first of a new breed of strategy

games pitting ''you against the computer."Eachgame comes complete with rules and software forthe three most popular home computers: TRS-80*Level 11, 16K memory; Apple II*, ApplesoftBASIC, 16K memory beyond BASIC, and Pet* 16Kmemory.

Expansion into this computer game marketwas first initiated 2% years ago. We're only nowgetting finished products to you because of the timeit took to get quality designs. The four wargamedesigns we are about t o present t o the public for thefirst time represent what playtesters told us were the"best of the lot."The lot numbered more than100 designs.

Here, the computer is much, much more than abookkeeping devise; it's actually programmed tooutthink, outguess, and outmaneuver you.

Thus, the design of a computer game requiresthe expertise of a creative talent foreign to thosewho are strictly board game oriented. That's whywe created a complete new company:

Microcomputer Gamesa, Inc.

B-1 NU CLEA R BOMBER $15 RetailThis game gives you an opp ortunity to be th e pilotof a B-1 bomber on a mission over the SovietUnion. You m ust fly the plane through the stiffRussian defenses to the target city, bomb it, andre turn home. Your computer contr~lshe Sovietair defense bases with their almos t unlimitednumbers of MIG's (fighters) and SAM 'S (surface-to-air missiles).

MIDW AY CAM PAIG N $15 Reta ilMIDWAY CAM PAIG N is a computer simula tion

of the battle for Midway Island. Your micro-compu ter controls a huge force of Japanese shipswhose objective is to invade and captur e Midway

WHERE YOU CAN GET THESE NEW GAMES!Island. l i t h e Japanese can win air superiorityover Midwav. the success of th e invasion is7

We wish we knew! Because you have to own one virtually guaranteed. You comman d the badly

of the three home computers for which they are outnumb ered and outranged U.S. Navy forces.Your only advantage is surprise.

designed, not all traditional game shops will carrythem. So while you're looking, make sure your NORTHATLANTICCONVOYRAIDER

favorite game store knows you're looking, and $15 Retail

maybe they'll look to Avalon Hill's Microcomputer This game is a computer simulation of theBismarck convoy raid of 1941. The computer

Games@,Inc., to fill their needs just as they do our controls the British convoys and British

board games. battleships. Will the Bismarck sink the Hood,

~ l l g a m e svailable NOW at $15 each plus 10% only to be sunk in turn by the Rodney and KingGeorge V, as in history? O r, will the Bismarckpostage & handling direct from: c r i ~ ~ l er sink the British Hom e Fleet and no

microcomputerrampaging through the convoy lanes?

-

NUK EWA R $15 Retail

@ A REGISTERED TRADEM ARK O F MICROCOMPUTER GAMES, INC.NUK EWA R is a compu ter simulation of a nuclear

A DIVISION OF confrontation between two hypothetical countries.You must choose the methods to defend your

The AVALON HILL Game Company country: either by massive espionage efforts, or

4517 Harford Road Baltimore, MD 21214by building jet fighter-bo mbers, missiles,submarines, and anti-ballistic missiles.

For credit card purchasing callTOLL FREE 800-638-9292Checks payable to: Microcomputer Games@,Inc.

7/27/2019 Ah Gen v17n1


i 4+ READER BUYER'S GUIDE 6

6

WIZARD'S QUEST $1 5 6' ulti-Player Fantasy Game of 0

t conquest 6

+ B

+ INSTRUCTIONS Rate all categoroes by plactng a *+ number rangtng from 1 through 9 In the ap '

proprlate spaces to the rightI 1

equattng excel6

lent. 5 average and 9 ter r~b lel EXCEPTION (4

' ate Item No 10 In terms of mlnutes necessary 6

+ to play game as recorded In lO m~n ut e ncre

+ -nents EXAMPLE I f you've found that ~t takes *+ .wo and a half hours to play FRANCE 1940, you

+ ,would glve ~t a GAME LENGTH ratlng of "15 '' 6Parttc~pate n these revlews only 11 you are 6

famtltar with the game on quertlonC,. A

+ 1. Phys~cal lual~ty -6

+ 2. Mapboard -6

+ 3. Components -A+ 4. Ease of Understanding

-0

+ 5. Completeness of Rules -+ 6. Play Balance -+ 7. Real~sm -*4 8. Exc~tement evel -6

+ 9. Overall Value -+ 10. Game Length -6

'he revjew sheet may be cut out. photocopled. C*

+ or merely drawn on a separate sheet of paper

+ Mall ~t to our 4517 Hatfo rd Road address wtth (a

9 your contest entry or opponents wanted ad Mark

+ such correspondence to the attentoon of the R & '+

44A el

Opponent Wanted-I.Want-ads will be accepted only when printed on this form or a facsimile and must be accom-

panied by a 25 0 token fee. N o refunds.

2. For Sale, Trade. or Wanted To Buy ads wil l be accepted only when dealing with collector's

items (out o f p rint A H games) and are accompanied by a S1.00 token fee. No re funds.

3. Insert copy on lines provided (2 5 words maximum) and print name, address. and phone

number on the appropriate lines.

4. Please PRINT. I f your ad is illegible, it will not be printed.

5 . So that as many ads as possible can be printed within our limited space. we request that you use

offici al slate and game abbreviations. Don't list your entire collection, list only those you are most

interested in locating opponents for.

Afrika Korps-AK. Air Force-AF. Alexander-AL, Alpha Omega-AO, Anzio-AZ. Arab-

Israeli Wars. AI W, A rmor Supremacy-AS. Assault On Crete/lnvasion O f Malta-AOC.

Bismarck-BIS, Blitzkrieg-BL. Battle Of The Bulge-BB. Caesar Alesia-CAE. Caesar's

Legions-CL. Chancellorsville-CH. Circus Maximus-CM, Cross O f Iron-COI, Crescendo O f

Doom-COD. Dauntless-DL. D-Day-DD. Diplomacy-DIP. Feudal-FL. Flat Top-FT,

Fortress Europa-FE, France 40-FR, Fury In The West-FITW. Gettysburg-GE.

Insurgency-INS. Jutland-JU. Kingmaker-KM, The Longest Day-TLD. Luftw affe -LW,

Machiavelli-MA, Magic Realm-MR. Midway-MD, Napoleon-NP. Naval War-NW,

Objective: Atlanta-OA. Origins-OR. Outdo or Survival-OS, Panzerblilz-PB. Panzer

Leader-PL. Rail Baron-RB, Richthofen's War-RW. The Russian Campaign-TRC,

Samurai-SA. Squad Leader-SL. Shenandoah-SH, Stalingrad-STAL. Starship

Troopers-SST. Source O f The Nile-SON. Submarine-SUB, Tactics 11-TAC. Thi rd

Reich-3R. Tobruk-TB. Trireme-TR. Victo ry In The Pacific-VITP. Viva Espana-VE. War

and Peace-W&P. War At Sea-WAS, Waterloo-WAT, Wizard's Quest-WQ, Wooden Ships

& Iron Men-WSIM.

THE GENERA- - - - - - - - - - -

EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARDSThis issue marks the start of Volume 17 of THE GENERAL which

means it is timeonce again to vote for the best articles of the past year. The

winner receives a lifetime subscription to THE GENERAL plus a $100

bonus. Eliminating those articles written by paid staff members we have

the following listed articles placed in nomination by the editor. Please vote

for only one of the nominees and vote only if you have read all of the

nominated works during the past year.

ANALYSING TH E GUSTAV LINE By Tom Oleson, Vol. 16, No. IFIRE AS YOUR GUNS BEAR By Leonard P. Carpenter,

Vol. 16, No. 2PANZER LEADER: AN OVERVIEW By Jeffrey Paul Jones,

Vol. 16, No. 3

CROSS OF IRON SERIES REPLAY By Jon Mishcon, Vol. 16, No. 3

TACTICAL ALTERNATIVES IN 1941 By David Jameson,

Vol. 16, No. 5

MODULES FOR ESSENCE OF DUNE By Charles Vasey,

Vol. 16, No. 6

DIADEM SERIES REPLAY By Tom Oleson et al, Vol. 16, No. 6

CONTEST #95Assuming average luck, in the 1815 Scenario of W A R A N D P E AC E , th

French player will gain 15 Movement Points by forced marching during th

first French Movement Phase. Within the restrictions of the standard rule

and the scenario rules, contestants may use this total of 15 Movement Points t

move the French units as he would during a normal game, and then indicate thFrench deployment at the end of the Movement Phase in the space provide

below.

Second, contestants should designate all French atta cks for the first roun

of combat, pursuing the strategy which will give the French player the greate

chance of delaying an Anti-French victory.

Finally, assuming tha t only the largest of the attacked nowFrench forces

forced to withdraw at the end of the first round of combat, contestants shou

designate all French attacks during the second round of combat. Assume tha

the French Imperial Guard Optional Rule is in effect, that the result of eve

combat die roll is "7". that no French force is forced to withdraw in the firs

round, and tha t the French player succeeds in any attempt he makes to rein

force the battles he initiated on the first round.

FIRST ROU ND SECOND ROUNDEPLOYMENT-(Hex #) (Hex #) (Hex #)

Example:

5513 Leader (0),41, 1C KK14

Explanation: In the Deployment column indicate the hex each force occupi

at the end of the Movement Phase, and the composition of the force

illustrated in the example. For each force listed, indicate the hex that force w

attack during the first and second rounds of combat. If a force advances in

the hex it attacked during the first round of combat, circle the hex #. Not

Attacking is voluntary. No force is required to attack. If a force does not pa

ticipate in combat list only its composition and deployment. Note that th

example is not part of the solution.Ten winning entries will receive certificates redeemable or f m H merchandise. To be valid

an entry must be received prior l o the mailing of the next GENERAL and include a numrrical

ruling for the issue as a whole as well as list the best 3 articles. The solution will be announced in