The General - Volume 18, Issue 3

7/23/2019 The General - Volume 18, Issue 3

1/52

The

V LON ILL

September-October 1981

Volum


2/52

2

ORIGINS PAST

AND

PRESE

~ [ i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i v i i i i i i i a i i i i i i i l o i i i i i i i n i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i H i i i i i i i i l i i i i i i i l i i i i i i i P i i i i i i i h i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i l o i i i i i i i s i i i i i i i O i i i i i i i P i i i i i i i h Y i i

vention

to

Pacificon org

The first i

the lack

of

a

how to

go

Aside from an

of

costs

for

e

from

Californ

manufacture

part a

pretty

they

generall

taking action

exhibit and a

etc. Thus, in

DESIGN ANALYSIS

GUNS OF AUGUST

Designer's Notes

THE

DECISIONS

OF

AUGUST

A Plan

of

Attack for the Central Powers

in

GUNS

OF AUGUS

THE

S HLIEFFEN

PL N

Application

of

the Grand Strategy to GUNS

OF

AUGUST

STEPPING

STONE

TO

SUEZ

The Proposed Ai r Assault on Cyprus

The old adage

that

if you can't say something

nice about someone,

don't

say anyth ing at all

is

generally good advice and I was sorely tempted

to

do

just that when

the subject

of

our annual

coverage of the national gaming convention

was

broached. However, after all due consideration

of

the situation, I came to the conclusion that such a

stance

would

be a cop

out

and a disservice

to

those

of

our readers with a genuine interest in what takes

place at ORIGINS every year. Here then, is just one

man's

opinion.

The weather f or Pacific Origins

was

truly

beautiful and the Dunfey Hotel

was

indeed a lux

urious site with special reduced rates for the con

vention

which

were very reasonable. Unfortunate

ly, in my opinion, any semblance of the actual con-

The Avalon Hill GENERAL is dedicated

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EDITOR: Donald J. Greenwood

ASS'T EDITOR: Alan R Moon

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ze h

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The AVALON HILL

G N R L

The

ame

Players

agazine


3/52

STORM OVER ARNHEM

c:ir;:tn =

~ L Q J ~

6 5

'K.

506

PzkwYlf

6

.c

. , .

CC

if

4 ,

Inattack most daring,

in

defense most cunning,

in

endurance most steadfast, they

performed a feat of arms which

will

be remembered and recounted as long as the vir

tues of courage and resolution have power to move the hearts of

men.

Winston Churchill, September 28th, 1944

On the morning

of

September 17th, 1944, from airfields all

over southern England, the greatest armada

of

troop carrying air

craft ever assembled for a military operation took to the air

over 7500 aircraf t which would drop an enti re Allied airborne

army behind German lines to seize and hold a series

of

supposedly

weakly-defended bridges until relieved by an armored thrus t

through the front lines. Unbeknownst to the Allied High Com

mand, however, two SS Panzer Divisions were stationed near

Arnhem-the

last bridge in the chain, and the British 1st Air

borne Division was about to drop into a living hell.

block, but from house to house and room t

in feet, not miles. Outnumbered, short

of

f

medical supplies, the paratroops nonethele

fearful toll in German lives for their steadily

and artillery were called in to flatten the

resolve of those manning the redoubt. Fina

days after they were supposed to have been

Corps one last wireless message originated

Arnhem

Ou t

of

ammunition

Go

mained

of

the gallant defenders

of

Arnhem

and threes and attempted to slip away in t

STORM OVER ARNHEM recreates f

Arnhem bridge with an innovative game sy

of

simultaneous movement games without

while maintaining the action-reaction capab

quential movement games. Player interactio

high excitement level throughout. The map


4/52

4

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e

OMIb

J ~ i : h

n

7

BB IS

BB

IB

I.

-

-

-

--

-7-2

5 7

183

4-2-2

2-,-2

L T TOP

FLAT

TOP

may be the final word on ai rcraft

carrier operations and warfare. The luck factor is

so minimal it plays little part in the outcome.

Winning requires careful planning

and

playing

skill. A true test of gaming skill.

Much

of

the game's excitement comes from the

hidden movement system. Unless sighted by

enemy units, all un its may be kept off -board .

Players keep track of unseen units on the log

sheets provided which have a reduced version

of

the map. In this way, total secrecy is maintained.

While this requires a certain amount

of

honesty,

the

result is a unique blend

of

thrills and tension.

Players must send out search planes to find the

enemy task forces.

At

thesame time, theymust

be

readying their strikes to launch once the enemy

ships are spotted. There are countless decisions to

bemadeeach turn. Players must decidehow many

search planes to use, how

to

arm their planes,

whether to att ack enemy bases o r not, how to

organize their task forces, and when to attack.

Plane types represented in the game include Zero,

Kate, Val, Betty , Judy, Dauntless, Avenger,

Wildcat, B-17, P-39, and P-40.

Each

plane type

has its own realistic characteristics. Planes have a

range factor which represents the amount

of

fuel

the plane has and equals the number of turns the

plane can be in the air. They also have a move

ment factor which establishes how far a plane can

fly in one turn. Each base and c.arrier has a ready

ing factor and a launch factor which govern how

many planes can be armed and fueled and how

many can be launched in one turn.

FLAT TOP recreates the major Battles

of

the

Solomon Seas. Each hex on the mapboa rd is

approximately equivalent to twenty miles. Each

ship uni t represents one ship. Each Air Fac tor

represents approximately three planes. Each turn

represents one hour of time.

In 1942, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and

the sur rounding waters hosted many

of

the

hardest-fought and most critical battles

in

the

Pacific Theatre.

It

was at the Battle of the Coral

Sea that the Japanese expansion was first slowed.

Later, Guadalcanal became the site

of

the first,

major Allied offensive. Indeed, one half of the

carrier battlesof the whole war were fought in this

area. Becausemany

of

these battleswere between

fairly equal, well matched forces, they present the

ideal situation for a highly competitive, balanced

gamewhile at the same time recreating the history

of the period.


5/52

THE S HLIEFFEN PL N

pplication the Grand Strategy to Guns

ugust

Game players seem fascinated by German

generals. Their hopeless situation of taking

on

the

world by themselves, their dedication to military

solutions to the exclusion of diplomatic considera

tions, their central control of

army

maneuvers and,

especially, their daring strategies and elegant, un

questioning executions of them, attract players and

designers wh o, a ft er all, have m uch less to lose

than do real generals) more than the more cautious

strategies of other nations.

Un til r ec en tl y m os t p la ye r a tt en ti on h as b een

focused on WW II with its mechanized warfare and

lightning-strike strategies.

Many

players

and

designers seemed to regard WW I as a static, grue

some b lo od ba th t ha t make s fo r dull g amin g.

Of

course, that

is

j us t w ha t the a ct ua l war , a t least in

the west, was. But t ha t does n ot mean t ha t is the

way it has to be.

U nf or tu na te ly , t ho se few g am es b ase d o n t he

Western Front of WW I have been d om in at ed by

this static front mentality.

That

situation has been

rectified by the introduction of Avalon Hill s new

strategic level WW I game,

GUNS OF UGUST

This game does not tie you to the static front

strategies actually followed, although it certainly

d oesn t lock them o ut. It gives th e player, par

ticularly the Central Powers player, all the options

of the real generals.

This

is

vital to the Germans,

but

w ha t r eal o p

tion

is

open to the commander of an unmechanized

1914-vintage army? Actually, the surprising answer

is that he has the sameoption of a w ar of maneuver

as the WW II German general. Remember, in spite

of the panzers and stukas, the all-important

German infantry of 1939 still walked to battle with

the same gait their fathers used in 1914.

The Germans of 1914 face the prospect of a two

front war against three great powers whose armies

o ut nu mb er h er s a nd t ho se of h er allies. She

is

further faced with the virtual certainty of a British

naval blockade that will choke of f her source of

basic su pp li es a nd slowly s ta rv e he r to d ea th . It is

absolutely necessary, therefore, that she win quickly.

The game victory conditions, which make it much

easier f or the G er ma ns to win in g am e- ye ar 1914

than afterwards, reinforce this strategic fact, which

was recognized by most generals of

both

sides at the

time.

To meet this challenge, the Germans had the one

g re at a dv an ta ge of interior lines. This was

developed to its maximum by intensive use of the

G er ma n r ai lr oa d sy st em. G en er al H el mu th Karl

v on M ol tk e t he e ld er ), c hi ef of t he G er ma n I m

perial General Staff from 857 to 1888, built

that

rail system into something close to

an arm

of

the

army with

just

this advantage in mind.

The job of developing a strategy, however, was

lef t t o M ol tk e s s uc ce sso r as c hi ef of the general

staff,

ount

Alfred von Schlieffen. The strategy he

developed, the Schlieffen Plan, never was used as

he intended. Many military historians today believe

it m ay h av e w or ke d. I ts id eas of concentration of

force to achieve a breakthrough, rapid exploitation

of such a penetration to envelop whole armies and

the rapid shifting of main army elements from one

f ro nt t o a no th er c er ta in ly i ns pi re d t he b li tz kr ie g

tactics

of

WW

S ch lie ff en saw G er ma ny s o ne m il it ar y h op e

was t o d ef ea t h er e nem ies p ie ce me al b ef or e th ey

could effectively combine their forces to crush her.

The question was, where to strike first? France had

lined her border with Germany with a complex

and

tough system of fortifications, a precursor to the

M ag in ot Line. Russia also h ad f or tif ic at io ns, a

huge army and such great expanses of territory that

it was har d to come to final grips with her army.

England, of course, had the Channel and the fleet.

Faced with this choice, Schlieffen chose France

but not th e Fr en ch b or de r f or ts. His p lan was t o

weaken the Eastern

Front

forces and the center

of

the Western

Front

and mass the strongest units of

t he a rm y a lo ng t he B elg ia n b or de r. T he se wo ul d

m ar ch alo ng the sea t hr ou gh Belgium, b rea ki ng

into France where her defenses were weakest. The

c oa st al a rm y, f la nk ed by s ma ll er f or ces m ov in g

t hr ou gh t he A rd en ne s, w ou ld f or ce t he S ein e, go

around

Paris and move east to smash the main

French army from behind.

th e G er ma n

England would po

b ef or e t he c ha nn el

English orces

tha

swept up in the dis

O nc e F ra nc e

i

wou ld be free t o s

and

j oi n t he A us t

ment.

Schlieffen did

prepared for all his

c ess or , t he y ou ng e

m an d. H e fo llowe

along the Western

breakthrough, allo

Germany s slow st

In the game, a

faces a tw o- fo ld p

army with good

abilities. However

Du e t o t he i ne pt d

lo ng er have a Ru

shopkeepers to th

m ut ua l d ef en se p a

pounce upon

poor

valuable Konigsbe

the French nation

The plan devise

q ui te simple. T he

G er ma n a rm y a re

units are sent to the

h ol di ng a ct io n. It

armies be made

4-6 -4 s, e ig ht 3-3-3

The eastern armie

4-6-4s, seven 3-5-3

The first decisi

Netherlands, Bel

Netherlands maint

the war, b ut

an

a t

vides certain milit

t he N et he rl an ds p

great fortifications

denly becomes a po

a re wo rk ed

out

c


6/52

6

Belgium

shoul

August

1914.

T

pro tect both R

strong German

With the

ope

Belgians

are

in

longer a

good

rounded. The

1 1 4 cavalry. A

therefore Belg

phase

allowed

As

Luxemb

resistance to

o

Germans

is the

French

towards

Having

tak

frontier

Germ

holding her

ow

sive doctrine.

W

lose as

many

or

In

one particu

gamble and att

the three

adjoin

attrition

and

le

Germans free

Although

such

be

andare

not

the

German sh

them.

In

any

ca

leave the Germ

1914 drive in th

The

next ta

siege artillery w

Septeniber assa

probably

be di

be needed. Yet

the

northern

f l

trenching.

The

two pronged a

dun a t

this time

pass. Yet even

fail s to

storm

French

and

eat

the

same

t ime a

made against

e

French e lan

the French sta

With little

or

n

French

counter

luck Lille

and

In

October

and

will

march

aside in their

Britain

and

p

French

Taxi

C

French to e va

German

army

the

envelopme

choose to

s tan

force the issue

north.

Again t

French units as


7/52

defensive line. the French retr ea t to the Seine

November will see simultaneous attacks on Paris

and Dijon. With average luck both will fall.

At

this

point the rest will be history. the strategy in the

east has succeeded the war ends with a

German

ab-

solute automatic victory in 1914.

The story

in

the east is different. Here the Cen-

tral Powers must

playa

more cautious game trying

to

prevent the Russians from taking too much and

waiting for the French collapse and the transfer

of

the main German army to the Russian front before

they undertake anything ambitious.

The problem with the Austr ians is that their

army

is

not built for long term survival in a two and

three front war. They must eliminate one front

or

the

other. The Serbian Army can be held in check or

it can be eliminated. In the actual war the

Austrians destroyed it by 1916. In the ga me it

is

better to kill it at the outset

before

it can bui ld upto

full

strength

and

become a

threat.

To do this the Austrians can use virtually half

their army while the rest defends as best it can

against the Russians. The Austrian forces attacking

Serbia are three

4 6 4s ten 3 5 3s and four 2 2 2

artillery. The forces sent to hold the Russians would

consist

of

two 3 5 3s four 2 4 3s one 4 4 5 cavalry

two 3 3 4 cavalry and two 2 2 4 cavalry. Although

weak this force should be able to hold the front for

two or three turns.

The Serbian Army although valiantly led

is

composed

of

six 2 4 3s one 1 1 4 and one 1 1 2

artillery. Austria should open her war with a move

against Belgrade. However attacks against the rest

of the Serbian army are imperat ive. With a li ttle

luck both Belgrade

and

the Sava River line will fall.

This will push the Serbians back to the mountain

ranges

of 0028

EE28 and FF28.

By

this t ime it

is

hoped that like its commander the Serbian Army

will

becrippled. Having lost three or four units with

no

hope

of

replacement until November the Serbs

will fall quickly onc e the Sava is crossed. The

Austrians should press on for the full destruction

of

the Serbian Army. With average luck on the dice

this can be accomplished in September.

The Austrian September replacements should

be divided in two. Three 2 4 3s from Vienna should

be sent to the I talian front while the three 2 4 3s

from Budapest go to the Russian front.

The key to the

Austro German

strategy against

Russia

is

the tenacious Austrian defense

of

Przemysl

and

Lemberg while the Germans protect

Konigsberg and Breslau. The Germans can hold on

in the East Prussian front with four 4 6 4s seven

3 5 3s and five 5 5 5 cavalry. The Russian

Army

is

huge but its defensive abilities far outweigh the of-

fensive. The Russian can force an offensive either

north against the Ge rm ans or s outh against the

Austrians. Attempting both

is

risking stalemate and

disaster for time

in

this case

is

on the side

of

the

Central Powers. The Germans are a harder nut t o

crack but their defensive position to say the least

is precarious. A successful

thrust

towards Danzig


8/52

8

THE DE ISIONS OF UGU

Plan

ttack for the entral Powers

GUNS OF U

Strategic decisions made by the Central Powers

player in TH GUNS OF

UGUSTwill

decide the

general course of the entire game.

To

win, full use

must bemade

of

this early initiative. The purpose

of

this article

is

t o advance the opt imum opening

strategy of t he Central Powers. The following

analysis assumes the use

of

all rules except 28.0

and

30.53.

FR N E FIRST

the Allied player deploys all three Belgian in

fantry corps in Liege, then the German player will

be forced to look

at

other alternatives. The

Germans can attack from only hex

LlO and

MIO

with artillery and infantry (assuming the declara

tion

of

war allows French ZOCs to extend across

the border into hexes

Lli

and Kll). This assault

can be supported with three cavalry corps attacking

from KIO. In this situation, the odds of taking the

fortress on the first turn are not good. Of course, a

four hex a tt ack will improve his chances if the

German player

is

willing to invade the Netherlands

so as to gain M9. However, any Allied player with

regiments, and one 4-4-5 cavalry corps. The last at

tack yields a 4 to 1with minus two to the die roll in

creasing the probability of success up to

66 7

Assuming the Germansget the die rolls they need in

all three assaults (not likely), they still could lose

two or three infantry corps in the process.

I can hear it now-so what

if

I

can t

take Liege

on the first turn? I getan extra movement phase so

I 'l l j us t march r ight past it and s ta rt carrying the

war to France. youdo, the Allied player will most

likely hand you your head. French ZOCs extending

across the border will impede fast movement. In ad

dition, anybody you send to the west of Liege

won t

be able to ret reat

in

the face of first turn Allied

assaults.

Of

coursesome players may feel the risk

is

worth it in order to forestal l the Allies in trying to

relieve Liege and advancing far into eastern

Belgium, but the worst is yet to come. Even

if

the

Germans take Liege in September, the uni ts that

started the turn to the west will be halved in combat

and movement. Thus the German player may find

himself waiting until October to carry the war to

Liege in Septem

Dutch railroad

his forward uni

I m sure an

quick to point

o

and allow the G

through the low

Guerre-the A

first, seizing A

wrench into the

an Allied pre-e

considered a po

the ramificat io

political side. W

Netherlands th

England won t

pant. However

first, the chance

crease to 33 7 D

second thought

an unscrupulou


9/52

Again, an aggressive Allied player may feel that

if

he

wishes to win he will have to accept risks.

Besides, the odds are in his f av or . E ve nt ua ll y,

Whitehall will s ee the

Horrible

Huns for what

they are and give the Entente full

support.

As f or

I ta ly , t he C en tr al P ow er s ge t o nl y t wo c ha nc es i n

9 4 to win h er o ve r to their way of thinking and

then o nl y i f

England maintains

limited participa

tion. No, the political ris ks

are

acceptable in order

to

stall the German attack.

But will the attack be, indeed, s talled? L et us ex

amine the im mediate m ilitary res ults . True, Ant

werp will be t ak en w it h r el at iv e e as e by t he Al li es.

But wi th t hr ee

infantry

corps at L iege, the Allied

player will find that he stands less chance of taking

it

than the German did. the French moveunits ad

jacent to L iege, rule 30. 45 will require that they at

tack it. The sight

of

All ied so ld ier s g et ti ng

thems elves killed fighting the very country whose

neutrality they

guaranteed should

prove quite satis

fying t o t he German commander. It should also

boost morale to find tha t, thanks to t he Al lies,

Liege and the railroad running to ithave been handed

over i nt act to the Central Powers while Belgian

forces have joined the German ranks.

The

Allied

player can try to make things as painless as possible

by staying west of the Meuse River and u si ng it f or

defense. T his course of action turns over a great

deal of Belgium to the Germans without a fight. It

also leaves Antwerp

or

hex K9 in a precarious pos i

tion. Another possibility is for the Allies to advance

to the K hex r ow

south

of

Antwerp.

While this line

does provide better support f or t he u ni ts in

K9

and

A nt we rp , it a ls o m ea ns

another

stack of u ni ts in

hex KIO will find themselves drawn into the

Liege

Tar Baby. Not o nl y d oe s t hi s m ov e m ea n

that

the

center of t he All ied line m ay be w ea ke ne d by re

q ui re d a tt ac ks o n L ie ge, but a ls o t he French will

find themselves defending in

poor

terrain when the

Germans attack in September. There is one other

possibility. The French go all out and commi t

themselves to the Ardennes hexes LlOand LlI). It

gives the French good defensive terrain to m eet the

G er ma n o ff en si ve in September,

and

f or ce s t he

G er ma n t o f ig ht his way through most of Belgium

t o r ea ch F ra nc e. I t ev en gives t he A ll ie d p la ye r a n

extreme outside chance of taking L iege. However, I

consider it to be the more reckless move.

The

French Army is now committed to

attacking strong

German units in Luxembourg and possibly Metz.

The odds won t be good and with a littlebad luck on

the die r oll s, t he F re nc h line c ou ld be a s ha mb le s

before the Germans even launch an attack.

Therefore, even if international politics were to

swing in favor

of

the Allied player when he invades

Belgium, the military results probably wouldn t. Of

course, the disadvantages of m oving into Belgium

probably won t st op an aggressive Allied player.

M os t li kel y, h e will a dv an ce and take his chances

s ince it m eans more ground he can force t he G er

man to fight for. Th is is w hy t he Central Powers

player should realize how little is to begained byat

the main

effort

will be o n t he W es te rn Front. This

isn t

hard with t he Austro-Hungarian Army. A

massive Russian offensive against Przemysl

and/or

Lemberg means the Austrians will be doing well just

to hol d

on

to what t he y v e g ot . I nd ee d, t he best

Russian strategy to help the Allied cause is to attack

and pound the hell out of the Austrians. Success in

early Russian

attacks

c an t ak e

some

pressure

of f

France. That s one of the really nice things about

going after Russia first. It takes the Russian

Army s

b es t c ou rs e of a ct io n a n o ff en si ve deployment

against Austria-Hungary) and uses it a ga in st h im .

Just the look of astonishment

and

consternation on

t he f ac e of the opposing p lay er o r p lay er s) as he

watches you deploy east can be rewarding

enough.

I

mean, how can anybody be foolish enough to give

up tha t extra movement phase?

There is a f ar b et te r r ea so n f or maximum

effort

against Russia, even if the unthinkable happens

and

he does

no t

deploy his

army

with offensive in

tentions.

To

win the war by 1918, the Central

Powers must knock Russia

ou t

of t he c on te st

unless,

of

course, you are going for an automatic

victory in 1914 - fat chance). So why wast e time

against the Wes t? Start

on

Russia as soon as p os

si bl e. I n t he m ea nt im e, use B el gi um as a buffer to

k ee p t he B ri ti sh

and

French at

arm s

length.

The

Central Powers player must remember that he is no t

f ig ht ing t he R us si a of World

War

II. It s not

n ec es sa ry t o march all the way to Leningrad

(Petrograd)

and

Moscow. In World

War

I, Russia s

threshold for

pain

is

much lower. It is

not

even

neces sary to occupy all

of

the Russian cities on the

board. Just take enough to put the Russians in deep

trouble w he n t he morale die rolls start in 1916. A

little early s uccess agains t Rus sia just m ight bring

Rumania, as well a s B ul ga ri a, i nt o t he w ar e ar ly on

the Central Powers side. This will result in a

lengthening of the front for the Russian Army.

Obviously, it can ill

afford

this if the Germans

are

r eall y a pp ly in g t he p re ss ur e f ur th er nor th . The

target date for forcing Russ ia s surrender should be

no later

than

May 1917. Why May 1917? It allows

the Central Powers seven turns to r ed ep lo y t o t he

Western

Front and

take two objectivecities assum

ing I tal y joined th e Allies), t hus achieving an

automatic victory.

Rumania

was ignorant

enough t o si de w it h R us si a, it m ay b e n ec es sa ry t o

secure Russian capitulation somewhat earlier.

The

control of Bucharest is a necessity. After December

1917, t he c ha nc es f or a German automatic victory

go ou t t he w in do w as t he r eq ui re d o bj ec ti ve ci tie s

jump from

6 to 19.

the Germans h av e t he ir

peace

offensive

u nd er way by June/July 1917,

the

production

of

Stosstruppen

could

make

a dif

ference in getting thos e las t two cities.

The initial set up

should

g o l ike t hi s: A us tr ia

Hungary

deploys one 4-6-4 infan try corps , one

3-5-3 infantry corps, one 2-4-3 infantry corps, one

field a rt il le ry r eg im en t, and t he f or ti fi ca ti on

engineers in L em berg. Hex

MMI7

should contain

one 4-6-4 infantry corps, two 3-5-3 infantry corps,

you don t allow him

even worse, someho

then

i f that

happens

dreadfully wrong.

Some players w

tually it should be

Austrian Army is t

The

city

and

one

l

worth it. Besides,

won t h av e it f or l o

his h ea d in a n oo se

The

i ni ti al se t

Austro-Hungarian

perfect defense.

absorb

and

hold of

average of t wo , m a

t he b ul k of the

Au

trated around its m

thus allowing an of

While the Aust

should beessentially

f ir st , t he

German

going second. he

t he n h e m us t d ep lo

on either Kovno, W

should i nc lu de t he

deploy

on

the Wes

artillery should go

guns. Great-now

deploy first on the

six 5-7-4s, six 4-6-

s pl it e ve nl y b et we e

areas.

Two to

thre

2-2-5 c av al ry d iv i

center.

On the first

tur

shouldn t have mu

Front. Lemberg sh

entrain n in e 5 -7 -4

regiments, and one

railroad engineer ca

tillery regiments i f

you a

chance

to

m

should see t he rail

cavalry

corps,

the

r ai l r ep ai r u ni t, an

tify hex NI3 on

tu

se nd t he f or t const

border to

join

its A

fortified line.

by

with the Central Po

likely invasion sites

Luxembourg, or a

way, if the Rus sia

on e, tr y to get

you

can then burn an a

the engineers back

portant city fortifie

of turn

two.

Italy can

turn

o

Should they enter t

member,

t he r ai l


10/52

1

By

Robert

J.

Beyma

GUNS

AUGUST DESIGN

88

AMMO

8

W

was kept s imp

tions for terra i

system.

The

corps w

was the

stand

European

arm

compatible wi

game

and

the s

twodivisions p

European

coun

their divis ions .

corps

counter

sions.

The

U.

American divis

men

and

f irepo

The standa

movement fac

moved a little

of five. Artill

deploy, was giv

Russian, Aust

generally have

German and

overall qualita

superiority of

European armi

The Germa

the base unit f

French were a

same distance

Italians. After

5:4:3

ratio

wa

The

British pr

in

Europe

and

given one less

factors are hig

superiority of

quent playtest

two factors hig

ou t

the best .

staying power

additional defe

The numbe

in August 1914

of the smaller

corps for the s

SIGN

Many

wargamers characterize World

War

I

games as slow

and

uninteresting. The

common

opinion is

that

they

do

not have the fast moving ac

tion

and

excitement

of

World War

II operational

and

tactical games.

The

problem

is

one

of

scope.

The most interesting aspect of

World War

I is the

strategic sen se The mobilization plans of the major

powers were the key to the opening of the war . As

the war developed, decisions had

to

be made as

to

where

and

when

to

launch offensives. Long range

planning became

more important

as the war

lengthened.

The

balance

of

power equation was

continual ly being altered by countries entering or

dropping

ou t of

the struggle. Internal discord, such

as the Russian revolution,

profoundly

affected the

course of war.

Germany

was fighting

on

borrowed

time against an increasing

number

of major powers

and

responded with unlimited submarine warfare.

Clearly, what was needed was a game framework in

which the players could refight the entire war

without getting bogged down in a morass of opera

tional details.

A strategic level gamewas the answer. The game

needed

to

have relatively simple mechanics

to pro

vide a s tructure for the s trategic decis ion making,

but

it also needed enough sophistication

t o make

executing strategy

on

each

front

interesting

and

realistic.

The moderate

complexity of UNS O

U UST succeeds quite well in

that

respect.

The

basic game system lends itself

to

easy

incorporation

of

special rules such as tanks

and

entrenchments.

Month

long

turns

provide sufficient time

to

con

duct

operations while st il l permitt ing campaign

strategy

to

be developed in a reasonable

amount

of

time.

World War I was basically a land war. The

s ignificant campaigns were fought in continental

Europe.

The Allies maintained control

of

the seas

throughout.

Naval activities such as sea movement,

blockade,

and

submarine warfare

are

presented in a

simple

and

effective manner. (Players desiring

to

incorporate

naval units should read the Naval

Module included in this issue.)

The

a ir war was of

minor

signi fi cance. Only in 1918 did the Allies

ach ieve suf fi cien t ai r super io ri ty to use the ir ai r

replacement factors per

turn.

Healthy figures, one

must admit. However, as alluded to before, the key

to defeating Russia lies in breaking its morale,

not

by a ttempt ing to des troy its

army

in detail.

And

break ing moral e

is based

on taking

cities.

Therefore, the Central Powers

should

adhere

to

the

following schedule: the

capture

of Warsaw, Kovno,

and

Brest-Litovsk by December 1915; two more

cities (probably either Riga, Minsk, or Kiev) by the

end of September 1916. This will pr oduce a - 5

modifier to the Russian morale die rolls from

November on. Even if his die rol ls up

to

this

point

have been good enough

to

keep him ou t of trouble,

he will require phenomenal luck

to

s tay in the war

past May 1917. he pulls it

off,

I suggest the Cen

tral Powers player check the die

and

consider using

the excuse

o f bad luck

to expla in why he los t the

campaign.

Now

anybody

with average intelligence can ex

amine the

combat

results table

and

reach the con

clusion

that

it is impossible

to

relentlessly

attack

the

Russian

Army

in

order

to mee t the requi red time

table

and

still have

an

effective army

after

turn

three or four. Well , the weakness of the Russian

Army

is

not that

it has so few

strong

units,

but

that

it has so

many

slow units.

The

Germans must

destroy

or

effectively overcome a Russian defense

the sameway they did in reailife, using their superior

mobility.

It is

now necessary

to

discuss a very

important

rules interpretat ion. The supply rules as wri tt en

may cause some confusion and it is important that

players come to a

mutual

understanding and agree

ment

concerning them. Rule 5.12 s ta tes

that

the

phasing player checks the supply status of his units,

marking those

that

are isolated. This occurs prior to

movement in a player

turn.

Simple enough, right?

But then

in the f inal phase of a player s

turn

(the

i so la tion phase) rule 5.16 s ta te s,

t he

phasing

player again checks the supply s ta tus of his units

This might lead one to believe

that

a unit

that

began the turn in supply, but was out of supply

after

the

combat

phase

is

considered isolated

and

a can

didate for elimination. Wrong. A little note tucked

away under rule 11.14 gives the following, Isola

t ion markers are only placed

and

advanced during

the Supply Det ermina ti on Phase. This one

sentence is absolutely critical. It means a unit

can

be

placed

out of

supply during its movement phase

and

not

suffer from the effects

of

isolation during the

enemy s

turn.

Now the Germans can

start

practic

ing infil trat ion as early as 1914,

surrounding

con

centrated stacks of Russian units thus

putting

them

ou t of supply at the

start

of the Russian player s

turn.

Meanwhile, the

surrounding German

units re

main

at

full s trength during the Russian

combat

phase , making the rel ief of the

surrounded

units

hazardous duty.

How

does this help the Cen tr al Powe rs in at

tacking Russia? The Russian front, unlike

the

one

in the West, is broad and to maintain a continuous

line of units means spreading them out very thin. I t


11/52

The artillery units in O represent

army

level

artillery. Hence there is only one art il lery unit for

every six or so corps. These army artillery units con

tained most of the higher cal iber weapons . Each

corps had its organic artillery which was usually of a

smaller caliber. Concentrated artillery fire will give

the attacker a die roll modificat ion.

The

German

special

3 5

mm

and

420 mm siegeguns are included

in the game

and

give the

Germans

the capability to

reduce fortified cities such as Liege.

The

combat

results table CRT was an

empirically derived formula to appropriately pro

portion losses. Basically,

it

came down to what

would happen ifso and so stacks slugged it

out

for a

month over certain types

of

terrain. This included

the principal a ttacks , the

soakoffs,

and the cor

responding enemy

counterattacks. The CRT

was a

fairly

standard

one with eliminations, retreats,

and

exchanges. The effects of terrain

and

fortifications

were handled with die roll modifications.

At

first

glance the

CRT

seemed to favor the att acker.

However, when the inherently larger defense fac

tors

and

the die roll modifications were considered

the net resul t became wha t you would expect for a

period whose principal ingredients were the trench

and the machine gun.

The

major

change during development was the

Combat Results Table. Demoralization results were

added

that

gave a player a choice

of

losing a unit

or

retreating. The new CRT also made

attacking

more

costly. The new

combat

system required players

to

employ different tactical nuances

and

changed the

feel of the game substantially.

There

is now less

front movement

and

more intense fighting over key

terrain. Strategically, the game plays pretty much

the same.

After the opening months of the war

both

sides

began building trenches.

Entrenchments

in the

gamegive the defender a favorable die roll modifier

and make a tt acking enemy pos it ions much

more

difficult

and

costly. They are a simple

and

effective

means of simulating trench warfare.

Forts represent strongly fortified positions such

as Liege

and

Verdun. An entrenched line with forts

at several key points

is

very difficult to

attack

effec

tively. Fort engineer units provide players with the

capability to construct additional forts.

The concept of war weariness morale

is

essen

tial to a st ra tegic level Wor ld

War

I game. The

ability

of most of the

European

nations to wage war

decreased as the war continued for several years .

High losses

and

l it tle prospect for ending the war

sapped national will.

The

Central Powers were in

creasingly squeezed by the Allied blockade. These

factors left

many

countries, particularly the eastern

empires, vulnerable to internal difficulties.

The original table covered all countries and was

extremely detailed. Cer ta in coun tr ies, such as

Russia

and

Austria-Hungary, were more vulnerable

to war weariness. There were die roll modifications

for such variables as the Allied naval blockade

and

The German

player

is

presented with an alternative

to invading Belgium. The

threat

of early U.S. entry

provides a counterweight

to submarine

warfare.

The

original variable entry table was the result

of a

thorough

probability analysis

of

the likelihood

of a

country

entering the war given a certain

st ra tegic s itua tion . Ent ry rol ls were made once a

year for each

country

except England which rolled

every three months. The new tab le in the present

edition of

GUNS

OF A

UGUST

is far more

s implif ied. Rolling four t imes a year tends to drive

the cumulat ive country entry probabili ty up very

quickly.

England tends to

join

the Allies early in the war

regardless of whether the Germans invade Belgium.

The

modified Variable

Entry Table

addresses these

entry

probability problems. Players desiring

to

view the poli tica l/diplomatic s ituation from a dif

fer ent perspective s hould read the Dipl omati c

module included in this article.

RULES CLARIFICATIONS AND ERRATA

2.1 Clarification As a general guideline, the

Western

Front

may include

any

hex on the two

western

mapboard

panels except hexes in Italy

and

Austria-Hungary. The

hexes in Ita ly

and

Austria

Hungary on

these two

boards

are considered on the

Italian

Front . The

Eastern

Front

may include any

hex

on

the two eastern

mapboard

panels except

hexes in Greece; hexes in Greece

are

considered on

the Balkan

Front.

Hexes in Serbia, Bulgaria

and/or

Turkey

may be consid er ed on ei the r th e Ea st ern

Front

or the Balkan

Front.

5.16 Correction As specified in the Note follow

ing Case 11.14, Isola tion markers are placed

and

advanced during the Supply Determination

Phase

only . I solated units ar e el im inat ed dur ing th e

Isolation

Phase

only .

6.2 Correction

This rule conveys the impression

that

players should deploy neutral units

on

the

map

at the

start

of a game. While it is possible

to

play in

this manner, we recommend

that

neutral units

not

be deployed until a player declares war against the

neu tral count ry ; when this occurs, the oppos ing

player immediate ly deploys the neutral

country s

units.

11.22

Clarification

A supply

path

is blocked

if

any

hex

other than

the hex occupied bythe unit trac

ing the supply

path

is in

an

enemy ZOC; i.e. the

only

hex which may be in an enemy

ZOC

is the hex the

unit occupies.

11.23 Addition Note: A city may only serve as a

supply source

if

it is possible to trace a valid supply

path

f rom the c ity

to another

city which is also a

friendly supply source.

12.34 Addition The

Allied player may not use sea

movement or

conduct an amphibious

invasion in

the Advanced Game

to

movea unit into

any

hex on

the Baltic Sea. Similarly, the Allied player may not

use sea movement or conduct an

amphibious

inva

sion

or

sea supp ly to move a unit i nto any hex on

14.26 Addition

R

en ter the map like

14.15 , or may be

which is controlled

to the restrictions

o

14.27

Addition

whenever a British 5

manently removed

British 4-6-4 unit is i

is immediately elimi

mally. Similarly, wh

eliminated, a 3-3-5 c

eliminated unit.

16.13 Clarificatio

marker

may be pla

p laced in a hex mus

entrenchment

may b

Thus

it

takes

three

trenchment.

17.12 Correction

in a hex which con t

the

start

of the Mov

cupied by a fort eng

theend of theMovem

over to re pr esen t a f

hex conta ining a lev

adjacent

to an enem

one for t may be bui

18.12 Correction

quires seven

inf

Stosstrupen may be

18.13 Correction

units may be created

limit for replacing t

23.16 Addition

r ef ra in f rom using

unless the opt iona l

used.

23.22 Correction

fective, the

Germa

reduced by oneeach

tion of

five , and

replacement rate is r

a maximum reducti

other

Central Powe

29.0 Correction

card includes subs

Entry Table

see be

29.2 Correction

unrestricted

subm

matical ly enters the

receives reinforcem

ding to the

standa

marine

warfare

is n

the Variable

Entry

29.23 Correction

word

r educed

increased

29.25 Correction

participant, the All

B rita in e ac h

Fe

November game

tu


12/52

12

DIPLOM Y DURING THE WORLD

Variable Entry in THE GUNS OF AUGUST

By

Leon W. Tenney

GREAT PO

BALKA

Modified

die

equ

*Italy is friendly

1

t

I taly

is friendly to t

Special Amba

count

Italy

Turkey

Rumania

Bulgaria

Greece

Montenegro

Modifications to th

I Italy s entry is m

For the Allies

-I) if England

-I) foreach o

For the Central

(+

3

if England

-1) for each o

Powers

2.

Montenegro s e

-2) for the A

Belgrade

Britain s entry and

(+ 2 if France in

-1) for each

BB

launching

-1) for each ob

is

controlle

+

I

for each ob

is controlle

-1) for each n

Powers

(+

for each ne

Monteneg

U.S. entry is modif

- I ) for each th

warfare

(+

I for success

- I) for each co

Powers afte

count)

(+

I

for each ne

before and

Great

Britain lim

Great Britain

fu

United

States

b. Gre at Br ita in

(full participation)

is

automatic if Germany invades Belgium. Germany

can attempt to receive passage righ ts n o war)

through Belgian territory

if

the Belgian government

grants

permission. Fo r game purposes, the

German

rolls one die after they cross

the

border

and

if a

I

is

rolled, the Belgian

government

grants permission

for German

troops

to pass through B el gi um. A ll

Belgian

troops

are placed in

Antwerp

and Germany

does no t get credit for Antwerp as an objective city.

On any o ther die r ol l r esul t, B el gi um is

considered

invaded

for

determining

British

entry.

c. The U.S. cannot enter the

war

unless Britain

full

participation)

h as b ee n r ol le d f or b y

the

Allied

player.

d.

Germany invades Holland, and

Britain

successfully

blockades the

North Sea,

double

the

amount of

replacements

or

supplies lost by

Germany.

4.

TURKISH DREADNOUGHTS:

a. When

u si ng t he

Naval Module, t he

British

are

building two dreadnoughts for

Turkey.

After

British entry, they must decide what to do with

those dreadnoughts.

1

t hey keep

the dreadnoughts, they

receive a

BB

ship

counter

during the August

1914

reinforce

ment

phase.

However,

all

future

Allied die rolls

for

Turkish entry are

modified w it h a

2 DRM and all

future Central

Power

die rolls for Turkish entry are

modified

w it h a

-2

DRM. In

addition, the

Central

Powers

r ecei ve a die r ol l

modification when

the

ship

counter GO N arrives in

Turkey. Note

that this

2. PROCEDURE:

a.

requencyoj use

Four t i mes a year,

once

in

February,

May, August,

and

November during the

reinforcement segment.

b . F ir st , d et ermine

Great

Power Entry. Only

one of

the

three

possibilities

can

happen in

anyone

turn.

These

possibilities must

occur

in

sequence.

First,

Great

Britain limited capability) enters, then

Great

Britain full capability) is r ol le d for, and

finally, U.S . ent ry c an be r oll ed f or. In this table,

t he U.S . and Britain only join the Allies. Once all

three

possibilities

have o ccur red, t hen t he G re at

Power Tab le need no t be

consulted

for

the

re

mainder

of

that

game.

c.

Second, determine Balkan countries ent ry .

Each player

secretly writes

down

the

count ry on

which

he

will e xe rt po li tic al

p ressure. Thi s

diplomatic pressure

is

represented

in th e

game

by

saying that e ac h s id e h as sent a special

am

bassador

to

that

country.

After

each player has revealed the

country to w hi ch his speci al ambassador was sent,

he r ol ls

the

d ie u si ng hi s

part

of

the Balkan

Entry

Table BET) and m od if ie s h is r es ul t

according to

those

special events which

influence

that country s

entry. both players have sen t t he ir special

am

bassador to the same

country,

only that side which

is

currently

friendly with

that

country may r ol l f or

its

entry. The

other

side

does not

roll

at

a ll f or

that

country

nor can

it

choose

another country to which

i t wi ll send its ambas sador on tha t turn. In e ff ec t

that side loses its diplomatic segment. The side with

the

greater chance to obtain theentry

of a

country

is

the

side

currently

friendly with that country. In

the event

of

ti es , t he s id e w it h

the

F beside

the

number on

the

column

is most f r iendl y w i th that

1. BASIC CONCEPT:

During war , neu tral count ries join one

side

or

the other in two fundamental ways.

Either

they

are

invaded and/or attacked by one side or they volun

tarily

join one

side f or

various

geopolitical

reasons.

The British

generallywould support

the

weaker

side

to maintain

the balance of power

in Europe. Italy

would generally join

the

winning s id e in order to

share the spoils of war.

The

fundamental reasoning

Df

this

module

is

that neutrals

do

not join one

side

Dr the other

in

either

a historically

predetermined or

randomly determined

manner.

The actions

of

the

belligerents cause a

neutral

country to reevaluate its

real political positiDn.

Therefore,

w it h t hi s module

the actions resulting from each player s mili tary or

poli t ical decisions i nfl uence

the

neutral s

entry.

Naturally, neutrals

still

enter the war when

they

are

invaded

or attacked.


13/52

Expeditionary Force may be sent to France during

the following Naval Phase . Britain remains

neutral , all Br iti sh uni ts must remain in England

until Britain enters the war.

30.55 British

raf t Rul e

Addition During the

Reinforcement Phase of each January turn, if

Britain

is

a full participant, add three 4-6-4 infan

try, one 3-3-5 cavalry,

and

one 3-3-3 artillery unites

to the pool from which British replacements are

taken.

30.56 Optional Free German

eployment

Addi-

tion

In the Campaign Game only , the Central

Power.s Player may ignore the restrictions of Rule

30.23

and

divide the German

army

between the two

fronts in any manner he wishes.

*PLAYER-AID CARD ERRATA

Scenario Set-Up

Chart

I. In the 1915 Scenario, delete the three British

4-6-4 infantry corps.

2 In the 1916 Scenario, change the twelve British

3-5-3 infantry corps to nine 4-6-4 infantry corps.

3 In the 1917-18 Scenarios change the British 3-5-3

infantry corps to the same number of 4-6-4 infantry

corps.

4 In the

1915

Scenario, change the nine I talian

3-5-3 infantry corps to

si x

3-5-3

infantry

corps.

5

In all scenarios, change the Italian 3-3-4 cavalry

corps to 2-2-4 cavalry corps.

Amended Variable Entry

Table

Country 1914 1915

1916 1917 1918

Britain

4-6 -6 -6

-6 6

Italy

1 6

2-6 3-6 3-6 3-6

U.S. 1-6

1-6

2-6

3-6 3-6

Turkey

1 4

1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4

Bulgana 1-6

1-4 1-4

1-4

1-4

Rumania

1 6

1-6 2-6 3-6 3-6

Greece

1 6 1 6

2-6 3-6 3-6

Note:

All modifiers remain the

same

except:

East Front:

(+

I either

Turkey

or Bu lgar ia is a

Central Power.

West Front: ( - I For each Objective city in Ger

many the Allies currently control

Only applicable to Italy

*COUNTERSHEET ERRATA

I. The designation of t he two German siege ar

tillery uni ts should be reversed; the 3-2-2 uni ts

is

the 305mm battery and the 3-1-1 unit is the 420mm

battery.

2. The Italian 18th infantry corps was incorrectly

given a cavalry symbol. It should be a 2-4-3 infantry

unit.

*MAPBOARD ERRATA

As noted in the rulebook, the rail line east of

1914

The 1914 scenario is intended as the introduc

t ion to the basic game system. This five turn

game

can be comfortably played in 2-3 hours. The

highlight of the 1914 scenario consists of the initial

mobilization and the opening battles of World War

Strategy essentially consists of an all

out

drive for

objective cities.

Counting Constantinople,

the

Central Powers hereafter referred to as CP) player

begins with nine obj ec tive cities. Thus, he only

needs to pick up Antwe rp while holding

onto

Konigsberg, Breslau,

and

Lemberg to win.

Casualties and non-objective cities are

of

little im

por tance due to the short length of the scenario.

A critical decision in the 1914 scenario

is

whether to use the optional automatic victory rule.

Using this rule provides the German player with an

excellent

opportunity

to take Antwerp and possibly

Lille.

Without

i t, the French have a

good

chance

of

holding Antwerp. The German player must attack

aggressively on the Western Front. If the German

player can get a two hex attack on Verdun the siege

art ill ery can be brought up for a I - I EVEN

attack

in late fall.

The

French p layer mus t try to

prevent good German attacks against Lille and

Verdun. Realistically, he has little chance of taking

Metz unless the German player

is

careless.

The Russi an p layer s imply goes all

out

for

Konigsberg, Breslau,

and

Lemberg.

Properly

played, the

CP

player can delay the Russians long

enough to prevent any meaningful attacks

on

these

cities. There

is

l it tle to be gained from an invasion

of Serbia since there are no objective cit ies in that

area. The

CP

player is favored to win the 1914

scenario if the automatic victory rule

is

used.

However, a lot of interesting things can happen

particularly when the scenario

is

played by players

new to the game.

igur French

and

British dispositions are as follows; A: three

player must hold

player should agg

Antwerp. A fla

Holland can be

German

defensiv

sion

is

where to p

Lille

is

a common

made for hex

III.

This

is

a good

t ical nuances in

shows a typical sit

French player wa

and J II . There ar

l lri l ion Sta

5-7-4 while a I-I (-I)

5-7-4s. This

will

kill a

an additional casual

tained on the soako

Mulliple fla

a reasonable chance

Two5-7-4sare attack

5-7-4

is

hit at 4-1. T

rolled on each I-I. T

of the

I-Is

to raise t

3 One ig

Atta

+ I against the en

takingthe hex. A DX

should save the big a

are cases, such as ag

be accepted to t ake

4

lanking fl

s tacksD and E attac

corps in

II I

will be i

used in flanking atta

could also be attack

The

attacker

break the enemy

Oftentimes these a

to enemy counter

particularly whe

smaller uni ts suc

player can attack

similar to that sho

more eff icient as

odds attacks versu

Italian entry in

1915 scenario. Th

of Austr ian corps

would be desirab

Lemberg and Prz

key hex

on

the I t

The

CP

player m

strongly.

Ground

the front if necess

Another possi

attack Serbia. Th

Austrian-Bulgaria

the war in Augus

into

Rumania

to ta

be abl e to spare

f ront s to make a m

Austrians can int

PPI8 to slow the R


14/52

14

By

Leon W. Tenney

MOBILIZATION OF ARMIES

IN

T

WORLD WAR

Unit Production

in

THE GUNS AUGUST

The

Weste

cities-Verdun

is

a very diffi

defended strong

the Western Fro

the east.

so, t

the year.

The

o

Lil le and Ant w

west t he French

have.

The

Fren

morale table. B

vive the year. H

ford to lose any

placed in Nan

Although stale

Western

Front

can resul t in so

The Italian f

e xc ept t ha t t he

which to attack

S21

and drive

line. If the Alli

to t he nort h an

Trieste. The Au

Even ifthe Allie

held by heavily

Rumania

is

minimal benefi

because t he Au

a tt ac k t he C en

on ly to p re ve nt

stant inople. T

Austrian an d B

Ironically,

Rum

player with an

cit y. If t he mai

win t he game b

Bucharest. It

i

before Russi an

Russian player

Gal atz by t he s

T he C P pla

scenario. This

have the capab

of the poor Ru

CP

concern

is

and British atta

o r K ov no b ut t

take unless the

Front.

The

major

morale situatio

p la ye r o n t he b

t he year will l ik

late 1916.

The

more citi es. A f

at the earliest op

likely go for R

tional rule for im

1 t o all Russi

were n ot as b ad

the Brusilov off

3. N AV AL CONSTRUCTION:

a. Resources are spent on Naval Unit Construc

t io n in t he s am e

manner

as t he

other

units, except

the Naval Construction Chart NCC)

is

used. The

number of s up pl y p oi nt s, p er so nn el p oi nt s, a nd

months

listed on the UPCC a re t o give t he p la ye r a

rough guide. T he N CC t akes precedence over t he

UPCC.

b. Naval Uni ts are bui lt in t hree steps.

1, The first step

is

to lay t he keel down in t he

shipyard.

To

d o th is s te p e ac h p la ye r m us t p ay the

initial cost.

The

maximum number of ship counters

he c an s ta rt

is

limited by the number on t he NCC.

2. The second step

is

the launching

of

the ship

counter. Th e

step

is

r ep re se nt ed by p ut ti ng t he

counter t o be p ro du ce d on t he game board upside

down.

3. Th e third step is to complete the construction

of the ship counter. To do this step each player must

p ay the fi na l c os t li ste d o n t he N CC . N ot e that this

fi na l c os t need not be paid right away, but the

months

until completion

is

the same until the cost

is

paid. Fo r e xa mp le , a s hi p counter

is

launched in

January 1915, bu t t he fina l c os t

is

not paid until

M ay 1915, th en t he s hi p w ou ld n ot be f in is he d f or

another six m onths o r November 1915. Upon

waiting the required months, the counter

is

turned

r ig ht side u p a nd

is

ready for use.

c. New ship counters may be started in the

shipyard after the previous ship counter

is launched.

The

s hi p c ou nt er d oe s n ot ha ve t o be c om pl et ed in

o rd er t o s ta rt b ui ld in g the ne xt o ne , tw o, or three

depending on that country s capacity).

d. Only Britain and Germany have the capability

to produce BCship counters. This decision need not

be m ad e until the final c os t of t he shi p

is

paid or

the borrowing country.

the supply line

is

by sea,

the supplies do not reach the borrowing country for

one month. For example, if England

is

loaning ten

s up pl ie s to R us si a, t he n t he o nl y r ou te

is

through

t he Dardanell es. Turkey must be an All ied

country

or conquere d for this to occur. Supply points

a ll oc at ed in A ug us t 1914, a re m ov in g d ur in g t he

Naval Phase in September 1914.

i W he n pl ay ing with t he N av al M od ul e, thi s

sea transfer

of

supply points may be interrupted by

the other side s fleets if they c an c ont ro l a ny sea

area between the country sending the supply points

and the country receiving the supply points.

2. PROCEDURE:

a. Each turn during t he rei nforcement phase,

each player secretly writes down what new units or

conversions he will produce for t ha t m on th . T he

entry month should also be written down for future

use.

b. T he n um be r

of

units each player may

produce

is

limited by their unit cost in terms of sup

plies and personnel points

on t he Uni t Production

Costs Chart

UPCC)

and by the t ota l amount of

supply

and

personnel points each

country

receives

for t hat t urn as per the Resource Availability Chart

RAC), and any supply points saved from previous

turns. Fo r example, Germany receives 28 personnel

points a nd 40 supply points as per the RAC on

August 1914. The

German

player decides to build

four 4-6-4s, which cost

16

personnel points and 24

supply points, one 3-3-3 which costs one personnel

and nine suppl y poi nt s, convert t hree 5-7-4s t o six

4-6-4s, an d c on ve rt o ne 4-6-4 to t wo 3-5-3s. The

G er ma n has used all

28

personnel points and

33

supply points.

T he G er ma n

saves seven suppl y

poi nt s for fut ure use.

c. After p ro du ct io n t ho se new u ni ts e nt er t he

game i n t he rei nforcement phase after t he number

of t urns l isted on t he UP C have passed. Fo r exam

ple, a 3-5-3 c or ps p ro duc ed in Au gus t 1914 ha s a

production cost time

of

one month. Therefore, it

would be available in the September 1914reinforce

ment phase.

1.

BASIC CONCEPT:

D ur ing the W or ld War, the mobilization

of

s ol di er s a nd t he p ro du ct io n

of

armament s t ook

time in order to field the divisions, corps an d armies

that were then sent to the various fronts. Within this

modul e, t he sol di ers are conscri pt ed on a regul ar

basis during the year and onlyso many can betrained

or accommodated at any t ime. Thi s mobil izati on

of manpower

is

abstractly represented by the con

cept of

personnel points. The factories, shipyards,

f ar ml an ds , a nd r aw m at er ia ls a re r ep re se nt ed by

supply points. Players are given certain amounts of

personnel points

an d

supply points each

turn.

They

use these two types of poi nt s t o field new uni ts an d

c re at e r ep la ce me nt s f or o ld un it s. E xc ep t w he re

modified in t hi s modul e, t he standard rules apply.

Rule 30.5

is

used except that each nati on is not

l imit ed in t he number of uni ts t o be convert ed per

t ur n a nd

conversion can

start

in

August 1914.


15/52

FLEET UNITS

UNDER CONSTRUCTIO

Laid down Launched

NAVAL

CONSTRUCTION

C

9

9

12

12

18

18

18

18

Month

until

Launch

Initial

Cost

4

3

1

5 (+ I corps)

2P/16S

2P/16S

2P/16S

2P/16S

2P/16S

2P/16S

2P/16S

2P/16S

+1

+1

+1

+3

+2

+1

Personnel

Points

BB

BC

BB

BC

BB

BB

BB

BB

Type

3

2

2

2

2 4-6-4

2 3-5-3

2 2-4-3

5-7-4

4-6-4

5-7-4

4-6-4

3-5-3

UNIT PRODUCTION

COSTS

Maximum

number

of units under

construction

in step 1

4

4

4

4

3

3

3

1

1

1

1

~ ~

New units

England

See Naval Construction Chan

These units can only be produced after Jan 1917.

-Unit

is

available immediately.

5-7-4

4-6-4

3-5-3

3

4-4-5

3 3 5/3 3 4

2-2-4

2-2-5

3-3-3

2-2-2

Siege

Eng

(Fort)

Eng (RR)

BB

BC

AIR

STOSS (Germans only)

TANK British

French

only)

2P/16S

represents two personnel points and

16

supply points

Russia

can build one fleet in the Black Sea and one fleet in the Baltic Sea

have a

formidable

tank f or ce by fa ll.

These

tank

units s ho ul d b e used in a

concentrated

assault

against

the

German northern flank near Lille.

Both

players should accumulate their

respective

replace

ment factors

so

that these

special

units

can

be

quick

ly created and replaced. Th e Central Powers player

has a s light edge in this scenario.

Once

again this is

primarily

due

to the vulnerability

of

Riga

and

the

Russian morale rolls.

Holding

Lille against French

tanks may be a l it tle

tougher

in thi s

scenario.

1918

The 1918 scenario is a r ea l slugfest. is also

an

excellent two player

game which

is only nine turns

in length. The action

is

on the Western

front

where

the German a rmy t ra de s pun che s w ith

strong

French,

British, and U.S. forces. Figure

B

shows a

comparison

of

forces ava il abl e on t he Wes te rn

Front. Note that most of

the

American units arrive

during the course of the scenario. The employment

of stosstruppen,

tanks , and

ai r

units

makes signifi

cant f ront movement

a r ea l

possibility

in 1918.

The

CP player has an initial

advantage

in the

1918

scenario. The Germans can concent rate their

stosstruppen units in a single attack. A 2-1 (+ 3 can

be

made on Ver dun

in March.

Alternatively, the

German p layer can a tt ac k on t he nor th ern flank

between

Calais

and

Rhiems. the

Germans

can

capture a few French cities

and

hold them the

French may develop morale problems.

The

Allied

player has

somegood counterattack

opportunities particularly when the air units arrive

in July. The Allied advantage lies in

superior

numbers.

The

French

and British

outnumber the

Germans fou r to three in corps and artillery units.

The massive

American reinforcements tip

the scales

in

favor of the

Allies. The Allies

can a tt ri ti on the

Germans in 1918. The effects

of

the blockade will

fur ther weaken the

German

a rmy. Once

the

Ger

man army is exhausted Allied territorial gains will

follow.

The Italian front is of little significance in thi s

scenario.

The

Austrains

can

easily

protect

Trieste

and

may

even

beab le tosend

a few

corps to help ou t

the

Germans

on the Western Front . The

Balkan

front accomplishes

little besides

tying

down

a few

Bulgarian and

Turkish

corps. A note on tactics in

1918: it is

generally better

to use a lot

of DRMs

in

one a tt ack rathe r than spread them out among

several battles.

As

in all

of the scenarios, the

1918

situation

is a

grab for objective cities.

However,

the

pace

of this

scenario

is

much faster than the o thers . The

CP

player must take

Verdun

while holding everything

else, and

should

strive

to secure

a

buffer zone

in

front of Lille and Verdun. The Allied player enjoys

a

strong

counterattack

capability and

the last

move

which gives

him

a sl ight edge in this scenario largely

because

he has

more

opportunities to cap tu re an

objective

city.

Britain


16/52

16

N V CTION DURING THE WORL

Fleets in The GUNS OF UGUST By L eo n W

This

module

is used instead of Rules 23.2

an d

23.3.

1. SHIP COUNTERS P lay ers m us t m ak e th ese

counters

to

use these naval rules).

8.

DARDANE

Due

to

the

trayed

on

the

Campaign

is v

an invasion be

the

T ur ks h ad

two few tr oops

ca n

never be

Central

Power

side

the

straits

6. BLOCKAD

a. E ac h n a

t he y c on tr ol a

home

country.

b. The pen

terruption

Tab

c. R us si a g

o pe n se a

comm

of Constantino

S. REPAIR O

a. After e a

damaged are

Capabilities C

b. naval

port o ut -s id e

repair is doubl

7. SEA SUPP

a.

Each

co

phibious invas

supply capabi

Turkey, an d A

amphibious ca

twice the capab

C or ps in Franc

tive nation s 1

country s unit

supply sour ce.

capability outs

ca n

only use th

nean.

b. Sea s up

the

port

of

deb

try.

the enem

cor ps are

ou t

o

c. S ea supp

is

the country s

tor

is the

port s

objective cities

can

support

12

corps. Citinje a

only

support

t

c. In the Advanced game, all sea movement

occur s during this segment. S ea m ovement is con

s id er ed e xa ct ly t he s am e as in t he B asi c

Game

use

ru le 12.3). T he o nl y e xc ep ti on is the

number of

corps that c an use se a m ov em en t

is

t hre e p er sea

area

f or the Centr al P owers an d six p er s ea a re a f or

the Allies.

d.

Invasions: Use rules

23.31,23.32,23.33, and

23 34 Exception:

When one or m or e n av al u ni ts

support the invasion, they

add

o ne t o t he die r ol l.

N o i nv asi on s c an be m ad e

on

a ny p or ts that hold

naval units. Neither side m ay m ove units or change

its n av al b as e into sea areas

that

have no f riendly

ports.

e. Sea tr ans po rt o r am phibious invasion

flotillas

cannot

be m ade in those sea areas which ar e

controlled by the

other

players fleets. Seasupply of

land units cannot be through sea areas controlled by

t he other

side s fleets.

f. Each invasion lim it is three cor ps except

the

U.S. an d Gr eat Britain which have a six corps lim it.

4. NA VAL COMBAT

a. N av al u ni ts of opposing sides in thesam esea

area

m ust have

combat.

b. Naval

combat

is handled in a series of

rounds.

At theend of each round, either player may

attempt

to

withdraw

any

o r all of his units.

c. D ur in g each

round

of

combat, both

players

m ay fire e ac h of his naval units

at

the

other

side s

ship counters.

N ot m or e t ha n f ou r naval units m ay

be allocated

to

fire at anyone of the opposing side s

ship counter s during that

round.

E ac h n av al u ni t

m ay o nl y fi re o nc e p er

round.

Before

the

effects

of

oneside s fire is applied, the

other

side may fire.

An

example

of

naval combat follows. Th e Germans

h av e t hr ee BBs a ga in st six BBs of the British. The

Germans

have each of their BBs

attack

one each of

t hr ee B ri ti sh BBs

at

4 to 8 or 1-2)

attack.

The

Germans

r oll the dice f or their three battles

an d

get

two misses an d one

light

damage hit on one British

BB. B ef or e t he r es ul ts a re a pp li ed , t he B ri ti sh m ay

make

their attack. T he y m ak e tw o attacks.

Four

British BBs

attack

one

German

BB

at

16 to 8 or

2-1),

an d

two British BBs

attack

one

German

BB

at

8

to

8 or

1-1).

The British r oll the dice

an d

get one

miss

an d

one

heavy

d am ag e. N ow t he r es ul ts of

this

round

of

combat

are applied.

d. At

the

conclusion

of

each

r ou nd , b ot h

players roll

on

the Damage

Control

Table to r epair

l ig ht d am ag e. H ea vy d am ag e c an o nl y be r ep ai re d

when all

combat rounds

for

t hat mont h

ar e over.

e . B ot h p la ye rs ma y a lso

attempt

to withdraw

SHIP T YPE

ss

Example:

NATIONALITY

G

U SE S AM E C O DE S A S P 2

OF

STANDARD RULES)

PROTECTION

GUNNERY : J ~ - : FACTOR

FACTOR

Gunnery Factor: Relative strength of firepower

when firing

at

defending ships.

Protection Factor: Relative ability to withstand at

tacker s firepower.

Ship Type: BB represents

dreadnought

battleships

BC represents

dreadnought

bactle

cruisers

B represents

pre-dreadnought

battle

ships

E ac h s hi p

counter

r epresents a

squadron

of

c ap it al shi ps w it h t he ir

attendant

smaller ships

destroyers

and

cruiser s) . I n

particular

each BB

represents four c ap it al s hi ps , e ac h B C r ep re se nt s

t hr ee c ap it al s hi ps an d e ac h B re pr ese nt s five t o

seven

pre-dreadnought

ships.

2.

SEA AREAS

A . T he re a re se ven s ea a re as :

BALTIC SEA

NORTH

SEA

A T LA NT I C O CE A N O FF M AP )

WEST MEDITERRANEAN

ADRIATIC SEA

EAST MEDITERRANEAN OFF MAP)

BLACK

SE A

b. Any

port

may be used as a base.

Th e

inland

ports

of

Antwerp, H a mb ur g a nd B rem en c an b e

u se d as b as es o nl y

if

their water

p at h t o

t he se a is

unim peded by enemy units.

c.

OF F

MA P BASES:

1) S ca pa

Flow-The British may base t hei r

home fleet here. From this base they m ay sor tie into

t he B al ti c S ea ,

North

Sea, or Atlantic Ocean. All

British sorties into the Baltic through the Danish

S tr ai ts ) m us t be reve aled in d et ai l t o t he

German,

before he com mits his f leet units. All heavy damage

ships are lost or m ay r etr eat to Russian ports. When

the

Germans

sortie into the Atlantic

t hrough t he

channel, they also must be r evealed in detail

to

the

British player . Unless

the

German has a French

port,

all his heavy damage units

are

lost at sea, when

he sorties into the Atlantic.

2

Malta-Fleets

based

on

Malta,

T a ra n to , o r


17/52

characteristics

are

reflected in

the

several tables

depic ting th

The General - Volume 18, Issue 3

Documents

Transcript of The General - Volume 18, Issue 3