East Prussian Carnage: The Tannenberg Campaign 1914
by
Three Crowns Games
The Second Battle of Tannenberg in 1914 is usually referred to as the first victory of the Hindenburg and Ludendorff duo. The actual truth is that the battle was won long before they stepped off the train in East Prussia. The Chief of Staff of the German Eighth Army was a man by the name of Carl Adolf Maximilian Hoffmann (usually just denoted as Max Hoffman). Hoffmann had devised the plan to attack both the Russian Armies that were invading East Prussia. The slowness of the Russians, the terrain, and the German railroad lines would allow the Germans to strike one Russian Army at a time. Unfortunately, Hoffmann was given no kudos, outside of the German Army, for his plan. Hindenburg and Ludendorff had become the heroes of Germany using Hoffmann's plan to virtually destroy the Russian forces.
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| Max Hoffmann courtesy of Wikipedia |
The fear of the Russian hordes by Helmuth von Moltke the younger, the German Army's Chief of Staff, is usually credited with the failure of the German Army on the Western Front to defeat France because he sent reinforcements to the German Eighth Army from the German Western Army. In actuality, due to Hoffmann's plan and its success, the German Eighth Army was in no danger. However, the Schlieffen Plan, not a real plan just a thought exercise, against France was never going to work. The German Western Army was nowhere near strong enough, even without the missing troops, to actually complete its envisioned defeat of France.
The next question is why it is called the Second Battle of Tannenberg when it didn't really take place near there? This was because the Teutonic Knights were effectively crushed in the first battle by an allied army of Lithuanians and Poles. The German psyche needed to try and wipe that stain away. All three, Hoffmann, Hindenburg, and Ludendorff took credit for naming the battle.
So, Three Crowns Games has given us a game about the 1914 Tannenberg Campaign. While the German forces are outnumbered, you can use the above-mentioned factors in the Germans' favor to offset this. This is what comes with the game:
- A full color A1 map
- 16 page rulebook
- 143 high quality, 15mm die cut counters
- Front and Back cover with game aids, charts and tables
- Sturdy 100my ZIP-lock bag
This is what Three Crown Games says about the game:
"East Prussian Carnage is a two-player game that recreates the stunning German victory over Russia at the beginning of World War One. The Germans must use superior command control, interior lines, and the mobility provided by railroads to stop the large but lumbering Russian army. The Russians must try to pin the Germans down and bring their superior numbers to bear."
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| Part of the game being played. |
I have reviewed a few of Three Crowns Games, although some were published by different companies. I did review their 'Tolling of the Bell', and I will put a link to the review below. Their games come in ZIP-lock bags instead of boxes. However, this also means that the shipping costs from Sweden to other areas is cut down immensely. It does not take away anything from the actual games. Sometimes, a grognard just wants to play a smaller game and not have to reach over the table to move a stack or does not have the space at the moment for a large game.
The map is a little over 23" X 33" in size. The hexes are large in size. The map goes a little bit west of Thorn and Danzig on the western side to one hex east of Bialystok (The producers anyone?). The map colors are somewhat muted. The rivers also go along hex sides. The Turn Record Track and some other tracks are on the map. The counters are both thick and wide in size. They use the usual NATO markings on them. The numbers and the other information on them are nice and large. This is just what an old grognard wants to see. There are two Player Aid Cards. They are both one-sided and made of thick card stock. The Sequence of Play and any other chart or table you need are on them. They are also in full color and the writing is large enough to read without a problem. The Rulebook is sixteen pages in length. It is mostly in black & white with colored sections of Historical, Designer, and Game notes. The print is again of a nice easy to read size. The components are certainly up to snuff for a lower priced game.
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| Some of the counter artwork. |
The game map represents 10km for each hex. The game is powered by a chit pull system for both the Russian and German Player. The Turn Track specifies how many German and Russian Command chits are used in each turn. There is also one German Special Command chit. The game uses Zones of Control in a pretty standard pattern. They block lines of supply, and you have to lose a step if forced to retreat in an enemy ZOC among other rules for them. The game also comes with a few optional rules. These mainly affect the German Player and his use of the Hoffmann counter. There are two scenarios in the game:
The Campaign Game of sixteen turns.
The Battle of the Masurian Lakes from turn twelve to sixteen.
This is the third iteration of this game designed by Magnus Nordlöf. The game is the first one in Three Crowns Games Collison of Empire Series of games. These are to represent battles and campaigns from 1870 - 1920.
The first thing about the game you should know is it is no lightweight. It comes closer to a simulation than just a beer and pretzels wargame. The one thing that sticks out is its Random Events Table. Every single turn has different events that could happen. These even include a player getting points for taking a specified hex. This amount of randomness in both the chit pulls and the events means that the game does not get stale. Each time you play there are going to be differences compared to your last time.
I am just as impressed with this game as I have been with the other designs from them that I have played. Both the Russian and German player have a chance for victory. The German player must make use of his interior lines to deal with the Russian hordes. The Russian player must ponderously try and use his elephant to stomp the German lion into the ground. It is a good nail biter of a game.
Thank you, Three Crowns Games, for letting me review East Prussian Carnage. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and the amount of history that was put into it. Please take a look at their game, but also the two that Revolution Games has published of theirs:
Konigsberg
Across the Narva
Robert
Three Crowns Games:
East Prussian Carnage: The Tannenberg Campaign 1914:
My review of Tolling of the Bell:
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