Countdown to D-Day: the German Perspective

The German High Command in Occupied France, 1944

by

Peter Margaritis

 This book's timeline is from December 1943, with a bit of a prelude, until the actual Normandy Invasion on June 6th, 1944. This is a very large book and is just over 600 pages in length. It deals with the day to day lives of the major German officers during the above six-month period. It gives the reader incredible detail into the different views of the main characters and even their personal lives. 

 Field Marshal Rommel is clearly the main German officer of the book. Some of the book deals with the difference of opinion between Rommel and Field Marshal von Rundstedt as to where the German panzer divisions were to be placed. Rommel, well aware of the Allied air superiority, wanted the panzers very close to the beaches of Normandy. On the other hand, von Rundstedt wanted the panzers held farther back to hit the Allies with a large, armored fist when the exact area of the landings was known. Hitler, in his usual way, made a mish mash of both plans. So, we are left to conjecture and wargaming to try and find the answer to the question - was either Field Marshal, correct?

 The book follows Rommel around as he desperately tries to make Hitler's vaunted 'Fortress Europe' a reality instead of a pipe dream. Anyone interested in the infighting and actual thoughts of the German High Command before and about D-Day should read this book. The author's painstaking diary-like approach to every day during that time period is to be marveled at. 

 There is one caveat, at least for someone whose tastes mirror my own. That is, the book goes into too much personal detail about the characters' lives during those six months. I am not really interested in where Rommel ate lunch and dinner on March 15th, 1944. That being said, all of the juicy bits of history that I love are in this book. I just had to dig a little deeper to find them. I am also not a Rommel fan boy by any way shape or means. Had it delved more into von Rundstedt's life it is possible that I wouldn't have these thoughts about the book. On the other hand, Rommel was by far the busiest of the two commanders at the time and through his travels takes you to all of the different places on the Normandy coast. So, you may want to take my caveat with a grain of salt.

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this large, interesting book. I read for the first time some interesting things about the time and the personal tastes of the characters. I knew that von Rundstedt liked detective novels, but I did not know that he was also an avid gardener. 

Robert

Book: Countdown to D-Day the German Perspective

Author: Peter Margaritis

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

 The Battle of Thapsus

Caesar, Metellus Scipio, & the Renewal of the Third Roman Civil War

by

Gareth C Sampson

 I do not believe that Gareth C, Sampson has ever written an ancient history book that I did not love. That he can make me feel this way with books about Caesar is even more amazing. This is the third book in a series of books about the main battles of the Third Roman Civil War. The author started with 'The Battle of Dyrrhachium' and then followed with 'The Battle of Pharsalus'. This book now takes you to North Africa, after Caesar's tryst and long stopover in Alexandria Egypt. The author shows that the Pompeians, or more correctly the Republicans, have taken the respite that Caesar gave them to build a large force to once again take the field against him.

 Mr. Sampson does not just take Caesar's word for what happened during this time period. This is contrary to many centuries of authors taking Caesar's books about the Civil War and before as Gospel. There are more ancient sources than just his writings to be studied and sifted through to find the real truth of the matter. The two earlier books in the series have shown that Caesar was close to being defeated several times. He also shows us that Pharsalus was not a crushing defeat of the Republicans as we have been taught before. In fact, a large number of the defeated army made its way to North Africa to try once again to defeat him.

 This third battle book is inappropriately named, as they all are. It is not just about the Battle of Thapsus. The book goes into everything that happened to get Caesar in North Africa both politically and militarily. It also goes through the whole campaign and not just the battle. It does not just gloss over the other factors and information but gives the reader a full picture of the contest of arms.

 Once again, the author shows us that this was not some slam dunk for Caesar. He did not land in North Africa and growl and the forces against him faded away like wraiths. The campaign and battle were just as much a seesaw as the other campaigns the author has brought to light. Caesar's recklessness and his wont to throw the iron dice of war are shown in their fullness.

 Thank you, Casemate Publishers and Pen & Sword for allowing me to review this excellent book. I am sorry to say that it does not change history and that Caesar still ends up as the winner. What it does do is take the reader 2000 years in the past to show them everything that matters to a lover of ancient military history. Of course, many of the maxims brought forth in the book are just as important now as they were then.

Robert Peterson

Book: The Battle of Thapsus: Caesar, Metellus Scipio, & the Renewal of the Third Roman Civil War

Author: Gareth C Sampson

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

LIMITS OF GLORY

SANTA MAURA & CAPRI

FROM 

FORM SQUARE GAMES 

This recently released game is the third in the Limits of Glory series produced by Form Square Games. Sub-titled Campaigns III & IV, the box contains two mini-sized games covering what are very, very small engagements in what can only be considered a minor side-show of the Napoleonic Wars.  Both involve naval attacks and landings to capture small islands.  Time-wise Capri is the earlier being the French's attempts in 1808 to recapture Capri from the British, while Santa Maura, which sees the British on the attack, occurred in 1810.  What they mainly provide are two very low unit density games ideal for when time is short and you need a quick fix of the Limits of Glory system.  Though their brevity also suits them for introducing the system, all its elements  are covered including the naval elements introduced in Maida and additionally brings shore batteries to the mix.  The latter drew a rare request from me for clarification which the designer, Andy Rourke, as always was swift to reply to.  His answer served to confirm my view that it's a risky business attempting to disembark land forces before eliminating shore batteries!

A single double-sided map is all that is needed to cover the very limited geographical area of each battle and the now familiar Event Clock and Combat Charts can be handled with back printed versions of each.  This adds to the compactness of the package. Lavish though it is to provide a separate rule book for each game, the amount of duplication is such that it would seem easier for once just to have the very slight differences presented as Special Rules.  Still this is hardly a criticism, especially as it allows for the space to include an even wider range of the superlative reproductions of Cruikshank and Gillray cartoons that are a stand-out feature of presentation in the Limits of Glory games - as illustrated below.

It's rare for me to relish a rule book for its art work. Or for my wife to ask to leaf through a set of my game rules - just to look at the pictures!

What drew me to the Limits of Glory system in the first place was the sheer innovative qualities of this game design, all centring on the concept of Glory points, the leaders who possess them and the ability to spend them to influence the dice rolls of virtually every aspect of game play.   Key aspects include: area movement, the  success factor for all actions based on rolling 5s or 6s, combat based on the roll of three dice on a simple matrix of the Leader's nationality and the strength of his troops, an Event Clock tailored to the historical situation of each campaign and which ensures the unpredictability of the end of each game and a momentum system designed so that each player will have a maximum of only 4 actions per turn

Santa Maura & Capri continues this in fine style, but for a more detailed consideration of how the essential Limits of Glory rules work, I’d refer you to my review of the very first campaign in this series, Napoleon’s Eastern Empire and I've included a number of illustrative photos and explanatory examples at the end of the review. 

In this review now I want to concentrate on what makes these two campaigns individual.  The first is the predominance of sieges. Though these have been there from the beginning of the series, they haven’t so far played such a major part.  In Santa Maura, retaining control of the fortress of Santa Maura until the end of the game is the sole French victory condition, while the Allied player’s major goal is to capture the fortress, though they can also win by forcing Camus, the French leader, to surrender.  

Santa Maura Set-Up

This all or nothing outcome drives the game and, perhaps, makes it the less varied of the two games.  That said, the situation is enlivened by the small idiosyncrasies that I’ve also come to expect from the quirky historical contexts.  Here it is the inclusion of a contingent of Albanian troops fighting for the French and the presence of one of the Greek independence leaders, Kolokotronis, whose map counter can once per turn attempt to entice those Albanian troops to desert their French allies! [I’m still waiting for Form Square Games to seek out a campaign that allows an opportunity for Lord Byron to crop up in the fight for Greek Independence.]

Capri Set-Up

Capri too introduces a number of new allies: for the French there are Neapolitan Infantry, while the British contingent contains a Maltese regiment and Corsican Rangers.  The situation here is more varied; both sides have sudden death victory conditions.  For the French, it is the control of Ana Capri and Capri town; for the British the destruction of 10 of the French gunboats.  Should neither player achieve their sudden death victory condition,  victory at game end depends on who gains the most VPs from controlling  BUAs [Built Up Areas].  As such areas can only be captured from your opponent by siege and, in the Santa Maura campaign, the siege and capture of the single major fortress wins the game, you can see why I consider SIEGES as the prime factor in this latest game.

As I've implied Capri is my favourite of the two games with its wider ranging situation and more varied units and victory conditions.  Both, however, are excellent for those wanting a shorter playing time and smaller playing area (which the Set-Up illustrations show) while retaining all the elements of the system...

Below are a just few close up shots to illustrate a range of rule points.

A typical impression of the map, with each number indicating how many dice you roll in order to activate units in that area - remember a success is always a 5 or 6 and you are allowed to spend 1 pt of Glory from a Leader who is present for each die you want to reroll.

So, in the town on the right, you would roll 3 dice and provided you rolled at least one 5 or 6 the area would be activated.  Should you fail to roll any, then you could spend from 1-3 points from Leader Lowe's Glory in order to reroll from 1-3 dice.

However, if you were trying to activate the area to his left, then you could roll only one die and if you failed, there would be no chance for a reroll, as there is no Leader in the area.

Also notice the zero in some areas -  a new feature which makes the area impossible to be activated.

Here you get a clearer image of the small fortresses which add to the defence strength of the units located in the area and also mean that the enemy must besiege you.  The banners (typically red for the British and blue for the French) show the number of VPs each side would gain for controlling that area.  

Where you have two (or more leaders) in an area, you must use the most senior leader's Glory points for rerolls. Seniority is shown by the small number in the black circle - with 1 being the highest ranking leader.  So, if Hamil and Nichols were in the same area, you would have to use Hamil's Glory pts for rerolls.  

If a battle were being fought in an area, the highest ranking leader can designate a subordinate leader to be used for rerolls, but then at the end of the combat the subordinate leader would have to roll to see if he becomes a casualty!

Here you have a small section of the Event Clock for the Capri game.  At the beginning of each Turn, the appropriate number of dice are rolled to see what Event occurs.  At the beginning of the game you will roll only one die, but some Events will change that to 2 dice and eventually to 3 dice.  Notice that many involve a change in the weather e.g. from Wind to Calm - this is a new rule introduced to the system for this particular campaign.  Finally the R indicates that this Event may happen repeatedly.  If you roll for an Event that does not contain an R, then you carry out the Event and then there will be a new Event tile to place on top of the existing one. I hope these illustrations will have helped to give you a little more flavour of the game.

And finally, just as a teaser for the future, I can guarantee that the next campaign game Donning The Sacred Heart ( which is well under way) takes us to a very different situation, played out in the counter-revolution period of the 1790s in the Vendee region of France and brings new twists to the Limits of Glory system. 

 American Civil War Commander 1861 - 1865

Death of an Institution. The Bloodiest Conflict in the Western Hemisphere.

by

Student Commander

Designed by 

Andy De Campos

 The American Civil War is one of the most written about and gamed piece of history there is, from tactical games about all of the battles to strategic ones and everything in between. There are even wargames about the various Ironclads used by both sides in the war. The few hours battle between the CSS Virginia and the US Monitor probably has enough books written about it to fill up a regular sized bookcase. Even outside of the US there are tons of people who read and wargame about the conflict. So, why would a designer pick this carcass, which has been stripped to the bones years ago, as a design product? Well, one reason is that Student Commander has based its whole line of wargames on Civil Wars. However, I do not think that is the only reason. The designer, Andy De Campos really had some novel ideas about how to wargame the Spanish Civil War so I think he might have a few things up his sleeve for this one. This is a list of the games that the designer is working on, in no particular order:

Roman Civil War 49 - 30 B.C.

American Civil War 1861 - 1865

Russian Civil War 1917 - 1922

Chinese Civil war 1927 - 1949

Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939

Korean War 1950 - 1953

Vietnam War 1955 - 1975

 I had the privilege of reviewing the Spanish Civil War game from them. Please see the link below. 

The Map in all of its Splendor!

 This is what comes with the game:

1-2 player game imitating the professional war gaming played by HQ staff officers.

Large premium photo paper board (45 x 35 in) with historical period map; highly detailed and educational.

Over 350 pieces with over 40 unique individual units.

Laser cut wooden counters.

24 commander chits with individual qualities and promotion potential.

Original American Civil War 54 card deck. Activate historical and fictional events.

Use deck separately for any card game.

1 set of 4 game booklets

2 black pawns

3 sand timers

1 set of tweezers

Label sheets for the counters

1 yellow fraction die

1 green vector die

1 orange measuring stick

3 sets of DD die (7 die each)

2 black D2 die

3 black D3 die

2 game trays for the pieces

2 player aid sheets with the sequence of play on one side and some play notes on the other side

 The game actually comes in a pretty large tube. You kind of feel like a magician who keeps pulling scarves out of his sleeve when you empty the tube.

Board Layout

 The map seems a lot larger than its stated size. As you can see in the pictures, it is extremely well done. While the map seems impervious to spills or foodstuff accidents, I cannot abide with either being anywhere near one of my wargames. The rulebook states that a normal 6' dining room table will fit it and all of the extras needed for play. I actually have it on one, so the rulebook speaks true. The only thing I would like to add is this is a game that is meant to represent a real military wargame. However, you do not need to use the timers if you choose not to. The timers are there to stop the player whose turn it is from just thinking about what to do next etc. The way the rules are stated " if your hands are not touching any component on the map or writing in your notepad the timer should be running". 

The War in Virginia

 This is what the designer has to say about the game:

"Excellent solitaire experience and high re-play value while maintaining historical content integrity.

While the action phase is highly competitive and entertaining, player choices will affect the economy heavily and, ultimately, the outcome of the war.

Each turn of the game gives you a chance to roll on four of twelve possible historical or probable events, which will enhance some of the political dynamics indirectly affecting your income through political popularity and support for the war. Congress is a heavy influencer, while international affairs make brief appearance."

 One of the biggest differences these Civil War Commander Games have compared to other wargames is an economic part to the simulation. Do not think that this is just tacked onto the game at the end for some glitz. The economic portion of these games are even more important than most of the others. An army runs on its belly and a nation runs on its economy. These are just some of the parts of the economic phase of the game:

American Civil War ECONOMY

Agricultural: cotton, tobacco and wheat were the top cash crops.

Industrial: textiles, armaments, foundries and manufacturing.

Trade: the lifeline of the South, hampered by the blockade.

Currency: immediate and sure but resulting dangerous inflation.

Taxation: The least impact on economy but it takes its time.

Bonds:  Involve the population (if they believe you'll win.)

Confiscation: a short run method with prohibitive backlash.

Financing the War

 This is a piece written by the designer that shows some of his thoughts behind the game:

"For over a century, there has been an ongoing discussion on the cause of the American Civil War. One extreme holds that Abraham Lincoln was resolved to destroy the cruel institution of slavery from the start and abused his Federal charter by using the Union Army to accomplish it. On the other end of the historiographical spectrum lies the narrative of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy, which holds that the South was chiefly concerned with defending the autonomy of states' rights over the preservation of the peculiar institution.

Regardless of ideological drive, the American Civil War saw the greatest clash of arms in the Western Hemisphere. The tragic heavy losses witnessed in battles such as Cold Harbor and Antietam stem from outdated military formations and tactics used with modern weapons of unprecedented killing capacity. 

Differing strategies competed for victory. The Anaconda Plan sought to constrict the Confederate trade. Robert E. Lee, genial though he was, persisted valiantly to give the enemy a decisive blow in a Napoleonic battle and bring the war to an end that way. The Union finally agreed to use its advantage in numbers and resources to wage a war of attrition. Ulysses S. Grant was the first modern general to lead troops from the rear. William Tecumseh Sherman grasped the use of destruction and terror with few holds barred to subdue the enemy. 

The conflict was, unlike others (Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Vietnam) a civil war par excellence in that it was mostly devoid of foreign entanglements.

The economy of the Civil War was as frail as it was peculiar. With the failure of the King Cotton strategy, the South failed to rely on innovative ways to raise money for the war. The Confederacy mitigated the Union’s death grip on imports through blockade runners but it could have tried other methods such as increased taxes or land sales. The Union’s expert manipulation of currency proved more reliable.

All these considerations are reflected in the game, to some extent. This is a great laboratory that gives you a chance to try out different military strategies and economic policies to win. Hindsight is 20-20. Find out if victory was as assured for the Union as it may seem, or if the Confederacy could have made it!"

 Thank you very much Mr. De Campos for allowing me to do another review of one of your games. This is really just a quick look at the game, which is beautiful as only a wargame can be, and I will be doing another piece which will be a much deeper dive into the game.

 On Student Commander's website there is a poll about which game people want next. Please, for my sake, click on Roman Civil War. I will offer Agrippa 50 million Sesterces to 'accidentally' drop Octavian into the Mare Adriaticum.

Robert Peterson

American Civil War Commander 1861 - 1865

Student Commander

My review of Spanish Civil War Commander:

Spanish Civil War Commander by Civil War Commander - A Wargamers Needful Things

 In a Dark Wood

C3 Module 4 - The Hof Gap

by

This Red Line Games

 I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of non-historical wargames. By that I mean totally made up or completely distorted history. This would mean a Bulge game that has every German panzer division available at the time, even those on the Eastern Front, for use by the German player. However, I have no problem with games that are totally based on accurate portrayals of what might have been. This would be represented by an invasion of Malta in WWII. As long as those games' OOBs etc. are based upon history and are totally plausible. This game, simulation really, is based upon the solid foundations of what actual troops and weapons were to be used in Germany in 1985 if WWIII broke out. Think of the novels The Third World War, and The Third World War: The Untold Story by General Sir John Hackett. You can add Red Storm Rising, and others, by Tom Clancy. These, besides being excellent stories, are based totally in historical reality. In this, In a Dark Wood follows their footsteps. You are allowed to see and use exactly what was available to each side in this wargame. You get to tell the story of the Giant Russian Bear and his buddies being fought by the smaller but seemingly more advanced NATO forces. So, strap yourself in inside your favorite NATO or Warsaw Pact tank and let us see what story you can tell with these cardboard counters. You can always think of yourself as a bodyguard to Little Red Riding Hood trying to save her from the Big Bad Wolf as you travel In a Dark Wood. Of course, you could also play the wolf.

 This is what comes with the game:

98×85 cm matte plasticized map, covering the US VII Corps Area of Responsibility

7 countersheets, 1200+ 5/8″ matte plasticized counters

40 Action and Event Cards

24 pages full colour Rules Booklet

28 pages full colour Scenarios & Designer’s Notes Booklet

8 pages full colour Examples of Play Booklet

2x Tables booklets

5x Players' Aid Charts

2x 10-sided dice

10x zipbags

 I will go into the game pieces bit by bit later, but I just wanted to say that even before you open the box you get a feeling that you are holding something extremely well manufactured. The foreboding picture upon the front of the box really gets you into the mood to play a game about the possible ending of civilization.

Some of the Components

 This is what Thin Red Line has to say about the game:

"At 0400 Zulu Time, July 24 1985, Warsaw Pact forces cross the Inner German Border and assault NATO positions in West Germany. The offensive against the US VII Corps sector has a first echelon of eight Soviet and Czechoslovakian divisions, and three main objectives: Pin the NATO forces defending the area, inflict as much casualties as possible, and force CENTAG to commit its reserves to the defense.

Taking its roots from SPI’s Central Front and NATO: Division Commander, In a Dark Wood is the fourth module of the C3 series, focused on Command, Control and Communication and pioneered by Less Than 60 Miles - one of the five nominees for the 2019 Charles Roberts Awards as Best Post-WW2, Cold War, & Hypothetical Era Board Wargame.

Several typical wargame mechanics have been reinterpreted, and both sides must fight three equally dangerous foes: the enemy, their own plan and time. Even a simple action can quickly turn into a disaster when facing an opponent using more efficiently the real key to victory: the OODA Loop theorized by John Boyd in the early ‘80s and used today as the basis for several military doctrines.

Military doctrine, tactics and peculiarities for each side are represented, allowing a skilled commander to use his own strength points and exploit the enemy's weak ones. Some examples are:

US VII Corps command problems due to its multinational structure.

West German Auftragstaktik (Mission-Type Orders), giving Bundeswehr a flexibility hardly obtained by other armies.

French incomplete integration into the wartime NATO structure.

Soviet Sappers, first-line assault units used to crack the toughest nuts.

Soviet Assault From March.

The abundant but partially outdated Czechoslovakian artillery.

Warsaw Pact Axis of Advance.

Warsaw Pact vulnerable supply network

5 km per hex, 3 hours per game turn

Regiment / Battalion sized ground units

Detailed Order of Battle set in 1985

Close Air Support and Attack Helicopters

Command, Control & Communication related problems

Electronic and Intelligence Warfare

Artillery interdiction and Counter-Battery fire

Chemical and Nuclear warfare

Specific events for Warsaw Pact and NATO

Random events to further increase battlefield chaos

Two Campaign Games:

"The Main Problem", the Warsaw Pact offensive against US VII Corps.

"One Minute to Midnight", Unrestricted nuclear warfare after days of build-up.

Four Smaller Scenarios:

"Just a Second Away", US 2ACR and 1/3I Brigade meet the Soviet 28th Tank Division.

"Shortcut to Schweinfurt", Soviet 28th Army turns south and clashes with West German 12th PanzerDivision.

"Where the Forest Whispers", US 3rd Infantry Division faces one Soviet and one Czechoslovakian Army.

"Operation Marsh Harrier", the NATO counterattack after the arrival of the French forces."

The Map

 One of the best parts about this game, and the whole Thin Red Line WWIII games, is the immersion factor. Even the emails that get sent out by Thin Red Line Games are meant to get you into the WWIII mind set. This is the post on Thin Red Line Games about the 4th printing of 1985: Under an Iron Sky 4th Echelon:

"Comrade Colonel-General,

Despite the sincere and tireless diplomatic efforts of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to preserve peace in Europe, the aggressive and provocative actions of the imperialist United States and its puppet regime in Bonn continue to pose an unacceptable threat to the sovereignty of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the collective security of the Socialist Bloc.

 Accordingly, the Central Committee, with full authority and historical responsibility, has directed the Armed Forces of the USSR to commence OPERATION LADOGA. The fraternal forces of our Warsaw Pact allies stand shoulder to shoulder with us in this historic struggle.

 You are hereby ordered to immediately execute the OPERATION LADOGA Directive."

Warsaw Pact Counters

 

 As I stated earlier, it is only when you hold the entire components to this game in your hand do you really get the full picture of how well they have been crafted.

 We will start with the map. For those of us not in the Old World or the 3rd World it is 24 1/4" X 38 1/4". Even though it is about the usual size for wargame maps it somehow looks bigger. The matte plasticized covering is a nice touch. Nevertheless, woe unto them who comes within 50 feet of one of my wargame maps with a drink! It always surprises me how much of Germany, and Europe as a whole, is forest. The map is really a work of art. It is one of those wargame maps where you wish you had a second one to hang on the wall. It may just be me because I have been pretty much mesmerized by maps since I was a small child. The terrain in each hex, for movement etc, is decided by the 'most favorable terrain type' for the unit. Because the units are not actually taking up the entire 5km of hex it makes sense to be able to choose the actual terrain. This gives the map the ability to accurately portray what is in each hex without, hopefully, having arguments between players.

 The counters are also matte plasticized which will increase their lifetime by a large margin. They are done in the 'NATO' style and also have a dark silhouette in the background to show exactly what kind of troops they represent. They are 5/8" in size so this makes them easier to read all their information. There are over 1200 counters, but the vast majority are markers instead of units. You also get the obligatory roll of zip-lock bags to store the counters. The game comes with two ten-sided die.

 Next, we have the Action and Event Cards. There are two decks for both sides of play. They seem to be made of the same material as regular playing cards. This will help with longevity and bending etc. The cards have both Russian and English for the words Action and Event and a Russian or NATO emblem on the back of the cards. The top part of the cards come with a photo or map and below are the cards uses. The type size is a little small but still readable.

 The Rules of Play booklet is, amazingly, only 23 pages long. It is in full color and is double columns. The size of the type is about normal for wargames. So, the older Grognards might need a young-'un to read it to them. I jest; it is perfectly readable. Then we have the Scenarios and Designers' Notes booklet. This is again in full color and is 27 pages long. The first three pages are taken up by Additional Scenario Rules. Then comes the four scenarios and two campaigns. The designers discuss the forested and hilly map as being an anathema to mobile battle. This is under the title ' No Thanks, We Don't Need More Trees'. One of the biggest challenges for the design team was how to make the NATO command structure, which resembled a 1970s piece of string art, into something coherent for gaming purposes. While still making it historically accurate.

 The game gives you two separate player aids, one for each player, that are done in a fold out manner instead of a booklet. This gives the player pretty much everything they need at their fingertips. This includes the Sequence of Play on the back cover. These are both 11 pages in length. There are tables that have all the abbreviations used by the NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. Just as an aside, the Warsaw Pact has four abbreviations while the UK appears to have about 50 give or take. I am only exaggerating a bit. There are five card stock one-sided player aids. The first two are OOBs for both the Warsaw Pact Central Front and the NATO Centag. The next two are a NATO and Warsaw Pact Time, Command Points, Engineer Points, EW Points, Air Points tracks. The last one is a players' aid Ground Combat Chart. This has the sequence of combat and all of the different modifiers all on one hand sheet. Finally, we come to the Battle Operations booklet. This is in full color and is eight pages long. However, do not be fooled. This booklet should be kept under the players' pillow every night that the game is on your table. From movement to combat and the all-important orders phases, this is a Godsend for the players' health and wellbeing. 

 So, there you have it. This is my poor attempt to show exactly what you get with the game and how well manufactured all of the separate pieces to the game are.

NATO Counters

 Okay, so we have dispensed with the part of the review that just uses our senses. Now we have to get into the parts of the game that we use our mind for. That being said, I would make sure that you have a monster wargame under your belt, or at least one that has a good number of rules. To be honest, these games rules are pretty streamlined for what they have to try and simulate. In this game you have in your power and arsenal all that the commanders of the different sides had at their disposal in 1985. From Airpower to Spetsnaz (special designation or spetsial'noye naznacheniye) and everything in between, Oh and tanks do not forget the tanks. These are just some of the things that the game simulates:

Command and Control

Posture: March Assault/Tactical/Road/Recon/Screen/Close Support/Combat Support etc.

Engineers

Close Air Support

Artillery

"You will Issue Orders to your HQs by expending Command Points and using Order Chits, wait for the units to Execute the Order by placing a Time Marker on them. Then wait for them to Complete the Order"

Stacking

Delayed Movement

Forced March

River Crossing

Supply

Weather

Chemical Warfare

Nuclear Warfare

Warsaw Pact Card

 I know it is a bit long. However, I did want to post the Sequence of Play so that you would know exactly how involved the games is.

 Each Turn is played using the following sequence:

 

1. Weather Phase

 1.1 Warsaw Pact rolls for Fog and Precipitation (29.1).

 1.2 Both sides Ground or Unground Aircraft (29.4).

2. Events Phase

 2.1 Both sides receive Air, Electronic Warfare, Engineer and

     Command Points reinforcements (33).

 2.2 Both sides roll for Events (34).

3.Air Points Phase

 3.1 Both sides roll on the Air Points Table and adjust Current 

     Air Points (19.3).

4. Side 1 Action Phase

 4.1 Orders Reveal Phase

 4.1.1 Reveal Order Chits in the current Turn slot and adjust Max 

       CPs accordingly (14.5).

 4.1.2 Place Current CP markers in the same slot of the 

       corresponding Max CP marker (14.5).

4.2 Orders Execution Phase

 4.2.1 Complete Order Execution (14.7).

 4.2.2 Execute each Revealed Order Chit (14.6).

 4.2.3 Execute Authorized and Unauthorized Posture Changes 

       (6.1.2, 6.1.3).

4.3 Orders Issue Phase

 4.3.1 Issue new Orders (14.4).

4.4 HQ Reconstruction Phase

 4.4.1 Both sides reconstruct destroyed HQs (12.5).

4.5 Engineering Phase

 4.5.1 Prepare River Crossings (9.2).

 4.5.2 Build Defensive Works (31.1).

 4.5.3 Mine Bridges (32.1.2)

 4.5.4 Build Ribbon Bridges (32.2) and Panel Bridges (32.3).

 4.5.5 Allocate Sappers (37.1).

 4.5.6 Deallocate Sappers (37.2).

4.6 Attrition Removal Phase

 4.6.1 Relocate Supply Hubs (30.3.1).

 4.6.2 Rotate units Resting from previous Turn (11.4).

 4.6.3 Execute Resupply (11.3), Rest (11.4) and Refit (11.5). 

4.7 EW Points Phase

 4.7.1 Allocate EW Points to HQs (24.1).

 4.7.2 Deallocate EW Points from HQs (24.2).

4.8 Bombardment Phase

 4.8.1 Both sides attempt to gain additional Intelligence (25).

 4.8.2 Both sides execute Bombardment (20) and Interdiction 

       (21).

4.9 Movement Phase

 4.9.1 Execute Movement and Combat (8, 15).

4.10 Housekeeping Phase

 4.10.1 Remove Breakthrough, Interdiction and Intelligence 

        markers.

 4.10.2 Remove Engaged and Half-Engaged markers from 

        Phasing Units.

 4.10.3 Flip used Helicopters upright (18).

 4.10.4 Remove Delayed markers placed in the previous Turn from 

        Phasing Units (8.4.1). 

5. Side 2 Action Phase

 5.1 Side 2 becomes the Phasing Side and all the steps of 

     Phase 4 are repeated.

6. End Phase

 6.1 Check for removal of Persistent Gas (26.2.2)

 6.2 Check for removal of Nuclear Contamination (27.4).

 6.3 Advance Turn marker on the Time Track.

NATO Card

 So, by now you have either run away screaming for Stratego or some other much simpler game, or you are drooling like my Bassett Hound in anticipation. I drool a lot anyway (the dentist tells me it is a good thing, my wife does not agree) so you cannot judge by me. I will tell you though that games like these were what I was hoping for from a very young age. What I have said about other deep games also applies to this one. You will get out of it in direct proportion what you put into it. Yes Virginia, there is a lot of reading and comprehension, hopefully, involved in playing In a Dark Wood, actually any game from Thin Red Line. The orders and timing along with your unit's posture makes it seem like you are playing three-dimensional Chess, and in a significant way you are. Your unit's attrition and the destruction of an HQ can put your perfectly planned operation on a gurney struggling to live. Just as in chess, you will have to think a few turns ahead if not more. You will also have to have a plan B, C, and D ready in case things do not go your way. On the other hand, you will have to be mentally nimble enough to exploit calamities that occur to your opponent. As the NATO player your job is to play for time until support comes, or time has run out for the Warsaw Pact player. The Warsaw Pact player has a pretty hard job in front of him. The realities of the map make a sudden thrust with armored units a very tough proposition. Think of it as 1944 and you are the Germans trying to get through the Ardennes in the middle of winter. The threat of both Chemical and Nuclear Warfare are also a constant threat to be aware of. So, you have to keep all of the above plates spinning in your head along with mundane things like supply. In a Dark Wood, and its brothers, is a lot like taking a Polar Plunge. The only way to get through it and actually enjoy it is to dive right in. 

 Do not take me the wrong way. There is a ton of stuff in this game. However, the designer has done a marvelous job with the rules and the sequence of play to make playing the game as manageable as possible. 

Scenario

 Thank you, This Red Line Games, for allowing me to take this trip back to my youth and the unsettled political world at the time. It is very hard to believe that 1985 was 40 years ago. I also want to thank them for allowing me to review this excellent wargame. The game was designed by Fabrizio Vianello, and he also did the graphic design. He has designed or helped design the following games about WWIII:

1985: Deadly Northern Lights

1985: Sacred Oil

1985: Under an Iron Sky

The Dogs of War

Die Festung Hamburg

Less Than 60 Miles

In a Dark Wood

 The first three are at the Division/Brigade/Battalion level with 14km per hex. The last four are part of the C3 series and are at the Regiment and Battalion level with 5km per hex. The print runs on these games are small so if you can get into the reprint queue, do yourself a favor and go for it. You will not regret it.

 He also designed the game 'The Fate of All' about Alexander the Greats campaigns and the First War of the Diadochi, my personal favorite for ancient wargames. See the review below. Hint: we need more Diadochi scenarios please I am begging you!

All of the games of this series laid out

Robert Peterson

Thin Red Line Games

In a Dark Wood: C3 Module 4 - Hof Gap

My review of Thin Red Line Games 'The Fate of All':

The Fate of All by Thin Red Line Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

 Urban Battle: Main Square: Trial Version

by

Forsage Games

 Forsage Games is a European game maker based in Belgrade, Serbia. This is some information about the company:

"Forsage Games was founded in 2004 by game designer Predrag Lazovic. Predrag created his first game in the 1992-94 period. The game was finally published in 1996 in Serbia under the name “Saratoga” as a part of a set with two of his more simple games. In the following years, several publishers from Serbia published a dozen of Predrag's games. Among them were games of various types and for different audiences: family games, children’s games, warfare and sports simulations, etc.

From 2004 all games were published by Forsage company or in collaboration with other publishers. Until today over 60 games have been published. They have been produced according to local standards because their primary markets are Serbia and the region. Since 2013 Forsage Games has been producing games by European and American standards.

Besides Predrag, on the creation of some of the games collaborated Stefan Kovljanin, Wojka Ketvok, and Dragan Lazovic. Stefan is the co-author of several games: Airtrace, Football, Basketball, Tennis, etc. Wojka was the lead designer for several family and children's games, such as Pretty girl and Pony express. In recent years, all the games have been radically improved in terms of rules and design and Dragan Lazovic gets the most credit for that.

Recently, our company has had a breakthrough in the global market, thanks to multiple successful Kickstarter campaigns. Games that have had their campaigns, as well as some others, are successfully being sold all over the world. We cooperate with several companies from Japan, the USA, China, France, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, etc., which sell our games in larger or smaller quantities in their home countries. In the future, Forsage Games will prepare many more projects for Kickstarter and international market."

 I first read about Forsage Games and their Age of Dogfights WWI. Reading about this game led me to getting in touch with them. When I contacted them, they also wanted me to review their Tank Chess game (the link is below). If you look at Tank Chess you can see the family DNA that led to the creation of Urban Battle. If you read the history of Tank Chess you will see that the designer has been working on this same game since the 1990s. Not that there was anything wrong with the earlier designed games. He just wanted to keep tweaking and working on the idea in his head that has led to Urban Battle. Sort of the way that Leonardo kept the Mona Lisa with him to look at it and to work on it further. Although you can see where Tank Chess has led us to Urban Battle, you should not think that it is a simple cash grab with a new name and few new rules. Far from it. This is what Forsage Games has to say about the game:

"Urban Battles is a game whose concept goes back to Panzer Strike: France 1940 and later Tank Chess. Each playing piece represents an individual tank or armored unit. Set up takes no more than 1-3 minutes and is scenario dependent.

Urban Battles is designed for two players. The goal of the game is determined by each Mission, provided in the Brochure. Each Mission has several game setups.

Three modes of play are offered for the gamers tastes:

Basic Mode – a relaxed and fluid game with the influence of luck via dice

Absolute Mode – no dice with a greater tactical and strategic feel to gameplay

Realistic Mode – the game now drills down to realistic firing angles via more detailed lines of sight requiring a ruler or some type of straight edge."

 This is what comes with the game:

One small map - 25 1/4" X 9 1/2+"

One large map - 25 1/4" X 18 3/4"

100 molded plastic vehicles or 3D printed with moving turrets ( 19 different types)

Rulebook

Mission Booklet

Flags and Antennas

3 Die 

Activation Markers

2 Player Aid Cards

 The game consists of two pieces of mounted map. The larger is twice the size of the smaller. So, if you wanted you could just use the smaller map for quicker battles and the larger map piece for a longer and more detailed battle. Using both of these together gives you as large an area as most wargame maps do. The map is a top down view of exactly what the box says, an urban area to fight over. The preproduction version that I was sent contains two different kinds of game pieces. The first is the less expensive molded plastic vehicles. However, these are very well done and you can easily see the type of vehicle it is and there does not appear to be any flashing that I could find. The second option is of 3D printed plastic pieces. These are slightly larger than the less expensive kind. They also have rotating turrets for the actual tanks. This is just a few of the pieces that both sides have:

Reconnaissance Vehicle

Ligh/Medium/Heavy Tank

Super-Heavy Tank

Assault Gun

Tank Hunter

Light/Heavy SP Howitzer

Heavy SP Mortar (think SturmTiger)

SP Rocket Launcher

Amphibious Tank

Armored Recovery Vehicle

Half-Track

 The game comes with two light card stock Player Aids. These have everything that the player needs for his foray into the game. These list the following for each type of piece:

Armor

Speed

Effectiveness/Worth

Firepower - in all three game modes

Weapon Mount Turret/Hull - for facing rules

Flags and stands

Die and gaming accessories

Vehicles

Player Aid

  The Rulebook that I was sent is ten pages long. It is in full color and has play examples on each page (please remember this was a preproduction game I was sent). It gives the rules for all three modes of play. The next booklet is really a list of different missions for the game. It is nine pages long and the illustrations are in black & white (this will probably change). There are ten different missions. However, The missions have at least two different versions, some have four, of the setup and play of that mission.

 For a preproduction game I am very impressed. Most of the game's pieces and the booklets were all built by the designers at home. Going by their other games I would assume that they will be of high quality.

                                                                                   

 The game has been designed from the ground up to be two different things. The first is to be an introductory wargame to help entice fledgling grognards. The second was to add to the game to make it a good fit for tyros and for grognards by adding to the rules etc. I believe that Forsage Games has succeeded in both areas. While it masquerades as just a beer and pretzel game, it actually allows the player to grow from a new wargamer to a more advanced one by just acquiring one game. Will Urban Battle make you ready for four maps and 2000 counters? Absolutely not, but it can take the newbie by the hand and lead him down the slippery slope of wargaming. Thank you Forsage Games for allowing me to kick the tires on Urban Battle. I find it an excellent game to bring someone into the fold. 

 I will also have a review of Forsage Games Age of Dogfights WWII coming up.

Robert Peterson

Urban Battle: Main Square

Forsage Games

My review of Age of Dogfights WWI by Forsage Games:

Age of Dogfights: WWI by Forsage Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

My review of Tank Chess by Forsage Games:

Tank Chess by Forsage Games - A Wargamers Needful Things