In a Dark Wood: C3 Module 4 - The Hof Gap by Thin Red Line Games

In a Dark Wood

C3 Module 4 - The Hof Gap

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!