Caporetto 1917

by

Europa Simulazioni

 No one truly knows the actual casualty figures for the Italian Front in World War I. If you subscribe to the "Lions led by Donkeys" idea of the English Army on the Western Front let me introduce you to the Italian High Command in World War I. I am not sure what you could call what the Italian Army was forced to do on this front. Field Marshal Luigi Cadorna, commander of the Italian Army, seems to have had no strategic, operational, or tactical thinking in his body. He seemed to believe that his plans were the greatest thing since sliced bread. The only reason the Italian Army was not in Vienna was because of useless subordinates and cowardly troops under his command. His plans consisted of charging straight ahead time after time. What is that old adage about the definition of insanity? Including the Battle of Caporetto, there are 12 Battles of the Isonzo River. Almost all of them were Italians attacking the Austro-Hungarians. Several times, by the sheer weight of numbers, the Austro-Hungarians' line came close to collapsing. Unfortunately, Cadorna would not change his plan of battle to take advantage of these moments. So, we come to 1917, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is on the ropes. Their massive casualty lists from the Italian and Russian Fronts have just about finished them. Now with the Russians out of the war you would think that they had a chance for revenge against the Italians. Unfortunately for them, this is not true. The Hapsburg Emperor asks the Germans for another favor. He wants to have a joint German and Austro-Hungarian attack on the Italian Front to push back the Italians and give his Army some breathing room. So, the stage is set for the Battle of Caporetto. We do have to introduce a young German officer by the name of Rommel. He has been promised the 'Pour le Merite', the highest Prussian Medal, if he captures Monte Majur. He actually does so but gets semi-cheated out of the medal by another officer. The mistake is rectified eventually, and Rommel will be seen in his World War II pictures with the Blue Max firmly in place. Onto the game!

 This is what Europa Simulazioni has to say about the game:

"After Strafexpedition 1916, and Gorizia 1916, the third chapter is added to the Great War series: Caporetto 1917. Caporetto 1917 proposes the rules of the system in their updated version, to recreate, at battalion and company level, the most famous, tragic and controversial event of the Great War on the Italian Front.

Caporetto is a picturesque mountain village, located in the upper Soča valley. It has always been a border town; his German name is Karfreit, and its Slovenian name is Kobarid, but for the story he has the Italian name. Probably the most famous battle in Italian history, it is synonymous with "catastrophe", and in use in the Italian language with the same meaning. Also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto was the aftermath of the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo, which saw the Italian army advance across the Isonzo River, creating a dangerous salient for both Ljubljana and Trieste. To drive the Italians back and make them unable to carry out new offensives quickly, an offensive was needed, but the weakened Austro-Hungarian Empire lacked sufficient resources. German help was therefore needed. Aid materialized in the 14th Army, composed of some of the best German divisions, experienced in mountain warfare, and returning from successes in Riga and Romania. But above all that they employed unknown tactics and materials on the Italian front. Operation "Waffentreue " (Fedeltà d'Armi) was born, with the aim of pushing back the Italians to the Tagliamento. The results went beyond expectations. Recall the story of the first fateful days of that battle.

The game system has been updated and refined in version 2.0. It is based on the concept of action and reaction by the formations, typically brigades or regiments, which make up the opposing armies. It is a system that requires planning in the activation of formations, provides for a lot of interaction between them, and, at first glance, it may seem demanding. The use of artillery is greatly important, as it is the morale of the fighting troops, which can deteriorate as a result of fatigue or fighting.

The third volume of the series proposes, in turns of 12 hours each, the first four decisive days of the battle of Caporetto, in four scenarios:

1. The historical battle: The complete battle in the first four days, with the historical disposition of the Italian Army, in which the two players are both attacking and defending, respectively manoeuvering one wing of each side: attacking with an Austro-German wing, defending with the Italian one opposite the opponent. Each player, or team of players, will have to reach their goals faster than the opponent.

2. The battle that might have been: The battle as it might have been if the Italians had been better prepared. The clash is between the Italian player, who can arrange his troops more carefully and respond more quickly to the enemy manoeuvres, and the Austro-German player, however stronger, who must break through against a prepared enemy.

3. The Battle of Cividale: The final phase of the breakthrough on the Italian right flank. A short scenario, to learn the system, or commit a little time.

4. The Fall of Monte Maggiore: The final phase of the breakthrough on the Italian left flank. This is also a short and undemanding scenario." 

 I was lucky enough to do a review of Gorizia 1916 for Europa Simulazioni; links will be below. However, it took a long time to find a copy of Strafexpedition 1916, and it was worth its weight in hens' teeth.

Close-up of the map

 This is what comes with the game:

Two 22"x34" maps covering the battlefield area, from Monte Canin and Rombon in the West, to the bridgehead of Tolmino in the East, from Bovec and Monte Nero in the North to Cividale and the Friuli plain in the South

A reduced map of the Tolmin beachhead, for managing artillery in that congested sector

1400 counters

System rules and specific rules for the game, including Rommel Grouping ( Rommel Abteilung ), Stosstruppen, gas and mine attacks, the Fog of Caporetto, and more

Very detailed order of battle, the result of years of research and information gathering

Terrain Effects Chart, Assault and Bombardment Tables sheet; sheets to contain: German battalions, which can be divided into companies

Assignment sheet for Italian formations

Sheet for eliminated units, Turn Record Track and Logistics Points.

Boxed

 I was given a large coffee table book as a child about the great battles of history. For some unknown reason the Battle of Caporetto really stuck with me, and I have endeavored to get every book and game in English about this battle. While it is true that this game only shows us the first four days and a limited amount of the battle area on the map, it is by far the best representation I have found of the battle as of yet.

 Both maps are beauties. They have large hexes, instead of ones the same size as the counters. The Printing on the maps is also nice and large. The terrain and elevation is incredibly varied in the area, so Europa Simulazioni has done a great job in not making it busy looking. The hexes do have different terrain in most of them. The rulebook uses the expedient of whatever terrain the dot in the center of the hex is that hexes terrain. So, there should be no arguments between players. The one-page Tolmin beachhead is an elegant way to deal with the artillery in that area.

 The Rulebook is 28 pages long. It is in black and white and has two columns of type on each page. It does not have any examples of play, but it does have a few photos from the time. The actual length of the rules is about 21 pages. The reset of the rulebook is taken up by the different scenario information and historical notes along with design notes. The game comes with seven player aids. These are in full color and done in card stock. They are in both English and Italian. So, the player aids are either double-sided or separate sheets. The type on these is large and very easy to read. There is also a set of thick paper tear-off sheets for all for the different scenario setups and reinforcements, etc. 

 The counters are small at 1/2". As you can see below, the information on them is a bit busy. The leader counters have a small picture of the commander on them. This gives them a nice historical touch. I am on the fence about the counters. From a purely artwork point of view, they are excellent. It is just their size and the amount of information on them that gives me pause. However, I totally understand that to have around 1000 counters to show all of the troops involved, something had to give. As it is, the map does not show all of the area of the battle, just the main parts. To have larger counters would have caused the game to become a true monster wargame. Do I need to sometimes pick them up to read them, yes. Is this something I have been doing since the late 1960's, yes. So, my thoughts definitely fall onto the side of the counters are great, but I wish they were larger.

 Other than my hemming and hawing over the counter size the components of the game are excellent. The maps are worth the admission price by themselves. It is now so easy to understand all of the books about the battle and why the battle progressed in the way it did. This is something that you, unfortunately, only get with a wargame about a campaign or battle and I am eternally grateful to designers for them. If I cannot understand what a writer is trying to tell me about the terrain, or why things happened in wars, wargames always come to the rescue.

Counter samples including you know who.

 So, components be damned, how does this beautiful Italian car drive? The rules and the maps etc. give the player a real World War I battlefield to move your counters around on. This is not just a cut and paste set of rules that would be just at home with tanks or elephants. The troops that you can control are:

Infantry

Mountain Infantry

Bersaglieri

Bicycle

Cavalry

Machine Guns

Engineer

Flamethrowers

Infiltration Capable Infantry - The Italian Arditi and the Central Powers Stormtroops.

The artillery units you can control, after all artillery was the king in World War I:

Light Artillery

Medium Artillery

Heavy Artillery

Bombard/Minenwerfer

 The rules include Command Range, Stacking, Supply, Reaction, and yes, those horrific gas attacks. Playing as the Austro-Hungarian/German you need to act like water or oil. Do not attack needlessly and get bottled up against stiff Italian resistance. Flow like water trying to find the holes in a sieve. Press on for as fast and hard as you can. Once you have pierced the armor of the Italian crocodile, continue to surge forward into the Italian vitals. As the Italian player, play like you have played the Russians during Operation Barbarossa. Sacrifice your troops to gain time and space. You will be left reeling after the initial attack. However, try and make the A/H/G player dance to your tune. Try and channel them to where your reinforcements can stop them and then counterattack. Depending on the grognardness of the opposing player, this game can be a real nail biter. The first scenario has the interesting, but not unheard of, idea of one player controlling some troops from both sides during the battle. Therefore, you get to play as the attacker and defender at the same time but on different parts of the battlefield. Scenarios three and four are both two turn short ones. These both have a particularly important part of the battle but can also be used to learn the system before charging into the two larger scenarios. Scenario two is by far my favorite. This allows the Italian player to have either replaced Cadorna or given him something to turn his left lobe on. As the Italian player you can try and setup a defense against the A/H/G player. You are not left hanging out to dry when you realize that a hurricane is going to be let loose on you. This scenario represents most of the battles of World War I. Both sides know exactly where the other side is going to attack and take certain measures. I am not saying the A/H/G player cannot win but it is almost an entirely different game.

 Thank you, Europa Simulazioni, for allowing me to review this excellent portrayal of one of World War I's greatest battles. I have been looking for this game for a long time.

Robert Peterson

Caporetto 1917

Europa Simulazioni

Here are some of my Europa Simulations reviews:

Custoza Fields of Doom by Europa Simulazioni - A Wargamers Needful Things

Piacenza 1746 by Europa Simulazioni - A Wargamers Needful Things

Gorizia 1916 La Sesta Battaglia dell'Isonzo (The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo) by Europa Simulazioni - A Wargamers Needful Things

 Aces & Armor

by

PKB Games

 PKB Games is a new smaller company that has already made a big name for itself with their first KS game Trench Club, now Trench Club Legacy. Wargames with miniatures, real wargames, and not the simpler more children friendly versions of the 1960s, have become more and more popular. Even on the digital side of wargaming, 3D miniatures have been used for quite a while. So, has this merger between a more artistic approach and simulation type rules been a success? In the games that I have played it has been an undeniable yes. Let us see how this new KS from PKB Games measures up. Here is what they say about their company:

"We are a small board game publishing company. Our games started with games we wanted to play ourselves but didn’t exist yet. So, we were our first customer ourselves. I hope you share the excitement, and we wish you hours of fun with our games!"

 There has been a move in recent years to add minis and colorful maps to some wargames. To the grognard, it is easy to dismiss them as just Axis & Allies clones. In this you would be sadly mistaken. Many of these games that mix Euro games and normal wargames together are deep and give the wargamer a great experience. 

 As you can see, the game map and game pieces and player aids are extremely well made. They are colorful but large and very easy to read.

 Here you can see how meticulous the detail is in the miniatures. They are also paintable if you so choose.

 The miniatures sit on bases that have two columns built on them. These columns are used to keep track of the units' status elite, veteran, etc. and also the damage that any unit has.

  The units that the game gives you to play with are:

Infantry

Mobile Infantry

Mechanized Infantry

Militia

Cavalry

Tiger

Panther

T-34

Sherman

Pak 40

8.8 Flak

Katyusha

Howitzer

ME 262

Ju 87 Stuka

BF 109

Ju 88

IL-2 Sturmovik

Yak-9

P-51

B-17

 The game can be played by one to four players. This game follows the trend of giving the player a full solitaire experience right out of the box, instead of having to play both sides or wait for someone to create some solo rules for the game.

These are two painted minis. You can also see the detail in the railroad bridge.

 The game comes with three scenarios. However, the main crux of the game is its skirmish mode. This allows each player to choose the units that he wants to play with in the game. There are also factories to take away damage from units and to build new units. Victory is achieved through the capture of enemy factories. Because I prefer to play solo when I can, I was very happy to see the built in solo rules. I found the solo rules and play to be just fine. The game is made to be played fast and furious (the rules even suggest to time player moves to five minutes). It is not a game that you will leave up on your table looking at all of the different strategies you can try out before making your move. This is not a beer & pretzels game, but it certainly isn't Squad Leader either. Still, I had an enjoyable time playing it. The game is also completely finished. This cannot be said of all Kickstarter games by any means.

 Thank you PKB games for allowing me to kick the tires on your newest game. If you get the chance, also look at their Trench Club Legacy game.

Robert

PKB Games - PKB Games (pkb-games.com)

Aces & Armor Kickstarter - Aces & Armor by PKB Games — Kickstarter 

Heart of Leviathan

by

imageStudios

 These are the ultimate heavy metal for us aficionados: Battleships in World War I. The setting was mostly the frigid North Sea, although action took place across the globe. This is one of my favorite wargame/simulation topics. Who wouldn't be in love with their majestic beauty? These ships were the ultimate weapon of war on the high seas until submarines and then finally aircraft came along. In the age depicted, they are like the dinosaurs with no other enemies except other leviathans to worry about. Massively armed and armored, they strode across the seas from 1905 until the beginning of world War II as each nation flexed their biceps. With the building of the British Dreadnought all other warships became obsolete overnight. Oddly enough, Dreadnought was so radically better than any other warship it actually somewhat levelled the playing field between Germany and Britain. So we know what the game is about; how is it to play?

 First things first, I have to tell you what HOL is not. It is not a naval simulation where you need the floor of your den or dining room to play. You also do not need a calculator or have to keep maximizing and reprinting the game's spreadsheets in order to read them. This game is a thing of beauty. It is a mixture of miniatures and wargame/simulation that is wonderful to look at and to play. The game's components are top shelf all the way. The piece de resistance is the miniature ships that come with the game. Even the rulebook is a small piece of art. This is what you get with the game:

4 Battleships - 2 König Class, 2 Iron Duke Class (this game set)
4 Hardstock Ship Counters
4 Ship Command Placards
5 Movement Templates
15 Dice - 5 Red, 5 Blue, 5 Black
Critical Damage Card Deck
Equipment Refit/Upgrade Card Deck
Shallow Water Obstacle
Numerous Minefield Obstacles
Smoke Markers
Ship Captain Card Deck
Numerous Markers
 

 I just cannot say enough about the level of the components. The only games that are comparable are very high level space simulators. The rulebook is only ten pages long including the Advanced Rules. The actual rules probably only take up five pages because of the excellent, and large, illustrations of setup and play. This is not a tome that cannot be memorized and you do not need a medieval monk, complete with scrolls, sitting next to the players as a reference. This is an exceedingly playable game that actually gives the player historic outcomes. It is one of those things where everyone is scratching their heads, going why didn't I think of this? Another great part of the game is that you can use the miniatures unpainted, but why would you, or you can use them after they are spruced up in all their glory. Not only that, you do not need them at all. If you are too wary of damaging your small masterpieces, the game comes with thick stock overhead portraits of the ships. The miniatures actually have a small rectangular keel that fits right into the cardboard. So it is up to you, admiral, on how you want to play. This also means that when leaving home to play somewhere else you do not have to worry about damage to your miniscule beauties. They actually are not that miniscule. The ships are almost 4 1/2" long (at least these Battleships are). You can play the game in as little space as 36" x 36" or larger if you prefer. The key to the game is the 'Ship Command Placard'. Everything about the ship from speed, hull strength, and the dice to use at what range, along with other things are on the placard. Everything about the rules has been streamlined and pretty much thought of. It has turned naval gunnery warfare from an hour for the player to find out if he has hit to what he actually hit on his opponent, to a simple system. I am not saying the other types of games are not enjoyable at times. It is just before this game we never had the choice of what type to play. That is one thing I have to state strongly. This game was never intended to be a simulation of incredible depth. You cannot target a specific part of the enemy's ship. It is a simple die roll that shows whether or not you have drawn blood. If you roll a 'Critical Hit', then the captain of the hit ship pulls a card from the Critical Damage Deck and implements those effects. Some of these are:

Damaged Rudder - Can only move straight

Power Generator Damage - You can only fire at range 1 or 2

Shattered Primary Gun Barrel - Remove one red and one blue die

Command Station Destroyed - Discard all Admiral and Captain   upgrade cards

Powder Magazine Explosion - Something wrong with your bloody ship today

 Both Captain Cards and Equipment Refit/Upgrade Cards are bought at the start of the game. They suggest a 200 point engagement value for each player. You, of course, are free to decide among the players the amount. Some of the Equipment Refit/Upgrade Cards are specific to the type of ship (Battleship. Battlecruiser), and some are specific to either Germany or England.
These are some of the cards:

Elbow Grease - Can freely rotate turrets to the other side
Mast range Clock  - Another Friendly ship within range 1-3 may change one blank result to a hit
Repair Damage - Recover up to two Hull Value of your ship

 Each Ship Captain Card has its own set of allowable Upgrade/Refit Cards it can use.

 The sequence of play is:

1. Plot Phase - Planning phase for the turn. Players secretly set their ship's Movement Value on the Ship Command Placard. Players may also select an Order that is available to them to be used during the turn.
2. Movement/Orders Phase - During the Movement/Orders Phase, players follow through with the movement and orders previously designated for their ships during the Plot Phase. The Player in possession of the First Player Token moves and/or executes orders for any one of his/her ships first followed by player 2 (repeat alternately until all ships have been activated)
3. Combat (Guns) Phase - Ships fire at opposing targets while targeted ships attempt to avoid or minimize damage. Players alternate firing back and forth (just as in movement). Battle damage is resolved immediately/consecutively - not simultaneously - Ships can be sunk before they have a chance to return fire.

 The advanced rules add the ability for a captain to make smoke. The advanced rules also include Close Quarter Melee rules. These ships were still armed for this even at this late age. The age of the ram armed Battleship was not that many years before. Image Studios has also released a set with cruisers that has torpedoes in the game. These are the English and German ships released and planned so far:

English

Iron Duke Class - Battleship
Iron Duke -  This was in my set
Benbow - This was in my set
Emperor of India
Marlborough

Queen Elizabeth Class - Battleship
Queen Elizabeth
Warspite
Barham
Malaya
Valiant


Weymouth sub-class of the Town class - Light Cruiser
Weymouth
Yarmouth
Falmouth
Dartmouth

M Class Destroyer

German

König Class - Battleship
König - This was in my set
Markgraf - This was in my set
KronPrinz
Grosser Kurfürst

Helgoland Class - Battleship
Helgoland
Thüringen
Ostfriesland
Oldenburg

Dresden Class - Light Cruiser
Dresden
Emden

U-boats
U-19
U-51

  

  This game is for anyone who has any interest in World War I naval battles. I think this is a great crossover game for someone who wants to try miniature gaming, or a miniature gamer who wants to head toward board games. This game is the perfect segue for either. Thank you imageStudios for letting me review this game. I cannot for the life of me understand why this game has so little written about it on the web. Its BGG page is almost entirely empty. For a game that is this good it is a shame. 

imageStudios Hearts of Leviathan:
https://www.imagestudios.us/heart-of-leviathan.html

Robert

 

TIGER LEADER

BY DAN VERSSEN GAMES

What I'm going to say may have started to become a touch familiar, nay repetitive, if you have read my previous reviews of DVG games, especially as they have all been from the Leader stable of games.  Is it my fault that their production quality is some of the finest and most reliable in the hobby ?  There's no getting away from the fact that they put out consistently top-notch physical components - unboxing is a sheer delight  - and this from a company much smaller than all the really big names.

My one and only slightly adverse criticism of the new edition of U-Boat Leader and its American counterpart Gato Leader was the small size of mounted main gaming board and the fact that DVG then published as an "expansion" a decent sized board for them along with some fairly irrelevant plastic ships.  Well, Tiger Leader, which came out a year before them in 2015, hasn't even got that minor blip!

I'd go so far as to say that it is one of my favourite game boards in their series.  It's a four-panel, mounted board and fractionally over the standard 22" x 17" folio size that many companies put out as paper maps.  In the central play area is a magnificent sepia map of the Ardennes where that last desperate throw of the Third Reich, namely the Battle of The Bulge, took place.  Even more amazing is that this map is ultimately purely eye-candy, as once the main "Battle" Phase of the game gets under way, it is overlaid by six generic terrain pieces [in the same fashion as the earlier Thunderbolt/Apache Leader game].  Equally odd is that out of the nine excellent campaigns the game offers, the Bulge isn't included.
How can you leave out the Bulge? [sob]

However, as a war gamer who cut his teeth on hexes, these large, four-hex tile overlays are very impressive.  They are made of substantially thick, durable, glossy card-stock: double-sided so that you can fight in three different terrain localities - Europe, Desert and Winter.  They get a big, loud "Len's 10" from me [apologies that that metaphor's probably only understandable in the UK, not sure how many countries we've sold it to - so other nationalities can google "Strictly Come Dancing"].  So too do the two counter sheets that include the substantial numbers of Polish, French, Russian and American troops to fight against.

Along with the units are a wide range of Damage markers, one side for Armour damage, the other for Infantry damage, the inevitable red Stress markers, enemy Battalion counters and, of course, your own German units.

Ultimately, you will be selecting some of those evocative Tiger tanks, but if you're like me that will be some time in the future, as there are nine Campaigns to choose from starting with Poland 1939, France 1940, Russia, North Africa and Europe 1944.  There's nothing to stop you dashing on to those legendary monsters and don't let me stop you.  Perhaps it's just my OCD tendency, but I like to work my way gradually through the historical time-line!

And, naturellement, in a DVG product, lots of lovely cards to drool over [didn't I tell you I always sleeve mine - now you know why!] : German unit cards, German Commander cards, Battalion cards [in three types - Assault, Supply and Command] Event cards, Special Condition cards and Objective cards.  Some of them will be placed on the main mounted board called the Tactical Display Sheet, that I've already waxed lyrical about, some on the large card-stock display called the Head Quarters [sic - yes, it really is divided into two words]Sheet.  Not sure where you quarter your arms, legs, etc!

Apart from the map section I've already detailed, the two separate Displays provide you with Holding boxes for all those lovely cards, a detailed Sequence of play and enough information to just about cover all aspects of the game without reference to the rule book.  This tends to be a good feature of this series, but is for me one of the strongest and most workable examples in those games I possess.

As always the Rule Book is very substantial in quality and detail, following what I've come to recognise as their signature design.  First comes the Campaign Set-Up taking you step by step through each process while enumerating all the relevant details about the counters and the cards with carefully labelled and itemised pictures, exactly when needed. Though, in one way, there is more detail here, each step is so easy and straightforward that I've found the process simpler than expected. 

Select one of the nine Campaigns and a specific Objective.  Each Campaign will tell you the difficulty level, any additional Special Ops points [SOs], the terrain type and the Commander Skill levels and any special features.  The Objective card next provides how many SOs you have available to spend on buying units and other resources, the number of weeks the Campaign lasts, Battalion points for randomly selecting the necessary enemy Battalion cards, specific rules  modifications to the Campaign and the Evaluation table to determine your level of success at the end. 

If you are totally new to the Leader series of games, this may already be making you wonder if this game is for you, all I can say is that it is a very smooth process and reads far more dauntingly than the actual execution of what I'm describing.  Though my developed familiarity with the overall systems may have influenced my next statement, I genuinely believe - and I am being as objective as possible - that this game is easier to learn, flows more smoothly overall and plays more quickly.  What I have also found is that it is just as easy to lose!

The next step is one that appeals to me.  In the previous DVG games I've reviewed your unit and its commander were one and the same.  Buy a submarine and you choose one of the cards that represent the vessel and named commander at different levels of ability usually from Recruit to Ace, the same with your planes that were governed by the level of the pilot's skill.  In Tiger Leader, the SOs you've been allocated are for buying purely the units that you will use to fight the Campaign - a few more SOs may come your way during the following weeks of fighting - but by and large most of what you buy now will be what you're stuck with as they suffer and get shot up or eliminated. 

[Here's a typical combination of a machine-gun team and some transport.  They don't have to go together, but the combo allows your vehicle to move your men forward and then both the transport and the infantry can fire.  If the infantry are by themselves they can either move or fire, not do both.]

Then you choose, for free, one Commanding officer for each unit.  Once again, each of these Commanders do come in six levels of ability.  What prevents you just grabbing an Ace for each unit is the Campaign card that designates how many of each level of ability you may choose for up to seven units.  For example, the Polish campaign allows you 3 Recruit, 2 Green*, 1 Average and 1 Skilled Commander.  You'll notice that one level of Skill is starred.  Any units that you buy above seven have to be allocated another of the starred levels.   So, if I bought nine units I'd end up with 4 Green Commanders in total.  

[Tank Commander Dietrich hopefully on his way to Ace status, with all the necessary stats.  Notice that, like the images used for units, these aren't photo shots but sketches.]

Another very good wrinkle is that the assignment of Commander to unit can be changed at the beginning of each week.  You have three categories of units: Infantry, Armour and Unarmoured - obviously each type of unit must have the relevant type of Commander.  No giving an Armour Commander to an Infantry unit.

The next step is to draw a Special Condition card that will affect all the Battles in a given week.

One of the beneficial Special Condition cards - overall these cards have a balance of positive and negative effects and many of the negative ones can be cancelled by paying SO points.

Then it is decision time.  How many Battalions am I going to choose to fight at the start of the week and which of my units am I going to allocate to take on each Battalion?   Just choose one and send in all your men and you'll probably gain an easy victory, probably reaping about 3 VPs.  Do that for any of the Campaigns that last three weeks and you'll end up with about enough VPs to earn yourself an Evaluation ranging from Dismal to the lowest level of Adequate.

[ Just one of your likely adversaries, a fairly meaty Infantry Support Battalion. ]

One advantage of this game is that you don't lose any VPs for your own units and Commanders that are eliminated.

So, it's off to our first Battle of the week and the draw of an Event card which normally will affect only this particular battle.

As with Special Condition cards, about half have good, half bad outcomes.  Notice here a very familiar image - one of its earliest manifestations being a stylised version on the 1st edition of the famous Squad Leader game. 

Six random tiles are drawn to form the battlefield; you place your units on the bottom row of map hexes and the enemy units' positions are randomly selected by dice rolls in the top two hex rows of the map.  Most Battles last five turns.  As with previous Leader games, your units that have a Fast Commander will activate first to move and/or shoot, then all the enemy ones  and finally all your units with Slow Commanders.  A very satisfying, simple chart and a single die roll provides the A.I. for enemy movement.

Here is the set-up of my forces in an early Campaign with a tank, machine-gun unit and transport in the light cover on the left flank and two more tanks on the right flank.

Combat too is very easy with a few, typical modifiers, such as terrain.  For you, hit the enemy and it is eliminated - couldn't be simpler.  For the hits scored by enemy units, it's draw one of the double-sided Damage markers and apply the appropriate side of the marker: either Infantry or Armour.  As a result your units tend to survive longer than the enemy ones, as they may take several different types without being eliminated, though two of the same type usually will kill.  There is the rare chance of an Explosion and bye-bye unit and Commander.  It is rare, but in the second week of my first campaign, I had three tanks and each turn the Explosion damage was drawn when a unit shot at a tank.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

At first sight this asymmetrical procedure for Combat may seem to hand it to the Germans on a plate.  Experience of playing the game disproves that notion.  The range of damage, the limited ability to remove some of it between each week of Battle, the choice of a Commander who might help in the process, all add greatly to the narrative produced by the game and this draws you in to the atmosphere of the game.

To defeat a Battalion you have to destroy a set number of unit points, but there is also a point at which the Battalion is reduced to half strength [gaining you half the VPs].  So, you may decide, if possible, to avoid further combat by manoeuvre - not always an easy thing to do - until the end of this Battle and return the next week to finish the Battalion off with a fresh force.

Standard to all the Leader series is the Post Combat phase at the end of each week, when Experience is logged and possibly spent to upgrade the ability of a Commander, if he has earned enough points, attempt repairs and replacements depending on whether you've gained SOs and acquire new Commanders if any have been killed in the previous week's fighting.

Personally, I've had a thoroughly good time with this game.  The different elements introduced have greatly appealed . Among these  are the Operational Display on which your enemy Battalions are placed according to information on their Unit card and the rule that means they may advance or retreat week by week, the Tactical Movement chart already mentioned, the difference of having a map and terrain to fight and manoeuvre over, the combination of unit and Commander discussed in more depth earlier, the flavour given by the Damage chits and learning the best combination of units to meet a particular type of Battalion.

Despite my strongly favourable reaction to Tiger Leader, I was aware before I started that there had been quite some criticism of this particular addition to the Leader stable of games.  Especially, intimations of it being "broken", poor rules and lack of difference between units had made me wonder what to expect.  From extensive reading, my view is that most of the adverse comments boil down to the old realism/historicity argument.   First and foremost, the rules as written I found clear, consistent and easy to follow.  To repeat an earlier point,  they were easier to assimilate than any of the three previous Leader games I've reviewed.   They provided a good flow to all my games; even when I made monumental mistakes, they weren't mistakes in the rules!

Admittedly there are only small differences between the stats for the tanks, but at the level being focused on I wouldn't expect anything else.  Certainly, there is at least and I would say more difference here than between the submarines in U-Boat and Gator Leader.  But added to that there is the difference between individual Commanders and between their different Skill levels.  So. I would feel safe in saying that the differentiation is not one that is in any way out of line with the other Leader games.

Mutters about the sameness of all the battles, I would strongly refute.  I soon learnt that fielding the wrong combination of units against specific Battalions was a quick way to a losing situation.  Only one oddity that struck me was that there were limitations on the ability of some of my units to fire/move, but not on similar enemy units - if that bothers you then it's dead easy to give your enemy the same restrictions.  However, I felt that the game intended to handle that distinction through the movement limitations produced by the Tactical Displays A.I/. system.

The campaigns are tough, even the Poland 1939 one.  As at least one commentator has pointed out, you certainly don't romp through 

the Polish units.  If that's what you want to do, just give yourself some more SO points to field more units.  Perhaps, they are tougher than they ought to be, but then I don't find much fun in a situation where I really can't lose. 

Here are some of those Polish units

I'd rather have what I've got in this game than spend my time killing loads of enemy units with no trouble at all and then find that I've lost because the victory conditions say I should have killed even more.  Many other games I've played on the Polish campaign tend to do exactly that to achieve what they call balance!

So, bottom line for me - a fun experience, giving a very different feel from both air and submarine warfare [and so it should], broad brush approach that works, good clear rules, ace quality physical package in all departments [cards, counters, boards, rule book].  Nuff said, I hope.

United Bricks: Three Soldats Reviewed

On parade today we have three WWII Germans from United Bricks. Last time we reviewed United Bricks MinFigs they passed with flying colours. Will it be the same story this time, or have they been reprimanded and put on kitchen duty peeling spuds (potatoes for those not from the UK). Read on to find out!

First up we have German Soldier Corporal. In the last review, we also had a German corporal, but that time he was wearing a light grey uniform and didn't have the MP 40 ammo pouches on his webbing. This time he is wearing the standard feldgrau (field grey) uniform. He has his corporal's rank on his left shoulder. On his head is a metallic looking German M40 helmet. Unlike the grey uniformed corporal, this time he comes with a weapon, an MP40, hence the ammo pouches. One of my criticisms of the Cobi MiniFigs was their happy smiling faces; this is more like it, wearing his close combat face! He comes in either a yellow skin version as seen here or a more realistic light flesh version. You can also buy a winter version.

Print work is excellent and I have no complaints. He retails at £8.50.

Next up is a German Officer. He is wearing your standard early\mid war feldgrau uniform (The pockets give the date away, late war have no pleats on the pockets) and his hat is a Lego Kepi. On his belt is his Luger's holster. He is also wearing white gloves, so I presume he is on parade rather than in action. Obviously a brave soldier, he has the close combat badge and a Knights' Cross around his neck. Skin tone is flesh rather than the normal LEGO yellow, which is more realistic and my preference to be honest. Printing is excellent - they use a high quality UV method which produces excellent results.

This great little MiniFig retails at £8.50

I've saved my favourite for last. Here we have a German General. He is wearing a feldgrau German General's uniform. German Generals have red piping down the side of each leg. It also has red piping down the front of the jacket. He has a General's insignia on his lapels. He also has a collection of medals, including the Knights' Cross, Close Combat Badge and a War Merit Cross. On his head is a German officer's peaked cap, which I love - really well made. He wears white gloves and his skin tone is Flesh. I really do love this MiniFig. One other aspect to mention is his face, he looks extremely overworked and stressed out, with his red rimmed eyes and sunken cheeks, a great little detail. The print work is top quality.

The General retails at £8.50 and is well worth the price.

One final thing to mention is that the MiniFigs now come in a neat little black box with foam lining and gold printing on the lid. So much better than a zip lock bag:) This gets a huge thumbs up from me!

Well that's it for now. As you can see it looks like the spuds still need peeling! Keep checking back for more Mini Fig reviews and I'm sure we will be reviewing more excellent new releases from United Bricks!



Dear All,

Welcome to our 7th Anniversary newsletter comprising some unique WW2 offerings to complement our Romans which made an appearance last week. Kicking off with a new version of FJ020 but this time with 2 gunners with their MG34 set up in the HMG mode on a Lafette stand. There will also be an 'E' winter version but unfortunately it was not ready in time for this month's releases. FJ020D Anniversary set will be priced at $89/£70 and is strictly limited to 100 pieces worldwide.

 

 



The last of our FJ pieces for at least a year and a special promotion on this price for all orders received in the month of July. FJ028 set comprises 2 gunners with an MG42 in the prone position taking aim at the enemy. The A version is a winter variant with our 2 FJ's dressed in white smocks/trousers and the B version more suitable for Normandy with our gunners wearing late war style splinter pattern smocks and grey trousers. The normal price will be $89/£69 for the pair, but to commemorate our 7th anniversary this set will be available for the bargain price of $45/£35 for July thru ourselves and all of our dealers. After the discount period ends the price will revert to the standard price of $89/£69. Limited to 100 pieces of the winter and 80 pieces of the Normandy variant. Please note that a wooden DFS 230 glider will follow as well as JU 52 to accompany all of our Fallschirmjager pieces later in the year. Our new range of FJ's will make a reappearance next year in a format not previously released by ourselves and one we are very excited about.

 



RS042A/B Mortar: Two Aussies prepare to lay down a barrage on the enemy with their 8cm mortar. The A version Aussies are dressed in typical combat fatigues reminiscent for 1940's jungle warfare whilst the B version (to follow in the next month or so and not pictured) will be dressed in the early war style Battledress suitable for the Desert or Greek campaign. The A version is limited to 100 pieces and the B version will be limited to 80 pieces. Both versions will be priced at $95/£75.

 



RS043 Command Set comprises a super little set of an officer trying desperately to hear what is being said down the line whilst the noise of battle rages around. His number 2 patiently prepares to write down orders as and when they get through. This set also comes with spare weapons in the form of M1 carbine and Owen Machine gun for the 2 figures or to enhance your diorama elsewhere as standalone pieces. Limited to 100 pieces worldwide and priced at $85/£65 whilst stocks last. Our Japanese tank RS035 should be making an appearance soon with this being one of the final pieces for the RS series for the time being.

Roman Series: Don't forget ROM010, 012 and 013 released last week have already been heavily pre-ordered and have been as popular as ever, if you have not ordered yet I would strongly recommend that you do so. Next month will see the release of 4 new figures with some Auxiliary troops to follow later in the year in the form of archers and a few other surprises.

Wings of War WW2 Release This month we decided to combine our Mahogany WW2 aircraft with our figures and as such they are a splendid Axis forces selection, please read below for details:

 

 





WOW067 The Blohm & Voss BV 141 was originally developed from a 1937 requirement for a new reconnaissance aircraft with optimal visual characteristics. Arado were the preferred competitor but after the aircraft prototype failed to impress, the field was left wide open. Focke Wulf stepped in with the FW189 although this aircraft had two engines despite the RLM's requirements for a single engine aircraft design type. Blohm & Voss submitted a design with a highly unusual asymmetric design feature, which surpassed all requirements and was powered by a single engine. Unfortunately for Blohm and Voss the design was considered too radical and Focke Wulf were awarded the lucrative contract. Only 20 B&V aircraft were produced with some seeing action on the Eastern Front and several other examples captured by the Allies including the British, as they advanced through Germany. Our version NC+RI was the last from the initial production batch of 10 aircraft and is portrayed in standard Luftwaffe colour scheme for this period. Despite being a single engine aircraft the BV 141 was very large for its time with a wingspan of over 57ft and a fuselage of approximately 46ft in length. The BV 141 had a crew of three personnel and all in all this makes it larger than the Messerschmitt 110 we recently released! We have a limited number of 10 models available sometime in August, this very unique machine is priced at $799 and comes free with FJ029 Military police figure.



 

WOW086: The Messerschmitt BF 110 was a twin engine heavy fighter and served with success in the early stages of the war during the Polish and France campaigns but was hopelessly outclassed by the RAF's fighters during the Battle of Britain, where is served as a bomber escort. Redeployed as a nightfighter in the West the BF 110 was well suited to this role, especially when flown by aces like Major Schnaufer who claimed 121 victories solely in this type of aircraft. In other theatres such as the Balkans and the Russian front, the 110 soldiered on as a ground attack/fighter bomber and performed admirably. A 37mm cannon could also be fitted under the belly of the BF 110 which made this a formidably armed aircraft when used in the ground attack or bomber interceptor role. The 110 was also adopted by Italy, Romania and Hungary amongst others with over 6000 aircraft being produced during its operational career.

 

 

 

 



The BF 110 aircraft had a 53ft wingspan and was over 40 ft in length making it another large aircraft even in 1/30 scale. Our new version the C-6 was one of 12 converted with an experimental 30mm cannon fitted under the belly and was utilised by the Luftwaffe against RAF radar stations during the Battle of Britain. Comes free with Luftwaffe pilot and FJ figure as pictured in the promotion photos attached. Limited to 10 in number and available in August at a price of $799.

 

 

 



WOW087: The Kawasaki KI-100 was a superb fighter aircraft fielded by the empire of Japan in the last days of WW2. It was capable of intercepting the B-29 Superfortress that were plaguing Japan at the time, but was hampered performance wise by the lack of a suitable supercharger. No Allied name was given to the KI-100 as it arrived too late in the war to be to be christened, however its arrival came as something of a shock to the Allies nevertheless. An overall assessment of the effectiveness of the Ki-100 rated it highly in agility, and a well-handled Ki-100 was able to outmanoeuvre any American fighter, including the formidable P-51D Mustangs and the P-47 Thunderbolts which were escorting the B-29 raids over Japan by that time, it was also comparable in speed, especially at medium altitudes. In the hands of an experienced pilot, the Ki-100 was a deadly opponent and along with the Ki-100, the Army's Ki-84 and the Navy's Kawanishi N1K-J were the only Japanese fighters able to defeat the latest Allied types. Armed with 2 x machine guns and 2 x 20mm cannons the KI-100 could deliver a knock-out blow whenever it came into close contact with Allied aircraft. Our offering comes in a very colourful scheme of the 111th Sentai as it would have appeared in late 1945. The sentry and 2 officer Command set pictured with the aircraft are included free with the total package being priced at $550 plus P&P, with a limited availability of 10 models being produced worldwide.

 

 

 



WOW088: The afore mentioned N1K-J also makes an appearance in our catalogue and rightly so as it was one of the most effective Japanese Naval aircraft of WW2. Christened 'George' by the Allies this outstanding aircraft possessed heavy armament as well as surprisingly good manoeuvrability. This was due to a mercury switch that automatically extended the flaps during turns, these "combat" flaps created more lift, thereby allowing tighter turns. Unlike the A6M Zero, the George could compete against the best late-war fighters, such as the Hellcat and the Corsair. Despite its obvious capabilities, it was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to affect the outcome of the war. Our model is one based with the 301st hikoitai "Shinsen-Gumi", 343rd kokutai, Shikoku, during the Spring 1945. The sentry and 2 officer Command set pictured with the aircraft are included free with the total package being priced at $550 plus P&P, with a limited availability of 10 models being produced worldwide.

That's all for this month folks and I hope you enjoyed what was on offer. I am not expecting any WW1 aircraft in this month which I know will come as something of a disappointment to some, but hopefully August will see some all new biplanes. For those of you wishing to make a purchase directly thru ourselves please visit our website www.tomgunn.co.uk where all our figures will shortly be on display. For those of you wishing to purchase an aircraft please email me direct as these items tend to be slower getting loaded onto the site. Please note you can still make stage payments on all our wooden aircraft models, ask for details if this is of interest.

Best wishes The Gunn Team