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    A must for gamers

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    21 views12 pages

    Strategy and Tactis Magazine 001

    Uploaded by

    Bart Black
    A must for gamers

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 12
    Stratesy & Tactics A JOURNAL OF AMERICAN WARGAMING ‘Volume 1 Nr 1 Box 65, Adelphis, N.J., 07710 January 1967 REMAGEN BRIDGEHEAD: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AH BLITZKRIEG PART ONE: AUTO-VICTORY Avalon Hill BLITZKRIEG is one of the most realistic wargames the company has, thus far, pro- duced. It is certainly the most complex. Unfortu nately, this complexity has led to some serious problems not encountered with other games in the AH battery. One of these difficulties is interpre: tation of the rules and another is the tendency of the company to decide on the “conservative” end when faced with one of the several ambiguities in the battle manual. In this and forthcoming articles, we will discuss the various “problem” rules and inform you of the varying interpretations available We will then give you the latest judgement by AH. and present our views en how BLITZKRIEG should be played. In all cases, we are discussing the full tournament /optional game less the nuclear weapons rule. There are two major areas which pertain to BLITZKRIEG automatic victory that have led to problems of interpretation. The first relates to auto- victary involving city capture. Played the way Avalon Hill suggests, the game soon becomes a | frontal contest of attrition. Their provision that a city musf, in all cases, be held for one turn before it can be used by the captor seriously limits the maneuver capabilities of the armies as a whole. E. &., If Blue generates an automatic victory situation on a city well behind Red lines, he may not fly in additional troops or land forces from the sea (if the city is a port) until his next turn. This so hampers invasion and combined invasion-airdrop operations that it is very difficult to gain a perma- nent beachhead behind enemy lines, even if the ities involved are only lightly garrisoned or not garrisoned at all. If Hitler defended France the way the Homeland is usually defended in, BLITZ- KRIEG, the war in Europe would have been ‘considerably shorter. (Cont'd on page 12) 7 March 1945: ‘The final hour of Hitler’s 1000. year Reich is approaching. France is liberated and the victorious Allied armies have reached the Rhine River. The German High Command’s hopes are supported by the belief that this formidable river barrier will prevent the enemy from further a vance into the heart of the ‘ Fatherland ” As soon as the last of the retreating Wehrmacht hhas reached the east bank of the Rhine, the long- spanned bridges are dumped into the river. Some- times the “‘Pioniere” wait until the last moment to let stragglers, and even civilians, cross over; Hitler needs every single man, now more than ever. The complete rules to Mr. Bodenstedt’s celebrated table top wargame based on this action will appear in S&T. Part one com- mences in this issue on page 9. ‘As Combat Command B, US 9th Armored Di- vision, headed by the 27th Armored Infantry Bat- talion, reaches the little town of Remagen, the Ludendorff Railroad Bridge is found still intact but mined for demolition. What an opportunity to get, quickly to Berlin! But this is not the point where the spring offensive is planned. The “ Big Push” is to be made into the Ruhr Valley where the Allies are assembling all their combined power" ‘The Germans also keep their strongest forces there to protect their most valuable industrial center, relying on the Rhine as a defense elsewhere The US troops hesitate for a moment. It could be a trick to lure them across only to find the bridge being blown up behind their backs or into their faces. There is an explosion, the mighty structure rises a few inches from its supports. then settles down again with only minor damage. Without further delay, and in the face of heavy fire, the first units rush across, A short, desperate struggle develops with the few remaining Germans at the East Bridgehead. Quick-acting engineers cut the wires to the still unexploded charges and the bridge is secure. (Cont'd on page 4) Page 2 STRATEGY AND TACTICS VoL Net — EDITORIAL — Yes, you're right. We do have 12 pages instead of 8 as stated in almost all of our circulars. We found that though the cost is considerably less at 8 pages, the layout problems involved for the amount of material we wanted to print just were not worth it. Then, as more and more of the better writers started to submit work for the first issue, we found that even 12 pages will, very shortly, be too few to accomodate all the available material. Frankly, we don’t know how many pages we'll print for the next issue, but there will be at least 12 of them. Why S & T in the first place? Well, wargaming is undergoing what is normally referred to as a “boom”. Although the hobby itself has been around for quite some time, it was not until The Avalon Hill Company began producing competent, readily available, fairly inexpensive games that more than a relative handfull of people became interested. There is now a need for a good quality general wargaming magazine; S & T is designed to fill that need. Early in my correspondence with Myron Brundage about the magazine, he suggested we include the following statement somewhere. ‘* Our purpose is to bring you (the reader) all aspects of wargaming 0 as to further the hobby and the industry and produce the highest quality of skill at our art”. He stated our case pretty succintly, We hope to become the spokesman for the serious, experienced wargamer, and an advisor to the novice. To this end, it is our policy to print only the best material available. This does not mean you'll get only one side of the story, but that the opinions expressed here will have extensive basis in fact There is another goal we are attempting to attain with S & T: development of the “general” wargamer, The majority of kriegspiel enthusiasts are limiting themselves to one aspect of their hobby (i-e., engaging exclusively in, say, AH games). This, we are convinced, can be attributed to lack of ‘exposure to related areas. You'll find articles in S & T that deal with all types of wargames, and though there will be “something for everyone” here, the readers who have the widest interest will ‘enjoy the magazine most. If you have been restricted to one type of wargaming, we suggest you look ‘over the articles concerned with other fields; we think you'll find that your experience in any aspect of ‘our avocation will stand you in good stead in all others ‘Throughout the magazine, you will find requests for your comments; we're serious. We must know what you like in order to bring it to you in future Vol {Nr 1—January 1967 issues. Further, if you have a good idea, have Copyright @ 1967 by Christopher R. Wagner | | developed a new method, or have invented an in- Printed in Tokyo, Japan. All rights reserved. Copy. | | teresting game, tell us about it right under the International Copyright Convention, It’s your magazine—we hope you enjoy it Published 10 times a year at 6 to 8 week intervals = Chuistogher Wagner — by the Wagner Publishing Company, P-5, 2220 ee Musashino, Fussamachi, Nishitema-gu, Tokyo-to, Japan. All editorial, business, and general mail Should be sent to Box 65, Adelphia, N. J., 07710, IN OUR FIRST ISSUE.. USA. Subscriptions are available ot thet address | | REMAGEN BRIDGEHEAD—Henry H. Bodenstedt for $5.00 a year. Single copy price is 50¢. Back || Historical Introduction isues 60¢. Overseas: add 10¢ an issue Mapes Readers are invited to contribute articles. Authors | | Rules (Part One) = . of published articles will receive a free one-year | | BLITZKRIEG-AUTO.VICTORY subscription or $5,00 for each article accepted. VARIANTS-—Seat , Benchig Christopher Wagner, Editor/Publisher Battle of the Bulge OB HENRY H. BODENSTEDT, TT Editor and U.S. | | WARFARE W/MINIATURES—HHB Representative. MYRON R. BRUNDAGE, Con. | | Wargames table om triboting Editor. SCOTT C. BERSCHIG, Variants | | WARGAMING, et sl—M. R. BRUNDAGE ~~ and Design Editor. LYLE E. SMETHERS, Graphic | | LETTERS ~~ ‘Arts and Research. JACK D. POULSON, Business | | FUTURE FEATURES - a and Marketing Advisor. ADS: Continental Hobby Supplies Kampf : Strategy and Tacties Fournal of meric Wargaming Vol Nr WARFARE MINIATURES An Introduction This section of S & T.is devoted | to table top wargaming with military | models. This differs from mapboard gaming not only in the size of the game area, but in the unit markers | employed. While in a mapboard game units are represented by tiles of cardboard or similar material, usually '/, inch squares with the denomination, strength, and movement factor print- | ed on them, in a table top game, actual models of the fighting men and their equipment are used. In future articles I will bring more specific news about the many types and sizes of models available to the wargamer, but for the moment we can di- vide these miniatures into two major classes: Small scale models (20-30 mm) which are usually grouped. together and attached to trays to make moving | easier, and larger scale models (40-54mm) which are used individually. Though many wargamers frown upon the use of the larger models, let me say that I whole-heartedly recommend the use of large, individual figures for wargames. It is not necessary to resort to the outdoors or to an entire room for such games, The standard 66 foot | table, as shown on page 5 and used in my home, has seen many exciting and fascinating battles fought with 54mm figures. In these games, often with only 40 or 50 playing pieces to a side,-each soldier truly becomes an individual. By using especially adopted rules, one will find “heros” and ‘‘cowards’* within his" army. ‘Then, after a hard fought, bat- tle, the bravest of them should be decorated by “pinning” (with the help of a paint brush) the well-deseved medals on their chests. The wargamer has the opportunity to test his strategic, as well as his tactical skill when using figures of the smaller scales. Mapboard games can be transfered to the table top, and the 6x6 foot area is usually large enough for an entire campaign, Landscaping is easier too, because an uncountable number of excellent accessories, such as buildings, trees, fences, etc., are readily available in HO scale. ‘There is really no comparison between a large scale and small scale game. If correctly matched rules are used, either scale will serve an enthusiastic hobbyist with many hours of fascinating and exciting wargaming. It is just this variety that prevents table top wargaming from ever becoming a bore. The terrain used for table top games is three- oraezncon

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