Jon, it is becoming easier to promote interest in the Great War. My preference, FWIIW, is to reproduce historical large-scale battles. Too often people think of WW1 in terms of mud, wire and machine guns conspiring to prevent any advance whatsoever. Sadly the Lions led by Donkeys notion is still held by many.
Skirmish or platoon-level games have become more popular. Many major wargaming conventions will now have at least one such demonstration or participation game. I remember a Crush the Kaiser game at SELWG recently for example, with large numbers of 28 mm figures and plenty of terrain.
Games that involve multiple corps or armies give a much better flavour for the larger scale tactical issues of command. The use of historical OOBs and battle maps enables historical battles to be re-evaluated in a whole new way. I tried this out in a wargames convention setting. Shawn Taylor and I recreated the Battle of Cambrai in 6mm, with the terrain tables covering almost all of the battlefield at a scale of 80 yards to 1". The contours were based on 1917 trench maps (British and German). The TimeCast trenches and home made barbed wire gave an accurate understanding of where the various lines of defence were positioned. By combining these with the actual terrain contours, you could immediately appreciate what the tactical challenges were for the attackers and defenders alike. For example, one glimpse of Flesquieres and its relationship to Flesquieres ridge was enough to make you understand why the village became a Schwerpunkt of defence.
As a direct result of showcasing Cambrai, with its 90 plus tank stands and hundreds of infantry stands (with one stand = an infantry company), the Wargames Associated of Reading subsequently put on a complete Battle of Loos refight in 6mm.
Another example that had real impact was the mega-game that we played in Christchurch. This involved a refight of one part of the Marne battle from September 1914. Robin posted some details here:
link
Next year we are going to redo this battle on an even larger scale. It will involve the three German armies on the right wing. Eleven tables will be used to cover the breadth of terrain. The town of Dormans, which is located on the Marne river, has offered use of the local castle. The aim is to promote awareness in the general public of this historic area of France.
Here in England, the goal is to demonstrate the full battlefield of Mons.
Robert
