"Warhammer Great War game" Topic

Dusted off my WW1 miniatures and rules last Friday.

link

The Warhammer Great War rules are really pretty good, especially with the orders system from Over the Top.

Howdy,

Over the Top was effectively version 1.5 for Command Decision.

Command Decision is still in print. The fourth edition is entitled Command Decision – Test of Battle.

Additional material for the Great War is being published:

(1) The Death of Glory – France 1914 came out in 2011.

(2) Great War East – 1914 is being written, and due out 2014 -2015 timeframe.

Ponder on,

JAS

Sorry, this is the Over the Top I was referring to:

I stand corrected – JAS

Still searching for the Over the Top expansion. Have had no luck in locating one.

Thanks for the AAR. Did you have a particular time period in mind for the scenario (1916, 17 or 18)?

Robert

Nothing specific, we used the 1918 lists from the core book. I'm thinking about trying the Vimy Ridge campaign from Over the Top next time.

Generalstoner, good luck with finding a copy. Keep checking ebay.

Thanks Chris B. Vimy Ridge is an interesting option. I don't know the Warhammer set at all, so I don't know the details of the campaign in Over the Top. The battle itself was characterised by some aspects that could be considered. One was the massive barrage. Second was the use of tunnels to enable the assault teams to get forward underground. Three was fact that the Germans had no room for the elastic defence. The previous French attacks had compressed the Bavarian defenders into a relatively small area on the ridge, with no defensive depth because of the very steep eastern edge of the ridge that drops sharply down to the Douai plain. Four was the weather, with the sleet and wind blowing directly into German faces, ie coming from the direction of the Canadian assault. Five was the use of strongpoints for defense, one of which held up part of the Canadian attack. Six was the ability of the Canadian medium trench mortar crews to get forward and man abandoned German field guns. Just some thoughts to consider.

The photos from this game showed the German defenders to be manning what looks like a front line trench. This would be very very unusual from late 1916 onwards. There was one example where this happened during Third Ypres. The Germans were massing for an attack, which was pre-empted by a combined attack by British and Dominion forces. The Germans suffered heavy casualties as a result.

German defensive tactics moved away from the use of the trench systems as much as possible. The trench lines became certain death traps. Trenches were still created, partly to draw the attention of British gunners. By the time the British launched assaults, after heavy barrages mostly, the trenches were often completely smashed to pieces. Defenses were centred around hardened mutually defensive positions, with mobile MG teams making use of shell holes and other prepared sites where possible. The idea was to bleed the attacks to a halt and then mount a Gegenstoss, an immediate counter-attack with stormtroopers. It was the lack of defensive depth on Vimy Ridge that made the counter-attack so difficult for the Germans.

Robert

Thanks for the info. Over the Top gives a brief description of each campaign, and includes some simple modifications to the existing scenarios and lists to emphasize unique aspects of the battle.
As for my trench setup, I'm pretty much restricted by what I have. A friend of mine is working on a couple of pillboxes that will offer more defensive options.

It wasn't that the trench setup you used was any kind of problem. I totally understand and recognise the limitations you describe. It was just a case of providing some additional insights that might be useful in future.

Robert