"Good Early War Rules?" Topic

What would you folks recommend as a good set of rules for early WWI battles? The scale I'm looking for would have companies/battalions as the basic maneuver element.

Thanks!

WW1 Spearhead works well for us..using 10mm figures.

GW Spearhead has the brigade as the basic unit with each base a company.

You could try Bloody Picnic. Units there can be Companies or Battalions. I've only had a couple of games with them and they seem to be quick to pick up but very bloody and more dependant on chance that I prefer.

There is a lot of material about Great War Spearhead on Robin's site here:

wargaming.org.nz

This includes scenarios and AARs for early war actions. You can also reference the scenario generator as well. The latest version of the rules are here:

lulu.com/spotlight/GWSHII

The scenarios section includes Mons and other early war scenarios.

Robert

When "Arc of Fire" first came out, all of their demo games were early WWI French vs. Germans.

Yeah, but Arc of Fire has never been about using Companies or Battalions. Great War spearhead is a solid choice and is at the level you want.

It isn't really, in GWSH you manouvre regiments and brigades.

The only set I can think of which meets to OPs requirements would be Over the Top, essentially WW1 command decision where companies are the basic element of manouvre.

In Square Bashing you manouvre battalions (with company bases).

Despite that, if you want to do 1914, I would recommend Great War Spearhead. These are BIG battles in small areas, and you want to be able to manouvre at least a division, if not more.

If you are looking for a divisional game I would recommend Square Bashing 2. Battalions are the basic unit (4 bases of three figures)- a division would be about 12 foot battalions with artillery and machine gun support (plus some cavalry to ensure that break through can be exploited). A 15mm game can be played on a 4 x 3 foot table, 25mm a 6 x 4 table. The rule set is whole war but the army lists are more specific and provide good early war games (my early war Germans have had many an encounter with the BEF and/or French forces).

Square Bashing 2 also suits bigger games – I have played Corp level games where two divisions per side on a 6 x 3 table, a good multi-player game.

Bede

Could use Chris Peers Contemptible Little Armies. He doesn't state what the units are so you can call them what you like.

We're looking at Bloody Picnic for that era. The rules are pretty flexible towards scale but I'm sure I picked it for the same scale that your interested. Haven't played a game yet as I'm busy painting the forces but as soon as we do I can let you know!

I will throw in with GWSH II (Great War Spearhead II). Give a great game and really has a good feel of WWI. Command and Control is the key to the game which of course is what you want in a higher level action.

Hey Martin. My thinking was that the gent was looking for a set where the smallest unit he would maneuver would be a battalion. GWSHII does that. If he was talking about the size force a player would handle then I'd agree with you.

Thanks,

John

The TooFatLardies 'If the Lord Spares us' has companies as manoeuvre units. e.g. a battalion might be four companies of four bases each and an HQ base. Artillery and Machine Guns bases each represent a section of two real guns. Cavalry squadrons are typically three bases.

link

The rules as written are for the middle east only but could probably be converted for other theatres easily enough. I haven't actually played them but I have read them and still intend to try them. :)

Sure John, I realise that. It is that whole 'level of command' thing again:)

I'm a bit biased, as I wrote them, but for early Great War on the Western Front I would recommend "Over by Christmas" by Crush the Kaiser. The rules are fast play but emphasise period accuracy and detail, and are set at the battalion/brigade level. In ObC an infantry company is around 14 figures, cavalry squadron 10-12 figs. They are not fixed for any particular scale and work well with 15mm, 20mm and 28mm. Have a look at our blog on crushthekaiser.blogspot.com or our Facebook page. We do also have a webpage at crushthekaiser.co.uk and will have a shiny new website coming soon. If you'd like to know more, or would like a copy, just drop us an email on crushthekaiser@yahoo.co.uk.

Happy gaming!

What are your thoughts on using Black Powder for the Great War? With multiple bases to the company as the basic unit?

Hopefully in line with the OP, I am just exploring GW Spearhead 2 as an option with 6mm figs…have not purchased the rules yet, hence the question….. I understand that each base/element represents a company, approximately how many bases then would be a "typical" division, if there were such a thing? I'm trying to get a sense of what lays ahead painting wise. Appreciate any thoughts. You can tell I was in the Navy, not Army, from the question!

Each infantry base represents a company, yes. For artillery it is a battery and for cavalry a squadron. With infantry, there are around 48 stands per division excluding HQ stands. The HQs add another 5 stands. Artillery will be 9-12 stands. There will be 1-4 stands of cavalry as divisional reconnaissance assets. One to 2 stands of engineers. Hope that helps.

Robert