"Plan 1919" Topic

Has anyone gamed JFC Fuller's plan for a combined arms assault on the German lines with an armored column thrust through to the rear areas? I suspect when the rules allow, players will always try to push combined arms into the era, even if it doesn't fit historically. I'm not an expert, but I could see it getting bogged down in logistics and failure to communicate between the tanks, artillery, air force and infantry.

Perhaps I can help you with the supply rules. I have each major unit, be it a Brigade or Division have an attached supply column, represented by 2 or 3 trucks, wagons, pack animals. The supply unit must maintain an equal distance between the combat unit it is supporting and the rear area supply depot(usually just the edge of your gaming table). As long as that "line" is not cut, the unit remains in supply. However, by actually being on the map(a rare thing in wargames),the supply unit can be interdicted by artillery fire, aircraft, cavalry, etc. It cannot be completely destroyed as the 2or3 trucks represent an entire column of supplies constantly shuttling back and forth to the forward unit. But if the line is cut by enemy forces and/or the model trucks themselves are attacked and suffer damage, your combat unit goes in LOW AMMO mode which means it now has Half Firepower. I also use rules about the supply line "stretching"(X number of inches from the main supply source which can cause LOW AMMO mode or even slow or halt movement in motor vehicles.
For communications I use the simple expedient of having each battalion of a brigade roll a 6-sided die before movement. A unit with a very good comms rating mite be able to move full speed on a 1-5 roll. If they roll a 6, they must roll again- 1-2= move at 3/4 speed, 3-4= move at 1/2 speed, 5-6= No move this turn. A unit with poor comms might need a 1-3 roll to move full speed, etc.
The main thing is IMO you really have to play on a big scale…with entire divisions on the table to have the supply thing make sense. I use microarmor and have each model represent an entire battalion or company. You need to have a table that covers several miles of game scale terrain for the supply thing to make sense. Otherwise, it's the same old boring skirmish game about obliterating a column of trucks.
Another thing that is ALWAYS misrepresented in WWI and even WWII games is Artillery fire. Unless you are the US Army in 1945, forget all this on call automatic artillery stuff. You need PRE-plotted artillery that is TIMED…so if you have heavy howitzers laying down a barrage on a road junction on turn 6 for 3 turns and your recon unit gets to that junction EARLY by mistake well you are screwed…welcome to the reality of friendly fire…an Extremely common occurence in pre Cold War days.
I sure hope that helps, perhaps it will inspire you to create a set of rules that work for your game.

I have run a 'Plan 1919' game, but more at brigade level as an interesting concept in trying to coordinate lorried infantry, cavalry, tanks, motorcycles, motorised artillery and amroured cars using 1918 era technology.

Pretty much like the Experimental Mechanised Force.

"Another thing that is ALWAYS misrepresented in WWI and even WWII games is Artillery fire. Unless you are the US Army in 1945, forget all this on call automatic artillery stuff. You need PRE-plotted artillery that is TIMED…so if you have heavy howitzers laying down a barrage on a road junction on turn 6 for 3 turns and your recon unit gets to that junction EARLY by mistake well you are screwed…welcome to the reality of friendly fire…an Extremely common occurence in pre Cold War days."

I don't disagree with the problems posed by blue-on-blue artillery fire. This was not restricted to WW1 as you point out. It was not the case, however, that all artillery fire was pre-planned. Large numbers of batteries were held back as SOS batteries, firing on targets identified by ground- and aerial observers. As many as a third of batteries were used in this way, with the proportion increasing as the preparatory fire reached its objectives and freed up some batteries.

You only have to read after-action reports to understand how suddenly and accurately fire could be brought to bear on counter-attacking German units for example.

SOS fire would be very important for holding open the shoulders of a breakthrough in a Plan 1919 scenario.

Robert

Apologies Robert, but Wrong for the UK/CW in the later part of WW II; Yes, WWI was pretty much a matter of preplanned fires, but in Italy and Normandy the UK had a Fire Control system that was just as flexible as the US one.

H. Essame (1918: The Battle for Europe, recommended) was an AOP (Air Observation Pilot) in North West Europe in WW II; Fly your little light plane just behind the front lines, doing calls for fire as appropriate.