Paper Time Machines

A game from Tim "Herr Niemand" Taylor

Paper Time Machines

Messagede Arnauld » Sam Mar 07, 2009 10:31 pm

I think the very best wargames provide a window onto history. They give players some sense of what it must have been like at the time. Perhaps this is what drew me to wargaming in the first place.

Naturally, I wanted To The Last Man! to have that oft-quoted 'paper time machine' aspect as well. I think TTLM! achieves this, not by using event cards, but rather by providing numerous scenarios and historical variants. History is more than a simple catalog of events transpiring without regard to what comes before or after; it is the interplay of forces in opposition. In game terms, it is the story players mutually create.

The scenarios presented in TTLM! represent more than a decade of research. Once the game structure became sufficiently solidified (around 2002), I took my notes and created the first scenario -- 1914 the Campaign Game. At the time I thought this would be the only scenario. TTLM! plays so quickly and players tend to want to play from the very beginning of the war, so I didn't give much thought to any other scenarios.

As time went on, though, I realized that the Campaign Game was perhaps too challenging for new players. The 1914 scenario starts out quite fluidly and is very unforgiving. It also sets the tone for all subsequent play. Any mistakes made early on will be felt throughout the rest of the game, which can be disheartening for new players. So, ultimately, I felt 1914 was not well-suited to be a learning game.

I needed to devise a good introductory scenario and at first toyed with playing on a small part of the map with a handful of units. This turned out even more unsatisfactorily since it did not convey any sense of the flavor of TTLM! -- it just seemed like an extended example of play.

The obvious choice seemed to be starting the game later in the war. That's where the other scenarios come in. I'd like to describe them here.

• 1915 "The Death of Innocence" -- The title is taken from a famous French language treatise on the battles of 1915. During these battles, the generals as well as the soldiers had to come to terms with the nature of modern industrialized warfare.

The Death of Innocence title also neatly applies to this scenario because it's the designated introductory scenario. 1915 admirably serves as a good introduction for several reasons. After 1914, all armies are pretty weak which adds to the tension. The trench lines are firmly in place so players get that authetic WW1 experience. Solid frontlines combined with the overall weakness of both sides means this scenario is fairly forgiving of early mistakes. Finally, the 1915 scenario starts early enough in the war that players will still get the feeling that they're playing out the whole war.

In 1915, the Germans hoped for a breakthrough in Flanders, with the aid of chlorine gas. Meanwhile, the Entente were planning offensives in Artois and Champagne. Historically, all these operations came to naught in the Death of Innocence.

• 1916 "The Price of Glory" -- The title is obviously taken from Alistair Horne's famous book of the same name. This scenario examines the bloodiest battles of World War 1: Verdun and the Somme.

I wanted to give a good feel for the battle and so started the scenario in Spring 1916, after the battle of Verdun had already begun. This way the players are saddled with the historical preliminary plans and operations in place from the beginning. In a lot of ways, the Verdun and Somme battles portrayed in this scenario are some of the most grueling in the game. This is because the force multipliers of biplanes, tanks, and advanced artillery barrages are not yet in play.

In 1916, Falkenhayn, German Commander-in-Chief, planned to close in on the fortresses of Verdun from three sides, raining down artillery upon the French defenders and thus "bleed the French Army white." The battles of Verdun and the Somme severely depleted both sides' manpower reserves. All nations were "bled white" in these titanic clashes and still the front line barely moved.

• 1917 "Dare Call It Treason" -- Again, taken from a French language source book; this was an indictment of the ill-fated Nivelle Offensive and its chief proponent General Robert Nivelle.

This is a very interesting scenario. Both sides are recovering from the terrible battles of last year, and both sides have different agendas. With all the force multipliers in effect and an advantage in production, the Entente player will probably choose to attack repeatedly. The German player, however, must husband his resources for the Kaiserschlacht battles next year.

In 1917, French forces launched a massive assault in the Aisne area, named for it's executor the Nivelle Offensive. Supposedly a war-winning plan, Nivelle's disastrous offensive demoralized the French into waiting for the "Yanks and Tanks" to come to the rescue. Later on, UK attacks in the Somme area and Flanders (3rd Ypres) gained little at a huge cost in lives.

• 1918 "To The Last Man" -- This is the game's namesake scenario. It refers to the final offensives of the war where soldiers were ordered to fight to the last man. Do or die time.

In many ways, this is my favorite scenario. There's a lot of firepower in this scenario, what with both Stosstruppen and massive US forces entering play. Both sides must attack and defend, there are many opportunities to outfox your opponent. Players have to know when to give up the front lines and retreat. If you use the same "no retreat" attitude from previous years, you will very likely wind up losing whole armies to the meatgrinder! All this and more -- in about an hour!

By 1918, great numbers of German troops had transferred from the Russian Front, building up for the spring offensive dubbed "Kaiserschlacht" (Kaiser's battle). This was a last ditch offensive to win the war before American forces irrevocably tipped the balance in the Entente's favor. The German titans, Hindenburg & Ludendorff followed up tactical successes without any clear strategic goals -- they followed their victories down a cul-de-sac. By November, relentless Entente attacks, soldiers and sailors uprisings in the German homeland, coupled with the Spanish Flu convinced the Kaiser to abdicate. The German Empire was proclaimed a democracy and accepted armistice terms from the victorious but exhausted Entente powers.

• 1919 "PLAN 1919" -- Refers to Lieutenant-Colonel J.F.C. Fuller's combined arms operations planned for Spring 1919.

I have found this can be used as a short intro for new players with less than an hour to spare. The less-experienced player should play the Entente side. I developed this hypothetical scenario for complex reasons:

While docent at Fort Worden State Park I stumbled on official documents detailing US General Pershings' plans for 1919. He envisioned 5 million men in 5 armies. I had never read that anywhere before.

Would the Doughboys win the day? I wanted to find out! This information was like finding buried treasure -- how could I not use it!?

Ludendorff's handling of the German armies in 1918 had been strategically clumsy and short-sighted. I have played many 1918 scenarios that went into 1919 and thought it might be interesting to share an example of how Germany might have continued fighting into 1919 -- by capturing the channel ports and eliminating the Belgian army as well as several other Entente armies.

Plus, the 1919 campaign would have seen the very first use of combined-arms attacks, the type of combat common in WW2. This is fascinating "what if" territory to explore.

In 1919, all sides would have their full range of units available. However, Germany's cripling resource shortages from loss of neutral markets means an ever decreasing production capability. Thus yet another great victory is called for!

• 1914 "The Guns of August" -- The Campaign Game is named after Tuchman's book, of course.

Although this is the scenario everyone wants to play, it is really suitable only for players already having a bit of experience with the TTLM! game system. This scenario is very fluid and unforgiving. The more experienced player should probably take the Entente side, since that's the more difficult side to play at first.

In August 1914, Germany attacked Belgium, Luxembourg, and France using von Moltke the Younger's second revision to von Schlieffen's 1906 plan, hoping for victory in six weeks...

France relied on their pre-war Plan XVII -- an all-out offensive to regain the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, lost after the Franco-Prussian War of 1871.

Thus "revolving door" attacks developed with the Gremans gaining the upper hand in late August, only to lose it in early September. Von Moltke simply lost his nerve as his troops approached Paris. Some sources say he suffered a nervous breakdown. Regardless, the Germans retreated from the Marne battlefield in order to regroup.

Afterwards, the so-called "race to the sea" in autumn culminated in fruitless assaults against entrenched enemy positions. By then however, pre-war ammunition stocks were exhausted and hostilities slacked up -- for a time.

There are many other Campaign Game scenarios in addition to this Historical scenario. These Variant set ups detail actual battle plans from earlier in history. But that is a story for another time.
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