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THE GENERALI

;he AVALON @E NER&&a losing venture published bi-month ly, pretty

close to the first day of January, March, May, July,September and November.

The General is edited and published by TheAvalon Hill Company almost solely for the cul-tural edifica tion of adult gam&g. (It also helps tosell Avalon Hill products, tool)

Articles from subscribers are considered forpublication on a gratis contributory basis. Sucharticles must be typewritten and not exceed 700words. Examples and diagrams that accompanytuch articles must be drawn in black ink, readyfor reproduction. No notice can be given regar-ding acceptance of articles for publication.

All back issues, except Vol. 1 Nos. 1 4 whichare out of stock, are available at 1.00 per issue.Full-year subscriptions 4.98.o 1968 The Avalon Hill Company, Baltimore,

Maryland. printed in U.S.A.

COYER STORY:How Muchis that Wargamein the Window?

How does one introduce Avalon Hill Wargam-ing to innocent, unspoiled and unexpecting indi-viduals? There are many ways, of course. Toname a few: advertisements, word of mouth,attractive boxes and displays, etc. Undoubtedlythe best method, however, is a personal demon-stration.

Realizing this, Henry H. Bodenstedt, GeneralManager of Continental Hobbies, Inc., and found-er of the now famous Avalon Hill Intercontinen-tal Kriegspiel Society (ahiks), had a unique idea.Rather than showing or demonstrating the AvalonHill games to one prospective buyer at a time,Henry decided to play a "Wargame in theWindow" of his new retail store at 25 BroadStreet in Freehold, New Jersey.An official tournament game of STALINGRADwas requested and granted by the ahiks' ICRKMeister to Dick Holcombe of Oakland, Californiaand Henry Bodenstedt. A STALINGRAD mapboard was prepared and placed in the storewindow in view of hundreds of passer-bys. Wayback on April 12th, 1968, the Grand Opening ofthe store, Operation Barbarossa began. (If Adolfwould have started that early he would probablyhave won). The game moved along swiftly, sinceit is Dick's and Henry's policy to make all postalmoves by return mail. Soon the game attractedthe attention of throngs of wargame enthusiastswho were eagerly awaiting the mailman whenevera reply move was due to be delivered. "Official"commentaries of PRAVDA and VOELKISCHERBEOBACHTER, cleverly worded by the Propa-ganda Ministers of both game participants, addedspice to the demonstration and helped to boostthe morale of the fighting men.

PAGE

The Nut Mail

Avalon Hill has always prided itself in main-taining excellent customer-senice-relationships,but a recent flood of letters from customersstating otherwise had distressed us to the pointwhere we've gone to where the "action's at" tofind out what's happened.Since the editorial offices of The General arelocated in the Guilford Annex, 1601 GuilfordAvenue downtown, y o u erstwhile editor wentto where the "action's at," the main office, andunabashadly put it to 'em. Here's how it went:US Look, we've received enough "letters to theEditor" complaints on your service, or lack of it,to fill the entire next issue of The General.THEM Hold it, Argus. If you'll take the time toread these complaint letters thoroughly you'llfind that most of them deal with questions togame problems; not to the sale of goods. In fact,here's a hand full of letters thanking us for owquick delivery and mailing service.US But what about those questions. How comeyou are 6 weeks behind?THEM It's true, there's no denying that we havesuddenly fallen considerably behind in this areaof consumer service. Actually, i t is an indicationof how this game-business has expanded. Thevolume of mail has simply gotten to the pointwhere our present staff was not able to keep upwith it.US How do you plan on resolving this problem?THEM First, we've got t o segment the incomingmail into the proper departments. You see, muchof the problem lies with the consumer himself.Many will send us a game order, a parts order, anorder for your rag, and ask questions all in thesame letter. Well, sir, by the time it goes throughall of the different order departments and finallygets back to us for answering of the questions,several weeks have elapsed. And then there's noguarantee that the questions will be answered theday it finally gets back from the various shippingdepartments. So add another week to that andyou've got a minimum of three weeks in answer-ing this kind of correspondence.

Nevertheless, in spite of the ahiks play balanceadjustment, Goebbels soon ran out of breath, theGerman attack lost its elan, and, finally, in Junethe Germans had had it. They went downfighting to the last breath.Henry who was commanding the Germansblames this catastrophe on the many spying eyeswhich were constantly observing the battle fieldand the hinterland, and, last but not least, on thenumerous back seat strategists. They were alwayson hand with well meant but ill received advise,which Henry could not afford to neglect, be-cause: who is to argue with a would-be FieldMarshal who had just bought an armful of AvalonHill Games in the store?A Final Note: At this writing, a new "win-dow-game" is planned for 1969. All Kriegspielafficionados are heartilv invited to droo in at

US The problem, then, is that you are todepartmentalized. What's the solution?THEM In part, the solution is for the custometo break down his correspondence so that all ohis requests can be acted upon simultaneouslrather than consecutively. What I mean by this, that a customer's order for the magazine shoulbe on a separate piece of paper from his ordefor a game which should e on a separate piecfrom his request for answers to game problemIn this manner, everything gets done at once.US Well, that will help.. but is not thpanacea. You're still 6 weeks behind answerithe, pardon the expression, "nut mail."THEM Part of that problem was inconsistencHeretofore, with periodic turnover in companpersonnel assigned to answering game questionwe would have different interpretations frodifferent employees. For example; let's say thatmonths ago someone sent in a letter asking us retreating units can retreat thru blocking terraiWell, the particular individual answering thquestion on that particular day might respon"yes." But months later, when the samquestion is written in, a different employee mget it to answer and he might answer, "no."Now, let's project what might be the consequences of this ambiguity: it's possible that thtwo respondents above are playing against eacmaybe even a play-by-mail game. With one sayithat AH said you could retreat and the othclaiming that AH said you couldn t retreat, thenaturally this conflict raises the question credibility not to mention a couple of moletters questioning our answers. This situatiocould snow-ball, and when it happens hundreof times instead of just once, as outlined abovyou've got a problem. And that's mainly why wgot behind in the first place.US Suppose, instead, that you simply didnanswer all of the nut mail. What would happenTHEM Well, that's certainly the easy wou t . but not at all consistent with our philosphy of answering each and every letter thcomes i n . eventuallyUS Oh You mean vou d o answer all correpondence? Then how do you account for thepeople who claim that you never answer them all?THEM I'd say that 99% haven't received answefor several reasons: they forget to put thereturn address on their letters, or they havrecently moved and have not forwarded their neaddress to us. In the latter case, while the postpeople are supposed to fonvard all first class mato new addresses; we know that they often donbother to do this and is one of the reasons fthe coming shakeup about to occur in the entipostal system.US Well, this accounts for many of the undliverable Generals.THEM Of course, Remember, that The Generis mailed under a specid bulk rate which mea

Continental Hobbies when in the ~ a s i heir that undeliverables are automatically destroyeadvice is always welcome, providing. instead of being forwarded.

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P GE THE GENERTHEM What about that other l%?US Probably our fau lt . no one's perfect, youknow.THEM Let's get back to the problemof answer-ing questions: what do you intend doing tocorrect the inconsistencies?US As I said before, since the inconsistencieswere due to too many hands in the pie, so tospeak, the logical solution is to place this func-tion into the hands of people who we know aregoing to be doing the job consistently overthe long haul. To this end, we have been in theprocess of negotiating with an outside researchfirm for the express purpose of sub-contractingthis particular end of the Avalon Hill correspond-ence. Once we have the guarantee that questionswill be answered by the same people, then weknow that a closer rapport will be establishedbetween consumer and manufacturer. Further,this should eliminate duplication of effort vhichwill be effected once a consistent set of answersand guidelines to solving problems is established.US Just out of curiosity, how much does it costyou to answer a typical letter of quesstions?THEM About 19 cents. First, the employee'stime must be considered, not to mention theactual cost of the paper, envelope, and stamps.Man, we get some of the same people writing usevery week. multiply this by 19 cents and oneperson can really eat into your profit picture.US Why don't you a ttempt to discourage this?THEM To. some extend we o when we ask thatthey enclose a self-addressed envelope containingfirst class postage. Still, many of these prolificcorrespondees are our most faithful customersand who knows how many other people theyhave sold on Avalon Hill products through theirzeal. That's why we don't out and out say "toheck with it and throw everything into the wastebasket."US I got news for you: many other companiesdo just that.

There seems to be a difference of op inionbetween company artist Aaron Lee and rules-interpreter Lefty Gardner. When even companypersonnel can t agree over rule-interp retatio nsthen it s time f or new , consistent guidelines t o bedrawn. Looking on (L to R) are salesman JohnMartelle, with a 5-spot bet on Lee; artist JeanBaer, with a 5-spot bet against Lee; Lee himseltGardner; and production coordinator Jack Sell-man, with a 5-spot bet that Martelle won t payJean Baer if he wins under the premise that therules are so ambiguous that no one wil l kn owwhen they ve won anyhow.

THEM We now that. In fact, we know thatAvalon Hill is the only game company that doesanswer each and every bit of nut mail. I think it'sone of the reasons we have maintained that imageof commeraderie we now enjoy. Further, I'll saythat it is the chief reason we are in businesstoday.US I don't fully understand how this service,which apparently costs so much_to maintain, is so

important. Whycouldn't you at least answer onthat mail which comes in with stamped, saddressed envelopes?THEM Let me put it to you this way. Thsham of yours loses money on the face ofright? But we keep publishing it because it is one organ that helps tie the whole gamisyndrome together. Look a t all the wargaconventions cropping up when two years none existed; in fact, there weren't even vmany wargame clubs then. So by fostering tsyndrome, more people get interested in wgaming which produces more game salewhich will eventually produce more subscriptito The Gener al. . one feeds the other. So iwith the nut mail. Regardless of how muchcosts to maintain, we know it contributes towathe expansion of the wargame industry.US Of course we are aware that this service yprovide is important; we just feel that you doing yourself more harm than good by gettso far behind in answering it.THEM There you've got us dead to rights. Brest asured, we are working diligently towalleviating this problem. We'll need the coopetion of the subscribers, though. If they wouinclude a return envelope, they'll get their swers much sooner. Secondly, if they'll bredown their multiple requests it will help process their entire order that much more quicand efficiently.

With nothing further to add, or subtract, retired to our editorial offices satisfied tAvalon Hill is both aware of these shortcomiand actively doing something about it. We wcontinue to police their efforts, however, awelcome additional correspondence from sscribers if such service fails to improve.We'll just take our business elsewhere, thawhat.

Crack the German Supply Lineby John Rowland

When you cross a lion with a talking My nabird, you might not know what you get butyou better listen.When John Rowland weight-lifting, footballand baseball playing member of Central High inChicago s Varsity Lettermen s Club howed upwith his article, we figured we better print it.

Most American players of Bulge will tell youthat once the German's cross the Ourthe River thegame is lost unless you can crack the Germansupply lines.The German timetable calls for him to breachthe Ourthe between 21 A.M. and no later than 23A.M. If he crosses by 21 A.M. the German has 19long moves to get to the Meuse.Contrary to the opinion of most, the terrainfrom the Ourthe to the Meuse isn't all that goodfor the Panzers. The terrain is full of forests andrivers that must be breached.If the Americans can stall for one move, buildingfortifications and getting into several key positions

the German advance will slow to a crawl for aboutseven moves. Those moves won't run the time outbut it will give you a chance to attack the Germanflank and get to his supplies. That is the key tovictory.The several key spots on the board are asfollows; ( f stands for a fortification to be builton that spot).Neufchateau R-35 P-29 fU-42 f Rochefort N-40Libramont 0-34 f N-4 1R-41 f N-34 f V-18 fSt. Hubert Marche 1-21 fS-35 P-28Due to the amount of rough terrain East ofAnwaille there shouldn't be too many units thatfar north. So 2 or 3 units with forts should besufficient to hold the Germans. In the South, theunits in U-42 and V-42 should detain the Germans,send more (1 or 2) units there if you have themtho The units at Libramont and R-41 should besafe from encirclement because of the forests.Those units cut the Libramont-Rochefort via theLesse River.

Now comes the crucial point, the center. Youmountain squares are most valuable because thcut the St . Hubert-Dinant Road. The units Rochefort and P-34 and 0-34 are protected byriver and forests. The unit you put in Marche wprobably be encircled so don't put a 7-4 or 8there, save it for P-28 or 29.The units at N-41 and 40 are there for reinforments and to cut the Rochefort-Sedan roadcase the Germans capture the junction a t 4-35.Due to the fact that by now the German will low on infantry (due to soak offs and protectithe flanks) the forest squares are great for proteing a flank.With the large reinforcements after 22 A.M., power, slower German movement and forests, yshould get a crack at the German supplies. Thakey move could snatch victory from the jaws defeat. The best strategy tho is not to let tGerman get to the Ourth. Even a good Americplayer could fall prey to a successful Germadvance. I hope you don't have to use this defenComments?John Rowrand721 9 Wynter WayIndianapolis, Indiana 46250

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THE GENER Lcoming July has been under preparation for tpast 6 months. It will be a doubles tournaameThroughout its history, P.O.W. has been led lub of the Month

Ano ther in a series of showcase articles givingrecognition to stalwarts among wargame organiza-tions, this one on Pennsylvania s Organized War-gamers proves that its possible to promote war-gaming withou t succumbing to the manifestationsof the power and prestige syndrome so prevalentin wargaming today.P.O.W. (Pennsylvania's Organized Wargamers)has been around for a long time in terms of A.H.clubs. The organization originated in the spring of1964 for the sole purpose of conducting neutralnational pbm tournaments. At that time it was apart of Spectre and operating only as a tourna-ment organization. However, long before thedemise of SPECTRE, P.O.W. decided that it sinterests could best be served through a neutral,separate organization with no affiliation to anyother warring clubs. Therefore P.O.W. broke fromSPECTRE a full year before that organization'scollapse. The 1st P.O.W. tournament, in actuali ty,started under the SPECTRE name but the win-ners were announced a year later as winners ofthe P.O.W. tournament. Since then there havebeen absolutely no club affiliations involved inthe P.O.W. tournaments, guaranteeing absolutehqnesty and fairness to all.P.O.W. is composed of an anonymous group ofwargamers who have banded together loosely toform a group that gives services, not requires

them. In fact, wargaming's only self-sacrificinggroup. In the beginning tournament expenseswere paid out of the pockets of the variousmembers. Since then however, with the nationalrecognition of P.O.W. as the national tournamentorganization, tournaments have been able to payfor themselves more or less. The tournaments arenow financed through the payment of entry feesand the donations of various sponsors. Of late,the availability of sponsors has enabled P.O.W. toprovide staggering prize lists. Any wargamingconcern may become a sponsor of a P.O.W.tournament by contacting the organization andstating its desire to donate a prize. In return thesponsor receives recognition for his generosityand quite a bit of publicity.P.O.W.'s first tournament was a singles affairwon by Mark St. Peter of Detroit, Michigan. Thiswas followed by a doubles tournament won bythe Bakulski brothers of Connecticut. P.O.W.'s3rd tournament took place at the same time inthe form of an invitation only club touma-ment. This has been the only tournament notopen to the public and was won by Ted Harphamand his 4th Reich organization. P.O.W.'s 4thAnnual PBM tournament was won by co-winnersMark Rudolph and Richard Rubin. P.O.W.'s 5thAnnual tournament is currently under way usinga three divisional form in which there will bethree winners. P.O.W. No. 6 which will begin this

Husbands and ivesby James M. Roslyn Crawford

Of all the opponents I have encountered in mywargaming experiences, the most fascinating has tobe my wife, a surprisingly worthy opponentconsidering she had never played any wargamesprior to our marriage six months ago. The philo-sophically pacifist English literature major nowengages me in battles of 1914 Tactics 11 utland,Bismarck, Midway and U-Boat Since wargaming isbecoming quite a hobby with us, we want to passon certain advantages and special problems thatthose thinking of husband-wife wargaming shouldconsider.To me, a very avid wargarner, one majoradvantage is the constant availability of a goodopponent. Wargamers are sometimes hard to comeby so living with one is a definite convenience.Another advantage is the ability to continue agame o r leave it set up as long as necessary. This isoftentimes impossible when playing opponents notas proximate as a wife happens to be. An addition-al advantage is that husband-wife wargaming pro-vides a good common interest and hobby andinteresting diversion for a couple's free time. Thus,it actually adds a new dimension to one's marriage.There are, however, certain special problemsinvolved in husband-wife wargaming that must alsobe considered. The most obvious is the threat of

escalation rom counters on the battle board topots and pans in the kitchen. In our case, thisusually is only a threat when my wife is firstlearning a game and feels constantly abused andtaken undue advantage of when I have to call herattention to a rule.she forgot that ruins her entireline of action. If this problem becomes extensive, Isuggest giving up wargaming with your spouse.The most shocking problem is the embarrass-ment of literally humiliating your opponent totears. This first arose in a close game of Midway inwhich my wife heading the Japanese fleet adexecuted a very carefully planned and nearlyflawless strategy against the Americans. When shecaught my fleet, her main objective was to sink onecertain canier holding the majority of my planes,readyed and waiting. Due to an unlucky roll, shefailed in her objective and imagine my shock andembarrassment to see the heretofore logical, calcu-lating head of the Japanese fleet turn suddenlyfeminine and nearly sink my carrier in tears Thebest way to cope with this is a word of assuranceor, in extreme cases, an offer to dry the dishesbefore launching your next attack.Your wife will discover new facets of gamespreviously unconsidered. Once while playing Jut-land, my wife got part of her fleet caught alone at

an elected chairman who serves a three year terThis chairman, now serving his second term,Donald Greenwood. His Box 280, RD No. Sayre, Penna. 18840 address is the focal point all P.O.W. mail.In addition to its tournaments P.O.W. hinitiated a wargaming magazine called Panzerfaunow in its third year. This 26 page monthly dewith all facets of wargaming and is available anyone for $3 per yr. A newer product P.O.W., is its own wargamer Company Commaners which sells for $2. All of this is just a partP.O.W.'s many activities to promote wargamiRecently P.O.W. has incorporated the Bakefield Tournament Organization into P.O.W. TBakersfield Organization has conducted thrtournaments in its history, all under the directiof Dan Evans of Bakersfield, Calif. The Bakefield organization will now handle strictly Dipmacy tournaments under the name of the P.O.Wand all such tournaments will be officially reconized P.O.W. tournaments. A Diplomacy tournment is scheduled for late '69 or early '70 awill be announced at that time as P.O.W. No. In summary, P.O.W. believes that the mthing lacking in wargaming today is an ultimagoal. We believe that we provide this goal in tform of our national tournaments which namenew champion every year. Not only do twinners (prize lists include some 20 odd placereceive valuable wargarne merchandise and tphies but they are publicized as the nationchampions in every wargame magazine in country.

such odds that left only one reasonable courseaction etreat. She stayed and took heavy losinstead. When I questioned her on this after game, she replied, "To retreat would have mesailing under the couch and I didn't want to."There is also the problem at the end of the gawhen the husband wins or when the wife doMy wife's major complaint is that I cannot merbe content to win. I must give her a disertation why I won and show her the error of her ways fthe rest .of the day and part of the night. For mthis is as much fun as the game. For my wihowever, it is an irritating experience.When my wife wins, there is no denying it male ego suffers. There is an urge to strike ba6ut she won't consent to an immediate remat(If your wife is an English lit major, you cretaliate by beating her at a tournament game Shakespeare but this is risky and not totasatisfying.)Although the problems of husband-wife wgaming are varied and often unpredictable, trewards definitely outweigh these disadvantagMy wife and I while away many interesting houtogether at the battle board. To those of yinterested in the ultimate challenge and risk wargaming he possibility of your wife humating you in your own field and if your wife hwhat it takes, I heartily recommend indulging the sport of husband-wife wargaming.James M. and Roslyn Crawford239 Varsity NorthBowling Green, Ohio 43402

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PAGE THE GENERA

RealismPlayabilityTake Your ickby Jared Johnson

Long-time subscribers are familiar with JaredJohnson's articles, he being a subscriber-favorite.He's about ready to graduate from OglethorpeCollege (Atlanta) with plans for graduate study in'eith er Psychology or Philosophy. He is current-ly the center of controversy in the realism vshistorical accuracy battle currently waging be-tween wargame fanatics. A 2 year old generalgamer, Johnson approaches games from the philo-sophical standpoint of symbolic logic. quite adeparture from the typical wargame fanatic.

This article was written in response to the AHPhilosophy Part I1 ("Realism Vs. Abstraction")and the historical accuracy "craze" which seems tohave possessed Avalon Hill and a minority (in myopinion) of AH wargamers. The whole matterseems to be getting out of hand. AH games are notmeant to be table-top wargames. (Jutland begins toedge over into this category, despite the fact thatyou have to play it o n the floor.) I t becomes evenmore apparent when I hear talk of sacrificingplayability in favor of historical accuracy. Thelatter is obviously useless without the former.These are games, and are not meant to be historicaltextbooks in disguise. (Battle "simulations" AHcalls them.)I believe that these historical accuracy advocates

After reading Dr. Pournelle's article in Vol. 5 ,No. 5 of The General I tried applying the moralifactor to Midway the game I always experimentwith. In a game such as Midway one side, theJapanese, holds a strong advantage; and when agame such as this is produced, accurate forcestransform the unequal weights into unequal, al-though sometimes close and interesting games.Why then, did the Americans win the encount-er? Because Midway exhibited the human factor,among other things, that so often interferes withthe logic in a battle situationThrough some extensive examination I havecome to the conclusion that five factors must berecreated for an historical simulation game ofMidway. They are: (1) Faults and the lack ofcommunication, 2 ) Japanese Arrogance and con-fidence, (3) American intelligence, (4) Faulty In-telligence, and (5) Japanese Lack of ~e c h n o l o ~ ~ .COMMUNICATIONThe Japanese player must draw out the exactroutes for all his ships before the game begins on apiece of graph paper. He must move according tothis plan throughout the game unless an AmericanCamer is found. If this happens, all forces are freeto maneuver. If American Cruisers alone are found,forces may be diverted to attack, but they mustaccomplish their assignments on time, or lose 1point t o the Americans for each turn 1 fleet isoverdue.

are in the minority. The only reason there seems tobe so many of them is that they make a biggernoise. One check on the trend toward historicalaccuracy is the fact that Avalon Hill's games mustappeal to more people than a minority of Generalsubscribers.Many wargamers have been doing research torevise AH games to their own liking and preferreddegree of realism and historical accuracy. I see onedisadvantage to the end result of this research inmodifying AH games. It is analogous to the oldsaying that you can't see the forest for the trees.One should not equate a multitude of complexrules with complex strategy. It seems that onecould get so bogged down in a sea of minute detailsadded for the sake of historical accuracy that hewould completely lose sight of the real essence andstrategy of the game. Many of these games mademore complex than the original version seem to bejust a mass of details. One would be spending allhis time and energy looking through the rules tosee what moves how far, what such and such apiece is worth, and how such and such a battleshould be fought. And, while fiddling around withthese details, the over-all strategic elements of thegame would be lost. A game should be wonbecause a person is more skillful in the applicationof strategy, not simply because he is more familiarwith a multitude of rules.I make a distinction between skill and strategy.

FiveFickleFactors

by Doug Hallet

ARROGANCEOn the premeditated battle plan the followingfleets must be .maintained and not combined withthe basic component ships of any other of thementioned fleets.a. Atago, Chokai, Zuiho, Yurab. Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Nagarac. Yamato, 2 other battleships, SendaiOther ships may be added to these taskforces,but may change at will. Ships may come on at anytime before June 5, 0500, but not all on the sameturn.AMERICAN INTELLIGENCEThe Japanese must tell the American how manyfleets he will ultimately have, and the number andtypes in two of them.

Skill (tactics) is the more mechanical element ogame. Skill includes making specific decisiomanipulating, and remembering. Strategy is more abstract element of a game. The addition numerous rules can reduce a game to a mechanilevel, rather than elevating it to a higher stratelevel.Chess is a good contrast. Although I prefer mAH games to Chess, it serves as a good exampHere is a game where the rules are few and simpOne can learn the rules in a few minutes aremember them without referring back to the rbooklet. From then on, one can devote his entenergy to strategy without having to makeconscious effort to remember how many squasuch and such a man moves, and how this attackfought, etc.I can see where designing such a complex gawould be fun for a history fanatic, but cannot swhere playing such a game would be much fun most wargamers who aren't that interested history. I prefer AH games such as Afrika KorStalingrad, and Bulge, despite what inaccuracthey may contain. Besides, how many wargameas soon as they get a new game, run out to nearest Library of Congress and start looking information on Orders of Battle, etc., to see if thcan find some minor inaccuracy in the game?There are two ways AH can please both histical accuracy nuts and all other players: (1) Harules, as in the past, for basic, optional, atournament versions. (2) Construct the gaequipment so that historical accuracy advocawill easily be able to use the pieces when threvise the game to their own specifications.The main point I want to make is that playabty should not be sacrificed for historical accuraPlayability comes first. And, there is certainnothing wrong with revising a game so as to gieach side an equal chance with equal playedespite what it does to historical accuracy.Admittedly, I have exaggerated a number statements in this article, but I hope I have mamy point. Anyway, I would like'to see AH'S genchanneled in some new directions.Jared Johnson1548 Rochelle DriveChamblee, Georgia 30341

FAULTY SEARCHINGOn the event a player finds his opponent's flein air-search, his opponent may report his flcomposition incorrectly. Looking at his hit recosheet, he may add or subtract 3 Victory Poifrom any ship, or add them separately, and threport that ship as another ship whose value equthat of the latter ship plus its 3 extra points. Tha fleet composed only of Haruna could appear abattleship, 1 battleship and 1 cruiser, 1 cruiser,1 camer. To make this interesting one could aships of another fleet that was nearby, that somewhere in the Pacific, but didn't appear in tactual battle (there were such fleets on both sideLACKOFTECHNOLOGYBecause of American radar, if the Japaneattacks any U.S. target, the American may launany redied planes after exchanging operatisheets. He may not, however, send them to attaany target more than 2 squares away.Using these rules, which are even better conjunction with the Submarine, Destroyer, aPBY Catalina rules set forth in previous issueshould give both players an interesting if nhistorically accurate game.Dougles J. Hallet2714 CypressNorman, Oklahoma 73069

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THE GENER L P GE

The German OffensePa r t 2

Part 11 by Da vid Kimb erly gets down to thenitty-gritty of the battle plan which makes theoffense he ou tlined in the last issue really go. I tmust w ork since as readers of his first articleknow he is on the honor role at the HopkinsCountry School in New Haven ConnecticutIn 'the first half of this two-part series I outlinedsome opening German positions in Battle of theBulge. I would make only one small revision, andthat would be to vlace 3521703 at SS29 instead ofSS28.This half of the series will explain and define thegeneral strategic situation, and I will also give aninterpretation of how I myself usually try toconduct the offense.When a beginner first starts playing Bulge, thefirst thing he should do is analyze the generalstrategic and tactical situation. One of the mostoutstanding things that makes itself evident if notupon observation then in the first few games is thetremendous importance of the eastern half of theboard. The eastern part of the board contains 60%of the total cities, 50% of the forests, 51% of therivers, 56% of the roads, and 94%of the mountains.Once you drive the Americans from this area, theUS commander has nothing to fall back on exceptextended river lines and poor defensive terrain. I twould not be too far from the truth to say thatwhat happens in the east will determine thechances of victory for the Germans. I will dealprimarily, then, with this half of the board andhow it might be approached.From the German's point of view, there are four

initial pathways west. The first is the Martelangeroad, which from a tactical and strategic perspec-tive is just about the best on the board to advanceon. The second is the "middle front," whichconsists of the Wiltz-Bastogne road, the Clervaux-Bastogne and St. Vith-Bastogne roads, and the St.Vith-Houffalize road. This front too is very impor-tant, if for the only reason tha t i t represents theshortest distance between the Our River andBastogne. The third area is the Viesalm sector.Even though limited in space, it offers goodopportunities in outflanking such key cities as

Houffalize and Malmedy. And finally, there is theSpa front, which is characterized by many moun-tains and cities. The Spa front can be a sticky oneto clear out, but a clever German commander canexploit this fact to his own advantage.Before I explain the workings of this particularoffense, it might be wise to establish a few generalthoughts that are uniyersal to all German plans.Basically there seem to be three elements to thisthat can be put under the following headings:losses, placement of armor, and fluency of yourline.As for the first, it merely refers to the fact thatwhenever possible the Germans should be able toabsorb casualties with infantry units. Of course, ifthe German suffers too many losses before 21AMhe will be hard pressed anyway. But the armor istoo precious to be allowed to be eliminated inexchanges, and this fact should always be kept inmind, especially when the American's defensefactor is doubled.Bulge is a haven for the fanatical tactician, andthis is most prominent in the placement of theGerman armor. In many of my games the place-ment of armor in specific battles played anincredibly important role, for its ability to with-draw from engaged battles gives it unlimitedpotentials. You can engage units on one turn tokeep them there, and the next you can bring upother units to continue the fighting while youeither surround the units with your well-placedarmor, or capture secondary defense positions suchas road junctions, cities, and rivers. The mere factthat the American knows that your armor can dothat forces him to prepare for any stun ts that youmight pull, which means he has to place units tocompensate for the potential danger, which meansthat you are controlling his actions, and not heyours.This leads us to the last key element. If there isone golden rule it is this: maintain the fluidity ofyour own line, and destroy his. This means thatyou must control the American line with yourattacks. You must always know where you wantthe American to be, and you must know how toget him to that point nd away from another. Ifinstead the American controls you, you have a slim

chance of winning the game.Getting back to this offense itself, there aseveral vital elements which must be followed. Tfirst, of tactical nature, is an attempted penetratioof the US line around 0018. With perfect combresults in 16AM, the American will have one uto cover the area between rows 13 and 22, whichimpossible. If 0018 is at all open, send armthrough there to disrupt the security of tAmerican line.Another factor is the premise that the captuof Bastogne is vital to the German cause. Bastogis a major road junction, and it is necessary fdefensive and supply reasons. Keeping this in minthis offense is designed for m jor pushes up tMartelange and Houffalize roads. Terrain is your side, you achieve a double pincer on Batogne, if you do not attack the mountains west Clervaux you create a small salient for the Amecan to sweat over, and you not only have limitleopportunities for outflanking the more northefronts, but you can also set up a satisfactosouthern defense.I cannot stress too heavily the importance of tsouthern road offense. The capture of Martelanis easy, so as a result the US must put sufficiemen on that front, and that means away from tmiddle. A mini-drive toward Y39 will give tAmerican commander severe headaches about nonexis tant flank. If there is one element to tgame that should be declared standard stuff, itthe drive toward Martelange.Once you achieve row AA or so, start cuttinorth along the Houffalize Manhay A ywaille roaThe Elsenborn armor should have been totawithdrawn from the mountains at about 18AMPM, with the remaining infantry continuing tattacks. This means the US must maintain unitsthe Spa sector to keep the city, and a cnorthward in combination with heavy pressure the Vielsalm road should send the US reeling. Wluck, you can cut off the units in the Spa areliminate them, and set up defensive positioagainst US reinforcements. The Ourthe river cnow be crossed near Werbomon, and then tMeuse near Huy.This is a very general battle plan, and few are games when it goes by the predicted pattern.demands skillful manipulation of not only tAmerican line but also your armor forces as weBut usually if you can conduct this offense wisin the first six days of action, you should have difficulty in achieving ultimate victory for Germans.

David Kimberly3 1 Alston AvenueNew Haven, Conn. 065 15.

Fuh With Tech-talkby Gary Gygax

1 Tactical2 Parallel3 Strategic4 Offensive5. Static6 Reserve7 Synchronized8 Defensive9 Retalitorythe game, defense, battle or whatever. For exam- 0 DivisionalDo you ever get tired of your erudite oppo- ple, 502 gives you STATIC >'UPPORT PROBES:nents burying you with their technical analyses of Didn't Rommel use them against General Alexan-your gaming? Here is the answer The next t ime der in North Africa? See if your victim will Retrogradeyou are corresponding with one of these chaps admit he doesn't know what the devil you are Armoredpick any three-digit number, consult the chart talking about only make certain he hasn't read Dualbelow, and insert the result into your critique of this article too Total

1. Demoralization2. Command3 Attrition4 Interdiction5. Organizational6 Security7 Material8 Brigaded9. Monitored0 SupportALTERNATES:

VectoredReinforcedInfiltratedConcentric

1 Reconnaissa2 Probe3 Logistics4 Axes5. Mobility6 Communic7. Terrain8 Envelopme9. Diversion0 Concentrati

OrdinancePenetrationDispersionObjectives

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P GE THE GENER

The Road to lexandriaby Daniel Lee

Among our youngest of contributors is DanielLee, age 16. But D aniel is a Canadian which ,naturally, allows him to take a more objectivelyerudite approach to American wargames. He ismanaging editor of the Loyola High News, presi-dent of his school's debating team, and 'playswith the IBM 1620 in his spare time. He citesMellinthin's 'Panzer Battles 1939-45, Guderi-an's Panzer Leader, and Ballantyne's new WWllseries as his ma in sources o f kno wledge .

What doe s the Western Desert battlefield lo ok

like after a game of Afrika Korps? The perimeterof Tobruch is littered with blackened hulls ofPanzer Mark 111's and IV's; Alam Halfa is surround-ed b y M ark 111 Specials, still smoldering. Th is scenewould make any true panzer leader shudder. Theold strategies in Afrika Korps have been used toooften. They are impotent. This new strategy, Ihope, will be more effective within t he recognizedset of rules f or this game.

The key to this strategy will be the preservationof the Afrika Korps. Without Rommel's tanks, theGerman commander has no hope of winning. This

Brains vs Brawno rEXCE DRIN HEAD ACH E NO. 1-1-6by TMl William B. SearightBattling across the Lybian and Egyptian sands,Rommels Afrika Korps may lose a few weakunits, but the British dead li t ter the sands fromBengasi to Matmh.You'll notice that b y Aug. 4 there are quite afew dead British units lying on the boards edgetestifying to this fact.Early in the conflict, German effective firepower superiority is about 1.5 to I in April. InMay it jumps t o 2.25, then tapers off to 2.0 nJune. This is because of Tobruch being beseigedby 3 Italian units. July is 1.25 and 1.1 in Aug.with on ly .8 in Nov. 41. On paper it would seemthe German advantage diminishes with rapidityafter June, but in actuality you'l l notice that theconverse is more often true. Why? The reason isobvious.In the game, as during the actual campaign,Rommels fast moving units manage to cut up th eBritish forces in a piece meal fashion. Reinforce-ments arriving are greeted in the same manner.This is accomplished by having short supply lineswith more chance for supplies.The basic objective for the British is to delaythe Germ an advance as mu ch as feasible while atthe same time causing large German supplyexpenditures with as little loss as possible. You,as the British player, must rely on your brains.British opening move is standard, but with

below noted exceptions.(1) 2-2-6 at Mechili moves to E-7 to hold theItalians.(2) All 6 British units at Matruh and ElAlamein go t o sea,(That extra 1-1-6 is useful)On British second turn , units will land in To-bruch. Send one 1-14 to C I0 and pull the 2-2-6back to Timimi. Move your oth er units asnecessary. Supply No. 2 moves from Tobmch toH.B. f or garrison duty. ?he longe r you delay th eItalians the better, since the 21st. Panzer Div. willno t a t tack on i t s own.

Of course for each move the strategy changes,but here a re a few useful situations you may havethe opportunity to use.

Situation: German superiority assures him ofan automatic victory at T imimi Pass(F-17) by a f rontal attack.Problem: How t o slow the Axis with as l i t t leloss as possible.Solution: One 1-1-6 at F I8 and F 19. Unit atF I8 will be eliminated, b ut unit atF I9 cannot be attacked. (See Auto-matic Victory rules)Situation: British are forced to retreat toTobmch on his May 2cd. turn.Problem: How to prevent 9 German unitsfrom assaulting Tobmch success-fully before arrival of British Junereinforcements.Solution: Depending on the British strengthin Tobruch, leave one or two 1-1-6'soutside but adjacent. This leaveslimited attacking area for the Ger-mans t o use.Situation: German s have sufficient strikingpower to mangle the British stillmore at Halfaya Pass.Problem: How not to become more mangled.Solution: Leave one 1-1-6 at K-35. Retr eatBritish eastward to a defensive posi-tion that will be out of attackingrange of any German supply unit .If you don't worry ab out giving up territory,you cause the German t o extend himself farbeyond his supply lines. By this time his Supplysystem becomes erratic by a 50% chance ofsupplies not arriving and with a long trip to thefront. Also his force was reduced by the necessityof besieging Tobmch.Another point to remember is British unitsbefore Rommel is sometimes not as effective ashaving a few 1-1-6's behin d his lines. For if theycan disrupt his supply lines, the German threat isgreatly diminished.Yes, there's no denying that those little old1-1-6's can give Rommel quite an Excedrinheadache.

William B. Searight TM 1 (SS)U.S. Naval Torpedo StationKeyport, Wash. 9834 5

is not new advice, but m any players do npractice what they preach. Anothe r importaaspect of this strategy is the attempt to captuAlexandria before Tobruch falls, sometime befoNovember, 1941 . The Allied Home Base is worthreplacement factors to the Allies, whereas Tobruis. only worth 1. The capture of the Allied HoBase creates an identical replaceme nt capacity each side, 1 factor each. The capture of Tob mby the German before Alexandria falls also creaan identical r eplacemen t capacity fo r each sidefactors each. However, it is to the Germanadvantage to take the British Home Base fibecause the Allies will not be able to build tharmy up as fast as they could if they still held thhome base. Since the German does not expect suffer many casualties, this decreased replacemecapacity will not hurt him that much. Furthmore, the siege of Tobruch is costly and it is bett o avoid attack ing t he fortress until Alexandria hfallen.The first phase of the Germ an advance is gettito Tobruch. This should be done with the greatconservation of men and supply units possibAttack only at high odds, 5 to 1 if possibsurround Allied units if possible like at Benghaand outflank the Allies on their exposed desflank. Do not let any weak Allied units slip inyour rear areas in the desert, either. Marauders lithese can be a very effective Allied weapon. Alsdo not waste an Italian unit garrisoning BenghaThe second phase of the advance is the siege Tobruch and the raid into Egypt. Leave two three Italian 2-3-4's guarding Tobruch. Then, withe rest of th e force, capture the vital positionsthe Halfaya Pass. Again, and throughout tcampaign, conserve your supply units, attack only high odds, outflank the enemy, and d o not any of his units slip into your rear areas. I woumention here that this strategy applies only if tAllies hold Tobruch with their strong armourbrigades. If they do n ot, try t o capture th e fortreHowever, most Allied commanders will defeTobruch with their strongest units. If so, onweak units will be guarding Alexandria. TGerman advance depends on supplies, howevand between July and November the German whave a hard time gettin g them. If he does havesound supply line, he should take Alexandria, possible. However, this should n ot be an all-nothing effort. If Alexandria does fall, return Tobruch and try to capture i t . Be careful not lose any of your 7-7-10's in exchanges. Howevdue t o th e bad supply conditions, the German wusually not be able to tak e Alexandria. In tevent, he should fo rm a line at Mersa Matruh.

The third phase is either the capture of Tobruor Alexandria. With his November reinforcementhe German will have to decide which he shoucapt ure first. The captu re of Alexandria first has good points, as I have already pointed ouWhatever his choice, one of them must fall befoMarch, 1942. I realize th at this is easier said thdone. However, i t must be done. T o make tgame more interesting, and t o confuse your oppnents, alternate your objectives each time you plAfrika Korps. Even if you lose with this strategwhich will probably happen many times, you cusually walk away knowing that it was the SuppTable that be at you, t hat yo u tried you r best, atha t t he glorious Afrika Ko rps is still intac t to figin Tunisia, and maybe this time the attack at tKasserine Pass will be a success. After all, one the greatest tank commanders of all t imes didnwin this campaign either.

Daniel Lee5902 McLynn AvenueMontreal 252, Quebec, Canada

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THE GENER L P GE

Leige in a Week Antwerp Maybe Neverby Bob Frost and Bob Koos

Probably the youngest person ever to becomehooked on Avalon Hil l wargaming is Bob Frost.Now a 19-year old Math major at Illinois State,Bob has been one of us since, as he states,Avalon Hillls inception eleven years ago. Acareer in investments is his plan. Meanwhile, hewiles away 'spare time relaxing with football,ice hockey, golf, wine, women, his guitar, and ofcourse plodding thru his favorite game, 1914.

Past issues of the "General" have centainedplans for the "Wacht am Rhein" offensive whichhave been witless, incompetent, and quite oftenillegal. These would be "final solutions" so oftenignorethe reality of the German situation. Thus, toexecute said plans is often to embark the GermanArmy on such a hopeless adventure that it will beof some wonder if the German player gets so muchas a single unit across the Ourthe, much less theMeuse. However, believing that enlightenment isbest accomplished by good example, will presentfor your consideration an offensive which feelwill avoid most, though probably not all, of thedisasters inherent in a "perfect plan."The German Armv when attacking through theArdennes must of necessity be subject to certainrestrictions enforced on him bv the terrain. Be-cause of these terrain difficuities the Germanadvance to the Ourthe must be made north ofBastogne and south of the Ambleve. It is ofparamount importance tha t the German gain quickpossession of the Houffalize-Aywaille axis andmaintain a firm grasp on this vital artery. From thisposition he can effectively threaten the Meusenorth of Dinant. In the final stages of the advancehe should block the area at the northern edge ofthe board between the Ourthe and the Meuse toprevent an American counter-attack along the lineHuy-Werboman.Now, for all you die-hard Hitler Jugend whothink that the quickest way to Antwerp liessouthwest through Bastogne, I recommend thatyou buy yourself a Rand McNally. AlthoughBastogne is vital to the American defense, it is byno means a necessary objective for the German. Anoffensive can proceed quite well without it. But ifyou're one of those poor, misguided souls whofeels that he must point his tanks at Bastogne andshout "Kill ", then would advise against this planbecause your attack frontage would be too wide,always an invitation t o disaster.With these points in mind it becomes clear thatthe main German attacks must fall between Elsen-born and Clervaux.

ORDER OF BATTLE(positions after initial move)

6th Panzer Army. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SS . . . TTll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SS SS7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8VG SS6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6VG SS8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 124 TT9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40VG&62/123 SS9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6019 15 UU 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .601916 UU13

ObjectiveWill carry brunt of attack. Advance in Manhay-

Werboman direction. All reserves allotted to thisfront.5th Panzer ArmyPz.Lehr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SS15

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pz.117 UU14Pz./7,8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50Pz. B. . 0 02 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Pz./312,406 QQ17116 Pz./310. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 VG .PP19Par. TT1512 VG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 2 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 VG . 0 02 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 VG , 0 0 2 6

ObjectiveDrive on Houffalize and threaten Bastogne. Ad-vance in the direction of Marche. Will protectsouthern flank of 6th Panzer Army.7th Army5 Par.19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PP26Par.18 .PP275 Par.17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ ~ 2 7671334 .SS28. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52VG TT30. . . . . . . . . . . . .76 VG 1671333 VV30ObjectiveTo harass enemy before Bastogne. When enemylines become thinned, units will infiltrate andestablish good defensive positions. Must protectextreme southern flank of the offensive.BATTLES23rd (1-2), 38th (7-1)361st (1-2), 393rd395th (2-1)422nd (6-I), 423rd (1-1)109th (2-l), 110th (2-1)8th (I -]) , 12th (1-1)The flank battles should necessarily be fought first.

COMMENTARYThe key to victory lies with the German panzers'ability to gain freedom of movement. The rapidityby which the Houffalize Manhay Aywaille roadnetwork is over-run will determine whether theAmerican will be able to form a semi-coherent line,or whether bad communications will plague hisevery effort.The threat presented by the 5th Panzer Armydrive should force the enemy's hand at Bastogne.He will have no choice but to cover its northernapproaches, thus tying down sorely needed troops.When the American can safely spare forces fromthis area to bolster others, the 6th Panzer Armyshould be nearing the Meuse, if not already across.American abandonment of Bastogne makes yourtask easier.must make a point: 5 th and 6th Panzer Armiesshould remain, a? all times, on roughly paralleladvance routes. In this manner they can supporteach other by flank and rear movements shouldeither become stalled. Never allow their separatepaths to become divergent. It allows the Americanto deal with them one at a time.Your southern infantry assault is merely a feint,so do not permit it to burn up precious supplies inuseless attacks. Their task is to keep moving,however slowly, in an attempt to encircle Bastogneand gain a cheap victory. But do not engage themwhen they can bypass American positions just aseasily.In summary: Strike hard and fast with yourmain objective being paralysis of the American'slateral communications. Keep the attack conver-gent, and maintain a threat to Bastogne, therebyremoving pressure from your spearheads. The SSreinforcements should carry the field for theGerman.Bob Frost1209 N. ColtonBloomington, 111 61701

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P GE THE GENER

eventepsto Waterloostrategy and tactics on the defensiveby John M. Strong

Mdm/4C at Villanova University, Strong is 6. WATCH FOR A BREAKTHROUGH IN Aon the NROTC rifle and pistol teams as member WEAK PART OF YOUR LINE. Be sure you canof ''Whiskey Company. They probably don't seal it up if it breaks. Don't permit yourshoot very well, but sure have a lot of fun Opponent to make a small and send hisafterwards. ' Afterwards to Strong means per- whole army through it. 1'll leave it to you tofecting his own amateur wargame Europe figureOut why1940. Welcome to the crowd, John. We hopeyou will welcome his article.

7 MAINTAIN A MOBLE RESERVE. Somtimes a lack of units, a short front, or interiolines, makes a reserve impossible or unnecessarBut, in other cases maintain a reserve to countattack or close a break in your line. Place yoreserves where they can cover the largest part your line.The thud and most difficult task is teffective application of these solutions (principlis the popular term). I will show you howusually apply them in Waterloo. Most of you mafind the approach a bit radical but effective.

Refer to the drawings. The first shows tinitial set up I like to use although it can verslightly if the need arises. Its greatest accomplisment is that it will most likely put yoopponent into a state of shock (a good way start). By the way your units are spread "all ovthe lot" he will think you either have a fantasplan or you are a blundering idiot.

Somebody once said something to the effectthat once you discover your problem you have ithalf solved. This is an important part of militaryplanning for both the offense and defense. Al-most always a combat force can improve itschances by proper preparation. By problems Idon't mean obvious ones like the French havetoo many troops (don't laugh, it's a problem ) orthe French win too often. I mean the problemslike what is the best defense line and how canthe French units best be destroyed. If theseproblems can be seen and solved before thefighting starts you will find your chances greatlyimproved. Finding the problem is the k t ndbasic task a wargamer (or general) must face. Ihave made this point for the benefit of thebeginner. Most of you seasoned wargamers al-ready know it so let it serve to get you all boredfor the climax (they do it in some novels so itcan't be all bad).The second task is finding a solution to theproblems facing you. There are many solutionsand most people have their own. However, thereare a few basic ones that I feel are important andshould be used whenever possible.

1. ESTABLISH A GOOD DEFENSE LINEBEFORE ENGAGING THE ENEMY. This meansprotecting the flanks of each unit as well as theentire front. Such action can prevent your troopsfrom being cut off and mauled or isolated anddefeated in detail or simply overwhelmed byweight of numbers. Sometimes it will be neces-sary to sacrifice units to delay your enemy soyou have time to set up a line.2. CONFUSE YOUR OPPONENT. Keep him

guessing. He can't make plans to counter yours ifhe can't figure out what you are up to.3. MAKE USE OF RAIDS. You can some-times determine the aggressiveness and experienceof your opponent by launching raids early in thebattle. Also, raids are often a good means ofconfusing your opponent.4. DON'T WASTE YOUR UNITS DEFEND-ING PART OF THE FRONT LINE YOUROPPONENT CAN NOT HIT. It is better t o keepthem in reserve where they are available or to usethem to reinforce a weak part of the front.5 COUNTER ATTACK WHENEVER SAFE-LY POSSIBLE. It is the easiest way to destroyyour opponents army. But, be careful not toexpose yourself to a deadly enemy counterattack.

The two infantry divisions on the Gosselies toQuatre Bras road should keep the French cavalryfrom reaching the hill top in the first turn. Inyour first turn launch a raid toward Trazegnieswith cavalry but d o not attempt to ingage Frenchinfantry Use cavalry to block the southeast roadinto Quatre Bras to protect the east flank of thistown. The purpose of moving your infantry asshown on the first two maps is NOT to form afront but simply to make the French think you

are forming one. The strong defense of the ridgaround Quatre Bras will make a French attacthere very risky.In moves two and three move back keepinjust out of reach of the French or so strong than attack would be unsafe (Quatre Bras ridgeUse cavalry to slow the French if necessary. Athe same time use your new troops to form defense at Nivellies and Genappe.

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THE GENER L P GE 1In turn four move your infantry back to forma rigid Nivellies-Genappe River defense line givingup Quatre Bras on the French 3PM turn. Yourlosses to this point should be very light (like ahalf dozen attack factors or less).From here on things will depend on Frenchstrategy. If the French attack toward Tilly, usethe Prussian reserve cavalry to delay the Frenchadvance until you can set up a Genappe Rivedefense. If the French go all out here your linewill break but you will have a large forc

available to defend the short LaLasne riverAgain, delay the French with your cavalry. If thFrench continue this offensive they may bcaught in a trap when the Prussian forth corparrives. If the French go all out west of QuatreBras then send all your units from the Tilly areacross the Dyle river toward Genappe and usethem there.If the French go for Nivelles it will take solong that you should have the reinforcements tfight a running battle. A battle of attrition wilbe in your favor. And, if things get rough youcan use cavalry to slow him so you can set up adefense around Braine La Leude. Finally, threserve infantry division near Wavre can be seneast or west, wherever it is needed.A good French player will probably distributhis force in such a way as to keep all fronts busyHis most effective attack will probably come ithe area from Genappe to Nivelles because of thgap between the ridges and the lack of a naturasecondary defense line. If the French attemptedto cross the Genappe river it would be at grearisk and it would probably be very costly.Now that you see how you can approachWaterloo, try Afrika Korps and Bulge. I thinkcan guarantee that the results will be impressive

John M StrongBox 1307Villanova UniversityVillanova, Pa. 19085.

K e l l e r , A l l a nT H UN D ER A T H A R P E R ' S F E R R Y .

Englewood Cl i ffs, N. J . P r e n t i c e - H a l l ,1958.

Well i l l us t ra t ed accou nt o f JohnB r o w n ' s m a d a t t e m p t t o e n d s l a v e r y b ya N e g r o u p r i s i n g, a r m e d a n d l e d b yh i m a n d h i s f r i e n d s . W r i tt e n b y n e w s -p a p e r m a n a c c u s t o m e d t o d r a m a t i z i n gh i s m a t e r i a l . F a ct u a l e r r o r s c r e e p i na n d t h e s t y l e m a y b e t e r m e d ' j o ur n a l-e s e .

Okinawa, V i c tory in the Pa c i f i c , byChas . N ichol s , Jr . and Henr y Shaw, Jr .P u b l i sh e d b y C h a s . E. Tutt le Co. Rut-l and. Ver mon t Tokyo, Japan , 1966.L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s C a t a l og C a r d N o.66-11010. Of f i c i al Mar in e h i s to r y ofthe invas ion of Okinawa ; ha s ov e r 40la rg e ma ps of the campa ign . Appen-d i c e s i n c l u de c o m p l e t e J a p o r d e r o fb a t t l e, a n d c o m p l e t e M a r i n e c a su a l t i e s .33 pages ; hundr eds of photos . S to reprice: $7.50.

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PAGE

ismarck in theTHE GENERA

Side Pocketby John Rancour t

If you couldn't put John's advice of last issueto work (Chicken Bismarck), then as a last resort,try these steps to ultimate victory. Only ayo-yo.Of course , we 've a l l p l ayed Bi sm arck

by now and know mo re o r l e s s how wedo a t i t. Fo r those of you who can ' ts eem to swing a v i c to ry wi th the Bi s -ma rck I have deve loped a foo lp roofmethod to cl inch Victory. I ca l l t h i sp lan "Bi smar ck , in the s ide pocket " o r"Ha, ha Ya blew it".

1. Dur ing the f i r s t move s ask theBr i t i sh pla yer co nt inual ly if he wantsto sur ren de r. At the end of the gameif you won sa y "we could have sav ed alot of t im e if. . o r if you lost, playdeaf. This accentu at ion of the t im esyou win should give h im a feel ing thaty ou a r e a c t u a l ly s u p e r i o r t o h i m i nability.

2. As you move about the board prio rto the 25th dro p in to port s and when hefinds you say, " jus t p icking up som em o r e ' s h e ll s a s b ig a s t r e es " ' o r " W e ' r erunning low on champagne. I few ofthese jokes in succ ess ion should makethe mos t hear ty p layer v io len tly i l l , o ra t l e a s t c a u s e h i m t o l o s e h i s t r a i n ofthought.3 . Note c areful ly your cou rse andt ry to d ra w a swas t ika with the l inesthat you followed. Show him th ese af terthe gam e if you have won. They w illmake h im fee l t ha t you a r e toy ing wi thh im and th i s wi l l make you even mo resuper io r in h i s eyes .

l l or Nothing? Harddlyby Bill Quinn

Throughout the entire North African campaignthe German army was plagued by insufficientsupplies. This is portrayed in AFRIKA KORPS byhaving the German player roll for supplies. Buthow many times in the real campaign did all thesupplies get through? Or how many times did nosupplies at all arrive? NEVER. Some suppliesalways made their way through the Mediterraneangauntlet. Sometimes it was only a trickle, some-times a lot, but it was never everything r nothing.I have made the following supply table for use inmy games of AFRIKA KORPS. I t is very similar tothe artillery supply table in the GUADALCANALbattle manual. DIE ROLL

MONTHS 1 2 3 4 5 6April-May '41 10 18 16 12 12 10June-Sept. '41 8 16 12 12 10 80ct.-Nov. '41 6 12 10 10 8 6Dec.-March '42 8 16 12 10 10 8April-July '42 6 10 8 8 8 6August-Oct. '42 4 10 8 6 6 4

The German player rolls at the beginning of eachturn. He may bring them in as he would in theregular game. Supply units have a movement factorof 10 and may be broken up into supply columnsof two or more factors.The British player may bring up to 12 supply

factors per turn from April to June, 1941, 16 fromJuly to November 1941, and 20 from Decemberon.One supply factor is used up for every attackingfactor. No supply factors are used up whendefending.If twelve attack factors of combat units aresurrounded, then twelve supply factors are neededto keep them un-isolated. If only ten supplyfactors are available then two attack factors of thesurrounded units are removed.Supply units cannot be soaked o ff ' againstwhen in fortresses.I have found out that this system makesAFRIKA KORPS more realistic while not takingaway from its simplicity. It is also a good way tobalance the game by simply adjusting the supplytable.OPTIONAL RULES:Two supply factors may be brought in each turnat Benghazi, Gazala, Salum or Matruh by the sidethat last controlled that particular port.Use BLITZKREIG results table and make com-bat reduction pads for both sides.

Bill Quinn1107 AlleghanyArlington Heights, Illinois 60004

4. If you have an opponent who adep t a t find ing you wi th fou r o r mob a t t le s h i ps a n d c r u i s e r s a t t he s a mt ime, heavy s t rumm ing wi th the f ingea t random in te rva l s wi l l a ll ev iat e tp rob lem.

5. After the 25th, when you a r e witin ran ge of a po rt and decide not to in , toss a coin . This wi l l cau se evthe mos t s t a lwar t Br i t i sher to recosider h is p lacement of bat t leships .

6 . At an advanced s tage of the g amif you ar e unwounded and have a fepoints say, "would you like the T irpto make the s ides even? " Th i s o f tcau ses your f ru s t ra t ed opponen t to l eover the t ab le and st rang le you o r suren der in ab jec t d i sgus t . E i ther wyou win, I th ink

7. In ca se you a re los ing you m igtouch a hidden but ton w hic his connectto a horn (which is hooked into a baof amp li f ie rs) , al l of which i s beloh i s cha i r . Af te r you ge t h i s head oof the plas ter calm ly inform him thhe upse t the game so i t was a t i e .8. If you a r e re a l ly bad you can g ihim a p en containing invis ible ink whhe mak es h i s move and f i r es a t t he Bim a r c k , a n d w h en y o u s t a r t to f i r e r egain the pen on some pre text so that can no t u se i t. Th i s t r i ck a lone hf looded the san a to r ium s .

9 Genera l ly , if the game is loand you can ' t leav e the ro om s ee if ycan s tal l . Say th ings l ike, "Did ys a y B o r D ? " o r " Ar e y ou s u r e t hca r r i e r i s i n range ?" . Enough of thand he wi ll never re tu rn to p l ay yagain which m ean s that you 'l l be lewi th peop le you ca n bea t a f t e r you weou t these t roub le -make r s .

10. If you have no conscience whaeve r you can d ip h i s p i eces in honey mol asse s ju s t befo re the game. Thwil l guarantee that he wi l l move s lowgiving you t ime to th ink, and that shihe pi les wi l l s tay p i led for the r e s t the game.

Lucky 11. The la s t f ine t r ick to enin a t ie i s to say, " tha t 's i t , now you 'vdone i t " an d exhale onto the r ed sear at or in your s igh of "relief" . Thatf l a t t en h i s p i eces .

A s teady diet of th is w i l l leave ywith a group of patro ns who you cbeat at any t ime and who wil l love aresp ec t you fo r your sk i l l s , l i ke tMafia

Comments on th i s a r t i c l e and whaev er o ther d i r ty t r i ckspeop le know thI haven 't even thought of , may be ad r es s ed to m e a t 316 Aroos took HaUniversity of Maine, Orono, Main0447 3

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THE GENER L P GE

Utilizingconomy

of Forceby Ken Mills

As his article points out, Mills is more inter-ested in games from a tactical point of viewrather than strategic. Bulge offers so manytactical situations that it cannot become stereo-typed. A t age 33 Mills works as a researchchemist and is c urren tly working for a M.S.degree in that area. Meanwhile, he exercises hisexpertise on his wife and one daughter no doubtOne of the most frustrating combat results for

the defending American in Bulge is a contact.Although not driven back by the attack, theAmerican is usually obliged to retreat because h6has insufficient force with which to counterattack.Often this will result in yielding valuable defensivepositions which the American has gone to greattrouble to prepare. I would like to present aninteresting tactic which can be used by theAmerican to counterattack from a contact using aminimum of force.This tactic can be best illustrated by thisexample:X-28 301118 in a fortificationX-29 2 PZ.117, 2 PZ/7Y-28 2 Pz/8, 150 Pz. BrigadeY-27 Fuhr. Escort BrigadeThe Gennan units have just attacked the Ameri-cans at odds of 5-1 and had a die roll of 6(contact). It is now up to the American tocounterattack or retreat and lose his doubleddefensive position. To counterattack at odds of 1-1against all German units will require at least 40American factors. However, I propose that three1-3 attacks by the American has a good likelihoodof leaving at least one American unit in thefortification at the end of combat. Placing the 1/16and 1/18 regiments on the fortification to rein-force the 3011 18 requires only 14 factors. Theprobability of having at least one American unit onthe fortification after combat is 3x(1/3) 3x(1/9)1/27 0.70. In comparison the 1-1 attack by 40American factors has only a probability of 0.67 ofleaving a unit in the fortification after combat andrequires placing units on undoubled squares. Usingthe PBM results table the probabilities are evenmore in favor of the three 1-3 attacks.In summary, the Americans can often accom-plish a great deal with an economy of force byusing a number of attacks at what initially appearto be poor odds. The key to the use of this tactic ismaking at least two and preferably three attacks a tthese odds. Variations of this tactic can involve 1-2attacks and various combinations of 1-2 and 1-3attacks. For those who will point out that in theexample given there is a 0.30 probability of failure,I suggest placing one unit on W-28 to back up thefortification and prevent a German advance if all ofthese attacks fail.

Ofiial valon Hill Game ClubsT h e c l u b s l i s t ed b e l ow s u p p l em en t t h e i n i t i a l l i s t i n g m ad e i n t h e J an - Feb 1 9i s s u e . D ue t o s p ace l i m i t a t i o n s , w e h av e n o t r ep ea t ed an y p r i o r l i s t i n g s a l th o umany have fo rwarded us updated in format ion . The purpose o f th i s l i s t ing i s s impt o p r o v i d e b as i c i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h o s e r ea d e r s l o o k i n g f o r n ew c l u b s .

CLUB PRESIDENTPreu Benwachen8314 Tommy DriveSan Diego, California 921 19The Army of Northern Virgin7724 Harwood PlaceSpringfield, VirginiaThe Warmongers13321 So. lsis AvenueHawthorne, California 90250Oberkommand South6764 Sunny Brea Dr.San Diego, California 921 191 FW4654 N SpauldingChicago, Illinois 60625Hellfighters13209 Nrandon AvenueChicago, Illinois 60633The Fearsome TwosomeR R 2West Branch, Iowa 52358The Galactic Patrol210 North Newberry AvenueNewberry, Michigan 49868The General Staff616 PeachtreeGrosse Point Woods, Michigan 48236Afrika Korps160 5 Fairmount DriveFlorissant, Missouri 63033Worldwide Wargaming Association2 Barrett RoadHanover, New HampshireThe Devil s BrigadeAloe StreetEgg Harbor, New Jersey 08225Tatum Strategic Wargaming ClubWest Star RouteTatum, New Mexico 88267Special Air Service32-25 88StreetJackson Hgts., New York 11369Hitler s Henchmen93 N FranklinDelaware, OhioNorth American Tactics Org. (N.A.T.O.)2714 Cypress StreetNorman, Oklahoma 73069United Wargarners of America3804 E. 35th StreetTulsa, OklahomaThe 69th MarinesBox 1307Villanova UniversityVillanova, Pennsylvania 19085Pacifist Inc.Box 662 GPOHobart, Texas

Oberstleutmant Lucas

Tom Knauss

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Cliff Wasserman

William Hoyer

Ronald Anderson

Randolph J Seger

Sam Ferris

Stephen Arey

Jim Schoppman

Charles YoungDavid Colongelo

Dirk Joner

David lsby

Bob Stephenson

Doug Hallet

Bill Favorite (M.A.D.)

John M Strong

A. G. Watkins

MEMBERSH4

Ken Mills824 Broad AvenueRidgefield, New Jersey 07657

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PAGE 13 THE GENERAlubRegisfration I OPPONENTS WANTED ADVERTISEMENTPlease print or type your advertisement on the spaces provided below, maximumAll Ava lon Hi l l c lubs a re urged to i including your name and address) 35 words per ad.reg is t e r of f ic ia l ly with The Genera l .

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I 8 9 1 12 13 14Club NameI IS 6 17 8 19 2 21M a i ling Add r e s s

Name of Newsletter o r Mag. ( if any) I 22 23 24 25 26 27 28I29 3 31 32 33 34 35 WORTota l M e m be r sh ip All ads are inserted as a free service to full-year subscribers. Only one ad pe

I subscriber per issue is allowed. Ads will not be repeated from issue to issuP r e s ide n t ' s S igna tu r e however, subscribers may re-submit the same ad, or new ads, for each succeedin(Check One): I issue. Ads received after the 15th of the month preceding publication will appea- his s a f i r s t t i m e r e g i s t r at i o n in the following issue. No ads will be accepted unless printed on this form.

Ih is i s a n a d d r e s s ch an g e r e g i s t r a - ,Don't forg e t to vote on what a r e the

t h r e e b e s t a r t i c l e s of t h i s i s s u e . . . r e -cord your votes w here provided on theContes t Ent ry blank.

Subscriber Discount. .The Coupon shown be low is for the bene-f i t of the fu l l -year sub scr i ber . As soona s you ha ve a c c um ula t e d 4 such ccnl-pons , 1 each f ro m this and su cceedingi s su e s , you a r e e n t i tl e d to a 1 . 00 d i s -count appl ied to the purchas e of anyAvalon Hi l l gam es, pa r t s , p lay-by-mai l equipment and the Genera l .

He r e ' s how i t wor ksEa c h c oupon i s wor th 25 . But one

coupon alone d oes not entit le you t o a25C c r e d i t . You m us t a c c um ula t e 4dif fe rent coupons before taking advant-age of the 1.00 cre dit . When you havea c c um ula t e d 4 coupons, then you clipthem a l l toge ther and send them in wi thyour o r de r f o r a n Avalon Hi l l ga m e .When orde r ing in th is manner , yous im ply se nd us a c he ck o r m one y- o r de rf o r 1 . 00 l e s s t ha n the usua l r e t a i l va lueof the game.

SAVE THIS COUPONGOOD TOWARD THE PURCHASE.

OF A LL AVALON HILLPRODUCTS

MAR APRIL 1969

Contest No 30I It's time for you strategists to don the men-

tor's cap for the solution to this Baseball Strategy1 problem. While it is not necessary for you t o befamiliar with the game Baseball Strategy thiscontest points out one of many managerial1 decisions players have to make in this game thatcan decide the outcome.

YOU are out on the field. You must make an( instantaneous decision from among nine rationalalternatives. The Situation: I t is the 5th inning ofa scoreless tie. Your team is at bat; there are twoI out and you have a slow runner on at first base;

I your No. 8 hitter is coming to the plate and isfollowed by .your weak-hitting pitcher. On theI mound for the opposition is their right-handedI fast-baller.I You have just 10 seconds to make your

decision. Place the number 1 on the correline of the My Strategy Plan to designate whyou think is the best possible strategy. Taanother 20 seconds and also state what your 2and 3rd choices would be.

10 WinnersThis contest's judges will be made up of t

managerial and coaching staff of the Avalon HBaseball team, winners two years in a row of thBaltimore Unlimited Amateur Baseball LeaguThe ten contestants who come closest to matcing their decisions will be named the winners.

All entrants must name what they feel are tthree best articles in this issue. This selection hno bearing on the contest results but entries nbearing this information will be voided. Contedeadline is Apri l 15 1969

My StrategySurprise the opposition by ordering a dragbunt.

Pinch hit for No. 8 batter with a rigI handed power-hitter.

Send the slow baserunner down on an Send in a fast pinch runner for manI b)[7 attempted steal of 2nd. h, first; flash hit and run.I c ) O rder the batter to swing away. i) rder batter to get hit by a pitch.I d ) l lash the hit and run.

e) Pinch hit for No. 8 batter with a left-handed power-hitter. In the presence of my conscience I swear thf) u s e n d in a fast pinch runner for man at only took 30 seconds to make all my aboI firs t base; order batter to egg for a walk. strategic decisions.

I1 Headli nes of 3 B e s t Ar t i c l e s :l Name

II 1 c i t y S t a t eI

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THE GENERAL PAGE

jl 'IG e n t l e m en ; D e a r S i r o r w h a t e v e r- G e n t l e m e n,

In the rece n t Gener a l , an -Fe b . 1969 , I bought somet hingna med the "Batt le I t may su rp r i se you--and then againyou had p r in ted a l e t t e r f rom a M ark of the ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ .(c e t t he duft o f the l e t t e r i t m ay not-- to know tha t Out in the t ro p-S p e n c e r . T h e l e t t e r c o n c e r n e d a N a t i o n - n o w . ) ' rh e g a m e i s o n e - s i de d a n d t o i c a l r a i n f o r e s t o f E a s t e r n N i g er i a aa 1 C o a li t io n L e a g u e . c o m p a r e i t t o a s u p e r b g a m e a s c h e s s number o f your games were av id ly en -

Whatwas sa ld in tha t l e t t e r concern - i s u t t e r mockery . he ~ e r m a n s a v e j oy e d b y a g r o up of m i s s i o n a r i e s . T h a ting IFW was un t rue . To se t t he fac t s l i t t l e chance and you a l so make the i s , un ti l we ra ther h urr i e d ly had tos t ra igh t , IFW had to ld Spencer tha t IF W r id icu lous compar i son of the game to l eave our coun ters dep loyed on thewas no t jo in ing h i s l eague . Th i s was ac tua l rea l i ty . he G e r m a n s ha v e a g a m e b o a r d s a t t h e t l m e w h e n t hea majo r po l i cy deci s ion . Len Lakofka chance of one in a mi l l ion. Niger i ans and Biaf r ans dep loyed the i ra n d P h i l F r i t c h a r d , o u r V i c e - F r e s i d e n t I have an excel l en t idea f o r a game uni t s in the mos t rea l i s t i c engagement sand Ed i to r respec t ive ly had a l so to ld tha t you cou ld rea l l y appre c ia t e . The o f a l l . t he rea l t h ing ( I ' m s t i l l t ry ingMr. Spencer tha t IFW was no t go ing to name cou ld be "FIGHTING TRUTH." to decide whether we se t a bad examplepar t i c ipa te in h i s l eague . The ob jec t wou ld be to e l iminate your in tha t we were gaming a t a r , o r good

opponent . One s ide would have 1000 example in tha tw e were gam inga twa r .Will iam Hoyer Amer ican t roops agains t , s ay one I hope you can f ind i t i n your co rpo-P r e s i d e n t cr ipp led Ger man in a Wheel Chai r . r a t e h e a r t t o f o r g i ve u s f o r n o t i n c l u d-In ternat ional Federa t ion A s a h i s t o r y m a j o r , f a v o r i t e a r e a - i ng those game se t s 1n our 44-poundof Wargaming ww 11 - how did you get ceneral evacuation luggage al lowance. But we

~ ~ ~ ~ l i f f ~o endorse this mongoloid reaso ned tbat they would be repla ceabl e.A l a s - - an d t h a t i s t he r e a s o n f o r t h i sD e a r S i r s :

Tak ing in to accoun t the g rea t successyou have had wi th Get tysburg , migh t Isugges t t ha t you come ou t wi th a gameon Bull Run, the Shenandoah Valleycampaign , the Pen insu la campaign ,Shiloh, Vicksburg, the Wilde rness,Chat t anooga, o r Ant i e t am. Al thoughyour "Chancel lo rsv i l l e" game was no ta-comple te success , I fee l t he t ime i sr ipe fo r ano ther Civ i l War game.

About the r ea l is m le vel of "1914"bow do I ge t t he barbed wi re ou t o f myl iv ing room?

The shor t h i s to ry in the rea r of thepamphle t i s t oo d ram at i c . What wereyour sourc e document s? Didyou bo therto ge t under the su r face of the h i s to ryof the bat t le ? No - if it sounds goodu s e i t i s y o u r t h e o r y - c o r r e c t ?Do I sound l ike a mad cus tom er ,TSK TSK. I play ches s, RISK and soon bu t never have p layed such an id io t ' sg a m e .

T h e d i r e c t i o n s a r e n o t p r e c i s e a n dq u i t e s p r e a d o u t. P e o p l e , i s t h e r enaugh t you can do r ig h t?

l e t t e r - -we f ind tha t one of our favor i t esi s no t r e p l a c e ab l e . " A ir E m p i r e " s e e m sto have f lown the coop. Or has i t beenh i j acked to Havana? But I 'm wonder-ing if maybe there i sn ' t a se t o r twolef t t here , i n your main con t ro l t ower ,which you could sel l --for one of yourtyp ica l h igh-a lt i t ude p r i ces , a s yourprospectus migh t say .

In the in t er im, I ' l l be awai t ing yourrep ly by ca r r i e r p igeon .

( l he Rev . Wi l l i am Ear l Boys39 Th i r t een th AvenueColumbus, Ohio 43201

Henry S. Sc harpenberg11 Brigh ton WayMerr i ck . New York

D e a r S i r s :I a m a m a r r i e d t w e nt y t h r e e y e a r

o ld g raduate s tuden t in an th ropo logyat the Univers i ty o f Oklahoma, and a nav id fan o f the war ga mes pu t ou t byyour company.Of late, however, I h a v e n o t i c e d a nincreas ing ly h igh l evel o f complex i tybeing in t roduced in to your games . Inthe case o f e i ther B l i t zk r i eg o r Ju t l andI fee l t ha t t h i s p roce ss i s j ust i f i ed, bu tI have some reserv at ions concern ing1914. In my pres ent posi t ion, a,s a s tu-den t , I can se ldom spend mor e thantwo conse cutive evening s playing as ing le game, and s ince my favor i t eopponent joined the Zamb ian Army , Ia m genera l ly fo rced to depend upon m ywife who, being le ss ded icate d to thisf o r m o f r e c r e a t i o n t h a n I a m , g r e a t l yp r e f e r s y o u r l e s s i n vo l ve d g a m e s . Itherefo re have ye t to comple te a s ing legam e of 1914, al though I have begun a tl e a s t s i x , a nd t h i s l e a d s m e t o m a k esever a l observat ions and sugges t ionsf o r a n y f u t u re g a m e s a t t h i s l e v e l w h i c hyou might develop.Land bat t le s of the pre-gunpowdere r a - In this l ine, I had in mind asposs ib i l i t i es suc h wel l known bat t l esa s C r e c y o r A g i n c o u r t o r p e r h a p s e v e nMarathon , Cannae , o r Zama.

Naval ba t t l es o f the sa i l ing e r aAlong th i s l i ne , you c ou ld in t roduces u c h b a t t l es a s T r a f a l g a r o r t h e N i l e,in which wind (de ter mined by a th row ofthe d ie) wou ld be a m ajo r fac to r . Inl a t er naval ba t t l es you m igh t o f fer theRusso-Japanese ba t t l e o f Fsush i ma,and as a fol low up to Midway, youmigh t develop ano ther " super" ga me,along Jutland l ines , having to do withthe bat t le of Leyte Gulf.. ...

P e t e r G. H a m o n2028 Delaware La neNorman , Oklahoma 73069

James Young8 12 Wal l ace Avenue Si r s :Co lu r d 'a l en e , Idaho 83814 My t e rm of o f f i ce a s the Nat ional

Pres id en t o f the Uni t ed Warga mers o fAmer ica ha s now drawn to a c lose .Af ter a lmo s t two v e a r s a s a l e a d e r of a

Gentlemen:A s I a m a n a v a l w a r g a m e n u t. I w a s

ver y disappointed in no mention beingmade o f them in your su rvey . I , my-se l f , and the me mbe rs o f the c lub Ib el on g t o , f e e l t b a t n a v a l w a r g a m e s a r em o r e r e a l i s t i c t h an t h e o t h e r s . A sF l e t c h e r P r a t t f a n a t i cs we each havefo rmidab le nav ies of f rom 200 to ne ar-ly 500 craf t . We ra the r en joyed Ju t l andand wan t to se e more l ike i t .

The com bat resu l t s t ab le in Bl i t z -k r i eg i s the bes t , j u s t as the su rv eys ta t ed . The s t ep sys t em as in 1914s e e m s t o d e p a r t f r o m th e s t a n da r dtab le . The n orma l t ab le i s one whichd o e s a s i t s a y s , g i v e s t h e r e s u l t ofbat t l es . The Step sys t em beg ins to g iveresu l t s o f t ac t i cs no t eng ineered by thep l a y e r s t h e m s e l v e s . T h i s I f e e l i s n o tdes i re d in a ga me in which we decidethe t ac t i cs . Maybe th i s i s a good ideaon g ames o f d iv i s ion o f h igher l evel .There lower l eve l t ac t i cs cou ldbe t akenup by the Combat Res u l t s Tab le .

I a m i n t h e p r o c e s s o f m a ki n g a m a -t r ix type ba t t l e computer . The t en byt e n s y s t e m I a m u s i n g s h o u ld p r o v e agood setup. I wis h that AH would comeout wi th such a computer . I t wou ldrea l ly be qu i te mor e rea l i s t i c thand ice .Also. i t would e l iminate argum ent s tha t"You djd not rol l th e die enough." Mys y s t e m , u s i n g v a r i o u s r e l a y s a n d f l ip -f l op c i r c u i t s , i s c o s t i n g m e q u it e a s u m .I know tba t AH cou ld make a s im i l ars y s t e m a t m uc h l e s s c o s t t o u s h a p l e s swar gam ers s tuckwi th us ing d ice .

I am s t i l l wonder ing why St ra t e gy &T a c t i c s c a l l e d t h e r u l e s t o J u t l a n d s opoor. We who p layed i t rea l ly had noprob lem - even the beginners we taughtcaugh t on fas t

S P / 5 R i c h a r d R a s p e n tiH a 7 / 1 5 A r t y .A P O S a n F r a n c i s c o 9 63 6 8

w a r g a m e r ' s c l ub , I c a n s a y th a t w a r -gaming has t ru ly advanced . I know the"advan tages" to a mi l i t an t c lub as Iwas the Emp ero r o f one , t he Imper i a lMaximus Leg ions ( IML). Af ter n inemonths of wars and conf l i c t s (Feb rua ryto Novembe r, 1967), my club changedi t s s t ruc tu re , ob jec t ive , and name tothe Uni t ed Wargamer s o f Amer ica .

l a m, howeve r , very p roudof the UWA.The c lub , l i ke some o thers . i s one tha ts e r v e s t h e m e m b e r s h i p . A y e a r a g o ,when I was in my f i r s t e l ec t ed t e rm ofo ff i ce as the Nat ional Pres ide n t , t hec lub was har dpress ed to ge t anyone toe n t e r o u r t o u r na m e n t s . O u r f i r s t t wotournament s wer e inv i t a t ional s and ato ta l o f seven paid en t ra n t s were r e -ceived ; the cash p r i zes were accord ing lys m a l l . S o m e s u c c e s s w a s a t t a i n e d .Vot ing in our e l ec t ions was modera tea s no e l ec t ion was uncon tes t ed ( twocand idates ) . The second success wasin theSNCL where we became the LeaeueChampions p lus a tourname nt v i c to ryo v e r A g g r e s s o r H o m el a n d f o r Mi s s i s -s ipp i . Our ma in t roub le was tha t som a n y o f t he m e m b e r s w e r e f o r m e rmem ber s o f the IML and were unac-cus tomed to any th ing hu t war . Twoc h a p t e r s r e s i g n ed i n t h e e a r l y m o n t h sa s they cou ldn ' t m ake the ad jus tmen tto peace .

F r o m a " w a r m o n g e rs " c l u b, w e h a v eb e c o m e a f r i e n d l y, d e m o c r a t i c , a n dcompet i t ive c lub . A new depar tme n th a s b e e n c r e a t e d f o r g a m e d e s i g n e r s .

For tunate ly , my c lub i s no t a lone inth i s endeavour a s the In ternat ionalFede ra t ion o f Wargaming i s work ing tot h e s a m e e nd - - a c l u b f o r w a r g a m e r swho want som ething out of gaming be-s i d e s o r d e r s a n d r e d t a p e . I s a l u te I FWand a l l o the r c lubs work ing to th i s goal .

Ma r k A l b e r t D u m d ei3200 Mc Gavock PikeDonel son . Tennessee

D e a r S i r :You ha ve invited commen ts on the

"surve y of game e lement s resu l t s "which ap pea red in the Nov. Dee. i s s u eof "The General .

I think that mos t of thes e elem entshave the i r u se s and shou ld depend onthe game. We don ' t wan t every gamel i k e 1 91 4 a s s o m e t i m e s i t i s n i ce t ore l ax wi th someth ing l es s demandingand t ime consuming , bu t then a t o thet im es when we rea l ly wan t to chall engesomething, and get s tuc k into i t , then1914 is ap prec iated. I would be dis-appo in ted if a l l your fu tu re game s wereof the samecomplexab i l i ty . Don ' t misunders t and m e. I l i ke 1914 and canhand le i t (and even more compl ica tions