THe Great War, or War to End all Wars, holds great interest for me.  It represents the transition from the “Age of Rifles” to the modern era. In 1914, most Napoleonic officers might recognize the tactics and formations used by the belligerents in Europe.  While the deadly force of rifled weapons had increased, and along with it the importance of company level leadership had grown, linear formations of companies and battalions still maneuvered about the field of battle, and much of the artillery fire was conducted in line of sight. By 1918, Napoleonic officers would be bewildered by the maneuver of units at platoon, squad, or section level, the importance of the NCO as an independent combat leader, the use of light machine guns and tanks, indirect fire artillery, and a host of other changes.  Officers in World War II, on the other hand, would recognize the essential similarity between operations during the two world wars.

Effectively modeling the great changes in the war is difficult for any set of wargame rules, but one in particular I like is the Great War variant for Spearhead.  The game operates at a higher level than the WWII original rules (orders for regiments instead of battalions, and miniature elements represent companies rather than platoons). However, the use of the movement arrows for units, artillery restrictions, and other elements bring an appropriate feel to the game.  The yahoo group for Great Spearhead can be found here:

Great War Spearhead Yahoo Group

The other rule set I like for gaming the Great War is Irregular’s boxed rules on 3x5 cards. The rules all fit on 5 or 6 cards so the game can be learned and taught to others in minutes, making it an excellent convention game. There are also several interesting concepts in the rules that speed up play while keeping some flavor for the period.  The unit’s morale and related status is kept with the cohesion of the unit. When the cohesion drops to 0 the unit routs, and morale tests are made against the cohesion value until it reaches 0. Casualties and other factors effect  a unit’s cohesion.

Website by Jim Doty III

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