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His leadership style was also admired and criticized. Aggressive subordinates, like Hans von Luck, praised his leadership from the front. Others, like Mellenthin, questioned this leadership style, as it often led to his staff officers becoming involved in the fighting, instead of maintaining an overview of the situation. His sometimes long absences from HQ also meant that subordinates had to make decisions without consulting Rommel, leading to confusion.
What does it look like? How does it work? What battle are we fighting now? Who's winning?
-Check out our electronic magazine: The Dispatch It chronicles all our adventures, and more.
What is a Professional Command Post Style Wargame? Professional means our games are run like the army runs them: blind, with umpires, teams, real chain of command, orders, reports etc. Ideally these should be run in one place at the same time. We break up our turns and spread them out so our players can keep up with only a few emails a week.
Command post means that the game is played by marking units on maps. A real 'wargame' would involve moving real military units deployed in the field. No need for us to go to all that trouble. (Hmm.... I don't know. Are any of you reenactment or paintball groups out there interested?)
Our games are professional, as opposed to amateur or hobby style games which commonly include game boards with hexes, miniature figures, dice, combat odds tables, zones of control, movement point tables etc. Note: There is nothing wrong with these. Many of these are great fun and can give you the background and experience you may need to play Pro style later. Our games simply don't contain these elements.
Professional has another meaning: for money. Yes, we would like to grow our league in professional status. Through the help of our Sponsors we will begin to offer cash prizes to players. Putting real money on the table brings a whole new energy level and meaning to the competition. Why should our wargames be different than any other competition?
In 1824, von Reisswitz created a new system for training officers in the Prussian army. He called it "Kriegsspiel", German for wargame. Kriegsspiel is often considered the father of modern wargaming.
Kriegsspiel's most notable feature is that it is played blind. Two opposing teams each have their own map in separate rooms. The Umpire in a third room maintains the control map. Players send their orders to the Umpire. The Umpire moves units on the map, resolves combat and then sends back reports. Despite technological advances, this method remains the best model to simulate command during war.
For modern gamers, Kriegsspiel has several major drawbacks. You need many players all in the same place for an extended period of time. I know. Good luck.
Our league seeks to overcome these obstacles by using the internet. Simple email can transmit orders and reports between players and umpires. Attached graphic files can show players maps with march routes, assembly areas and axis' of advance. A website and magazine can keep us all linked together even though we are scattered around the globe.
In today's electronic world of new and upgraded, it can be easy to think of Kriegsspiel as outdated and archaic. Aren't modern wargames more realistic and fun? Let's take a closer look.
Most modern games are full of tricks and gimmicks to "simulate" C-n-C and the fog of war. Why try to simulate something with tricks when you can just do the real thing?
I've heard gamers say: "Oh, well it's a lot of work. It's not really very 'fun' like a game would be." These people have never played Kriegsspiel! Writing your own orders in hopes that the people below you won't mess things up IS FUN! Reading incomplete, vague and possibly inaccurate reports to piece together the mystery of what is really happening IS FUN! Don't take my word for it. Here is a quote from Robert E. Lee: "It is well that war is so terrible -- lest we should grow too fond of it." General Lee wasn't playing a game. He was doing the real thing. Through Kriegsspiel, you can too, without all the bloodshed.
And guess what? You don't have to read a 200 page rule book and argue over which errata and optional rules to use. How much fun is that? The umpire handles all the rules. This frees players up to focus on the fun parts: Strategy, Command and figuring out what the #*%$ is going on out there?
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"Audacity, audacity, always audacity." -George S. Patton
"What makes for success in the game –knowledge of the game or knowledge of general military strategy and tactics?"
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Our Favorite Links
Kriegsspiel News The only site I've found dedicated to Kriegsspiel. Lots of great info here.
Too Fat Lardies These guys have a modern version of the original Reisswitz game. They have real Kriegsspiel maps and many other interesting designs.
The Miniatures Page Excellent Mini site. Very well run.
Wargaming with Napoleonic Miniatures Good mini site focusing on Napoleonics. It's from Spain but their site is in English.
Megagame Makers These guys put on big team games. Many of them seem to be run Kriegsspiel style with umpires.
The Strategy Page -Jim Dunnigan. Want to know what is really going on in conflicts around the world? Check out Wars Around the World under the News tab.
Consim World Arguably the best wargaming site around.
Grognards One of the oldest and best wargaming sites. No list would be complete without them!
Board Game Geek Great source for reviews and information about all sorts of games.
Multiman
Publishing They make several game systems with real command style
rules. Check out the Civil War Brigade Series, Tactical Combat Series
and their Napoleonic Battles Series. Very cool.
Columbia Games Block games! Not kriegsspiel, but they do a good job of capturing the fog-of-war feel without umpires. Their older games with HQs simulate some operational and logistic effects nicely.
Auto Realm Great mapping software. It is designed for RPG's. We put it to good use here for wargaming!