Before we get into this series of Event Card Spoilers I want to say this. Werwolf: Insurgency in Occupied Germany, 1945-1948 is not a glorification of Nazism. Nor is it an attempt to change the narrative, although this game is an alternate reality look at the occupation of Germany by the Allies immediately following the fall of Berlin and the resistance from various groups to that occupation. This game will not be for everyone and may offend some with its portrayal of the events and participants in this struggle. I would say give it a chance to develop over the next year or so as the game has just been placed on pre-order with Legion Wargames. I have long been enthralled with the COIN Series from GMT Games for its attempt to tell the less than squeaky clean side of some of the most infamous struggles in history. This game is not an official part of that series but is COIN Series inspired.
I have seen lots of information put out by the design team of Clint Warren-Davey and Ben Fiene and it appears that these two have done their homework and extrapolated some theories that may or may not have been totally 100% accurate but are based in some semblance of plans or partial historical information. I think that it is good to explore history in these type of games.
With all of that being said, we were contacted by our good friend Randy Lein from Legion Wargames a few months ago about this project and asked if we would be interested in doing some coverage through an interview and possibly some other mediums, such as our Event Card Spoilers format that we have used in other games, and we were immediately intrigued by the concept and the fact that the game uses some of the elements of one of our favorite series. I have been in communication with one of the designers Clint Warren-Davey since that time and he has shared lots of information with me, including the rules and some of their background work on this one, and I wanted to make sure we gave it some light to give you a chance to understand what the game is so that you can make an informed decision about whether you plan to order this one or not. Clint has been great to work with and has agreed to write a series of short articles on the Event Cards and their basis in history as well as how they are used in the game.
If you are interested in ordering Werwolf: Insurgency in Occupied Germany, 1945-1948, you can pre-order a copy for $72.00 from the Legion Wargames website at the following link: https://www.legionwargames.com/legion_WER.html
The game is not yet published, has been put playtested pretty extensively to date and has just started getting ready to offer playtesting on Vassal so there is a little work left to do but we thought an early look would be a good thing.
*Note: Any graphics or pictures of components and cards used in this series are nothing more than the prototype version for playtesting purposes (although they are fantastic graphics and look near finished!). Also, details of the game play and mechanics, as well as Event Card text may also change throughout playtesting and final development prior to publication.
#85 Operation Effective
Operation Effective was an Allied plan involving the 1st Airborne Army (which included such formations as the 101st Airborne or “Screaming Eagles”) dropping behind enemy lines and taking objectives in the Schwarzwald Forest in the spring of 1945. The operation was intended to destroy German Army Group G and open the way to Munich. It had another motive as well: to seize scientists and research from the German nuclear program located in the area. This was to further the aims of Operation Paperclip and Alsos, but also to prevent the capture of nuclear research by the French, who were also advancing into Southern Germany. The operation was not actually carried out because the speed of the Allied advance into Germany made it unnecessary. In the game, the Allies can carry out an airborne assault similar to the hypothetical Operation Effective and could easily use it to take research tokens as was the historical goal. On the other hand, the airborne landing might end in disaster, like the defeat of British paratroopers at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden.
As well as being a great way to grab research tokens held by the insurgents, Operation Effective is an all-around great event card for the Allies to play. One of the problems facing the Allied player in Werwolf is that Allied Morale is lowered every time troops are destroyed in battle and whenever the reinforcement action is done. You must be cautious, as moving troops into enemy territory to prepare for an assault will expose them to losses. This card solves these problems for the Allied player. Troops are dropped anywhere on the map without a hit to Morale, and they are able to Search (revealing guerrillas) and then immediately Assault them. Not only will this bring in more troops and potentially destroy an insurgent base, thus increasing Morale, it also keeps the Allies eligible for the next turn as they follow up the air drop with further operations. Whenever this card comes up in the Event Deck, I recommend Allied players to use it. It is also a fantastic way to take out the Radio Werwolf base mentioned in the previous entry. You should also shout “Currahee!” when playing it for added dramatic effect…
If you missed the previous entries in the series, you can catch up on the posts to date by following the below links:
There will be more card spoilers to come in the near future. In the meantime, if you are interested we recently posted an interview with the designers and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2022/06/27/interview-with-clint-warren-davey-and-ben-fiene-designers-of-werwolf-insurgency-in-occupied-germany-1945-1948-from-legion-wargames/
-Grant
The Players' Aid 