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

#2 Paddy Mayne’s Boys

One of the founders of the Special Air Service, or SAS, Paddy Mayne was a hard fighting boxer, rugby player whose behavior on and off the battlefield gained him a reputation for a strange blend of recklessness and effectiveness. When on a pre-war rugby tour to South Africa, a newspaper had claimed he relaxed by “wrecking hotels and fighting dockers.” Following David Stirling’s capture in 1943, command of the SAS regiment fell to Mayne. Operations like Archway and Keystone saw columns of heavily armed, fast moving, SAS jeeps striking deep behind enemy lines, providing reconnaissance, seizing key locations, and apprehending war criminals. SAS operations, while characterized by Mayne’s reckless daring, could – and occasionally did – end in disaster when overextended patrols ran into determined opposition. The role of Mayne’s regiments is a very significant but often misunderstood part of the war in North-Western Europe, it’s highly likely that the SAS would have continued their high risk, high gain operations had the occupation of Germany descended into a chaotic insurgency. As such, we simply had to include them in the cards for Werwolf.

While cards like ‘Operation Effective’ represent the sledgehammer blow of a full Allied assault, ‘Paddy Mayne’s Boys’ is subtler, a rapier strike to the heart of the insurgency. The ‘SAS Operation’ allows the Allied player to cause a major disruption to the insurgency. Stealing research can hamstring Werwolf efforts to use their wunder-waffen, as well as removing potential sources of income in the crisis round. Add to this the ability to permanently remove an insurgent capability and the Allies can be onto a winner. When playing this card, I like to imagine a column of SAS jeeps, full of ragged, bearded veterans, roaring out of the darkness into an unexpecting Werwolf (or Edelweiss) stronghold, Vickers K guns firing. Then, as chaos reigns, an SAS officer, maybe Mayne himself, kicks in the door on Skorzeny, or perhaps Schellenberg, who cowers in the corner and proclaims their innocence. Scratch another ‘Nazi scum.’

On the other hand, if the insurgency get the drop on the Allies and use this card, it can represent the ‘Collateral Damage’ of an operation which goes ‘balls up’. Removing two guerrillas represents the SAS taking out the bad guys, but in the process some Russians have been killed in the crossfire. Removing two NKVD may not seem like much, but add to that the increase in Cold War tensions and the card can help the insurgent players derail Allied and Soviet plans.