Last June, we were contacted by our good friend Randy Lein from Legion Wargames about a new project called Werwolf: Insurgency in Occupied Germany, 1945-1948, which is a COIN Series inspired multi-faction game taking a look at a what if situation at the end of World War II with various possible insurgencies. He 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

#6 Wernher von Braun

Wernher von Braun was a brilliant German rocket scientist responsible for the V2 rocket program during the war and other research in rocketry. His ambition began early in life – as a young man in 1930 he stated that one day he would fly to the Moon. While the V-2 rockets were developed too late and were too little in number to change the outcome of the war (despite a few “vengeance” strikes against London), the scientific team behind them was seen as a valuable target by both the Soviets and the Western Allies, who would soon be competing for the conquest of space. In 1945, with the Soviets approaching the Peenemünde facility (see the HV Peenemünde card), von Braun was able to forge documents and move his team to the west, in hopes of surrendering to the Americans. Luckily for him, von Braun was top of the “Black List” – a list of German scientists and engineers that were top priority targets for seizure and interrogation by American forces during Operation Paperclip. Escaping imprisonment and possible execution at the hands of the SS in Bavaria, von Braun was found by U.S. forces and surrendered to them. He would later move to the U.S.A, convert to Evangelical Christianity and play a leading role in NASA, including the Apollo 11 mission which achieved his dream of seeing humans on the moon.

In the game, von Braun may be captured by any of the factions – depending on who is eligible to play the event when it comes up. He provides a research token (and some other bonuses) to whichever side can capture him. In particular, the Allies will want the morale boost on the top row event, representing his enthusiastic collaboration with the USA and help in gaining an edge over the Soviets in the arms race. If captured by the insurgent factions, von Braun not only provides research, but also HE and resources. This represents his ability to design and build rockets and other weapons, as well as knowledge of the locations of industrial assets. Research tokens are extremely valuable for all factions, especially later in the game when they become scarce. Depending on when the card is drawn, there could be fierce competition over the fate of Wernher von Braun.