Last year, 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

#70 Kriminalkommissar

This card is an homage to Bernard ‘Bernie’ Gunther, the hardnosed Berlin detective, SD Officer, protégé of Reinhard Heydrich, and post-war Private Detective created by the brilliant Philip Kerr. This is one of the very few cards in Werwolf based on a fictional character – almost all the other cards are real events that have been fitted into the Werwolf alternate history timeline. However, if you read the novel The One from the Other, the setting is so evocative of Werwolf that this card was a must. Bernie is in Munich in 1949, trying to get a fresh start after the war. He runs into ex-SS thugs, American spies, Nakam squads and other shady characters in his work as a private detective.

While Gunther is a fictional creation, it is likely that figures like him would have emerged in an occupied Germany descending into chaos and warring factions. The need for a keen-eyed veteran private detective would be clear to both the occupiers and the insurgents, so we can well imagine our Gunther-like character being recruited by any of the factions for their own ends. The top option of the card sees him helping to uncover the locations of Werwolf guerrillas and shutting down some of their operations. The bottom option might benefit Werwolf or Edelweiss as Bernie considers his options and decides that aiding or sheltering extremists might benefit him personally or allow him to escape the clutches of the Allied occupation forces. In both cases Edelweiss benefit, either because Bernie instructively sides with the more moderate insurgents, or because the nimble operatives of the Edelweiss Movement take advantage of any distractions caused.

The effects of this card seem minor, but at least one game has been decided by playing the top event at a critical moment, preventing Werwolf dominance in West Berlin. The card art adds some nice film-noir atmosphere to the game as well.

If you have not read them, give the Gunther series a shot – you will not regret it!