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
#62 CIC
The Counterintelligence Corps was a force of special intelligence agents serving within the U.S. Army during World War Two and the early Cold War. At its peak the organization had over 4,000 agents and was heavily involved in the occupied Axis countries and in surveillance of communist activity within the U.S. The CIC had many duties. It assisted with the seizure of German scientific research in Operation Paperclip, provided security for the Manhattan Project and monitored Soviet infiltration of the West. During the invasion and occupation of Germany, the CIC also monitored insurgent movements. It passed on reports of Werwolf activity to the US Army, warning American soldiers that “the Werwolf organization is not a myth.” It also kept tabs on the Edelweiss Pirates in 1946-47, which were a minor security threat in the Allied occupied zones. However, the organization came under criticism for covering up the escape of Nazi war criminals using “ratlines” and for employing men like Klaus Barbie. With the Soviet threat growing, it was willing to use ex-Nazi intelligence specialists to gain an edge.
In the game’s timeline, the CIC is highly active in assisting with counter-insurgency efforts. It is a Capability Card, which means it will remain in effect for the rest of the game if played. The CIC Capability makes Allied Search Actions only cost 1 resource instead of 3 – a huge boost in efficiency when hunting down guerrillas. It also assists with combating the Soviets. Every time the Allies do a Search Action or choose the Espionage option for the turn, they may remove a Soviet NKVD piece (orange cube) from anywhere on the map. This is a subtle ability but extremely useful. NKVD are the political units for the Soviets and allow Actions like Indoctrinate and Deport. The CIC can pick off these communist operatives at strategic locations, perhaps preventing the Soviets from building up their Control and Loyalty. If CIC comes up as an event early in the game it is well worth taking, as it helps the Allies against all of their enemies.
If you missed the previous entries in the series, you can catch up on the posts to date by following the below links:
Even though the pre-order numbers are increasing and nearing their ultimate goal of 250, we are still hosting these card spoilers to share more about the game and its alternate history. In the meantime, if you are interested we 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 