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
#57 Bundesrepublik
The Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or Federal Republic of Germany, was the democratic government established to rule the western half of Germany after the end of direct Allied military rule in 1949. The Bundestag parliament was centered in Bonn rather than Berlin, as renowned Chancellor Konrad Adenauer wanted to leave Berlin as the future capital of a reunified Germany, while the “Bonn Republic“ was to be a temporary compromise. The Cold War loomed large in post-war German politics, with the country divided between Soviet and Western occupied zones. The Federal Republic, often referred to as West Germany, experienced a miraculous economic recovery or Wirtshaftswunder in the 1950’s, in contrast to the tyranny and economic stagnation of the Soviet-ruled East. In the game’s timeline, the Federal Republic is established as an effort to build German democracy and therefore loyalty to the Allies and their ideals.
The play of this card results in placing the Bundestag Marker in the city of Bonn on the western edge of the map. This space already starts the game with a reasonable Allied garrison of 2 Troops and 2 Police, so it can be defended from Infiltration. While Bonn remains secure, Allied Reconstruction efforts will be vastly more efficient, costing 1 Resource per shift in Loyalty rather than 3. If played early in the game, this will add up to a huge amount of saved resources. However, it will make Bonn a key target for Assassinations, Ambushes and other nasty insurgent tricks, so it will need to be well garrisoned for the whole game.
This card also has the potential to backfire if the insurgents play it. The new Bundesrepublik will still be declared and will benefit the Allies as specified above, provided they control Bonn. But with the insurgency raging, many Germans might be convinced to see the new regime as simply a puppet of the Allied occupation forces. This will hurt Allied Loyalty and Morale.
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 