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
#17 Walter Schellenberg
Walter Friedrich Schellenburg was an SS officer who rose through the ranks of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst or security services) to become head of all German foreign intelligence in 1944. His department within the Reich Main Security Office was Amt VI SD-Ausland, which also absorbed the Abwehr (army intelligence) following the 20th July plot against Hitler. Schellenburg organized many clandestine schemes, most of which were failures – such as the attempt to use anti-communist Russian POW’s to infiltrate the Soviet Union, and the bugging of a Berlin brothel to spy on other SS and government officials. He did have a few successes though – such as the capture of two British MI6 agents in the Venlo Incident, and his crushing of the “Red Orchestra”, a Soviet spy ring. By 1945, Schellenburg was trying to convince his friend Himmler to lead a coup against Hitler and negotiate peace with the Allies, but to no avail. He surrendered to the British in Denmark in June of 1945, and was sought out for his value as an intelligence asset.
In the game’s timeline, Schellenburg has remained loyal to Hitler and his SS comrades by joining the Werwolf organization, and uses his skills in counter-intelligence, espionage and intrigue to hide the location of guerrillas. He provides a powerful yet unpredictable Capability to the Werwolf faction – flipping a dice roll worth of guerrillas back to underground after any Allied or Soviet Search Action. Like all Capabilities, this bonus will last for the rest of the game unless cancelled by another Event Card (such as #2 Paddy Mayne’s Boys). While in effect, this card makes Werwolf guerrillas extremely hard to pin down and destroy, the Allies and Soviets will really have to work together or rely on Interrogation and Commando Raids rather than more efficient Search and Assault Actions. Even a single underground guerrilla is enough to protect a base from attack, so a roll of 1 from Schellenburg’s ability might still be useful!
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 