Iconoclast's Tactical Problems (Series of mini Kriegsspiel)

Hi everyone,

I have not been active on this Forum, except for the introduction. After the Journal "The Strategy Bridge" asked its readers to participate in what is essentially an Kriegsspiel, I was reminded of how long I haven't been working on my Cold War late 1980s version of Kriegsspiel rules. Instead of tackling this task again, I decided to develop very small "Tactical Problems", to have a mini series of practical games here. The idea is to not run entire campaigns, rather very short "tactical brain teasers".

I have not been the inventor of this tool, Moltke had a go at it way earlier and for the most of you, these are probably more interesting than what is going to come, since he wrote about the late 19th century. Click here to get to the original tactical problems by Moltke. have a look as to get a better idea of what is to come.

General Idea:

Depending on the reception, I will post every now and then a series of Tactical Problems set in a hypothetic but generic cold war environment. For now, the game is not blind, just post your thoughts and solutions in the forum. I encourage everyone to discuss ideas of someone else. This is not meant to be a one-way street (as in: people are only talking to me). The Scenario's will probably consist of just one "tick", so if there is movement happening, it is predetermined by the scenario anyway. Emphasis is put on a single instance of decision making, except when we start to get the ball rolling. We develop the situation further if there's interest and the situation warrants to do so.
No number's crunching. I will umpire by IMP only. No dice roll, no charts, nothing.

Setting:

Assume equipment of the 80s. BLUFOR is strongly reminiscent of German Forces, REDFOR will use WP doctrine and OOBs. A lot of units will not be represented, maybe I will add them later. But if you have an idea and feel something should be added while we already "play", go for it. Vehicles are generic. Don't start with "But my T64-BV has range of 3213 m, I should have hit the vehicle at 90% hit-chance".  

What to expect:

Badly drawn maps that hopefully get better when I have learned a few tricks. OpOrds and Sit Briefings that are very much simplified, to streamline the scenarios. Don't think we play any scenario for long. There will be decisions and we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages. I will use German abbreviations because I am used to them, they should be understandable anyway.

I will provide you with more background info than you need for the scenarios, not everything MUST be used. I also do this as a pilot for myself, and to see if I can draw any conclusions from this for my rule set. If something is not mentioned, it also doesn't play a role (i.e. enemy aviation, NBCR etc.)

Military English is fine for me, but I will not be able to write the orders in the same quality I could in German, especially when it comes to terminology. I might use terms every now and then, that is not 100% on spot as you would find in an OpOrd written by active English-speaking military personal. If you find such a mistake, let me know. Just don't bash me for it.

I am just saying this since I am myself a nitpicker in terms of military language. But that does count for my native-tongue, not so much for english.

And I do not know how strong my commitment will be. maybe it turns out that the format is not as great as it is in my head, so don't expect a fixed amount of scenarios.

What is expected:

Really, nothing. participate in the game if you like, you don't have to "formulate" your orders in any specific way. Just be ready that I will chip in with suggestions or comments on how things *might* be done in RL. I would love to see lively discussions of the situation. Suggestions are also welcome in any way, whether it regards grammar, spelling, the situations, what you would like to see etc.

How we go from here:

Next Post will be OOBs that we will reuse. It will be a living Post, meaning I will come back to it. I will also add a terrain key if I think we start to need one. I might also post "Unit descriptions", to give you just some RL examples of the generic vehicles we use. After that, I post the Orders and player tasks. Where necessary, I post additional Info on equipment with the scenarios.

Have Fun!

This is a living Post

OOBs













-- WIP --

Terrain key

-- WIP --

Unit Guide

-- WIP --

Cheers

Scenario #1
Meeting Engagement
PzGrenBtl141

Situation Briefing

1 A.) Enemy Situation

a.) REDFOR 21. TnkDiv MBA has been penetrated during the early morning. Combat Power has been reduced to 30%, Division Reserves have been committed and destroyed. Enemy resistance in the divisions rear area is assumed to be not stronger-than-Company size.

b.) REDFOR 22. TnkDiv, currently deployed 30 km north of SANDHAUSEN as Corps Reserve, is expected to form a new Defensive Line along the river AUE, and will receive the disorderly withdrawing remnants of 21. TnkDiv and 20. MotRifleDiv.


1 B.) Situation Own & Allied Forces

a.) BLUFOR 5. PzDiv has committed its DivRes ( PzBrig 14) to exploit the breach created during the early morning hours. DivCdr intends to secure the AUE crossings and deny use to REDFOR Corps reserve.

b.) Vstk (reinforced) PzGrenBtl 141 is being deployed as forward Detachment of PzBrig 14.

c.) For Task organization, see Annex A.


2.) Mission
PzBrig 14…


3 A.) Commander’s Intent
Cdr PzBrig 14 secures AUE crossings with one Forward Detachment ahead (vstk PzGrenBtl 141) …


3 B.) Maneuver Tasks

a.) Vstk PzGrenBtl 141, secures AUE crossings ASAP, and destroys enemy forces enroute whenever they threaten the Brigade’s Axis of Advance.

b.) PzBtl 142 ….


3 C.) Special Tasks

a.) Artillery

aa.) For Task Organization, see Annex A.

bb.) High-value Ammunition allocation…

b.) Military Engineering

aa.) For Task Organization, see Annex A.

bb.) Obstacles and Mines…

c.) Air Defense

aa.) …


3 D.) Coordinating Instructions
….


4.) Logistics
….


5.) Signal
…




Player Tasks:

I.)
1.) Create a Task Organization for vstk PzGrenBtl 141, using Annex B if you like. (draw in it, write in it, whichever you prefer. Or not use it at all.)
2.) Decide on a movement order.
3.) Security Measures.

explain your reasoning.

Annex B:





II.)
Situation will be continued.