First World War

No conflict represents the futility of war better than the “Great War”. From its confused and illogical beginnings to the enormous, seemingly futile battles, with ‘industrial-scale’ killing and use of any means to gain an advantage.

Yet it fascinates at so many levels. Why, and to the blazes how, did an assassination in Sarajevo trigger a conflict that would last for four years, involve 32 countries, fought over four continents, producing some 40 million casualties, kill an estimated 8–9 million soldiers and some 10 million civilians (Nadège Mougel 2011)? (Even more difficult to fathom is that the Spanish flu, which began towards the war’s end, killed more people than the war and was far, far deadlier than our current covid-19). How did any soldier cope with the daily struggle, the horror and manage to function at any level? Why did people willingly and enthusiastically join up (initially at least)? How did it end so suddenly, yet inconclusively?

While I find the history intriguing, compelling and always moving, I never considered it to be a suitable period to wargame. I have seen it described elsewhere as ‘a war too far for the tabletop’. This was exactly the way I felt about it. Who wants to send wave on wave of infantry to their deaths in futile attacks, or have them sit in trenches and be bombarded for hours on end? Yet, late in 2019 that all changed. I suddenly decided that I wanted, even needed to include it in the periods that I wargame.

Full text of the post from which this excerpt was taken is on Avon Napoleonic Fellowship.

Two images that represent the massive, industrial nature and huge losses of the war: Rows of artillery shells at the National Filling Factory in Chilwell and the Douaumont Ossuary and Verdun Memorial (Wikimedia commons)

Games

Playtests

Initial planning: Paths to Glory (Avon Napoleonic Fellowship blog)

Objective Ant Hill version 1: initial, fictitious game and playtest of Westfront rules

1916
 

 

Books

Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire by Alan Palmer

Les Fantassins de la Grande Guerre by Christophe Guillemet

Verdun 1916 The Renaissance of the Fortress by JE Kaufmann and HW Kaufmann

Verdun 1916 The deadliest battle of the First World War by William Buckingham

The Price of Glory by Alistair Horne

 

A related period

Setting the East Ablaze by Peter Hopkirk (Avon Napoleonic Fellowship blog)