Introduction

Corp Command: Totennsontag advertises itself to be a satisfying wargame that can be learnt and played in under three hours. I'm happy to say that it fulfills this claim.

The game simulates the first battle of Sidi Rezegh fought between the British and their Commonwealth allies against the Italians and Germans in North Africa over the course of six days. The British attempted to surprise the Axis and break the German siege of Tobruk but Rommel's panzer divisions turned the tables on them and stole another victory from the British.

The game depicts the approximately fifty square mile battlefield on 17 x 22" map. Most counters represent a battalion-sized unit. Each tank unit represents approximately fifty tanks.

Gameplay

The heart of the game lies within its initiative determination system. Each unit has an initiative rating of between two and five. At the beginning of each "impulse," (of which there are four per day), both players roll a die. If a player rolls a three, for example, all units with an initiative rating of three or higher may move or attack. Tank units have a rating of between three and five and may move and attack. As a result in any given day of the battle the tanks might move three or four times and attack, whereas the foot soldiers only might move one time or attack. If a player is so unlucky as to roll a six, and thus is unable to move any units in a given impulse, he can choose his initiative number for the next impulse. If a player rolls a five he can add or deduct one to his initiative roll on the next impulse.

This initiative roll does a nice job of abstracting supply and command problems. The British may begin the day with the intent of piercing deep into the German center only to find their attack stalled in the middle of the desert and surprised by a German panzer attack in their rear. The Panzers may find themselves the next day surprised by an overwhelming number of Commonwealth infantry battalions coming to support the British mechanized units making the original attack, etc. Obviously this initiative system lends a great deal of randomness to the game.

A die roll also determines combat between units. Each unit has an attack factor of usually two or three. This attack factor is added to the sum of two die rolls, and if it is equal to or greater to the defensive factor of the defending unit, (a number between nine and eleven), the defending unit is reduced a step. Each unit has as many steps as its attack factor. A loss reduces the unit's attack factor, but not it's defensive factor. Of course, the game incorporates other modifiers for terrain, etc.

The all important initiative die rolls, in addition to the die roll made for each attack in the game, means this game will not be enjoyed by the gamer who prefers a game with chess like deterministic play. On the other hand, this hearty dose of luck makes the game extremely replayable.

Although luck plays an important part in this game, this does not mean that no strategy is involved. The wide-open nature of this mechanized battle allows the players to bluff and feint. In addition, the victory conditions provide several strategic options. The Allied player has the option of attempting to win a territorial victory, (capture the German airfields outside of Tobruk and send forces of the German map edge to effect the "link up" with their besieged comrades in arms), or simply attempt to destroy German forces, or a combination of the two. The German player has to carefully balance wrecking havoc with his four mighty Panzer units and the grave victory point danger of losing them.

Components

The game also has the virtue of coming in a small box (about 6" x 9") with a small price tag (about $25). The map board is mounted, although in an inexpensive manner, so that the little board does tend to warp and will need to be waited down with plexiglass, or the cut portions will need to be fastened together with a clip. The map is an attractive depiction of the desert, and the broken hex lines are a huge improvement over the intense honeycomb hexes of this publisher's Band of Heroes' game. The counters are colorful, but the unit designations, (which are necessary to read), may require the use of a magnifying glass even for young eyes.

Conclusion

This is a game I expect to hit the table often. It is easy to learn, replayable and likely to appeal to most wargamers. The publisher promises to produce a series of WWII games based on this system and I look forward to purchasing all of them. I wish more wargame designers and publishers produced games that fit this niche.