clash of giants battlebook

7/27/2019 Clash of Giants Battlebook

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BATTLE BOOK

Clash of GiantsThe Campaigns of Tannenberg and The Marne, 1914

GMTGAMES

Table of Contents

Tannenb erg . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.0 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0 Game Components . . . . . . . . . 23.0 Game Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

4.0 How to Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.0 Sequence of Play . . . . . . . . . 38.0 Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.0 Reinforcements and Replacements . . . 4

10.0 Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511.0 Operational Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615.0 Strategic Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The Marne . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.0 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.0 Game Components . . . . . . . . . 73.0 Game Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4.0 How to Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.0 Sequence of Play . . . . . . . . . 88.0 Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.0 Reinforcements and Replacements . . . 9

10.0 Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1015.0 Strategic Movement . . . . . . . . . 1116.0 Special Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1117.0 Battle Scenario: The Allied Counterattack . 11Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Game Design by Ted Raicer


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Page 2 Living Rules Battle Book 12/25/01

Clash of Giants: Tannenberg

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Tannenberg

On August 15, 1914, the Russian FirstArmy under General Pavel Rennenkampfcrossed the border into East Prussia. Withthe Second Army, under General

Alexander Samsonov, advancing into East

Prussia from the south, the two armies ofGeneral Zhilinskiis Northwest Frontthreatened to trap and destroy the out-numbered German Eighth Army, underGeneral Prittwitz.

The first battle of the campaign wasfought on August 17th at Stalluponen.

Attacking without orders, the aggressivePrussian General Hermann von Francois,commander of the German I Corps, in-flicted a sharp tactical defeat on one ofRennenkampf s divisions. In doing so,however, he cost the Germans the elementof surpriseinstead of blundering intothe Eighth Armys prepared defensesalong the River Angerapp, Rennenkampfcautiously halted the Russian advancearound the town of Gumbinnen.

On August 20th the Germans attacked theRussian First Army and were bloodilyrepulsed. At the same time word arrivedthat the Russian Second Army was ad-

vancing on a broad front some 60 miles

to the southwest. In a panic, Prittwitzphoned the German High Command toannounce that he was abandoning EastPrussia and retreating to the safety of theVistula. As a result he was quickly sacked,replaced by the soon-to-be-famous teamof Erich Ludendorff and Paul vonHindenburg.

Even before the new commanders arrived,however, the Eighth Armys brilliantChief of Operations, Max Hoffmann, had

developed a plan to redeploy the EighthArmy to destroy Samsonovs forces. Thestage was set for the climactic battle of

Tannenberg, which resulted in the de-struction of the Russian Second Army andthe end of the first Tsarist offensive againstImperial Germany.

Tannenbergsimulates this opening cam-paign of The Great War in the east at adivision/brigade level. The German playeris outnumbered, but has the advantage ofthe central position, and knowledge ofRussian capabilities (provided by inter-cepted wireless orders). The Russianplayer has the larger force, but a creakycommand and logistical structure with

which to try to coordinate the actions ofhis two widely-separated armies.

It is August 15, 1914. The clash of giantsis about to begin...

Living Rules Note: All segments

marked with a red circle to the left ofthe rule are NEW additions or clari-fications from the original book.

2.0 GAME COMPONENTS

2.1 The Game Map

2.11 Game Scale. Each hex on the

map represents approximately 4.5 milesacross. Each turn represents the pas-sage of one or two days. Units are di-

visions or brigades.

Design Note: The pace of events during thefirst week of the campaign was slowed bythe shaking out of problems associated withmobilization, and the natural caution (ex-cept on the part of von Francois) exhibitedby commanders in the opening days of a war(hence the variable time scale).

2.12 The Retreat Compass. Note theRetreat Compass for each side on themap. German units retreat to thenorth, northwest and southwest. Rus-sian units retreat to the northeast,southeast and south.

Map Corrections: 1) The terrain keyin Tannenberg incorrectly reverses theGerman and Russian VP hexes. Ger-man VP hexes are yellow, Russian VPhexes are red. 2) The hexside between1811 and 1910 is a river.

3.0 GAME SETUP

3.1 Counter Setup

Note: The color shading on the Germancounters may make it unclear which goto Tannenberg and which to Marne. All8th Army counters are Tannenberg, therest are Marne. (In other words, ALLthe German units with an exact hex setup number are Tannenberg units, plusthe 3R XX entering on Turn 2, and the1 LW XX on Turn 11. All the otherGerman units are Marne units.)

The Russian 53rd division which en-ters Tannenberg on Turn 3 is missingits ABC entry hexes notation.

Both players should take all the units they

control and sort them into two piles: 1)units with an at-start setup code or hexnumber, and 2) units with a reinforcementturn of entry (circled). Place the reinforce-ments on the Turn Record Track.

3.11 Russian Setup.The Russian playersets up first. Place all units that start thegame on the map in the Russian EntryHex indicated on the counter. Placethose Russian units with a hex number

Tannenberg, 1914


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Copyright 2001, GMT Games Page 3


printed on them in the indicated hex.Note that normal stacking limits do notapply in these hexes. Placeall remaining Russian unitson the Turn Record Trackon the turn indicated on theunit. The Russian playerbegins with 0 Victory Points (VPs).

3.12 German Setup. The Germanplayer sets up second. All Germanunits which start the game on the maphave a specific hex number listed onthe counterthese units must be setup in the indicated hexes. Place all re-maining German units on the TurnRecord Track on the turn indicated onthe unit. The German player begins

with 15 Victory Points (VPs).

Note: The German 1st Cavalry Divi-sion sets up overstacked at the start. Itmust comply with stacking limits at theend of German movement on turn 1.

4.0 HOW TO WIN

4.1 Game Victory

Victory is determined at the end of theSeptember 2 game turn (turn 15). Theplayer with the most victory points

wins. A tie is a Russian victory. TheRussian player scores victory points forthose hexes marked with a red victorynumber, the German player for thosemarked with a black victory number.Note that hex 2804 is a Russian vic-tory hex-this represents the successfulbreaching of the outer Konigsberg de-fensive works and the placing of thefortress city under close siege.

4.2 Hex Control

4.21 At Start.At the start of play, theGerman player controls all hexes inGermany. The Russian player controlsall hexes in Russia.

4.22 Victory Hex Control.A playerscores the victory points for a specifichex if:

1) He controlled that hex at thestart of the game and no enemyunit has entered it, or

2) He controlled that hex at thestart of the game and a friendlysupplied unit was the last to en-ter that hex, or

3)The opposing player controlled the

hex at the start of the game and hewas the last to enter that hex witha friendly, supplied infantry unit.

AS units are not considered suppliedfor the purpose of this rule.

Note that all victory hexes at the start ofthe game are under German control, soconditions 1 and 2 apply to the Germanplayer, and condition 3 to the Russian.

5.0 SEQUENCE OF PLAY

5.1 The Turn Sequence

Each game turn represents one day of

real time. The sequence for a game turnis outlined below. Note the sequencebelow takes precedence over the ge-neric sequence in the standardrulebook.

5.2 The Sequence of Play

I. Mutual Supply Determination Phase

II. Russian P layer TurnA. Russian Reinforcement/Re-

placement PhaseB. First Russian Operational PhaseC. Second Russian Operational

PhaseD. Russian Combat PhaseE. Russian Recovery Phase

III. German Player TurnA. Wireless Intercept PhaseB. German Reinforcement/Re-

placement PhaseC. German Operational PhaseD. German Combat PhaseE. German Recovery Phase

IV. Game Turn Advance/VictoryPhase

5.3 Phases and Procedures

5.31 Mutual Supply DeterminationPhase. Check all units of both sides.Place AS and OoS markers as ap-propriate. The supply status lasts until

the next Mutual Supply DeterminationPhase. All units of both sides begingame turn 1 in supply.

5.32 Reinforcement/ReplacementPhases

5.321 Russian Phase. Newly-arrivingRussian units may be placed on anyRussian Entry Hex of that army (to theeast for the First Army, to the south


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for the Second Army) unless a specificEntry Hex is indicated on the TurnRecord Track. There are no stackinglimits in Russian Entry Hexes.

Flip units taking replacements and markthem with Replacement markers (alsosignifying that those units cannot moveor attack). The Russian player may placeup to two Replacement markers on eli-gible First Army infantry units, and oneReplacement marker on an eligible Sec-ond Army infantry unit.

5.322 German Phase. On their turn ofarrival, German reinforcements may beplaced on a rail line in any town/city inGermany at least seven hexes away fromany Russian unit. The unit must be ableto trace a path of contiguous rail hexesfree of Russian units and ZoCs (regard-less of the presence of friendly units) toa German western map edge supplysource. Unlike Russian reinforcements,stacking limits must be observed whenplacing German reinforcements.

Flip one unit taking re-

placements and mark itwith a Replacementmarker (also signifyingthat the unit cannot move

or attack). The German player mayplace his single Replacement markeron any eligible infantry unit.

5.33 Operational Phases

5.331 First Russian Operational Phase.The Russian player rolls on the CommandTrack to determine the current Movement

Allowance (MA) for all units of ONE ofhis two armies this turn. On turn 1 he mustchoose to activate the First Army, becausethe Second Army may not move on turn1. On turns 2 through 4 the Russian playerchooses which army he wishes to activateand move in this phase. Place the ArmyCommand marker (ACM) on the Com-mand Track as a reminder. Starting on turn5, he must choose whichever army theGerman player chose in the previous Wire-

less Intercept Phase, using the commandroll made at that time (the ACM placed atthat time will serve as a reminder). TheRussian player moves all units desired ofthe currently active army up to the limitsof their current MA.

5.332 Second Russian Operational Phase.

Skip this phase on turn 1. Starting on turn2, the Russian player rolls on the Com-mand Track to determine the current MAfor all units of the Russian army that wasnot active in the First Russian OperationalPhase. Place the ACM on the Command

Track as a reminder. The Russian playermoves all units desired of the currently ac-tive army up to the limits of their currentMA.

5.333 German Operational Phase. TheGerman player has two Commands: 1)the two units of the German I Corps and2) the rest of the Eighth Army (all otherunits). The German player must alwaysactivate and complete the movement of theGerman I Corps before the Eighth Army.

The German player rolls on the CommandTrack to determine the Eighth Armyscurrent MA. Note that the four units ofthe German 1st Cavalry Division alwayshave their printed MA available (subjectto supply). Starting on turn 5, two Ger-man units may move by Strategic Move-

ment [15.0].

5.34 Russian Combat Phase

The Russian player may attack adjacentGerman units according to the combatrules, but the Russian First and Second

Army units may never combine in an at-tack. All Russian attacks may be resolvedin any order desired.

5.35 Recovery Phases

5.351 Russian Phase. Remove both Rus-sian ACMs from the Command Track atthis time. Remove the Russian Replace-ment markers.

5.352 German Phase. Remove both Ger-man ACMs from the Command Track atthis time. Remove the German Replace-ment marker.5.36 Game Turn Advance/Victory Phase.

Advance the Game Turn marker and be-

gin a new game turn with the Mutual Sup-ply Determination Phase. At the end ofthe September 2 turn, determine victory[4.0].

5.37 Wireless Intercept Phase. Startingon turn 4, the Russian player rolls duringthis phase to determine the Movement

Allowance of one of his two armies for theFirst Russian Operational Phase of thefollowing turn. The German player chooses

which army (First or Second), and theRussian player rolls the die. The Germanplayer will thus have advance knowledgeof the MA for the Russian army of hischoice, and that army must also move firstin the following Russian player turn.

8.0 SUPPLY

8.2 How Units Are Supplied

8.21 Supply Source Hexes.The greenEntry Hexes are used as supply sourcehexes for the Russians. First Army unitsmust trace to such hexes on the easternmap edge, Second Army units must traceto such hexes on the southern map edge.

German units must trace supply to thegray supply hexes on the western mapedge, or to Konigsberg.

8.22 Tracing a Supply Line

8.221 Konigsberg. German units trac-ing supply to Konigsberg may trace nomore than six hexes long.

8.222 Rail Lines. Rail l ines inTannenberg have no effect on supply.Their only effect is on the placementof German reinforcements and on Ger-

man Strategic Movement.

Design Note: What! A WW I game where rail-roads are ignored for supply? Yup. While it istrue WW I armies were ultimately tied to rail-heads for supply, the armies in August 1914 fre-quently attempted Napoleonic-style operationsthat pushed them far from their normal logisti-cal tether. (That was true both of Samsonov inthis battle and von Kluck at the Marne.)

Furthermore, tying supply to the rail lineswould scarcely affect the Germans, who have


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a plentiful rail net inside East Prussia. As forthe Russians, most of their logistical problemsare tied into their Command die rolls.

Finally, and odd as it may seem to us,looking back today, commanders in 1914 didnot think in terms of interdicting enemy raillines. The Germans at Tannenberg were in-tent on surrounding the Rusian Second Army,not cutting its (largely non-existent) rail con-

nections. To force players to trace supply torail lines would result in very ahistorical at-tempts to halt the Russian advance with asingle cavalry unit holding a rail line.

8.3 Procedure

8.31 Russian Second Army Supply.TheRussian 2nd Army units have no attenu-ated supply. If they have nosupply line during a Mu-tual Supply DeterminationPhase, they are marked

with an OoS counter.

Design Note: Logistics for the RussianSecond Army began to break down evenbefore that army crossed into East Prussia.

8.32 Russian 2nd Army units east ofhexrow 3400 inside Russia may trace sup-ply through hexes in Russia (only) with-out regard to the Russian retreat compass.

9.0 REINFORCEMENTS

AND REPLACEMENTS

9.2 Reinforcements

9.21 Russian Reinforcements. Russianreinforcements are placed on the letteredEntry Hexes (which also act as SupplySources) marked on the map. Russianreinforcements arrive at any reinforce-ment hex of their particular army; east

map edge for the First Army, south mapedge for the Second Army, unless other-wise indicated on the Turn Record Track.

9.22 Russian Entry Hexes.There are nostacking limits in Entry hexes, but unitsmust exit them at the earliest opportu-nity, at which point stacking limits apply.German units may never end their movein or adjacent to a Russian Entry Hex.No combat may take place in such hexes.

9.23 German Reinforcements. On theirturn of arrival, German reinforcementsmay be placed on a rail line in any town/city in Germany at least seven hexes awayfrom any Russian unit. The unit must beable to trace a path of contiguous rail hexesfree of Russian units and ZoCs (regard-less of the presence of friendly units) to a

German western map edge supply source.Unlike Russian reinforcements, stackinglimits must be observed when placingGerman reinforcements.

9.3 Replacements

Each side has Replacement markers thatmay be used onceper turn to rebuild unitsthat have been reduced in combat. TheGerman player has one Replacement

marker and may rebuild one step per turn.The Russian First Army has two markersand may rebuild two steps per turn. TheRussian Second Army has one marker andmay rebuild one step per turn. Replace-ment markers also signify that the unit isDonenot able to move or attack.

Steps may not be saved, nor may they beexchanged between armies. The markerlimit is an absolute per-turn replacementlimit for each army.

9.31 Replacement Restrictions.To be eli-gible for replacements a unit must be inmap-edge supply (not fort/Konigsbergsupply; not under an OoS or AS marker).

10.0 COMMAND

10.1 In General

Both players must roll a die and compare

the result to the Command Track to de-termine the MA for all units of an army.

Exception: German cavalry alwaysuses its printed movement factor.

10.4 Russian Commands

The Russian Player rolls on the Com-mand Track to determine the current MA

for all units of his two armies. One armyis activated in each of the two RussianOperational phases. On turn 1 he mustchoose to activate the First Army, becausethe Second Army may not move on turn1. On turns 2 through 4 the Russian playerchooses which army he wishes to activateand move in this phase. Place the Army

Command marker (ACM) on the Com-mand Track as a reminder. Starting onturn 5, he must choose whichever armythe German player chose in the previous

Wireless Intercept Phase, using the com-mand roll made at that time.

10.41 First Army. Starting with the firstcommand roll following any combat in

which a defending (not attacking) infan-try unit of the First Army loses a step incombat, and for the rest of the game, usethe After loss line of the First ArmyCommand Track.

10.42 Second Army. The Second Armymay not activate on turn 1. On turns 2-4 (only) use the turn 2-4 line of theSecond Army Command Track.

10.5 Wireless Intercept Phase

Starting on turn 4, the Russian player rollsduring this phase to determine the Move-

ment Allowance of one of his two armiesfor the First Russian Operational Phaseof the following turn. The German playerchooses which army (First or Second),and the Russian player rolls the die. Usethe ACM marker for the chosen army asa reminder. The German player will thushave advance knowledge of the MA forthe Russian army of his choice, and thatarmy must also move first in the follow-ing turns First Russian Operations Phase.

Design Note: This rule simulates the ad-

vantage the Germans had in reading Rus-sian orders sent by wireless in an easily de-ciphered simple block code.

10.6 German Commands

The German player has two Commands:1) the two units of the German I Corpsand 2) the rest of the Eighth Army (allother units). The German player must al-


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ways activate and complete the movementof the German I Corps before the Eighth

Army. After moving the I Corps, the Ger-man player rolls on the Command Trackto determine the Eighth Armys currentMA. Note that the four units of the Ger-man 1st Cavalry Division always have theirprinted MA available (subject to supply).

10.61 German I Corps Attack State.Once per game on any of turns 1 through4, the German Player must place theGerman I Corps in an Attack State.

This is done before, and in place of, theI Corps Command Roll. The I Corpsmay only be placed in an Attack State ifat least one of its two divisions is on themap, in full map edge supply, and withinsix MPs of a Russian unit. If both divi-sions are on the map they must be withinfour hexes (that is, three interveninghexes) of one another at this time.

If these requirements are met the Ger-man player may declare the I Corps inan Attack State, placing the I Corps

ACM on its von Francois Attacks sideon the Command Track as a reminder.

All fully-supplied I Corps units now havea MA of six this turn, but at least one ofthe I Corps units must attack this turn.Upon declaration of the Attack State, iffor any reason this attack is not made,

the German player forfeits the game.

If the German player fails to place the ICorps in Attack State by the end of turn4, he loses the Eighth Army H/L com-mand roll modifier [10.62].

Design Note: An able and aggressive corpscommander, von Francois could be insubor-dinate at timeshis attack without ordersat Stalluponen disrupted the defensive plansof the Eighth Army commander. If the ICorps is never placed in Attack State itmeans Prittwitz has shown uncharacteris-

tic backbone and maintained a tighter holdon his army. As a result, he doesnt panic andthreaten a withdrawal to the Vistula, andis not replaced by Hindenburg/Ludendorff.

10.62 Eighth Army. Starting on gameturn 5, and for the rest of the game, theGerman player uses the H/L line of theEighth Army Command Track, if andonly if he has fulfilled the German ICorps Attack conditions [10.61].

11.0 OPERATIONAL

MOVEMENT

11.2 Limits

In addition to those limits listed in thebasic rules, units may neither enter norend their move adjacent to an enemymap edge supply source hex (though theymay enter Konigsberg).

11.6 Cavalry Restrictions

11.61 German Cavalry.The German 1st

Cavalry Division units have their Move-ment Allowance printed in the bottom

center (either 8 or 6). Subject to supplyeffects, they always uses their printedMA. German cavalry moves along withthe Eighth Army, after the I Corps hascompleted its movement.

Movement Allowance

11.62 Russian Cavalry. Russian Cavalryhas the same MA as the army to which

it belongs.

Design Note: Yes, Russian cavalry have thesame MA as the infantry of their respectivearmies. The Russian cavalry, of variablequality at the best of times, was at its worstduring this campaign, largely because of in-competent corps level command.

15.0 STRATEGIC

MOVEMENT

15.1 In General

Only the German Player mayperform Strategic Movement.

This simulates the use of railmovement to redeploy a Ger-man corps. Up to two Ger-man non-motorized infantryunits, of any size, that start thegame on the map may use

Strategic Movement. Each unit may useStrategic Movement onlyonce per game, butboth units need not use Strategic Move-ment on the same turn. No Strategic Move-ment is allowed prior to turn 5. The twoStrategic Movement markers are providedas a reminder of the usage limit.

15.2 Procedure

To use Strategic Movement, a Germannon-motorized infantry unit must beginthe Operational Phase in a town or cityinside Germany on a rail line, not in aRussian ZoC and able to trace a path ofcontiguous rail hexes free of Russianunits and ZoCs (regardless of the pres-ence of friendly units) to a German westmap-edge supply source. During the

Operational Phase, after rolling for com-mand but before any movement, removethe unit(s) from the map and place theunit(s) on the Turn Record Track twogame turns later (mark the unit with aStrategic Movement marker). For ex-ample, if the unit was removed on turn 5,

place it on the track on turn 7.

The unit(s) may be returned to the mapstarting on that turn or any subsequentturn, but the unit may be held off themap no more than two turns after it was

eligible to return. For example, if the unitwas eligible to return to the map on turn 7,it can return on turns 7, 8 or 9but nolater than turn 9.

Units are returned to the map during theReinforcement Phase. Returning unitsmust be placed in any German-con-trolled town or city inside Germany ona rail line, not in a Russian ZoC and ableto trace a path of contiguous rail hexesfree of Russian units and ZoC (regard-less of the presence of friendly units) to

a German west map edge supply sourcein full (map edge) supply.

Stacking limits must be observed whenunits are returned to the map. If both unitsare returned to the map on the same turnthey must be placed on the same hex.

Returning units may perform normalmovement and combat on the turn oftheir return.


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Clash of Giants: The Marne

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Marne

In the West, The Great War beganwith two great offensives. In the north,the German Schlieffen Plan, as modi-fied by the German commander, Gen-eral Helmuth von Moltke (nephew of

the Great Moltke who had wonGermanys wars of unification) sentfour armies on a scythe-like swingthrough Belgium into northern France.In the south, the French under Gen-eral Joseph Joffre launched Plan XVII,a series of frontal assaults against theGerman armies in Alsace-Lorraine andthe Ardennes.

By August 31st, the French plan hadcollapsed, while the German aim ofenveloping Paris and the French armiesfrom the west had likewise been aban-doned. Instead, east of the French capi-tal, the German armies were advanc-ing to the south and southeast in pur-suit of the retreating French Fifth

Army and the British ExpeditionaryForce.

By September 4th the German FirstArmy of General Alexander von Kluckwas south of the Marne, and consider-ably ahead of its left-hand neighbor,

General Karl von Bulows SecondArmy. Stil l intent on his pursuit ofwhat he be lieved to be a beaten enemy,von Kluck detailed a single corps toprotect his right flank against an at-tack from the direction of Paris.

Unknown to the Germans, the Alliedarmies had rallied, and Joffre, shiftingforces steadily from east to west, hadbuilt a new Sixth Army at Paris. It was

now positioned to strike von Klucksexposed right flank. On September 5th

the Battle of the Marne began.

It is August 31, 1914. The campaignis about to begin...

2.0 GAME COMPONENTS

2.1 The Game Map2.11 Game Scale. Each hex on themap represents approximately 3.3 milesacross. Each turn represents the pas-sage of one day. Units are divisions andbrigades.

2.12 The Retreat Compass. Note theRetreat Compass for each side on themap. German units retreat to thenorthwest, north and northeast. Alliedunits retreat to the southwest, south

and southeast.

2.13 Start Hexes. The northernmosthexes (numbered xx01) on the map arecalled Start Hexes, and are marked aseither Allied or German. Most units be-gin the Campaign Game in the StartHexes. German reinforcements enter thegame through the German Start Hexes.

Zones of Control do not extend into orout of the Start Hexes. Units in StartHexes may not be attacked. Units in Start

Hexes are always in supply. All StartHexes are considered to be clear terrainfor all purposes. Allied units may neverenter German Start Hexes. German unitsmay enter and pass through the AlliedStart Hexes on their way to the map.

Both starting units and reinforcementsmust move onto the map as soon aspossible (as soon as their army is acti-

vated and they have the movement al-

lowance to do so). Units may never re-enter Start Hexes once they have en-tered the map.

Exception: Defending Germanunits may retreat onto Start Hexesto avoid elimination. They must re-enter the map as soon as possible.

Units of either side in a Start Hex mayattack onto the map if they were pre-

vented by enemy units from enteringthe map during their OperationalPhase. They must advance after com-bat onto the map if possible.

3.0 GAME SETUP

3.1 Campaign Setup

Both players should take all the unitsthey control and sort them into twopiles: 1) units with a reinforcementturn of entry to the right of the unittype box, and 2) those units withoutsuch a number. Place the reinforce-ments on the Turn Record Track on theturn indicated.

3.11 Allied Setup.The Allied playersets up first. Place all French and Brit-ish units that start the game as part ofa particular army (those with no rein-forcement turn number) in an Allied

Start Hex on the north edge of the mapcontaining that armys number. TheAllied player may place units in excessof the stacking limits if necessary. Unitsassigned to the FCP are placed any-

where within the FortifiedCamp of Paris, withinstacking limits. Place aDemoralized marker oneach Allied Armys Com-mand Track.

The Marne, 1914


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Clash of Giants: Marne

3.12 German Setup. The Germanplayer sets up second. Place all Ger-man units that start the game as partof a particular army (those with no re-inforcement turn number) in a GermanStart Hex on the north edge of the mapcontaining that armys number. Nor-mal stacking limits apply.

Note: Ignore the German 1st ArmyCavalry Command Marker (but see theoptional rule 16.3 below).

3.2 Battle Scenario

Alternatively, see 17.0 for the setup tobegin the game on turn 6, if you wishto focus more directly upon the Battleof the Marne itself (skipping the Ger-

man pursuit leading into it).

4.0 HOW TO WIN

4.1 Game Victory

Victory is determined at the end of theSeptember 11 game turn (turn 12). Theplayer who controls the majority ofRed Primary Victory Hexes wins. Ifneither player controls a majority, theplayer who controls the majority ofBlack Secondary Victory Hexes wins.

A draw is not possible.

4.2 Instant Victory

The German player wins at the mo-ment he occupies any city hex of Paris

with a German combat unit. The gameends immediately at that point.

Design Note: No, the capture of Pariswould not win the war for the Germans,but it would have had significant politi-cal effects, and represents a significantenough development to give the Germanplayer the victory.

4.3 Hex Control

4.21 At Start.At the star t of play, theAllied player controls all VP hexes onthe map.

4.22 Gaining Control.The Germanplayer gains control of a VP hex theinstant a supplied German unit entersthat hex; the Allied player regains con-trol the instant a supplied Allied unitenters the hex. Control of a given hexmay switch from one side to the otherany number of times during play asunits move across the map. Mark con-trol of VP hexes by flipping the Con-trol marker to the appropriate side eachtime control changes hands.

AS units are not considered supplied

for the purpose of this rule.

5.2 The Sequence of Play

I.Allied Player TurnA. Allied Logistics Phase

1. Supply Segment2. Reinforcement Segment3. Rally Segment

B. Allied Operational Phase1. Command & Movement

Segment2. Command & Movement

Segment.. etc. (one segment per Army

Command marker)C. Allied Combat PhaseD. Allied Recovery Phase

II. German Player Turn

A. German Logistics Phase1. Supply Segment2. Reinforcement Segment3. Rally and Replacement Seg-

mentB. German Operational Phase

1. Command & MovementSegment

2. Command & MovementSegment

.. etc. (one segment per ArmyCommand marker)

C. German Combat Phase

D. German Recovery Phase

III. Game Turn Advance/VictoryPhase

5.0 SEQUENCE OF PLAY

5.1 The Turn Sequence

Each game turn represents one day ofreal time. The sequence for a game turnis outlined below. Note the sequencebelow takes precedence over the ge-neric sequence in the standardrulebook.

5.3 Phases and Procedures

5.31 Logistic Phases

5.311 Supply Segment. Check allunits, and place AS and OOS mark-ers as appropriate. The supply statuslasts until that players next SupplySegment. All units of both sides begingame turn 1 in supply.

5.312 Reinforcement Segment. Newlyarriving units may be placed in the en-try hex indicated on the counter. If thathex is currently under enemy controlany units entering there this turn areeliminated instead.


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5.313 Rally Segment. The activeplayer checks any currently Demoral-ized armies to see if they have fulfilledthe conditions necessary for Rallying.

5.32 Operational Phases

The active player places all of his avai l-

able ACMs in an opaque cup. He thenrandomly draws one ACM from thecup and performs the first Command& Movement Segment with only unitsof the army selected.

5.321 Command & Movement Seg-ment. The active player rolls one dieand finds the result on the Command

Track of the Army whose ACM wasdrawn from the cup. The correspond-ing box on the track shows the current

Movement Allowance(MA) for all units of thearmy whose ACM wasdrawn [8.0]; place the

ACM on the CommandTrack in that box as a reminder. Theactive player then moves all the unitshe wishes of the currently active army,up to the limits of their current Move-ment Allowance.

After the first Command & MovementSegment is completed, the active player

then repeats the procedure for each re-maining army, one by one, as he drawsthe ACM markers from the cup.

French units which end their movewithin the area of a different army thathas not yet activated this turn shouldbe marked with a Done marker.

Note that unlike the French forces,which are activated according to thearmy area they occupy, the British BEFunits are always activated together

[8.0].

5.33 Combat Phases

5.331 Allied. The Allied player mayattack adjacent German units accord-ing to the combat rules, but French andBritish units may never combine in anattack. All attacks may be resolved inany order desired, with eligible unitsadvancing after combat. Allied units

may never attack German units in theStart Hexes (Allied or German) on thenorth map edge.

5.34 Recovery Phases

Remove Done markers from units.Remove ACMs from the Command

Track.

5.36 Game Turn Advance/Vict oryPhase. Ad vance the Game Turnmarker and begin a new game turn. Atthe end of the September 11 turn, de-termine victory [4.0].

8.0 SUPPLY

8.2 How Units Are Supplied

8.21 Supply Source Hexes.Allied sup-ply sources are any hex on the southmap edge (1025, 1125, 1225 and soon). French units within the boundaryof the Fortified Camp of Paris maytrace supply to any Paris city hex.

German units trace supply to any hexon the north map edge (1002, 1102,1202 and so on).

Units of both sides in Start Hexes arealways considered to be in supply.

8.3 Procedure

8.31 German First Army Supply. Ger-man units within the German First

Army area boundary have no Attenu-ated Supply status. If they have no sup-ply line during a Supply Determina-tion Phase they are always marked with

an OoS counter.

Design Note: At the outer edge of the greatGerman wheel through Belgium andnorthern France, the First Army was far-thest from its railheads, and suffered thegreatest amount of fatigue from constantforced marching.

9.0 REINFORCEMENTS

AND REPLACEMENTS

9.2 Reinforcements

9.21 Allied Reinforcements.Allied re-

inforcement units are placed on the turnindicated on the unit. FCP units may setup anywhere, subject to the stacking lim-its, in friendly controlled supplied hexesin the Fortified Camp of Paris. TheFrench 4th Army reinforcements areplaced on the south map edge within thatarmy. If units cannot enter the game onthe turn indicated they do not enter thegame. For game purposes they are con-sidered eliminated.

9.22 German Reinforcements. Ger-man reinforcements are placed in anyGerman Start Hex containing thenumber of the army indicated on theunit. Stacking limits apply.

9.3 ReplacementsUnits may attempt to gain replace-ments during the Command & Move-ment Segment as explained below.

9.31 Restrictions. A unit may only at-

tempt to receive replacements when itbelongs to an army which rolls a 2*result on the Command Track. Onlyreduced two-step units may attempt toreceive replacements. A unit must bein full supply (free of either AS or OoSmarkers) in order to make the attempt.Units may attempt to receive replace-ments while in an enemy ZOC.

Note: French units within the Forti-fied Camp of Paris may roll for replace-ments if the French 6th Army has a

command roll of *2.

9.32 Procedure. Markthe unit attempting to re-ceive replacements with aDone marker (whetherthe attempt is successfulor not), roll one die. Theunit regains a step if the die roll resultfalls within the listed range:


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French: Roll is less than or equal to theunits TER (and remember that units ofa demoralized army outside the FCPhave their TER reduced by 1).BEF: Roll is a 1.German: Roll is less than the units TER.

9.33 Paris Taxis.The Paris Taxis marker

acts as an automatic one-time replace-ment step for any one French unit thatcan trace to any Paris hex a path not

longer than ten hexes inlength and free of enemyunits or their ZoCs (enemyZoCs not negated byfriendly units).

This replacement may be saved for usein any turn, and on any unit regardlessof the Armys Command Table result.

The unit for which the Paris Taxis replace-ment is used is notmarked with a Donemarker, and is free to move in the sameturn in which it receives the replacement.

10.0 COMMAND

10.2 Command Tracks

Each army is activated individually whenits ACM is drawn during the currentOperational Phase. A die roll result onthe Command Track determines theMovement Allowance for all units of theactivated army. The owning player mustcomplete all movement for all units withinthe indicated army boundary hexsidesbefore drawing another ACM. Once hedraws another ACM, he may not go backand adjust or re-do the movement of unitsof an army that has already moved.

Design Note: Cavalry has the same move-ment allowance as infantry in the Marne.By this time in the campaign the horses ofboth sides were exhausted and the cavalrycommanders grown markedly more cautious.

10.3 Pursuit Rules

The following rules are in effect on turns1 through 4 (inclusive) of the CampaignGame.

10.31 All 2* results on the CommandTable are treated as 3 results.

10.32 German units may not moveacross German army boundary hexsides[10.4] during their Operational Phase.

10.33 Allied units may move only in di-

rections allowed by the Allied RetreatCompass. On turns 1 and 2, all Allied unitsmust attempt to expend their full currentMovement Allowance. On turns 3 and 4,BEF units must attempt to expend theirfull current Movement Allowance.

Exception: French units startingtheir Operational Phase within theFortified Camp of Paris are exemptfrom this movement restriction.

10.34 Demoralization effects automati-cally apply to all Allied Armies (turn 5is the first opportunity to Rally any ofthem). See 10.5.

10.4 Army Boundaries

10.41 Army Boundary Hexsides.Theboundary hexsides of each army aremarked on the map. A unit always be-longs to the army of its own nationality

within whose boundaries it finds itself

at any given moment.

EXAMPLE: A French unit in hex3903 is part of the French Ninth Army.

A German unit in hex 3903 is part ofthe German Third Army.

10.42 British Expeditionary Force.TheBEF may operate freely anywhere withinthe boundaries of the French Fifth andSixth Armies, but may not move volun-tarily into the Fortified Camp of Paris(FCP). The BEF is always treated as one

army for all purposes, even if its units arespread across both French Army areas.

10.43 Fortified Camp of Paris.The areamarked by the red border around Parisis the Fortified Camp of Paris (FCP).French units within the FCP:

Activate as part of the FrenchSixth Army.

Which begin their movementwithin the FCP, always have a

MA of 8 as long as they also endtheir movement within the FCP.

May trace supply to any Paris cityhex.

May ignore the effects of the Pur-suit Rules [10.3].

May ignore the effects of Demor-alization [10.5].

British units may not end their move-ment within the FCP. If forced to re-treat into the FCP they must exit it atthe earliest opportunity.

FCP units are always free to leave theFCP.

10.44 Crossing Boundary Hexsides.Aunit that ends its move within the bound-aries of a friendly army which has not yethad its ACM drawn must be marked witha Done marker.This is solelyto prevent a unit from beingable to move twice in oneturn. The unit will be free tomove as part of its new armyon the following turn.

German units may not move acrossfriendly army boundary hexsides on turns1 through 4.

French units of a Demoralized army may

not move across friendly army boundaryhexsides.

BEF units may move freely across theFrench Fifth and Sixth Army boundaryhexsides, but may not move across theFrench Fifth and Ninth Army bound-ary hexsides or into the Fortified Campof Paris.

Units of both the French Fourth andGerman Fourth Armies marked with aa

yellow background color in the unit type

box may not move across friendly armyboundary hexsidesthey must stay

within their respective areas. These unitsmay retreat across army boundary hexsidesto avoid elimination, but must move eastof the boundary as soon after as possible.

Design Note: This represents the need tomaintain contact with the armies fightingto the east of the game map.


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10.5 Demoralization and Rally

10.51 Allied Demoralization.All Al-lied armies begin the gameDemoralized. All units of aDemoralized army sufferthe following effects:

The TER of eachunit is reduced by one. Exception:French units within the FortifiedCamp of Paris are exempt fromthis effect.

Units may not move across anAllied Army Boundary hexsideduring their Operational Phase.Exceptions: The BEF ignoresthis effect.

The boundary movement restriction foran army is removed if all adjacent armies

have rallied on a previous turn [10.52].

10.52 Allied Rally. Starting on turn 5,and on each subsequent turn, the Alliedplayer checks each Demoralized army tosee if it has Rallied. Once Rallied, an armyis never subject to Demoralization again.

Individual armies may rally at the startof any turn (5 or later) according to thefollowing specific rules:

French Sixth Army: Rallies if all ofunits of that army are within the

Fortified Camp of Paris regardlessof the presence of German units.

French Fifth or Ninth Armies: Ral-lies if all of units of that army aresouth of the Seine and/or AubeRiver.

French Fourth Army: Rallies if allof units of that army are south ofhexrow xx17.

The BEF: Rallies when both theFrench Sixth and Fifth Armieshave rallied.

Any Allied Army: Rallies if no unit

of that army is currently adjacentto a German unit (AS and OoSunits of either side are ignored forthe purpose of this rule).

Design Note: Notice that the Command dierolls for Allied armies other than the FrenchNinth yieldfewer Movement Points on av-erage once they have rallied. This is inten-tional. The Allied commanders found it hardto switch mental gears to an offensive mindset

after nearly two weeks of retreat. FerdinandFoch, the ultra-aggressive commander of theFrench 9th Army, was an exception.

15.0 STRATEGIC

MOVEMENT

Each turn one active French infantry unit(division or brigade) may move by rail inplace of its normal movement. It mustbegin its Operational Phase on a rail hex,not in an enemy ZoC, and able to traceto Paris a line of contiguous rail hexesfree of enemy units or ZoCs (regardlessof the presence of friendlyunits). Place the Entrainedmarker on the unit and rolltwo dice. Adds the numbers

rolledthis is the units railmovement allowance. Itmay move up to that number of contigu-ous rail hexes, but may not at any pointenter an enemy ZoC (regardless of thepresence of friendly units). Once themove is completed, remove the En-trained marker (which is used simply toremind you not to enter an enemy ZoC).

Apart from this, rail hexes have no othereffect on play.

Design Note: The Germans had at this pointbasically outrun their rail supply. TheFrench had a large number of rail lines forsupply, and were in danger only if the Ger-mans surrounded them, or advanced farenough south to cut the last direct connec-tion between Paris and eastern France (rep-resented by the Victory Conditions).

At The Marne the Germans had basi-cally advanced beyond the reach of their rail-heads, while the French rail lines were busymoving supplies and transporting the Frenchreinforcements that appear in the game.

16.0 SPECIAL UNITS

16.1 German Detachments

The German player may form up to twoone-step brigade detachments during thethe game. Only divisional units with twosteps may form brigade detachments.

To form a detachment, a unit must beginits Operational Phase in supply. Simplysubtract one step from the parent unitto detach the brigade. Place the newly-detached brigade in the hex with its par-ent. Stacking limits must be observed atthe end of the Operational Phase.

The detached units behave as normalGerman units for the rest of the game.

They may not be reattached.

16.2 Optional GermanReinforcements

German Player can add to his startingunits three corps (six divisions). All sixunits may be added to the German start-

ing forces at a cost of two SECONDARYVPs. At the end of the game, subtract twofrom the German total of secondary VPs.

This, of course, has no effect if the Ger-mans take Paris, or a player wins by hold-ing a majority of primary VPs.

German optional units may overstack onset-up (but the infantry/cavalry restrictionstill applies); they must meet normal stack-ing limits as soon as physically possible.

Design Note: The Guard Reserve and 11th

Corps were units sent by Moltke to the EastFront after the fall of Namur. The 7th Re-serve Corps was used to besiege Maubeuge,arriving at the Aisne River just after thebattle of the Marne. If it is taken as an op-tional unit, we are assuming that Maubeugewas masked by one of the 7th Reserves bri-gades rather than taken. All optional unitsmust be taken together, under the assump-tion that Moltke has decided not to waverfrom the concept of the Strong Right Wing.

16.3 GermanJaegerBrigade

The German JgrBrigade unit is treatedas a cavalry unit for all purposes. It maynot attack (its combat fac-tor is shown in parentheses).

Design Note: This unit rep-resents an amalgam of vari-ous light infantry and mo-torized battalions used to screen the gap be-tween the First and Second Armies.


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Optional: The Marker (and the sepa-rately colored 1 Army Cavalrycounters) is left over from a rule that

was dropped after the counters wentto the printer, so they can be ignored.But, otoh, since they are still there,

optionally you can do the following:

Treat the German 1st Army and 1stArmy Cavalr y as two separate com-mands, both using the 1st Army Com-mand Track. The three 1st Army Cav-alry units are only treated as a separatecommand within the 1st Army bound-ary, and only those three units are sotreated (ignoring any other cavalry that

later attaches itself to 1st Army).

16.4 British Cavalry Training

British cavalry uses its printed TERwhen defending against enemy infantry.

17.0 BATTLE SCENARIO:

THE ALLIED COUNTERATTACK

17.1 In General

This scenario depicts the Battle of theMarne proper, from the initial Allied at-

tacks by the French Sixth Army to theGerman decision to withdraw behind the

Aisne River.

17.2 Length and Victory Con-ditions

This scenario begins at the start ofgame turn 6 (September 5). It con-cludes at the end of turn 12. All nor-mal rules and victory conditions apply.

17.3 Scenario Setup

All units are set up at full s trength asfollows. All Allied Armies have Ral-lied. Note that when a corps (XXX) islisted, set up both units of that corps.

All German units may set up in anyhexes (subject to the stacking limits)

within 1 hex of their l isted set up hex,not including any Allied set up hexes.

FRENCH SETUP

Unit: Size: Hex:3 Cav XX 1115FM X 121186T XX 131092T XX 15111 Cav XX 151085T XX 161362R XX 1413PR Cav XX 181361R XX 17105 Cav XX 170814 XX 190863R XX 1908CH X 19095R XXX 1910MR X 191145 XX 19114 Cav XX 2620

8 Cav XX 262110 Cav XX 271838 XX 281918 XXX 28194R XXX 291937 XX 30195 XX 30196 XX 30191 XXX 311810 XXX 331742 XX 3516MR XX 36169 XXX 3616

11 XXX 371651R XX 361852R XX 371760R XX 37179 Cav XX 391717 XXX 411912 XXX 44215 COL X 4618COL XXX 46182 XXX 49177 Cav XX 5115

17.4 Optional: On turn 6 (turn 1 ofthe scenario), French 6th and 4th

Armies, and the BEF, have an automaticMA of 2. No die roll is required, thoughthe order they are activated still dependson the order their ACM chits are drawn.

17.5 Optional: Allow the Allied player toonly count a Primary Victory as a win. TheGerman player may still win a SecondaryVictory if the Allies fail to win a PrimaryVictory, or the game may end in a draw.

Design Note: The historical battle sce-nario strongly favors the Allies (theGermans, having allowed the Alliedarmies to escape during the pursuit,are in a bad way). The following twooptional rules should make the scenariomore competitive. Use of 17.5 mayoften lead to the game ending in adraw, perhaps a more accurate descrip-tion of the battle, for all its strategicimplications.

GERMAN SETUP

Unit: Size: Hex:

4 Cav XX 20074R XXX 22092 XXX 2214

Jgr X 24142 Cav XX 24154 XXX 25169 Cav XX 2617GD Cav XX 27173 XXX 28185 Cav XX 29179 XXX 30187 XXX 311610R XXX 3215

10 XXX 3415GD XXX 361412 XXX 381323R XX 381524R XX 370619 XXX 41138R XXX 47098 XXX 471618 XXX 48143 Cav XX 49146 Cav XX 5014

BRITISH SETUP

Unit: Size: Hex:3 XXX 18172 XXX 21171 XXX 24181 Cav XX 25185 Cav X 2519

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