They were first published in 1973 as a development of the 1972 rules "War Games Rules Infantry Action 1925-1975", and later split into two eras covering 1925-1950, and 1950-2000.
The variations, as published by WRG, are set out in the table:
Year
Title
1972
War Games Rules Infantry Action 1925-1975
1973
War Games Rules Armour & Infantry 1925-1950
1974
War Games Rules Armour & Infantry 1950-1975
1979
War Games Rules for Armoured Warfare 1950-1985
1988
War Games Rules 1925-1950: Wargames Rules for All Arms Land Warfare from Platoon to Battalion Level
1993
War Games Rules 1950-2000: Wargames Rules for All Arms Land Warfare from Platoon to Battalion Level
A computer-moderated adaptation of the 1988 edition was created by WargameSystems.[3] This is claimed to preserve the WRG rules structure and key data while the software automates the mechanics of playing by these rules, hence saving time and increasing enjoyment of the game.
Core rules summary
Philosophy
Paraphrasing from the author’s introduction:
"The rules cover the period from the introduction of the fast tank until the introduction of ATGM, AFV range-finders and accurate APDS…the emphasis is on tactics, terrain, command and control…These rules are set in the real world of rain and mud, dust and mirage. The battles they simulate are not fought by nicely painted models but by men who are tired, frightened, dirty and often cold and hungry…Equipment performance and troop capabilities are based on those reported by real fighting units, rather than theoretical or artificial sources…differences in combat effectiveness that are not substantiated by careful research or that are insignificant compared with random factors are given only the attention they deserve."
Sequence of play
Alternate.
Time scale
One friendly and one enemy move = 5 minutes. Each move partly overlaps moves preceding and succeeding it.
Ground scale
Varies depending on the figure scale.
Troop scale
One figure represents one real equivalent. Infantry figures are based together in elements of 2 or 3 to 6.
Dice
One six sided dice is used throughout the rules.
Command and control
"Orders were exclusively verbal. The divisional commander made his decision for the next day during the evening, and he gave the necessary orders verbally to his regimental commanders on the battlefield; then he returned to his main headquarters and discussed his intentions with the chief of staff of the 48th Panzer Corps. If approval was obtained the regiments were sent the wireless message: “no changes,” and all the moves were carried out according to plan. If there were fundamental changes, the divisional commander visited all his regiments during the night and gave the necessary orders, again verbally."
—von Mellenthin FW Major General, Panzer Battles: A Study of the Employment of Armour in the Second World War, Futura, London, 1977
Each company (and if necessary, platoon) is given a one word order—Recce, Probe, Attack, Defend, Delay or Support—that specifies its task and imposes any tactical limitations. Some orders require additional information such as an objective, a line of advance, or boundaries.
Orders can be changed during a battle by passing the new order(s) through the chain of command.
Communication
Command elements can communicate once with a superior command element, three times with subordinate command elements, and with all directly subordinate elements.
Range and effectiveness depends on method—Personal, Line, Radio, Written, Signal.
Troop quality
Troops are classified as Inept, Green, Stubborn, Dashing, Skilled, Thrusting, Fanatic or Irregular. These classifications can restrict choice of Tactical Modes (explained hereafter) and also govern reactions to casualties and overrun situations.
Tactical Modes
Command elements can choose how to fulfil their orders by declaring a Tactical Mode – Salvo, Hold, March, Attack, Assault, Dash, Stalk, Skirmish, Slow, or Gap. Each Tactical Mode has its own movement and firing specifications.
An element’s choice of a Tactical Mode can be restricted by orders, troop classification, terrain and combat results.
Exigency Modes
These are the same as Tactical Modes except that they are imposed while specific circumstances apply, such as being shot at. When these cease, elements revert to their Tactical Modes.
Firing
For direct fire, first dice to check for full or partial acquisition, specify the type of fire—Aimed, Volley, Suppressive—then dice to see if the fire is effective.
"Captain Walter took over the command of C squadron (23rd Hussars Armoured Regiment) when the squadron leader was killed. He won a Distinguished Service Order for his rallying of the tanks and the stubborn fight he conducted, including the destruction of a counterattack with artillery fire, which he called in by saying “Hello this is Peter Walter, I need some artillery fire,” on the BBC frequency. The BBC relayed the message."
—Sweet JT, Mounting the Threat: The Battle of Bourguebus Ridge 18-23 July 1944, Presido Press, San Rafael, CA, 1977
Area fire is not dissimilar to the above except that -
Area fire resources are allocated Under Command, In Direct Support, In General Support, to Counterbattery, or at Priority Call. These classifications determine responsiveness to requests for fire support (which may not always be approved when required and may sometimes be supplemented by additional firers).
Firing tasks are defined as Counterbattery, Programmed, Defensive or Impromptu. Each type of task has its own requirements for availability and activation.
Targets are classified as Registered, Observed, or Predicted; these classifications affect aiming point accuracy and corrections.
Possible fire patterns are Bombardment, Fireblow, Harassing, Concentration, or Barrage. These patterns have their own availability requirements and affect beaten zone dimensions and munition effectiveness.
Combat results
"…the principal condition associated with defeat appears to have been the use of maneuver by an enemy…It does not seem to have been associated with the intensity of his firepower…Where maneuver was the decisive influence, moreover, recognition of defeat appears to have arisen from a look towards the future and an enemy’s potential capabilities rather than toward the past and the casualties he has inflicted. …The evidence indicates that in most cases, a force has quit when its casualties reached less than ten percent. In most cases, moreover, defeat has not been caused by casualties."
—McQuie R, "Battle outcomes: Casualty rates as a measure of defeat", Army, November 1987
Successful fire causes the target to be Suppressed or Neutralised. Then check for Knock-out.
When carrying out Attack or Probe orders:
Neutralisation may cause a platoon to become pinned
Pinning or Knock-out may cause a company to become repulsed (which in turn may require it to retreat or change to Hold orders).
Regardless of orders, overrunning may also cause retreat or surrender results.
If all of a company's troops retreat in the same move, a rout may ensue.
Repulsed, retreated or routed troops must be rallied before they can advance or be given a new order, as must troops that have attacked and occupied an objective.
Related Research Articles
A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of some military operation. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to study the nature of potential conflicts. Many wargames re-create specific historic battles, and can cover either whole wars, or any campaigns, battles, or lower-level engagements within them. Many simulate land combat, but there are wargames for naval and air combat, as well.
In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed force. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the United Kingdom. An order of battle is distinct from a table of organisation, which is the intended composition of a given unit or formation according to the military doctrine of its armed force. Historically, an order of battle was the order in which troops were positioned relative to the position of the army commander or the chronological order in which ships were deployed in naval situations.
De Bellis Antiquitatis or DBA is a fast play set of rules for the hobby of historical miniature wargaming, particularly ancient and medieval wargaming in the period 3000 BC to 1520 AD. Now in 3rd edition. These rules allow entire armies to be represented by fewer than 50 figures. The rules also include diagrams and over 600 army lists. DBA is produced by the Wargames Research Group and was the first game in the DBx series, which now includes De Bellis Multitudinis (DBM), De Bellis Magistrorum Militum, Hordes of the Things, De Bellis Renationis. and for 1700-1920 Horse Foot and Guns (HFG) An online video game titled DBA OnlineArchived 2006-11-11 at the Wayback Machine was also created.
Warmaster is a ruleset for tabletop wargames written by Rick Priestley, published by Specialist Games, and set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. It is different from Warhammer Fantasy Battles in both appearance and gameplay. It is intended for 10 –12 mm miniatures. Basic troops are based on stands, of which typically three make a unit. Generals, Heroes and Wizards are mounted individually or with their retinue.
The Battle of Hamburger Hill was a battle of the Vietnam War that was fought by US Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces against People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces during Operation Apache Snow. Though the heavily-fortified Hill 937, a ridge of the mountain Dong Ap Bia in central Vietnam near its western border with Laos, had little strategic value, US command ordered its capture by a frontal assault, only to abandon it soon thereafter. The action caused a controversy among both the US armed services and the public back home.
Hordes of the Things (HOTT) is a fantasy miniature wargame, published by Wargames Research Group. The game was first published in 1991, with a revised second edition from 2002. A generic fantasy game, it can represent armies from a wide variety of settings. Some gamers even use HOTT to simulate other time periods, since, for example, a "Shooter" can just as easily be a company of musketeers as it can a company of archers.
Tactical wargames are a type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level, i.e. units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or companies. These units are rated based on types and ranges of individual weaponry. The first tactical wargames were played as miniatures, extended to board games, and they are now also enjoyed as video games.
Turn-based tactics (TBT) is a video game genre of strategy video games. They are turn-based simulations of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic considerations of turn-based strategy (TBS) games. Turn-based tactical gameplay is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks using only the combat forces provided to them in a generally realistic manner.
Real-time tactics (RTT) is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time, simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics. It is differentiated from real-time strategy gameplay by the lack of classic resource micromanagement and base or unit building, as well as the greater importance of individual units and a focus on complex battlefield tactics.
Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) refers to a joint doctrine of reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition conducted by the United States Armed Forces. RSTA operations are designed to support military operations at a strategic, operational, or tactical level, either by dedicated RSTA forces or those which possess the capability.
Kriegsspiel is a genre of wargaming developed by the Prussian Army in the 19th century to teach battlefield tactics to officers. The word Kriegsspiel literally means "wargame" in German, but in the context of the English language it refers specifically to the wargames developed by the Prussian army in the 19th century. Kriegsspiel was the first wargaming system to have been adopted by a military organization as a serious tool for training and research. It is characterized by high realism, an emphasis on the experience of decision-making rather than on competition, and the use of an umpire to keep the rules flexible and manage hidden information. After Prussia's impressive victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War, other countries began designing similar wargames for their own armies.
Megablitz is an operational-level wargame that was developed by Tim Gow to fill a niche in the range of wargames that was currently available. It combines aspects of both traditional figure wargames and map-based wargames, and new players can quickly pick up the main concepts.
De Bellis Multitudinis (DBM) is a ruleset for table-top miniatures wargames for the period 3000 BC to 1485 AD. It is the big battle development of De Bellis Antiquitatis. As its name implies, it is aimed primarily at simulating large battles. The rules allow armies to be chosen from published Army Lists using a points system to select roughly equal armies if required.
Tobruk, subtitled "Tank Battles in North Africa 1942", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1975 that simulates tank combat in North Africa during World War II.
The Wargames Research Group(WRG) is a British publisher of rules and reference material for miniature wargaming. Founded in 1969 they were the premier publisher of tabletop rules during the seventies and eighties, publishing rules for periods ranging from ancient times to modern armoured warfare, and reference books which are still considered standard works for amateur researchers and wargamers. They are best known for their seminal ancient and medieval period rules, and also for De Bellis Antiquitatis and Hordes of the Things fantasy rules.
Corps Commander, or "Corps Commander: Operational Manoeuvre Group" is a set of micro-armour Miniature wargaming rules designed by Bruce Rea Taylor and Andy Ashton and published in the UK by Tabletop games copyrighted by B. A. Rea Taylor, A. Ashton & Tabletop Games July 1986.
Chronicles of Osgorth: The Shattered Alliance is a 1981 computer wargame published by Strategic Simulations in January 1982 for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit family. Programmed by John Lyon, it relies on a new game engine, called RapidFire, intended to make faster and easier access to wargames published by the studio. During a turn, the program selects the units each in turn and the player only has to order them to move, attack or cast a spell. The order is then executed immediately before the program selects another unit. The game offers two categories of scenarios. The first is composed of medieval-fantasy confrontation, including a free adaptation of the Battle of Gondor against the Mordor forces in the Lord of the Rings. The second is composed of historical battles of antiquity.
Firefight: Modern U.S. and Soviet Small Unit Tactics is a tactical wargame originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that hypothesizes combat between small units of American and Soviet forces in West Germany in the 1970s.
The Battle of Guisa was a relevant event in the history of Cuba. One of the major victories of the Rebel Army in the Liberation War (1956-1958) sustained against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba.
Leros: The Island Prize is a board wargame published by The Gamers in 1996 that simulates the Battle of Leros during World War II. The game is the 8th in the "Tactical Combat Series" of games that use an identical series of rules.
Barker P 1988, "A new WRG approach to wargaming tank combat," The Courier, vol VIII, no. 1
Peers C 1996, "An officer classification system for WRG, 1925-2000, Wargames Illustrated, March
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
