They Shall Have Options!
By William Sariego
April 2007

Designing They Shall Not Pass (hereafter TSNP) was quite an experience. In my designer’s notes elsewhere I’ve already supplied my motivation for designing it. Keeping the game in APL’s small format forced a few choices on the counter mix, of which I will help take care of in this piece. Likewise, one variant after another presented itself during the design process. They better ideas I filed away for a future web article. Here they are, in alphabetical order, excepting the last entry which corrects some things left out.

Download the new counters here.

Airpower

The Germans enjoyed air superiority early in the battle, especially during the time frame represented by TSNP. The French would eventually wrest this from them over the summer months. Dr. Bennighof has already partially addressed German air superiority with a variant for German airships, elsewhere on the website.

For our purposes here, the Germans can get an air unit representing more conventional fighters and bombers. The air unit is available on every Good Weather turn, unless the French player rolls 1 or 2 on a die. If this happens, heroic aces such as Georges Guynemer or the American lads of the Lafayette Escadrille (yes, I’ve seen the movie Flyboys many times!) stave off the Boche planes. Otherwise the Germans have a flying artillery asset that can be used to bomb (Barrage) or strafe (Offensive Support). Note that the unit is never shot down; it returns every Good Weather turn unless the French play makes his counter-air roll.

Bloody Trenches

Verdun was not just a battle, it was a campaign lasting from February to December. There were several mobile stages set amongst more typical World War One-style stalemate fighting. TSNP represents the opening stages of the battle, which were quite mobile as the Germans caught the French rather unprepared for an offensive in this quiet sector of the front. To represent the more “typical” World War One action play with the following rule: When Assaulting Trenches or Forts, the attacker must satisfy losses first.

Cavalry

Both sides had cavalry during the battle, though it was broken up in squadrons and doled out piecemeal to infantry divisions. Thus there are no separate cavalry units in the game. If we assume each side had concentrated the few mounted assets into a larger, battalion-sized combat unit, then you have this variant. The German cavalry unit starts in the 5th Corps sector, as more open ground is present on that flank (historically these divisions had more squadrons assigned to them). The French cavalry unit starts deployed with the HQ in Louvemont. Cavalry can use Breakthrough Movement but do not allow other units stacked with them to move. Cavalry have a Weak ZoC and can never be replaced if eliminated (but can be given a replacement if reduced).

Chemical Warfare

Later during the battle, after the initial surge once again settled into a stalemate, the Germans turned to a heinous method to break the gridlock. They launched a surprise barrage of the French positions using phosgene gas. This rule gives them that option during the time frame of TSNP.

Once per game, and once per game only (the French only get surprised by gas once), the German player can use his corps-level artillery and his off-board heavy guns to fire gas. Choose any stack of French units in range of the firing battery and resolve the attack as if it were an Interdiction attempt. If the attempt is successful, all French units in the stack must make an M1 morale check.

If it is not successful, the gas scatters. Roll a die to get direction (1 is due north toward the German lines, and going clockwise from there) and another die to determine distance (1-3 in one hex, 4-6 two hexes). Any unit (including German) in the hex in which the gas scatters must make a M1 morale check. The terrain in which the unit checking morale is located (trenches, for example) does not provide a positive morale modifier against gas attacks.

Naval Battery

The Germans made good use of those two massive, 15-inch naval guns off the northern map edge. It impressed the French so much that in May they moved some naval guns from obsolete and decommissioned ships to Verdun; though nothing approaching the German caliber. One neat thing about this is that a certain young lieutenant by the name of Jean Darlan was assigned to one of the batteries (and yes, his rival Charles de Gaulle fought at Verdun, also). This variant proposes the French had such a battery of guns in place at the beginning of the battle. Place the Naval Battery in hex 1520 as part of initial setup. It is considered an army-level asset.

Leader

Dr. Bennighof stole my thunder here, so to speak. I was planning on a piece for this brave warrior at some point. No worries; it was quite flattering for my game to get variants and historical pieces before it was even published!

Place Col. Driant with either of the two Chasseurs a Pied units at start. He must always be with one of them. He allows his unit (both if they are stacked together with him) to re-roll one failed morale check per turn. If he is stacked with one Chasseur unit and it is destroyed, and the other is within three hexes roll a die; a 1-3 indicates he makes a heroic escape. Place him atop the other unit. If he fails the roll, or the other unit is not within three hexes, eliminate him from play.

Postscript

It seems from lurking around the Board Game Geek website that TSNP has been pretty well received. I must say that is most gratifying. A few things need noting, however.

Leap Frog: Doug and I had a gentleman’s disagreement over the “Leap-Frog” rule, and we resolved it nicely. He has already noted the change in tactics replay for the first day of the battle. Future printings will reflect this.

German 121st: Early printings of the rulebook had erroneously assigned the German 121st Division to the 18th Corps. In fact it was assigned to the 5th Corps. The counter is correct.

French 16th Artillery: During proofing, the back side of the French 16th Division artillery counter was misprinted. A download is included here to correct this.

As always, when you are designing with a game with a limited counter mix, some things are streamlined. Players need extra Interdiction, Out of Supply and Demoralized Markers. We provide them for you here.

I hope you enjoy the game and try out some of these new rules. I’ve already figured out some things I can improve upon; for example, in They Shall Not Pass I should have drawn the German trench line for aesthetic reasons. I’ll make sure my follow-up game accounts for such things as this.

Doug McNair (with whom it was a pleasure to work) is eagerly awaiting me to finish the follow-up, which is progressing as much as my chaotic lifestyle permits. Don’t bother asking which battle we’re going to cover, as surprises are a good thing!

Peace,

The Red Goblin

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