| 'They
Shall Not Pass': A Preview
By Doug McNair
April 2006
Ace designer William Sariego returns to
119694_avalanche Press with yet another quick and
challenging game, but this time he shows us
what he can do on the tactical level. They
Shall Not Pass covers the first
nine days of the Battle of Verdun, and lets
players deal with all the factors that made
World War I ground combat so challenging.
Trench warfare, rugged terrain, vulnerable
supply lines and the primacy of artillery
all work together to give the powerful Germans
a real run for their money against the outnumbered
but well-fortified French.
The top three factors that drive play in
They Shall Not Pass are:
Time
Crown Prince Wilhelm only has nine days
to push the French back on a broad front and
capture as many objectives as possible. He’s
got overwhelming strength in numbers and lots
of artillery to back him up. But he’s
up against a maze of woods, hills and trenches
which the French can use to great advantage,
falling back from trench line to trench line
to slow the Germans down. Wilhelm can do a
lot of damage early against the poorly-prepared
French, but if he doesn’t keep his forces
well organized and exploit breaches in the
line to the fullest, he’ll run into
French reinforcements all too soon and get
bogged down.
Elite Units
German pioneer battalions are crucial to
Prince Wilhelm’s chances for making
quick advances, and French chasseur battalions
are just as important to French chances of
cutting off overextended German units. They
increase the combat odds of any attack in
which they participate, and extend the distance
of advances after combat.
Also, they and any units stacked with them
are the only ones that can use Exploitation
Movement after other movement and combat are
done. But they are also vulnerable. They are
weak if attacked alone, the French have only
a few chasseurs, and participating pioneers
must take the first hit the German side suffers
in any German attack.
This presents a fascinating tactical challenge
to both players. They must protect their elite
units and commit them to battle only when
necessary. But they must also keep them near
the front and stacked with as many other units
as possible so they can hit the enemy hard
at weak points, lunge through breaches, and
advance the line as far as possible during
Exploitation Movement.
| 
Fort Vaux taken by the Germans, from
the magazine Die Wochenschau.
|
Artillery
World War I ground combat was all about
artillery, and They Shall Not Pass gives
both players a wide variety of options for
using artillery to defeat the enemy.
Both sides get artillery in multiple calibers.
Small-caliber artillery moves with units of
its own division and provides extra firepower
when attacking or defending. Larger-caliber
artillery is either mobile or stationary,
and can fire barrages or interdiction. Barrages
can damage or demoralize enemy units, while
interdiction slows enemy movements and cuts
supply lines.
With all these different options for using
artillery, players must be careful to mount
the right mix of artillery missions each turn
so friendly units have support in combat,
key enemy units are suppressed by barrages,
and enemy movements and supply lines are slowed
and fouled up by interdiction.
They Shall Not Pass is a terrific
addition to the 119694_avalanche Press product line
because it adds strategic issues to tactical
action. Just as in Panzer Grenadier, players
get the thrill of fighting for territory hill
by hill and town by town. But the addition
of bigger-picture issues like supply lines,
moving fronts, and multiple-use artillery
lets players tackle a whole new set of challenges
on the battlefield, and makes They Shall
Not Pass a fine first entry in what I
hope will be a long line of grand tactical
wargames from William Sariego. We’re
working hard to bring it to you soon!
Click
here to pre-order They Shall Not Pass! |
