A Hell So Terrible: Verdun 1916

"Humanity is mad! It must be mad to do what it is doing. What a massacre! What scenes of horror and carnage! I cannot find words to translate my impressions. Hell cannot be so terrible. Men are mad!" � Second Lieutenant Alfred Joubaire, diary entry during the Battle of Verdun (May 23, 1916)

A Hell So Terrible is a solitaire wargame simulating �Operation Gericht� (Operation Judgement), the German assault on the city of Verdun launched on February 21st, 1916. You take the role of Germany�s Crown Prince Wilhelm (eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm) in command of the German 5th Army as he attempts to fulfill Falkenhayn�s goal of knocking France out of the Great War through attrition. The attack on Verdun is envisioned as a stab at the heart of French national morale.

Falkenhayn hoped that threatening this iconic city and fortress complex would force France to react hastily and carelessly, thereby compelling its forces to launch suicidal counterattacks against prepared German defenses and artillery kill zones. Falkenhayn anticipated that this sacrifice would be so bloody and demoralizing that it would ultimately drive France from the war.

Thus, you must push your forces forward and inflict as much damage and destruction on the French defenders in front of Verdun as possible and do so before the opening guns of the Battle of the Somme are fired at the start of July 1916. If you cannot accomplish that goal, precious reinforcements, supplies, and heavy artillery resources will be diverted to the defense of the Somme River line, and with that will come an end to the effort to �bleed France white.�

A TOWER DEFENSE GAME�FROM THE ATTACKERS POINT OF VIEW!

Unlike other �tower defense� games (including a certain one where Horrors invade a place called Plum Island!), you will now step into the shoes of the German attackers while the game system controls the French defenders. This game system simply and accurately depicts the tough tactical decision-making imposed by the conditions prevalent during the First World War.

You will be forced to constantly choose whether to push the German units harder and faster�balancing the risk of higher casualties against the seizure of enemy territory and destruction of their forces. And because you only have ten game turns in which to accomplish your mission, time is of the essence, and you will often be forced to push your troops hard. But there is also one other insidious factor to this conundrum�keeping up the pace of advance of your artillery and logistical support.

Every German unit has a �Support� marker on its track and the relative position of that marker has consequences to the unit�s ability to fight well. But the �Support� marker only moves with certain events or when the attached unit Regroups�meaning it must sometimes stop and become �Spent� to allow its assigned �Support� marker to catch up. If, and when, to Regroup a German unit is a critical decision for the player.

DICE ACTIVATION SYSTEM

A Hell So Terrible uses a unique dice-activation system that challenges the solitaire player every turn of play. There are nine tracks spread across three Sectors, all leading to the outskirts of the Verdun fortress. Located on each track is a German unit, representing an amalgamation of the various divisions that fought at the battle. You must push each of these units along their respective tracks, advancing against the French defenders while enduring artillery barrages, bombing raids, and counterattacks.



The activation of the German units is accomplished with the roll of custom Activation Dice, of which there are four types: two �Movement� types and two �Casualties� types. Every unit being activated must have one �Movement� die assigned to it along with one �Casualties� die. You roll all dice at one time and then assign the dice as you wish to each unit in the activated Sector. The pair of dice assigned dictate how far the unit can move (if at all) and if it takes any casualties from enemy fire.

The concept is that the effect of enemy incoming fire is built into the activation/movement mechanism. It�s your German units pushing up against the French �wall of fire.� By building that effect into the movement system, gameplay is sped up as the player does not need to separately resolve every single incidence of opposing fire combat.

The two �Movement� type dice are the �Advance� die, which is your basic die possibly allowing one space of movement forward, and the �Infiltration� die, which represents the deployment of Stosstruppen and other assault assets which can allow the assigned unit to move up to two spaces and gain benefits during combat.

You receive one �Advance� die per German unit for free but may convert that die into an �Infiltration� die by spending one Command Point (these are points that you can spend to beneficially affect some game mechanics and which abstractly represent German higher command influences).

The two �Casualties� dice are the �Friction� die, which is the default die and could inflict up to a 2-Strength Point loss on your unit, and the �Suppression� die, which can be substituted for the �Friction� die if the German unit has its �Support� marker close enough. The �Suppression� die reduces the chance of a Strength Point loss on your unit by simulating the suppressing effects on the French defenders of the close artillery support from the local German batteries.

You also have access to Command Points, which can be spent for a variety of benefits in the game, including the re-rolling of one or more Activation Dice as mentioned above. So, you�re afforded some bad luck mitigation provided that you exercise careful use of your precious Command Points.

One other important use of Command Points is their ability to provide Attack Momentum. This is another mechanic to offer you some dice mitigation opportunities by allowing you to keep the two dice assigned to a unit (if the combo is a particularly high pair of numbers) but then counting each down by one pip.

So, for example, if you assigned a �6� Infiltration Die and a �5� Suppression Die to a unit, you can spend a Command Point and that unit is automatically assigned a �5� Infiltration Die and a �4� Suppression Die during its second activation.

Add the fact that assigning a �doubles� dice roll to a unit represents German Command Efficiency and grants you a choice between a few perks. Now you�ve got quite a puzzle to solve that�s sure to delight the solitaire crowd out there!

The German units keep activating until they become �Spent,� which can happen in a number of ways�assault fatigue, combat loss, or by the player opting to halt their advance and regroup their strength. When all German units in all Sectors are �Spent,� the turn is concluded.

THE FRENCH DEFENDERS BOT & EVENT CARDS

So what about those pesky French defenders? Well they are not just an idle force, waiting for you to pummel them! The French forces are an active, vibrant, and tough opponent that will not only bombard your troops with artillery fire, attack you with air raids, and deploy reinforcements but they will also viciously counterattack.

During the Game Turn, you must draw and enact Event Cards. Some of these cards are beneficial but others will drive the French defenders to react to your offensive. You will not know when these cards will be drawn and as such, must constantly play the odds and prepare for any and all contingencies. The French will often seek out your weak spots, attempt to take back spaces that you have captured, secure important locations (such as Fort Douaumont), and generally attempt to make your life miserable.

All these French maneuvers are based on historical events or on events that could have realistically happened on the Verdun battlefield. Solitaire players will face a challenging opponent against which to battle.

Event Cards drive the narrative of the game.
You will be drawing anywhere from two to five cards per turn and these cards will not only handle the deployment and actions of the French defending troops, but they also provide beneficial combat effects, affect the air campaign (including the arrival of flying aces on both sides and balloon-busting), bad weather, the �shell shock� inflicted on your soldiers who are constantly on the offensive, German logistical challenges, Falkenhayn�s attack orders, and even Petain�s bout with pneumonia.

COMBAT

The combat system is fast and simple, but has some intriguing tactical detail. First of all, you normally will be bombarding French unit positions, as well as their logistics lifeline through �The Sacred Way,� at the start of the game turn by using your Bombardment and �Big Bertha� points. These are markers that are placed on French spaces representing your heavy artillery barrages.

However, these markers have variable effects (and sometimes no effect!) that are hidden from you until your units enter those French positions. These markers can decrease the Strength Point value of the defending units, including just outright obliterating them, as well as possibly destroying their trenches.

In addition to this preliminary bombardment, the careful timing of your attacks can result in your neighboring units providing Flank Support to an attack, which will increase your unit�s attack strength. Also, if an �Infiltration� Activation Die is assigned to the attacking German unit, you can re-roll the combat die for that unit if you wish. For the French defenders, some of their low die results are re-rolled when defending in certain beneficial types of terrain.

Event Cards can provide various combat benefits as well (ex: �Flamethrowers�). So, there are a number of tactical moves you can take advantage of to increase the chances of a successful assault.

After any and all adjustments and calculations are made, you will simply roll a D10 combat die for each side, adding the unit�s net Strength Points to the result rolled. Both sides� net rolled total is compared, with the higher total winning the combat and applying effects to both sides.

A combating unit can win either a Minor, Decisive, or Overwhelming Victory, with each result having different consequences depending on the severity of the victory. If the two totals are tied, a Stalemate result occurs and the German unit must then test its morale to see if its �elan� can carry it to victory or, if not, whether the French counterattacks the hesitant German assault.

So combats in the game are easy to calculate and resolve, but the system also provides tough tactical player choices with crunchy, layered combat results.

VICTORY AND DEFEAT

You have until the beginning of the Somme offensive in July 1916 to achieve Falkenhayn�s offensive goals againt the Verdun fortress complex. Your ability to fulfill his aims is measured in Victory Points. These points are scored both during the course of the game (in the Bled White Step, which measures the Germans� current deepest penetration against Verdun), and at the end of the game (in total casualties inflicted and territory gained).

Your total Victory Points scored is then compared to the Victory Point Table to measure your level of success or failure within the historical context of the Verdun campaign.

Will you be relieved of duty with the Kaiser being forced to sue for peace thanks to your incompetence? Or will you be awarded the Iron Cross, with the British having to handle the Somme front alone because Verdun has been thoroughly compromised? The fate of empires hangs in the balance and your performance at Verdun will determine if you can handle the pressure of A Hell So Terrible.

Components

� One 22� x 34� Mounted Game Map
� 48 German Unit Counters (1� x 2�)
� 42 French Unit Counters (1� x 2�)
� 16 6-sided Custom Activation Dice - 4 Green, 4 Orange, 4 Black, and 4 Red
� Four 10-sided Dice (D10) - 2 Black and 2 Blue
� 53 Event Cards
� 100 Game Markers (5/8�)
� One Game Tracks Card
� One Player Aid
� One Rulebook