Blitzkrieg (French ruleset for WWII)

[Aart Brouwer]

Whilst scouring the great Interwebs I hit upon a relatively new French WWII rule set called Blitzkrieg. The rulebook will set you back only 20 euro and you can use your own miniatures and basing system going from 6mm to 28mm. Besides, they have a pretty exhaustive website with lots of freebies and extra's for downloading.

At first sight it looks like an ideal set for tactical gamers. The scenarios are small-scale, company level, 1-3 hour games played on a modest 120 by 180 cm table, although larger ones (Kursk, Normandy beaches) are perfectly possible with this ruleset. I've ordered the book, it arrived in the mail today and it looks like serious competition for similar company or battalion level rulesets - particularly because it is a lot less expensive than that game, you know which one I mean...

I don't suppose many non-French speakers will have heard of Blitzkrieg, but we have French members on the forum and I would love  to hear from anyone who has played these rules in 10mm (or any other scale for that matter, since it doesn't make much difference apparently).

So, anyone given them a try yet?

Cheers,
Aart

EDIT

They're trying to complete an English version of the rules, though I don't know when it is due to appear in print. I believe the infantry rules are finished and have been vetted by a certified Brit, don't know about the rest.

Anyway, here's the introduction in English:

Foreword

Blitzkrieg is a tactical level ruleset designed to simulate engagements during WW2. Each player commands a combat group composed of one or more companies (or a battalion). Support platoons can be attached, such as armor, anti-tank weapons, assault engineers, etc. The squad is the basic unit of the game, representing about ten soldiers led by an NCO.
Other elements include support weapons (machine guns, mortars, flamethrowers, and bazookas), artillery and vehicles.

The ruleset is organized in chapters covering: infantry, vehicles, artillery, fortifications, air support, and optional rules.

Complete orders of battle are provided for German, Russian, American, British, French and Italian forces, with typical formations as well as tables of vehicle characteristics. Several historical scenarios are also included, as well as a scenario generating system.

Blitzkrieg emphasizes playability. Gamers can easily set up and play a scenario in a couple of hours. Game mechanics are intuitive and easily remembered after a few games, which increases playing speed and enjoyment.

Blitzkrieg is also very realistic, taking into account all aspects of WW2 combat. This is reflected in the detailed orders of battle, and the comprehensive vehicle and artillery details. The flexible playing sequence simulates the fog of war while the players interact during the game turns.

10mm to 20mm figures are ideal for Blitzkrieg, but 1/72th plastic soldiers also work very well. Gamers can build up their choice of armies, but about ten infantry stands and a few vehicles will provide an enjoyable introduction.

Terrain features like buildings, woods, fields and hills are used to recreate battlefields. Distances are easily measured in multiples of 5cm or 2", either by ruler or tape measure. Artillery firing templates are used (examples can be downloaded from the Internet website, see below)

Markers have been limited to a strict minimum. Small pieces of cotton wool can be used to signal demoralized units. Some players may want to use markers to signify which units have been activated.

Only six-sided (d6) dice are needed to play Blitzkrieg. At least ten dice are recommended to ensure the flow of the game. A result of 4+ or 5+ is frequently used in the rules, which means a result of 4 (or 5) or more is necessary to have a test or an action succeed.

We know you will enjoy playing Blitzkrieg. Please visit our website at http://www.blitzkrieg.fr for more information.

The author would like to thank members of "Club Achille", in Lyon (France) for their involvement in the testing of Blitzkrieg, as well as everyone else who has helped in this project.

[sebastosfig]

hi.
I own the book and we play many games at our club. We really like the system, rather fun and simple, yet with enough complexity to add some hsitoricity: never send your infantry in an assault without support, or they will be wiped out!.

I posted many AAR both in French and english on my blog, with the tag blitzkrieg, or rapports de bataille:

http://kriegspiel.canalblog.com/tag/Rapport%20de%20bataille

http://kriegspiel.canalblog.com/tag/Blitzkrieg

I also umpired a campag
ign in a convention in 2008, about Anzio:
http://blitzkrieg.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?t=490&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45

We play mainly in 15mm; but, if you go to the official forum : http://kriegspiel.canalblog.com/tag/Blitzkrieg, and do a bit of search, you'll see many guys play with 10mm. And Pendraken seem to be a favorite


So if you have any question, don't hesitate

[Aart Brouwer]

So if you have any question, don't hesitate

Thanks, Sebastosfig!

I like your D-Day set-up. And your Rodina Project. Terrific stuff. As for Blitzkrieg, I wonder about a couple things.

1. The author claims that there are no combat tables, which is true. But there are lots of other tables for modifiers and related  effects, which makes me wonder if this isn't a case of overkill? When you play, are you constantly consulting the rulebook (something I hate)?

2. Do you know of any tutorial for making 10mm houses and buildings with removable roofs and second floors? I like to scratch-build and I have no trouble imagining what goes into their production, but I've never made them before and a few tips can't hurt.

Cheers,
Aart

EDIT

3. I almost forgot another question. Does Blitzkrieg avoid the silly, unhistorical 'clumping' of tanks and other hardware which you see so often in FoW, Spearhead and other rules? You know, where you have 10 tanks lined up for cover behind a single hedge?

[sebastosfig]

1/The author claims that there are no combat tables, which is true. But there are lots of other tables for modifiers and related  effects, which makes me wonder if this isn't a case of overkill? When you play, are you constantly consulting the rulebook (something I hate)?
No. about everything youneed to fnow is on the QRF: distance modifiers, circumstances, etc... The only thing you'll have to read is the tanks' armor values.

2/Do you know of any tutorial for making 10mm houses and buildings with removable roofs and second floors? I like to scratch-build and I have no trouble imagining what goes into their production, but I've never made them before and a few tips can't hurt.
Hmm. I don't know about 10mm, but in Blitzkrieg's forum, you have a section about scenics:
http://blitzkrieg.fr/forum/viewforum.php?f=18&sid=c9f406a1fb9e3df5c4a57cf6bc1ca079

I almost forgot another question. Does Blitzkrieg avoid the silly, unhistorical 'clumping' of tanks and other hardware which you see so often in FoW, Spearhead and other rules? You know, where you have 10 tanks lined up for cover behind a single hedge?

He he. Blitzkrieg is an infantry rul system: tanks are blind if alone. So you have to deploy them with infantry at their sides otherwise...  Plus, If you want to have a line of tanks hidden behind an hedge, well... Ok, they may be all hidden, unless there is someone in the flank (usually observers), but only the first one can shoot. The other don't see anything. To sum up, you can try, but it's not practical and silly.

Oh, I forgot: It's an alternate move system: you move a group, your opponent does so... So, you hide all your tanks behind an edge, maybe your opponent can outflank them in the same turn

[Aart Brouwer]

[...] in Blitzkrieg's forum, you have a section about scenics [...]

Yeah, I've seen it. Neveuloic's tutorials in particular are very good. But there is nothing about removable roofs and stuff. Oh well I can work that out for myself.

Blitzkrieg is an infantry rule system: tanks are blind if alone. So you have to deploy them with infantry at their sides otherwise...

I see. It all sounds very hopeful. After playing larger engagements using Spearhead for a while, I feel a change to smaller scale battles couldn't hurt.

Cheers,
Aart

[Gunhit]

Sounds interesting, looking for a tactical WW2 game concentrating on the reinforced company level. Can you elaborate on the alternate moves? is there any C&C system built in such as in BKC or does it use a "pip" system for unit activation.

Although I prefer infantry heavy combats I do like realistic armoured combat mechanisms (No pee-shooters knocking out Tigers etc ) is this handled well in these rules?

Adrian