Doggerland Front, how to do?

[Hermann]

Hello,

 unfortunately I'm having "problems" setting the framework for games on Doggerland.
Since there are no roads or railways there, the armies are much smaller and "lighter" equipped than on the Western Front. There are no fortresses or cities either, just pathless wastland. How to play out this scenario?
   Kind regards,   Hermann

[fred]

You may be over thinking this a bit!

I assume this is for A War Transformed? The scale of the game is fairly small, a few squads and vehicles per side, so not large forces that rely on rail transportation. The game is more concerned with patrols and fairly small skirmishes.

The Doggerland area is reclaimed seabed of the North Sea, so is a fairly narrow strip (at least in the south). So I assume troops can make their way across it - from their former coastal areas.

Whilst there is no indication railways have been built across it, I don’t see any reason why to some degree rail heads could have been extended. Roads could be built, or more likely improvised roads run across firmer areas - a lot of the roads near front line areas in WWI were hardly high quality paved ones.

Fortress probably not, but certainly outposts and patrol bases.

Also you don’t need to play in the Doggerland there are options to play further East - approximately around Poland in the lore.

But really there aren’t any great restrictions on where you want to set your game.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

The seabed is going to be a mixture of the recently surfaced sea bed (think R'lyeh) and unnaturally verdant greenery (due to the affects of the powers unleashed by the impact).

In terms of area, possibly about the size of Britain.

Building new roads will take time, the newly surfaced seabed will be sand and sediment.  Narrow gauge railways will be easier to build but it will still take time to get them to the "front".

This is the reason the trench warfare of the pre-impact war has not been renewed, there is no infrastructure to support the trenches. There will be a degree of exploration, finding the opposition.

There is likely going to be forts built to lay claim to territory, gradually pushing out into the new lands.

Amongst the scenery I want to build is a large anchor draped with discarded netting (and possibly a mix of ivy and seaweed).

[carlos marighela]

There was I imaging the typical setting was a secluded car park, lightly wooded area or motorway layby.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

There was I imaging the typical setting was a secluded car park, lightly wooded area or motorway layby.

^__^
Not to be confused with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diggerland

[Mr.J]

This might be worth a watch:

[zeppelfahrt]

I understand where Hermann is coming from because I have also been finding it challenging to get my footing in this transformed world. 

Fortresses and therefore big siege guns may not be viable game elements on a sticky sea bed, but for me the image of the Verdun forts "choked in greenery" is very compelling.  In this scenario, couldn't Fort Vaux or Fort Douaumont become the 20th century equivalents to Kazhad-dum?

Silburn-Slater mentions the old western-front battlefields in his description of the "New World Order", so wouldn't it therefore be possible to have engagements further south along the old established lines, albeit on a smaller scale? 

I love the aesthetic of "The War Transformed" and am going through my second reading.  I will likely never get to play the game for lack of anyone in my area with a similar interest, but if I ever do get the opportunity, my primary objective will be to kill the witches! 

[Hermann]

Hello!

 Yes, the game will be "A War Transformed, WW1 on the Doggerland Front".

Dear Fred, is this your book?

I see the dry seabed like the Sahara, a sea of sand. Hardly any fresh water and no buildings. Sandbag positions and trenches.
For my games I will use 20mm British, French and German figures, the only troopers I'm missing is German cavalry.

[fred]

No, it’s not my game / book. But the author has posted on LAF before, but I’ve not seen him around for awhile - just checked his user name is A_War_Transformed.

I have played quite a few games of AWT - there are several threads on here with my games and comments.

I must admit I saw the sea bed as more mud than sand. But that is just my view, probably from living on coastal areas where mud flats are much more common. A sandy sea floor approach works too. I agree on the no buildings. We have put plenty of ponds / pools on our tables, I’d never really thought if they were fresh water or salt.

Zeppehlfahrt - the idea of overgrown Verdun forts is great - the game certainly isn’t limited to the risen sea bed of the doggerland.

[carlos marighela]

Inquiring minds must know. In this alternative universe does Grimsby become a Las Vegas like entertainment capital perched on the edge of a vast desert?

[tin shed gamer]

I'd recommend looking at  Spurn Point and Paul fort. These are at the mouth of the Humber going out into the North Sea. Spurn Point Had pretty much every type of the fortifications you'd need and a railway all on a sand bar projecting out into the North Sea. During WW1 and WW2 . A lot of it has disappeared in the last twenty years due to coastal erosion (and some serious storms.)

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Currently reading Godkiller by Hannah Kaner. Though a fantasy book, it does cover the creation of minor gods and genius loci, all of which would fit into AWT.

[Steelwraith]

A thought I've had was the concept of Doggerland appearing as lowlands, broken up by areas of shallow waterways, ponds, lakes and the like. Forces aren't moving around by trains and improved surfaces, not only because of time and industrial output required to expedite (things in short supply as per the background), but because the soil conditions aren't conducive to such things. Like the recently reclaimed areas of the Netherlands, or a cross between the steppes and the paddy-dacks of Vietnam (minus the jungle foliage). One could conceivably be running a campaign where riverine operations are the norm, using little tramp steamers and similar shallow-draft vessels are used for landings.

[zeppelfahrt]

Inquiring minds must know. In this alternative universe does Grimsby become a Las Vegas like entertainment capital perched on the edge of a vast desert?

I would have thought Cromer

[zeppelfahrt]

A thought I've had was the concept of Doggerland appearing as lowlands, broken up by areas of shallow waterways, ponds, lakes and the like. Forces aren't moving around by trains and improved surfaces, not only because of time and industrial output required to expedite (things in short supply as per the background), but because the soil conditions aren't conducive to such things. Like the recently reclaimed areas of the Netherlands, or a cross between the steppes and the paddy-dacks of Vietnam (minus the jungle foliage). One could conceivably be running a campaign where riverine operations are the norm, using little tramp steamers and similar shallow-draft vessels are used for landings.

This may be helpful.  Elevations on page 13 and bottom makeup on page 27.  https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/mefepo/documents/wp1/atlases/NS_Atlas_English.pdf

Also, here you will find a map that supports your idea for low draft river operations.  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43711762   

Looks like the Norwegians will have some role in all this.  Viking gunboats, perhaps?