Games Workshop's Great War (or GW GW)

[Helen]

Thanks Overloard for the overview of the rule set.

I'm really puzzled that we not seeing the Eastern Front! I'm wondering if some wargame companies have shares in this venture and will only see their figures in the book.

There are some good wargame companies out there that have all the figures to do other theatres and not just good old Western Front.

It would not take a rocket scientist to bring out an army list to cover these areas as well for the folks who have an interest other than Western Front.

[Prof.Witchheimer]

I'm really puzzled that we not seeing the Eastern Front!

as long as there isn't nice looking Eastern front miniatures range (that is to say Russians), I won't start my "big WW1 gaming"  

Though I will do Africa WW1  one day for sure

[Poliorketes]

I guess Helen meant the Saloniki/Gallipoli/Sinai theatres. For the Commonwealth that was eastern front (I think even Italy goes for eastern front). For Central/eastern Europeans those where only minor side theatres, the real eastern front was Galicia/Ukrainia, of course.

[Aaron]

I don't think it has as much to do with available figure ranges as it does with needing something to put in the following books.

[Lowtardog]

 I won’t be playing it for the time being as I already use 2 sets for WW1 (Kaiserbosh and T&T) and don’t have enough painted for GWGW games.

Kaisrerbosch, now theres a blast form the past a nice little set of rules they are too

[Overlord]

 I won’t be playing it for the time being as I already use 2 sets for WW1 (Kaiserbosh and T&T) and don’t have enough painted for GWGW games.

Kaisrerbosch, now theres a blast form the past a nice little set of rules they are too

When I got back into wargaming in the early/mid '90's they were the second set of rules I bought and the one set I continue to use (from time to time).  I've definately had my monies worth out of them.  They have always given a good game, playable to a conclusion within an evening.  The (at times) semi-random deployment means that you tend to get stuck in to the action quite quickly, without a lot of manouvreing and dancing about beforehand.  I tend to field around 30-40 figures a side plus supporting elements without any problems.

They might be an older set of rules but I really like them.  Despite now having T&T and GWGW rules I will continue to use Kaiserbosh from time to time.  

[Pappa Midnight]

I've never really had a downer on GW rules sets as such ( just silly mini prices!) and quite like Warhammer Ancients, Legends etc.
I think I'll give these a whirl ............ no not another genre!!! Arrghh! :freak:

Just re-reading the earlier posts, does anyone game this era in 28mm? It sounds like I might have to buy 15mm ( new genre, new scale...double arghh!!)

Regards
PM

[Will Bailie]

Thanks Overloard for the overview of the rule set.

I'm really puzzled that we not seeing the Eastern Front! I'm wondering if some wargame companies have shares in this venture and will only see their figures in the book.

There are some good wargame companies out there that have all the figures to do other theatres and not just good old Western Front.

It would not take a rocket scientist to bring out an army list to cover these areas as well for the folks who have an interest other than Western Front.

It looks to me that GW/WHW is following its tried and true approach - release the core rules in one book, and follow on with a series of supplements (codices) covering specific armies, eras or theatres.  IIRC, one of the upcoming supplements is supposed to cover both the Eastern Front and the Russian Civil War (although lower on the priority list than Gallipoli and Palestine).

For those that don't want to wait, it should be easy enough to tweak the lists to get a desired result.  Most infantry soldiers in most armies will be the same (for the GW model, that will be a stat line of all 3's, with leadership 7).  Elite troops can be given increased abilities:  Old Contemptibles BEF should have improved marksmanship (maybe BS4), while German Stormtroopers could have improved melee and leadership.

I've noticed that most wargamers that are willing to go to the effort to collect and paint an army are also well aware of the historical abilities of those armies (although not always of the shortcomings of their own favourites!), and so are capable of generating reasonable stat lines for the troops.  Stats for armoured vehicles are likely the most difficult thing to develop.

Of course, this is all speculation - my copy is somewhere in transit.

[Plynkes]

I'm a little annoyed and concerned. The button I used to order this book has changed from "order" into "preorder." I wonder what the significance of that is? Do they have it or not? I'm beginning to wish I had waited and gone to North Star, as they actually seem to have copies to sell now.

Who would've thought you'd be able to get it quicker from a distributor than from the horse's mouth itself?

[janner]

1914 and 1918 British, French and German Western Front. Each list has 3 variants. For example, the BEF list has an Infantry Battalion, Cavalry Battalion and Highland Battalion.  

Yep - you can tell a Septic wrote the lists!

Since when has the British Army ever had Cavalry Battalions - Cavalry form Regiments on this side of the Pond.

In addition, why have a Highland list when they could have gone Line/Light or Line/Guards. Highlanders were trained, equipped and established as per a Line battalion and their performance in 1914 was no different than any other BEF unit.

What a muppet :freak:

Here endeth the rant...

[Lowtardog]

They might be an older set of rules but I really like them.  Despite now having T&T and GWGW rules I will continue to use Kaiserbosh from time to time.  

ME too I have used them for WW2 (well the random deployment anyway) and Boer war, a great set of rules

[Helen]

I guess Helen meant the Saloniki/Gallipoli/Sinai theatres. For the Commonwealth that was eastern front (I think even Italy goes for eastern front). For Central/eastern Europeans those where only minor side theatres, the real eastern front was Galicia/Ukrainia, of course.

Yep, I meant the Eastern Front like the Serbians and Austro-Hungarians to start with followed by the remainder of the Eastern Front. They were initially large scale battles and the AH getting flogged by Serbia Then the remainder of the Central Powers joining in at various stages during the war.

I was not aware of the significance of this front until I started reading more. An interesting campaign and one that should see light of day in the future.

I've also a soft spot for the Rumanians. A very proud Prince who stood by his principals and backed the Entente. It would be nice to see these guys in miniature.

I've faith that we will see a new illumination of the Great War in miniature gaming.

[pbeccas]

Don't worry Helen.  Robb Broom has mentioned on the WAB forums that their long term plan is to bring out books that will cover Gallipoli/Middle East, Eastern Front, Balkans, Russian Civil War and even the Russo-Japanese War.

As long as WWI gamers keep supporting these rules there is a lot to look forward to over the next few years.

[Stecal]

WW1 Eastern Front should pick up in interest when this book comes out:

"The Brusilov Offensive" by Timothy Dowling

"In the summer of 1915, the Central Powers launched an offensive on the Eastern Front that they hoped would decide the war. It did not, of course. In June 1916, an Allied army under the command of Aleksei A. Brusilov decimated the Central Powers' gains of 1915. Brusilov's success brought Romania into the war, extinguished the offensive ability of the Habsburg armies, and forced Austria-Hungary into military dependence on and political subservience to Germany. The results were astonishing in military terms, but the political consequences were perhaps even more significant. More than any other action, the Brusilov Offensive brought the Habsburg Empire to the brink of a separate peace, while creating conditions for revolution within the Russian Imperial Army. Timothy C. Dowling tells the story of this important but little-known battle in the military and political history of the Eastern Front."

http://www.amazon.com/Brusilov-Offensive-Twentieth-Century-Battles/dp/0253351308/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I18H1364B1JET4&colid=1238ZTUELQTYS

Does anyone make WW1 Romanians in 25mm?  I suspect that French will be a close aproximation

[Sendak]

Must get my order in.