A WWII “Kasserine Pass” battle fellow Inf. LT, and Mini’s Gamer Joe Brecher and I carried to a Wiesbaden Boardgame club’s big “GAME DAY” some 15 +/- years ago (Cold War - West Germany. Some Boardgamers were at first frustrated because, as I set up, the 3rd Reich players dropped off to try the new thing (for them). When I finished, the Boardgamers were ALL in complete AWE at what we could do with a table, tarp, some tiny lead tanks/troops and a few pretty rocks. (and this was just MICRO ARMOR! - long before I converted to 54mm Kelly Hero’s or massive 20mm and 15mm WWII fights.) I’d 1st play tested the scenario at Fort Benning, so I knew it was a keeper. I set up all just as it was taken out of the US Army Infantry School Archive’s Monograms and WWII Histories at Fort Benning, (which I lay on the side table for them to peruse as I set up.) I gave each Commander his “pre-brief” right from the WWII documents and these guys were salivating. They were already Boardgamers, and into WWII History, but NOW they were KAMPFGRUPPE and TASK FORCE Leaders! The “group enthusiasm” was contagious. One by one, they all dropped their Boardgames to join in, or watch. When I put them into command groups to make their plans, the real lights began to shine. The hum of the noise level during the group meetings were so busing, the three guys still playing “Risk” went outside. But the ONE NEWBIE that got to me, was not the young Soldiers or Airmen, or the kids (they were fun too). It was the Civilian Businessman who came to Boardgame from work in his 3 piece suit. He’d never even heard of Miniatures before. From the get-go he was “fascinated-but-reserved.” But when I gave him his “Kampfgruppe Commander” prebrief ... he was so excited. I could see it all in his eyes - a glazed focus. He had crossed the “reality threshold.” HE WAS THERE WITH ROMMEL IN TUNISIA! and the fate of the AFRIKA KORPS depended on him. (I swear I heard him giving instruction in German, but then again we WERE in GERMANY!) He took off the jacket, loosened the tie, rolled up the sleeves, and started to visualize. First he poured over the gun charts with his 3 subordinates (two soldiers, one kid) and asked impressive “capabilities questions.” Then he “simulated a flyover of the battlefield with his boys, and went into a huddle (while I chuckled). . and then? THEN the joke was on me: He repeatedly came to and from his huddle asking me all kinds of KOOKY questions, one at a time, each time returning to buzz buzz with his huddle some more. Each time a “GLAZED-NAZI” look on his face. “UH, QUESTION! Can we put up “Quaker guns?” as we advance?” (uh, sure but you are on the offensive). “UH, QUESTION! Can our Fighter-bombers drop a few engineers on the Bridge? (uh, yep, but doesn’t Rommel need that bridge?) “UH, QUESTION! Can our Fighter-bombers land with troops to capture the Bridge? (uh, you can try, but might not Rommel have BOMBING in mind for those planes?) “UH, QUESTION! Can we crash our gasoline truck into the bridge barrier and make a big Napalm bomb of it? (sure, you don’t need the gas anyway, huh?) “UH, QUESTION! Can we re-paint/camouflage/reflag our Tanks to look like British ones? (uh, yep, but you could get shot by you own 88’s too!) “UH, QUESTION! Can we to make a huge smoke screen from fuel oil to drift ahead of us and cover our advance over the bridge? (You are 2 miles from the bridge now. Try Artillery and Mortar smoke, ) As he turned from the huddle to approach me for the last time (same GLAZED NAZI look on his face) I shouted “STOP RIGHT THERE!” across the room. “WILL YOU GUYS JUST ATTACK ACROSS THE @&*+& BRIDGE! THIS IS KASSERINE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! NOT EBAN EMAEL! THE ATTACK KICKS OFF IN 15 Seconds ... 30 seconds to complete the first move.” So? They accepted what they thought was a “suicide fate” and attacked straight ahead, no overwatch, no infantry, no Artillery, no nothing. And their fate? Well, the one French 57mm gun at the bridge missed it’s only shot, and was overrun. The main American combat force decided to withdraw to better ground (but the decided to take a “long-cut” - those stupid Americans!) Our 20-questions KAMPFGRUPPE charged ahead of the errant Americans in a running tank-fight, and literally “cut them off at the pass” . wiping out the hasty American “attack to the rear” with no German losses (except the German Bomber - that strafed them by mistake - resulting in an “I told you so from the German Commando wannabees). The other German forces had a few more problems and more serious casualties, but overall it was a bloody fun day. And our Kampfgruppe Businessman? He was exuberant! (and hooked) “I got to do this more! Where do I get the stuff? When do you guys game?” He all but adopted his three Kampfgruppe subordinate like his children (they had evidently “bonded in the heat of battle”) and they became regulars at our gaming days from then on... and he was always referring back to “The Hero’s of Kasserine” and such embellished stories. It was only with great effort on my part to get them to be on opposite sides a future event. I saw him again in my 54mm BULGE battle at Cold Wars several years ago... and was proud to have “recruited” him. However, after that game I asked him, “So how was this game for you.” He replied: “It was great, but nothing compares to that Kasserine Battle you did back in Wiesbaden!” Some have good 1st times, some have bad. I like to make SURE the 1st time is GOOD, because some don’t have a second-time. God Bless this great hobby! Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #84 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by The Courier Publishing Company. 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