Soon after H. G. Wells published "Little Wars," the world plunged into the Great War, and satisfied its appetite for military affairs for some time to come. It wasn't until 1929 that the next obvious step along the path of amateur wargaming was taken with the publication of "Shambattle." Written by Harry G. Dowdall and Joseph H. Gleason, "Shambattle" was intended for children aged 7 to 12, or so. Not surprisingly, it is a very basic rules set, more a curiosity than a significant development in rules writing. It is a rare item, though, so if you see a copy, let me know.

The rules are divided into three main sections detailing the responsibilities and training of Lieutenants, Captains and Generals. Each section builds upon the previous part, so lessons learned carry through as the player progresses through the game. The authors open with a brief introduction to the game, describing the play and introducing the military terms used in the text.

Lieutenant's Game

Lieutenants learn first about map reading and map making since "Shambattle" is played on a map with symbols to represent the various terrain types, thus making it a quasi-boardgame. As I read the text, I immediately adjusted my view of a Shambattlefield to include three dimensional terrain pieces. I suspect the authors had in mind the lack of pocket money of their prospective gamers when suggesting flat paper maps, though map reading skills may have also been seen as valuable lessons for the young officers. Terrain at this level is limited to towns, rivers, roads, bridges and open fields. Armies at this stage are made up of fifteen, or more, figures, and one cannon, which the authors suggest might be a spool, if a model isn't available. The other tools needed are a measuring ruler for movement and a numbered spinner, as you might find in a game, limited to "exactly six numbers." Of course, the alternative is our, now-ubiquitous six-sided die.

Set up is limited somewhat as half the soldiers must be placed in the two towns on the map, with half of those in each town. With a curtain placed between the two sides, the figures are placed on the battle map and play is ready to begin. Each player moves in turn with a strict five-minute time limit for taking care of movement and combat. Any activities not completed within the time limit are lost. Each player's turn progresses with movement, bayonet combat, then cannon fire. Movement is in six-inch "full moves," on roads, or four-inch "part moves," off-road. The variation between cavalry and infantry moves is based on the sizes of the stands, since the move is measured from the front of the stand at the beginning of the move, to the back of the stand at the end of the move. Thus cavalry, with their longer bases, gain ground each move. Cannons move at the rate of the troops with them and must have two figures touching them to move or fire.

Combat is performed simply enough. Bayonet combat occurs between soldiers touching each other. The players each spin the spinner once, and the higher number wins, with the loser's soldier being removed from the battlefield. Cannon fire is also straightforward. An "Artillery Square" is made with a center cut of of three inches square. It is placed anywhere on the map and any figures falling within the cut out space are in danger. Once again the spinner is spun (or the die is rolled) and on a "one" the figures are casualties. Provision is made for capturing cannons when no friendly figures are in contact with it.

And that is that for the Lieutenant's game. The authors proceed with a complete move by move description of a game, then comment on the tactics employed by the boys involved in the battle. The seven and eight year olds involved in the game had more trouble remembering to move all their soldiers than anything else in the excitement of the moment. Hmm, sounds like something a 48 year old I know has done more than once! In practice, I found that my biggest problem was with map making. My cities were too small to deploy my troops effectively and two good shots with one side's cannon wiped out nearly half an army. Those of you who've played DBA with me know how good I am at rolling "1". I've finally found a game where that's a virtue! Other than that, this is a very simplistic game. I wish I'd had a handy seven year old to play it with; from my perspective, it was a bit too simple.

Captain's Game

A Captain's game is played with more troops and adds forests, swamps and more towns to the map. It's emphasized that the maps should be balanced so that one side doesn't have a big advantage based purely on terrain arrangement. Movement is much the same as in the Lieutenant's game, except that a "half move" of three inches is added for moving in forests. No movement is allowed in swamps. Bayonet combat differs from the Lieutenant's game. Instead of a high score winning, either, or both, soldiers can become casualties if they spin a one, two or three. A spin of four, five, or six leaves the soldier unharmed.

Suggestions are made for naming a figure to represent the player on the battle map, and for giving medals to particularly valiant soldiers. One particularly interesting feature is the introduction of spies. Each Captain may choose one enemy figure to be used as a spy. This may not be an officer figure. The spy's identity is written on a small "spy paper" which is kept on the spymaster's side of the battlefield. Capture of the paper allows the opponent to identify the spy, so guarding them is important. At any time in the game the spy may be claimed, at which time he comes under the control of the spymaster's side. This can be important, as the spy may be one of the two figures needed to move or fire a cannon, or might be able to capture the enemy's spy papers, or make the difference in a bayonet combat. If a player becomes suspicious of a particular soldier, he can attack him in a bayonet combat. Of course, if he's wrong, he may end up killing one of his loyal troops!

General's Game

Generals, whom the authors suggest should be at least 12 years old, though there may be exceptions, have a few more things to keep track of. Casualties may now be wounded, so there is a Medical Corps to assist them to field hospitals for treatment. Cannons are less effective against troops in towns and forests, and two machine guns are added to the armory. Hills are the final terrain feature affecting movement with a half move in open terrain, or a "short move" of two inches if forested.

Bayonet combat differs, once again, from the previous method, with the opportunity for wounding soldiers. Machine Gun Triangles, like Artillery Squares, provide the basis for determining casualties by machine gun fire. Machine guns and cannons are both limited in effect in towns and woods, where their casualties are wounded, rather than killed. Wounded cannot perform any battlefield functions until they have been transported to a hospital by one of the six Medical Corps troops who service the three hospitals.

Unlike the Lieutenant's and Captain's sections, the authors do not provide a play-by-play description of a General's battle. Instead, they lay out the thought processes that might be useful in planning the strategy and tactics of this larger game in the context of one set up for play.

My testing, with somewhat larger cities, as I am still trainable (!?!), discovered that machine gun fire can be devastating, and that artillery squares might be better as artillery circles, at least when using 2mm figures on this 3' x 5' battlefield. It still provided an entertaining little battle, with a successful flank movement capturing the enemy cannon, while a bloody battle at a bridge site raged in the center. Cannon fire wasn't as important in this larger battle, as the dice were friendlier, and the importance of placing your field hospitals close to the fighting was apparent. No spies were used, since it was a solo effort, and I find it difficult to fool myself in these matters.

Conclusions

That's pretty much it for "Shambattle." As you can see, the rules reflect the Wellsian approach to wargaming, though some complications have been added for bayonet combat and working artillery is replaced by the Artillery Square. (Provision is made for using working cannons and other alternatives to the Artillery Square, but the authors seem to like their idea best.) Field hospitals add an interesting opportunity for recycling troops, and the addition of spies to the battlefield presents a factor not often seen in other wargaming rules.

Given its rarity, I suspect that "Shambattle" wasn't a big hit. Even 11 years after the Great War, there was still a strong pacifist movement about. Indeed, among the few items I've found published between "Little Wars" and World War II, two of three were pacifist in nature. I'll get to those next time.

More Roots of Wargaming

Robert Louis Stevenson
H.G. Wells
Shambattle
Children and Toy Soldiers
Links Between Military Miniature Collecting and Gaming
Jack Scruby
1962
Table Top Talk Magazine
Naval Wargames Part 1
Naval Wargames Part 2
Air Wargames
Horse and Musket I
Napoleon Rides Again
Featherstone Again