Introduction

The Battle of Cambrai, 1917. An Authentic Military History Simulation Game. The time is: 0610 hours, 20 November 1917.

It was a quiet morning, on a quiet sector of the Western front, when suddenly the fire from over a thousand artillery guns shattered the dawn. High Command had determined that this area was a low threat, thus it was defended by under-strength units and thinly held. The attack immediately threatened the stability of the entire line.

The enemy had amassed hundreds of tanks to lead the assault, and, backed by heavy artillery fire, they broke through and began to exploit the enemy position. The defenders struggled desperately to hold on until their reinforcements could arrive. If they could hold, the defenders themselves would be able to mount a strong counterattack to throw back the attacking forces.

The Battle of the Bulge? No, this is WWI, and it is 20 November 1917. The tanks are from the British Royal Tank Corps, and instead, it is the Germans defending a weak sector of their line. The British had amassed almost 500 tanks for an attack on a thinly held area near the French city of Cambrai. This would mark the first time a nation was spearheading an assault with massed armored formations. The famed Blitzkrieg tactics which dominated the German attacks in the early days of WWII were a direct descendent of those used at the battle of Cambrai. This doctrine would continue to dominate the tactics of armies throughout the 20th Century. The British were also introduced to the new German Strosstruppen, special infiltration troops which would in turn threaten their sector of the Cambrai area.

A fascinating topic, and one which David Isby and SPI would use as the basis for a masterpiece of a game.

The Game

To the Green Fields Beyond was released by SPI in May 1978 in both a 2” thick bookcase box and their black plastic Z-tray. This was one of the last games SPI would release in the Z-tray packaging, due to complaints from retailers that the trays were difficult to shelve.

Players: 2
Complexity: Moderate, but well presented (6.5 on SPI scale from 1 to 10).
Map Scale: 1 hex = 1250 yardss
Time Scale: 1 turn = 24 hours
Unit Scale: Tank Coys, Inf. Btns, Regts., and Brigades.
Scenarios: British Breakthrough (3 turns), Battle for Bourlon (5 turns), German Counterattack (5 turns), Campaign Game (17 turns)

Game design, development & research: David Isby.
Physical systems & graphic designer: Redmond A. Simonsen.
In-house playtesting: Tom Hamilton, Anthony Buccini and Joe Perez.
Blind playtesting: Robert Lewis, Danny Parker and Omar De Witt.
Production: Brad Hessel, Marty Goldberger, Larry Catalano, Barbara Hay, Manfred F. Milkuhn, Bob Ryer, Steve Parsons, Norman Pearl and Linda Sapin.

Physical Components

Counter sheet 400 counters
24 page rules booklet (14.5 pages index, introduction, and rules; 4.5 pages of scenario data; remainder historical notes and Abbreviates sequence of play
22"x34" map, of which 24x25.5" of play area (75%), the rest tables and charts.
1 six-sided plastic die

The counters use standard NATO symbols and air units have top-view silhouettes. British counters are red with black print, the German counters are gray-green with black print, except for the Strosstruppen, which have red unit symbols. French counters are green with black print and all markers have a white background with black and/or red print.

The four-color map uses 3/4” hexes and covers the heavily entrenched area around Cambrai, with twelve distinct terrain types and four different types of bridges.

All necessary charts are included and occupy 25% of the 22”x34” game map. There are two Combat Charts, (Standard and Mobile), two Barrage charts (Rolling Barrage and Drumfire Barrage), the Terrain Effects chart, Supply Point Cost Schedule, Terrain Key, Supply Point Index, Air-to-Air Combat Results Table and the Turn Record Track.

The outstanding rulebook is neatly organized and easy to digest, making a somewhat complex game rather easy to learn, if not to master. The three-color cover illustration shows the battle’s historical progress superimposed over the game map. A complete table of contents is provided on the inside front cover, making particular rules easy to look-up once you start play -- and believe me, you will need to do this, and quite often. The game has some interesting rules and new gaming concepts which, while somewhat confusing at first, combine to accurately simulate WWI warfare as not many games have done before or since. On the back cover, a handy Abbreviated Sequence of Play is included in large print. Optional rules include the addition of Air Unit rules including ground missions, air-to-air combat and anti-aircraft fire, and a simplified supply system.

British Forces
Full Strength	Reduced Strength	Size	Qty.
3-3-8	1-2-8	Inf Bde	9
3-5-8	1-4-8	Inf Bde	3
4-4-8	1-3-8	Inf Bde	42
5-4-8	1-3-8	Inf Bde	3
5-5-8	1-4-8	Inf Bde	5
6-5-8	2-4-8	Inf Bde	4
0-0-8	-	Engineer	1
0-0-8	-	Engineer	1
2-12	1-12	Horse Arty	5
2f1	1f1	Camel	2
2f1	1f1	F28	1
(2)b1	(1)b1	DH4	1
1f2	1f1	DH5	2
2f1	1f1	SE5a	3
(1)r0	-	RE8	5
(1)r0	-	AW	2
0-4-4	0-3-4	Supply	6
Corps Index Markers			6
3-2-8	1-0-8	Arty (1-10)	3
4-1-9	2-0-9	Arty (1-8)	1
4-1-13	2-0-13	Arty (1-10)	7
4-2-7	2-1-7	Arty (2 / 1-10)	22
5-0-11	2-0-11	Arty (1-8)	3
2-1-8	1-0-8	Tank Coy	27
1-3-12	0-1-12	Cav Bde	15
0-1-12	0-0-12	Cav Bn	2
Bridge Marker			2

German Forces
Full Strength	Reduced Strength	Size	Qty.
1-3-8	0-1-8	Inf Regt	3
2-2-8	0-1-8	Inf Regt	1
2-3-8	1-2-8	Inf Regt	6
2-4-8	1-3-8	Inf Regt	18
3-2-10	0-1-10	Inf Co.	2
3-5-8	1-3-8	Inf Regt	1
3-6-8	1-4-8	Inf Regt	9
4-6-8	1-4-8	Inf Regt	24
6-6-8	2-4-8	Strosstruppen	15
(1)g2	(1)g1	Air Unit	4
(1)r0	-	Air Unit	4
2f1	1f1	Air Unit	4
3f1	2f1	Air Unit	2
0-4-6	-	Corps Supply	4
Supply Index Marker			4
Bridge Marker			3
5-3-11	2-1-11	Arty (1-10)	2
2-1-6	1-0-6	Arty (1-10)	4
2-2-6	1-1-6	Arty (1-10)	2
3-0-11	1-0-11	Arty (1-10)	4
3-1-11	1-0-11	Arty (1-10)	2
3-2-6	1-1-6	Arty (2/1-10)	16
4-1-8	2-0-8	Arty (1-10)	7
4-2-7	2-1-7	Arty (2/1-10)	2
4-3-6	2-1-6	Arty (3/2-10)	1

French Forces
Full Strength	Reduced Strength	Size	Qty.
1-1-8	0-1-8	Inf Regt	2
2-3-8	1-2-8	Inf Regt	1
3-4-8	1-3-8	Inf Regt	5
1-2-12	0-1-12	Cav Regt	6
2-1-5	1-0-5	Arty (1-10)	3
2-1-9	1-0-9	Arty (2-10)	1
2-2-5	1-1-5	Arty (2/1-10)	2
0-0-4	-	Corps Supply	1
Supply Index Marker			1

Markers
Front	Back	Qty
Turn Marker		1
Blank Counters		6
Interdiction Bridge Destroyed		6
Shift 1	Action Taken	3
Shift 2	Action Taken	5
Cadre	Action Taken	1
Shift 1	Action Taken	5
Shift 2	Action Taken	5
Shift 3	Action Taken	5
Cadre Breakd	own 0-0-4	14
Breakd	own 0-0-4	1

The Play

WWI was not a hot topic in 1978, and much to many gamers’ surprise, SPI decided to release no less than six games on the topic that year, of which To the Green Fields Beyond was the first. To the Green Fields Beyond was a surprise hit for SPI, and a surprisingly fantastic purchase to those willing to gamble on a WWI game. The game’s modestly high value on the collector’s market is due primarily to quality and play value rather than any kind of true rarity.

Boone lists low, high and average prices of 14/100/43.40 at auction and 20/100/ 53.20 for sale. If you can get someone to let go of their copy, pay what you must and hold on to it with both hands. You won’t regret it.

The Sequence of Play is as follows:

British Turn
Administrative
Barrage
Combat
Move
2nd Barrage
2nd Combat
2nd Move
German Turn (same as above)

The key factors in this sequence are as follows:

If a unit participates in combat, it may not move in the following Movement Phase. (Units are marked with an Action Taken marker after fighting).

If a unit is not adjacent to an enemy unit at the beginning of the Combat Phase, it cannot fight. This produces two unique, desired results: if you wish to fight in the second Combat phase, you must have reserves ready to move adjacent to the enemy after the first Combat Phase. Secondly, you can prevent the enemy player from fighting in their first Combat Phase by making sure that none of your units is adjacent to an enemy unit at the end of your turn. The dual move/fight phase was also used in SPI’s The Marne and 1918, but not quite in the manner presented here. This is the heart of the requirement for planning that I mentioned earlier.

Units can be disrupted through combat, and in turn attempt to remove that disruption by pulling that unit off the front line and then rolling a die on the chart. During each Reinforcement Phase, a player may attempt to Undisrupt six such units. However, if an already disrupted unit receives another like result, it is reduced to Cadre strength and will remain so to the end of the game or until it is destroyed. So an attacker will be attempting to crush his opponent’s already disrupted units, while the defender will be attempting to get them out of line before this happens.

The God of War is, of course, present in this game, and boy is he angry. Artillery is plentiful and lethal. A player who uses his artillery effectively can offset a few tactical errors and still win the game through sheer firepower. But the player who uses both effective artillery doctrine and efficient planning will rarely, if ever, lose a game. But the key is using it properly, and the choices and decisions regarding the use of artillery are many in To the Green Fields Beyond.

There are no less than five ways to reach out and touch someone in the game, briefly outlined below (the phase in which they are used in parenthesis):

• Drumfire Barrage: Pure artillery attack (Friendly Barrage Phase). Great for counter-battery fire and reducing already disrupted enemy units.
• Rolling Barrage: Moving barrage designed to roll forward in front of advancing friendly forces (Friendly Barrage Phase). Lends CRT column shifts to attacking forces.
• Direct Support Barrage: Used to support a single attack (Friendly Combat Phase). Adds strength to a friendly attack.
• S.O.S. Barrage: Used to support friendly units under attack (Enemy Combat Phase). Adds to the defense strength of friendly units under attack.
• Interdiction Barrage: Imposes additional movement point costs on enemy units as they pass through affected hexes (Friendly Barrage Phase).
• A player can also use the special Hurricane Drumfire Barrage which doubles the barrage strength of each unit employed, but the expenditure of supply is tripled in such an attack. Devastating, but costly.

The success of an artillery attack is never guaranteed, and a player will at times end up frustrated after expending precious supply on a needed Hurricane Drumfire Barrage. If you tend to bite your nails, you may want to wear gloves while playing this game. It is a very tense game situation in all the best ways.

Command & Control and Supply are represented in the game through the use of Supply Depots and a simple Supply Point Index (on the map), respectively. Units must trace supply to a friendly supply source to be considered in supply. However, to attack or conduct barrages, a unit must also trace to a Depot that can itself trace supply, and also has supply points available. An individual Depot’s supply level is recorded on the Supply Point Index. Note: It is not uncommon for the British player to expend an enormous amount of supply on Turn One; in fact, this is highly recommended. So don’t be timid, fire those Hurricane Drumfires and blast the defenders while you can!

No discussion of the battle of Cambrai or To the Green Fields Beyond would be complete without covering the Tank and the Strosstruppen. The Tank is the British player’s offensive hammer, and used effectively, they can wreak havoc to a hapless German defender in the early game. During the first game turn only, the British player may overrun German defenders with Tanks. The only units that may be overrun are Cadre units, so you must first pound them with artillery. Tanks are, however, unreliable and susceptible to breakdown. This is handled in the game at the end of the British player’s turn, in a phase appropriately called the Tank Breakdown Phase. Tanks may later attempt repair, just as infantry can attempt to remove disruption.

Strosstruppen, or infiltration infantry, are the German player’s answer to the Tank. When they get their chance to counter-attack, and they will, they can be devastating to an unprepared defense. These are the strongest infantry units in the game, and can in part ignore the Zone of Control rules and in some cases use the Mobile CRT when attacking.

Air units, an optional addition to the game, are used quite similar to artillery units, but Air units can be intercepted by enemy fighters, escorted by friendly ones, and can be shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire.

Additional rules which are also presented in the game include British First Turn Surprise and German Counterattack Surprise, giving the attacking player a bonus during a single turn. British Triggered Withdrawal essentially forces the British player to find success, by way of Cambrai and Bourlon, or lose support (and combat power!). The ability to bridge rivers, unit fatigue, variable French participation, particular variable unit appearance rules and British Continuous Line rules round out a nicely chrome-coated package.

Victory conditions are for the most part based on occupying various map locations, and on enemy units destroyed or reduced to Cadre strength. The British player also loses points for not keeping a solid, continuous line and for excessive supply expenditure.

In his Designer’s Notes, David Isby states “Cambrai is a situation that really cried to be done. It had all the elements of a good game -- both sides on the offensive and the defensive, balance, a premium on player skill, the chance of something really decisive occurring.”

This sums it up very accurately, and the designer and SPI met all of these goals to create a tense, exciting game requiring planning, execution and sometimes a little gamble.

The British player will open the game with a massive offensive, trying to reach Cambrai within the first few turns. The German player will declare his counter offensive (declaring will give certain single-turn advantages) sometime after the beginning of Turn 6. The game then becomes a knife fight, and can often come down to last efforts on Turn 17. Cambrai is a situation that probably cried out for even more design efforts, which surprisingly has not been done. But then again it would be difficult to match the benchmark set by To the Green Fields Beyond.

Additional Resources

Moves 41: “Green Fields Beyond: A World War One Game That Moves”. Review and analysis.
Fire & Movement 13: “To the Green Fields Beyond, the Battle of Cambrai, 1917”. Historical. Also : “Battle Report: To the Green Fields Beyond”. Review and Replay. Also: “Green Fields errata” and Designer’s Notes.
Paper Wars 10: “Hen’s Tooth: To the Green Fields Beyond”. Review.
Web Grognards Website: Errata file and players supplements (recom-mended). These can be found at: http://www.grognard.com/titlet.html

Other games about Cambrai

Cambrai, 1917 (Rand Games, 1974).
Royal Tank Corps (MiH, 1999).

Other games by David Isby

Air War; Crusader (North Africa Quad); Marengo (Napoleon at War Quad); Mukden (Modern Battles Quad); The Great War in the East Series Rules; Tannenberg (S&T 69); and Soldiers. All were by SPI.

Books you may want to refer to

Cambrai : Hindenburg Line by Jack Horsfall & Nigel Cave; Trans-Atlantic Publications, 1998.
The Battle of Cambrai by Brian Cooper; Stein and Day.
A Wood Called Bourlon: The Cover-up after Cambrai, 1917 by William Moore; Leo Cooper, 1997.
Military Operations, France and Belgium, 1917: The Battle of Cambrai by Wilfrid Miles; the Battery Press.