SWITZERLAND MUST BE SWALLOWED!
a playtester's report by Paul Rohrbaugh
Among the
latest games to be released by the Microgame Design Group is
Peter Schutze's SWITZERLAND MUST BE SWALLOWED! (SMBS).
The game covers the planned, but never carried out, German
invasion of the neutral nation during World War Two. The Desktop
Published (DTP) game comes in a 8.5" by 11" bag and
includes one 11" by 17" map, 1 sheet of counters that
will need to be mounted and cut-out, 8 pages of rules, 2
players' aid charts and a cover sheet. The cover is a bold and
clever rendition of 4 bent black arrows converging on a profile
image of Switzerland on a white and red background. The
similarity to the Nazi swastika and flag, as well as the
intimidating strategic situation the Swiss found themselves in
the war, is graphically portrayed.
The counters in this game mark a departure from the standard MDG
format as this counter sheet is meant to be double-sided. Many
who have done this before with other DTP publishers, such as
those in VAE VICTIS, should not be overly challenged in
preparing these before play. One can always, however, laminate
and cut them out for use as single-sided counters. The artwork
and graphics for both the game counters and map are excellent.
MDG has been a standard setter for DTP games over the years, and
this game continues that tradition. Combat units mostly use NATO
symbology, with white on red for the Swiss, white and black on
light green for Wehrmacht, or black on light blue for Luftwaffe
ground and Fallschirmjager units. The one Luftwaffe air unit
shows 3 Stukas ready to peel-off on the start of their
dive-bombing runs. The map is a pleasant blend of browns, blues,
and green that uses very nice images for the Swiss cities. The
map and counters are free of any errors or misprints, another
big plus when errata sheets follow upon the heels of most game
releases nowadays. The rules and charts are concise, and follow
the traditional MDG format. Combat units are mostly regiments or
brigades, with a few battalions. Other counters represent
German-Swiss militia (Nazi sympathizers and 5th
Columnists), road-out (representing Swiss demolitions and
mining), denoting units that are unable to receive replacements
for a turn, pollard markers for step losses, and markers for
recording the game turn and victory points. Turns are 12 hours
long and a map hex is 20 kilometers across.
The German player carries the burden of attack, and can call
upon a range of assets with which to carry out the invasion.
However, the pressure is on to conclude the campaign as quickly
and efficiently as possible. The Fuehrer has other plans, and
neither he nor the Gestapo will abide any interference or delay.
The number and type of units the German player will call upon,
as well as the main routes of invasion, are crucial decisions
that must be made and lived with from the very start of SMBS.
The German force mix includes the 10th Panzer
Division, several infantry divisions of varying strengths, a
mountain infantry division, several motorized infantry divisions
and regiments, border guard regiments, as well as the Herman
Goering motorized infantry and units of the 1st
Fallschirmjager and 22nd Luftlandung divisions.
The Italians are not present in the counter mix, their presence
is built into both sides' set-up restrictions as well as victory
point penalties for the Swiss if they strip the Italian frontier
to reinforce the forces resisting the Nazi invaders. The
designer assumes that this campaign arises out of 1) Hitler's
desire to unite all of the Germanic people, and 2) that mountain
fighting in the south, with almost no roads and plenty of
glaciers, would have been very difficult for the Italians to
make much headway in the time span covered in the game.
There are 3 scenarios, one positing an invasion before that of
Poland in 1939, a "historic" one fought in
August/September of 1940, and a "Follow-on" attack
during the summer (June) of 1940 when France was defeated. The
Follow-on scenario allows the German player more flexibility in
choosing where to invade (the western cities are much more
accessible), but make the number and type of German units
available at-start and as reinforcements much more problematic.
The Swiss have fewer options in regards their force structure,
but the scenarios fought after the historical outbreak of the
war allow the Swiss to place more "road out" markers
at start, prevent the deployment of German Militia, and deploy
POW/internee infantry and armor units.
The game turn sequence is a basic IGO/UGO one in which both
players first conduct bombardment attacks by adjacent artillery
units and, for the German player, the Luftwaffe. The German
player moves and then attacks with his/her units, followed by
the Swiss player. A recovery phase rounds out the game turn.
Turns are alternating day and night, with the Luftwaffe possibly
showing up only on day turns. Also, during the night turns units
that do not move or become involved in combat can receive
replacement steps. If chosen before the game start, German
parachutists and air-landing troops can arrive at night (most
likely early dawn, but the effect is captured in this way).
There
are no zones of control, and combats are conducted where opposing
units occupy the same hex. The game scale and rough/mountainous
terrain is the designer's rationale for using this combat
mechanic, and it works well
in this game. Overruns can occur in some terrain, hapless
lone border units defending against overrunning armor or mechanized
units at half strength. Mountain units can overrun armor/mech
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forces
in mountainous terrain. The Swiss has many mountain-capable
units, so the panzertruppen have to tread warily if unescorted
by infantry.
Day
combats are conducted in a series of rounds until one side is
compelled to retreat by the CRT. There are no voluntary retreats
here, so theater commanders can quickly lose control of the
ground troops. Several times German play-testers looked on in
horror as their lead units got torn up in prolonged combats
that turned into meat-grinders. Night attacks are risky ventures.
All units will take 1 hit following the resolution of the combat
due to attrition and the dangers of night-fighting. There is
only 1 round of combat, but if any defenders survive, the attacker
automatically takes another hit (at least 2 now in addition
to those called for in the CRT). Combat odds can be modified
by German engineers, but these valuable assets (engineers are
also needed to clear road blocks) take the first step loss if
things go south. All combats are stressful occasions when the
bold risk-taker can either end up with victor's laurels, or
as dead meat. Units can retreat "forward" for a massive
drive-by like effect. Although there are no supply rules (we're
talking a week's worth of fighting in this game at the most),
those units too deep behind enemy lines may find themselves
totally surrounded and unable to take replacements (Swiss headline:
Germans Re-enact Custer's Last Stand with Tanks outside Bern!)
Since there is no supply, surrounded units do not wither on
the vine and disappear. If they want it, the attacker must pitch
in there and root the defenders out. Cut-off units, or those
compelled to retreat through an enemy-occupied hex, must execute
an overrun to cut themselves out. Little quarter is asked or
given in SMBS.
Most
games will see the Germans make quick inroads along the frontier
as Basel, Frauenfeld, St. Galen, and even Winterthur can be
brought under the panzers treads in the first turn. The Swiss
player can redeploy some units before the game starts (to simulate
faulty German intelligence), so this is not guaranteed, however.
From there things get tougher as the Swiss begin to form lines
of resistance, and bring up forces from other sectors that are
not directly threatened. Depending on how fast the German engineers
can clear out the blocked mountain passes, mechanized forces
may have problems advancing very far into the Swiss heartland.
Casualties will mount as the battles for the cities commence.
As losses mount, the Swiss will come under greater pressure
to bring up the Italian frontier forces. Both players will be
challenged in keeping some/any units back to rebuild those shattered
in earlier fighting, or keeping units in the line to maintain
the pressure. The Germans can bring in emergency reinforcements
that may reinvigorate their offensive, but this costs victory
points. If the airborne troops are selected, the Swiss will
be compelled to keep a garrison in all or most of the cities
lest the Alpen Adleren swoop down and grab an easy VP or two.
The German will also be sorely tempted to throw these elite
troops into the breach as the game grinds to a conclusion, hoping
that these guys could be the ones that finally tip the scales.
If they don't, however, the loss of the Fallschirmager could
spell the end of the campaign (and the German General's career).
The game ends when enough Swiss cities have been captured, and
front-line divisions/brigades have been eliminated, compelling
the Swiss to surrender. Depending on the skill of the 2 players
this can be relatively quick or horrifically long. Most play-test
sessions ended with both sides exhausted, bleeding, and either
a Phyrric or marginal victory for the German player. Once as
the German player I was able to win a decisive victory, but
that was early-on against an opponent who had not grasped all
of the game's nuances and mechanics. Later on he got his revenge
against me when a few weeks later he led the Swiss to a -1 VP
win over the German.
Additional
rules and scenarios cover the Swiss following a "National
Redoubt" strategy in the mountains instead of full-out
fight in the northern frontier (very risky for the Swiss, and
potentially bloody for the German), fog-of-war Swiss deployment,
more restricted movement for non-motorized artillery, and mobilization
of internees/POW's (I nicknamed that Swiss armoured unit the
William Tell brigade).
There
is a lot in this DTP game package. Both sides will be challenged,
as a passive defense, or slow methodical offense will not work
here. When to take risks, and how best to deal with telling
setbacks are common issues every turn for both the Swiss and
German player. For those who want an action-packed, no-holds-barred
game, of a campaign that could have happened SWITZERLAND MUST
BE SWALLOWED! will not disappoint. In this title, one
can not only play with one of World War Two's great "what
ifs," but repeatedly test your mettle on either offense
of defense. At $9.00 ($12.00 Canadian, $10.00 overseas) Peter
Schutze's and the Microgame Design Group's latest effort offers
up a lot of bang for the buck.
Paul Rohrbaugh is the designer of TRAMPLING OUT THE VINTAGE
and other conflict simulations.
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