The Principle of the Thing: the Principles of War
and their Application to Wargaming / by D.I.A.Mack

As a regular soldier who is also a keen war gamer I am frequently asked
if I find my military knowledge of help to me in my gaming. My answer is
that while no wargame can faithfully reproduce the details of tactical
combat - the mechanics of a battalion attack, the calling-together of
order groups, the timing and handling of resupply, the actual effects of
smoke, darkness and fatigue - nor can it effectually reproduce the fog
of war without resort to three-map, umpired games, it is certainly my
experience that adherence to the principles of war, to well-tried
tactical gambits and to certain tactical principles, can and does help a
player to play a much more coherent and successful game, provided that
he bears in mind the limitations and peculiarities of the game system.

Opinion having been recently expressed in 'Phoenix' that more should be
done in the way of articles intended to help the novice play a better
game, this article on the Principles of War and their application to
wargaming has been written in the hope that it may help the beginner to
assess the situation, make his plan and then carry it through to a
successful conclusion; or, as victory can go to one side only, at least
to give his opponent a hard time in a 'damned close run thing'!

The ten Principles of War used in British Army doctrine are, it is
stressed, principles, not a selection of gambits: they apply in all ages
and in all games from 'Chariot' to 'Star ship Trooper' and are as
follows:

1.  Selection and Maintenance of the Aim
2.  Surprise
3.  Offensive Action
4.  Concentration of Force
5.  Economy of Effort
6.  Mobility
7.  Flexibility
8.  Co-operation
9.  Administration
10. Maintenance of Morale.

Of these ten, the first seven are as relevant to board wargaming as in
real war: the remainder are less applicable to the movement of cardboard
counters at the behest of a single mind but still underline certain
factors applicable to certain types of game. Some of the principles
modify others, as will be seen: for example, No 4 is modified by No 5
while 7 modifies 1. No one principle is supreme nor should one be
allowed to exclude another: rather they should be thought of as a
package which will be a very useful guide, eventually becoming second
nature.

Selection and Maintenance of the Aim

Quite simply, decide what must be achieved, make and execute your plan
accordingly and don't let yourself be diverted by irrelevant openings,
however attractive they may seem. Your overall aim will be dictated by
the game's Victory Conditions and these must be understood before you
set up, let alone before you make your first move. There may be variable
degrees of victory and you may, for example, decide that Moderate
Victory is a more realistic aim than Decisive and make your plan in this
light.

Overall aim apart, there will be intermediate objectives along the way,
some dictated by the nature of the game and others by the course of
play. In 'Mukden', for instance, the Soviet player's initial objective
must be to clear and secure a supply route through Mukden by Turn 5 at
the latest in order that he can launch his drive south to attain the
overall objective; the player who becomes obsessed by the need to clear
virtually every hex of the city or every guerilla unit has forgotten
Maintenance of the Aim. The Israeli player in 'Chinese Farm' must have
as an initial aim the gaining, bridging and crossing of the Canal in
order to get his armour off-board into the Egyptian heart land. To fight
and win an armoured Armageddon on the East Bank will not in itself bring
victory however satisfying the elimination of Egyptian units may be.

An example of the intermediate aim dictated by the course of events is
that in some game you may decide that you are losing this particular
phase of the battle: the answer appears to be to break off the action
and fall back to a strong defensive position along, say, a river-line.
Having decided this, go ahead and do it: if your opponent's follow up
results in one or two of his units becoming exposed don't let yourself
be tempted into a dog-fight which will delay the operation and possibly
prevent you from gaining your new position.

Surprise

As said earlier, the fog of war is absent from most board wargames:
one's position in the heavens makes secret concentrations, covered flank
marches and concealed withdrawals impossible and with them many
opportunities for achieving Surprise which are available to the
real-life commander. Nonetheless there remain numerous opportunities to
mislead your opponent as to your intentions to catch him on the hop once
his forces are committed and to keep him in doubt about the true
strengths and dispositions of your forces.

First, try to adopt a course of action which he doesn't expect you will
take: in games where he sets up first study his dispositions to see what
he seems to be expecting you to do - or, possibly, what he seems to be
inviting you to do. Then try something else: remember how the Germans
invaded France through the "impossible" terrain of the Ardennes in 1940.
If it is you who must set up first try to set a trap or to make it seem
that you have overlooked one approach: but whether it is you or he who
has the initiative remember that what is obvious to you is likely to be
obvious to him.

Secondly, once battle is joined and your opponent's reserves are
committed a sudden change of thrust, possibly intended from the start,
can be tried: an example is the move to envelope one flank which is
suddenly changed to a thrust at the centre as his line stretches to
counter you. Where you can bring on reinforcements with some freedom as
to their point of entry it offers a good opportunity to arrive from the
direction he thought you wouldn't try or where he would least like to
see you: the Gaulish reinforce ments in "Caesar" ("Alesia" to the
classicists) are a particularly good example.

Thirdly, and on a lower level, a measure of uncertainty and consequent
surprise can be achieved through judicious stacking: a weak unit can
conceal a strong one or conversely a strong one on top of a bag of nails
can lend seeming impregnability to a defensive position. In any case
stacking can keep your opponent in doubt about what is "on the other
side of the hill" and induce horrible imaginings which inhibit bold
attacks. (While on this subject, I understand that some players think it
permissible to examine enemy stacks to which their own units are not
adjacent; my advice is to disallow this practice as it is as unrealistic
as it is unfair. Can you imagine Robert E. Lee riding on to Cemetery
Hill and courteously enquiring as to Union orders of battle, troop
strengths and ammunition states prior to committing his own forces to
the assault ? No, the seeker after intelligence must be told "Suck it
and see".)

The opportunities to achieve Surprise in games which include inverted
counters, dummies, hidden units and concealed movement (e.g. "Lee Moves
North", "Caesar's Legions") are too obvious to descant on. To end this
section, von Moltke is said to have remarked to a group of officers,
"Gentlemen, when you consider a military problem you will usually find
that your opponent has some three courses open to him. Of these he will
generally adopt the fourth". Go for that "fourth course" when ever you
can - and guard against it in your turn.

Offensive Action

This section can be kept short. Be ready to go for your opponent
whenever a suitable opportunity offers and do not be content to fiqht an
inert campaign, responding only to his movements. Defence in particular
should be conducted aggressively, with a mobile force ready to snap off
the heads of careless probes or to hit and run whenever a chink in the
armour appears. Attacks should be flexible and full of movement or
potential movement, again with a reserve ready to exploit openings. Be a
player whom your opponent rates as one with whom no risks are to be
taken, whether in attack or defence and regardless of which side is in
the ascendant. But don't confuse Offensive Action with Plain
Foolhardiness.

Concentration of Force

Perhaps the principle most easily applied on the wargame board and so
often not practiced by the novice. At its most basic you attack with
sufficient odds to ensure the enerny unit's elimination, retreat or
disruption, dependent on the CRT used in the game: usually this means
3-1 or +5 differential. Secondly, where you can surround the unit in
question then do so to ensure its destruction. As an extension of this
precept, when you make a series of attacks in the same area start with
those which will leave other enemy units surrounded prior to being
attacked in their turn. Finally, launch your main attacks in areas where
retreat or destruction of units is going to imperil the enemy's position
and throw his plan out of gear. Go for the vital road-junction, seize
the commanding high ground, cut off the over extended flank. A good
analoqy is that of David and Goliath: David took the right sort of
stone, used his sling to qive it impetus and aimcd for Goliath's
unprotected forehead - and that was that ! While Concentration of Force
can not always guarantee such instantaneously satisfying results it will
always be found more effectual than simply rushing pell-mell upon the
enemy with whatever units are to hand.

Needless to say (I hope) nothing said in this section precludes soak-off
attacks at low odds: however those should be made only to divert one's
opponent or to achieve the desired odds elsewhere.

Economy of Effort

In your use of the previous principle don't carry it too far and throw a
half brick when a pebble will do. In each attack apply the necessary
force but no more, thus conserving units which can be used to mount
other attacks, stand by to exploit the breakthrough or cover against the
counter attack. There is no point using 6-1 odds when 3-1 will do the
job.

Mobility

Mobility, properly exploited, is a potent weapon: when applying it you
must consider the overall mobility of your force as well as the correct
use of your most mobile units. A force in which the best use is made of
the mobility of all types of unit will be all the more ready to exploit
openings, to reinforce success, to close gaps in its ranks and to react
swiftly to unexpected enemy moves. Units which combine high mobility
with strong combat potential (e.g. the units of 15th and 21st Panzer
Divisions in "Afrika Korps", the heavy cavalry and Swedish cavalry in
"Musket & Pike") are powerful indeed and should be held for such roles
as outflanking manoeuvres and as a strong mobile reserve. Conversely
they should not be wasted in defensive or holding roles: your slower
units, provided that they are strong enough, should be the secure pivot
on which your army manoeuvres.

In order that mobility can be used to very best effect remember to make
maximum use of road networks and open ground to enhance movement and
avoid, whenever possible, committing your main force to areas which will
restrict its mobility - don't send Panzer gruppe into the Pripet
Marshes!

Flexibility

Despite the need to select and maintain one's aim there is no point in
followinq a set plan rigidly especially when circumstances have chanqed.
As the game proceeds be ever-ready to alter your plans to exploit your
opponent's mistakes, provided that you are still moving towards the main
aim: for example, you may have started with the intention of turning
your opponent's flank and, lo and behold, in reacting to your moves he
over-stretches his line thus presenting you with a marvellous
opportunity to break throuqh his centre and cut off half his force. In
that case change your attack accordingly: your immediate object is the
crippling of his force and an unexpected opportunity to speed the
process has presented itself.

At other times, it may become apparent that a particular approach is
going to come to nothing: if so, admit it to yourself without delay and
try a new or an alternative plan there is no point in reinforcing
failure.

A final word - to attain Flexibility you must bear in mind the internal
Mobility of your force and you will find a strong, well-placed reserve a
near-essential.

Co-operation

We now come to the first of the three Principles of War which have less
direct application to board wargames but which still have a role. In
most games a single player controls the forces of one side thus doing
away with any danger of the sort of failure in co-operation which can
bedevil live operations. However what can be forgotten is the need to
co-ordinate the moves and attacks of different qroups of units so that
the success of one can aid another. On a lower level the combination of
different types of unit to get the best out of the combat factors
available comes under Co-operation; a unit with a poor combat factor but
high mobility is ideal for moving round to an enemy unit's rear, cuttinq
off its retreat while slower but more powerful units attack 3-1
frontally. In "Panzergruppe Guderian" the Divisional Integrity rule
invokes the principle of Co-operation as does the Combined Arms Attack
rule in "Napoleon's Last Battles". "Mech War '77" with its multiplicity
of different types of units and weapons makes Co-operation (in the sense
of best use of combined forces) a must.

Administration

Non-existent in many games and an abstraction in others in the form of
Supply rules: these rules may require no more than the maintenance of a
supply route or they may make use of expendable supply counters to
support attacks. If you are playing a game in which supply routes apply
then always remember that the attainment and security of these lines
must form part of your operational plan and that your opponent's plan
may well include a move aqainst your supply lines rather than directly
aqainst your forces.

When you have the problem of expendable supply counters to deal with
("Afrika Korps": "Panzer Armer Afrika''; "Seelowe") then their correct
deployment and econonic use becomes essential to maintaining Offensive
Action: always time and position your attacks so that one suplly unit
can supply the maximum number and, if possible, support every attack
taking place in one turn. And keep your supplies movinq up and to the
right places: if you find your carefully planned offensive inoperable
simply because you didn't have your supplies where you wanted them you
certainly won't be the first gamer to find himself in that fix but that
will be no consolation.

Maintenance of Morale

Cardboard counters have no cardboard wives or children, never read
letters and don't care whether their supplies are hot or cold!

In some games though units may suffer loss of morale or disruption which
necessitates their being revived in some way. In these cases always bear
in mind the likelihood of demoralisation or disruption and be ready to
counter it. If leader counters play a part in restoring morale then
ensure that they spread across your front so that no unit is ever too
far from succour. If units have to be withdrawn from enemy zones of
control in order to recover then don't omit to do this whenever
possible: in particular have reserve units standing by to relieve
demoralized ones. In short ensure that the best conditions for the
restoration of lost morale or for undisruption are ever present.

There, then, are the ten Principles of War-: if you find them of help in
pursuing future qames to a more successful conclusion then this article
will have succeeded in its object of helping the less-experienced gamer
to marshal his thouqhts. To sum up

1. Decide on your objective and go for it.
2. Keep your opponent uncertain as to your likely future moves and over
your exact stacking.
3. Play an aggressive game.
4. Hit him hard where it hurts and do maximum damage.
5. But don't use a sledge hammer to crack a nut.
6. Use mobility as sword and shield and use it to best advantage.
7. Be flexible in your plans and in your dispositions; maintain a
reserve.
8. Co-ordinate operations and get the best out of your different units'
various characteristics.
9. Guard supply lines and get maximum effect out of your supply
counters.
10. Be poised to revive disrupted/demoralised units as quickly as
possible.