No Man’s Land is both an actual and a metaphorical space. It separates the opposing lines. It could also be the most terrifying of places that held the greatest danger for combatants. Men can drown in shell-holes already filled with decaying flesh, wounded men. Soldiers are beyond help from behind the wire, dying over a number of days, their cries audible, and often unbearable to their friends in the trenches. A clearly alien like place similar to the face of the moon, chaotic, crater-ridden, uninhabitable, awful, the abode of madness.
It is here that we find two scouting sections (one German and the other French) of enemy combatants who have been sent out to find hidden enemy locations and infiltrators. Both sent out late at night to see if the abandoned villa is still abandoned or can be used to support the next days planned attack!
I put together a new Pulp WWI adventure scenario for the guys to play (this was using the original version rules). It gave us the excuse to use my buddy’s WWI figures and terrain! The scenario had a destroyed villa in the center of the table. The rest of the area is covered in shell holes, barbed wire and abandoned trench sections. Both sides had to set up on the back end of the villa, not knowing their enemy was only a stones throw away!
I placed four objectives across the front that the players had to scout to get the points. They would also receive victory points for each elevated enemy figures. Stars (the squad leader) would give two points and the extras (all the soldiers) would give half a point. They side with the higher total would win.
Starting on each step of the Final Act, the days artillery bombardment would start. Each active side would have to roll for shell effects on all their remaining cast. They would have to take a body check. If they failed, they would be knocked down. If they went down, they would have to check again and if they failed they would suffer a wound.
Both sides set up their forces and we got started. Both sides started to creep forward to get the advantage. Early in the game we got a set change scene card that allowed each player to move one terrain piece three inches. Then the German player moved a crater and the French player chose the wall surrounding the villa. All the sudden some guys that were inside the wall were out and ones that were out, were in! This threw everyone’s plans out the window and required both side to adapt.
The French were able to get the lead by grabbing three of the objectives, then they were able to have a fantastic turn of shooting, knocking a number of Germans out of the game. The Germans managed to slowly recover and make the French pay in blood deep into the final act of the game.
However, this was not enough, as the French returned the favor in kind. The Germans decided to try to leave the area and cede the villa to the French! We totaled up the points and it was an overwhelming French victory. The French would be able to claim the villa and use it as a jumping off point for the coming offensive.
This game wrapped up using the original Pulp rules. Going forward, I will be using version two. With that said, this game could be played using the new version. I will definitely try some more historical games with the new rules too!
- Manteuffel