Türkenkrieg: The Russo-Austro Turkish War, Balkan Theatre 1737-39
Volume V in the Lace Wars series
TK is a two-player game: Imperial Austria against the Ottoman Empire. The Turks have three provincial armies, composed of a mix of infantry and cavalry, and the Sultan's own army of heavy cavalry, janissaries, and artillery. They can also call upon Wallachian and Tatar allies. The Imperials have their core Habsburg-Austrian army, plus contingents from the Holy Roman Empire, and elements from the personal armies of Saxony, Bavaria, and even Modena. They also have the irregular forces of the Military Border.
Both sides are evenly matched - weakened by war but still dwarfing the forces of their neighbors. The Imperials begin as the aggressors, but will have to play cannily to avoid surrendering the initiative to the Ottomans. Playing for Prestige (like the other games in the series), your goals are modest, but can add up to significant gains that may influence the outcome of the peace talks. The peace process, more or less out of your hands, is the mechanism by which the game ends.
Map scale is 8.5 miles per hex. Unit scale is battalion/regimental. Units are rated for Effectiveness and Movement; raw strength is factored into Effectiveness.
Turns are equivalent to three weeks - 16 turns per year. Each turn is broken down into several phases - supply, operations, admin, etc. There are scenarios for each year of active operations - three in all - and a Campaign Game.
A few key concepts include Initiative and Operational Preparedness, Campaign Plans, Prestige, and Auxiliaries. This game uses the 3rd edition of the Lace Wars rules, amended to 3.1.
The heart of the game is the Operations Phase, where the players move their formations, lay siege to fortresses and engage in battle. The player with the initiative can dictate the pace of the game, but since initiative is based on operational preparedness, it can pass to another side, perhaps at an inconvenient time.
Auxiliary counters represent support troops and irregulars who had a major impact on operations, but cannot be adequately represented as traditional game units. Instead, a player might have a pontooneer auxiliary that he can play onto a stack to help it cross a major river, or a converged grenadier auxiliary that provides a morale bonus in combat. Because of the scale, many combat elements can be used either as units or as Auxiliaries.
[Playing cards could have been used instead of counters, but there are production issues involved, and besides, some of the auxiliaries' functions are hard to indicate with cards. In essence, however, auxiliaries are that kind of game asset, not "pawns" like the combat units.]
Leaders have an important role to play, as befitting an era where personal command was critical. They are rated for skill or effectiveness, personality, and influence (i.e. the chance they have of retaining command despite their incompetence).
The supply system incorporates lines of communication, the strategic placement of depots, foraging, and attrition. River and canal movement has been taken into account and will prove as critical to success as the use of rail lines in games that cover more modern periods.
The combat system has a tactical feel - while not a full sub-system with battlefield maps, it addresses the key issues of frontage, reserves, and supports, as well as firepower and morale. Winning a battle will bring you the acclaim of your noble peers, but may not gain you any strategic advantage; losing a battle can be catastrophic.
Components
1) Eight 12x18 inch full colour maps representing the Danube Basin and the surrounding lands, from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, and from central Hungary to Bulgaria.
2) 1080 counters representing the forces of Austria, Saxony, Bavaria, Hesse, Cologne and other Holy Roman Empire states, Modena, the Sultan's Army, the Ottoman provincial commands of Bosnia, Rumelia, and Silistria, the Wallachians, and the Crimean Tatars.
3) A set of charts and tables, plus several 11x17 inch display cards.
4) A series rulebook - 3rd Edition (3.1) - called the King's Regulations and Orders (KR&Os), a game-exclusive rulebook, scenario & OOB information, and an historical commentary.
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