Italia 1917-1918: A Farewell to Arms

Italia 1918 – A Farewell to Armsis an operational wargame which simulates the fierce fighting which pitted the troops of the Entente (Italy, France, Great-Britain and USA) against those of the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary and Germany) during the period between the Battle of Caporetto (Oct 1917) and the Villa Giusti Armistice (Nov 1918).

Two A1 maps, printed front and back, are included. The “global” one covers the terrain between the Adige River and Trieste, to allow the players to simulate the whole campaign from Caporetto onwards. The “zoom” map, with enlarged hexes, covers the terrain from Adige to the Adriatic sea in order to concentrate on the main combat zone after the Italian retreat: the Piave River, the Monte Grappa Massif, the Asiago Plateau and the Trento area & for the second one the zone of the Austro-German offensive on the Isonzo that has been immortalised under the name of the battle of Caporetto. The 2 ½ countersheets include a complete OB for all the belligerents, from tenacious Italian “Alpini” to the redoutable German “Alpenkorps”, along with Austrian “Kaiserjäger”, Hungarian “Honvéd” divisions or French “Chasseurs des Alpes”.

Basic rules allow the players to tackle 6 variously sized scenarios, from 1 to 6 hours of play, using either a part of the board, or the map in its entirety. 5 of the scenarios are designed to be played on the ‘zoom’ map, in order to take maximum advantage of the improved play experience provided by the larger hexes. Advanced rules allow the players to simulate the whole campaign; they introduce the reconstruction of destroyed units, the management of strategic reserves and the use of random events cards (50 for each side) with various effects and evocative titles such as “Rommel”, “Hemingway” or “I ragazzi del 99” (“The boys of 99”), for example. Optional rules will allow players to explore several “what-if” possibilities.
The campaign game is played on the “global” map, beginning with the Caporetto offensive and lasts 23 to 36 turns.