Very few wargamers would not know that, far from being a walkover for the Axis, the Battle for Crete proved to be a very close run affair. Indeed, it was literally the graveyard for many of the German Falschirmjagers, an end to Hitler’s and Mussolini’s ill considered dreams for an easy route to the Middle East oil and the Suez Canal. When Army Infantry Major Peter Panzeri sent word that he was seeking players for the Campaign’99 Battle for Crete in February 1999, it became inevitable that I would sign up. In high school, I had designed my own (very) amateur level board game covering the subject. From my college library, I had read the few worthwhile books available on the subject. After graduation, I had played Descent on Crete and Crete/Malta, respectively released by SPI and TAHC. Thus, it was with a sense of deja vu and mounting excitement, that I awaited word as to whether there would be space for me amongst the Allied players.
As this would be my first JodieCon Campaign and encounter with the convention’s host, Major Panzeri, I trust that some of the following may be of interest to the reader. Unlike many of the so-called "holiday centers," JodieCon is very much a team effort, closer to the best efforts put forth by a club than a one-man show, such as presented by Duke Siefried. Each game in this regard may vary considerably, depending upon the subject and level of the games being played. If not actually conducting a particular game, Pete Panzeri primarily oversees directing the event, held at West Point Prep School, Fort Monmouth, NJ (USMAPS). As of this writing, Panzeri has successfully produced a Tactical Gettysburg weekend, the 1778 Battle of Monmouth and two Waterloo Operational Campaigns at USMAPS. The C-in-C "Game-master" and driving force behind the Crete Campaign was New Jersey’s own John Thomasovitch, a New Jersey gamer from the Picatinny Wargame Club.
Registration and administrative details for the conferences are handled by the one and only Jodie Lindberg, for whom JodieCon is nicknamed. Jodie is a historical wargamer and reenactor in her own right, as well as being Pete’s fiancé. In fact, my wife first read the initial e-mail message sent by Jodie as to my making the cut-off, and then she proceeded to tease me as to having a mysterious rendezvous with this unknown female. Fortunately for all concerned, both Pete and Jodie have a puckish sense of humor and truly understand the nature of the male wargamers and their wargame widows and companions. For those so inclined, the JodieCon is not restricted by sex. In fact, three females ultimately found their place on the Allied side. This time the Allies were going to be well prepared.
HMGS International member Fred Hubig played the German Commander, and Dr. Norbert Brunhuber, a New Jersey gamer, was our Allied Commander, Field Marshal Bernard Freyberg. His inspiration and guiding wisdom would firmly establish the tone for the forthcoming campaign. As my wife and I just joined on the Net, it was incredibly exciting to me to receive messages every night from the Allied High Command discussing in detail our strategy, as well as the tactical rules being used. Considerable debate on our part was spent on whether the best approach to deal with the pending airborne invasion would be to spread out our troops into the hills or hunker down around the airports and major towns on the coast. Like our historical counterparts, we ultimately compromised, leaving the majority of our troops to garrison the towns and airfields, while attempting to provide local tactical reserves to keep the German paratroopers away from the coastal road. My biggest contribution to the exchange was devising a practical code for our messages.
The staff discussion on the various subjects was rather free wheeling. I would like to think, unlike for our historical counterparts, that the strategic and tactical issues were crystallized by our discussions. Even if our answers to them were not, they could not be, due to the historical limitations upon the equipment available to the Allies, especially in terms of artillery, armor, shovels, mines and barb wire. We were united in spirit and we were well prepared to push back the hated Axis far into the Mediterranean, or so we thought!
After agreeing on the Internet to meet everybody by 3 p.m., I wound up leaving much earlier than I had planned. The excitement was upon me and I could not wait any longer. The car route from NYC to Ft. Monmouth was uneventful and much shorter than I had envisioned. After arriving, I placed my belongings into the hotel room I had reserved off the base. Pete Panzeri was able to secure a considerable discount for those wishing to sleep off the base, as these events are official functions in which the United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) Cadets participate actively. Adventurous individuals may request dorm rooms, depending on space available.
Because of a scheduling mishap, USMAPS held a math re-test during the planned set-up time. No matter, Pete Panzeri was glad to see me, and set me to work! Using the maps of GMT’s Operation Mercury, the early arrivals, like myself, began to finish off fashioning game-tables in three different rooms. The largest room held the Maleme-Suda Sector, and the smaller rooms respectively were the Retimo and Heraklion Sectors. Off from the Heraklion room was a lounge, "Club Med," set aside by authentic WWII Camo-nets for both sides to congregate and unwind from the "stresses of war." Cold sodas, cookies and chips were plentiful for the duration. If burned out, a gamer could read from the numerous wargame magazines or watch one of the exceptional WWII videos that were running continuously as part of an Academic Video Seminar
The "eating arrangements" are exceptional. When school is in session, the USMAPS Dining Facility provides participants with a sample of Army food that is both good and plentiful, with several meals covered by the participant registration. If a gamer did not care for "Army chow," he or she could opt for going off the base. Personally, given the limited time between provided for meal breaks, I never found it to be a necessary option. On Friday evening, gamers participated in a Pizza feast, and had an all-U-can Chicken dinner on Saturday. For those not interested in such fare, they could opt to order in meals from the local take-outs in the area.
Like any well-run campaign, the Operations briefings are a specialty of JodieCon. If you are able to arrive in time, various cadets assigned as part of their class work gave separate briefings to the Allied and Axis High Commands on the strategic and tactical issues of the operation. The better-informed cadets were capable of providing commanders with alternative plans and insights into the campaign, especially to those players who may not be as well read into the subject. Here, the organizers can feed misinformation or develop the actual possibilities of this historical campaign, which often played upon the fears of the respective high commands. Talk about "FOG OF WAR!"
Another fascinating highlight to the JodieCon is the role of the re-enactors, who are able to describe to the participants in detail WWII uniforms and weapons. On this occasion, scheduled were two from the Allied and one from the Axis. The German Falschirmjager missed us, but the two Allied re-enactors wore both standard and Mediterranean kits, gave exceptional presentations, and graciously welcomed questions and photographs from the audience. It certainly added to the atmosphere of the our experience.
We have all been exposed at one time or another to miniatures campaigns. In my opinion, What makes JodieCon truly unique is the scale and duration of the game. Between 15 and 20 players operate per side. There are 3-6 tactical referees to keep the game flowing by expeditiously resolving rule disputes or questions. Even though the vast amount of lead-figures involved may be reproduced by the better clubs, the staggering level of intensity engendered by an all-out campaign compressed into 36 hours is truly hard to imagine. Of course, there is also the excitement compounded by 35-45 similarly minded individuals. And there is the element of battle fatigue, induced by all too few hours of sleep and too many weighty decisions to make, with all too little information. For me, the campaign would become the closest experience I could encounter to a witnessing a battle unfolding. On a personal note, there is nothing like waking up in a hotel room at 6 a.m. to a bugle playing from the base or seeing 200 plus cadets sounding off in formation before breakfast.
After the Allied High Command had "toured" the island defenses for the last time, Field Marshal Freyberg took his Divisional and Brigadier commanders into the Allied Command Post. Here he would issue his orders for the campaign after hearing from the tactical (table top) commanders. Pete Panzeri and one or two other organizers would , in turn, determine which messages would be delivered, if at all, since some were "lost," delayed or even worse, intercepted. Depending upon the means of attempted communication, a message if relayed by telephone or radio were frequently shunted or withheld by Panzeri’s assistants to us awaiting impatiently for word on the landings and progress of the fighting. As a result, messages even if received were often shouted over a phone-line to us in a garbled manner, especially if using our superior Allied Code. With cryptic messages like, "To Aunt G, Umbrella for Bath. Tilling Barbary Coast Planter for Late Supper. Grandma C."; the Allies kept its channels of communication open. Inevitably, one or more Allied players unwittingly placed their Code Sheets in locations where opposing Axis players could make their own copies, thereby enabling them read the messages, en clair. Of course, it was just as inevitable, as in my case, that the Allied players did not always act properly upon messages received because they did not agree with the preplanned strategies of the Allied High Command. As a result, in one instance a crucial Allied Counterattack at the Maleme airdrome was bombarded with friendly fire by the vigilant Royal Navy.
In Clausewitz’s classic On War, he describes the problem of friction or those factors that prevent the commanders from implementing their plans of operation. In this regard, Crete clearly evidenced friction at all levels of command. Factors, such as fog of war, conflicting command structure, poor communications, all played a part in creating a real life experience for most of the players. In my own personal experience, being unfamiliar with the Command Decision III rules, I did not give enough weight to the superior morale and training of the German parachutists over most of the Allied troops. Although I found that the New Zealanders, being Brigadier General Hargest in the game, were excellent troops and outnumbered their opponents, they did not have the superior fire power provided by the German machine guns. It was probably the difference between victory and defeat in the Maleme Sector.
As for the game itself, one could describe the most memorable events in glorious or tragic detail like a history book. For me, it proved to be a very different type of game, compared to the usual pushing of lead. I wanted to experience some of the confusion and to change history. I did and even pushed some lead, but I was not able to change history on the table top. Although we were truly better coordinated in planning our counter attacks, and quite aware of the Axis’ overwhelming need to take an airfield, it proved just as difficult to stop the German forces from uniting and pushing us off the crucial airfields. In hindsight, I saw that we made many of the same errors, which the pundits accused our historical counterparts of making.
In closing, the Axis airborne invasion of Crete, with its classic use of combined arms, is an excellent battle to recreate on the table top. Having lost by a toe-nail or two, I want to be in the rematch if there is one. Knowing the history, and If you share a love of a good game and history itself, I truly recommend that you make yourself available as well. Even if you cannot make it, the historical campaign lends itself to being broken into smaller scenarios more conducive to a club or solitaire game. [Look for the JodieCon/GI AAR’s for scenarios generated by JodieCon battles.]
I understand that Major Panzeri is also planning a weekend long Operation Market Garden Campaign (in Bridge Too Far style) and an Eastern Front Campaign. Other (non-WWII) JodieCon events tentatively planned for School Year 2000 are a 25mm Alexander’s Successors Stategic Campaign, a 25mm Philadelphia 1777 Campaign, a 15mm Operational Gettysburg Campaign, and a 25mm Tactical Austerlitz Campaign. All of these are hosted by the USMA Prep School, the HMGS International and sponsored by Old Glory Miniatures and numerous other wargaming merchants.
Regardless of which battles are played, the experiences of this particular campaign will be used by JodieCon in developing its next campaigns. As for me, it was a gaming experience of a lifetime. I have no reluctance in encouraging the hesitant to join those campaigns which interest you.
