SILBERVOGEL

Monday.
”I say, Harry, do you have a moment?”
Harold Cartwright looks up from his transcript book and peers over his spectacles at the young man in his office doorway. ”Oh, hello Ronald. Yes certainly – how can I help you?”
”Well it’s this report that I’ve just been handed from D section...”
”What about it?”
Cartwright accepts the manila folder and glances through its contents of several densely typed pages and one large glossy photograph.  As his eyes fall on the picture he pauses and gazes at it in surprise.  After a moment pregnant with anticipation he turns to the typed pages and reads feverishly.
”Isn’t that just like the U-boat you found in Brazil last year?” Ronald asks.
”Taken off the Azores not four weeks ago” Cartwright’s reads aloud.  ”Yes. She is identical. She must be a sister ship. I remember the Germans built several of them. I’d better take this upstairs at once!”
”Oh I say, it was my find... you’ll remember to tell them who found it at least, won’t you?” Ron stutters as Cartwright rushes from his office.

Tuesday.
Sir Hugh Sinclair examines the grainy photograph carefully. Taken from the bridge of a British steamer at a distance of several hundred yards, it shows a large, fat submarine with a small conning tower, on the surface, close beside a small tramp steamer. According to the typed report, the British captain, one Stuart Allan Mackintosh noted a small boat rowing between the two vessels indicating a rendezvous.
”Do we have an identification for the steamer?” he asks Cartwright.
”Fanshaw says it appears to be a Swede sir. Probably SS Inga Maria, belonging to the Boliden Line.”
Sir Hugh nods. ”And the submarine?”
”Unidentified sir. Fanshaw says all the vessels in that class have now been accounted for so either its one we didn’t know about or...”
”Or the Bremen is back in business!”
Putting the photograph down on his desk, Sir Hugh sits back in his chair and ponders the situation carefully. There were two U-boat pens on Farquhar Island he recalls, and records can be falsified easily enough in the aftermath of a war. But if the Bremen was operational again, then it must mean either one of two things. Either the Brazilians have quietly commissioned her themselves, or they’ve sold it back to Schöenberg. Given the Baron’s previous track record for getting what he wants, Sir Hugh is in little doubt as to which possibility is the most likely. He reaches for the phone.
“Yes Sir?” his secretary Hilda’s cool and intelligent voice is as prompt and exact as always.
“Thank you Cartwright. That will be all for now” he says over his hand. The young clerk smiles and leaves.
“Hilda – connect me through to Mayfair triple four please.”

Wednesday.
“Is there any way to verify the facts?” the Right Honourable Reginald Hartfield asks.
“It has already been done Minister” Sinclair replies. “I sent a telegram to our man in Recife yesterday and we had the reply at 0700 hours this morning. The Bremen is no longer moored at the government compound and the dock workers say she was fuelled, manned and moved out quietly a few weeks ago.”
“And we’re sure she hasn’t been taken up by the Brazilians?”
“Well we can’t be sure of that, but da Silva is of the opinion that the current Brazilian government is largely being funded by German interests anyway. There is a tedious possibility that Schöenberg has taken control of Brazil whilst we were distracted by Farquhar Island.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
“Quite frankly sir, yes. We’ve always known the Baron and his organisation seem to have funds far in excess of their known means and that revenue has to have come from somewhere. Brazil has untold riches hidden away in the Amazon and we know the Baron and his brethren have commercial interests there. We just don’t the extent.”
Hartfield rises to his feet and wanders over to the side board where he pours out two large whiskeys.
“I’ll need to talk to Stanley and see what’s to be done. If Brazil is under Schöenberg’s thumb, then his operations there must be extensive. This so called Silbervogel we hear about for example. If it is real, then Brazil is probably where it is being built. It is inconceivable that Schöenberg has yet a third secret base.”

Thursday.
“Here are the reports you asked for sir.”
Sir Hugh looks up from the paper he is reading. Hilda stands in his doorway with a large stack of folders in her arms. He sighs audibly as she hefts the small mountain onto his desk.  “I’m afraid you’re going to have to help me with this lot Hilda. I simply don’t have time to read it all.”
“Yes sir. What are we looking for sir?”
Exports from Germany. Imports into Brazil. Anything to do with rocketry, high speed pumps, chemical storage systems, aircraft or military hardware in general.”
Hilda nods. She sits on the opposite edge of Sir Hugh’s desk and opens the first folder and begins to read. It is an intelligence report dealing with German exports, acquired by an unknown agent and the first of many.  At first all the information is disordered and difficult to read with any clarity - facts and figures are presented in the order in which they were found and no one it seems has had the time to sort it all out. Eventually however, as the hours stretch into the evening, patterns and connections begin to emerge.
“This is interesting?”
Sir Hugh looks up with openly tired eyes. “What is it?”
“Aircraft sir. According to this import license, Syndicato Condor bought fourteen aircraft of the type W-34 from Junkers, but their attached insurance papers only cover five of them.”
“So what about the other nine?” Sir Hugh muses. “What do we know about Syndicato Condor – it’s a German collaboration isn’t it?
Hilda sorts through her various folders until she finds the one she is looking for.
“Yes sir. Established in 1927, the airline was originally a subsidiary of Deutsche Luft Hansa A. G. It was established in Rio de Janeiro, on December 1, by Mr Fritz W. Hammer a Brazilian Count named Pereira Carneiro who is also the owner of Jornal do Brasil and a shipping company...”
“Luft Hansa – but that’s it!”
“Sir?”
Sir Hugh’s eyes glitter with sudden animation and the tiredness has all but disappeared from his face.
“I think you just made the connection Hilda. The Hansa were the old trading states of Germany, the Hanseatic League and the Baron is nothing if not a romantic old Prussian at heart. Find out all you can about this Syndicato Condor – and the shipping company, what is it called?”
Hilda scans the report for a few moments then looks up. “The Boliden Line sir, but they appear to be Swedish.”

Friday.
“I say Hugh” Donald Ramsey pokes his head around the door of the smoker’s room. “Have you got a moment?”
Several of the club’s members look up in irritation at this interruption. One of them opens his mouth to complain but Sir Hugh holds up a hand in polite apology.
“The affairs of state” he whispers. Outside in the corridor he takes Ramsey’s elbow and leads him away from the door.
“Sorry about that Hugh” Ramsey says in a low voice. “I know its bad form and all but I just had the Minister on the phone and they want you over there, first thing in the morning.”
“Did they say why?”
Ramsey nods, his eyes darting up and down the corridor. “It’s this Swedish - Brazilian thing. The Foreign Office is in a terrible flap about the papers you sent over to them last night.”

Saturday.
“I appreciate the strenuous efforts you people over in intelligence put into these reports Hugh, but honestly – I think you’ve gone too far this time” the Minister glares across the table. “Are you seriously suggesting, on the basis of this one export license, that the Brazilian government is under the control of a group of German industrialists?”
Sir Hugh picks up the photograph of the submarine.
“With respect Minister, I think there is slightly more evidence than just the export license…”
The Minister shakes his head and waves aside the photograph. “That doesn’t prove anything Hugh. You can’t even be sure it is the same U-boat, and even if it was, you admit that the Brazilians might have commissioned her into their own navy. What do you say Harvey?”
Admiral Sir James Harvey who has been sitting quietly listening to the traffic outside, looks up in slight surprise.
“Well sir, I think Sir Hugh might be onto something..:”
“You do?” the Minister turns to regard the Admiral with raised eyebrows.
“Well, yes Minister. The Brazilians probably don’t know the first thing about submarines.”
The Minister mulls this observation for a few moments and chews on his lip. “How hard can it be?” he mutters to himself. Sir Hugh takes the opportunity to reiterate his position.
“With respect Minister, we’ve already gone over all the possibilities here. We know Schöenberg has extensive commercial interests in Northern Brazil; he had after all this very same submarine merchant vessel operating in those waters for God knows how many years. We know the commercial potentials offered by the geology of that region. We know he has military assets there too – our agent encountered them there last year…”
“Yes, yes, yes. You’ve already said all this” the Minister sits back and turns to the man sitting quietly beside him. The two exchange a glance but the silent man remains silent. The Minister rises to his feet and Sir Hugh and the Admiral follow suit.
“Well Hugh. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I assure you I shall discuss it at length with the Prime Minister as soon as possible.”

Sunday.
“So what will you need?”
General Mannerton, still wearing a look of some astonishment, clears his throat as he brings his mind to order.
“Let me be perfectly clear about this” he says. “I am to take command of an expeditionary force… a clandestine expeditionary force mind you, in British Guyana and comprised mainly of local forces, which barely exist you say, and then undertake military operations against a German aristocratic business man who has his own private army… in Brazil?”
“By order of the Prime Minster under the Secret War Act of 1919. Yes” Sir Hugh smiles.
“I see.”
Mannerton lets his mind ponder the possible ramifications of this for a few moments.
“Well, I’m going to need intelligence for a start…”
“We already have agents in play, both in Venezuela and Brazil. I can give you extensive information pertaining to the Baron’s operations and known forces. I can also offer you an Army Signals Interception Unit - the latest thing going in radio transmission interception.”
“That sounds very good” Mannerton smiles. “I shall also need a competent field commander. Someone who understands the situation as well as I do. Someone trustworthy.”
Sir Hugh pulls out a manila folder and slaps it on the table.
“This is the man you need. Napier.”
“Napier? I’ve never heard of him.” Mannerton quickly looks through the folder.
“That’s why you need him. “
“Afghanistan eh?”
“Yes. He did some work for us there last year. And very satisfying it was too”.
“So I see” Mannerton exclaims as he reaches the second half of the folder. “Great Scott! I had no idea.”
“Napier is the man for the ground work, and I also have an exceptional agent I can lend you for the very delicate jobs… but I’ll tell you about him later on. For now, let’s talk about support.”
“What do we have?”
“The Baron has armoured vehicles so you’re going to need anti-armour weapons at the very least. I’m also looking at providing you with some decommissioned armoured cars; Lanchesters, and we may possibly have some surplus light tanks we can let you have.”
“But do you think tanks will be necessary, or even of any use in that kind of terrain?”
“I couldn’t say, but experience has shown us not to underestimate the Baron. He is an amazingly resourceful man and I know for a fact that his soldiers are better than anything we’re going to find in Guyana. Unless you have some kind of an advantage over him, he is going to wipe the floor with you.”
Mannerton licks his lips apprehensively.
“What kind of tank?”
“I can’t say yet. Things are starting to look desperate in Germany and GHQ are concerned we may have to send a force to fight the Bolshies. They are grabbing every bit of armour they can lay their hands on at the moment and if I can get you anything, I’m afraid it won’t be the newer stuff, and then there is the question of engineering support, and transporting it out there. I think I can guarantee you a dozen Lanchesters though. That ought to help out somewhat, but you’ll have to play it canny. We know the Baron’s people have some pretty advanced anti-armour weapons too.”
 “I think I’m starting to dislike this Baron character” Mannerton chuckles. “So what’s the next bit of bad news?”
 Sir Hugh smiles.
“Oh that’s easy enough, I’m afraid you have to be out there by next week. You’re going to have to start drilling the locals because they aren’t much use as they are now…”

-----------------

RM10.1

Ü b e r f a l l

Eight weeks later. 13 August. 1937.

Colonel Sir John Napier stands at the map table of his busy headquarters and reads a report on the readiness of his force.  Several Lanchester Armoured Cars, four Vickers light tanks and three ancient Medium Mk Cs, having arrived earlier in the week are now ready for deployment. Also ready are a dozen artillery units of the Guyanese militia which have been undergoing training for the preceding five weeks.
“Sergeant Johnson”
“Yessir?”
“Do you have the latest fuel report?”
A lieutenant enters the room with a sheet of paper and stands waiting whilst Sir John goes through the mental process of converting drums of fuel into combat capabilities for a moderate armoured force.
“Yes Lieutenant?”
“A message from General Mannerton Sir.”
“Thank you Lieutenant”.
Napier reads the paper, his brow furrowing.
Signal Intercept has infiltrated Neo Prussian communications he reads. Latest intelligence indicates the leader of the ‘Black Arrows’ will be travelling with an armed escort and returning from Venezuela, two days from now. His route will bring him within easy striking distance from the Guyanese border (map ref to follow shortly). Assemble a small force and capture or kill him.
Sir John frowns at the irregular nature of the mission, but he quickly dismisses his concerns. Orders are orders.
“Sergeant. Is Captain Seymour here?”
“Yessir. He’s downstairs sir, in the saloon”
“Call him up, would you”.
It only takes Seymour a few minutes to climb the stairs to the map room, but by the time he arrives, Sir John has already identified the best possible ambush site.
“Ah, Captain. I trust your men are ready for a spot of action?”
“Oh yes Sir!”
“Good. Read this…”


STARTING
Player 1 (Martin)
Captain Seymour
LMG
Team One (7 rifles)
Team Two (7 rifles)
Anti-vehicle mine
6 x anti-personnel booby traps

Player 2 (Jan)
Sgt Hernandez
4 x Rifles
2 x Marksman
LMG
HMG

Player 3 (Palle)
Hauptmann Ganz
Oberleutnant Volkmann
1 Gruppe (2 rifles & 2 SMG)
2 Gruppe (2 rifles & 2 SMG)
3 Gruppe (2 rifles & 2 SMG)
LMG team (MG-34)
Sig Off
Marksman (1)
2 x Motorbike with sidecar (MG-34)
Sd.Kfz 221 (MG-34)

Player three determines the convoy configuration whilst players one and two determine the ambush set up.

Both sides start with all elements on table.

VICTORY CONDITIONS
Players one and two win by defeating two thirds of player three’s elements, or subsequently by defeating both Hauptmann Ganz and Oberleutnant Volkmann.

Player three has a signals officer. As long as he survives for the first round (the ambush), then player three wins by default if players one and two fail to reach either victory criteria.

SPECIAL RULES
The ambush is an explosive placed in the road. It will totally destroy the first vehicle in the convoy and do damage to the next vehicle (+10. Rad: 5)

All infantry elements carry one grenade as usual.

CONCLUSION
Hauptmann Ganz survived the ambush, so this game was a victory for Palle and the Germans.

-----------------

RM10.2

G e g e n a n g r i f f

“Mein Herr!” Adjutant Krebs clicks her heels loudly as she salutes. The Baron looks up from his desk.
“Yes?”
“A transmission from Hauptmann Ganz sir. He is under attack on the Venezuela highway”
“What!?” The Baron jumps to his feet and strides to a big wall map of Northern Brazil. “Where?”
The adjutant rushes to identify the location of the ambush.
“Ah, the old mineral processing plant” the Baron nods approvingly. “Napier is intelligent, even if his superiors aren’t. Still, the game has been set in motion and we must respond accordingly I suppose. Send word for Hauptmann Lohner.”
“Jawohl Mein Herr! The adjutant rushes from the room.
Ramrod straight, the Baron regards the map with his hands clasped behind his back. His stony face betrays little emotion but his eyes sparkle with suppressed Prussian humour.  As the door opens, he turns but it is not Lohner that enters the room.
“Ah Helga” He smiles openly at his most trusted follower.
“What is happening” she asks in her usual husky growl.
“The British have declared themselves” he answers. “They have ambushed Ganz on his way home.”
“Mansfield?”
“Not to my knowledge, no, but fear not, Sir Hugh will not hesitate to employ his best agent once the Guyanese begin to suffer insurmountable losses.”
Helga stands beside him and studies the map. She points to a small beacon symbol, just north of the border and raises an eyebrow.
“Yes. Very good my dear” the Baron replies to the unspoken question. “Their secret listening post must go. We can’t have them concerning themselves with our communications, so I have already sent for Lohner.”
“I will go too” Helga states.
“I thought you might” the Baron replies as he sits down behind his desk. “It has been a while since you’ve had any reason to go into the field.”
Helga nods and sits opposite him.
“I want to take a raketenbusch too. We need to test the new weapon under combat conditions.”
The Baron pauses and considers.
“Yes. You are right of course, but you must be careful and not allow the British to get their hands on it, nor the ammunition… especially not the ammunition!”
“As you say.”

Thirty six hours after the British attack on Hauptmann Ganz’s personal entourage, five Junkers W 34 aeroplanes take off from a secret airbase in Northern Brazil. Under strict radio silence, flying by night and without any credible means of detection, the small squadron passes unnoticed over the Guyanese border and drops to a few hundred meters above the designated target. In the lead plane, Hauptmann Lohner turns to his small group and holds up his hand. He opens the door and peers out. Below is the drop zone. He gives a salute to the man behind him, and then steps out into the void.
Watching closely from behind the first Junkers, the pilots of each plane shouts back to their passengers “Go!”

The sentries at the British Army Signals Intercept Station hear the aircraft passing overhead and curiously peer up into the darkness. No one raises the alarm however. None of the sentries has ever heard of paratroopers, nor do they have any orders regarding aircraft passing over head in the night. Even as the dark silk parachutes blossom above them, they go back to smoking and chatting idly.



STARTING
Player One (Palle)
Hauptmann Lohner
6 x Schwarzepfeile infantry (SMG)
4 x Schwarzepfeile infantry (rifles)
Schwarzepfeile infantry - LMG
Schwarzepfeile infantry - Medic
Schwarzepfeile infantry – Sig Off


Player two (Jan)
Helga
4 x Schwarzepfeile infantry (SMG)
2 x Schwarzepfeile infantry (rifles)
Schwarzepfeile infantry raketenbusch
Schwarzepfeile infantry Sniper team



Player three (Martin)
Lt Radcliffe
Sgt Harrison
2 x British Signals officers
8 x British colonial infantry (rifles)
3 x British colonial infantry (LMG)
10 x Guyanese infantry (rifles)


Players one and two parachute into the map in round one – use the counters provided, dropping each plane load from one meter above the table top.

Player three begins the game with one third of his force on duty. The other two thirds are asleep in the buildings and tents. When the alarm is given, these elements will take two rounds to reach combat readiness.


VICTORY CONDITIONS
Players one and two win either by destroying the signals intelligence building, and vehicle, or by defeating two thirds of player three’s elements.

Player three wins by successfully defending the signals intelligence building and/or the SIGINT vehicle.


SPECIAL RULES
The alarm can only be given if a successful perception roll is made, but a partially successful roll permits a further investigation. Three infantry elements may subsequently be awoken for the purpose of a recce.

The British vehicles are static.

All infantry elements carry one grenade as usual.


CONCLUSION
The German attack was a success so another victory for Palle.

----------------- 

RM10.3

K r e u z f e u e r

“Ah Mansfield” Sir Hugh looks up and smiles “take a seat.”
“Good morning sir”
Sinclair passes a dossier across the table and then resumes his paper work whilst Daniel Mansfield reads. Writing, he glances up every so often to read the younger man’s face and as expected, interest is gradually replaced by anger until by the time Mansfield has returned the file; his face wears an iron look of displeasure.  Sir Hugh leans back in his chair and composes his thoughts - now for the tricky part.
“As you can see, we have a problem. Anderson is obviously a security risk of magnitude, and we cannot allow him to continue his work.”
“Do you want me to sabotage it?” Daniel asks.
“I’m afraid that wouldn’t be enough. The nature of his research is such that he could quite easily resume his operation with only a slight inconvenience. Then there is also the matter of Harrison and Wittleby…”
Daniel frowns.  The cold blooded betrayal and murder of two British agents, sent to negotiate Anderson’s defection to the British cause is simply too disturbing to ignore.
“No” Sir Hugh sighs. “I’m afraid we must deal with Professor Anderson, once and for all. It is the only sure way to stop him.”
“Deal with?” Daniel leans forward slightly. “Are you suggesting I kill him?”
“An attempt at capturing the Professor would place you and your team at a great risk, and of course we must try it, but if that fails then you must kill him I am afraid. He is simply too dangerous if he is allowed to continue to work for Schöenberg.”
Sir Hugh’s concerned eye upon him, Daniel falls back in his chair and lets out a low whistle.
“Well if it is the only way then I suppose I’ll have to, but I can’t say I like the idea much. May I ask sir, why is he so dangerous?”
“Anderson is the world’s leading authority on rocket fuel. His work promises significantly higher levels of power and by our understanding; Silbervogel won’t work as planned unless it has a better fuel supply than existing recipes.”
“I’ve heard of Silbervogel, but only through vague rumours sir, could you explain its nature to me?”
“Not really I am afraid” Sir Hugh reaches into his desk for another folder and places it, open on the desk. “It is some kind of rocket carrying what we think is an orbital weapon.”
“Like a space plane?”
“Possibly, though Professor Summers thinks the rocket is merely a delivery system, and the actual weapon is something far more potent. If we could capture Anderson, we might learn a lot more about it.”
“Either way” Daniel muses, “we can’t leave something like this in the hands of the Baron. That mad man will not hesitate to use it.”
“Quite.” Sir Hugh stands and shakes Daniels hand. “I am sending Smith with you. He has worked with the locals before and I’m sure he will be of great assistance.”

-----------------

“Mister de Silva is here to see you sir”
Colonel Sir John Napier turns form his map wall and greets the small compact Guyanese who enters the command room. “Good to see you again Jaime” he smiles.
“Thank you general, I’m glad to see you too, and very happy to see you here in Guyana. It is long past time to push those Brazilian dogs out of our mountains!”
“Yes quite” Sir Napier smiles and produces a bottle of whiskey. De Silva nods and for a long minute the two men savour the taste from the distant highlands of Scotland.
“Excellent” de Silva sighs. “Now how can I be of help to you Sir John?”
Napier turns to the map wall and begins to point out various markings across the Brazilian side of the border. “This is what the Germans have taken to calling New Prussia…”
“Filthy dogs!” de Silva exclaims.
“…it is mostly in and around this area here, but some of their more obscure installations are in these more distant locations, no doubt due to secrecy and ease of security. What we are interested in today is this one” he taps the map.
De Silva peers at the red pin which sits alone beside a blue dotted line whilst Sir John continues.
“This is the presumed location of Adam Anderson’s laboratory.”
“Who?”
“Anderson is a Swede working for the Germans…”
“Swine!”
“…making, as far as we can ascertain, rocket fuel, though we might be mistaken. He is by all accounts a scientist of international reputation, and his work has impressed the boffins back home.”
De Silva sniffs, unimpressed.
“What do you want me to do?”
“We’re sending in a team of specialists to deal with Anderson, preferably to bring him back out alive so we can question him. He must have first-hand knowledge of the German’s plans but also, he betrayed some of our agents and we cannot allow him to go unpunished.”
“This man is a dog. Surely you cannot allow him to live?”
“London’s orders I’m afraid. If it were up to me, I’d send you and Paco down there to cut his throat… How is Paco by the way?”
“Oh he is very happy senior. I have given him a new machine gun.”
“Quite, quite.” Sir John regards his Guyanese compatriot with a level gaze for a long second. “Listen now Jaime. You’ll be taking our man Mansfield into the field and you may see some very strange things. You must remember to keep quiet about it all. No matter what you see, do you understand?”
“Of course” de Silva smiles. “You can rely on me!”
“Very good” Sir John’s face smiles but his eyes show his concern. “There is something else you need to know about… Anderson has a body guard; a man of terrible reputation who is known as Bruno Blot.”
“Brown blood?”
“Well, I take it his name is Bruno, and the blood part refers to the amount of people he has killed…”
“Dirty rat!”
“…He has been with the Germans for a good long while, but the Baron doesn’t seem to want him in his special paratrooper force, no doubt due to his unsavoury reputation, so he has been tasked with guarding Anderson. What ever you do, be wary of him. We are convinced that Bruno Blot is the man who killed our men Harrison and Wittleby. If you get the chance, then kill him.”
De Silva nods.
“Of course”.


STARTING
Player One (Martin)
Rocketman
‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell
George Macarthur
Dougal
Hamish
Mr Smith

Player two (Jan)
Jaime de Silva
Paco
4 x Guyanese rifles

Player three (Palle)
Feldwebel Geller
4 x Rifles
2 x SMG
LMG

Prof. Andersen
Hr Frickengruber
Bruno Blot (SMG)
2 x lab assistants

Having arrived at the designated target area, Rocketman and his team approach from one direction whilst de Silva and his men approach from the other. Unaware of the guard house, RM’s team find themselves in a cross fire, as do Anderson and the people in the lab.

Geller and his men start at the check point and guard house.
Anderson and the lab people start inside the lab.


VICTORY CONDITIONS
Players 1 and 2 must defeat Anderson in order to win. Player 3 wins by default if Anderson survives.


SPECIAL RULES
Each GI carries one grenade. RM and Bruno Blot carry two.  RM can share his, BB won’t.
Rocketman has three hero points in this game.


CONCLUSION
Due to time constraints, this game had been reduced with the amount of elements cut almost in half, and this may have left the game slightly unbalanced. The game ended with a decisive victory for Martin.

-----------------

 RM10.4

A c h t u n g   P a n z e r !

The story so far…

It is late 1937 and conflicts are flaring up all around the globe. In Manchuria, the Japanese are expanding their influence, whilst in Spain, civil war rages. The British Empire finds itself facing numerous rebellions, incursions and threats to its authority, whilst at the same time, facing the prospect of Germany descending into civil war.

Meanwhile, in South America, the growth of Neo-Prussia has prompted the British to send additional troops, weapons and equipment to incite the border regions with Guyana and Venezuela in an attempt to enflame the region and curtail the dangerous ambitions of Baron von Schöenberg.  Having learned of the development of a strange and mysterious Neo-Prussian weapon, known as Silervogel, MI6 have sent Daniel Mansfield to counter this new threat. Having successfully kidnapped the Swedish scientist, Anderson, Mansfield is returning to the British headquarters when he is stopped at a Guyanese army checkpoint and handed a telephone.

“Hello? This is Mansfield speaking” he shouts above the din of passing traffic.
“Mansfield?” General Sir Napier’s voice is barely audible over the line. “Is that you?”
“Yes sir.”
“Thank God!” Sir Napier exclaims, “Listen carefully now. I need you to divert and go to the border crossing and help our troops there. It’s only a few miles from you, and I think you ought to be able to make it in no time using your rocket. Am I right?”
“If it’s only a few miles sir, then yes, I can be there very quickly – but what’s the matter? What’s going on?”
 “The Guyanese have attacked the border crossing there, but they’ve met with some stiff resistance. We sent in a tank, but the bloody Germans were waiting for it with anti-tank guns and rockets. The signals boys just over heard the German orders and it’s looking pretty bleak for the Guyanese, unless you can help them?”
“I can try sir, but what are these rockets you mentioned?”
“It seems the Baron’s people have built some kind of rocket rifle. The damned things are said to be as powerful as a three pounder!”
“That doesn’t sound too good” Daniel mutters.
“If you get your hands on one, I’ll be most obliged” Sir Napier cries, “as will the boffins back home.”
“I’ll see what I can do”

-----------------

Player 1 – Palle
Hauptman Stockhausen
6 x Riflemen
2 x Motorbike and side car / LMG
Sniper
2 x Rakettenbusch
37mm PaK-36 AT gun
75mm field gun

Player 2 – Jan
Hauptman Blumer
8 x Riflemen
2 x LMG

Player 3 – Martin
Major Gonzaga
Sgt Sanchez*
12 x Guyanese Riflemen
2 x LMG
2 x field gun
Medium Mk C ‘Hornet’ tank
+
Rocketman 

-----------------

STARTING
Player 1’s forces start within the boundary of the southern edge of the map.
Player 2’s forces start in the centre of the map, pinned down in the ruins of the border crossing outpost.
Player 3’s forces start within the boundary of the northern edge of the map. Rocketman arrives on table after 3 + 1d6 rounds

VICTORY CONDITIONS
Skirmishes have broken out at several border crossings so this battle is not decisive except to the participants. Each side has three victory conditions. The first is to hold the border crossing outpost, which of course only one side can do.

Player’s 1 & 2 secondary victory conditions: Destroy the tank. Defeat Rocketman.
Player 3’s secondary victory conditions: Defeat/capture a rakketenbusch. Defeat Hauptmann Stockhausen.

If one side is reduced to three quarters of its size, it will have suffered an automatic defeat.

SPECIAL RULES
Rocketman moves as an autonomous element and has 6 hero points.

-----------------

RM10.5

D i e  K u n s t  d e s  K r i e g e s

Part 5 continues the attack initiated in part 4…

As he flies across it, Daniel Mansfield surveys the battle front. All along the border, small conflicts have raged back and forth. In some places the Guyanese have succeeded but in others the Neo-Prussian’s have pushed them back. Arriving at the border crossing, he finds the battle has been fought already and both sides have pulled back. Landing beside Major Gonzaga’s command car, he pulls off his helmet and salutes the astounded man.
“Major!”
“Si senior” Gonzaga gasps. He walks around Daniel and examines the rocket pack.
“Looks like I didn’t quite make it in time, eh?”
“Amazing” the Major mutters, not attending to Daniel at all. “What does it run on?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you sir – its classified Top Secret.”
“Of course, of course”
“However, I’m glad you mentioned fuel since I’m running low now and I need to top her up. I don’t suppose you can tell me where the Royal Engineers are? I understand there is a unit of them close by and they should have what I need.“
“Si, si, there is a group but they are not here senior. They have moved across the border and reached Sao Francisca.”
Gonzaga pulls out a map and points to a small village a few miles across the border.
“What are they doing so far forward?” Daniel wonders.
“I don’t know senior, but I have a small unit close by…“ He points to the map again, “Here”.

STARTING
Player 1 – Martin
Rocketman
Lt Chesterton - Royal Engineers
4 x British Army Engineers (rifles)
2 x British LMG
4 x mined area
+
Lanchester 4x6 Armoured car
Military truck.
Staff car.

Player 2 – Jan
Captain Ferrera
8 x Guyanese infantry (rifes)
Guyanese LMG
+
Medium Mk C ‘Hornet’ tank

Player 3 – Palle
Leutnant Baumfelder - 2/4 Kmp
3 Gr: 2 x rifles. 2 x SMG.
4 Gr: 2 x rifles. 2 x SMG.
LMG + loader
Signals officer
Medic
Marksman
Leutnant Klengel - 2/6 Kmp
L.Pz.Spw.17. ’Chasseur’ 
2 x M.Pz.Spw.19. ’Cuirassier’

Player 1’s forces start within 12 inches of the plaza centre. 
Player 2’s forces start off map, to the direct north of the village. They may arrive on table (anywhere along the northern edge of the map), two rounds after the first firing has begun.
Player 3’s forces start with Lt Baumfelder’s unit at the cross roads, sheltered by the trees. The armoured car platoon starts off table

VICTORY CONDITIONS
Standard, defeat 2/3 of the enemy forces combat elements.  (Martin & Jan. 13. Palle: 11)

SPECIAL RULES
Player 1 has had time to deploy mines. Any vehicle entering a mined area must roll against an +6 automatic attack.  Mines can be supported.

As long as Player 3’s communications officer survives, player 3 enjoys 2 d6 movement. Should the coms officer be downed however, player 3 is reduced to 1 d6+1 movement.

Rocketman moves as an autonomous element and has 3 hero points.

-----------------

RM10.6

S t a c h e l r o c h e n

As the bullets fly about his head, Daniel Mansfield makes his way through the small village, to where Lieutenant Chesterton lies. A quick examination shows the young British officer is badly wounded and turning to an adjutant Mansfield asks as to who is next in the chain of command. The private swallows and scratches his head.
“Sergeant Travis isn’t here; he’s still back at the crossroads, so I suppose it must be corporal Bennet”, he points to a group of riflemen crouching behind the Lanchester armoured car. Mansfield dashes across the road and introduces himself.
“I came for some fuel, but it looks like you’re a bit busy” he grins.
“I’ll say” the corporal replies with a thin smile. “These German Brazilians are cutting us to pieces. The latest reports from along the border say the whole Guyanese attack has largely been halted.”
“What are you doing this far forward?” Mansfield asks.
“The CO got word of an important target and sent us to evaluate it. Its only about fourteen miles along that road over there, but I don’t think we’re going to be able to get past these armoured cars.”
“What kind of an important target?”
The corporal looks Daniel’s jacket up and down. “I’m sorry sir, but I’m not certain that I can divulge that kind of information.”
Mansfield nods in understanding. “I appreciate that corporal, but if we don’t act now, we may miss our chance! I’ve been sent here by General Napier to put a stop to these infernal Germans once and for all. Now you just tell me what the target is and I shall bloody well go and destroy it myself!”
The corporal gasps in amazement and fumbles in a satchel, “Here is Lieutenant Chesterton’s report sir. As you can see on the map, there is a secret weapons factory…”
Mansfield nods, but his mind is preoccupied reading the incredible report…

TOP SECRET - ULTRA
Intelligence reports the ‘Silbervogel’ is a space weapon, launched by a two stage rocket into a steady orbital trajectory and crewed by a pilot and a weapon specialist. Once in orbit, the upper portion of the rocket unfolds a large, twelve part concave mirror which can be brought to face the sun.  The mirror focuses the sun’s rays into a chamber of absolute non-conductivity. A focus array directs the energy in the chamber against terrestrial targets and with the constant flow of energy from the sun, the weapon is only limited by the orbital track of the space capsule which must re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere within forty eight hours of launch lest its crew perish from lack of oxygen.
There are many remarkable aspects to this technologically advanced weapon but by far the most interesting, from our point of view, is the chamber of non-conductivity, the manufacture of which is beyond anything we possess. Our best scientific minds have been consulted and none of them have managed to produce a working theory as to how the Neo Prussians have been able to make such an item. As far as we can ascertain, the chamber is the work of a team of technical workers under the supervision of Gunter Ernst Graf.
Intelligence reports indicate Graf moves about so as not to be easily located. He lives and works on a river boat named ‘Stachelrochen’. This vessel has been spotted by reconnaissance aircraft, currently moored at a small manufacture facility at designated target point G15. It is believed that the G15 facility is the manufacture location for the Silbervogel’s non-conductivity focus array.
You will proceed forthwith and secure Gunter Ernst Graf and if possible, destroy the G15 facility.

A burst of twenty millimetre cannon fire erupts close by and Mansfield turns to the visibly shaken corporal. “Tell your men to withdraw. We’ll leave the Guyanese here to cover our retreat, then regroup and take another route. We need to fulfil these orders forthwith, and I need to contact Sir John immediately so tell that Lanchester to fall back too. I need its radio.
“Yes sir” stutters the corporal and hurries away to pass on the orders.
Mansfield checks his fuel gauge, and frowns. The indicator shows he has barely any fuel left at all, and the engineer’s supply truck is a smoking wreck. “It’s going to be touch and go” he mutters to himself.

STARTING

Player 1 – Palle
Baron von Schöenberg
Hauptmann
Oberfeldwebel (SMG)
Ana Grell (SMG)
1 Gr: 2 x rifles. 2 x SMG.
LMG + crew
Sig Officer (Rifle)
+
M.Pz.Spw.19. ’Cuirassier’

Player 2 – Jan
Helga
2 Gr: 2 x rifles. 2 x SMG.
LMG + crew
Gunter Ernst Graf
2 x Technical guards (SMG)
2 x Technical engineers (Pistols)

Player 3 – Martin
Rocketman
Sgt Travis
8 x Royal Engineers (Rifles)
2 x Royal Engineers (LMG)
2 x Guyanese guides (Rifles)
+
Lanchester 4x6 Armoured car

SPECIAL RULES

Rocketman moves as an autonomous element and has 6 hero points.

-----------------

RM10.7

W e l t h e r r s c h a f t

The story so far… With British assistance, the Guyanese colonial government has launched a series of military operations in Guyana’s contested southern border region with Brazil. The purpose of these attacks is to destabilize the region sufficiently to force the Brazilian government to intervene and curb the autonomy of the ‘Neo-Prussia’ industrial region.  Resisting this interference, the Neo-Prussians, under the leadership of Baron Gottfried von Schöenberg, have pitted their small, but highly efficient paramilitary forces. To date, the conflict has raged for several weeks with neither side gaining an upper hand, but the ever increasing escalation of resources is now resulting in a climate of open warfare that the Brazilian government cannot continue to ignore.

The British/Guyanese campaign has almost reached the limit of the small nation’s military resources and the results, so far have not been encouraging. Despite all their best efforts as well as the surplus Hornet tanks provided by the British, the Guyanese troops have not been able to defeat the Neo-Prussians in any significant engagement. As a result, London has ordered more tanks to be sent to assist the Guyanese and twelve Vickers 6 tonners, equipped with 37mm Bofors anti-armour guns have recently arrived. It is hoped these will counter the efficient armoured cars employed by the Neo-Prussians.

For the Neo-Prussians, the campaign, though short has also been a burden. Their much smaller, yet better trained and equipped forces have performed well, but they know they cannot continue to hold out for much longer. Hoping to deliver a significant victory, they have moved all their best fighting units to the fore, and hope to end the campaign before their losses force them to call upon the Brazilian military for assistance. They know full well that in doing so; they will lose the regional autonomy they have worked for so long to establish.

As 1937 comes to a close, so the campaign reaches its climax. The Guyanese cross the border with their new tanks spearheading their advance.  On the third day they reach the small hamlet of San Paulos.

STARTING

Player 1 – Martin
Major Pennisworth *
2 x Vickers 6 ton tank **
Lanchester 4x6 AC *
2 x 6 British Rifle section
2 x British LMG
10 x Guyanese Rifle section
Guyanese field gun *
Staff car
Truck

Player 2 – Jan
Captain Trumpton *
2 x Vickers 6 ton tank **
Medium Mk C ‘Hornet’ *
2 x 6 British Rifle squad
British LMG
10 x Guyanese Rifle section
Guyanese LMG
Guyanese field gun *
Truck

Player 3 – Palle
Hauptmann Ganz (Main force) *
Oberleutnant Volkmann 
Ana Grell (SMG)
Sig Officer
Sniper + spotter
Guard
L.Pz.Spw.17. ’Chasseur’  *
2 x MC with sidecar LMG **
1 Gruppe
2 Gruppe (Reserve)
Hauptman Stockhausen (Support) *
L.Pz.Spw.17. ’Chasseur’  *
Otto
Sig Officer 
37mm PaK-36 AT gun *
75mm field gun *
2 x 81mm Mortar **

VICTORY CONDITIONS
Points are awarded for each officer, AFV or artillery unit destroyed. The side which has the most points at the end of the game wins. If one side defeats all the opposing side’s point elements, then this grants an instant victory.

SPECIAL RULES
Player 3 has a platoon in reserve. These start off table until round three but can arrive thereafter as Player 3 so chooses. 

Hauptmann Ganz’s units have wireless communications which negates command range limitations. If however a unit’s signals officer is downed, he must be replaced or the unit will be subject to regular command range limits. If Hauptmann Ganz loses his Signal’s communications officer, this will result in all Player 3’s units being subject to standard command range limitations.

Grenades are issued, one for each GI element

CONCLUSION
“Oberst Doktor Holst is here to see you mein herr. “
Baron Gottfried von Schöenberg turns from the map table and smiles broadly at his old comrade in arms. Of the other eleven Brother Knights in the Order of the Black Cross, only Holst can rival the Baron in military matters, and thereby comprehend the situation they face in the same manner as himself. 
Holst takes off his cap and uniform coat and hands them to the butler.
“Is there news from the front?”
The Baron motions to a side cabinet where food and drink are available. Behind him, the staff officers at the map table all break out in smiles.
“There certainly is my friend, and it is good news indeed!”
Holst stops in mid stride and looks about the room.
“Is it? Is it good enough to counter balance our loss of Andersen and Graf?”
For a brief second a glint of anger shows in the Baron’s eyes, but shaking his head he pours Holst a cup of coffee with a smile.
“Silbervogel will not fly – for now” he admits “but Ganz has defeated the British attack. All along the front, the news is decisive. We have given them such a knock down blow that any possible retaliation will require a significant investiture of materiel. Our information indicates that this will prove impossible for the British at least for another six months, or possibly even more.”
Holst nods then takes a sip of his coffee. As its excellent taste stimulates him, his mind reaches forward into the future, six months is a significant breathing space, but what then?”
“We will need to be ready in case they do” he observes.
Schöenberg turns from the map table to look at his face. Holst nods again, emphatically.
“The British will not run the risk of Silbervogel becoming operational. Certainly they have set us back, quite considerably, but they will not know to how great an extent, and they will certainly move to act against us again. We must take steps to anticipate their next attack.”
Schöenberg is in complete agreement, but he frowns and spreads his hands.
“Certainly we must be prepared, but do you really think they will attempt another such attack?”
Holst moves to a large wall map of the south and central Americas. The Baron follows him and the two men gaze at it for a long moment.
“Even if they don’t attack from Guyana again, then there is still the problem of Venezuela.”
Schöenberg blinks in surprise.
“Venezuela?”
“Yes. They are benign to our interests at the moment, but the country is rife with dissent. It would not be difficult for the British to close the border region by means of an insurrection. They could cut off our fuel supply lines with minimal effort.”
The Baron turns to an aide.
“Hans. How long could we maintain our current industrial output on our oil reserves alone?”
Without hesitation, Hans replies, “six weeks Mein Herr.”
“Thus” Holst adds. “I foresee a need to strengthen our armed forces considerably, whilst we can.”
Schöenberg nods once. Though he is in complete agreement, having already reached similar conclusions, he ponders the costs.
“What do you suggest?”
Holst purses his lips and thinks for a while.
“Two thoughts spring to mind. First, we must reward Ganz accordingly. We must make him a Brother of the Order.”
“Agreed.”
“Second, we must acquire more and better armour. I suggest we grant Ganz permission to establish his own force and channel funding to build a dedicated Panzer Abteilung. The sooner we can begin, the better.”
The two men stand, side by side at the map table. The Guyanese are in full retreat. It is a glorious day for Neo-Prussia but both men are now deep in thought as to how exactly does one acquire a force of tanks?