''Angriff!'' (German: "Attack!"), subtitled "A practical set of World War II Wargaming rules for use with the HO and MICRO scale enthusiast", is a set of rules for

miniature wargaming Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming in which military units are represented by miniature physical models on a model battlefield. The use of physical models to represent military units is in contrast to other tabletop wargames that use ...

set in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

designed especially for use with

HO scale HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale (3.5 mm to 1 foot). It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced apart for modelling standard gauge tracks and trains in HO.NMRA"M ...

and 1:285 scale

micro armor Micro armour (or micro armor) refers to scale models made of lead, pewter, die cast metal or plastic, usually used for wargaming purposes. Variations of the name include: mini armour, microscale, mini tanks, miniature armour, miniature tanks, mic ...

. The booklet was released by Z&M Publishing Enterprises in 1968.

Description

Tabletop wargaming using miniatures had been a popular hobby since the 19th century, mainly simulating battles from the Napoleonic era using various sets of rules for movement and combat. Fifteen years after the end of World War II, toy companies such as

Airfix Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced injection-moulded plastic scale model kits. In the U.K., the name 'Airfix' is synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even ...

began to manufacture plastic miniatures of modern soldiers and mechanized units in both HO scale and 1:285 scale. In 1968, Richard Zimmerman and David Myers designed a booklet titled ''Angriff!'' that contained a set of rules for World War II tanks, artillery, and infantry in the European Theater. They formed Z&M Publishing Enterprises in order to publish it. The booklet proved popular, and Zimmerman and Myers released a second edition with expanded and revised rules in 1972, published this time by Lakeshore Press. They published a third edition in 1982. In 1976, Z&M published ''Banzai!'', which used the ''Angriff!'' rules set but included arms and armament used in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. In 1984, Z&M published ''Total Conflict'' by Gary W. Blum, which again used the ''Angriff!'' rules set, but was designed for modern

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

conflict between NATO forces (American, British and West German) and Soviet forces.

Basic rules

The two players randomly determine who will move first. The order of movement and combat is: # Side A moves 1/3 of its move, plus an additional 3" for all vehicles or men on roads. #Side B moves 1/3 of its move, plus an additional 3" for all vehicles or men on roads. #Artillery fire, if any, commences. #Tanks or vehicle mounted weapons fire. #Small arms fire, if any, commences. #Side B moves the remaining 2/3 of its move (but only 1/3 if it has fired). #Side A moves the remaining 2/3 of its move (but only 1/3 if it has fired). Movement rates and artillery fire are provided for various vehicles and artillery pieces. Extensive appendices provide details of tank armor and the chances of hitting a target at a given range.

Reception

Richard W. Knisely, in the November 1975 issue of ''

Wargamer's Digest ''Wargamer's Digest'' was a wargaming magazine created by Gene McCoy that was published from 1973 to 2000 (from 1984 to 2000 as ''Military Digest''). It is notable as one of the earliest publications to publish the work of Gary Gygax, and for the ...

'', compared various sets of modern-era wargaming rules, and said of ''Angriff!'' "these rules are somewhat simpler than ''

Tractics ''Tractics: Rules for WWII Miniatures'' is a set of wargaming rules for conducting World War II style combat with 1:285 scale micro armour miniatures. It was originally written to use 1/87 scale miniatures which were easily available at the time ...

'' and ''Wargame Rules — Armor and Infantry 1925–1950'' but are almost as comprehensive." He liked that ''Angriff!'' could be used "without alteration for micro or HO scale", and concluded, "These rules are suitable for use at company level and up to about battalion level."

References

{{Authority control Miniature wargames Playscale miniaturism Games and sports introduced in 1968