Heroes of the Great War: Limanowa 1914

Limanowa – the Galician town where, in the winter of 1914, Austro-Hungarian and Polish troops heroically prevented the further onslaught of the “Russian Steamroller”, saving Cracow from occupation. Limanowa – where the legendary Hungarian cavalryman Ottmár Muhr died a hero’s death heading his glorious hussars while protecting Jabloniec Hill, situated next to the town, with his men until their last breath against the Russian attackers. Limanowa – where the fortunes of war took a turn following the battle, later enabling the Central Powers to launch the offensive operations that culminated in the “Gorlice breakthrough”, bringing about the much-awaited victory. Limanowa – where we can now play out the World War I battle again and even rewrite history. Will Austro-Hungarian forces again succeed in reining in the “Russian Steamroller”? Or will the glorious victory be earnt this time by the Russian Empire’s soldiers?

Heroes of Limanowa is a World War I strategy board game for 2 to 4 players. The gameboard – the battlefield – covers the region surrounding Limanowa, Gorlice and Bártfa, where the clashes, in reality, took place in December 1914 unfold during the game. Players personify the commanders of four different army corps as two opposing parties: Austro-Hungarian units are at war with the forces of the Russian Empire. Accordingly, the Austro-Hungarian side can opt to stand ground as commander of the Hadfy Group, tasked with protecting Limanowa against the “Russian Steamroller”, or as commander of the Szurmay Group forging ahead in the Carpathians. On the other hand, any player may assume command of the Russian Army Corps VIII sieging Limanowa or the Russian Army Corps VII, fighting against the Szurmay Group in the Carpathians.

The gameboard features clashes’ locations and topographic conditions, including forests, heights, settlements, as well as roads and railways of strategic importance, with high precision. Units can be deployed to battle or organized into defensive position taking endowments of terrain into account. Players may use three different types of unit – infantry, cavalry and artillery units – in combat. Beyond these, all army corps possess 3-3 officer’s units (Hadfy, Brusilov, Szurmay, Orlov, etc.), which have unique capabilities and sport the strongest combat value. Together with officer’s units, the game contains some 70 miniature figures. In their operative concepts, players are assisted by various battle cards featuring combat plans. The total of 100 battle cards can be divided into three large groups: strategic cards, tactical cards and artillery cards. In the course of the game, both parties aim to achieve final victory, which can be met through taking control of settlements indicated among strategic targets, the complete annihilation of an enemy corps or liquidating all enemy units. On the path to the ultimate goal, the winners of all minor clashes receive extra rewards; thus, further battle cards can be acquired with winding up an enemy unit or seizing a settlement listed among strategic targets.

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