Obstacles
Translation details
Model:mistral-medium-2604.Translated text
Section titled “Translated text”Game marked with an asterisk in the book: more suitable for older scouts.
The Whites are assigned a route they must traverse within a specified time, for example, 4 km per hour. Alternatively, two routes can be marked over a certain area of the terrain, and the marching party may freely choose one as better or safer. The route passes through unknown, largely impassable terrain, giving the Reds many opportunities to set an ambush.
The Reds, half as numerous as the Whites, know the time and starting point of the Whites’ march, as well as their destination, but not the exact route they will take. The Reds’ task is to ambush the Whites or at least hinder their march so that they cannot reach the finish line on time.
As a result, the Reds will first and foremost try to obtain information about the Whites’ direction of march. They will therefore send strong scouts in groups of 2–3 toward the Whites to set up an ambush in the most suitable location based on the reports received. The scouts must maintain constant contact with the enemy once discovered, as the Whites may change their route at some point, which would also require the Reds to adjust their plans. If the Reds manage to approach the Whites undetected to within 40–50 paces, with at least a quarter of the marching force, and launch a sudden ambush, the ambush is considered successful. If they are discovered in time, they must retreat before the Whites if the Whites’ detachment is twice as strong.
Thus, the Whites do not march without security; instead, they send scouts to the sides and forward to ensure the safety of the route. If an ambush is detected, they either force the Reds to retreat or change their direction of march, switching to another allowed route, thereby disrupting the Reds’ plans. The Reds must then abandon the ambush site, outmaneuver the Whites, and attempt an attack elsewhere. This, in any case, delays the Whites’ progress.
The Reds can use various stratagems to achieve their goal. They may stage false attacks or ambushes here and there; discovering and neutralizing them takes the Whites a lot of time. They may set two ambushes close to each other, so that when the Whites eliminate one, they fall into the other, and so on. All of this can be effective, provided that all Red groups maintain constant communication and coordination, and that the operation is so organized that orders can be sent to the right place at any moment and executed efficiently.
Let us add the rule that scouts (not detachments) can be “killed” by tearing the armband, and both Whites and Reds can do this. Thus, either side can ambush the other, surround them, etc., making it not so easy to find the hiding Reds, and many a scout from either side may fall into a trap, followed by the entire detachment.
The Reds’ task will be much more difficult if the Whites are only given a starting point and a finish line, which they can reach by any route.
At the beginning of the exercise, the two parties are not placed at opposite ends of the designated terrain. The Whites stand at the starting point, and the Reds are positioned at a relatively short distance from them, as it would be a waste of time to have them march unnecessarily toward each other.
Source scan: Polona / National Library of Poland, marked “Public domain”. View scan — PDF pages 224–226.
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”- Type: game
- Traits: Not stated in the source
- Source: Zygmunt Wyrobek, Harcerz w polu: zabawy i gry terenowe (1946)
- Printed pages: 218–220 / PDF 224–226
- Digital edition: Digital edition · Source record
- Open the edition at the relevant page: p. 218
- Read the source text: hwp-109