Wargames

At first I thought this photo was an aerial photo, but I soon realized that it was wargame terrain for the training of officers. It shows a small airfield, biplanes (Heinkel He 51?) hidden away under trees. Wargaming has been around since the 1800’s, invented by German officers as a means of training officers. Tactical problems are presented to the officers, who control one side each, and under the leadership of an umpire they are to try to win the fight. The umpire might throw in unexpected events as a way of making the officers adapt to changed circumstances. The German General Staff also played through scenarios on a strategic level, testing their war plans and trying to foresee complications and how to deal with them. Today, wargaming is a hobby and still used as a way of training officers in the art of war.