PLAYBOOK - gmtgames.com · We now show an extended example of play for Stalin’s War. In this example two of the game’s lead playtesters are at the reins: Don Clarke playing the

Stalin’s War Playbook 1

© 2010 GMT Games, LLC

PLAYBOOKDesign Notes ............................................................................2Strategy Tips ............................................................................4Example of Play .......................................................................5

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Card Manifest .........................................................................20Counter Manifest ...................................................................22

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The Eastern Front

1941-45

Stalin’s War Playbook2


Stalin’s War took a long time to come to fruition—even longer than the actual war (but with fewer casual-ties). Even before my WWI design Paths of Glory was published, Gene asked me to do a WWII East Front card-driven game. I came up with a hex-based design without cards, which clearly was off-topic. So going back to Paths, I came up with a point-to-point WWII CDG that covered the East Front but also covered North Africa, the Middle East, and the Allied campaigns in Southern and Northwest Europe as well. WWII: Barbarossa to Berlin was a successful design for GMT, but it still wasn’t the game Gene had originally asked for.

So matters rested until about 4 years ago. I knew if I was going to tackle the ’41-’45 East Front on one map, I’d want to use hexes, but how could I mesh hexes with CDG’s use of OPS points to activate one’s forces? In a hex-based representation of linear ground campaigns, activating only a few units at a time for movement would produce a lurching quality to an advance that a point-to-

point or area game could mask. How could I get the same effect using hexes? The answer was that I couldn’t. So I decided not to try; in SW movement would be tied to the use of OPS points only in very specific and limited circumstances. Instead, the cards would be used to drive combat—OPS would effectively become a form of attack supply. With that conceptual breakthrough, the overall design rapidly fell into place.

So why has it taken another 4 years for SW to get to your table? Well, the development process was a story with considerable twists and turns, but with Paul coming on board about a year ago, we finally had someone to guide SW to the finish line. Though not without changes (The Finnish front was removed, as were Panzer HQ units, although there are plans to include these in a forthcoming ‘behind the scenes’ look at the development of the game in C3I, GMT’s in-house magazine), the basic design en-gine proved sturdy enough. I hope you enjoy the results.

PLAYBOOK

DESIGN NOTES



Because of the considerable gap between design and publication, when Paul asked me to address certain specific “why did you do things that way?” questions in these notes, I found in many cases the answers were lost in the mists of my aging brain. Still, I can manage to field a few Frequently Asked Questions from the playtesters:

Why did you go for hexes rather than point-to-point?I wanted some of the feel of the old The Russian Cam-paign (or even the original Stalingrad) of German forces tearing holes and advancing across the hex-based steppes. Plus, I’d already done p-t-p in Barbarossa to Berlin.

Why did you use steps instead of Loss Factors (as are used in Paths of Glory or WWII:Barbarossa to Berlin)? Step losses are a bit easier and quicker to calculate, but mostly they were part of the “retro” feel I was going for.

Why don’t SCUs replace LCUs in this game (cf. PoG or WWII:BtB)? The use of the Reserve Box (and players of Stalin’s War who don’t own WWII:BtB or PoG should just ignore this—or run out and buy them) makes sense in a multi-front game; it seemed a pointless complication in a single front game.

Why does the map extend so far to the east? What were the Axis objectives for Barbarossa?One really needs to speak of Hitler’s goals here, for he defined the aims and limits of the campaign. In 1941 the Germans were to achieve a line running from Archangel in the north to Astrakhan in the south (the so-called A-A line) beyond which any surviving Soviets forces were to be driven. I wanted the map to illustrate the scope of the task the Germans had taken on, and the Soviet potential to continue the struggle even if most of European Russia was lost.

What decided you to introduce the Paulus and Caucasus logistical zones and the Volga crossing restrictions?WWII:BtB has been criticized by some for giving the Germans too long a logistical leash in the east. Now given that the game covers considerably more than just the Russo-German war, I’m happy with the compromises made in that game to keep the rules manageable. But SW, covering only the one front, could show more detail without over-burdening the players; the Logistical Zones (“inspired” by—in the sense of taken from—the designs of Ty Bomba) were an easy way to put some logistical breaks on both Barbarossa and Blau. As for the Volga

crossing limits around Stalingrad, whether a move down the east bank to cut off that city was practicable or not, it was never considered, and I wanted to model that head-on mentality that turned Stalingrad first into an eastern Verdun, and then into a Nazi death trap.

What was your reason for having the different possible victory conditions?It’s always difficult to put aside hindsight when looking at victory conditions. We know the Germans failed to defeat the USSR—we can’t know how the USSR might have been defeated. But a range of victory conditions allows you to explore a range of strategic options.

Why do cities not provide a “No retreat” option? Stalingrad was a fortress, and Leningrad (never directly assaulted) held out under siege for three years, but most cities in the USSR changed hands both rapidly and repeat-edly in the 41-45 campaigns. Turning them all into virtual forts would not model the historic course of events, but produce something closer to WWI.

Can you give us some background on the Blitz mechanic, which is central to the game?The Blitz mechanism models both the value of reserves and the flexibility of armored warfare. It isn’t simply about punching a hole and moving through it, but about taking advantage of the speed of armored thrusts to get inside the enemy commander’s decision cycle. The defender doesn’t just have a particular hole in the line, they have a breakdown of their ability to deal with an enemy offensive on that front. Where are the German tanks? The players can see them on the map, but the Soviet commander has only a partial (at best) idea, is often drawing halt lines at places the panzers have already moved through, and is responding to reports that are out of date when they ar-rive. For that reason reserve panzers don’t have to move through the combat hex to take advantage of the chaos sown by the initial breakthrough. (The same is true later when the Soviets in a deep battle operation like Bagration unhinged an Army Group as much by the speed of their operations as by the brute force they brought to bear.)

If you have questions not answered above, please feel free to ask them in the Stalin’s War folder at Consimworld.com. I’ll try to think of an answer.

Enjoy the game!Ted S. Raicer



In this section we offer a few pointers towards good play in Stalin’s War.

Axis1. In order to attain an auto-victory you need to keep pushing

right up until the tipping point. This will occur sometime mid to late 1942, when the Soviet line has firmed up and there appears to be little realistic chance of breaking it. ‘Keep pushing’ means keep mobile by playing ops, and possibly refusing to allow Hitler to take command, while you pressure the Soviets as much as you can.

2. Pressure the Soviets in 1941 in the hope that they might miss at least 1, and hopefully 2 of their replacement plays in a turn.

3. Hit the Soviet line where it’s weakest in the early game. This will reduce your losses, and force the Soviets to play ops to cover the gaps.

4. Hit blitz-able hexes wherever possible to maximize your mobility in the early game.

5. Eliminate Soviet units by placing them out of supply in preference to frontal assault. You can’t afford losses, particularly to the panzers.

6. Don’t under-estimate the importance of playing rein-forcements early in the game. Yes, you lose a tempo every time you play a card for Reinforcements rather than OPS, but those corps are useful for taking losses in combat, since they are much more easily replaced than LCUs and Panzers.

7. Start trench-building as soon as you lose the initiative in the middle-game.

8. In defense, make good use of German mobile defense, festungs, and trenches. You’re going to need them!

Soviet1. Above all else, try to avoid being Blitzed. Every time it

happens you will find panzers roaming behind your lines, placing your units OOS. It is a painful process, and will result in defeat if it occurs too often.

2. Related to the above, withdraw in stages in 1941. Look for lines of unblitz-able hexes. Do not try a forward defense. It will result in a very short and unsuccessful war.

3. Always look out for opportunities to counter-attack, even before winter 1941. It is important to dent the Axis offensive. Every hit on a panzer unit is a significant blow to the Axis offensive and should be celebrated.

4. If it becomes impossible to maintain a line, defend Rostov and the oilfields of the Caucasus in preference to Moscow.

5. Play Sorge , InduStrIal evacuatIon , and the tank reinforcements as early as possible. If delayed they may cost you the game.

6. Ignore geographic objectives in the middle-game in order to inflict as many casualties on the Axis as possible. This will begin to overload their replacement system.

7. Finally, if you are finding the game hard as the Soviets, particularly when you are ‘learning the ropes’, don’t be afraid to use bidding (rule 21.0). Playing the game with a bid of 3 to play the Axis will result in the Soviet player getting 3 automatic RPs on turn 3 in addition to the three received on turn 2, and will change the game balance significantly. Our experience is that with experienced players the game is balanced with a bid of 0, but new players may prefer to play their early games with a bid such as that above in order to help the Soviets climb the learning curve. (Of course, ‘real men’ will play the Campaign game only, and only with a bid of 0…)

STRATEGY TIPS



We now show an extended example of play for Stalin’s War. In this example two of the game’s lead playtesters are at the reins: Don Clarke playing the Axis powers, and Paul Horvath playing the Soviets.

This example has been constructed to illustrate as many game concepts as possible, which means that the play shown is intended to be educational rather than optimal. As such, it represents an easy way to learn the game. Just set-up the units on your own map, follow through this example of play, repeating the moves on your own board as you go, and then pick up the reins at the end of the example. [For convenience, and since our players are both male in this instance, we use the male pronoun throughout.]

Turn 1 – June 1941:The players begin by setting up the game per rules section

4.0, shuffling their respective Blitz decks and drawing 6 cards each. Their initial hands are shown below.

The first turn is unusual in that it starts on Round 5, and consists of a single Action Round for both players.

June 1941: Axis Round 5The Axis player decides to play Steppe Fox as an event:

Rommel and his Panzers are sent to the eastern front rather than North Africa! He places the SK PZ corps with the 11th army and then, as a consequence of the event, is allowed to play one other card. He plays the HedgeHogS card for 4 ops. When Steppe Fox is played, it is the subsequent card play that determines what type of Action round this is, so this Round is considered an OPS Round for the Axis player. To record this, the Axis player places his “Round 5” marker in the “OPS Round” box of the Action Rounds area of the map. This box is colored green, reminding him to advance the Consecutive OPS marker one space into the “1st Full OPS” box. He receives all 4 OPS and uses them to place 4 combat markers. (Note that, accord-ing to rule 4.4.2, no movement is permitted in this first round of the game—the game starts at the moment that Barbarossa is unleashed.) Here we see the units in their initial starting posi-tions with the 4 combat markers placed:

EXAMPLE OF PLAY



The phasing player (i.e. the Axis) now decides in which order to resolve the combats. As each combat is resolved, players have the chance to play Combat Cards [CCs], but, as luck would have it, neither player has any useful CCs. Don chooses to start by attacking hex 1920 using just the 16th In-fantry LCU in hex 1720. The attack strength of that unit is 5, but the attacker shifts 2 columns to the left due to the effects of attacking across a river and into a town (see the Terrain Effects chart [TEC]), so his attack is resolved on the “3” column of the LCU Combat Results Table [CRT]. The defense is resolved on the “2” column of the SCU CRT (since no LCUs are present for the defense). Don rolls a 4, obtaining a result of “1”; Paul rolls a 5, obtaining a result of “1*”. The defending 3M army has a single step (as can be seen from the half-stripe over its ID number), so the 1 result is sufficient to eliminate it. Note that the unit has an asterisk annotation on the left-hand side, denot-ing that it cannot be replaced (see section 14.1.6); therefore it is permanently removed from the game. The Soviets inflicted a “1*” result on the Axis units. However, since the only Axis unit participating in the combat was an LCU, and asterisked combat results cannot affect LCUs (see 11.3.4), no losses are taken. The combat result was 1/1*, (where the first number refers to losses inflicted by the attacker and the second refers to losses inflicted by the defender), which would ordinarily be a draw, but, since the defender was completely eliminated the attacker is declared the victor and may advance any surviving units. The 11th army advances into Vilna.

Next, the Axis player chooses to resolve the attack into 1723. Once again, only the Infantry army attacks, so the attack is resolved on the “4” column of the LCU CRT (the Infantry’s attack strength of 5 is shifted once to the left due to attacking across a river), while the defense is resolved on the “3” column of the SCU CRT. Both players roll a 1, leading to a combat result of 1/0. The Soviet 4M army is permanently removed from the game (since it has a non-replaceable asterisk annotation), at no loss to the attacker, who marches into 1723.

Next the remaining 3 Panzer units in 1623 attack 1722. The attacker’s strength is a total of 11, and note that because there are 3 Panzers stacked together they fire on the LCU table (see step 4 of the combat resolution sequence in 11.2.1). Here the attacker shifts 2 columns to the left due to the effects of the river and town, and resolves his attack on the “6-7” column of the LCU CRT. The defender’s roll will be on the 2 column of the SCU CRT. Don rolls a 2, inflicting a 1 loss on the Soviets; Paul rolls a 4, inflicting a 1* result on the German units. The Soviet unit is permanently removed from the game, while Don flips the 48 PZ to satisfy his loss (recall that, while the Panzers fire on the LCU table, they are still treated as SCUs for all other purposes, including taking losses—again see step 4 of the combat resolu-tion sequence in section 11.2.1). Once again, due to the complete elimination of the defender the attacker is declared the winner of the combat, and all 3 PZs advance into 1722, where Don also places a “Blitz” marker since exploitation-capable units have advanced into a Blitz-able hex (see step 9 of the combat resolution sequence). However, exploitation occurs after all combat has been resolved, so we will return to these units later!

Now all Panzer corps in 1720 and 1820 combine to attack the Soviet 6M unit in 1821. Note that units from both hexes can be used because there are mechanized units in the second attacking hex. Also, note that the supply status of defending units is checked at the instant of combat (see 13.1.1). Here, because of the earlier advances into 1920 and 1722, the Soviet 6M is considered out of supply [OOS] since line of supply cannot be traced through the ZOC of those advancing units (see 13.1.3). Thus, the combat is 15(LCU):2(SCU). The result is 2/1*—the attacker flips the 56th PZ (the first offensive loss must be taken by a mechanized unit if possible—see 11.3.3), while the Soviet 6M is permanently removed from the game. The attacker wins the combat, advances 39 PZ and 57 PZ into 1821 and places a Blitz marker.

Finally, the GE 9th army in 1720 and the stack of SCUs in 1622 attack the Soviet West Front in 1721. Again, this multi-hex attack is legal because of the presence of mech. units in the second attacking hex (in this case hex 1622), and the fact that no more than 1 LCU is being used in total (again, although the 3 PZ units in 1622 would fire on the LCU table even if firing alone, they still count as SCUs in all other respects). Once again the defender is adjudged OOS at the instant of combat, so the combat is 15(LCU):2(LCU). The result is 3/1, leading to the West Front being placed in the Soviet Eliminated Units box (there is no asterisk on the counter, so it is eligible for replace-ment), while Don flips 46 PZ before advancing all units into hex 1721 and placing a Blitz marker. Note that hex 1721 is now over-stacked, but stacking is not checked during exploitation (see 9.1.4), so the Axis player has time to resolve the over-stack by exploiting with the PZs. Here is the board position showing the 3 Blitz markers that have been placed.



The Axis units now conduct their exploitation. All units may advance 3 hexes (per 12.2.2), and, due to the special pro-visions of 4.4.6, Axis units can ignore all non-swamp terrain

effects when exploiting during this round (only). Don takes full advantage of this chance to strike deep into Soviet territory, leading to the following position at the end of exploitation:



At this point, since it is the end of Axis Round 5, the Axis player must conduct his Attrition Phase and check supply sta-tus for all his units. All are in supply. The units in the Pripyat marshes can trace a supply line through 1822 (or 1921) since the Soviet units adjacent to those hexes lack a ZOC. Furthermore, even though the Soviet 12M corps in 1918 does exert a ZOC, 41 PZ in 2018 can trace a supply line via hexes 2019, 2020, 1920 and 1820 (and then by rail to a supply source), because the friendly units in the first two of those hexes negate the 12M’s ZOC.

June 1941: Soviet round 5At the beginning of

his turn, after despairing somewhat over the rather ugly nature of his former front-line (but get used to this feeling, the first few turns are not pretty for the Soviet player—he will get his revenge later!), Paul checks supply for all Soviet units, placing OOS markers on the units in 1918 and 2022. He then plays Indus-trial Evacuation for 4 OPS, placing the Soviet “5th Ac-tion Round” marker in the green “OPS Round” box of his Action Round track and advancing the consecutive OPS marker one space.

He receives the full 4 OPS for this action round, and places Move markers in hexes 1724, 1726 and 1829 (the last OP will be used for combat later). The Move markers in the first two hexes are needed because the last (and in this instance only) unit in that hex is leaving while it is in enemy ZOC, while the marker in 1829 is needed because the unit will be using Strategic movement to get to Smolensk. All other units that are not in an enemy ZOC may move without OPS expenditure. Here is the Soviet position after movement, showing the expenditure of the final OPS to place a combat marker in 1823 after move-ment is complete:



The Soviet 5R Army in 1823 attacks the Panzers in 1922. While attacks by Soviet LCUs on hexes containing only PZs are prohibited during Turns 1 and 2 (see 4.4.7), this attack involves only SCUs and is therefore legal. Paul plays the StalIn organS cc as an event to aid the attack. Units must be in supply to receive the benefits of a CC, but the Soviet unit in 1824 allows a supply line to be traced through the negated enemy ZOC). The attack shifts 2 columns to the left for attacking across a minor river and into a swamp hex, and one column to the right due to the effects of the CC, and is therefore resolved at 3(SCU):6(SCU), die-rolls of 2 (Soviet) and 5 (Axis) lead to a result of 0/1—the Soviet 5R army flips to satisfy the loss and, because the Soviets lost the combat, the CC is discarded. Hav-ing completed their 5th Action Round, the Soviet player now conducts his Attrition Phase. Since the 22M corps has moved into hex 2023 a supply line to the 13R army in Minsk has been opened, so that OOS marker is removed. However, the 12M corps in 1918 remains OOS and is therefore removed from the map. Since this counter has as an asterisk it is permanently removed from the game.

June 1941: Draw Strategy Cards PhaseThe Replacement Phase is skipped, (neither player

may play RPs during turn 1—see 4.4.1), and players move on to the Draw Strategy Cards Phase. The Axis player discards emergency tranSFer, keeping 3 cards, and then draws 3 more cards up to his current hand size of 6. He draws cards 4 (axIS reInForcementS, 3OPS), 12 (luFtwaFFe Supply, 2 OPS), and 18 (deFend tHe motH-erland!, 3OPS). The Soviet player chooses to discard the remaining 4 cards from his hand, adds cards 1 and 2 to his hand (the two reinforcement cards that arrive au-tomatically per 7.1.3) and then draws 4 more cards from the Draw Pile to bring his hand back up to 6 cards. He draws cards 11 (StrategIc wItHdrawal, 4OPS), 18 (deep cavalry raId, 2OPS), 23 (people’S mIlItIa, 3 OPS) and 24 (KatuKov’S tanKS, 2OPS).

This completes the turn, and play moves to turn 2.

Turn 2 – Summer 1941At the start of turn 2 the Soviet Replacement counter is

placed in the “3” box of the general records track due to the 3 automatic RPs the Soviet player receives per Soviet Mobiliza-tion rule 4.5.2.

Summer 1941: Axis Round 1At the beginning of the turn, the Axis player receives 1

Banked OPS, recording this using the Banked OPS counter on the General Records track. Don plays convoy pQ17 for OPS, placing the Axis Round 1 marker in the OPS Round box and advancing the Consecutive OPS counter one box into the “2nd –1 OPS” space. Consequently, he receives 3–1=2 OPS. Both OPS will be used for combat, so he conducts his move-ment and then places 2 combat markers, leaving the following board position:



The Soviet 22M in hex 2023 is attacked by the GE 16th Inf at 4(LCU): 2(SCU), leading to a 1/1* result. 22M is permanently eliminated and 16th Inf advances into the now vacant hex unaf-fected by the asterisked combat result. The Axis player declines to use the remaining PZs to attack Minsk since the Soviet 13R will soon be adjudged OOS anyway and he would prefer not to risk damaging his precious armor. The units in 1524 attack 1625. The defender is adjudged OOS at the instant of combat (per 13.1.1), so the attack is resolved at 8(SCU):1(SCU). The result is 1/1*, rather luckily for the Soviets, so 16M is perma-nently eliminated, 3 PZ flips, and both panzers advance into 1625, where a Blitz marker is placed. During the exploitation phase the two PZs advance to 1925, while SK PZ, being adjacent to the Blitz marker and therefore also able to exploit, moves to 1927.

Summer 1941: Soviet Round 1At the start of the Soviet

Round Paul checks supply for all his units, leading to the units in hexes 1624, 1727 and 2022 being adjudged OOS (OOS markers are placed in those hexes). The Soviets then take advantage of the Soviet Mobilization rules (see 4.5) to play Soviet Card 1 as a Reinforcement Event and receive 4 OPS as if the card had been played for OPS. (Ordinar-ily, the event would be resolved, resulting in placement of the re-inforcements, but no OPS would be received.) He records this by placing his “Soviet Round 1” marker in the 1st Reinforcement Box, and remembers that accord-ing to rule 4.5.1 the Consecutive OPS count is unchanged, so he receives the full 4 OPS to spend. This is also the first permanently removed Event Played by the Soviets (as indicated by the as-terisk next to the Event name), so the Soviets move their “Events Played” marker to the 1 box of the General Records Track [GRT]. However, 11 more events are yet needed for Total War!

The Bryansk Front and 16R, 34R and 40R armies are placed in Kharkov, while 42R and 51R are placed in Smolensk and Kiev, respectively. These units may move, but not fight this turn (see 4.5.1). Move markers are then placed in Moscow and Odessa as the Soviets use Strategic movement to send Stalin behind the Urals to Chelyabinsk, while 5M corps moves by sea to 2232 to guard the Kerch straits. The Soviets conduct their movement and then use their remaining 2 OPS to place 2 combat markers, leaving the following board position:



The unit in 1824 attacks 1723 at 3(SCU):6-7(LCU), leading to a 1*/2 result; 15M has two steps, but is permanently eliminated by the “2” result, while 48 PZ, being already flipped, is eliminated by the 1* result and placed in the Axis Eliminated Units Box on the map, eligible for later replacement. (The Axis would rather have the 6th Inf. Suffer the combat loss, but asterisked combat results may not be taken by LCUs—see 11.3.4). Next 2122 is attacked at 1(SCU):12(LCU); a 0/3 result eliminates 13R army, which is placed in the Soviet Eliminated Units Box.

Summer 1941: Axis Round 2Don plays taIFun for OPS. The consecutive

OPS marker is advanced to the “3RD –2 OPS” Box, resulting in Don receiving 4–2=2 OPS. He decides to use his Banked OPS to increase that to 3 OPS (moving the Banked OPS marker to 0 on the General Records Track). All OPS will be used for combat. During movement Axis units move through Minsk, taking control of the city and thereby increasing the VP count to 8. Attacks are made on Smolensk, Gomel and Zhitomer, (shown on map at right) at 12(LCU):8(LCU), 8(LCU):3(SCU) and 8(LCU):3(LCU), with each attack shifting one column to the left due to the effect of attacking a town/city, while the attack on Gomel suffers a further shift because of the swamp (terrain effects are cumulative—see step 4 of the Combat Resolution Sequence). Again, as each combat occurs both players decline the opportunity to play a CC.

At Smolensk both sides roll a 6, giving a 3/2 result. Each Soviet unit takes one hit, resulting in the elimination of 21R while the remaining units retreat to 2422; the Axis are required to have a PZ take the first hit (rule 11.3.3), while the 43rd Inf corps take the remaining hit as the units advance into Smolensk. Note that no Blitz marker can be placed since the combat oc-curred in a city hex (see the TEC). The result at Gomel is 1/1*, again flipping a PZ as the Soviets hold on to the city, while at Zhitomer the result is 1/1. The South Front flips and retreats to Kiev (since the unit in Kiev negates ZOC for retreat purposes (see 8.3). SK PZ flips to take the Axis loss while 3 PZ (only) advances into Zhitomer, allowing a Blitz marker to be placed. The Axis then exploits with the PZs in Zhitomer and 1925 lead-ing to the following position after the Soviets begin their turn with their supply check (see map on following page).



Summer 1941: Soviet Round 2Paul plays deep cavalry raId for OPS, advancing the

Consecutive OPS marker to the “2nd -1 OPS” box and receiv-ing 2–1=1 OP. He uses the OP to place a Move marker in 2422, thereby allowing both units originally in that hex to leave the enemy ZOC (per 7.3.3). He uses the round to re-position his units to better defensive positions.

Summer 1941: Axis Round 3As with the beginning of every round, the phasing player

checks the supply status of all their units. All Axis units are in supply. Note that, despite being well behind enemy lines, the PZs in 2225 are in supply since the OOS Soviet units in 2123 and 2025 have no ZOC with which to block the line-of-supply. Don plays german reInForcement card 1 as an event, moving his Events Played marker to show 1 event played, resetting the Consecutive OPS count to 0 (moving the Consecutive OPS marker back to the “0 N/A” box), and placing the 2nd Army in the USIR, the 27 corps in Königsberg, and 40 PZ in Warsaw.



Summer 1941: Soviet Round 3Paul plays SovIet reInForcement card 2 as an event, mov-

ing his Events Played marker to the 2 box of the GRT. The Consecutive OPS count remains unchanged, so 4–1=3 OPs are received. He places the Kalinin Front in Moscow, the Volkhov Front in Dnepropetrovsk, and both armies in Tula. A move

marker is placed in 1727 and 2224 to allow the units their to leave the enemy ZOC. (A Soviet unit was moved to 2224 in the previous round, with the effect that the Soviet unit in Gomel was adjudged back in supply at the beginning of this Soviet Round, tracing a line of supply through 2224.) At the end of movement the board position is as follows:



The last OP has been used to place a combat marker in 2025 attempting to inflict some punishment on the Romanian army before the Soviet forces in Kiev are likely lost to attri-tion at the end of the Soviet 5th Round. The attack is at 3L:2L after a shift for being OOS, but both players roll poorly and no losses are inflicted.

Summer 1941: Axis Round 4The Axis player checks supply for all his units and dis-

covers that the PZs in 2225 are now OOS due to Paul’s tricky

maneuvering last turn. He then plays deFend tHe motHerland for OPS, receiving the full 3 OPS as he advances the Consecu-tive OPS count to 1. 2 OPS are used to place Move markers in 2018 and 2023, allowing the PZs there to leave the enemy ZOC. An Axis unit also moves through Odessa (destroying the unoccupied fort) and Nikopol, increasing the VP count to 10. The last OP is used to place a Combat marker in 2122 for an attack on Gomel, resulting in the following position before combat is resolved:



Don uses just the 4th Inf. army and 43rd Inf. corps for the attack, preferring to preserve his PZs for later battles, so the attack is resolved at 4(LCU):3(SCU) after two shifts to the attack due to the swamp and town. The result is 1/1*, so the 43 Inf. corps is placed in the Eliminated Units Box as the Axis advance the 4th Inf. army into Gomel (the PZs may not advance since only attacking units may advance—see 11.5.1).

Summer 1941: Soviet 4th RoundPaul Plays people’S mIlItIa for OPS, advancing the consecu-

tive OPS marker to “3rd –2 OPS” box and therefore receiving just 1 OP. He would like to have played a card for Replacements this round so that he could patch his forces up at the end of the turn and, just as importantly, reset the Consecutive OPS count to

0, but is wary of leaving the Southwest Front in hex 2226, which is Blitz-able terrain and in reach of the German PZs. He spends the OP to place a movement marker in 2126, allowing him to withdraw from the Dnieper and place forces in Bryansk, Khar-kov and Zaporozhe to maintain some kind of line in the South.

Summer 1941: Axis 5th RoundThe PZs in 2225 are now back in supply, Soviet forces hav-

ing withdrawn eastwards, so the OOS marker is removed from that hex at the start of Don’s round. He plays reInForcement card 4 for OPS, receiving 3–1=2 OPS. 3 PZ advances into Sev-astopol, destroying the vacant fortress and raising the VP count to 11. After movement is complete, the OPS are used to place combat markers in two hexes, leaving the following position:



The attack on 2420 is 12:3 after a shift left for the attacker because of the swamp, leading to a result of 2/1. The Lenin-grad front is placed in the Soviet Eliminated Units Box as 40 PZ flips. All attacking units advance into 2420, but no Blitz marker can be placed since Blitz is prohibited in Swamp (see the TEC). The attack on Zaporozhe is resolved at 8:3 after the attacker shifts twice (river and city), and Don gets another 2/1 result. The Trans-Caucasus Front is eliminated, 14 PZ takes a step-loss (as ever, a mech. unit must take the first loss on offense), and 11th Infantry advances into Zaporozhe, taking control of the city while Don elects to leave the corps units in Dnepropetrovsk to guard that city.

Since it is the end of the Axis 5th Round, Don must now conduct his Attrition Round, checking supply for his units. All units are in supply, but only just! The 11th army in Zaporozhe is 5 hexes away from the nearest rail line that can trace directly to a supply source (Vinnitsa). It cannot trace to the rail line in Odessa since, while that city is 4 hexes away, the supply line would cross an impassable hex-side (the sea hex-side between 1829 and 1928). However, it can trace along the rail-line to (Axis-controlled) Sevastopol and then to the port of Odessa (or Constanta), which can itself trace a line of supply (see 13.1.2). 3 PZ in Sevastopol traces supply similarly.

Summer 1941: Soviet 5th RoundPaul plays StrategIc wItHdrawal for 4 much-needed RPs.

(If the Soviet player does not play a card for RPs at some point during turn 2 he will typically find himself in a poor position on turn 3.) He places the “Soviet Round 5” marker in the first Replacements box in his Action Round Area, moves the Soviet Replacement marker from “3” to “7” on the GRT and resets the Consecutive OPS count to 0. He now conducts his Attrition Phase, in which the units in hexes 1624, 1823, 1829 and 2025 are all adjudged OOS and are either permanently removed from the game (if marked with an asterisk) or placed in the Soviet Eliminated Units Box (otherwise). At this point the Axis also gain control of Kiev, since it is empty and cannot trace a LOS, raising the VP count to 12.

Summer 1942: Replacement PhaseFirst the Soviet player spends his RPs to replace units.

He decides to rebuild three Fronts at reduced strength (i.e. the counters are placed weaker-side-up). Each of these costs 1RP. They are placed in Leningrad, Grozny and Stalingrad. He then rebuilds the West Front at full-strength in Rostov, at a cost of 2RPs. He then spends his last 2 RPs to place 4 single-step SCUs (it costs 1/2 RP per step for SCUs); 2 of the SCUs are placed in Rostov, while the other two go to Voronezh and Moscow.

The Axis player now spends any RPs he has accumulated during the turn. However, Don played no cards for RPs. Instead he gambles on drawing Panzer Refit in the forthcoming Card Draw Phase, allowing him to refit his panzers during Rasputitsa on Round 1 without losing a tempo. It is a high-risk strategy!

Summer 1942: Card Draw PhaseBoth players now draw their hand for next turn, starting

with the Soviet player. Here, Paul decides to keep his last card, ZHuKov, and has no automatic Reinforcement card this turn (see 7.1.3), and therefore draws 5 cards to replenish his hand back to 6 cards. He draws penal BattalIonS, Sorge, BlacK Sea BlacK deatH, operatIon uranuS and t-34. For the Axis, Don discards his last card, placing it in the Discard Pile, and draws 6 new cards: luFtwaFFe Support, panZer reFIt (so the offensive will be renewed afresh!), wInter unIFormS, deStroy tHe FaScIStS, partISan Sweep and german reInForcementS (Card #2).

Summer 1941: End of Turn PhaseFinally, the players advance the turn marker to Turn 3, reset

the German Banked OPS marker to the 1 box, reset the Soviet RP marker to 0, and remove each of their 5 Action Round mark-ers from their current boxes. However, the Consecutive OPS markers remain in place at the end of each turn, so, while the Soviet marker is in the 0 box, the Axis marker remains in the “2nd –1 OPS” box. Finally, we note that the Axis have played 2 permanently removed events, while the Soviets have played 3. Total War is a long way away (and cannot, in any case, be triggered before the Card Draw Phase of Turn 6—see 7.6.4).



Turn 3 – Fall 1941 At the beginning of the turn the Axis player receives one

Banked OP, so Don places the Axis Banked OPS marker on the 1 space of the GRT.

Fall 1941: Axis Round 1The first Round of Fall turns (and first 2 Rounds of Spring

turns) are Rasputitsa Rounds in which operations are heavily restricted (see 15.1.1). Consequently, Don plays panZer reFIt, flipping 14 PZ in Dnepropetrovsk, 24 PZ in Gomel, and 46 PZ in 2319.

Fall 1941: Soviet Round 1Rasputitsa represents an excellent chance for the Soviets

to play replacements, so Paul plays operatIon uranuS for 4 RPs. Note that, because of Rasputitsa, neither the Soviet nor Axis player resets their respective Consecutive OPS count this Round (see 15.1.1).

Fall 1941: Axis Round 2Don plays deStroy tHe FacIStS. After advancing the Con-

secutive OPS count to the “3rd -2 OPS” Box, he receives 3–2=1 OP. Advancing broadly in the south and center he then spends his 1 OP to place a combat marker at 2323, shown below:

He elects to have all units attack 2424. The attack is re-solved at 10:10 after two shifts for the attacker (river, town) and the play of a Combat Card (penal BattalIonS), by the Soviets. The combat result is 1/2, meaning that the Soviet player wins the combat, and may keep penal BattalIonS face up in front of him for play in future rounds (see 7.5.5b). Don must take the first loss to a PZ, and flips 24 PZ. In an attempt to preserve his armored spearhead he assigns the second loss to 4th Inf. Paul eliminates 57R to satisfy his loss.



Fall 1941: Soviet Round 2In an attempt to exploit this

victory, Paul plays ZHuKov as an event. ZHuKov allows the Sovi-ets to activate two hexes for a single combat in this round and each subsequent OPS round (see section 3 for a definition of OPS Round and other terms). Note that ZHuKov is not a CC, and therefore stays in play for the rest of this turn regardless of combat results! However, this event comes at the price of an extra step-loss in each attack in which it is used. Here Paul decides to activate hexes 2322 and 2423 for a counter-attack against hex 2323 in the center. Note that this attack is allowed to ignore the usual requirements and restrictions of 11.1.3 because of the presence of ZHuKov. The attack is 13:14, but is then modified by the German Mobile Defense ability (20.0) and is therefore resolved at 10:15. The result is 1/2, but the Soviets must take a further loss due to ZHuKov. Paul flips the Reserve and Kalinin fronts and places 30R in the Soviet Eliminated Units box, while Don reduces 4th Inf by one step, replacing it with its weaker, substitute counter at a strength of 3-3. The board posi-tion is now as follows:



And that’s a wrapAt this point, we close the Example of Play. The Soviet

forces in Kharkov are vulnerable to being surrounded, but the Axis player also needs to pause to re-set the Consecutive OPS count, most likely playing a card for RPs. Meanwhile, the Soviets are keen to hear news from the East (Sorge), which would allow them to bring the much-needed Siberians to bear to face the Axis forces in the forthcoming winter. Since the Axis player used the taIFun card for OPS last turn, his forces will not be receiving permission to assault Moscow any time soon, so perhaps a continued thrust South, or a drive on Leningrad is in order. At the same time, while Stalin feels reasonably comfortable in Moscow at the moment, he is aware of the need to ship industry eastwards to protect his valuable production capacity (InduStrIal evacuatIon), and to shift the Soviet Union to a state of Total War. There is much to do and little time in which to get it done! It is your job to solves these problems, so the rest of the story is yours to play out…

This example was constructed using the excellent Vassal utility, available at www.vassalengine.org. It represents a wonderful way to play wargames with remote opponents, or solitaire, from the comfort of your own couch! We have up-loaded a Vassal save-file containing the board position at the end of this Example of Play to the Stalin’s War page on GMT’s website (www.gmtgames.com), along with the Vassal module for this game. Players may download the save-file and module from this site, allowing you the option of continuing the game as the example ends. To further help players learn to play Sta-lin’s War you will also find the Vassal log-file of a (currently ongoing) Series Replay of the game, along with a commentary containing the thoughts of the players as they play, allowing you to follow that game ‘blow-by-blow’ using Vassal as well.

Once again, I am indebted to Don Clarke and Paul Horvath for taking the time to construct this example of play and that Series Replay. We hope you find them helpful.



BLITZKRIEG DECK1. 3 2-1-1 GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS* – 2nd Army, 27th Corps, 40 Pz Corps2. 2 1-0-0 AXIS REINFORCEMENTS* – Hungarian Schnell Corps, Italian CSIR Corps, Romanian 5th Corps3. 2 1-0-0 GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS* – 34th Corps, 35th Corps4. 3 2-1-1 AXIS REINFORCEMENTS*: Hungarian 2nd Army, Italian 8th Army, Romanian 3rd, 6th, 7th Corps5. 2 1-0-0 GE REINFORCEMENTS* – 59th Corps, 61st Corps, 72nd Corps6. 4 2-2-1 NORDLICHT* – Allows Axis units to attack Leningrad hereafter.7. 4 2-2-1 TAIFUN* – Allows Axis units to attack Moscow/Gorki hereafter.8. 4 2-2-1 BLAU* – Play after Hitler takes Command. May only play if Sev-astopol is Axis-controlled. Allows Axis units to attack Stalingrad and the Caucasus Zone. Also receive RPs per the top of this card (does not count as an RP play). 9. 1 1-0-0 GUDERIAN* CC – All panzers in this combat may exploit 4 hex-es, provided they are eligible to Blitz under normal game rules. May not be played in Winter 1942 or Winter 1943. 10. 3 2-1-1 LUFTWAFFE SUPPORT – May not play in Winter, or after stur-movik. 1 column shift for all attacks involving German units this turn. This card re-mains in force regardless of combat results.11. 1 1-0-0 KAMPFGRUPPE CC – If all German SCU steps in a combat are eliminated, last step is not eliminated and German forces do not retreat if defending.12. 2 1-0-0 LUFTWAFFE SUPPLY – May not play after sturmovik. Any 1 hex (chosen during the attrition phase) is in supply for attrition purposes (only) this turn if within 5 hexes of supplied German unit.13. 2 1-0-0 DORA* CC – Cancels all effects of defending Soviet Fortress for 1 combat. Treat the space as a clear hex for that combat.14. 2 1-0-0 OPERATION MARS* CC – Use in any one attack involving ZHu-kov. Lowers Axis losses by 1 and raises Soviet losses by 1.15. 2 1-0-0 PARTISAN SWEEP* – Remove up to 2 inactive Partisan units.16. 4 2-2-1 HEDGEHOGS* – Axis units may entrench hereafter. All German units in cities are in supply for attrition this turn.17. 3 2-1-1 DESTROY THE FASCISTS!* – Soviets must inflict at least one step loss (SCU or LCU) on a German unit in each Soviet OPS round taken this turn after play or lose 1 VP per OPS round this is not achieved.18. 3 2-1-1 DEFEND THE MOTHERLAND!* – Play in 1941 only. Soviet units may not use OPS to leave Axis ZOC this turn. May cancel at a cost of +1 VP for each Soviet OPS Round taken after cancellation including the first round.19. 4 2-2-1 WINTER UNIFORMS* – May play on turn 2 only. Cancels com-bat and terrain effects of Winter 42 on German/Axis units, but not exploitation effect.20. 3 2-1-1 CONVOY PQ17* – Reduce Soviet Lend-Lease Banked OPS by 2 for next four turns. May only be played as an event prior to Winter 44. Only applies if Archangel is Soviet-controlled.21. 2 1-0-0 EMERGENCY TRANSFER – Move two randomly chosen SCUs from the Other Fronts box to Berlin or Warsaw.22. 3 2-1-1 PANZER REFIT* – Flip 3 fully supplied Pz Corps to full strength if not adjacent to Soviet units.23. 3 2-1-1 STEPPE FOX* – Play on turn 1 only. Allows additional turn 1 card play. Place SK Pz Corps with 11th Army. Subtract 1 VP when duCe Falls event is played.24. 4 2-2-1 HITLER TAKES COMMAND* – Allows play of Blau, speer, tHe Bunker, and Soviet WHere a German soldier stands Events. If not played, subtract 1 VP at the end of each Spring and Summer turn after 1941. Halts Axis Banked OPS.25. 2 1-0-0 KLEIST* – Cancels effects of WHere a German soldier stands event for any units in Caucasus Zone this turn.

TOTAL WAR CARDS26. 3 2-1-1 GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS* – Play only if all four steps of at least one German LCU have been eliminated (regardless of whether it has later been rebuilt). Place ABT. Fretter-Pico, Kempf, Hollidt with any fully supplied German units.27. 2 1-0-0 GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS* – 2nd SS Pz Corps

28. 3 2-1-1 GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS* – 1SS Pz Corps, 3SS Pz Corps, 19 Mtn Corps29. 3 2-1-1 GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS* – 8th Army30. 4 2-2-1 GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS* – (GD Pz Corps), 4SS Pz Corps, 90th Corps, 21st Mtn Corps31. 3 2-1-1 GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS* – HG Pz Corps, 1 Cavalry Corps, 15SS Cavalry Corps, 7th Corps32. 4 2-2-1 MIRACLE OF THE VISTULA* – Play if Soviets control Minsk and Kiev. Doubles as OPS and RP. Counts as RP play. Consecutive OPS count re-mains the same.33. 3 2-1-1 BACKHAND BLOW CC* – German defending units this round may retreat 2 hexes instead of resolving combat. Soviet T/G/GT units may advance 2 hexes along retreat path. No exploitation. German units must attack these units next round or lose 1 VP.34. 2 1-0-0 TIGER CC – Raise Soviet Attacker’s loss by 1 for one combat. (loss is of same type as that resulting from the CRT.)35. 1 1-0-0 PANTHER CC – 1 shift to the right to the Axis Fire Column for any one combat involving German units.36. 2 1-0-0 FÜHRER’S FIREMAN CC – May not play after Battle oF tHe BulGe. No Soviet Exploitation this round.37. 2 1-0-0 VLASOV* – Place Vlasov Army in any city in Greater Germany. Add 1 VP.38. 2 1-0-0 WEICHS* CC – Add 1 Soviet loss for one Axis player attack in-volving German units (loss is of same type as that resulting from the CRT).39. 1 1-0-0 HEINRICI* CC – Subtract 1 loss from a German defending unit for one Soviet attack.40. 4 2-2-1 BULGE CANCELLED* – Play after overlord. Prevents play of Battle oF tHe BulGe. Place 6SS Army in Berlin, Breslau, or Buda.41. 2 1-0-0 PARTISAN SWEEP – Remove up to 2 inactive Partisan units.42. 1 1-0-0 VOLKSSTURM CC – Use this card to absorb one step loss when defending any city in Greater Germany. This effect may be used only once this turn regardless of the combat result.43. 1 1-0-0 THE BUNKER* – Play after Hitler takes Command. Place Bunker unit in Berlin.44. 2 1-0-0 SOVIET PEACE FEELERS* – May not play if Soviets control Kiev or Minsk. Add 1 VP.45. 1 1-0-0 RUDEL CC – Inflict one step loss on one attacking Soviet T/G/GT unit. Loss is inflicted before combat is resolved.46. 1 1-0-0 PANZERFAUST CC – 1 shift right to the Axis Fire Column for one defense involving German units.47. 3 2-1-1 U-BOAT TRAINING* – Play in 1945 only. Add 1 VP each turn Axis controls Libau at end of turn.48. 2 1-0-0 FESTUNG* – Axis player may place Festung markers at a cost of 1 OPS each turn hereafter. Units in Festung are in supply for defense/attrition but may never leave this hex.49. 1 1-0-0 FOREIGN ARMIES EAST* – Axis player may examine all non-CC cards in current Soviet hand.50. 3 2-1-1 SLEIGHRIDE* CC – Any defending Axis units not in Festung may cancel Soviet attack and retreat 2 hexes this round. Remove card from game at end of round.51. 2 1-0-0 FLAK CORPS* CC – Add 1 to Soviet losses for any one Soviet attack within 3 hexes of Berlin.52. 1 1-0-0 KATYN MASSACRE* – May not play after WarsaW risinG. Add 1 VP.53. 2 1-0-0 MANSTEIN* – May not play after BomB plot. Cancels effects of WHere a German soldier stands for this turn.54. 2 1-0-0 NAVAL EVACUATION – 1 Axis LCU may move from port to any port to the west. The LCU is reduced to its last step strength. In 1945: may instead evacuate civilians; add 1 VP and remove this card from the game.55. 4 2-2-1 SPEER* – Play after Hitler takes Command. May not play after overlord. Doubles as OPS and RP. Counts as RP play. Consecutive OPS count re-mains the same.

GERMAN EVENT DECK MANIFEST



BLITZKRIEG DECK1. 4 4 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – (Place this card in the Soviet hand during the Card Draw Phase at the end of turn 1.) Bryansk Front, 16th Army, 34th Army, 40th Army, 42nd Army and 51st Army2. 4 4 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – (Place this card in the Soviet hand during the Card Draw Phase at the end of turn 1.) Kalinin Front, Volkhov Front, 30th Army, 57th Army3. 4 4 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – (Place this card in the Soviet hand during the Card Draw Phase at the end of turn 3.) Play after sorGe. May not be played before Winter 1942. 1Sh, 2Sh, 3Sh, 4Sh Armies; 1G, 2G, 3G Cavalry Corps4. 3 3 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – (Place this card in the Soviet hand during the Card Draw Phase at the end of turn 4.) North Caucasus Front, Voronezh Front, 62nd Army, 64th Army5. 3 3 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – (Place this card in the Soviet hand during the Card Draw Phase at the end of turn 5.) 67th Army, 70th Army, 2G Army, 3G Army6. 4 4 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – (Place this card in the Soviet hand during Card Draw Phase at end of turn 6.) May not be played before Summer 1942. 66th Army, 1G Army and the following if industrial evaCuation has been played: 1T, 3T, 4T, 5T Armies7. 1 1 SORGE* – Allows play of soviet reinForCements #3.8. 4 4 INDUSTRIAL EVACUATION* – May not play after Moscow falls. Allows entry of Soviet T/GT armies. Reduce Soviet Hand Size by 1 for next 4 card draw phases. Hand Size then returns to normal for 4 card-draw phases. Finally, in-crease Soviet Hand Size by 1 starting 9 card draw phases after play of event. Subtract 2 VP. Hexes 3926 and 4125 activate as VP spaces.9. 2 2 ZHUKOV – All units in any 2 hexes may combine in attack at a cost of 1 additional Soviet step loss. This may be used for 1 attack per OPS round for the rest of the turn. (The hexes need not be activated for combat.)10. 2 2 BLACK SEA, BLACK DEATH – Maritime Army may move from port to unoccupied coastal hex of the Black Sea entirely to the east of all Axis ports.11. 4 4 STRATEGIC WITHDRAWAL* – For the remainder of this turn, Soviet units may exit Axis ZOC at no OPS cost provided they do not re-enter an Axis ZOC in the same action round.12. 1 1 PENAL BATTALIONS CC – 1 shift right to the Soviet Fire Column for a Soviet defense.13. 3 3 THE VOLGA HAS ONLY ONE BANK* – Place Fortress Marker in any one of hexes 3023 (Gorki), 3027 (Saratov), or 2830 (Stalingrad).14. 1 1 KV-1* CC – 1 column shift for one Soviet defence this round.15. 4 4 OPERATION URANUS* CC – 1 shift right to the Soviet Fire Column for all Soviet attacks vs. hexes with Hungarian, Italian, or Romanian units this round. Allows Soviet mech units to exploit for the remainder of the game.16. 4 4 LEND LEASE* – From next turn onwards, if Stalin is in Moscow at the beginning of the turn, add 2 Banked OPS per turn if Archangel is friendly-controlled and 1 Banked OPS per turn if Astrakhan is friendly-controlled.17. 1 1 SOVIET MICE* – Immediately flip one full strength Pz Corps in the Soviet Union to its reduced side, Axis player’s choice.18. 2 2 DEEP CAVALRY RAID – Play after partisan Formation. Activate 1 inactive Partisan unit.19. 1 1 T-34 CC – 1 shift right to the Soviet Fire Column for a Soviet attack or defense.20. 2 2 AIRBORNE CORPS* – Play after partisan Formation. Place and Acti-vate any 1 Partisan unit within 4 hexes of a fully supplied Soviet Front unit.21. 2 2 PARTISAN FORMATION* – Allows Partisan Placement hereafter.22. 1 1 WHERE A GERMAN SOLDIER STANDS – Hitler takes Command must have been played. German units this turn may not pay OPS to exit Soviet ZOC. Axis player may cancel at a cost of 1 VP. May not cancel after BomB plot.23. 3 3 PEOPLE’S MILITIA* – Place one Trench Marker. Soviets may make Entrench Attempts hereafter.24. 1 1 KATUKOV’S TANKS* CC – Inflict 1 step loss on any attacking Ger-man 2-step Pz Corps before combat is resolved.25. 1 1 STALIN ORGANS CC – 1 column shift right to the Soviet Fire Colmun for a Soviet attack.

TOTAL WAR CARDS26. 3 3 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – 4G Army, 5Sh Army and the fol-lowing if industrial evaCuation has been played: 2T Army, 1GT Army, 4GT Army, 5GT Army

27. 3 3 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – 5G Army, 6G Army, 7G Army,8G Army, 10G Army, 11G Army, and the following if industrial evaCuation has been played: 6T Army, 3GT Army28. 3 3 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – 1 Ukrainian Front, 2 Ukrainian Front, 3 Ukrainian Front, 4 Ukrainian Front29. 2 2 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – 1 Baltic Front, 2 Baltic Front, 3 Baltic Front30. 2 2 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – 1 Belorussian Front, 2 Belorus-sian Front, 3 Belorussian Front31. 2 2 SOVIET REINFORCEMENTS* – 9G Army, and the following if in-dustrial evaCuation has been played: 2GT Army, 6GT Army32. 3 3 BALKAN DEFECTIONS* – Play if Soviets have two or more Front units in Romania. Place Bulgarian and Romanian Soviet SCUs (3 units) with any Soviet Front unit. Remove Axis Romanian units. All cities/towns in Romania not Axis occupied become Soviet controlled.33. 3 3 HITLER OPPOSES DEFENSIVE WORKS* – Play after Axis HedGe-HoGs event. Axis attempts to build Trenches succeed on a die roll of 1 (only) for the remainder of the game.34. 1 1 RED CHOIR – Axis player must reveal all non-CC cards in his hand.35. 2 2 STURMOVIK CC – One shift to the right to the Soviet Fire Column for all Soviet attacks this action round. Combat card is discarded at the end of action round. Prevents future play of luFtWaFFe supply and luFtWaFFe support, and im-mediately cancels their effects if already played this turn.36. 4 4 OPERATION BAGRATION* – May activate 2 Partisans. Counts as OPS round for purposes of Consecutive OPS. Player may spend 4 OPS, reduced by the Consecutive OPS penalty. Exploiting Soviet SCUs ignore terrain effects and may exploit 4 hexes. 37. 3 3 THE DUCE FALLS* – Remove all Italian units from the game. Transfer 8 on-map German Attack Factors (at least 5 must be Panzer) to Other Fronts box; units must be in full supply (where possible). Subtract 1 VP if steppe Fox already played.38. 4 4 OVERLORD* – Play in non-winter turn in 1944-45 only. No more Emergency Transfers. Remove 9 on-map Attack Factors of Panzers from game. These units may not be taken from the Other Fronts box and must be in full supply (where possible). Allows play of Battle oF tHe BulGe.39. 3 3 SECOND FRONT NOW* – May not play after overlord. Transfer 6 on-map Attack Factors of Panzers to Other Fronts box; units must be in full supply (where possible).40. 2 2 JS-II CC – 1 shift right to the Soviet Fire Column for a Soviet attack.41. 2 2 WARSAW RISING* – Play after partisan Formation if Warsaw is Axis controlled. Axis player must retreat units in Warsaw 1 hex. Place and activate one Partisan in Warsaw. Place Polish army with any Soviet Front unit.42. 2 2 BOMB PLOT* – Randomly discard one card from Axis hand. Axis may not cancel WHere a German soldier stands hereafter.43. 2 2 PARADROP* CC – Cancels any River/Major River terrain effect for one Soviet attack.44. 2 2 STAVKA – Soviet player may record three Banked OPS this turn, in addition to any Banked OPS arising from lend lease, provided Stalin is currently in Moscow.45. 2 2 GOLD* CC – Negates all terrain/Festung effects for one attack on the Upper Silesian Industrial Region (USIR, hex 1422).46. 3 3 FINLAND WITHDRAWS* – Soviets must control all VP spaces in the Soviet Union. Subtract 1 VP.47. 1 1 KONEV CC – 1 shift right to the Soviet Fire Column for a Soviet attack.48. 2 2 MASKIROVKA CC – Soviet player may move up to three SCUs in full supply any distance to current combat hex (subject to usual movement restrictions); they may take part in declared combat. May only be used in one combat per turn.49. 2 2 TEHRAN* – Play only if Stalin is in the game. Subtract 1 VP.50. 2 2 YALTA* – Play only if Stalin is in the game and Soviets control Sevas-topol. Subtract 1 VP.51. 2 2 THUNDERCLAP* – Play in 1945 only. No Axis rail movement this turn.52. 4 4 BATTLE OF THE BULGE* – Play any turn after overlord. May not play after BulGe CanCelled. No further German Pz RPs may be spent. Subtract 1 VP. Prevents play of BulGe CanCelled. 53. 2 2 PARTISANS STRIKE – Play after partisan Formation. Activate any one inactive Partisan. 54. 3 3 PANZER HARA-KIRI* CC – Place Fortified Zone unit in any space currently under attack by Axis. Attack may not be cancelled.55. 3 3 ALLIED BOMBER OFFENSIVE – Reduce Axis hand size by two in the following card draw phase.

SOVIET EVENT DECK MANIFEST







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Documents

PLAYBOOK - gmtgames.com · We now show an extended example of play for Stalin’s War. In this example two of the game’s lead playtesters are at the reins: Don Clarke playing the