(NEW) The Stalingrad Way of War Pack
Three ziplock ATO and TPS games for a great price!
Out of all the most horrific battles of WWII, one name stands out above the rest:
Stalingrad.
It became the focus point for everything else on the Eastern Front. Once they battled into the city, the German troops called it the "Rattenkrieg," the "rat’s war," and joked that they had "captured the kitchen but were still fighting for the living room. Explore all aspects of the horrific Stalingrad fighting with this exciting Way of War package.
Welcome to the Stalingrad Way of War Pack, with three totally different looks at the fighting for Stalingrad across the Summer of 1942, from bold strategic thrusts to brutal hand to hand combat to the ruins of the city!
The Stalingrad Campaign
The actual battle for Stalingrad-the-city was only part of the German 1942 campaign, with its multiple priorities of political objectives (like Stalingrad) and resource objectives (like the Caucasus). Now, you can face the same questions and try to do better.
Each player will take the role of the operational theater commander. You still have leaders with short names and shorter tempers looking over your shoulder and telling you want to do (handled in game terms with directives and procedures that turn your decision making choices as much into "How do I please him?" as "How do I beat the enemy?") Counters represent mostly Soviet armies and German corps, with "assets" that can be attached to both, and minor Axis allies represented as well. Map scale is 55km to the hex, with 2 turns per month.
The Stalingrad Campaign puts you in charge where a whole region is aflame, leading up to the bitter fighting in the city and what was a true turning point of the entire war. The choices are up to you!
The Stalingrad Campaign
Map: Full color, 11” x 17” mounted mapboard with integrated strategic movement track
Pieces: 216 full color, 9/16" die-cut counters
Rulesbook: 12 pages
Charts and Displays: Six player aid charts
Skill Level: Advanced
Designer: Hjalmar Gerber
Development - Jim Werbaneth
Graphic Design - Mark Mahaffey
Strike of the Heron
Strike of the Heron explores the sudden, astonishing, breakthrough operation “Fischreiher” (Heron) by the German XIV Panzer Korps and other supporting units, to the Volga River, just north of Stalingrad, in August, 1942. It sent shock waves all the way up to Stalin and his Front commanders as the Soviets had been able to previously repel German attacks, allowing only a slow advance.
The suddenness of their success even caught the Germans off guard. How to keep and further exploit their breakthrough? All the units in the Panzer Korps had suffered losses prior and all were somewhat understrength. Many of the AFVs were Panzer II, the rest mostly Panzer III, and maybe 30 long barreled Panzer IV. The corridor was not wide, just a few miles and many miles long....
The Soviets did react quickly and by Aug. 24th were launching counter thrusts against the base of the German corridor (near the Don), on both the German's right and left flanks. But, like the Germans, the Soviets were also weak. Slow gains were made but eventually faltered, with the Soviets losing 200 tanks. The Germans felt secure enough to begin major operations to enter and capture Stalingrad.
Strike of the Heron and issue #62 of ATO
Maps - One full color 17"x44" hex mapsheet
Counters - 280 full color 1/2" die-cut pieces
Rules length - 15 pages
Charts and tables - 1 page
Complexity - Medium
Playing time - Up to 4 hours
How challenging is it solitaire? - Average
Design - Perry Moore
Development - Russ Lockwood
Graphic Design - Mark Mahaffey
Stalingrad: Verdun on the Volga
It was most certainly the strategically decisive battle of WW2. After te defeat Stalingrad, it was only a matter of time for Hitler's Germany. But if the Wehrmacht had won there, who can say what the outcome might have been?
Now, Against the Odds Magazine reprinted the classic Stalingrad: Verdun on the Volga from its sister division, Last Stand Games, with a situation every gamer knows, and a game engine most gamers have experienced...but both offered in a totally new, ATO Annual Magazine (ziplock) format. (We'll call it "SVoV" for short.)
What is interesting is that SVoV gives players "more" of the Stalingrad situation than they are used to, while reducing complexity as much as possible. There are only a few different "unit types" that affect play, and there is no 'spending' of movement points from space to space in the traditional way, but an audacious (and lucky) attacker can move again and again.
The battlefield area includes zones to both the north and south of the city, which not only increase available options but also set up situations where both players must look to attack and defend, from an early point in the game. The map is printed on deluxe heavy paper stock and is double-sided, also depicting the city in wintertime conditions.
Stalingrad: Verdun on the Volga and the 2022 ATO Magazine Annual
Maps - Full color 17" x 44" double-sided area mapsheet
Counters - 330+ full color 5/8" die-cut counters
Rules length - 24 pages
Separate quick set-up charts on cardstock - 2 pages
Separate reinforcement charts on cardstock - 2 pages
New AV/DV Tracking Chart - 1 page
Playing Aid Chart - 1 page
New introductory and Operation Hubertus scenarios - 4 pages
Complexity - Medium
Playing time - Up to 3 to 4 hours
How challenging is it solitaire? - Average
Designer - Michael Rinella
Development - Kevin Duke
Graphic Design - Mark Mahaffey
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