World at War #22 Minsk '44

World at War magazine brings the S&T style to a focus on World War II. This unique approach goes in-depth on World War II, digging deeper into battles and campaigns, and seeking out the unusual and little known events of this vast, worldwide conflict. All feature articles are copiously illustrated with maps and photographs, with shorter articles focused on the interesting and often surprising details and events.

Minsk '44 -- the second game in Joseph Miranda's new East Front Battles Series, which began with Guards Tank in issue 13 -- covers the crucial exploitation phase of the great Soviet summer offensive against the Germans' Army Group Center, in June of 1944. The game utilizes the classic quad series rules’ mechanics and a retreat-emphasizing differential combat system to encourage encirclement tactics, so typical of Soviet armor strategy during World War II.

Minsk is a two-player (Soviet versus German) operational level game. The game includes 228 medium-sized die-cut counters, with the division as the primary maneuver unit, and also includes air units, untried units, blown bridge markers, and headquarters units. The colorful map features the area of the Third Belorussian Front during Operation Bagration, with each hex representing approximately 2 miles across, and includes such prominent locations as Berezina and the transportation center of Minsk.

The rules entail a variety of standard and unique rules, such as Railroad Movement, “What if” Optional Reinforcements, Blowing Bridges, Untried Units, and the full range of historical unit formations, such as 5th Guards Tank Army, and the 505th Heavy Armor unit, etc.

Victory in the game is determined by the accumulation of VP for control of important hexes, as well as evacuating friendly units.

Articles include:

Green US Forces at Kasserine, 1943. The fierce German counterattack against rookie US forces in North Africa that led to Patton’s promotion to army command.

Savo Island. A revisionist interpretation of this near-miss Japanese naval victory off the coast of Guadalcanal late in 1942.

Hitler’s Military Conferences. An analysis of the procedures Hitler used to arrive at his big military decisions.