Panzer Battles: 11th Panzer on the Chir River

ZASADY PL

Panzer Battles is a Standard Combat Series game covering the classic mobile defensive battles of the 11th Panzer Division against the culminating point spearheads of the Soviet Operation Uranus. The Soviets have successfully entombed the Stalingrad Pocket and are in the process of locking down the pocket even harder.

In an interesting twist of events, the German 11th Panzer Division recently arrived from France is preparing to take part in the northern portion of the German relief attempt on Stalingrad. Full strength, and available, the division launches into the Soviet drive in what has become a textbook example of a mobile defense and counter attack which is studied to this day. It originated the term ‘Fire Brigade’ as used on the Eastern Front in WW2.

Under the energetic leadership of Hermann Balck and his Chief of Staff von Mellinthin, the 11th Panzer was able to defeat the Soviet mechanized drive.

German accounts stop right there, with a German victory. However, the win (if it can be called that) was a Faustian bargain. The Soviet drive was stopped, but at the cost of the German units designated to make the relief attempt. There would be no Northern Pincer now. The Southern Pincer soldiered on alone. And failed.

Panzer Battles covers all this swirling mobile action in turns representing two days and a hex scale of 500m. Units are companies and battalions. Play is highly interactive (the only way to show its mobile nature) using a chit pull system by formation. The rules are a continued adaptation of the system shown in Bastogne, It Never Snows, and Day of Days.

Scenarios (4 scenarios total, 2 one-map scenarios)

·         Panzer Battles Campaign (2 maps, 7 Turns)

·         State Farm 79 (1 map, 2 turns)

·         “I’ll Be Balck,” (1 map, 2 turns)

·         Containment Battles (2 maps, 6 turns)

The Standard Combat Series (SCS) enables both experienced and beginning players to enjoy simple to play and quick to learn games.  Each game is a quick-start, complete simulation:  rules, a detailed color map, 280 counters, and everything else needed to recreate the campaign in question.

Components:

·         SCS rulebook (version 1.8)

·         Panzer Battles game-specific rulebook

·         two 22" x 34" maps (Sneak Peek #1, Sneak Peek #2)

·         280 counters (Sneak Peek)

·         box and dice