Skirmish Campaigns

Russia ’41

Review by Bill Rutherford

Drive on Minsk, and Skirmish Campaigns: Poland ’39
The Black Brigade, both by Scott Fisher & Nathan Forney

These 57-page (incl. inside covers) scenario books adhere to Skirmish Campaigns’ standard format, giving the gamer ten scenarios apiece, playable individually or in combination in three (Minsk) or four (Poland) linear campaign games. In each book, an introductory page sets the scene, broadly describing the events in the theater at the start of operations. Three pages describe how to use the scenario book, i.e., how to read the scenarios, which themselves are in a formatted style, and include conversion notes for adapting the scenarios to any of six popular rules sets.

An overall campaign map provides context for everything that follows. Three pages describe the campaign games applicable to each book. Six pages of historical notes pick up where the introduction left off, describing the historical context and the forces involved. A bibliography directs the reader to the sources used for the scenarios. The balance of each book is devoted to its ten scenarios, each of which is four pages long. The first page covers setup, special rules, campaign notes, scenario notes (setting and aftermath), and also scenario variants. Victory conditions are all points-based and are addressed in the front of each book. The second page contains the game map - Skirmish Campaigns has standardized their maps in a simple, neat, and useful style designed to get terrain laid out in an unambiguous manner. The third and fourth pages are player handouts for the two sides and provide their force compositions.

A force typically consists of a core component of a couple of squads or vehicle sections, supplemented by one or more randomly determined attachments unique to the scenario. If this all sounds formulaic, well it is - and in context, this is a good thing. Skirmish Campaigns have managed to arrive at a book layout that allows them to cram a maximum of information and scenarios into a well-organized and easy to read format that works!

Minsk’s scenarios all take place during the first week of Barbarossa and capture the chaos of the opening battles with several armored assaults against infantry, an armored meeting engagement, a contested river crossing, and several combined-arms scenarios. Force levels are generally limited to 1 - 2 tank sections and a platoon of infantry per side, so the games remain manageable. The equipment is all 1941-vintage - BTs, T26s, early Pz IV and III variants, and the like - and provide a nice change of pace from those gamers suffering from Tiger syndrome! Oh - the Soviets do get a small chance (as variable attachments) to use 7th and 29th Tank Division T-34s and KVs in three of the scenarios…

Black Brigade’s scenarios all take place between 2 and 18 September 1939 and, as one might expect, involve the Black Brigade (the 10th Mech Brigade - the senior Polish armored formation) pitted against a variety of German forces. Scenarios tend to be infantry-oriented, though the Black Brigade frequently gets support from TKS tankettes in its OBs as well, in a couple of cases, as a few 1930-vintage Vickers tanks. The heaviest armor typically seen on the German side is the Pz II, with Pz Is and light armored cars being the predominant type, though in one scenario they get a pair of Pz III (!) that can be swapped for Pz IVs (!!).

This is an interesting series of scenarios that include several armored (?) assaults, breakthrough actions, and meeting engagements. These scenarios tend to be pretty mobile affairs, as most of the forces involved were motorized. An interesting note made in Black Brigade is that the Polish Campaign lasted 36 days; the final campaign in France lasted only 39; these scenarios are *not* one-sided!

Minsk and Black Brigade are well (that is, interestingly) written, well laid-out, and contain a wealth of gaming material for anybody with an inclination towards WW II skirmish gaming. They should both be available from your local game shop for $14.95 apiece, or failing that, directly from the publisher, J&D Publications, 405 Kunkle Lane, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055. Check out the Skirmish Campaigns website at http://fisherts.home.mindspring.com/skirmishcampaigns for product information, updates, and downloads. Recommended!

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