Editor's Note: While Mark awaits the release of Balkan Front, the promised article analyzing that game and Case White will be delayed. Instead Mark takes a satirical look at the Europa module, The Urals. You've heard of "Ants vs. Ants?" Well, here is a look at "Ain'ts vs. Ain'ts."

Everybody has their own favorite Europa game. Some people like to frolic in the hot sands singing "Lili Marlene" over the roar of their Grant tank while playing Western Desert.

Others prefer trudging through three feet of snow in cold severe enough to freeze lubricants, gazing at the far off spires of the Kremlin as they play Fire In the East. And no doubt there are a few pitiful souls out there who harbor no greater desire than to send their cavalry across the Polish countryside to where the machine gun chatter is the thickest, throwing the brave horsemen against the advancing platoon of Mark I's as a last stopgap measure at the gates of Warsaw in a game of Case White (soon to be renamed First to Fight - does this herald an official GR/D p9licy of rhyming all of their new titles with the old ones?)

As for me, I'm a Urals man.

Now don't get that vacant look in your eyes, the same one you reserve for wondering what makes that little shooka-shooka sound in cans of spray paint. I said The Urals. It's the best damn Europa module out, despite a title that sounds like a proctology term. If you haven't played it lately, I urge you to pull it out and give it a try. This article will help you, as it will analyze the optimal positions and strategies for each side.

As per previous articles, we will analyze the victory conditions, the forces available to the players, and discuss the strategic situation. A soundtrack, available on cassette or CD, may be obtained care of this magazine, for only $31.95 (Note: the soundtrack contains no new counters).

Victory Conditions

The first step to learning how to play any game well, aside from removing the plastic wrapping, is to thoroughly examine the victory conditions for each side.

The Urals, hereafter referred to as The Urals, uses the same victory conditions as Scorched Earth. This is somewhat unfortunate, since SE is a completely different title, differing from The Urals in several major ways, such as costing over twice as much.

Nevertheless, that is what the designers have decreed, and I never use house rules, except the one that allows you to substitute maps from other wargames. A quick glance at the victory conditions shows that the German player is in big trouble. Scorched Earth states that victory points are given to the German for the capture of certain cities, including all full and partial hex cities and a few dot cities. He needs to accumulate 60 or more victory points for a Decisive Victory, or 15 or more for a Marginal Victory. If he holds two or less, it is a Soviet Decisive Victory.

Why is this a problem, you ask? BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY FOUR VICTORY POINT CITIES ON THE MAPS. If the Germans hold all four cities by the end of the game, it is still a Soviet Incredibly Good Victory. The Soviets need to hang on to only two cities to get a Full And Completely Stunning Victory You Will Try To Tell Your Wife About For The Next Two Days Even Though She Hates Wargames. Since the German player can't win unless he draws some more cities on the map, I think that The Urals is best suited for solitaire gaming. I recommend that if the Germans capture two cities, give them a German Moral Victory (excuse the oxymoron).

The Forces

One of the most challenging things about The Urals is that both sides have to accomplish their goals with a minimum of forces. They must utilize all of their forces efficiently, and not waste a single man or gun. Neither side has the wherewithal to make mistakes. Players must be cautious, yet bold.

Let's look at the Germans first, since the burden of the offensive is on them. Unlike many other Europa contests, the Germans in The Urals cannot draw upon their infamous Panzer divisions to provide offensive support. Their array of forces includes... well, nothing really. They don't have any air support, tanks, or soldiers. Not even a counter for Rudel. This paucity of strength forces the German player to be very cautious; he has not a single unit to spare. In fact, he has not got a single unit. This means that he cannot afford to waste his resources trying to capture useless objectives, or frivolously destroying Soviet units . He must ruthlessly adhere to his goals.

The Soviets, at first glance, would seem to have the simpler task. All they have to do to win is to defend their major cities. However, their force structure is not well-suited for that task. In most games covering the Eastern Front, the Soviets outnumber the Germans heavily, in The Urals the Soviets do not have a manpower advantage, period. This makes the Soviet task of defending their cities extremely difficult, since without defenders the Germans can march into the cities unopposed. This severe disadvantage is relieved somewhat by the fact that the Germans don't have any troops to march into the cities. Nonetheless, the Soviet player must use with precision every unit he does not have.

Playing The Game

Because of the severe victory conditions, The Urals usually opens with a desperate German offensive. This is what I would recommend, since the German has nothing to lose. Literally.

There is a great deal of debate in the wargaming intelligentsia as to the optimum course a German offensive should follow. Most people advocate a straight, nofrills attack from the west on Map 29, heading straight for the four objective cities.

This is all well and good, but exactly what the Soviet player will be expecting. Instead, I have found that an advance from the north, starting in Map 31 and gradually working downward, will usually surprise the Soviets and allow the Germans to achieve all of their objectives. Some might oppose this stratagem on the grounds that the Germans could not trace a supply line as they moved south. This is true: there are no railroads, and of course, the German has no truck units.

However, this is no problem when one considers the matter more deeply. In the first place, ALL German units are out of supply in the game, since The Urals uses the supply rules from Scorched Earth, which clearly state that the only supply sources are rail hexes on the west edge of the map in Greater Germany, Hungary, Rumania, or Bulgaria; or Arctic ports in Norway and Finland. Because there is not a single hex in The Urals which meets any of those considerations, all German units must be considered out of supply for the entire game. This is not, however, as much of a problem as it seems, since there are no German units to be eliminated due to lack of supply and isolation. (Hopefully explaining these fine points will resolve many potential "Rules Court" questions.)

In his trek south, the German player will find his greatest opposition to be the terrain, and not the Soviet player. In any case the Germans' complete lack of units means that the Soviet player has no idea where the invasion is coming from, since there are no counters for him to spot. This gives the Germans the advantage of complete surprise.

Once you reach Map 29, you are faced with the problem of whether to drive for Molotov or to Sverdlovsk. It is useless to divide your forces and go for both, since you have no forces to divide, so I would advise going for Sverdlovsk first. If successful, you can always double back and take Molotov. The hardest part of the offensive will be taking the cities, since the German player has no units with which to occupy them, but this is a tactical problem not well-suited to our discussion.

Once the northern cities are taken, the Germans can renew their southward drive. The German player will find that there is a very real possibility that the Soviets will find themselves unable to halt the advance.

Now let's turn to the Soviets

Despite what I have said in the previous paragraphs, the German offensive can be stopped by an intelligent Soviet player. Remember, the two sides have parity in force, but it is the Germans who must conduct the offensive. It was Napoleon who said that the attacker needs a three-to-one advantage to be successful.

The first Soviet advantage is the terrain. All German movement is halved to begin with, since they are out of supply. Their movement is slowed even more by the harsh terrain through which they must travel. It is highly likely that poor weather will further retard the German advance. Thus the Soviets have plenty of time with which to prepare for the invasion.

Perhaps the best policy is to defend the passes of the Ural mountains. If the Germans cannot cross the Urals, they cannot reach Molotov and Ufa. Taking the other two cities might give them a Moral Victory, but their woes are not yet over. Soviet counteroffensives are particularly dangerous because the Germans have no troops with which to garrison their conquests. This means that the front line is necessarily very fluid and allows the Soviets a measure of mobility rarely seen by them in other Europa games. Usually, a seesaw battle will ensue, as the Soviet player finds it just as difficult as the German player to protect his conquests. With luck, however, the Soviets will be the final victors.

Conclusion

This article has clearly illustrated that The Urals, contrary to popular belief, possesses a flexibility and level of excitement rarely surpassed. Though not without its flaws, it can provide many hours of entertainment. It is suited for play-by-mail, since recording moves is a relatively easy chore, and for teaching the system to beginners, since they will have few units to worry about. Perhaps by the end of the century, we will be able to link the game with Soviet Asia. In any case, I hope to see you in The Urals.