Oct I (B and C = Mud)

Axis North:

AGN, rejuvenated by its recent transfusion of troops, captures Narva and advances to the Luga River. The Valdai Hills are now 2/3 under German control.

Axis Center:

Hex 3217 of Moscow falls to a 4-hex attack. There are no NKVD, and the Soviets can't stack enough units to prevent it. Despite mud, German supply lines are intact with a railhead at Moscow. The Soviets carp at this, but hey! They made no attempt to block AGC's move down the Minsk-to-Moscow highway the entire game.

Axis South:

While the mud doesn't bother the German forces in the north unduly, it visits misery on AGS. Almost all Axis units in the front line are unsupplied, and a general retreat is ordered to reestablish logistics. Further west, Dnepropetrovsk is taken without loss.

USSR:

Play is halted here, as it is time for the Europafest party, and I have to leave in the morning. We could have played further after the party, but the Soviets see no sense in continuing. The consensus of opinion is that Moscow is doomed and other Axis gains are inevitable.

Conclusion

With its simplified rules and streamlined orders of battle, Sudden Storm proved ideal for convention play. Removing the small units sped up play considerably: we guessed the time required for a turn was cut roughly in half. Still we didn't get as far along as I had hoped. I thought that two teams of experienced players could complete the entire 1941 campaign over a long weekend.

In the event, we followed a rather leisurely pace, starting at 9:00 AM and knocking off around midnight, with time out for seminars, shopping, and an occasional meal. Still we got in 8 turns in 25-30 hours, which works out to 3 1/2 hours per game turn including set up and combat--not bad.

The star of the game was Sam Dahman, AGC C-in-C. Despite all the convention distractions (including, on top of everything else, a drop-dead gorgeous wife), Sam maintained his focus throughout the match and turned in a stellar performance. As for the rest of us, let's just say "War is hell!"

Sudden Storm, a variant of Fire in the East, appeared in Europa Magazine #35.

Second Front: First Battlefield Report Origins/Europafest 1994

Sudden Storm at the Fest Teams and Set Up
June and July 1941
August and September 1941
October 1941 and Conclusion