Historically, the 1942 German offensive in the east was one of the most interesting campaigns of World War II.

In Unentschieden, 1942 is usually the year of decision. Once the Soviet players have mastered the techniques of surviving the first year, Axis players will conserve their forces for the big blow in 1942. Both sides will be strong and will have many strategic options available to them the second year. It will be a hard-fought campaign with the Germans striving to inflict a decisive defeat on the Russians before the superior Soviet numbers and another winter wear down the Axis armies. This scenario sets the stage with beginning with the spring battles in April 1942.

Order of Battle

Axis Initial Forces: German:
3 x 12-10 panzer XX
5 x 11 -10 panzer XX
9 x 10-10 panzer XX
5 x 9-10 panzer XX
14 x 2-1 -10 assIt gun II
3 x 2-1 -10 flammpanzer II
1 x 9-10 motorized XX (GD)
1 x 9-8 motorized XX (SS)
5 x 8-8 motorized XX
3 x 8-8 motorized XX (SS)
4 x 7-8 motorized XX
1 x 7-8 motorized XX (SS)
1 x 6-8 motorized XX
6 x 2-3-10 motorized III (SS)
1 x 1 -10 motorized II (SS)
3 x 6-8 mountain XX
3 x 5-8 mountain XX
1 x 4-8 mountain XX
5 x 6-8 jager XX
2 x 5-8 jager XX
20 x 1-8 infantry II
1 x 1-8 infantry II (SS)
43 x 7-6 infantry XX
60 x 6-6 infantry XX
2 x 5-1-6 rocket III
5 x 5-3-6 artillery III
6 x 5-3-8 artillery III
12 x 4-2-8 artillery III
4 x 4-2-6 artillery III
6 x 2-3-6 artillery III
6 x 3-0-0 RR artillery units
4 x 2-0-0 FIR artillery units
19 x 2-6 engineer III
18 x 1-8 engineer II
4 x 1 -10 engineer II
32 x 0-1 -6 engineer III
12 x 1-10 antitank II
4 x3-10flak III
20 x 1-10 flak II
7 x 1-2-8 MG II
1 x 3-8 cavalry X (SS)
9 x 1 -2-8 police III
2 x 4-6 security XX
6 x 3-6 security XX
2 x 2-6 security XX
6 x 4-4 static XX
1 x 4-6 parachute III
3 x 3-6 parachute III
4 x 0-1 -10 headquarters
7 x 0-1-6 headquarters

Finn:
10 x 5-6 rifle XX
2 x 4-6 rifle XX
6 x 3-6 rifle XX
2 x 2-8 rifle X
1 x 2-8 cavalry X
1 x 4-2-6 artillery III
4 x 0-8 ski units

Rumanian:
1 x 5-6-8 motorized XX
1 x 3-4-10 motorized X
4 x 5-7 jager XX
4 x 4-8 cavalry XX
4 x 4-6 infantry XX
3 x 4-8 mountain XX
1 x 2-6 engineer III

Hungarian:
1 x 4-6-10 motorized XX
1 x 3-5-8 motorized XX
2 x 2-10 armored II
1 x 1-6 engineer II

Italian and Others:
1 x 4-6-8 motorized XX (Italian)
1 x 3-5-8 motorized XX (Italian)
4 x 3-6 infantry XX (Italian)
1 x 4-5-10 motorized X (Slovakian)
1 x 3-4-10 motorized X (Croatian)

Air Units:
8 x Me-109E
24 x Me-109F
8 x Me-110C
2 x Me-100E
10 x Ju-87B
30 x Ju-88A
8 x He-111 H
4 x Do-217E
20 x Ju-52
1 x PZL-11 (Rumanian)
1 x He 112B (Rumanian)
1 x C-200 (Italian)
1 x G-50 (Finn)
1 x PZL-37 (Rumanian)
1 x Mxd (Hungarian)

Other:
35 forts
18 airfields
40 supply factors

Soviet Initial Forces:

Air Units:
5 x Mig-1
10 x Mig-3
20 x Yak-1
10 x La-3
2 x P-40C
2 x P-40E
1 x Hurr
10 x IL-2M
15 x Pe-2
10 x IL-4
2 x Pe-8
3 x SB-2B
7 x Li-2

Naval Units:
3 x CA
3xCL

Other
35 forts
10 airfields
40 supply factors
6 factories
2 assembly points
1 capital

Note: When taking the 65 artillery units, the Soviet player may choose the units from the following: 4-1-8 rocket III, 1-2-6 antitank III, 3-2-4 artillery III, and 1-4 antiaircraft III. The Soviet player must take at least ten units from each of the four types.

Reinforcements and Replacements

Additional Soviet Forces

Reinforcements (per month):
Stalingrad group: 1 x 4-6 rifle XX
Kubishev group: 1 x 4-6 rifle XX
East edge: 1 x 2-6 rifle X and 1 x 2-1-8 tank X (in addition to other east edge reinforcements)

Replacements:
Stalingrad: 1 armor, 2 infantry
Saratov: 1 armor, 2 infantry
Kubishev: 1 armor, 2 infantry
Kazan: 1 armor, 2 infantry
East edge: 3 infantry (in addition to other east edge replacements)

Scenario Start Line

The start line runs through the following hexes, from north to south.

Map 5: the Axis-Soviet border, R-20, T-20, W-23, Z-23, AA-24, D D-24, E E-25, FF- 25, GG-26, HH-26, 11-27, JJ-27, LL-29, MM- 29, NN-30, QQ-30, XX-37,

Map 2: A-26, Lake Ladoga, D-31, E- 32, E-34, F-35, Baltic,

Map 1: H-7, 0-7,

Map 2: 0-38, X-38, Y-39, Z-39, AA- 40, CC-40, IDID-41, GG-41, 11-43, JJ-43, KK- 44, PP-44, QQ-45, XX-45,

Map 4: A-20, C-20, D-21, E-21, F-22, G-22, H-23, 1-23, J-24, K-24, L-25, Q-25, R- 26, V-26, W-27, X-27, Y-28, Straits of Azov.

Initial Deployment

Soviet (deploy first):

All Soviet units, except those noted below, are placed anywhere east of the scenario start line.

1. The capital is placed in Moscow.

2. The Leningrad and Moscow factories are placed in their respective cities. The remaining factories may be placed in any Soviet controlled cities or in the Urals.

3. Two CA and one CL naval units are placed in Kronstadt. One CA and two CL naval units are placed in Novorossisk.

4. All partisan units are in reserve. Axis:

All Axis units are placed west of the scenario start line. Certain additional restrictions apply as specified below.

1 . All Finnish units are placed north of Leningrad.

2. A maximum of 12 SPs of German units may start in Finnish controlled territory south of the A weather line.

3. Five forts, three airfields, and ten supply factors must start in Finnish controlled territory. No additional forts, airfields, or supply factors may be initially placed in Finnish controlled territory.

4. All Axis-Allied units must start in weather zones C and/or D.

5. Half the German air units must be placed in reserve in accordance with Rule 26.

Game Length

The scenario begins on the Apr 1 42 turn and ends on the Dec 1142 turn.

Special Rules

1. Railroad Conversion. The Axis player must convert captured railroads in order to use them for movement. Conversion is accomplished by a construction engineer spending two additional movement points in the rail hex.

If the Soviet player recaptures railroads converted by the Axis player, he must convert the rails, in the same manner as above, before using them for movement.

2. Rocket Units. Rocket units are armor neutral. They are ignored when computing AECA, AECD, and ATEC.

3. Weather. The weather in all zones on the Apr 1 42 turn is mud. On this turn, the weather in zone D remains mud (as opposed to clear, as would normally be the case). Thus, the weather will clear one turn later than normal.

Victory Conditions

The winner of the scenario and the level of victory is determined through the number of victory points awarded to the Axis player for control of cities. This number will be modified by the relative performance between the two sides, with the players using one of two methods to determine this. This modified number is then used to determine the winner and his level of victory.

VPs Awarded for Cities:

Helsinki 1
Voronezh 1
Riga 1
Rostov 1
Smolensk 1
Stalingrad 2
Murmansk 1
Baku 2
Leningrad 4
Tiflis 2
Moscow 6
Kubishev 2
Kharkov 1
Saratov 2
Stalino 1
Astrakhan 1
Sevastopol 1
Gorki 2
Kazan 2v Kalinin 1
Yaroslavl 1
Tula 1

Relative Performance:

Before the scenario is played, the players must chose one of the two methods to determine relative performance.

1. Loss Ratio. The number of attack (combat) factors and number of air units lost by each side must be noted. A side's total losses are computed by adding three times the number of air units lost to the total attack (combat) factors lost. At the end of the scenario, divide the total Soviet losses by the total Axis losses, expressing this as a ratio. The chart below gives the VP modifiers for the various ratios.

Loss Ratio Modifier
less than .75 -4
.75 to 1.0 -3
1.0 to 1.2 -2
1.2 to 1.4 -1
1.4 to 1.6 0
1.6 to 1.8 +1
1.8 to 2.0 +2
2.0 to 2.5 +3
2.5 or more +4

2. Force Level. Each side must compute its remaining strength at the end of the scenario. A side's remaining strength is equal to three times the number of its air units remaining in play plus the number of attack (combat) factors remaining in play. Each side then consults the chart below to determine the VP modifiers for their force level.

Remaining Strength	Axis	Soviet
less than 900	-4	+4
900 to 1100	-4	+3
1100 to 1300	-3	+2
1300 to 1500	-2	+1
1500 to 1700	-1	0
1700 to 1900	0	-1
1900 to 2100	+1	-2
2100 to 2300	+2	-3
2300 to 2500	+3	-4
2500 or more	+4	-4

Levels of Victory:

Level VPS
Axis Decisive 26+
Axis Partial 18-25
Draw 13-17
Soviet Partial 9-12
Soviet Decisive 0-8

Notes

This scenario is largely based upon a typical multiple player Unentschieden game through March 1942. Against good Soviet play, it is very difficult for the Axis to capture and hold Leningrad, Moscow, or Rostov the first year. With this in mind, the Axis players normally fall back and conserve their forces during the winter for the upcoming 1942 campaign. Thus, the initial forces are a little stronger than the historical armies. The scenario start line is generally historical with a few of the bulges smoothed. The Soviets gain some territory around Leningrad and the Axis controls the entire Crimean peninsula.

The Unentschieden OA and replacements do not adequately represent the Volga cities and Asiatic Russia. The additional Soviet reinforcements and replacements reflect the production capabilities of these areas. These forces raise the Soviet production to the historical level that stopped the German offensive at Stalingrad.

The additional turn of mud in the spring more realisitically represents the spring thaw. The weather will not clear in the south until May I and at Moscow until May Ill. This will delay the opening of the German offensive by two weeks. This will provide the Soviet forces an extra turn to build up the front and shift reserves.

The victory conditions require that the Axis 1942 offensive be generally successful in order for the Axis to achieve victory. Historically, the Soviets would be in an excellent position to win the war unless the Germans did well in 1942. The Axis players will have to play well in order to capture a significant number of objective cities. This compensates for the initial advantage the Germans possess in Unentschieden.

This scenario allows the players to make the strategic decisions facing the opposing sides in 1942, with the objective cities providing a framework for these decisions. The Axis players have a great deal of latitude in selecting their strategy. They can choose where to concentrate their offensive or they can attack on a broad front. The Soviet players can decide what areas to defend strongly and where to concentrate the counteroffensive reserves. The feel and the excitement level of the 1942 offensive should be high and maintained throughout the scenario.

A multiple player format is highly recommended. There are enough units and action for 4 to 5 players per side. The following fronts are recommended: Finland, Leningrad, Moscow, Voronezh, and Rostov. A time limit of 45 minutes per side is suggested, including the the air and combat phases along with the movement and exploitation phases. This allows the scenario to be played in a single weekend. The multiple player format and the time limit will effectively recreate the fog of war.

Editor's Note:

While trying not to give away any important strategy hints for either side, I must caution the Soviet players to adequately garrison the Kerch Straits. While normally prohibited from attacking across these straits, the Germans can manage an attack them by using railroad artillery and air support to clear the opposing shore, with combat/motorized forces to enter the hex(es) in the exploitation phase. At least when I tried it, it disrupted the entire Soviet southern front and resulted in a double envelopment of Rostov.