While the last issue was at the printer and final preparations were being made to conduct the actual playtests of Guderian's Blitzkrieg, a few OCS issues came to a head. The changes based on those issues caused some of the "OCS: a First Peek" statements of last issue to be incorrect.

Specifically, the combat chit was exterminated as a game concept. During months of playtesting, I found myself repeatedly questioning the value of the chit selected combat levels. Combat seemed unwieldy and awkward. More often than not, I had little or no opinion as to which chit to pick for a given combat-there weren't many combats in which a decent case could be given as to one level or the other. In the original system, after the announcement of a combat, each player selected a '.combat chit" which determined the level of intensity he wanted. The idea of having players commit themselves to a level before odds were chosen was a good one-its execution, however, left something to be desired. Because of its good points, I gave this system the benefit of a doubt and allowed it to run its course without major change throughout the series rules tests using our test-bed game.

As time went on and I watched the effects of the system and player reactions to it, the concern regularly resurfaced. Any of the playtesters could tell I was unhappy with the system as it stood, but none of us had any profound ideas on how to fix it. We let the issue ride.

The combat chit system's rope ran out while I was doing final preparations for GB's first real playtests. All the problems I saw in the system came into the open and could no longer be considered acceptable-there were too many combats going on in GB to allow them anything but a streamlined appearance. I didn't like the way most combats had little priority for one player or the other-such that no intelligent decision as to level could be made. We forever had to remind ourselves to "pick yer chits" and so on. The mental bridge between the Combat Table result and the cross- indexing to find the final result was a pain and frequently caused attentions to drift. And, most importantly, the thing took too long. It had to be replaced.

At the same time as this was all coming together, we were finishing another playtest of Stalingrad Pocket. And, we were having a blast ai t. Combats in that game were very simple to calculate and resolve-a marked difference to what we were doing across the table in the OCS game. I began to feel that a combat resolution sequence more like SP would make GB a better game. The time came to make the change.

The first thing that had to go was the combat chits. The selection of these little monsters was the root of most of the problems we had. With them gone, the Combat Table itself could be streamlined by applying the old "normal vs normal" results throughout, thus eliminating the cross-indexing problems we had before. I went through and simplified the "special modifiers" (these affect different unit types in different ways in order to show terrain effects) so that they were easier to remember and use. These changes resolved the original problems of speed and complexity, but they also dispensed with the good things involved with the combat chits. Namely, this was the ability to dictate how hard you wanted your troops to fight.

Before I decided to make the changes above, I had determined that I would not make any changes unless some of the good things of the current system could be retained-I didn't want to kill the patient while saving him! The answer was to allow each player to pick (as an option) to fight extra hard--at all costs attacks and last bullet defenses.

Since these remained entirely out of the way until a player actually wanted to use them, they did not interfere with the above new-found playability. The way it works is that either player may elect one of these choices when the combat is announced. Normally, they are quietly ignored. The at all costs attack doubles the attackers supply requirements and allows two rolls on the Combat Table instead of the usual one. The second roll comes with an add on -4 DRM. The result is that given one of these attacks, at good odds, the defender will take a lot of lumps and the attacker will take some of his own. At poor odds, the attacker will probably bloody himself trying to take the hex. Since this form of attack must be announced before the odds are determined, a player cannot be sure of only doing AAC's at decent odds.

The defender's version, Last Man/ Last Bullet (L1vV LB) gives an additional -3 DRM to the attack. At first glance, any defender would be quick to say, "I'll do that all the time..." What's the catch? Many combat results have an "option number" which may be taken as step losses or hexes: of retreat. Normally, the defender has a free choice. Not so when he makes an LTYV LB-all options must be taken as step losses. Again, the actual effects of his choice will not be known until the odds are determined and dice rolled. At lower odds, he may inflict heavier loss on the attacker at little or no cost to himself. At high odds, he may destroy himself for little gain.

Dave Powell expressed an excellent concern of what happens when both players pick the optional level of attack-a immovable object meeting an irresistible force, as it were. My final decision on that issue was to simply combine the effectsgiving one dice roll with an additional -3 and another with an additional -7. This will generate the sort of bloodbaths you get when good troops fight over important objectives-like the city of Stalingrad or, in GB's case, Moscow. It works easily and well--I like it.

After allowing the problem to show itself repeatedly for months while differing any decision until reasonably thorough tests were done, the final set of changes came about rapidly and gave decent results from the first. This was the benefit gained by waiting as long as I did-I was able to make the right fix, to the right problems, and for the right reasons. Further playtests will decide if any adjustments are needed.

Other than the death of the combat chit, the system remains much as advertised in the last issue. A few numeric and table modifications were made to clear up concerns of mine dealing with attacker supply, flak and ground support air effects. These changes are in the background of what is going on in the game and behind the scenes/out of sight of the players. A conceptual adjustment was made to the disorganized combat result such that defenders now are given a DG result whenever they retreat 2 or more hexes. DG's happened entirely too infrequently previously and I decided that any time a defender retreats 10 miles or more he should require a brief period to regroup and get everyone settled into their new surroundings. During this time, the defending troops are vulnerable to attack by enemy units in the exploitation phase. A good and justified effect.

Work on Guderian's Blitzkrieg

After much gnashing of teeth, order has finally been made of the German logistical situation at the beginning of the game. The first GB playtest revealed that the allotment of supply points to the Germans was far too small and the Nazi offensive ran out of gas almost before it started. Much digging revealed that records of the German supply services at this time of the war are laughable-they were, after all, very busy! Accounts of the stockpiles available prior to the campaign are nearly nonexistent. Comments during the campaign are subjective and not based on any sort of firm numbers- numbers, as they do exist, are local in nature and cannot be applied on the broad front.

After the historical record drew a blank, I sat down to determine (in game terms) what was needed based on different amounts of stockpiling. This was given in terms of the number of weeks at full supply the troops drawing from a given dump had available. The numbers tried were from one to 2 weeks worth in the forward dumps and the same in the main dumps from which to resupply forward. After much calculator work and another rereading of the pertinent sections of Van Creveld's Supplying War, I gave them 1.5 weeks in the forward dumps and 1.0 weeks in the rear. This amount will be subject to the adjustments of further playtests, but seems good for now.

German SP's each week are made available at the railheads of Smolensk and Konotop based on an availability table. This table too has been a source of heartburn. It is built around the rough amount the German force needs each week, with variability each way. As the game progresses the average number of SP's entering drops. The problem is if I allow it to drop at the rate which seems to be required by history, the Germans might as well quit the game before it begins because by the halfway mark they will be at a consistent No Supply status and doomed. The problem is that the German units were slightly more frugal than the supply tables give them credit for, and they were adept at scrounging what they could from the land and the villages they ran into. This leads to a slight abstraction in the size of a supply point (varying its exact tonnage) which then allows all these things to take their place properly.

On-map German rail capability was, on the other hand, fairly easy to deal with. The capability was fairly limited and the extent of its use was limited severely by the amount of converted rail available. The big thing here was the effect of the deep freeze weather on the German-built locomotives. German engines had their water pipes built outside their boilers. When it got as cold as it did in the Russian winter, they would freeze and burst ' Therefore, German rail capability drops some70% when thecold weather hits.

Speaking of weather, the Rasputitsa is often invoked as the reason for the German defeat in front of Moscow. Usual ly the mud is blamed in conjunction with the winter cold. This is trueas far as it goes-but is not the reason for the defeat. The defeat occurred for three main reasons and weather is but one. The other two reasons are the Red Anny and German logistics.

German generals (who gave us our popular accounts of the war in the East) were loath to give any credit to the Red Army for their defeat. The Soviet army was portrayed as an inept, slobbering horde of sub-humans who only managed to win through sheer weight of numbers. Sound like Nazi racial theory? It is.

Don't get me wrong, the Red Army had a lot to learn in the fall of 1941. The simple fact is that they did so. By the summer of 1944, they all but obliterated the masters of the blitzkrieg at their own game. They did not have the kind of intensely educated lower enlisted ranks as did the Germans-they had to make due at higher levels. Make no mistake, by the end of the war, the Red Army was a master of the operational art. They made their first tentative steps in that direction in the fall of 1941 and spring of 1942. In GB, this progression can be seen as the Soviet player can develop operational level groups by the end of the game and strike back at the Nazi "supermen" as they huddle in the cold!

The other major cause for the failure of the offensive aimed at Moscow and Operation Barbarossa itself, was the German logistical system's utter failure to "make ends meet." In a flying leap of unreality and overconfidence, OKH planned a war in Russia that just couldn't work. The limited availability of wheeled transport, over-expectations of Russian rail abilities, the lack of a war footing at home, all doomed the operation from the outset.

Unless OKH was correct in assuming a "couple of months duration, at most," there was no way it could work. By the time in GB, German logistical systems have all but failed and the entire effort is hanging on by its fingernails. Before the mud season, the German rail lines and the feeders running to the front had almost collapsed. I've been generous with German rail deliveries in GB and its still not quite enough. By the time the winter really hit, the rail system had more or less failed. Truck transport, limited as it was, was more efficient and reliable than the rail lines and consistently out- performed them. It's amazing the thing worked at all and their weren't mass German surrenders by the fall of 1941.

There you have a brief look at some of in y thinking and conclusions that went into the Guderian's Blitzkrieg game. Here we have the German army, arguably the best in the world at the time, unleashing its final assault on the capital of the Soviet Union-a blow that might win the war-and this operation is hanging on a thin thread of logistics. They have roughly 3-4 turns of good weather before both armies get stuck in the mud for three weeks. It is indeed a very delicate situation requiring masterful use of the resources at hand to pull it off. There is no time to lose-a mistake that costs a turn may doom the attack entirely. Building throughout the period is the new Soviet Army which will destroy the weakened Panzer spearheads if they do not win and win fast.

What we have here is a situation...

For the second major playtest of GB, all of the corrective adjustments based on the first are in effect. Ibis game will be a dress rehearsal for the third playtest-the one at our fall retreat. The goals of #2 are to examine the refinements made in #1, test the game further to see if other refinements are needed, and catch any anomalies before game #3 and the playtest copies are sent out to blindtesters.

Since I'm the Germans (John and Owen have split the Russians between them) I'll give you an idea of my plans and how they went in #2. The game's first turn actually occurs the week before the offensive began historically. This is done to allow players to determine for themselves the relative merits of either another week to accumulate supplies or to gain an extra week of good weather. I've chosen to straddle the fence. On turn one, the 2nd Panzer Group will be launching its initial offensive-with two corps at full supply and the third at low supply. 4th Army and 4th Panzer Group will be in low supply and static. 2nd Army does not arrive until turn 2, and does not figure into these calculations.

My initial operational posture is designed to capture some of the benefits of both uses of the first turn. I will be able to stockpile some supply, and I will have the extra week of good weaLher-applied to the south where its most important.

The missions of the corps of 2nd Panzer Group are straightforward. 47th Panzer Corps is to decimate the l3thArmy. It is at full supply and well reinforced with independent artillery units. The portions of 13th Army that live through this will be pushed north and east as the 47th Corps does a left wheel to redirect its forces towards the north. This operation should freeup the rail line running to Orel.

24th Panzer Corps is to run through the gap between 13th Army and its neighbor to the south, the 40th Army. It is at low supply-which inhibits its ability to attack but not to move, which is what I need. It has been reinforced by a few assets which are capable of speed-an MG Battalion, an Assault Engineer Battalion, and a fully- motorized artillery regiment. 24th Panzer is to literally blitzkrieg out to Orel and beyond-final dispositions to be determined based on Soviet reactions.

This movement will disrupt Soviet rail links, seize control of the entire line to Orel, and allow regauging to begin right away. This firstphase of the 24th Panzer Corps operations is to be completed by the end of turn 1. In support of this drive, almost all of 2nd Panzer Group's truck assets will load at Konotop and begin a relay to Orel. I want Orel to be loaded with supply by the time the mud hits. A large Orel dump will also allow deeper operations in later phases of the attack.

24th Panzer Corps also is tasked with the capture of the Soviet Orel airbase. I do not expect to do any damage to the aircraft there-they will displace unless inactive-but want the base to start ferrying supplies by air. Also, displacing the Luftwaffe forward won't hurt for future operations.

While not under 24th Panzer Corps control, the 2nd SS Motorized Division makes its appearance on turn two. In order to completely annoy the enemy, these gangsters will be tasked with a drive through the Russian hinterland in order to seize the ungarrisoned (I hope) city of Voronezh. With luck they might grab a big Russian dump and the airbase south of the city. With these (or, at least, the airbase), I'll be able to keep Das Reich in supply and defending the city.

Since Voronezh is one of the two Soviet supply centers on the map (the other being Moscow itself), I'm hoping this will disrupt the thought patterns of the Russian players and severely limit their ability to mess with the 2nd Panzer Group's right flank which will get more and more into the air as they advance. Historically, the Soviet Winter counteroffensive on this front came against that very flank--which is obvious a weak point in the historical German plan of operations.

Right flank operations are the province of the 48th Panzer Corps. Its mission is to destroy the 40th Army to its front and then advance on the right of 24th Corps covering the Army's right as it goes. It is at full supply and has been heavily reinforced (mainly with Assault Gun Battalions and artillery regiments.) I'm hoping to finish the 40th Army off to the last man by the end of turn 2.

Since 4th Army and 4th Panzer Group will be sitting on their hands for the first couple of turns (providing a threat value but little else), I've allocated the lion's share of Luftwaffe assets, including all the Ju-52's, to 2nd Panzer Group's operations. A few meager ground support aircraft have been given to the northern two armies-an ability to hit opportunity targets but little more. A decent fighter force has been provided to each German airbase because our first playtest showed a strong desire on the part of my two Russians to launch deep raids against German dumps with their strategic bomber force. A lucky bombing mission versus one of my big dumps will be a disaster for the German effort and I'm going to disperse the Luftwaffe's fighter strength more than I'd like, in order to ward off such raids.

4th Panzer Group is to await developments. It could launch a massive thrust due east (which is what they did historically), but I'm more inclined to avoid the losses that would give, keep these Panzer Divisions safe for reinforcement elsewhere, and save on supply consumption. Possibly after the fall of Bryansk, I'll dispatch this Panzer Group to the south east so they can add strength to 2nd Panzer Group's attack. The again, some or all of these divisions may be removed from play if the 4th Panzer Group is withdrawn from play (to join in the fighting north of the maps.) I'll wait and see.

2nd Army, which enters on turn 2, will either follow- up 2nd Panzer Group or seal off Bryansk from the west. More than likely these troops will be engaged in the taking of Bryansk from one side or another.

4th Army will be poised to advance slowly due cast toward Moscow to keep the pressure on the Russians if they decide to strip their line in this area to deal with other threats. Being an infantry army, I cannot expect any rapid dashes from them like I can of the Panzer forces. If they must plod, at least let them plod in the right direction by the shortest route.

This outlines my planning before the start of the game. After the playtest shows how it went, I'll report below on the actual outcome...

The Playtest, Game #2.

It was both brutal and a lot of fun. The new German supply dumps seem to have enough in them. I went into "hyper aggressive" and attacked where ever possible. By the end of the turn, the Soviet 13th and 40th Armies were all but destroyed. The 24th Panzer Corps blitzed up the middle, was delayed briefly by an interesting Soviet counterattack while strung out on the road, and seized Orel. Falling into my hands by that capture was the Soviet Supply Dump at Orel which had grown from its initial 3 SP's to over 30 by the time I got it. Uncle Joe has fueled up my panzer columns quite well and I give him many thanks.

The flipside of the first turn was that all that attacking cost the Germans heavily in almost irreplaceable panzer and recon battalions. The Soviet players may not realize it but the armored spearhead of the 2nd Panzer Group has been almost crippled. Most of the panzer divisions in that group have lost one or more of their "heavies'!--the three panzer and one armored recon battalion in each. I'm not sure of the effect of this loss on the rest of the German effort and I have yet to see if I can rebuild many of these units using repls.

Because of all the activity, play took along time. Even so, playtester enthusiasm for the system and the game reached a new high--which was very encouraging. I was apprehensive about the application of the system to the much more unit intensive and active Eastern Front environment after having its roots in the limited numbers of units in our North Africa game. The very positive comments from the playtesters after the session, including the interest in solving the intriguing operational problems involved (How do I best use my reserves? Is the frontal reserve best placed forward or to the rear? What's the best way to set up the rear services to provide supply to the front? ... ), showed that play was absorbing and interesting---even to the Russians who took a fair number of lumps in that turn.

As the 2nd Panzer Group advanced into Russian territory it soon became painfully evident that all that advancing wasn't really doing the Germans much good. The advance was a lot of fun and dramatic. Most of the 2nd Panzer Group dashed into the Russian hinterland at great speed-ranging far and wide. The main objective (Moscow) however stands at the far cornerof the map opposite the Group's start line-they must traverse the map's diagonal. It is a long way. We looked at it and after the initial reactions, the Russian players decided that all that advancing hadn't really given the Germans much of an advantage.

At the very pinnacle of the advance, weakened Panzer Divisions would have to assail a strong Russian position in the woods. And, this would be at a tightest stretch of the logistical system. Basically, they had traded space for time-allowing the depth of their position to absorb the force of the German Blitzkrieg. This is what happened historically, too. That has been my belief for a long time that blitzkrieg operations require relatively close objectives- their intensity cannot be produced for long and deep operations may require the blitz to last longer than most forces are capable of. Future playtests will determine if the power needed to crack the Russian line near Tula is available to the Germans or not-with adjustments made to the victory conditions as warranted.

A diversion from the plan above occurred when the 9th Panzer Division went into high gear and took Voronezh. Large Soviet dumps were captured at Orel and Voronezh which placed the entire operation ahead of schedule logistically.

Unfortunately, we had to stop play at that juncture because it was time to restart the game for test #3 at the retreat. A large number of minor modifications to various numeric values in the game rules were made which will be tested in game #3--which I'm hoping will run through more of the 13 tam game than #2 was able to. I'll report on that playtest next time. See you then.

PS-A number of you have written and called expressing how much you were looking forward to theOCS as a "quicker to play" alternative to our TCS games. If you want quicker, I'll have to suggest that you look to our SCSgames (Stalingrad Pocket) and not the OCS or (especially) Guderian's Blitzkrieg. Let's put it this way, while not overly complex, GB requires a large amount of thought on the subtle interactions between the forces, modes and phases so as to not be caught short by the enemy. Plus, GB gives a lot of action-overruns, attacks, air missions-which takes up a bit of time each, but when put together take quite a while. Average turn (actually two turns and an overphase) play time of the first few turns probably ranges in the 2-3 hour timeframe for experienced players who know the system. Turns during the mud season are shorter since there is little going on. GB is the perfect game for you if you like intense games of moderate complexity, have a place to leave two maps set up for extended periods, and don't mind a gaming session once a week or so of two hours in length to knock out another game-week.