Gary Graber of Minden Games was the designer of the excellent The First Day on the Somme reviewed in the previous PA. In an earlier edition of Panzerschreck magazine (issue 3 Minden Games, 9573 W Vogel Avenue, Peoria AZ 85345. USA) he published The Barbarossa Campaign and I have now had the opportunity to catch up with this design. Barbarossa has for a very long time been a popular gaming topic, less so with many PA denizens but that is, I suspect, because usually the treatment is so anal retentive as to cause spots before the eyes. Some years ago Omega Games published a solitaire Barbarossa game that never quite seemed to work though it is now out in a second edition. Even if the six map specials do not appeal the campaign still has much of value - choices abound and the campaign was one of high drama. The Barbarossa Campaign is a solitaire game in which you play the Germans. Essentially the German panzers must be used to cut into Russia and knock off its vital cities in a race against Soviet industry and Allied Lend Lease that will eventually give the Red Army the initiative. Despite therefore being a quick game The Barbarossa Campaign includes many economic and political elements allowing its simple basis to be more sophisticated than one might guess. The game is played on a small hex map (US version of A4) running from Germany into Russia at Stalingrad. I would guess the scale is 90 miles per hex. Counters are very simple with no combat value and just an identification number. The map has political boundaries, marshes, mountains, and cities marked. The German counters come in a number of kinds. The game has German infantry, Panzer and SS units. In addition there are Finns, and a mess of other Allies (Romania, Hungary, Italy and Bulgaria, although the last of these avoided war with Russia). Panzers alone may take part in Blitz Combat (although SS and infantry formations may benefit, with Luftwaffe support, from modified Blitz Combat. Panzers (and Allied Infantry) cannot capture major cities, so ultimately it is down to the PBI to take Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. The Russians have armoured and infantry counters but their units have no difference in practice. In addition to the combat units there are information counters (hedgehogs, fortifications, and Partisans) and combat chits (instead of dice). There are also Event Cards and Economic chits. The combat chits are in four colours: Green favours the Germans, Red the Soviets, and Blue and Yellow are to provide some finer grading. Some combat chits have an X on them. These are removed after the first draw, and as a lot of them are Green the Germans will enjoy a brief advantage during the opening turns. Be warned that there are 12 other green spare counters, do not mix them into the combat chit pool or the Germans will win every game. The Economic chits are in seven types: German and Russian tank types (which improve with time), Russian Industry and Russian Lend Lease, German Strategic Planning and Russian and German "any" counters that can be used for whatever is best (or worst for the Russians since you place them). The cards are used in various combat roles (their number being important), to judge whether an initiative bonus is available on the capture of a city, to cause various events, to cause reshuffles, and to give the results for Soviet combat once the Germans have lost the Initiative. The game has to cover a lot of strange activity and it uses a simple but important concept - the Placeholder. The game assumes that unless you physically surround the enemy whatever the other side does your men will always maintain a line. This is achieved by placed placeholders (infantry units) as units retreat and advance. These do not take part in combat for the Germans so I usually leave them off just marking the boundaries with Russian units until combat is completed. The other key concept is the Initiative. Having the Initiative allows the Germans to use Blitz Combat and Initiative combat and restricts the Russians to a few high-order close combats. Influencing the Initiative is the key to victory. The game comes with an Economic Display that holds most of the Initiative information. Both sides have a tank track which shows the various types of tank but actually (I suspect) measures skill in tank usage. Each Tank Chit (or "Any" chit) improves these tracks. The Germans goes -2, -3,-4,-4,-5 with the Russians +1. +2, +3, +4, +5. Of course Russian tanks were much better than German tanks (hence my belief that this track refers to something else). You will also note that the Russian scores are positive and the Germans negative. There is a Russian industry chart (+1, +3, +5, +7, +9) which is every bit as scary as it looks. At its maximum level Red industry is worth as much as the loss of every Russian City (disregarding bonus points). However, of course it will take a long time to achieve the former and the Germans have a shot now at the latter. As if the Workers were not bad enough there are Lend Lease chits (+2, +2, +3, +3, +4). Each Eliminated Panzer unit scores points (+1, +2, +4, and +7), as do Partisans and German refugees. Both Russians and Germans get Initiative points for major cities. Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad, Kiev & Odessa, and To Grozny for Germany, and Budapest/Ploesti, Vienna, Konigsberg, Budapest and Warsaw for the Russians. (Is that really Bucharest/Ploesti, I think it must be?). in addition German capture of non-major cities may give bonus negative initiative (simulating a sudden collapse in morale I suspect). Each turn one tots up the differential in Initiative and adds it to the current Index. This starts at 0. If it drops to -5 then the Germans have won (though a new rule allows combat to continue after Russian Collapse). If it rises to +5 then the Russians get the Initiative, at +10 Germany collapses and at +15 the Russians win. In my experience once the Initiative is lost defeat comes too swiftly for the end of the war so I play on using doubled Russian combat after +15 is reached, just to see how far they get (I've not yet got to Berlin). Let's look at Sequence: Event cards are drawn Economic chits are drawn German Strategic Movement German Blitz Combat (not in Winter or without the Initiative) German Regular Combat (not when in Collapse) Encirclement Resolution Russian Counter-Attack Combat Russian Initiative Combat (but only if they have the Initiative) Determine Initiative Index Modify German Strategic Mode Receive Luftwaffe/Hedgehog counter (Winter) Return combat chits to pool The event cards are just what you would expect with extra units, units lost, or cities fortified etc etc. Because each turn is a season, and many cards are year-dated the event pack does not go mad, but seems to be well regulated in its effects. Some cards can have a dramatic effect, but not an impossible ahistorical one. Because of frequent reshuffles there is much of this deck I have never seen. The economic chit draw favours the Russians (as it should) though I am adept at drawing the German chits. Most of the chits are self-evident, though German Strategic Planning will be discussed later. The pressure of time on the Germans is very strong as the Lend Lease and Industry chits pop up especially if the Major Cities are not falling. Strategic movement simply allows the Germans to shift Panzer and SS units within a certain distance to reconfigure the turn's major pushes. This should be remembered when detaching Panzers to either flank. Blitz combat is a vital part of the German's attack. Each Panzer unit (or SS and infantry with Luftwaffe support) can hope to advance three hexes in this phase (Minsk to Smolensk). The combat system uses a chit draw of four colours of chit. Green will allow a German advance but no further advances that Phase by that unit. Red will cause no advance (and a Red score on 1st Blitz attempt may cause a German defeat - and loss of the Panzer unit). Yellows and Blues will allow advances and (usually) further attempts. So your Panzers may freeze (and be defeated) on a red chit, or draw three Blues and go for three advances. There is a lot of clever stuff hidden in this chart. Once completed the Germans should have pushed corridors deep into German lines. One cannot, however, Blitz a major city. Here the infantry need to go in with the bayonet. After the Panzers have punched through (or not) the infantry press forward (Panzers may attack again). Here only one hex’s advance is possible and only Green chits (which get rarer) will help German or Allied infantry. Panzers and SS units can benefit from Yellows or Blues. The feeling of attritional crumbling is very strong. Major Cities must be captured in this Phase, and though Panzers cannot Blitz Major Cities they can attack them here (with more chance of success than infantry). One then examines completely surrounded Russians or Germans. An event card draw uses the card number to decide if the pocket survives, and sometimes it does and one can drive back into contact. Major Cities however will not surrender from encirclement. The Pripet marshes and Tallinen are good spots for Russian pockets. Encircled units do count for the next Phase and their removal can be very important. One then tidies up the units to just maintain two front lines. Without the Initiative Russian combat consists of counter-attacks. These are only possible where at least three Russian units are adjacent to a German unit (and you will need four against a Panzer). You will immediately see the danger of having encircled Russian still in existence in this Phase. The result has been some remarkably realistic feeling system driven counter-offensives. There are some modifiers but nothing difficult. The general effect is a periodic roll-back of German salients, but no effect against straight lines. If the Russians have the Initiative then their combat effects are generated by drawing an event card and capturing that many hexes (they come in North or South varieties - the Pripets row giving the line here). Some horrid cards give losses in the North and the South as two major offensives hit. As the Germans are doing the placement here there are some handy rules for where the attacks go in. If Germany has Collapsed then you draw two cards a turn. Germany is now in a race downhill. It can however sacrifice Luftwaffe and Panzer units to delay or defeat offensives. The result is the sort of slashing major line crumbling that something like Army Group Centre produced. Though in my experience Russia will have won before we get near Berlin (so, as I said, I just play on). The Germans have their own strategy to consider and can change it once a turn. This strategy only has an effect on the draw of the German Strategic Planning chit is drawn. They have three choices. Logistics gets them a -1 marker in Berlin (useful if you are close to the -5 winning post). Strategic warfare allows the development of bombers (not tanks) and the devastation of Russian Industry chits (very important if a number of these have appeared), but you do need a Luftwaffe chit (the one you got in the Winter) and you do use it up. An extra Luftwaffe counter from the Event Card can be most useful here. Finally, we have Production that allows the production of a new Panzer unit (very useful for Blitzing). There are lots of special rules for the opening attack, the Finns, Hedgehogs, SS units, West Front withdrawals, Axis Minor Units, conquering minor countries, Partisans, Luftwaffe Convoy Interdiction (removing a Lend Lease chit), Panzer withdrawal, Refugees, and Ploesti (all that oil). The events are numerous and ensure that each game is different. There are also optional rules to further maintain your interest. Solitaire game design is seldom easy, but Gary Graber has more experience that anyone I know and it shows here. In my experience (unless the Economic Chits are kind) the German has 1941 and 1942 to take at least two Major Cities. My recommendation is you go north first and bag Leningrad and Moscow. Stalingrad is a long way away and you need to keep the Initiative negative if you can. With them captured you can drive south. Drawing Bonus cards for capturing other cities helps too! Once you have eliminated the excess Green combat chits mentioned above the game is pretty even, but once you start to retreat I reckon the Initiative will vanish so quickly that Germany will be defeated while still in Russia. Accordingly I disregard both Initiative based Victory Conditions and play both sides on as in Collapse (three major cities and Russia is out though). Despite its solitaire nature I found this game entertaining for a good number of plays, as well as being quick and atmospheric. Its consideration of non-military issues raised its simulation and historical value to me. Back to Perfidious Albion #103 Table of Contents Back to Perfidious Albion List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Charles and Teresa Vasey. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com