Saturday 10th April 2010 game: Ostfront 1944

Mark Jarvis and I will be running an eastern front game in April. This will be an operational level game (ie each side will have several divisions or equivalent sized units).

Turns will probably be daily, and we will be dealing with a campaign over a wide area of the front, possibly lasting some weeks.

Players will operate within a heirarchy, as in a traditional kriegsspiel, but will be dealing with new challenges, such as maintaining a frontline, managing reserves, and dealing with intelligence. Logistics will, of necessity, be included, but in a relatively easy fashion. Senior commanders will have a chief of staff to assist them.

To make this work, we will need quite a few players. Ideally about 15. Our new venue can accommodate this very well.

More details will be available nearer the time, but I would like to get an indication of interest in the meantime. Please let me know if you are thinking of coming, and whether you have any preference for role - eg senior commander, chief of staff, subordinate commander, umpire.

Regards

Martin

Soviet Front Command would do nicely!

If you're a definite, I reckon we can manage that.

Martin

I have made the booking in my diary so as definite as can be.

In the 1990s I had a one-day system for doing summer 42 (Stalingrad) to summer 43 (Kursk) for the entire Eastfront. You are not aiming for anything quite so grand?

Not quite so grand, but we're still talking pretty large forces over a wide area of front.

The situation is hypothetical, but the capabilities of both sides will be based on their strengths & weaknesses at this point in 1944.

Scenario is fairly close to completion. Mark & I will be discussing it next week, subject to weather of course. How very eastern front!

I will post a synopsis of the general situation (together with a map) here at some point after that.

Full briefings will be sent out well before the game, and both teams will have an opportunity to discuss the strategic situation between themselves by email, if they wish. Communication during the game will be slightly more restricted, but still somewhat better than in most k/spiels, given radio communications etc.

Martin

Just spent several hours with Martin discussing this and I am in awe at his level of research and how well it is all hanging together at this early stage. If there was one game this year I would want to play it would be this. We are doing are best to ensure that it plays quickly (players willing) and Martin will be posting more details to explain. It will be a tough game for both sides and should have plenty for all players to cope with. I have even come away with a reading list so that I can catch up with Martin's research...

Yes. Excellent session Mark, and thanks for putting in the time. Quite excited abouyt this game.

Martin

Here is the General Idea for April's WW2 game.....

It is March 1944. A series of Russian winter offensives have forced the German army out of most of the Ukraine, and they are now approaching Poland and Rumania.

Strong Russian forces are advancing on Zhitomir, to the west of Kiev.

Further south, the Russians spearheads have outrun their supplies, and this has presented the German Army Group South with the opportunity to counter-attack. Using additional panzer divisions from France, the 4th and 1st Panzer Armies encircled Russian tank and mechanised troops at Vinnitsa almost two weeks ago.

Even further south, Russian forces have crossed the Bug river upstream from Nikolaiev and are advancing slowly towards Odessa. German troops in this sector are being reinforced with units of the 3rd Rumanian Army, which has been re-trained and re-equipped since Stalingrad.

Martin

[click on the map for a view of the front line]

MJ1 wrote:Just spent several hours with Martin discussing this and I am in awe at his level of research and how well it is all hanging together at this early stage. If there was one game this year I would want to play it would be this. We are doing are best to ensure that it plays quickly (players willing) and Martin will be posting more details to explain. It will be a tough game for both sides and should have plenty for all players to cope with. I have even come away with a reading list so that I can catch up with Martin's research...

I guess this will be on the list then:

Glantz D
Red Storm Over the Balkans: The Failed Soviet Invasion of Romania, Spring 1944 (2006)
ISBN 0-7006-1465-6

'Red Storm Over the Balkans' is typical Glantz. Data-heavy and very dense narrative. If you like his normal stuff, you will like this. I would say it's towards the more detailed end of his spectrum - which means it's extremely detailed. I did find it interesting but, even for an OOB saddo like me, it was hard-going.

I'm afraid I could only recommend it on the basis that there is nothing else in English on that campaign.

I should say that our April game is a different and hypothetical situation.

Martin

I am a keen Glantz reader so it should be exciting stuff for me.

Naturally I would expect differences from history in a scenario anyway. You can never be sure the exact nature of the OOB a designer has set for a situation, the capabilities of the units within the framework of the rules, the detailed objectives and the intelligence available.

Yes, I read a lot of his stuff too. Whether I do it keenly though, I'm not so sure. But so often he's the only game in town. At the moment I'm working through his 1942 trilogy, where the sheer extent of front has forced him up a level of detail.

I tend to think he's better when he works in tandem with Jonathan House.

Design of the scenario is nearing completion.

I have produced a guide to the armies involved, with an indication of how we will deal with them in the game (Word doc). I am trying to find a way of posting a link to that here, but in the meantime please email if you would like a copy.

Martin

And here, courtesy of Richard Madder, is a link to it.

Martin

http://www.kriegsspiel.org.uk/images/stories/Notes/Armies%20on%20the%20Eastern%20Front%201944.doc

I am definitely interested, possibly as a senior commander; my preference would be German but I am not fussy.

Where is the new venue?


Thanks ...

Richard

I think you are already on the list for the game Richard. Assuming I have the right Richard, of course. That's Richard M, right?

I'll see what I can do re the German bit.

The venue is at the Little Gaddesden village hall, a few miles N of Hemel. I can email you a map if necessary.

Martin

Martin wrote:I think you are already on the list for the game Richard. Assuming I have the right Richard, of course. That's Richard M, right?

Martin

Martin,

No - Richard Prosser! I was an umpire at LG for the 19C game (last one, I think).


Cheers,

Richard
PS Russian will do :-)

Hi Richard

Yes I remember you, and you will of course be very welcome to join us.

Thanks for the flexibility, and I'll see what we can do about meeting your first preference.

Regards

Martin

Together with Richard (number 2) we now have 15 confirmed attendees, which will make this our largest ever k/spiel.

The situation lends itself to plenty of players though, so if you are interested, do get in touch, and we'll fit you in.

We've put together some guidlines on how we will be running the game, and I'll see if I can post that here in the next few days.

Martin

We are now up to 16 or 17, including no less than 4 Richards! Terrific. Sadly not a single Ivan or Fritz yet though.

Hopefully everyone who has condfirmed they are coming will have received the 'Guidance for players' document from me by email. Please let me know if not.

The top brass on both sides are now doing some limited pre-planning. During the next few days we will allocate the remaining roles, either as player or as part of the umpire team. It looks as if we will be able to satify those who have expressed a preference. Once you have a role, you will receive the appropriate detailed briefing for one or both sides.

The structure of the game does lend itself to plenty of players, so if you are thinking of coming but haven't yet confirmed, we can probably fit you in.

Martin

Just to let you know that the high commands on both sides are now finalising their initial plans & dispositions.

Once this process is complete, the next stage will be to allocate players to frontline commands on either the German or Russian side, and provide them with detailed briefings. Most of the umpire team have already been appointed, so if you have not yet been allocated a role, it is likely that you will end up as a player. There is definitely a specific role for everyone!

Once all the commands have been allocated, the senior German & Russian commanders will contact the members of their team directly, and brief them on their general intentions etc. We would expect this to happen by the end of this week. The members of each team can then get to know one another, and discuss the game freely before the day.

Cost for the day looks to be £4, and we will probably aim for a 10.30 am start, and to finish shortly after 5 pm. So it's a fair bit longer than our normal game. You will need to bring your own lunch, and also some cake or biscuits to contribute to afternoon tea. Milk, sugar, tea & coffee will be provided out of the £4.

You have all previously confirmed, and we are assuming that you are all coming to this game. It will depend on having lots of players & umpires. If you are in doubt as to whether you can make it, do please let us know.

Regards

Martin

All players who have confirmed attendance have now been given a role on either the German, Russian or umpire teams. This will allow almost a fortnight for members of each team to communicate freely with team-members before the game, if they wish.

Cost for the day remains at £4, which will include milk, sugar, tea & coffee. Given the quality of the venue, this is an incredibly low price, but the forces of repression in Little Gaddesden are now wise to us, and I fear that we will be charged more if we run long games like this in the future.

The major challenge will be to keep the game moving and to complete the scenario. Given this, we have decided to bring the start forward by 30 minutes to 10 am. We have to be out of the hall by about 5.15 pm for a children's birthday party.

We have 16-17 players, but could still fit a few more in, so register your interest here if you would like to join us.

Martin

For those of you who didn't see the emails after the game, and couldn't be there on the day, you missed a cracking game.

Glad you enjoyed it Ian, and thanks again for your not inconsiderable contribution.

For those not there, the game was based loosely on the Russian encirclement of a part of the German 8th Army in the Korsun area in early 1944. We also covered the attempts to relieve the pocket.

Am pleased to say that we got through 3 weeks playing daily turns in about 5 1/2 hours of game time.

I think Richard Clarke of TFL is planning to do a write-up of the game, so I'll not spoil that, except to say we had a clear result. I should also point out that Richard was German C in C, so members of the Russian team may wish to contact him in order to get their version of history in there.

Martin