Panzer Campaigns Stalingrad ( Gold 42 )
Operation Uranus - 19th November 1942
This is my second foray into a battle on the Eastern front. The first being Korsun Pocket which for a number of reasons is a personal favorite. Choosing the next game is always a hit and miss affair............when I loaded it up........I was still in two minds as to whether I should have purchased it. The Germans/Romanians are in an almost complete defensive position which makes it an Axis reaction exercise.The map is deceptively moderate in size until you actually get to moving your units , when it grows in leaps and bounds like a one month old kitten/cat with an ever increasing appetite.
It is an impressive initial layout for the Axix forces. The environs of Stalingrad hit out as a potential slow grinding slugfest which it actually becomes- no surprise there. You will get a lot of One man hits and no effect hits which at times; puts you in the mind frame of - Oh , I will skip this sector for my offensive turn; until of course , something interesting or critical happens which is maybe losing one hex of the city......and that is rare. There is a fun bit , when you catch a Soviet battalion crossing over the river and fire at them and get a 146 hit result and annihilate then totally in 2 to 3 game turns.
Anyways - the main battle illustrates the Soviet counteroffensive on the flanks of the German army- ( Operation Uranus - 306 turns ). A sneaky attempt to pocket the German troops fighting in the city of Stalingrad. Looking at what the Axis forces have at hand, at the start seems pretty reasonable. The game is portrayed at company level for the Axis, with front line units formed of two third demi-battalions which can be further reduced into 2 companies, with the third company of the battalion resting and refitting a little ways to the rear,- to simulate the round-robin effect of giving one company at a time a respite for a day or two from snipers or sporadic shelling. This is also a a good implementation tool for the Axis players tactical psychology to husband a small reeserve amount and Boy - are you ever going to have to learn the principle of husbanding your forces.
I can't remember any significant details of this battle beyond the main thread from reading a long while back , so after a days worth of playing - I stumbled across some excellent videos with detailed portions of the battle - I wish I had not done so because I found out exactly what the Soviets had actually committed to this battle........Doh !
As , I was saying ; before you start operations , you review your front line and potential reserves......does not look too bad.....lots of emplaced bunkers and a goodly amount of support artillery. Three German Panzer Divisions in reserve ( not at peak or full strength ).....a lot of Engineer units and as you find out a bit later , a reasonable amount of air support.
What could possibly go wrong ???? After one days gameplay.....the Romanian forces mostly covering the flanks of the Stalingrad assault were holding off the Soviets with relative ease. Three and four battalion Soviet stacks were being disrupted and shot up with relative ease......they just keep on coming and get the same treatment.
Is this it ????...... Is this all you can conjure up, Saruman - I mean , Stalin....??? Just wait for the end of the second day's play...then the holes start opening up and you also notice that your artillery gets more and more sparse. When those holes open up...you rush your immediate reserves in and breathe a sigh of relief until the end of the third day....when a mass rout psychosis starts to spread across a lot of your Romanian troops.........and they are really slow to un-rout. This is when the Soviets/A.I. unleashes it's Armor contingent and then all Hell breaks loose.
No problemo - I have 3 Panzer Divisions in reserve and the Ist Romanian Tank Division to put in. Oh No !..... you don't !........let's just say that the Panzer Divisions are symbolic for the moment. You soon learn that the Russian tanks are numerous and some are of high blasting power. Added to that are the dreaded Soviet Cavalry regiments....slightly lighter color from the normal ones...........these are more fearsome than the tanks as they can quickly annihilate Romanian Infantry units...........these are a freaking nightmare to deal with. Only German Infantry units with high morale can deal with these boogers.
Don't even get me started on the anti-tank peashooters that the Romanians have.....very occasionally ,they can knock out a high quality Soviet tank.........but they are best used as time stalling , tank fodder, to give you a breathing space to get your reserves in.
By the middle of the Fourth day - there should be dirty great big holes in the Romanian line to the North-West of Stalingrad. And here is where the fun and interesting element to this game/ battle starts to present itself. As the Axis player ; you literally have to scrape together battle-groups to oppose the Soviet breakthroughs. You find yourself taking tanks out of Stalingrad itself and slowly denuding your German Infantry Divisions while not making yourself too weak in these positions on the front line.......just in case, the Soviets start pressing here and if you do not have an intricate and detailed knowledge of this battle.......then you will sweat.
It's hilarious how you can just in time get a few units in the right place, at the right time.............it is seriously mind taxing and stretches your tactical brain cells. You end up with numerous minor engagements wherein you have to double think whether to just stand and take punishment or try to move around to rescue some isolated or weak units from eventual annihilation. You really do get to experience pain when your precious armor begins to be whittled down and destroyed.....you get situations where one German tank unit with 11 tanks is holding off a 3 unit stack of Soviet tanks supported by an Russian Infantry regiment and you are forced to keep it in position to block these units from going futher or hitting weaker units trying to rally or re-inforce.
What are the 3 reserve Panzer divisions doing, ( 6th , 11th and 17th ) ? Nothing - they are FIXED......a good term in all it's definition.
What about the other flank pincer to the south of Stalingrad that would create a pocket. This sector/area is a slightly different battle. The Romanians do well up to a certain point , ( I will not do a spoiler ) but things are not too horendous.......the German defenders immediately south of Stalingrad are tough and the terrain very helpful....that is not to say ,that you will not have problems.......I managed at a ceratin point to close off a deep penetration of Soviet forces but am still mopping up the remaining outlier Soviets and it was not easy....another reinforced attack on the same scale will smash my line.......I have to prepare , just in case.
Stalingrad itself is still a slow slug-fest , with the amount of Russian troops there and the slow dwindling of attack forces on the German side due to reinforcing Soviet holes in the North-west and south - I do not think the city can be cleared of Russians completely.
Other interesting elements to this game:
- You get a few train artillery units which make a good noise when you move them.)
- It grows on you ........slowly....I bet that some people have played only the first day as the Axis and thought , boooorrriiiing - this is too easy and go elsewhere for their jollies.
- You can make things more difficult for yourself by letting the Soviets pour through , giving ground for time.....masochists catered for......
- The graphics are good - The Romanian counters have a pleasant off yellowey /green effect. The Winter terrain just north of Stalingrad is very atmospheric with a wintery blue patina. Unfortunately- you do not do much fighting in this area - as yet - I do not think so ; could be wrong ----for now anyway.
- There is an area where the Germans can launch a surprise assault and catch the Soviets napping and cause a lot of damage - morale booster from being on the defensive all the time, and it starts to grate. But you have to time it right because the A.I. will throw armor at you eventually and diminish the cost/benefit outlay. I found it by accident.....it's there.......Ho.. Ho.. Ho... !
6)Being stubborn and not being intimidated by Soviet numbers sometimes pays off.
7)The A.I. is not perfect.....but sometimes, it can be a real SOB......I have had a number of occasions when I have literally walked into not good situations.....I guess that is why you have quite a lot of air recon availability. Use it wisely.........especially before your precious tank movememnts...........
8)There are bridges wired for demolition...but you cannot blow them up...must be something wrong with that ?????
9) I am only at the start of this battle...eventually control of the few main highways will be critical for your movement/success to a critical extent....no fudging this element.
10)Slightly faster A.I. processing is available.
Situation about the end of the 6th day..............................as can be seen - big holes in the North-west front. City of Stalingrad is red boxed.
My overall imprsesion of this battle/game , ( playing from the Axis side perspective), is that it can be a bit slow going in parts but will stretch your nerves taut in a first playthrough.
Wintry landscape has it's charm and with most games ....you get what you put in and are willing to put in and of course whether you have a specific interest. As mentioned at the start - I had some reservation but was pleasantly surprised by the offering. It's a Grower not a Dunker. You definitely get a sense of what problems Von Paulus had to face and can readily sympathise with his historical position."Jawohl ! "............
They should have timed the Bulge one for 16th December for the actual start date of the battle..............synchronous. 
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. That surprised two American divisional HQ's .........
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...........................It looks interesting though from just loading it up. Thank God for the pause button........that will come in real handy.