The miniature wargames in the past several decades have successfuly done just that. Players buy their forces, roll or place terrain as they feel like it, and have a list of special scenario rules ("SSR"'s if you will) to play with. Now you have a competitive game environment, which, given the point values, is about as close as you are going to get without giving each side the EXACT forces of the same nationality.
Now, some of us still prefer the "historical" scenarios. Playbalance takes a far backseat in this buss...
Since the early 1950's, there has been a small weekly, 40 page booklet format magazine called "Der Landser" in Germany. During that era, former Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe und Kriegsmarine Offiziere wrote down their experiences in ALL theatres of the war. Most are/were mid-level officers, that led their men through engagements they wanted to share.
The original readerbase were mostly X soldiers, but over the decades following these times, the reader base shifted to the pre-Bundeswehr Jugend - especially in the former East Germany. Conscription still being a fact in Germany and all that. Each and every male citizen in Germany (and many females) have served in the Army/Navy/Airforce: an entire nation of soldiers. (Reminds me of the Spartans, when they meet the force of Greeks from the Citystates...)
Anyway, although one must keep in mind that the stories are told with a little personal bias, they are very accurate in the historical context, and the commanders often had intimate knowledge of the units and enemy strengths in these small unit engagements.
There are by now over 2,600 volumes to draw from. First person perspectives from a wide range of services, arena's and conflicts, with plenty of historical data, units and events, from weather to commanders to lucky or unlucky results, and tactics and weapons, abilities, results and why they were or were not successful in an engagement. (I might also add that there is absolutely no mentioning of Jews, Racism, Nazi Propaganda, or any of the persona that where judged guilty in the Nuernmberg trials. It is purely - and often criticised for it - from a "Landsers" perspective. How the individual deal with the immediate situation: brief historical context to the larger picture is given in the foreword.)
But how can any wargame replicate the ability of a dozen men to hold back thousands of Russians for a whole week, and not loose a single man?
Impossible..yet time and time again, the Germans on the eastern front were outnumbered at 10-1 to 100-1 odds or more, and still either held the line or slowed the Russ enough until the attack collapsed. Or the german tank divisions of 4-6 tanks that held back hundreds of russian tanks.
I dont believe that there ever is or ever will be such a thing as "balance" in a war. Both sides might be in the illusion that they have the upper hand, and only then commit their forces, but how can one judge things like that? (Look at that French tank in Stonne 1940 that took 144 hits and destroyed over a dozen german tanks...)
But play-balance and all that is completely un-historical, in my opinion. Let the player re-play history, and see if he can/could do better, given the same forces and situation and assets. Thats why I play ASL.
If I want a fair and well balanced game then I play miniture battles.
Thomas
http://landser.de/cgi-bin/index