Bitwa Warszawska Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
  • Unit Status
  • Warsaw Defenders
  • Card Anatomy
• Game Preparation
• Goal of the Game
• Sequence of Play
• Operational Phase
  • Pillage
  • Command a Unit
  • Attack Markers
  • Play an Akcja (Action) Card
  • Example of the Operational Phase
• Combat Phase
  • Attack Resolution
  • Combat Strength Illustration
  • Moving Attack Markers
• Cleanup Phase
• End of the Game
  • Eliminating the Warsaw Defenders
• Additional Rules
  • Fortifications
  • Flank Attacks
• Variant: Playing a Match for Points
• Summary of Cards
  • Action Cards
  • Combat Cards

Game Components

1. 1 game board with a hexagonal grid.
2. 12 army unit tokens:
   • 6 pentagonal Red Army units.
   • 6 round Polish Army units, including 1 "Obrońcy Warszawy" (Warsaw Defenders) unit.
3. 60 command cards:
   • 30 Red Army cards.
   • 30 Polish Army cards.
4. 24 wooden command markers.
5. 6 two-sided attack markers.
6. 1 wooden time marker.

Order and attack markers are not limited by the physical supply; there should be enough, but in the rare case that they run out, players may improvise as needed with buttons, coins, toothpicks, etc.

Unit Status

Units begin the game in good order, with their name in white letters face up. When a unit loses a combat, it becomes dispersed, and is turned to show its name in black letters.

If a dispersed unit loses a combat, it is eliminated and removed from the game.

Dispersal and removal are both permanent. A dispersed unit never becomes good order, and an eliminated unit never reenters play.

Warsaw Defenders

Both sides of this unit are the same.

The Warsaw Defenders are a unique Polish unit which never moves or attacks. It represents hastily organized volunteer troops defending the capital. The Warsaw Defenders are immediately eliminated and removed from play after losing a combat.

Card Anatomy

• Red Army cards and Polish Army cards have a front and a back. The color and shape show to which army the card belongs.
• A star or eagle means this card can be used to strengthen any of your units.
• A card with Akcja (Action) has special rules, overriding the game's general rules.

Game Preparation

1. Place the board in the center of the table. Choose which player will play which side. Orient the map with its west side near the Polish player and its east side near the Red player.
2. Place all units on the board in their starting positions. (Map spaces are marked to show the starting positions of units.)
3. Shuffle the two command card decks separately. Put the Polish deck on its designated place on the west side of the map, and the Red deck on its place on the east side.
   • The Polish player draws 7 cards from the Polish deck.
   • The Red player draws 10 cards from the Red deck.
   • Note: The cards in a player's hand (whether drawn during setup or during play) are called the player's reserve. Each player's reserve is concealed from their opponent.
4. Place 1 command marker on each unit, except for the Warsaw Defenders. Place the remaining command markers near the board, where both players can easily reach them.
5. The Red player takes 2 additional command markers and places them on freely chosen Red units. One unit can receive both markers, or two different units can each receive one marker.
6. Put the time marker on the first day of the calendar (August 13).
7. Put the Attack markers near the board.

Goal of the Game

Each player has a different goal in the game.

• The Red player's goal is to invade Warsaw, which happens if any Red Army unit enters Warsaw (marked with a red border).
• The Polish player's goal is to smash the attacker's units, forcing the Red troops to retreat before being reinforced by the Southwestern Front. To achieve this, eliminate any 3 Red Army units, or disperse all Red Army units.

If neither player achieves their goal by the end of the fifth (final) round, then victory depends on whether a Red unit occupies Radzymin (northeast of Warsaw, marked with an orange border).

Sequence of Play

The game lasts 5 rounds, each representing a day from August 13–17, 1920. The game continues until one player fulfills their goal, or until the end of the fifth round.

Each round has three phases, which happen in order:

1. Operational phase
2. Combat phase
3. Cleanup phase (which can be skipped in the fifth round)

Operational Phase

Players alternate doing actions. Usually the Red player does the first action, then the Polish player. (Exceptions: see "Broken Cipher" and "Warsaw Defenders" in the Summary of Cards below.)

Possible actions are:

• Pillage (Red player only)
• Command a unit
• Play an Akcja (Action) card
• Pass

When a player is unable or unwilling to do an action, the player passes. A player who passes can no longer do any more actions in this operational phase. The opponent can continue to do actions. When both players have passed, the operational phase ends.

Pillage

The Red player discards 2 command markers from one Red unit and draws 1 card from the Red deck to his reserves.

This action represents Bolsheviks plundering Polish territory.

Note: Only selected units appear in the game from among all those that took part in the battle. The units represented in the game were historically present, but players can create an alternate history, playing cards to assign their troops to formations other than happened in reality.

Command a Unit

The player selects one of their units that has at least one command marker and is not engaged in combat (i.e. it has no attack marker touching it). The unit can receive commands to march and attack:

• March: Discard 1 command token from the unit, then move it to an adjacent empty space. A unit cannot enter a space occupied by another unit.
  • A unit can march more than once in a single action, discarding a command marker for each space it moves.
  • If a unit marches but does not attack, and still has command markers, then it may be activated again in a later action this round.
• Attack: Discard 1 command marker from the unit to attack an adjacent enemy unit. Put an attack marker between these two units to show that the active unit is attacking the other. Attacking ends a unit's actions for the round: it cannot march or attack again this round.

Marching and attacking can both happen in one action. Discard 1 command marker for each space marched, and then discard 1 more to attack an enemy adjacent to the unit's final position.

Any number of command markers may be discarded during one action, but from only one unit. Commanding a different unit is only possible during a different action.

Attack Markers

• When one unit attacks another, place an attack marker between them. The arrow must point from the attacker to the defender.
• The unit being attacked immediately loses all its command markers.
• Engaged units cannot be commanded this round. (They can only wait for their combat to be resolved in the Combat Phase.) But an engaged unit can be attacked by other enemy units.
• When the Red player attacks, place the attack marker with the red side visible; when the Polish player attacks, show the blue side.

Play an Akcja (Action) Card

1. The player plays an Akcja card from their hand, resolving its effect as described on the card.
2. Then the card is discarded next to the board.

Playing an Akcja card does not require command markers.

A list of action cards appears in the Summary of Cards below.

Note: The Warsaw Defenders never receive command markers and so cannot be commanded. Their token has symbols reminding of this.

Example of the Operational Phase

During setup, the commander of the Red Army places 2 additional command markers: 1 marker on the 3rd Cavalry Corps (3 KawKor) and 1 marker on the 3rd Army.

The operational phase of the first round begins.

1. Now the Polish player does the first Polish action. He discards 1 command marker from the 2nd Army to command it to attack the adjacent enemy 3rd Army. A blue attack marker is placed, pointing from the attacking Polish unit to the defending Red unit.
2. Now the Red player does a second action. He discards 2 command markers from the 3 KawKor (Cavalry Corps) to command it to march one space toward Radzymin (the orange space) and then attack the Polish 1st Army in Radzymin. A red attack marker is placed, pointing from the attacking Red unit to the defending Polish unit. The 1st Army had 1 command marker, but since it was attacked, it immediately loses its command marker.
3. Now the Polish player does a second action. He discards the 5th Army's command marker to command it to march northeast.
4. The Red player does the first action. He discards 2 command markers from the 3rd Army to command it to march 2 spaces toward Warsaw. The 3rd Army now has no command markers, so the action must end now, otherwise the 3rd Army could march further or attack.
5. Now the Red player does a third action. He plays an Akcja card from his reserves. The card is "Maneuver". Following the card's instructions, he places 2 command markers on the 16th Army, then immediately commands it to march west twice and then attack the Polish 1st Army. An attack marker is placed on both units, pointing from the attacking Red unit to the defending Polish unit. The Polish 1st Army now has two attacks against it.
6. The Red player may continue to do actions. He next discards one command marker to command the 4th Army to march southwest.
7. Since the Polish player has passed, the Red player can now do another action. But now the Red player decides to pass also. This completes the first round's operational phase. Players proceed to the combat phase.
8. Now the Polish player can do a third action. But the Polish player decides to pass, and thus will do no further actions this round.

Combat Phase

In the combat phase, all attacks are resolved. Usually the Red player chooses which attack to resolve first. (Exceptions: see "Broken Cipher" and "Warsaw Defenders" in the Summary of Cards below.) Any attack marker on the board (whether it is a Red attack or a Polish attack) can be selected to resolve.

After resolving an attack, remove its attack marker from the board. Then the Polish player chooses the next attack to resolve (if any attack markers remain), then the Red player, and so on, alternating until there are no more attack markers on the board.

Attack Resolution

1. Select 4 cards: Each player selects any 4 cards from their reserve. These cards are troops assigned to the player's unit that is fighting in this attack.
   • A player must select 4 cards. If a player has fewer than 4 cards in their reserve, they must use all their cards.
   • A player does NOT have to select cards that match the color of the fighting unit. A player may select cards of a different color, e.g. to conserve matching cards for later use.
2. Hold the cards: Both players hold their selected cards face down, spread in a fan.
3. Draw 1 random card: Each player draws one of the opponent's face-down cards, but does not look at it. The drawn card goes back (unrevealed) into the opponent's reserve. This simulates the chaos of warfare: orders did not always reach troops in time.
   • The defender draws 1 of the attacker's cards, and it returns to the attacker's reserve.
   • The attacker draws 1 of the defender's cards, and it returns to the defender's reserve.
4. Reveal troops and remove mismatched troops: Each player reveals his remaining troop cards.
   • Each player removes their troops with a different color from their army and returns those non-matching cards to their reserve. It may happen that a player has no cards left fighting in this combat!
   • White cards are special: they match every unit's color, and so they always remain when resolving combat. Players do not return white cards to their reserve.
   • The Warsaw Defenders have no color - every card selected by the Polish player for the Warsaw Defenders fights to defend the capital.
5. Add up each player's numbers from their remaining cards in the combat and compare the sums. (If a player has no cards, their sum is 0.) The unit with the highest total strength wins the combat.

Combat Strength Illustration

The illustration on the page shows two sides of a combat with the totals "Combat strength: 2 + 3 + 1 = 6" and "Combat strength: 2 + 1 = 3".

Moving Attack Markers

If one or both units in a declared attack move before their combat is resolved, then move and rotate their attack marker as needed to keep it touching both units, if they are still adjacent. This can happen from playing an "Assault" card, or due to a retreat when resolving a different attack against this defender.

If the two units are no longer adjacent, then remove the attack marker: their combat does not happen.

Example: Defending Radzymin, the Polish 1st Army is under attack by three different Red units. The Red player plays the "Szturm" (Assault) card as his action. This causes the defender to retreat one space, and an attacking unit advances into the defender's space. The Reds decide to advance with their attacking 16th Army. The only possible retreat space for the Polish 1st Army is to the northwest, so the Polish 1st Army moves there, and the Red 16th Army advances into Radzymin.

After the units are moved, the attack marker must be adjusted. The Red 16th Army is still adjacent to the Polish 1st Army, so that attack marker is shifted so it still touches them both. The Polish 1st Army's new location is still adjacent to the attacking KawKor (3rd Cavalry Corps), so the cavalry's attack marker is adjusted to touch them both. But the Polish 1st Army is no longer adjacent to the Red 3rd Army, so the 3rd Army's attack is canceled: that attack marker is removed.

Cleanup Phase

1. Put 1 command marker onto every unit, except the Warsaw Defenders.
   • A unit can have any number of command markers. The more markers a unit has, the more actions it may do.
2. The Polish player draws 3 cards from their deck to their reserves.
3. The Red player draws 2 cards from their deck to their reserves.
4. Advance the time marker to the next day.

Note: After a player's deck runs out, do NOT shuffle their discard pile. The player will not draw more cards.

In the fifth round, skip the cleanup phase.

End of the Game

The game ends immediately if one side fulfills its victory condition:

• The Red player wins immediately if a Red unit enters Warsaw (marked with a red border).
  • The unit can be good order or dispersed.
  • This can happen in the operational phase (as a result of the unit marching) or in the combat phase (after winning an attack against Warsaw and then advancing into Warsaw).
  • Merely eliminating the Warsaw Defenders is not sufficient. A Red unit must still enter Warsaw.
• The Polish player wins immediately if 3 Red units are eliminated, or if all Red units on the map are dispersed.

If neither of those immediate victories happens, then the game ends at the end of the 5th round. Now victory depends on whether a Red unit occupies Radzymin (marked with an orange border):

• If a Red unit is in Radzymin, the Red player wins.
• If a Polish unit is in Radzymin, or it is unoccupied, the Polish player wins.

Modlin (marked with a green border) is a set of fortifications guarding access to Warsaw from the north. It is not part of the victory conditions.

Eliminating the Warsaw Defenders

If the Warsaw Defenders become eliminated, but the Red player does not occupy Warsaw, then starting next round, the player order is changed! From now on, in the operational phase and in the combat phase, the Polish player acts first, then the Red player, alternating as usual.

Additional Rules

During the first game, or if either player is inexperienced, you can play without the following rules.

Fortifications

Most terrain detail on the map (e.g. rivers and towns) does not affect the game. But 3 specific spaces around Warsaw have a game effect: Warsaw, Radzymin and Modlin are all fortified spaces.

When a defending unit is in a fortified space, combat resolution is modified: after players select their 4 cards, the defender selects one of their 4 cards to reveal and set aside (1) before the attacker randomly draws 1 card from the remaining defending cards (2) (which returns to the defender's reserve as usual).

The revealed card cannot be selected by the opponent during the procedure of removing 1 card from the opponent's front units and putting it back into the defender's reserve.

Example of a combat resolution with a fortified defending unit: The Red 16th Army attacks the Polish 1st Army, which is defending Radzymin. Both players select 4 cards from their reserves. The Polish player selects 2 red, 1 white and 1 yellow card to defend. Thanks to the Radzymin fortifications, the Polish player can reveal and set aside one of these four cards, to protect it from being drawn by the Red player. The Polish player reveals the strength 3 red card (1).

From the remaining three Polish cards, the Red player randomly draws one (it happens to be the red 2, but the Red player does not know this) and puts it back into the Polish reserve (2).

The Red player is luckier. Although he does not have the benefit of fortifications letting him protect one card, the Polish player randomly draws a blue card from the Red player's 4 cards. This blue card would not have helped the Reds anyway! The Polish player does not look at the drawn card, but puts it back into the Red reserve (3).

Players now reveal their remaining selected cards.

• Polish strength: The yellow 2 card does not match the 1st Army's color, so it returns to the Polish reserve. The 1st Army's color is red, which matches the red 3 card and the white 1 card (since white matches everything). So the total Polish combat strength is 3 + 1 = 4.
• Red strength: One of the cards is "Doborowe oddziały" (Elite troops), which has a special combat effect to resolve first: each Red card with strength 1 is treated as 3! All three of the cards match the 16th Army's color (green), so they all remain and contribute their strength. The white Revolutionary Regiment has strength 1, but thanks to Elite Troops, its strength becomes 3! So the total Red combat strength is 3 + 2 + 3 = 8.

The Poles lose this combat. The Polish 1st Army becomes dispersed: it is flipped over. Since the attacker won, the defender must retreat away from the attacker, if possible. The only adjacent space which is empty is Modlin, so the 1st Army must retreat to Modlin (4). The attacking Red 16th Army advances into Radzymin (5).

All the cards used in the combat (the Polish 3 and 1, and the Red 3, 2, 1) go to the discard piles near the board. Then each player draws 1 new card from their deck to their reserve.

Combat strength: 3* + 2 + 3 = 8 (* see "Doborowe oddziały" (Elite troops)) Combat strength: 3 + 1 = 4

Flank Attacks

A flank attack is an attack on an unsecured wing of a unit. Some board spaces have red shading, and some do not; this red shading shows from where a given unit can make a flank attack. A given unit can make a flank attack only if it is on an appropriate space:

• When a Polish unit attacks from a space with red shading, and the direction of the attack is northwest, west, or southwest, the attack is a flank attack.
• When a Red unit attacks from a space without red shading, and the direction of the attack is northeast, east, or southeast, the attack is a flank attack.

When a unit makes a flank attack, combat resolution is modified: after players select their 4 cards, the attacker selects one of their 4 cards to reveal and set aside before the defender randomly draws 1 card from the remaining attacking cards (which returns to the attacker's reserve as usual).

Fortifications and flank attacks work similarly. Only a defender can use fortifications, and only an attacker can make a flank attack. In the case of a flank attack against a fortified defender, the defender reveals a card first.

Examples (from the illustrated diagram):

• Attack 1 is not a flank attack: it is a qualifying direction (southeast), but it is not made from a white space.
• Attack 2 is a flank attack: the Polish unit is attacking to the west from a red space.
• Attack 3 is also a flank attack: the Red unit is attacking to the southeast from a white space.
• Attack 4 is a normal attack: the Red unit is attacking from a white space, but it is attacking to the west.
• Attack 5 is also a normal attack: neither the color of the space nor the direction qualify.
• Attack 6 is a flank attack: the Polish unit is attacking to the northwest from a red space.

Variant: Playing a Match for Points

After gaining experience with the basic game, players may enjoy playing a match for points. In this variant, the players will play two games, switching sides, and the Red player scores points after each game. After the match of two games, the player with the most points wins. There are no other rule changes.

After each game, regardless of who won and how, the Red player gains points as follows:

• Red unit in Warsaw: 21 points
• Red unit in Radzymin: 10 points
• Red unit in Modlin: 7 points
• Each Red unit in a space without red shading (other than Warsaw, Radzymin, Modlin): 4 points
• Each Polish unit eliminated (including the Warsaw Defenders): 2 points

Summary of Cards

The card names are printed in Polish with the English translation in brackets.

Action Cards

These cards can be played during the operational phase to apply their effects.

• 13 Eskadra Myśliwska (13th Fighter Escadrille) - Akcja: The Red player reveals 2 cards from their reserve, then discards 2 random cards from the remaining unexposed reserve cards.
• Wsparcie artylerii (Artillery support) - Akcja: Select a Red unit adjacent to a Polish unit. If the Red player does not discard from their reserve a card of the selected unit's color (or white) with strength 2 or more, then the selected unit loses all its command markers and (if good order) becomes dispersed.
  • Note: Armies are eliminated, if already dispersed!
• Zagłuszanie radiostacji (Radio jamming) - Akcja: Move all command markers from one Red unit to another Red unit.
• Złamany szyfr (Broken cipher) - Akcja: Look at 4 random cards from the Red player's reserve. In this round, you pick the first combat to resolve in the combat phase. In the next round, you go first in the operational phase.
• Manewr (Maneuver) - Akcja: Add 2 command markers to one of your units. You may immediately do actions (march, attack) with this unit.
• Na Zachód! (Go west!) - Akcja: Add 3 command markers to any combination of your units (e.g. 1 marker on each of three different units; or 2 on one unit and 1 on another; or 3 on one unit).
• Szturm (Assault) - Akcja: Select a Polish unit (not the Warsaw Defenders) currently marked by a Red attack marker. If possible, the Polish player must immediately retreat the Polish unit 1 space, and the attacking Red unit advances into its space. (If more than one Red unit is attacking the Polish unit, choose one.)

Combat Cards

These cards' effects happen when selected during combat resolution. The card's combat strength is also added as usual!

• Grupa pościgowa (Pursuit group) - During an encircling maneuver, this card has combat strength 5.
• Umocnienia polowe (Field fortifications) - Select one face-up card (of either player) in this battle. (You may choose "Field fortifications" itself.) Return the selected card to its owner's reserve.
• Doborowe oddziały (Elite troops) - In this battle, each Red card with combat strength 1 is treated as combat strength 3.
• Komisarz (Commissar) - In this battle, all Red cards are treated as white: none return to the reserve.
• Okrutna bitwa (Severe fighting) - First disperse each good order unit (of both players) in the battle, then resolve the battle as usual.
  • Note: Armies are eliminated, if already dispersed!