Stalingrad Pocket: The Wehrmacht's Greatest Disaster (1st Edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Unit Types and Counter Examples
  • Scale
  • North
  • Counters
• SP Counter Information
• 1.0 General Special Rules
  • 1.1 Exploit Capable Units
  • 1.2 HQ Unit Special Rules
  • 1.3 Unit Supply
  • 1.4 Effects of being Out of Supply
  • 1.5 Stalingrad Special Rules
• 2.0 German Special Rules
  • 2.1 Alert Units
  • 2.2 Airlift
  • 2.3 Supply Units
  • 2.4 German Airfields
  • 2.5 Hitler's Directive
  • 2.6 German HQ Combat Effects
• 3.0 Soviet Special Rules
  • 3.1 Rocket Units
• 4.0 Basic Scenario Rules
• 5.0 Scenario 1: Introductory Scenario: Race to Kalach
• 5.1 Scenario 2: Wintergewitten (Winter Storm)
• 5.2 Scenario 3: The Stalingrad Pocket
• 6.0 Counter Abbreviations
• Developer's Notes
• German Player's Notes
• Soviet Player's Notes
• Reinforcement Schedules
  • Soviet Reinforcement Schedules — Detailed
  • Soviet Reinforcement Schedules — Quick
  • German Reinforcement Schedules
    • Detailed
    • Quick
• Errata

Introduction

Stalingrad Pocket is a game of the first Soviet winter counteroffensive in 1942. Actions given here formed the Stalingrad pocket which contained the German 6th Army until its eventual destruction in early 1943. The battle shown here was the pivotal event on the Eastern Front and, arguably, the turning point of the war in Europe as a whole.

Unit Types and Counter Examples

Scale

Each turn represents 2 days, each hex 5.5 Kilometers. Units come in an assortment of sizes from battalion through division.

North

The North Arrow on the game map shows the actual direction of geographical north. For the sake of convenience, we define the following directions on the map as equating the cardinal directions. When the map is placed with the city of Stalingrad at the top and away from the player, North is the left edge, South the right edge, East towards the top, and West towards the player (or bottom).

Counters

The German player controls all German, Rumanian, and Luftwaffe units. The Soviet player controls all Soviet, Guards, and Soviet Naval Infantry units.

SP Counter Information

Unit Type Symbols: Infantry, Armored Infantry, Motorized Infantry, Armor, Assault Gun, Cavalry, Alert Unit, Motorcycle.

Counter Colors: Germans: Field Grey. Rumanians: Orange-Brown. Luftwaffe: Grey-Blue. Soviets: Brown Drab. Guard Units: Red. Soviet Naval Infantry: Light Blue. The colors inside the unit symbols identify the units of Soviet Armies and German Corps.

An HQ counter shows Supply Range and Movement Allowance. A Rocket Artillery counter shows Barrage Strength. An Air Base counter shows Attack Strength, Defense Strength, and Movement Allowance. A Supply Unit counter shows Supply Range and Movement Allowance.

1.0 General Special Rules

1.1 Exploit Capable Units

The units which are capable of exploitation are marked with a yellow tag on the counter.

1.2 HQ Unit Special Rules

1.2a HQ units do not count for stacking and have no ZOCs.

1.2b HQ units must remain on road, railroad, or track hexes. If forced to retreat off these features they are destroyed.

1.2c HQs have a defense-only combat factor of 2.

1.2d HQ supply ranges are given in terms of HEXES (not MPs) with the following exception: when tracing along a road, railroad or track, each hex counts as 1/2.

1.3 Unit Supply

1.3a Germans. With the exception of Alert units, German and Rumanian unit supply is handled as follows: The player must be able to trace a supply line of any length to a supply source.

1.3b Soviets and German Alert Units. These units must be within range to trace to an appropriate HQ, and the HQ must trace via road, track or railroad hexes or any length to a supply source. HQs trace to the units. The supply range of the HQ unit is given on the counter in terms of HEXES (not MPs) with the following exception: when tracing along a road, railroad or track, each hex counts as 1/2. Note that supply is handled the same for German Alert Units and Soviet units, the differences being the map edge traced to and the color of the uniforms of the people in the HQ. Supply line hex counting from an HQ using the "road rate" ignores bridge and pontoon features.

1.3c German Supply Sources. Any Western map-edge road, railroad or track hex, or a Supply Unit.

1.3d Soviet Supply Sources. Any Eastern or Northern map-edge road, railroad or track hex.

1.4 Effects of being Out of Supply

Units which are determined to be out of supply:

• ...have half their printed Movement Allowance available,
• ...have half their printed Combat Value in attack and defense.

1.5 Stalingrad Special Rules

The Major City hexes of Stalingrad itself are eligible for the following special rules:

1.5a There is no stacking limit in these hexes, except that only a total of three full-strength units can count for combat in the hex.

1.5b Retreat results for defenders in Stalingrad hexes may be ignored.

1.5c Each Stalingrad hex has a holding box associated with it in order to eliminate congestion in these hexes. Units in these holding boxes are considered to be in the corresponding Stalingrad hex for all intents and purposes.

2.0 German Special Rules

2.1 Alert Units

Certain reinforcements for the German player come in the form of Alert Infantry Battalions. These units may be placed in any hex adjacent to the Chir River which can currently trace a supply line of any length to a Western map-edge road, track or railroad hex. These units are supplied differently than other German units, see 1.3b.

2.2 Airlift

2.2a Each turn until an "Airlift Suspend" comes into effect, the German player rolls on the Airlift Table at the beginning of the Supply Phase. One or more Supply Units may then become available for placement on either of the German Airbase units and these supply units are placed immediately after their availability is determined. If the airbases are no longer available, the supply units may not be placed. Any number of supply units may be brought on at one airbase.

2.2b An "airlift suspend" occurs when Hitler's Directive is violated. A suspension lasts for the remainder of the game.

2.3 Supply Units

Supply units which are brought onto the map at German airbases may be used as supply sources for any number of Axis units.

2.3a They are automatically destroyed if a Soviet unit enters their hex and have no defense or ZOC of their own. Supply units may not be "attacked" by units which are adjacent to them; they are instantly destroyed when an enemy unit enters their hex. Supply units in a hex containing other units which are attacked are automatically destroyed if the defending units are destroyed or are forced to retreat.

2.3b Supply units have a movement allowance of 3, do not count for stacking, have no ZOCs, and are restricted in that they may only move in road, track or railroad hexes.

2.3c Axis units which can trace a supply path of no more than 5 HEXES (not MPs, with the following exception: when tracing along a road, railroad or track, each hex counts as 1/2) to a supply unit may use that unit to be considered to be in supply, however, if any unit uses the supply unit for this purpose, the supply unit is considered expended and removed from play. [It is best to save them up for when you really need them.] Note: The German player is never required to expend supply units to keep his units in supply. He may voluntarily leave units out of supply so as to save on supply units for the future. The supply unit is removed from the map at the moment of expenditure.

2.4 German Airfields

The two German airfields only serve as entry points for supply units. They have the defense strength as listed and are affected by supply as any other unit. They may never move and if called on to retreat, they are destroyed. They do not count for stacking. Airfields have no ZOCs.

2.5 Hitler's Directive

Hitler, in the Spartan comfort of East Prussia, has decided that Stalingrad must be held to the last man. He has directed that the German 51st Corps and all its subunits must remain within the colored 51st Corps Zone on the game map. Note that the color inside the unit symbol of 51st Corps units matches their zone's color. At any point in the game, the German player may elect to violate this order. When he does so, the German Airlift is immediately suspended for the rest of the game and cannot be reinstated. If the German player finds that 51st Corps units are involuntarily pushed out of zone by Soviet actions or accident, the airlift suspension still occurs. [Have a nice day!]

2.6 German HQ Combat Effects

If a German HQ is stacked with any unit which is either defending or part of an attack, the German player receives one column shift in his favor. HQs alone in a hex do not get the advantage of this shift.

3.0 Soviet Special Rules

3.1 Rocket Units

3.1a A large number of Katyusha Rocket units are available for fire on turn one. These units must be expended on turn one's Soviet Barrage Phase. All rocket units (which fire or not) are removed from the map at the end of the Barrage Phase. These units attack enemy units adjacent to them using the Barrage Table. Each rocket unit may participate in one firing and any number of rockets may engage the same target. The execution of these fires occurs in a Barrage Phase which is conducted before the regular game begins. This pre-game Barrage Phase is the only one of its kind in the game. It only occurs prior to game turn 1 in scenarios one and three.

3.1b Each rocket unit has a single barrage value. Barrage factors directed against a given target hex are totaled and this total determines the column used on the Barrage Table. Terrain has no effect on rocket barrage resolution. A given hex may only be barraged once.

3.1c Rocket units do not count for stacking and any number may be in a single hex.

4.0 Basic Scenario Rules

4.0a The Soviet player-turn is always first.

4.0b The German player always sets up first.

4.0c Set ups given as "Area 1" mean that the given units may set up in any of the hexes containing the Area 1 marker.

4.0d Reinforcements appear in the given entry hex during the appropriate player's Movement Phase and are considered to be in supply for the coming turn.

4.0e A unit description followed by "[e]" means that the unit described must be capable of exploitation movement.

4.0f Units may not set up in violation of the stacking rules.

4.0g Should an entry hex be blocked by enemy units (such units must occupy or have an EZOC in the entry hex), reinforcements scheduled for that entry hex may enter up to 10 hexes from their designated entry hex along the map edge.

5.0 Scenario 1: Introductory Scenario: Race to Kalach

This scenario is given as an introduction to both this game and the SCS. It is very short yet it allows players to use the full gamut of game and series rules.

First Turn: 1. Last Turn: 3. Game Length: 3 turns. Map Area Used: All hexes north of 31.xx (inclusive).

German Set Up — Detailed: Area 1: R1 Corps. Area 2: R2 Corps. Area 3: R5 Corps. Area 4: R4 Corps. Area 5: 11 Corps. w/i 2 15.07: 7 Cav Div. w/i 2 17.09: KG v. Op/22 Pz/48. w/i 2 17.13: 1 Pz Div/48. w/i 2 23.21: KG Ludw/14 Pz.

German Set Up — Quick: Area 1: 3x 1-2-5, 1x 0-2-5, 1x 2-2-5, 1x 1-3-5. Area 2: 6x 1-2-5, 1x 2-2-5, 1x 0-2-5, 2x 1-3-5. Area 3: 4x 1-2-5, 1x 1-3-5, 1x 2-2-5. Area 4: 5x 1-2-5, 1x 0-3-5, 1x 3-3-6[e]. Area 5: 2x 2-3-5, 2x 2-4-5, 2x 3-3-5, 2x 3-4-5, 1x 4-4-5. w/i 2 15.07: 1x 2-3-6[e]. w/i 2 17.09: 1x 4-3-9[e]. w/i 2 17.13: 2x 1-2-8[e], 1x 3-2-8[e]. w/i 2 23.21: 1x 4-4-9[e].

Soviet Set Up: 1 Gd Army (less HQ): Area 1, Area 2 and North of the Don River, West of xx.10, inclusive. 5T Army: North & East of Area 3, West of xx.16, inclusive. 21 Army: w/i 2 Don River, East of xx.17, West of xx.20, inclusive. 65 Army (less HQ): North & East of Areas 4 & 5, North of 28.xx to the map edge, inclusive.

Reinforcements: Only those reinforcements for either side which are scheduled for entry in entry hexes A, B, and G are used. Ignore German entries which occur on the map (such as Alert Battalions).

Victory Conditions: Soviet: The Soviet player wins if he exits a total of 20 or more attack strength points south of 31.xx. Such units only count if they are able to pass a supply check at the instant of exit. German: The German player wins if the Soviet player is unable to obtain his victory conditions.

5.1 Scenario 2: Wintergewitten (Winter Storm)

The Stalingrad Pocket has formed. In this scenario, the German player attempts to boldly reopen the supply lines to the 6th Army. This scenario is short and quick to play and examines the desperate attempt by the 4th Panzer Army to cut its way through.

First Turn: 12. Last Turn: 16. Game Length: 5 turns. Map Area Used: All hexes south of 31.xx (inclusive).

Detailed German Set Up: 47.05: 17, 93/1/R6. 48.05: 1/2/R6. 50.06: 6 Pz Div (All). 52.04: 15 LW (All). 52.06: 90, 92/18/R6. w/i 2 56.07: KG Saur/14 Pz, KG Birk, KG Bsff, KG Prus, KG v. Pw. 58.08: 5 Cav Div/R7. 61.10: 5/4/R7. 33.11: 685/336. 34.10: 1x Alert Bn. 34.11: (686, 687)/336. 35.12: 7 LW (All). 37.10: 1x Alert Bn, KG Tsch. 37.11: Adam HQ. 37.12: KG Sbru/14 Pz. 36.12: KG Göbl. 36.13: KG Miko. w/i 51 Corps Area, West of the Volga: 51 Corps (All). 41.30: 20/4 (All). 41.29: (670, 671)/371/4. 41.28: 669/371/4, 523/297/4. 40.26: (522, 524)/297/4. 40.25: (129, 71)/29 Mtrd. 39.25: KG Ludw/14 Pz, 15/29 Mtrd. 38.24: 1 Cav Div/R4. 38.23: 3 Mtrd/14 (All). 37.23: 534/384/11. 36.22: (535, 536)/384/11. 35.23: 672/376/11. 35.24: 673/376/11. 34.24: 767/376/11. 34.25: 132/44/11. 34.26: (131, 134)/44/11. 34.27: 203/76/8. 34.28: (178, 230)/76/8. 35.29: (260, 261)/113/8. 36.29: 268/113/8. 36.30: (92, 120)/60 Mtrd/14. 37.31: 16 Pz/14 (All). 37.32: 94/14 (All). 38.32: (24, KG v.Ed)/24 Pz/14. 39.33: 21/24 Pz/14. 36.27: 1x Supply Unit. 38.27: Pitomnik Fl. P. 38.29: Gumrak Fl. P.

Quick German Set Up: 47.05: 2x 1-2-5. 48.05: 1x 2-3-5. 50.06: 1x 9-8-9[e], 2x 3-4-9[e]. 52.04: 1x 1-3-5, 1x 0-3-5. 52.06: 2x 1-2-5. w/i 2 56.07: 1x 3-2-9[e], 1x 3-3-9[e], 1x 3-2-8[e], 1x 1-2-5, 1x 1-3-5. 58.08: 1x 3-3-6[e]. 61.10: 1x 1-2-5. 33.11: 1x 4-4-5. 34.10: 1x Alert Bn. 34.11: 2x 3-4-5. 35.12: 2x 0-3-5. 37.10: 1x Alert Bn, 1x 1-3-5. 37.11: 1x (4)-6 HQ. 37.12: 1x 2-4-9[e]. 36.12: 1x 1-3-5. 36.13: 1x 1-3-5. w/i 51 Corps Area, West of the Volga: 2x 2-3-9[e], 2x 1-2-5, 2x 1-3-5, 1x 1-2-9[e], 9x 2-3-5, 2x 1-4-5, 2x 2-4-5, 1x 3-3-5. 41.30: 1x 2-2-5, 2x 1-2-5. 41.29: 1x 2-3-5, 1x 2-4-5. 41.28: 1x 2-3-5, 1x 3-3-5. 40.26: 1x 1-2-5, 1x 3-4-5. 40.25: 1x 3-2-9[e], 1x 3-4-9[e]. 39.25: 1x 4-4-9[e], 1x 3-4-9[e]. 38.24: 1x 3-3-6[e]. 38.23: 1x 3-2-9[e], 1x 2-3-9[e], 1x 1-4-9[e]. 37.23: 1x 3-4-5. 36.22: 1x 2-3-5, 1x 3-3-5. 35.23: 1x 3-3-5. 35.24: 1x 2-4-5. 34.24: 1x 2-3-5. 34.25: 1x 4-4-5. 34.26: 1x 3-4-5, 1x 2-4-5. 34.27: 1x 2-3-5. 34.28: 1x 3-3-5, 1x 2-2-5. 35.29: 1x 2-4-5, 1x 2-3-5. 36.29: 1x 2-4-5. 36.30: 1x 1-3-9[e], 1x 2-3-9[e]. 37.31: 1x 4-2-9[e], 1x 2-4-9[e], 1x 4-3-9[e]. 37.32: 1x 2-3-5, 2x 2-2-5. 38.32: 1x 3-2-9[e], 1x 3-4-9[e]. 39.33: 1x 2-3-9[e]. 36.27: 1x Supply Unit. 38.27: 1x 0-2-0 Air Base. 38.29: 1x 0-2-0 Air Base.

Soviet Set Up: Note: Some units set up Out of Supply.

Detailed Soviet Set Up: 47.06: 81/4KK/51. 49.07: 85 Tk Bde/•. 52.08: 302/51. 55.10: 126/51. 56.12: 91/51. 59.14: 61/4KK/51. 61.15: 76/51. 55.17: 13/64. 54.17: 51 Army HQ. 53.18: (17, 61, 62)/13 TK/57. 33.12: (32, 6 Gd)/3 Gd KK/21. 34.12: 5 Gd/3 Gd KK/21. 35.13: 258/65. 35.14: (3 Gd, 7)/7 TK/•. 36.14: (62, 87)/7 TK/•. 37.14: 40 Gd/65. 37.13: 36/4 MK/51. 38.12: 59/4 MK/51. 38.11: (55, 158, 60)/4 MK/51. 38.10: 315/•. 38.17: 5U HQ. 40.20: 300/•. 45.21: 87/•. 51.24: 254/51. w/i 2 34.21: 21 Army HQ, 96/21, 173/24, 277/21, 293/21, 298/24, 304/65, 5 Gd/•. w/i 2 32.25: 65 Army HQ, 10 Gd/•, 9 Gd/•, 91/65, 27 Gd/65, 23/65, 24/65, 214/24, 233/24, 252/65. w/i 2 33.30: 24 Army HQ, 49/24, 84/24, 260/24, 273/24. w/i 2 36.33: 66 Army HQ, 64/66, 99/66, 7 Gd/•, 343/66, 299/66, 226/66, 116/66. Area 8: 62 Army (All). w/i 2 43.27: 64 Army HQ, 96/7 SK/64, 166/•, 35/•, 90/57, 66/Naval/64, 143/57, 36 Gd/64, 93/7 SK/64, 97/7 SK/64, 169/57, 29/64, 157/64. w/i 3 40.21: 57 Army HQ, 15 Gd/51, 235/57, 38/64, 120/24, 234/•, 422/57.

Quick Soviet Set Up: 47.06: 1x 4-3-6[e]. 49.07: 1x 4-3-8[e]. 52.08: 1x 3-5-5. 55.10: 1x 3-4-5. 56.12: 1x 2-5-5. 59.14: 1x 4-3-6[e]. 61.15: 1x 0-5-3. 55.17: 1x 4-3-8[e]. 54.17: 1x (3)-2 HQ. 53.18: 3x 4-4-8[e]. 33.12: 1x 3-3-6[e], 1x 5-4-6[e]. 34.12: 1x 5-4-6[e]. 35.13: 1x 3-5-5. 35.14: 1x 5-5-8[e], 1x 2-3-9[e]. 36.14: 2x 4-3-8[e]. 37.14: 1x 4-5-5. 37.13: 1x 4-4-8[e]. 38.12: 1x 4-4-8[e]. 38.11: 2x 2-1-9[e], 1x 4-4-8[e]. 38.10: 1x 2-2-5. 38.17: 1x (4)-3 HQ. 40.20: 1x 3-4-5. 45.21: 1x 2-2-5. 51.24: 1x 4-3-8[e]. w/i 2 34.21: 1x (3)-2 HQ, 1x 3-1-9[e], 1x 2-5-5, 3x 3-5-5, 2x 3-4-5. w/i 2 32.25: 1x (3)-2 HQ, 2x 2-6-5, 2x 3-1-9[e], 1x 2-4-5, 1x 4-3-8[e], 1x 2-5-5, 1x 4-6-5, 1x 3-4-5. w/i 2 33.30: 1x (2)-2 HQ, 3x 3-4-5, 1x 2-5-5. w/i 2 36.33: 1x (2)-2 HQ, 2x 2-5-5, 1x 3-1-9[e], 2x 2-4-5, 1x 3-4-5, 1x 2-6-5. Area 8: 1x (2)-1 HQ, 1x 2-6-5, 1x 2-4-5, 1x 2-5-5, 2x 1-3-5, 1x 2-1-8[e], 1x 0-3-5, 2x 0-4-5, 2x 1-4-5. w/i 2 43.27: 1x (2)-2 HQ, 1x 3-5-5, 1x 2-2-5, 2x 3-4-5, 1x 5-7-5, 3x 2-3-5, 2x 2-1-9[e], 1x 4-3-8[e], 1x 2-5-5. w/i 3 40.21: 1x (3)-2 HQ, 1x 5-6-5, 1x 3-2-8[e], 3x 3-5-5, 1x 2-1-9[e].

Reinforcements — Soviet: The following are the only Soviet reinforcements, the Reinforcement Schedule is not used for the Soviets in this scenario. Soviet reinforcements enter the play area via 31.13. Turn 15: 2 Gd HQ (1x (4)-2 HQ), 2 Gd MK (3x 5-5-8[e], 1x 3-2-9[e], 1x 2-1-9[e]), 13 Gd SK (1x 3-5-5, 2x 5-7-5). Turn 16: 1 Gd SK (1x 3-5-5, 2x 5-7-5).

Reinforcements — German: German reinforcements as per the German Reinforcement Schedule except that only reinforcements scheduled for entry area E are used.

Victory Conditions: For this scenario, a Land Bridge is defined as a path, free of Soviet units and their ZOCs which, except for no more than 5 hexes, is road, railroad, or track. A land bridge must connect the given objective with the west map edge.

German Major Victory: A land bridge is open to Stalingrad and all hexes of the city are still held by the Germans.

German Minor Victory: A land bridge is open to at least half the remaining 6th Army units (those that begin in the pocket, but two or more hexes of Stalingrad have been retaken by the Soviets).

Soviet Minor Victory: A land bridge does not exist to either Stalingrad or half the remaining units of the 6th Army.

Soviet Major Victory: Same as the Minor Soviet Victory conditions plus Soviet units exist in two or more hexes of Stalingrad.

5.2 Scenario 3: The Stalingrad Pocket

This scenario covers the entire battle from November 19th to December 20th, 1942 in 16 turns.

First Turn: 1. Last Turn: 16. Game Length: 16 turns. Map Area Used: All.

Detailed German Set Up: w/i 51 Corps Area, west of the Volga: 51 Corps. Area 1: R1 Corps. Area 2: R2 Corps. Area 3: R5 Corps. Area 4: R4 Corps. Area 5: 11 Corps. Area 6: 8 Corps. Area 7: 14 Corps. Area 9: 4 Corps. Area 10: 2 Inf Div/R6 Corps. Area 11: 18 Inf Div/R6 Corps. Area 12: 1 Inf Div/R6 Corps. Area 13: R7 Corps. w/i 2 15.07: 7 Cav Div. w/i 2 17.09: KG v. Op/22 Pz/48 Pz. w/i 2 17.13: 1 Pz Div/48 Pz. w/i 2 23.21: KG Ludw/14 Pz. 38.29: Gumrak Fl. P. 38.27: Pitomnik Fl. P. w/i 2 40.20: 29 Mtrd. w/i 2 40.16: (KGs v. Br., Sbru)/14 Pz. 47.17: KG Saub. 53.18: KG Saur/14 Pz.

Quick German Set Up: w/i 51 Corps Area, west of the Volga: 2x 2-3-9[e], 2x 1-2-5, 2x 1-3-5, 1x 1-2-9[e], 9x 2-3-5, 2x 1-4-5, 2x 2-4-5, 1x 3-3-5. Area 1: 3x 1-2-5, 1x 0-2-5, 1x 2-2-5, 1x 1-3-5. Area 2: 6x 1-2-5, 1x 2-2-5, 1x 0-2-5, 2x 1-3-5. Area 3: 4x 1-2-5, 1x 1-3-5, 1x 2-2-5. Area 4: 5x 1-2-5, 1x 0-3-5, 1x 3-3-6[e]. Area 5: 2x 2-3-5, 2x 2-4-5, 2x 3-3-5, 2x 3-4-5, 1x 4-4-5. Area 6: 2x 2-3-5, 2x 2-4-5, 1x 3-3-5, 1x 2-2-5. Area 7: 2x 3-2-9[e], 3x 2-3-9[e], 1x 1-4-9[e], 1x 3-4-9[e], 1x 2-4-9[e], 1x 1-3-9[e], 1x 4-2-9[e], 1x 4-3-9[e], 2x 2-2-5, 1x 2-3-5. Area 9: 1x 3-4-5, 3x 1-2-5, 1x 2-2-5, 1x 3-3-5, 2x 2-3-5, 1x 2-4-5. Area 10: 1x 2-3-5, 1x 1-2-5, 1x 0-2-5. Area 11: 3x 1-2-5. Area 12: 3x 1-2-5, 1x 2-2-5. Area 13: 1x 3-3-6[e], 1x 2-2-6[e], 2x 1-2-5, 1x 0-2-5. w/i 2 15.07: 1x 2-3-6[e]. w/i 2 17.09: 1x 4-3-9[e]. w/i 2 17.13: 2x 1-2-8[e], 1x 3-2-8[e]. w/i 2 23.21: 1x 4-4-9[e]. w/i 2 40.20: 2x 3-4-9[e], 1x 3-2-9[e]. 38.29: 1x 0-2-0 airbase. 38.27: 1x 0-2-0 airbase. w/i 2 40.16: 1x 1-3-9[e], 1x 2-4-9[e]. 47.17: 1x 1-2-5. 53.18: 1x 3-2-9[e].

Soviet Set Up: 1 Gd Army (less HQ): Area 1, Area 2 and/or North of the Don River, West of xx.10, inclusive. 5T Army: North & East of Area 3, West of xx.16, East of xx.10, inclusive. 21 Army: w/i 2 Don River, East of xx.17, West of xx.20, inclusive. (North of and excluding all German Set Up Zones.) 65 Army (less HQ): North & East of Areas 4 & 5, North of 28.xx to the map edge, inclusive. 24 Army (less HQ): East of Area 6, inclusive, to the map edge. 66 Army (less HQ): East of Area 7, inclusive, to the map edge. 62 Army: Area 8 or any hex East of the Volga River. 64 Army: East & South of Area 9, inclusive, w/i 2 of Area 9. 57 Army: East of Area 10, North of 50.xx, South of 43.xx, inclusive. 51 Army: East of Area 11 & 12, West of map edge and the Volga, South of 49.xx, inclusive.

Reinforcements: As per the main Reinforcement Schedules.

Victory Conditions: The victory conditions here represent the two diametrically opposed forces of pure military requirements and the twisted political requirements of Hitler's Third Reich. Strictly speaking, to win a political victory requires the holding of Stalingrad, regardless of the cost — which may very well give the German player victory by setting the stage for a disaster of mind-numbing proportions! So, instead of giving the German player victory by allowing himself to be destroyed, the following was adopted:

Massive German Victory: If the German player has lost fewer than 90 units, and occupies two or more hexes of Stalingrad, he is given the next higher order of the Knight's Cross, promoted to Field Marshal and enjoys the rest of the war. (Probably, you'll get shot later for some other trivial reason, but that is not in the scope of this game.)

Minor German Victory: If the German player has lost fewer than 90 units, but does not occupy at least 2 hexes of Stalingrad, he is summoned to Berlin and retired in disgrace. He lives out the war and writes memoirs blaming Hitler for everything that went wrong in the German war effort.

Minor Soviet Victory: If the German player holds two or more hexes of Stalingrad and between 90 and 110 German units are lost, congratulations — you have duplicated the historical result! You will be promoted to field marshal in hopes that you will commit suicide. If you do so, you will be made a hero of the Reich. If not, you will be disgraced, spend 10-20 years in a Soviet work camp, and after repatriation, you can still write the book mentioned above.

Major Soviet Victory: If the German player does not hold 2 hexes of Stalingrad and German losses are greater than 90, or German losses are 110 or more (but not both, see below).

Massive Soviet Victory: If the German player does not occupy at least 2 Stalingrad hexes and at least 110 German losses occurred, the Führer summons you to Berlin where you will be shot by the Gestapo as a traitor. Your family will get a two and a half year tour of the latest in concentration camp technology.

Shift one level of Victory in the Soviet favor if the Soviet Player occupies all hexes of entry area G.

Shift one additional level of Victory in the Soviet favor if the Soviet Player also occupies all hexes of entry area F.

When adding counters for victory, all counters count as one — including airfields, alert battalions, etc. No bonus points are awarded for particular kinds of units.

Note: German units are counted as lost if: A. They are in the dead pile. B. They are out of supply at the end of the game. Or, C. They are unable to trace an overland route to the west map edge, of which all but 5 hexes must be road or track.

6.0 Counter Abbreviations

Pz: Panzer. Mtrd: Motorized Infantry. J: Jäger. KG: Kampfgruppe (Task Force). LW: Luftwaffe Field Division. Ur. z.: Urlauberzüge (Returned Leave Personnel). Be. h.: Baueinheiten (Construction unit). Es. b.: Eisenbahner (Railroad workers). Vg. d.: Versorgungsdienste (Service troops). BdLW: Bodenpersonal der Luftwaffe (Luftwaffe ground elements). Fl. P.: Flugplatz (Airfield). R: Rumanian.

Gd: Guards. SK: Strelkovyi Korpus (Rifle Corps). KK: Kavaleriiskii Korpus (Cavalry Corps). MK: Mekhanizirovannyi Korpus (Mechanized Corps). TK: Tankovyi Korpus (Tank Corps). VPU: Vinnitsa Infantry School. OPA: Independent Machine-Artillery. UR: Area Defense Division.

Leaders of Kampfgruppen: Birk: Birkenbiehl. Bsff: Bischoff. Göbl: Göbel. Ludw: Ludwig. Miko: Mikosch. Saub: Sauber. Saur: Sauvant. Sbru: Sauerbruch. Seyd: Seydel. Tsch: Tschökell. v. Br: von Brese. v. Op: von Oppeln. v. Pw: von Pannwitz. Wnck: Wenck.

Developer's Notes

This game dropped like a gift from heaven from nowhere a couple of days after I was released from the my first hospital stay after my accident. It had it all — counters, the best hand-done map I've ever seen, a little rule book done in Avalon Hill style. At the time, slightly preoccupied as it were, I put the game aside with the intention to look at it after the dust settled a bit. Two or three months later (after a couple more surgeries and much physical therapy) I was finally able to set it up and give it a shot. I had a good time playing it, but a number of strong flaws became apparent. While that play (using the original rules) was a bust, but showed me that there was much potential in the game and that the research was first rate. So, I wrote to Masahiro and got his permission to develop it as an SCS game.

The actual conversion went very fast. The basic rules were already written. In general, Masahiro's special rules were just fine. The different turn sequence required an adjustment to movement rates. All of this was very easy to accomplish.

The original system used a "you move, I move, you move again" type of system and had a differential based combat system. While the turn sequence was sluggish and time consuming, the biggest problem was combat. I found that all combats I was doing maxed out the table. I looked in vain for some sort of governor in the original rules — stacks attack separately, only so many units, etc. — but there was none. The transition to a regular odds table was a great help.

Playtesting quickly fixed the few special rules problems which existed. The series rules worked like a charm. The problem turned out to be victory conditions more than anything else. In the first playtest, Dave Powell ditched Stalingrad on the first turn and formed a line tightly against the west map edge. He was looking at only a military form of victory — save the army. The integration of political and military elements was the most difficult. In its final form, victory requires the German player to hold Stalingrad while keeping losses to a very low level. The pocketed Germans are counted as dead because, very simply, if they aren't at the end of the game, they soon will be. This concept led to a number of discussions with the playtesters about victory and the effects of the "post-game world" on it. Play couldn't ignore what was going to happen after the game. After much discussion and thrashing about, a synthesis of political and military goals was hit upon which you see here. A player cannot ignore one or the other of them and come out on top — he must pay attention to both as best he can. There is no other substitute.

I've had a lot of fun working on this game. The bulk of the time spent on it has been in actually playing the thing. I hope players enjoy this game as much as we did in developing it.

German Player's Notes

Before you give up on turn one, ALL IS NOT LOST. Turn one always looks bad from the German angle (unless the Soviet player is truly inept). You must salvage what you can, form mobile groups, and start counterattacking (carefully, against well-chosen targets).

The Soviet player has two weak spots — his fragile spearheads and HQs. Quality German play requires good, well reasoned counterattacks against targets of opportunity (weakly held hexes and out of supply units). The easiest way to cripple the Soviet attack is to destroy his HQs (if you can pull it off). Once his units are out of supply, destroying them becomes very easy.

The Soviet spearheads are fairly fragile — he has a limited number of good units and once they're wrecked, his offensive will grind to a halt. Trying to hold him back by slipping units in his way is not a very good plan, nor is attacking these spearhead units directly. Your best bet is to take out the HQs. Second best is to allow him to out run the HQs (easy to do if he isn't very careful) and then cut up the spearheads.

Note that since his HQs are stuck to roads, the available axes of advance are limited and obvious. You can use that fact against him if you are careful.

The major rivers on the map are your allies. Figure out how to use them.

Always remember your victory is casualty driven, meaning don't waste units in stupid low odds attacks. The German player must behave in the fashion of a surgeon, not a butcher.

Keep mobile reserves. The best way to do this is to run up, make a strong attack against something, and then reconsolidate the reserve in the Exploitation Phase. This works if the attack is well chosen such that the defender is gone at the end of it and the mobile units are no longer in a ZOC after it is over — thereby allowing them to move in the Exploitation Phase. Under no circumstances should you try to maintain a map edge to map edge line in front of the Soviets. Certain key lines must be held, but allow him the rope to hang himself. If he has a hole and he goes dashing ahead at full speed, he'll outrun his HQs — which is good for you.

The decision to move the 51st Corps out of its Stalingrad position must be carefully weighed. Moving them out will give some good units to use, but will cut off the airlift supplies. Doing this is a radical step as any out of supply units are counted as dead at the end of the game — you'd better be sure your not going to get pocketed before making this drastic choice. Only players who are comfortable playing the Germans in this game should make this choice before, say, turn 8. Expert players may want to do so on the first turn. It will probably be best to avoid making this step before you have become familiar with both the game and its flow, so that you'll fully understand what you are getting yourself into.

In summation, playing the Germans in this game is not for the meek. You must be able to steel yourself to high losses, take risks, and perform counterattacks with almost surgical precision — and always keeping yourself from being ensnared in his webs to save units for the future. Be aggressive and be careful. Its a difficult balancing act. Have fun.

Soviet Player's Notes

Just because you have a juggernaut, don't start thinking your job is any easier than the German player's! You can afford losses that would make the German turn white, but your "good" units are few and losses in them will begin to hurt earlier than you might think.

Let's look at your objectives. To do the best in this game, you must kill or cut off (and make out of supply) as many Germans as possible. Generally speaking, it is easier to kill Germans than to get them out of Stalingrad, so unless the German hands it to you on a silver platter, you will probably have to be satisfied with no more than a Major Victory. After you have him pocketed, and have killed great numbers of Gray-Green Fascist Slugs, then and only then should you devote any attention to actually taking Stalingrad hexes.

You will find that pocketing a wiley German is harder than it looks. Closing the jaws of your two pincers will become more and more difficult as you advance. Here is where you will find out how quickly your strong units are blunted. Your advance should be tied to the movement rate of your HQs. Slow as they might be, almost anything is better than watching the spearhead get out of supply and destroyed in counterattacks. Keeping the reins tight is important.

Of the two pincers, the southern one is the weaker. A quality German may "run away" in the north (bottling up your strong Northern pincer behind the Don and Chir Rivers) and proceed to dismember the south. Care must be taken to keep the German from occupying the two Area D hexes south of the Volga. With these two hexes cut off, the entire southern pincer will be out of supply and stranded. You must never ignore the potential problems which can be caused by the Rumanian Cavalry units on your far left. Nazi mech units over there could be an even bigger menace. These units could slip around your flank and harass either the entry hexes or the roads leading to them. Either way, they could severely disrupt your offensive if you attempt to ignore them.

The northern pincer must be carefully managed to avoid expending energy in unneeded directions. If a potential attack isn't absolutely needed by the main attack, don't do it and look for something better. Watch out where the offensive is headed — the limited number of good roads makes route selection very important. Pushing the wrong way will delay the real effort and expend energy where it will do nothing but dissipate.

Once you have him pocketed, do not bother to attack him. The pocketed units (less some due to air lift supplies) are as good as dead. Attacking will only cause Soviet casualties. It is better to strip the line of the pocket to be prepared for any attempts at a "break-in" by reinforcements — some of which are very mean panzer units.

Carefully guard your HQs. They are worth their weight in gold — a couple of HQ losses and your offensive will grind to a halt. Always stack the HQ with something. Panzer units like nothing better than to go behind your lines and destroy HQs which are unguarded.

Learn and study the value of overrun attacks. Especially in the early part of the game, these can be used to great effect. Do not, however, do them willy-nilly — your good unit fragility will come back to haunt you.

You have an easier job than does the German, but don't let this lull you into a false sense of security. If it does, a skillful German will dance rings around you.

Reinforcement Schedules

The Reinforcement Schedules for each side are given as "Detailed" (by unit ID) and "Quick" (by unit values). Either table can be used without changing the play of the game at all.

Soviet Reinforcement Schedules — Detailed

• Turn 1: Area A: 1Gd Army HQ. Area B: 65 Army HQ.
• Turn 2: Area C: 24 Army HQ, 66 Army HQ. Area D: 300 Inf Div.
• Turn 3: Area A: 1GdMK.
• Turn 4: Area B: 148 Tk Bde. Area D: 85 Tk Bde.
• Turn 5: Area D: 35 Tk Rgt, 166 Tk Rgt.
• Turn 6: Area B: 64 Tk Bde.
• Turn 7: Area C: 87 Inf Div. Area D: 41 Tk Rgt, 234 Tk Rgt.
• Turn 8: Area B: 315 Inf Div. Area D: 139 Tk Rgt, 189 Tk Rgt.
• Turn 9: Area B: 6 Gd, 8 Gd, 9 Gd Tk Rgts. Area D: 198 Tk Rgt.
• Turn 10: Area B: 5 MK. Area D: 115 Inf Bde, 149 Inf Bde.
• Turn 11: Area B: 5U Army HQ, 7 TK. Area C: 5 Gd, 7 Gd, 10 Gd Tk Rgts.
• Turn 12: Area A: 90 Inf Bde, 94 Inf Bde, 114, 119, 243 Tk Rgts.
• Turn 13: Area C: 2 Gd Army HQ, 1 GdSK, 13 GdSK.
• Turn 14: Area C: 2 GdMK.

Soviet Reinforcement Schedules — Quick

• Turn 1: Area A: 1x (4)-2 HQ. Area B: 1x (3)-2 HQ.
• Turn 2: Area C: 2x (2)-2 HQ. Area D: 1x 3-4-5.
• Turn 3: Area A: 2x 3-1-9[e], 3x 5-5-8[e].
• Turn 4: Area B: 1x 4-3-8[e]. Area D: 1x 4-3-8[e].
• Turn 5: Area D: 2x 2-1-9[e].
• Turn 6: Area B: 1x 4-3-8[e].
• Turn 7: Area C: 1x 2-5-5. Area D: 2x 2-1-9[e].
• Turn 8: Area B: 1x 2-5-5. Area D: 2x 2-1-9[e].
• Turn 9: Area B: 3x 3-1-9[e]. Area D: 1x 2-1-9[e].
• Turn 10: Area B: 2x 2-1-9[e], 3x 4-4-8[e]. Area D: 1x 2-3-5, 1x 2-2-5.
• Turn 11: Area B: 1x (4)-3 HQ, 2x 4-3-8[e], 1x 2-3-9[e], 1x 5-5-8[e]. Area C: 3x 3-1-9[e].
• Turn 12: Area A: 2x 2-3-5, 3x 2-1-9[e].
• Turn 13: Area C: 1x (4)-2 HQ, 4x 5-7-5, 2x 3-5-5.
• Turn 14: Area C: 3x 5-5-8[e], 1x 2-1-9[e], 1x 3-2-9[e].

German Reinforcement Schedules

Important: German Alert Battalions always arrive on any hex adjacent to the Chir River.

Detailed

• Turn 2: w/i 2 37.10: Adam HQ, KG Tsch, KG Göbl, KG Miko. 2x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 3: Area G: 294 Inf Div. Area E: KG Prus, KG Birk. w/i 2 24.01: Stmpfld HQ. w/i 3 35.07: Spang HQ. 3x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 4: Area G: 62 Inf Div. Area E: KG Bsff, KG v. Pw. 4x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 5: Area G: 48 Pz Corps HQ, KG Wnck. 5x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 6: Area F: 7 LW Feld Div. w/i 2 33.08: Stahel HQ. 4x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 7: Area F: 8 LW Feld Div. 3x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 8: Area F: 11 Panzer Div, 336 Inf Div. Area G: 17 Corps HQ. 2x Alert Battalions. 2x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 9: 2x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 10: Area E: 6 Panzer Div.
• Turn 11: Area E: 15 LW Feld Div.
• Turn 12: Area E: 23 Panzer Div.
• Turn 14: Area E: 17 Panzer Div.

Quick

• Turn 2: w/i 2 37.10: 1x (4)-6 HQ, 3x 1-3-5. 2x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 3: Area G: 2x 3-4-5, 1x 2-4-5. Area E: 1x 1-3-5, 1x 1-2-5. w/i 2 24.01: 1x (2)-6 HQ. w/i 3 35.07: 1x (3)-6 HQ. 3x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 4: Area G: 1x 2-3-5, 1x 3-4-5, 1x 3-3-5. Area E: 1x 3-2-8[e], 1x 3-3-9[e]. 4x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 5: Area G: 1x (4)-9 HQ, 1x 2-1-9[e]. 5x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 6: Area F: 2x 0-3-5. w/i 2 33.08: 1x (3)-6 HQ. 4x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 7: Area F: 1x 0-2-5, 1x 0-3-5. 3x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 8: Area F: 1x 4-4-5, 2x 3-4-5, 1x 7-8-9[e], 1x 4-4-9[e], 1x 4-3-9[e]. Area G: 1x (4)-9 HQ. 2x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 9: 2x Alert Battalions.
• Turn 10: Area E: 1x 9-8-9[e], 2x 3-4-9[e].
• Turn 11: Area E: 1x 1-3-5, 1x 0-3-5.
• Turn 12: Area E: 1x 6-5-9[e], 1x 2-4-9[e], 1x 3-4-9[e].
• Turn 14: Area E: 1x 7-6-9[e], 1x 3-4-9[e], 1x 3-3-9[e].

Errata

The following errata to the 1st Edition rulebook was published by The Gamers, Inc. (5-01 Stalingrad Pocket I, before 6 Dec 94):

1. The German supply rules imply that one can trace an unlimited distance to a supply source and then proceeds to define the map edge and supply units as supply sources. In the latter case, the distance is limited by the supply range of the supply unit.
2. The bottom Stalingrad Holding Box refers to hex 41.30, not 41.29 as printed.
3. The Supply Summary on the map incorrectly limits the Soviet Supply source to the East map edge. Rule 1.3d is more correct, the Soviets can trace off the East or North map edges.
4. The two German airfields may never be involved in an attack and may never be used to absorb step losses for the attacking side.
5. Yes, that's a Rumanian Panzer Division. The German 1st Panzer is up in AGC's sector.
6. CHANGE: Soviet units must use the HQ of their historical designation for supply purposes. Reinforcements may draw from any Soviet HQ. HQs which do not have units assigned to them may only be used to supply reinforcement units. Units whose HQ is destroyed are perpetually out of supply. German HQs may supply any alert unit and are not subject to this rule.
7. The German 20th Infantry Division should be Rumanian.
8. In scenario 2, the German supply unit which is to set up in hex 36.27, should be in hex 38.27. Also, 524/297/4 should be in hex 40.27, not 40.26.
9. German units which begin scenario 2 pocketed are out of supply at the beginning of that scenario (even though they have not yet had a Supply Phase).
10. German HQs, unlike Soviet ones, are allowed to move off roads. Soviet HQs must remain on road features.
11. The Soviet Naval infantry "divisions" should be brigades.