(November-December 1942): Marshal Zhukov's Greatest DefeatForeign Military Studies Office, Fort Leavenworth, KS. Introduction After enduring months of bitter and costly defensive combat at Stalingrad, on 19 November 1942, Red Army forces struck a massive blow against the hitherto triumphant German Army. To the Germans' utter consternation, within one week Soviet forces encircled German Sixth Army in the deadly Stalingrad cauldron. Ten weeks later, the army's tattered remnants surrendered, ending... Read More

Lissa, in the Adriatic, a gateway for commercial shipping for centuries, many battles fought for this strategic Island, many deaths, yet the main one is the clash between Italy and Austria, in 1866 disputes had arisen between the countries, Austria was at war with Prussia, a land war, Italy saw this as a time to strike the weak Austrians and so set out to attack the fortress on the Island itself. Admiral Persano would strike at the Austrian Navy, whilst the task of defeating the fortress fell to... Read More

In the summer of 1941, Adolf Hitler unleashed Operation Barbarossa, sending German forces against the Soviet Union. The Nazi dictator had long considered communism the arch-enemy of his people, and he decided that Germany needed Lebensraum, or living space. Hitler believed that conquering the Soviets was the next step toward German expansion and domination.Turning on his former ally in violation of a nonaggression pact between the two countries, Hitler sent thousands of troops, tanks and aircraf... Read More

Basic Operations Manual: The Operational Art of War can be deceptive. While it seems easy to maneuver units and engage in combat, there is a great deal of complexity involved in determining how to do the basics well, with minimum cost to your forces. It is possible to win the first several battles and still lose the war. How does a player understand this paradox? First, it's necessary to understand the different levels of war. Operations link tactics, the maneuver of forces in the face of the en... Read More

Supply in TOAW is extremely important to effective gameplay. It has a significant effect on Unit Quality, and a critical effect on Unit Combat Strength. Unit QualityUnit Quality has to do with a unit’s ability to continue in the attack, or hold ground without retreating. However, it also affects reorganization on a formation basis. The formula for Unit Quality is run for each individual unit. It’s a weighted average of proficiency and readiness, with proficiency counting twice as muc... Read More

Strategy 1011. Mass: The side that brings in the most combat power on the battlefield is who victory usually goes to. You can fight and win outnumbered, but only with better troops and equipment.2. Maintaining your Objectives: Basicly this means sticking to your orginal plan of action. If you change your objectives you waste time and resources.3. Economy of Force: You will not and don't have the resources to take everything. So you must carefully spread your forces out for the scenario. This doe... Read More

A turn in TOAW is broken down into 10 attack rounds. What round you unit will attack on depends on how far the unit moves before attacking. Optimally you would like to be able to attack an adjacent unit without having to move at all. To get the most out of your 10 rounds in a turn, you need to learn to use the 'Plan an Attack' or PAA screen on TOAW. The PAA screen tells you what round a unit or group of units will attack on. When you order a unit or group of units to attack an enemy unit, the ro... Read More

In this article I'll discuss what I consider to be the paramount TOAW skill, the ability to get multiple movement/combat phases. Master this and you can play with anyone; fail to master it and you will always be at a disadvantage.Recognize that there are two different things that can cause your turn to end:After all combat has been resolved, the program makes a random check against your force proficiency. If that check fails, the turn ends, regardless of how many of the ten combat phases have be... Read More

Playtesting The Bloody Battle of AachenThis is how Matt DeBenedetto describes his scenario. The Bloody Battle of AachenSeptember 10th - 17th, 1944TURNS: 16TURN LENGTH: Half Day TurnsSCALE: 5 km/hexCLIMATE: Northern/CoolPRECIPITATION: ModerateVISIBILITY: Fair NOTE: In human vs. human games, the German player may NOT blow bridges at any time.BACKGROUNDThe Falaise Pocket saw 40,000 German troops taken prisioner and another 10,000 troops lay dead. This put the German's western defense on a hug... Read More

This great game is good playing against the computer, but is even better playing against fellow humans !!To successfully PBEM is quite easy if you follow these instructions :1)Decide which battle you and your opponent wish to fight, if it is a small to medium battle such as France 40 you use the standard start button.If it is a large scenario such as Barbarossa 41 you use the Opart 300 button2) You will be asked to choose a password3)Start the battle make sure you choose the PBEM option by ensur... Read More

Tank Formations The following article details armoured formations on the troop level. These formations are taken from when I was a tank driver, and to the best of my knowledge are still relevant. Each formation is shown below along with a description and pertinent strengths and weaknesses. A squadron is made up of 18 tanks, broken down as follows: 4 troops composed of the troop commander, troop second in command (2i/c), a bravo and charlie call sign. The squadron HQ is made up of the squadron ... Read More

Steel Panthers Historical Set Up GuidelinesIntroduction: For every player of Steel Panthers there is a different opinion on what’s fair, what’ realistic, what’s assumed, what’s required, what’s cheating, and what’s just plain bullshit. A friend of mine is fond of saying, “Put two Grognards in a room and you’ll get three opinions.” These differing opinions frequently lead to misunderstanding in the establishment of SP games that can turn a lei... Read More

BackgroundFrom the start of hostilities on 22 June 1941, the Red Army had undergone stark changes in its composition and its look. For example, so many senior commanders were murdered by the communists in the 1930s, that when the Germans invaded, the Red Army found it did not have enough competent corps commanders to continue with the organization, and the corps structure containing divisions was scrapped for the time being. Corps were eventually resurrected in 1943 in some armies but never beca... Read More

Have you ever targeted a particular enemy unit for an air strike, only to see the aircraft come under fire from anti-aircraft guns or surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and either miss the intended target, get shot down, or make the attack only to be damaged and made unavailable for additional strikes?Just as players should fight with a mix of supporting arms (i.e. artillery, fixed-wing close air support and rotary-wing air support), they should also protect their high-value units (artillery, tanks,... Read More

The more leaders that are involved in the rallying of a unit, the greater the chance that unit will be ready to fight in the upcoming turn. Based on this, it cannot be stressed enough that your platoon be kept within the three hexes necessary for senior leaders to exercise their control.Platoons that have only one unit (the “0” unit) probably contain a senior officer (check the rank by looking at the unit details screen). Ensure that you make use of these senior leaders. Make sure yo... Read More

FacingsI was always a detail guy. When playing tactical wargames, I liked nothing better than to adjust my pieces so that, not only were they tactically positioned, but they were aesthetically placed as well. I was always concerned with the “facing” of a piece. When I started playing Steel Panthers it bothered me somewhat that I couldn’t give my turreted vehicles the turret facings I wanted. I have since learned to mitigate this somewhat.World at War (SPWAW) has done such a fin... Read More

Soviet tactics have remained basically the same since WW2. The Russians still base their tactics on numbers enmasse. The following articles will detail Russian composition and tactics in various situations.Russian Composition On The AdvanceThe recce elements of the Russian army will normally operate, in WAW game terms, 750 to 1500 meters ahead of the main body. The composition of the ADVANCE GUARD will normally consist of recce apc’s, tanks, engineers, and supporting scouts. The ratio of a... Read More

My friend, Lawrence Boehm, was responsible for introducing me to the Engineers many years ago, while playing tactical war games with cardboard chits. He would rave and rail on about how they were the personification of the perfect unit. He would build his entire force on them if he was allowed. Divisions of engineers if he could get them.I used to, in my contraire manner, refuse to take any. I vowed that I would beat him without the use of his touted supermen. Eventually I too succumbed and am n... Read More

The onset of the computer brought the ability to ignore the bookkeeping and chart checking that made certain aspects of this style game somewhat ungovernable. This ability to handle bookkeeping made the advent of Command Control a feasible feature, and in my opinion the greatest advance in small unit tactical wargaming since hidden units.Command Control creates a far more diverse range of tactical players on the board. Each army now has a more distinct feel. Each platoon now has more individuali... Read More

Many players find enemy artillery annoying at best. When it isn't off map, it's downright frustrating and can often make the difference between winning and losing. I personally despise the Italian's 15 inch naval guns. Not only can I not destroy them, but they are always bought in large numbers. But with *on-map* artillery, there is a means of suppressing that I have found very useful. In the game, driving deep, well past the FEBA, even while much of it is still held, is a good way to shake enem... Read More

Ad-hoc Companies in WW2/MBT There is a function found in the WW2/MBT games that allow users to create ad-hoc companies. But first we should perhaps explore what an ad-hoc company is. Quickly defined, an ad-hoc company consists of un-related platoons/section formed under a Company Command structure, usually for a special purpose. A very good example is the German ‘Fire Brigade’ of ww2 fame. Or the USA Independent Antitank platoons that were attached as needed to support infantry, or a... Read More

*Although the information in this article is still relevent, several more optional rules have been added to the list, for information on these rules see the optional rule article by Foul. *Too many players in Panzer Campaigns will automatically try to use all the possible optional rules given in the game, without giving too much thought as to how they may affect play balance or realism. However, most of the Panzer Campaign options have significant impacts on play balance and certain combinations... Read More

With the release of Bulge 44, the usual approach to allocating artillery fire has to be somewhat reconsidered. Some of these comments may be apparent, but I thought it might be appropriate to summarize some general tips on German artillery usage in the early part of the Grand Campaign.While many players probably make it a habit to run through the artillery dialogue at the start of their turn, you should resist this habit until you go over to the defense. Visibility on this map is abysmal. I... Read More

IntroductionHaving played several campaign games (against human and AI opponents) through the initial stages, as both the Russian and German Commander, I will attempt to offer some suggestions and point out some considerations for the Soviet Commander. First, these thoughts and suggestions are clearly not the only options available, and variations on these themes will undoubtedly be appropriate depending on the reaction of the German Commander. However, I hope that my views and suggestions will ... Read More

IntroductionI am certainly not an expert General in playing the PzC series, my position on the ladder doesn't warrant this at all! But like a lot of teachers, I feel I can explain the theory fairly well, but when it comes to executing this theory I fail more often than not. This doesn't mean the theory is false, just that I am not so good at using my own theories!Besides giving some points on playing the campaign game, these articles can be used by novices to the PzC series for getting that extr... Read More

This article focus about Normandy 44 campaign with alternatives fires option and ADF in PBEM games. This setting is in fact the most widely adopted. Playing without the 4 alternatives fire resolutions usually turn to a solitaire game after the Allied air power alone has eliminated the Germans. The ADF+MDF are really too static and a considered only has a workaround to German problems. MDF +ADF does not only slow the game speed, but it decreases the game fun itself. I started my first game with A... Read More

Panzer Campaigns 1: Smolensk '41 is an operational-level game covering the German attack of Army Group Center during July 1941 against the Soviet forces defending the Dnepr River line. In order to play the game skillfully, you must understand that the scale actually straddles the border between the operational and tactical levels…it is, in essence, a "grand tactical" game. Not only will you have operational level decisions to make, but you'll have a myriad of tactical problems to solve as... Read More

In this article, I will discuss and compare the various Warsaw Pact and Allied units and sub-units in the Clash of Titans scenario. Particular attention will be paid to the units various capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and starting positions. While this is not intended to be a strategy article, some initial concerns will be discussed. Further, if nothing else, by printing this article, the allied player can attempt to keep track of the Warsaw Pact units, and make notes regarding formations t... Read More

Deception units are one of the most powerful weapons available to the Germans in B44. This article focuses on some suggestions for their usage, in particular where they can most profitably be employed. Deception units can be used for two purposes: disrupting American movement; and preventing the U.S. player from blowing bridges. As to the first option, where you deploy your deception units will depend on the axis of attack you have chosen and which bridges are important for developing that thru... Read More

Assaulting fortified positions in the PzC and MC series games, where they are present, can be a difficult, slow and bloody affair that can make the difference in some scenarios between success and failure in the overall results of the game. The earlier games have relatively minor fortifications, but some of the more recent releases, especially Kursk, Rzhev ’42 and Korea ‘85, have much heavier fortifications to penetrate in some scenarios. Experience, especially in play against anothe... Read More