Stalingrad - Advance to the Volga, 1942

There can be little question Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the entire Second World War. The campaign by the German 6th Army to crush the Soviet 62nd Army and capture the city has been the subject of nervous two-player designs. It is a situation known to most gamers but is presented here in a new and exciting SOLITAIRE format, the first in a series of single-player area movement games by publisher Take Aim Designs.

Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga, 1942, puts the player in charge of the attacking and far more middle German side while the game system handles the defending and largely static Soviet side. No two games will every be the same. Each turn presents new and unique challenges for the player in the form of random events, uncertain supply deliveries, and unknown Soviet area strengths and defensive strategies.

The primary game is a nine-turn campaign covering the first great German assault on the city during September 1942. The deeper German forces advance, from the city’s less developed periphery to its urban and industrial core, the greater Soviet resistance becomes. The number of the German units bled white, effectively out of action, mounts. German determination to secure a rapid victory, represented as “Morale” in the game, gradually decreases. The player wins by equaling or exceeding historical German gains and loses if they fail to do so, or if morale falls too low.

Also included is a five-turn “Factory District Scenario” representing the second great German effort in October 1942. The challenge is now even greater: the player mist capture all of Stalingrad in order to release divisions in time to cover the German flanks outside of the city against the coming Soviet winter offense, which was not far off.

With a set up time of less than 15 minutes, low counter density, endless variability, and quick playing time, Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga, 1942 will appeal to every level of player, from the novice to the grognard.

The failure to capture Stalingrad rapidly paved the way for the encirclement and destruction of 6th Army in the long run Axis defeat in the Second World War. But if Soviet resistance collapsed quickly, and the Wehrmact had stood victorious on the banks of the Volga, who can say how history may have turned out? The decisions leading to victory or defeat now rest with you.

Components:

17 x 22 inch MOUNTED Map

One sheet of 5/8 in. die-cut counters

One player aid card

16 page rulebook

Eight six-sided dice (4 red and 4 black)

Game Box