Die Festung Hamburg (The Fortress of Hamburg)

At 0400 Zulu Time, July 24 1985, Warsaw Pact forces cross the Inner German Border and assault NATO positions in West Germany. The offensive in the North German Plain sector involves twelve divisions and has three main objectives: Deny NATO the access to the Baltic region, gain control of the West German ports on the North Sea, and support the advance of the Soviet armies in the BAOR sector.

Taking its roots from SPI’s “Central Front” and “NATO: Division Commander”, Die Festung Hamburg is the third module of the C3 series, focused on Command, Control and Communication and pioneered by Less Than 60 Miles – one of the five nominees for the 2019 Charles Roberts Awards as Best Post-WW2, Cold War, & Hypothetical Era Board Wargame.

All the elements of modern mechanized warfare are covered: Chemical and Nuclear Weapons, Attack Helicopters, Engineers, Electronic Warfare, Counter-Battery Fire, Ribbon Bridges, Reconnaissance, Intelligence, Close Air Support coordination and more.

Several typical wargame mechanics have been reinterpreted, and both sides must fight three equally dangerous foes: the enemy, their own plan and time. Even a simple action can quickly turn into a disaster when facing an opponent using more efficiently the real key to victory: the OODA Loop theorized by John Boyd in the early ‘80s and used today as the basis for several military doctrines.

Military doctrine, tactics and peculiarities for each side are represented, allowing a skilled commander to use his own strength points and exploit the enemy’s weak ones. Some examples are:

West German Auftragstaktik (Mission-Type Orders), giving Bundeswehr a flexibility hardly obtained by other armies.

Mobilization of Dutch and Danish reservists.

The critical boundary between NATO’s AFCENT and AFNORTH Commands.

Soviet Sappers, first-line assault units used to crack the toughest nuts.

Soviet Assault From March.

Warsaw Pact Axis of Advance.

Warsaw Pact vulnerable supply network.

Moreover, this is the third module of the C3 Series, covering the whole NATO – Warsaw Pact conflict in Central Europe. Yes, the idea is to have the whole Central Front playable in a gigantic, unmanageable, mind-blowing campaign.