Review of COMMAND 37: Guderian's Gambit ======================================= This is a quick overview of this game based only on 2 play-throughs, one of them solitaire, so I may have missed something. This game is a little gem IMHO, a real nailbiter as the German player is lunging toward Moscow w/ only 14 turns to take it. Each hex is 9 miles, each turn is 1 day. 139 combat units are mostly Div and Bdes...rest are markers. Note it is not possible to play both Mukden and GG at the same time as maps back each other and some markers are used in both games...map is colorful, think of it as a "blow-up" of the maplet in that old GDW "free" game of the assault on Moscow. Contains also all the charts/tables you need in the game. One card on which you record German strength points. This game and Mukden share rules language and identical approach to some rule components such as supply which make it relatively easy to "pick up and play" both pretty quickly. The game assumes the Germans threw everything into a drive on Moscow in August '41. Like Mukden, play is dictated by the action of one player, here the German...Counters are different for each side: the Sov gets untried units a la SPI's old Panzergruppe Guderian w/ attack, defense, movemt factors...German unit strength are noted on the accompanying chart. Setup is easy w/locations noted on map. Sov places left over units as reinforcements. Units are either mech/motorized or non-motorized. Turn sequence is crucial in this game. Both check supply. German commits the Guderien counter and the air support counter. Mechs move (4 mps); Combat; General Movement. Then Sov General Move; Combat; takes reinforcements/ replacements (no German reinforc/replacemts). (As this game is in the same family as Bud'45 and Gazala, it is interesting that the Move/Combat sequence is reversed from those games...) Then both check for victory: if Sov take Smolensk, he wins; if German has a unit in Moscow, roll 2d6 on Victory table to see if win... Movement limits truly impact the game. German mechs only have 4 MP for their mech phase. German non-motor. units can only move 1 hex. (Yes, that's right: one hex). 3 unit stacking, except Moscow where its 5 units. All units deploy face down. Sov are only revealed in combat (leading to delicious uncertainty for the German player as to whether a fight will be a walkover or bloodbath -- hence the game's playabilty solitare). Another quirk: only German mech units exert ZOC. Not German non-mechs nor Sov units. ZOCs are semilocking...Sov have to stop in them but can move out next turn....a key rule: Germans mech lose ZOC if OOS. Supply, surprisingly, is handled like in Mukden, with two levels: attenuated supply (AS) when an LOS is first cut. (LOS to Smolensk for Germans...limited to 8 hexes aside from the Smo-Moscow highway and LOS to map edge for Sov), then to OOS. Map has a "Gold Row" (remember the Green Row in Gazala) which represent the fact that the German offensive is surrounded on three sides by Sov units. Supply is traced to any hex on this Row. Can be traced through Moscow but not ending in Moscow. Like in Mukden, units in Moscow are in supply...but outside supply can't be traced to the city. No penalties for AS for most units, except (key rule): German Mechs lose abilty to move in Mech phase....OOS Sov halved for move/combat. OOS German combat also halved. (mechs lose ZOC & Mech movement...) Terrain is also broken up like Mukden (natural and Manmade)...clear terrain is the base terrain...forests, towns, rivers, reservoirs.. w/ modifiers for movements/combat.....the forests before Moscow are key defensive terrain. Here's another key rule: German non-motorized never attack (yes, that's right: never attack --- so you see where this is going...to the motorized and mechs). German combat strengths and steps are noted on the roster chart. Sov units are one step. CRT is bloody, with step losses and a retreat. As in Mukden, no requirement to retreat toward supply, so can retreat into a better position sometimes....Sov can't retreat into ZOC: elim instead. German unit surrounded by Russian units stays in place rather than retreating and takes a dice-roll of step losses rather than what's on the CRT. The Guderian and Air Support counters each provide a favorable drm to combat. Concentric attack bonus for both sides (as in other Command games). Another Key Rule: Sov replacements/reinforcements can appear anywhere on Gold Row, Moscow or in any Sov town... Half of a dr's worth of Sov rifle div reappear as replacements. You can delay replace/reinforce appearance. So you can play merry hell with the German advance, especially as the Mechs get ahead of the non-mechs by appearing on the flanks in the rear to threaten supply...which if cut, basically stops the advance... This game is indeed a challenge for the German...against a competent Sov player, it's very tough to take Moscow IMHO. You have to husband your attacks, cut off Sov units to render 'em OOS, then mop up Sov pockets with your Motorized/ Mechs, not follow-ons non-motorized...try to not let your spearheads get too far in front where they can be cut off and killed...and the woods in front of Moscow are very tough/bloody to take...since you basically have to clear the highway because of the LOS limits, you have to work through the woods without burning yourself out. I had fun as the Sov player....like Mukden, this is essentially a huge delaying action, but with the caveat that your front lines will always be threatening to collapse under attack. You can really unnerve the German with a big threat (of a turn or two's reinforcemts) appearing on the flank in the rear from the Gold Row. You can also smash the spearheads when they overextend...I believe if 5 units are kept in each Moscow hex, the city is nearly invunerable...I'll be interested in the comments of others...a fun game. Doug Murphy -------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Desch replies: Very nice review Doug. I for one really appreciate the time and effort you devote to keeping us up to speed on these new games. :-) We seem to have had better luck with the Germans in getting to and taking Moscow. The real question was could it be done in time and could the needed die roll be obtained. IMHO the Russians are faced with a real dilemma: if they set up a strong MLR, they leave themselves open to getting surrounded and cut OOS. OTOH, if they have two weaker lines the German can cut through them with relative ease and inflict so many casualties that there is nothing left for Moscow. A strong Russian threat to the flanks will tie up some German mobile divisions, but we found that the they were numerous enough to get to Moscow anyway. A combination of the two defensive schemes is called for, but Russian movement allowances are often not enough to set this up. While you can inflict some pain to the strong Wehrmacht divisions by conducting judicious counterattacks, we never witnessed the complete annihilation of a fit German unit -- careful yet bold German play will prevent such disasters. Also, there is an incentive for keeping your Soviet units in an untried state since fear of the unknown is certain to have a braking effect on the tempo of Nazi operations. Unfortunately, you can't count on untried units to mount an effective counterattack. A great game. Imagine what might have happened if the Germans had launched this offensive later in August with an improved logistical system and more capable infantry divisions. John T. Desch (jtd4@cornell.edu) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Doug Murphy responds: >>> John Desch 05/10/96 01:18pm >>> >... if they set up a strong MLR, they leave themselves open to getting >surrounded and cut OOS. OTOH, if they have two weaker lines the >German can cut through them with relative ease and inflict so many >casualties that there is nothing left for Moscow. A strong Russian threat >to the flanks will tie up some German mobile divisions, but we found that >the they were numerous enough to get to Moscow anyway. Thanks for the kind words, John. We found an optimal solution was to heavily garrison Moscow and after collapsing back, fight for every hex of the forest before the city, save some turns of reinforcement/replacements to make a big flank push toward the highway to cut supply....this usually had the result of our German player sending some units back to help and being neither at the front or at the new threat when needed. >... we never witnessed the complete annihilation of a fit German unit -- >careful yet bold German play will prevent such disasters. Our German player made a relatively easy-to-make mistake of getting too far in front with the Russian able to pounce upon and burn up via counterattcking the forward German units (which had been beat up a bit as spearheads.) It is also a new mind set to bypass and crush pockets w/ your mech/motorized rather than wait for other echelons...our German wasted a few turns getting the hang of this. >Also, there is an incentive for keeping your Soviet units in an untried >state since fear of the unknown is certain to have a braking effect on the >tempo of Nazi operations. Unfortunately, you can't count on untried units >to mount an effective counterattack. Agreed. >A great game. Imagine what might have happened if the Germans had >launched this offensive later in August with an improved logistical >system and more capable infantry divisions. I smell a varient here. Just remove the movement restrictions on the non-motorized units (give 'em 4 mps in one phase) and extend the LOS to 10-12 hexes from the highway and watch the Russians fold. Doug Murphy