[WIN] WINTER STROM Editor's Note: Sometime next year Clash of Arms Games will release its new edition of Winter Storm, covering the Soviet Winter Offensive at Stalingrad and the desperate German counterstroke. We've asked the designer of this Eastern Front series, John Schettler (The Last Victory and Edelweiss), to write a "preview" of what's coming so you fans of the game system learn the latest news. Let us know how you like this this stuff. If the response is good we'll ask other Clash of Arms designers for such "previews" as well. "Winter Storm!" - A Preview by John Schettler ---------------------------------------------- The Origins of the Design It has been over 10 years since I first developed the design concepts and operational game system for the Winter Storm series, and I have had the good fortune to connect with a team of professional game developers and publishers at Clash of Arms Games. Long time fans of the series have seen the dramatic contribution their production efforts have brought to the games, and now I return again to my own "origins" as a simulation designer to review the title that started things off so long ago. Winter Storm was first designed in 1978 as a single title which was to have included the material which eventually became volume II, The Last Victory. It was one of many battles I completed during a two year period where I was part owner and operator of a simulation/role playing hobby store in California. As such, it was a home grown game, where I contributed the design and another partner, Michael Carter, provided the funding necessary to get it into print. It was an enterprise that didn't make us much in return, but to be frank, I don't think any publisher of wargames makes enough money after the balance sheet is tallied up. Many design projects have started this way, and the industry would be much impoverished without them. Players should realize that if the great companies can fall, it is much more difficult for a small company to survive. A good wargame is a rare and precious find these days. While the original Winter Storm did not succeed commercially, it had enough substance in the design to survive a decade and return again! Winter Storm was introduced at an LA area "Orcon" convention in February of 1980, and it offered a unique system when most games were still structured around rigid sequential systems with three numbers on each counter and two basic charts for terrain and combat. I had played many of the earlier East Front games and they stimulated an interest in the battles fought in Southern Russia in 1942- 43. As I read more on the subject, however, I became unsatisfied with the simplistic manner in which crucial elements like supply, operational planning, command and mobile operations were handled. I began to devise new rules which touched on these areas and aimed to force players to think and act like front or army level commanders. It has been said that any amateur can talk strategy, but only the professionals know that strategy depends on logistics. I set about to integrate logistics and command control in a more realistic way in my designs. Winter Storm was the result, and it was praised for innovation while being criticized for low end graphics and the organization of its rules. The game made its "statement" where the craft of simulation design was concerned, and then seemed to fade away until Clash of Arms Games recognized the merit of the system and decided they would invest their time and talent to developing it further. In 1986 they purchased rights to the Winter Storm game system from Vanguard Games, and established a working agreement with me to continue to produce titles in the series. Fleshing Out the Development With many years of playtesting and rough handling by the rules experts, the first thing Steve Rawling of Clash of Arms decided was that the rules for the system needed a major overhaul. He bent himself to this task with dedication and considerable talent, and eventually produced a set of rules which are highly regarded. I would develop rules concepts and outline an initial draft for Steve's review. He would fire back questions from readers and playtesters until the many shades and nuances of my original intent as a designer were beaten into text the gamers could live with. As such, it has been a very successful cooperation. Where my own style of rules writing was to be succinct and concise, Steve contributed the necessary organization and methodical expression that served to quash the arguments between rules lawyers over the gaming table. As the system grew and changed the rules became more voluminous and complex, but Steve's organization helped to make it all work in the end. Because the rules were indeed complex, both in scope and expression, I set about to create more playing aids at Steve's behest. I designed the "Combined Effects Table" to summarize the many changes in unit effectiveness due to supply, organizational status and weather. Other unit summary charts put more information at the player's fingertips, including the exhaustive Operations Summary Chart I designed for Edelweiss. In this chart I portrayed the capabilities of all the various unit classes and at least gave the player an initial ruling on whether an operation is legal for that class or not. Most feedback has indicated that these charts have added a large measure of playability, particularly for experienced players who know the rules concepts but don't want to memorize all of the exceptions and variables. The other major area contributed by Clash of Arms was the stunning graphics of their production work. The original Winter Storm came out in a zip-lock bag with rather bland graphics. Ten years later the father of Last Victory and Edelweiss finally reaches the professional standard graphic presentation of its offspring. In this area, the contribution made by Clash of Arms goes far beyond the addition of more color or artwork. The information layout on the counters was enhanced, and a host of status markers were developed, complete with handy reminders on certain key effects printed right on the counter. When I introduced new design subsystems such as the Command Game rules first presented in The Last Victory, Clash of Arms followed up with excellent charts to portray the game mechanics in an attractive and efficient way. The process continues with this second major edition of Winter Storm where I have devised several new concepts to add flavor to the stew. So What's New About Winter Storm? To begin with, the map has undergone considerable revision in light of better sources, and was designed to mate exactly to Edelweiss and the upcoming Prelude to Disaster. Winter Storm now includes a re-design of the Millerovo and Rostov maps originally released in Last Victory. On closer inspection, anyone who still owns the original Winter Storm maps will note many changes. Beyond a more detailed presentation of the road net and terrain, there are several major changes in the lines of communication, and actual placement of some of the towns. As all wargame maps attempt to press an irregular world into a completely regular hexagonal grid, some compromises have to be made. In the end, however, this is a much more accurate map, and I even managed to spell Kotelnikovo right this time around, an oversight in the first game that has haunted me ever since (players who disagree with my current map spellings will have to haggle with the authors of the original source maps.) Things have changed quite a bit in Russia since the war. A look at any contemporary map will show that the entire area between Konstantinovka and Potempkinskaya on the lower Don is now under water! Thus I had to find source maps from the 1940's and early 50's to get a look at things as they once were. The setup for the scenarios is also quite different, and has been revised with a great deal of new research released since 1980. I would like to thank everyone who has written to me over the years to offer information. Frank Prieskop submitted excellent information on the Rumanian Order of Battle, Loris Pagnotta wrote from Italy to offer detailed information on the placement and composition of the Italian 8th Army, to mention just a few. And the bane of all designers, the Soviet OB, has also undergone considerable revision. I have never found a comprehensive source for this material. The OB presented here is a composition of 10 to 12 different sources, all cross checked with one another to verify accuracy. To qualify for a listing in the OB a source needed at least three other independent confirmations. In doing this research I am often amazed at the degree to which "historians" continue to repeat errors. I have seen the 22nd Panzer division referred to as the 13th in at least two sources - both very wrong, as the 13th was deep in the Caucuses when this battle was fought. I have seen authors omit an entire Tank Corps (the 26th) from a Soviet Army, and refer to units that have no reality at all! (Even von Manstein refers to the Soviet "50th Mech Corps" and the "8th Tank Corps" involved in operation Saturn, though these formations did not exist. They were actually 24th Tank Corps and 1st Guard Mech Corps.) Others fail to appreciate that the Russians rename things with alarming regularity, and include two units in an OB that were actually two designations for the same unit. For example the Soviet 4th Mech was pulled off the line after the battles depicted in Winter Storm occurred and reconstituted as 3rd Guard Mech, but I have seen games with both units in play. Another game refers to the 24th and 33rd Corps of Malinovski's 2nd Guards Army - no such animals. Malinovski had three corps: 1st Guard Rifle Corps, 13th Guard Rifle Corps and 2nd Guard Mech Corps. In this game I have omitted the Rifle Corps HQs and just assigned the actual divisions. I have also seen a game which assigned the 9th SS division to the force trapped in the pocket! (It was not even formed until well after the conclusion of the battle, and in faraway France.) Needless to say, these errors create great confusion. This is not to say that my own research is flawless, and now I find myself in the enviable position of being able to correct my own errors of ten years past, and some of them were considerable. Many of the sources I used for this edition of the game were not even in print when the original design was done. I am very comfortable with the force ratios and historical accuracy presented in this version of Winter Storm. Players that will eventually own both versions will appreciate the difference. There are no Hungarians. The Italians now hold the ground they were originally assigned. The jump off point of the Soviet "Saturn" offensive is different, as is the map work in this area of the Don. The force assignments to Soviet HQs have been altered, particularly in "Saturn." Where the original game had the 3rd Guards Army pushing the armored offensive, later research indicated that the 1st Guards HQ was shifted west and its order of battle was expanded. To fill the gap between this army and the 5th Tank on the lower Chir, the Soviets broke off part of the old 1st Guards and gave them to a new HQ, 3rd Guards. These and other changes have been incorporated into the new game. Scenario notes will highlight other research which has come to light over the years. Far from being dismayed at the things I got wrong in the first game, I was amazed at how much I got right given the confusion I found in the history books. As for the system itself, the new Winter Storm will present some new concepts in the exclusive rules which players may consider transferable to other games if they wish. The counter density is very high in this game relative to Edelweiss, and so many of the rules, like "Mobile Force Markers" and "Soviet Rifle Corps" were designed to thin out the stacks and make the game more playable. Supply rules have already been streamlined in previous titles. In addition to the things mentioned above, I have changed the Terrain Effects to distinguish between minor rivers and streams. The terrain type "High Ground" is a relative term for this game (relative to the steppes)! It is roughly equivalent to the Lowland terrain in Edelweiss. Other terrain includes State Farms, The Tartar Wall, Coal Mines, and Stalingrad City Zones. Special rules for "fuel shortages" have also been added for both players. The Germans get to play with a new Tiger Battalion, a snow removal unit as well as the old scratch unit generator table. The Soviets have stronger versions of the construction troops in Edelweiss termed "Fortress Divisions." They get a flame tank brigade, and a few other Marine and special assault unit types. There are rules for "riding tanks" allowing leg units to accompany mobile forces in an advance after combat, and extensive rules for the campaign games where the "fog of war" is simulated with a new procedure for planning and staging Soviet Offensives. As for scenarios, I decided to concentrate on the major battles presented in the original title: Uranus, Saturn, and the German Winter Storm relief effort. In keeping with my penchant for presenting plausible historical alternative scenarios, I am offering "Greater Saturn", a "what if" presentation of an attack Stalin asked Zhukov about as an alternative to the Uranus offensive. It embodies also, the original Soviet concept for their Saturn offensive, though I have set up a different force mix. New scenarios and comprehensive "Link Rules" for all three games will be presented in "Case Blue" later. Upcoming work by Henry Robinette with present the action around Kharkov in Prelude to Disaster to set the stage for Case Blue. For my own part, and Clash of Arms willing, I will be writing up a host of new scenarios for release with Case Blue. Among them are: 1) "Flight of the Heron" showing the drive by Army Group B to Stalingrad. 2) "Pursuit to Rostov" an expanded version of the old "Rostov Gate" which uses both the Edelweiss and Winter Storm maps. 3) "Time of the Panther" a scenario played on The Last Victory maps and portraying two alternative German plans to Operation Zitadelle, the Kursk Offensive (the operations were "Habicht" and "Panther," and both were approved by Hitler prior to Zitadelle). There may be other smaller scenarios using a map here and there to give players games they can complete in an evening. These will be in addition to the prime scenario "Case Blue." The Case Blue release will probably be more like a "module" with link rules and scenarios. All the playing pieces for Case Blue game will already be in print if you own the other titles. Let Clash of Arms Games know what you would like to see. (Write them at COAG, Box 668, King of Prussia, PA 19406 or of course, use GEnie address CLASHOFARMS) Eventually, and depending on my available creative time and COAG's continued viability and schedule, there may be new series releases entitled Deathknell: Clash at Kursk or The Long Retreat, which takes the campaign to the German withdrawal to the Dnepr and beyond. Anyone who owns all three games already in print for the series can now set up the largest East front game I am aware of. With the scenario material I have already developed, shrewd players could start with Winter Storm and even set up Army Group A in the Caucuses to see what an early evacuation there could have done to achieve a different result against the Soviet Winter Offensive. Play will eventually push you on to The Last Victory maps - or will it? Not having Hitler around to freeze units in reserve status can be considered a major play balancing shift in your favor. In closing I would like to thank all the people who have played these games over the last ten years. It has been a pleasure to offer my simulation ideas to the hobby at large, and I appreciate your continued support and valuable input into a system that continues to grow with the most experience cadre of simulation gamers in the world.