Gaming Barbarossa: December 1941 – January 1942
Note: This is the final part of a series of posts on my playing of the opening scenario of GMT's The Dark Valley. You can read the first post in the series here.
Only two turns remain in the Barbarossa scenario. To win, the Axis must capture Moscow and either Kiev or Leningrad by the end of January 1942 OR they must control 30 victory point (VP) cities. The Germans control 27 VP cities going into December. They will capture two more easily with the liquidation of the massive and stubborn Vitebsk-Smolensk pocket. This means they need to capture one more to win the game.
The Soviets are aware of this, of course. Preventing that 30th city from falling is now their number one priority, given the fact that Moscow is unreachable at this stage of the game. The Axis has a number of targets to choose from. In the far north, it is still possible for the Germans to capture Leningrad, though that is probably the most difficult nut to crack at this point. Kalinin, to the north of Moscow, is lightly guarded but reachable. Orel is a more vulnerable (at the moment) possibility, which is one reason the Soviet player chose to move a City Defense marker from Vitebsk. Kharkov is unlikely to fall but the Soviets must keep an eye on it. Farther south, Krasnodar is unprotected and within reach of the German panzers at Rostov.
The Soviets will use their portion of the Reinforcement/Replacement Phase to protect all these potential targets by selecting their reinforcements to enter the game in these VP cities. Additionally, there are 20 RPs to rebuild previously destroyed Soviet units. The Axis, on the other hand, once again receive no replacements and precious few reinforcements. They must try to make do with what they have. Since it is allowable in a snow turn, the Soviet’s air drop another airborne corps, this time on a stack of panzers near Vyazma. This results in the permanent elimination of the Soviet corps at the cost of one panzer step. Every step counts when weakening the German panzers.
December 1941 marks the beginning of winter on the Russian Front and this winter was particularly harsh for both sides, especially the lesser prepared Germans. In terms of The Dark Valley the first snow turns of the game are very cold for the Axis. All their mechanized units lose 2 movement points and their zones of control. All Luftwaffe units are marked as “Done” after performing any action. What’s more, the Germans must remove two of their air units leaving them with just three.
More critically, all German units not in or adjacent to a controlled town or city are treated as out of supply for combat purposes. Supply is traced as usual for movement purposes. Finally, as a reflection of their winter fighting prowess all Soviet Shock Armies, two more of which arrive as reinforcements in December, are doubled when attacking and in supply – making them the most powerful offensive force yet seen in the game.
Those are “special” effects for the first winter only. In addition, as a “regular” snow effect, all other Axis units lose 1 movement point, no forced marches are allowed for either side, naval movement and port supply are prohibited in the Sea of Azov and the Gulf of Finland, and there is a major penalty for Air Bombardment.
Beyond all this, the chits to be pulled are drastically changed for the Axis, becoming simply on par with the Soviets in December and January. The Axis receive one Move and one Combat chat only. That’s it. No longer can the Axis choose whether to move OR attack. Each chit is specific to the action. Being only able to move once per turn (at reduced speed) makes capturing any additional VP city highly problematic. The Soviets now have the operational upper hand. They (still) only receive one Move and one Combat chit as well, but they retain the powerful STAVKA chit to play whenever they see fit.
The Soviets keep the initiative. They select the Soviet Move chit. The Soviets move units around Leningrad to prepare for January’s Reinforcement/Replacement Phase, future-proofing it to accommodate stacking of new units in the next turn. They position units in depth everywhere else, while setting up for a possible large-scale counterattack with their Shock armies near the STAVKA headquarters.
The first chit draw is the Logistics chit. The entire board is in supply on both sides with the exception of the 1st Panzer army around Rostov. The Germans left one Luftwaffe unit in the south and use it to offer air supply to six of the eight units there (the maximum that can be supplied by air is six). This will not offset the effects of winter but it will keep them mobile enough to move 6 hexes if need be, whereas the remaining two OOS units may only move 3. The air unit is “Done” per the first winter rules.
Since things are set up around STAVKA, the Soviet player decided to play the STAVKA chit next. A roll of two dice results in six units being released. Now it is the Soviet’s turn to attempt to cutoff and destroy the overextended 2nd Panzer army near Vyazma. Three powerful Shock armies (all doubled in attack due to the “first winter” rules) along with three infantry armies and a Guard infantry corps attack the two hexes where the panzers are sitting.
5-1 odds are obtained in one attack, 3-1 in the other, partially thanks to the lost panzer step in the airborne assault earlier. The 5-1 attack results in a “DR” (defender retreat). The panzers are surrounded by Russian zones of control. Ordinarily this results in elimination for most units. The German panzers have the ability to retreat through Soviet ZOCs at an additional step loss, however. This would usually save them but the rule is suspended during all winter turns. The panzer division is stacked with a German mechanized division. Both are eliminated along with the 2nd Panzer headquarters unit. This is catastrophic for the Germans in the center. The 2nd Panzer HQ is placed on the turn track to return as a reinforcement two turns later, beyond the scope of this scenario. The two panzer divisions are placed in the Axis eliminated units box. The 3-1 attack is anti-climatic. It results in a “BL1” which means both sides lose a step. This is another uneven exchange as the Soviet loss is satisfied with a mere 1-4 division whereas a panzer division loses a step.
This is the most successful Soviet counterattack of the war so far. And it is followed up by a drawn of the Soviet Combat chit. Now the remaining two panzer divisions from 2nd Panzer, both weakened, are surrounded by Soviet ZOCs. All the Soviet Shock Armies are employed – a massive 42 attack points in this case, not counting supporting air units and tank brigades. The attack eliminates the panzers. 2nd Panzer army has been wiped out despite assault gun and Luftwaffe support.
Next, the Axis Combat chit is drawn. This changes everything. The Germans had a chance to attack in various directions if they could move first, but now they will not get an opportunity to attack anything unless they are already adjacent to it. This effectively means that an attack on Orel is impossible within the time constraints of Barbarossa. Most of the German panzers are too far away to make an effective bid at that objective. It is now more likely that the mass of panzers in the center should go after Kalinin but even that objective is unlikely to fall.
So, with the random draw of one chit, the German options for victory become fewer. The only attacks that can be made are at Vyazma (which does nothing to impact the strategic situation), just east of Kiev (German infantry against Zhukov, which is also strategically meaningless as the infantry cannot possibly reach Kharkov in the time remaining), and at Leningrad (which would bring an Axis victory on points if it falls).
The Germans skip the pointless assault on Vyazma and they do not attack Zhukov as they cannot muster sufficient odds to avoid costly causalities on themselves. Around Leningrad, however, the Germans hit with all they have (which isn’t that much, just a bunch of weakened divisions really). A 3-1 attack on the two weak Soviet infantry armies east of Leningrad calls attention to another change in The Dark Valley beginning with this game turn.
The Axis must now use a different Combat Results Table (CRT). Up to this point, all combat has been resolved on Table A, which has more DR results and fewer Exchanges. Table B will now be used by the Axis until February 1942, at which time they will go back to using Table A again. Table B not only has more exchanges but also more results where both sides lose one step. It is far bloodier. The Soviets will use Table B beginning in February 1942 for the remainder of the game – but that eventuality falls outside the scope of the Barbarossa scenario.
The combat result yields a DR which is mildly fortunate for the Germans. This gives them slightly more leverage to make one final attack directly on Leningrad in the January 1942 turn, the last of the scenario.
Finally, the Axis Move chit is drawn. Outside the unlikely capture of Leningrad next turn, the center is really the only possibility for a German victory at this point. At long last, the Germans move into Vitebsk and Smolensk bringing their victory point total to 29, one short of victory. The mass of their available panzers position themselves for a drive on Kalinin, the only possible target within their reach next turn. But the chances of taking it are improbable due to their inability to exploit any victories during the first winter. To the south, a drive from Rostov upon Kranodar will achieve nothing by the end of the Barbarossa scenario. There is not enough supply or movement points to take that VP city in the allotted time.
The best hope for the Axis in this scenario is at Leningrad in the north. The attack there this turn managed to put the city and all Soviets defending it out of supply. They will attain that status the next time the Logistics chit is pulled in January. This is another example of where the random nature of the chit-pull system creates chaos for the player. Had the Logistics chit been drawn AFTER the German attack, all Soviet units would be subject to OOS this turn, which would have set up a very different situation in January, since the defenders would suffer OOS penalties in combat.
The German Supply Depots advance just 2 hexes in the Attrition Phase due to the modifier for snow. That’s where the December turn ends. I will only briefly talk about the January 1942 turn. It is too late in the Barbarossa scenario for the Axis to make any significant progress in the Ukraine. Though powerful, the Soviets do not have the mobility necessary for an attempt to retake Smolensk. The main event of the final turn is at Leningrad.
In the Reinforcement/Replacement Phase, the Germans receive a weak infantry division which is used to garrison a Supply Depot which just advanced. The Soviets receive a Guard infantry corps and another powerful Shock Army. Both of these go into STAVKA Reserve. The Soviets build another 20 RFs of replacements. Most of these are 1-4 infantry divisions, which will fan out during this turn to help create a more defined Soviet front line.
Now that Leningrad is technically out of supply, the 5 RFs that city generates can only be used to rebuild weakened units in or adjacent to the city. The city (along with Orel) loses its City Defense marker. Those only apply in 1941. Beginning in January 1942 all Soviet cities are treated as cities instead of towns for defense purposes.
The Germans choose not to advance any of their air bases as this would automatically render the air units as Done, since it is the first winter in Russia. The Soviets still have the initiative and select the Move chit. This allows them to stack Leningrad to the maximum with mostly replaced units, making it all but immune to German attack, which basically wins the scenario for them. But let’s play on through. Elsewhere the Soviets advance for possible attacks in the center (they can’t recapture Smolensk but they can still destroy a lot of German forces). Zhukov also marshals his forces for a strike toward Kiev.
The Soviets chooses to play the STAVKA chit next. Once again, Shock armies are massed in the center resulting in the retaking of Yelyna (a town not a VP city). Several Germans are forced to retreat but this time there are no step losses. After that the Axis Combat chit is drawn. The Germans are too weak and out of position to attack anywhere on the map except for around Leningrad. There is a desperate, all-out attack directly on the city. Since it is a fort the defenders are doubled. Since it is also city, the German mechanized units are halved. The result is that both sides lose one step. Leningrad will not fall this turn and the Germans will lose the Barbarossa scenario having failed to captured Moscow and attaining only 29 of the 30 VPs required. The Soviets win.
Casualties don’t count for victory points in The Dark Valley but it is worth noting that during the course of my play over 300 Soviet units of various kinds were eliminated by the Axis onslaught, though some of these were rebuilt as replacements. Against this massive number, 9 German infantry divisions, 3 mechanized divisions, and 6 panzer divisions were destroyed on the Axis side of the ledger. This does not count the depleted, weakened steps on the board which more than double the number of total steps lost. The ratio is on par with most wargames depicting the Eastern Front, however. At a strategic level, far more Russian units are lost for every German unit eliminated. It was this way historically too. A staggering 27 million Soviets were killed against about 4 million Germans. Despite this slaughter, the Soviets won the war.
The Dark Valley is a fun and insightful strategic game that represents the general mechanics of war on the Eastern Front. I made plenty of mistakes playing both sides in this replay. This was the worst the Axis has ever performed in my times of playing this game. The scenario played out more or less historically around Leningrad. With the capture and holding of Rostov, the Axis actually did better in the Ukraine than they did historically. Along the approach to Moscow, however, the Soviets’ kicked the German’s butts. This was partly due to the entire 2nd and 3rd Panzer armies going out of supply early in the scenario, costing them precious combat capabilities when they were at the peak of their power – part of the chaos of the chit-pull system.
This is one of my all-time favorite wargames and I’ll definitely be playing it again in the future. Maybe next year I will blog about the 1944 Bagration scenario and we will see how well the Soviets do when they are in full command of the initiative and the offensive power.
Only two turns remain in the Barbarossa scenario. To win, the Axis must capture Moscow and either Kiev or Leningrad by the end of January 1942 OR they must control 30 victory point (VP) cities. The Germans control 27 VP cities going into December. They will capture two more easily with the liquidation of the massive and stubborn Vitebsk-Smolensk pocket. This means they need to capture one more to win the game.
The Soviets are aware of this, of course. Preventing that 30th city from falling is now their number one priority, given the fact that Moscow is unreachable at this stage of the game. The Axis has a number of targets to choose from. In the far north, it is still possible for the Germans to capture Leningrad, though that is probably the most difficult nut to crack at this point. Kalinin, to the north of Moscow, is lightly guarded but reachable. Orel is a more vulnerable (at the moment) possibility, which is one reason the Soviet player chose to move a City Defense marker from Vitebsk. Kharkov is unlikely to fall but the Soviets must keep an eye on it. Farther south, Krasnodar is unprotected and within reach of the German panzers at Rostov.
The Soviets will use their portion of the Reinforcement/Replacement Phase to protect all these potential targets by selecting their reinforcements to enter the game in these VP cities. Additionally, there are 20 RPs to rebuild previously destroyed Soviet units. The Axis, on the other hand, once again receive no replacements and precious few reinforcements. They must try to make do with what they have. Since it is allowable in a snow turn, the Soviet’s air drop another airborne corps, this time on a stack of panzers near Vyazma. This results in the permanent elimination of the Soviet corps at the cost of one panzer step. Every step counts when weakening the German panzers.
December 1941 marks the beginning of winter on the Russian Front and this winter was particularly harsh for both sides, especially the lesser prepared Germans. In terms of The Dark Valley the first snow turns of the game are very cold for the Axis. All their mechanized units lose 2 movement points and their zones of control. All Luftwaffe units are marked as “Done” after performing any action. What’s more, the Germans must remove two of their air units leaving them with just three.
More critically, all German units not in or adjacent to a controlled town or city are treated as out of supply for combat purposes. Supply is traced as usual for movement purposes. Finally, as a reflection of their winter fighting prowess all Soviet Shock Armies, two more of which arrive as reinforcements in December, are doubled when attacking and in supply – making them the most powerful offensive force yet seen in the game.
Those are “special” effects for the first winter only. In addition, as a “regular” snow effect, all other Axis units lose 1 movement point, no forced marches are allowed for either side, naval movement and port supply are prohibited in the Sea of Azov and the Gulf of Finland, and there is a major penalty for Air Bombardment.
Beyond all this, the chits to be pulled are drastically changed for the Axis, becoming simply on par with the Soviets in December and January. The Axis receive one Move and one Combat chat only. That’s it. No longer can the Axis choose whether to move OR attack. Each chit is specific to the action. Being only able to move once per turn (at reduced speed) makes capturing any additional VP city highly problematic. The Soviets now have the operational upper hand. They (still) only receive one Move and one Combat chit as well, but they retain the powerful STAVKA chit to play whenever they see fit.
The Soviets keep the initiative. They select the Soviet Move chit. The Soviets move units around Leningrad to prepare for January’s Reinforcement/Replacement Phase, future-proofing it to accommodate stacking of new units in the next turn. They position units in depth everywhere else, while setting up for a possible large-scale counterattack with their Shock armies near the STAVKA headquarters.
The first chit draw is the Logistics chit. The entire board is in supply on both sides with the exception of the 1st Panzer army around Rostov. The Germans left one Luftwaffe unit in the south and use it to offer air supply to six of the eight units there (the maximum that can be supplied by air is six). This will not offset the effects of winter but it will keep them mobile enough to move 6 hexes if need be, whereas the remaining two OOS units may only move 3. The air unit is “Done” per the first winter rules.
Since things are set up around STAVKA, the Soviet player decided to play the STAVKA chit next. A roll of two dice results in six units being released. Now it is the Soviet’s turn to attempt to cutoff and destroy the overextended 2nd Panzer army near Vyazma. Three powerful Shock armies (all doubled in attack due to the “first winter” rules) along with three infantry armies and a Guard infantry corps attack the two hexes where the panzers are sitting.
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At the beginning of the December 1941 turn the Germans have liquidated the enormous Vitebsk-Smolensk pocket which cause them so much trouble since early in the game. Notice that much of 2nd Panzer Army is exposed due to how things played out last turn. The Soviets will destroy this entire army this turn with a powerful counterattack by their Shock armies.
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| End of January 1942. The Soviets own this scenario largely because the center failed to take Orel and Tula while the grand objective of Moscow was never seriously threatened. |
This is the most successful Soviet counterattack of the war so far. And it is followed up by a drawn of the Soviet Combat chit. Now the remaining two panzer divisions from 2nd Panzer, both weakened, are surrounded by Soviet ZOCs. All the Soviet Shock Armies are employed – a massive 42 attack points in this case, not counting supporting air units and tank brigades. The attack eliminates the panzers. 2nd Panzer army has been wiped out despite assault gun and Luftwaffe support.
Next, the Axis Combat chit is drawn. This changes everything. The Germans had a chance to attack in various directions if they could move first, but now they will not get an opportunity to attack anything unless they are already adjacent to it. This effectively means that an attack on Orel is impossible within the time constraints of Barbarossa. Most of the German panzers are too far away to make an effective bid at that objective. It is now more likely that the mass of panzers in the center should go after Kalinin but even that objective is unlikely to fall.
So, with the random draw of one chit, the German options for victory become fewer. The only attacks that can be made are at Vyazma (which does nothing to impact the strategic situation), just east of Kiev (German infantry against Zhukov, which is also strategically meaningless as the infantry cannot possibly reach Kharkov in the time remaining), and at Leningrad (which would bring an Axis victory on points if it falls).
The Germans skip the pointless assault on Vyazma and they do not attack Zhukov as they cannot muster sufficient odds to avoid costly causalities on themselves. Around Leningrad, however, the Germans hit with all they have (which isn’t that much, just a bunch of weakened divisions really). A 3-1 attack on the two weak Soviet infantry armies east of Leningrad calls attention to another change in The Dark Valley beginning with this game turn.
The Axis must now use a different Combat Results Table (CRT). Up to this point, all combat has been resolved on Table A, which has more DR results and fewer Exchanges. Table B will now be used by the Axis until February 1942, at which time they will go back to using Table A again. Table B not only has more exchanges but also more results where both sides lose one step. It is far bloodier. The Soviets will use Table B beginning in February 1942 for the remainder of the game – but that eventuality falls outside the scope of the Barbarossa scenario.
The combat result yields a DR which is mildly fortunate for the Germans. This gives them slightly more leverage to make one final attack directly on Leningrad in the January 1942 turn, the last of the scenario.
Finally, the Axis Move chit is drawn. Outside the unlikely capture of Leningrad next turn, the center is really the only possibility for a German victory at this point. At long last, the Germans move into Vitebsk and Smolensk bringing their victory point total to 29, one short of victory. The mass of their available panzers position themselves for a drive on Kalinin, the only possible target within their reach next turn. But the chances of taking it are improbable due to their inability to exploit any victories during the first winter. To the south, a drive from Rostov upon Kranodar will achieve nothing by the end of the Barbarossa scenario. There is not enough supply or movement points to take that VP city in the allotted time.
The best hope for the Axis in this scenario is at Leningrad in the north. The attack there this turn managed to put the city and all Soviets defending it out of supply. They will attain that status the next time the Logistics chit is pulled in January. This is another example of where the random nature of the chit-pull system creates chaos for the player. Had the Logistics chit been drawn AFTER the German attack, all Soviet units would be subject to OOS this turn, which would have set up a very different situation in January, since the defenders would suffer OOS penalties in combat.
The German Supply Depots advance just 2 hexes in the Attrition Phase due to the modifier for snow. That’s where the December turn ends. I will only briefly talk about the January 1942 turn. It is too late in the Barbarossa scenario for the Axis to make any significant progress in the Ukraine. Though powerful, the Soviets do not have the mobility necessary for an attempt to retake Smolensk. The main event of the final turn is at Leningrad.
In the Reinforcement/Replacement Phase, the Germans receive a weak infantry division which is used to garrison a Supply Depot which just advanced. The Soviets receive a Guard infantry corps and another powerful Shock Army. Both of these go into STAVKA Reserve. The Soviets build another 20 RFs of replacements. Most of these are 1-4 infantry divisions, which will fan out during this turn to help create a more defined Soviet front line.
Now that Leningrad is technically out of supply, the 5 RFs that city generates can only be used to rebuild weakened units in or adjacent to the city. The city (along with Orel) loses its City Defense marker. Those only apply in 1941. Beginning in January 1942 all Soviet cities are treated as cities instead of towns for defense purposes.
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| The situation at Leningrad in December 1941. As happened historically, the city is nearly surrounded and on the edge of being out of supply. |
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| January 1942. Leningrad is out of supply at the end of the scenario but, by special rule, there is still a line of communications across the lake to the east between the two 5-4 Soviet infantry armies. |
The Soviets chooses to play the STAVKA chit next. Once again, Shock armies are massed in the center resulting in the retaking of Yelyna (a town not a VP city). Several Germans are forced to retreat but this time there are no step losses. After that the Axis Combat chit is drawn. The Germans are too weak and out of position to attack anywhere on the map except for around Leningrad. There is a desperate, all-out attack directly on the city. Since it is a fort the defenders are doubled. Since it is also city, the German mechanized units are halved. The result is that both sides lose one step. Leningrad will not fall this turn and the Germans will lose the Barbarossa scenario having failed to captured Moscow and attaining only 29 of the 30 VPs required. The Soviets win.
Casualties don’t count for victory points in The Dark Valley but it is worth noting that during the course of my play over 300 Soviet units of various kinds were eliminated by the Axis onslaught, though some of these were rebuilt as replacements. Against this massive number, 9 German infantry divisions, 3 mechanized divisions, and 6 panzer divisions were destroyed on the Axis side of the ledger. This does not count the depleted, weakened steps on the board which more than double the number of total steps lost. The ratio is on par with most wargames depicting the Eastern Front, however. At a strategic level, far more Russian units are lost for every German unit eliminated. It was this way historically too. A staggering 27 million Soviets were killed against about 4 million Germans. Despite this slaughter, the Soviets won the war.
The Dark Valley is a fun and insightful strategic game that represents the general mechanics of war on the Eastern Front. I made plenty of mistakes playing both sides in this replay. This was the worst the Axis has ever performed in my times of playing this game. The scenario played out more or less historically around Leningrad. With the capture and holding of Rostov, the Axis actually did better in the Ukraine than they did historically. Along the approach to Moscow, however, the Soviets’ kicked the German’s butts. This was partly due to the entire 2nd and 3rd Panzer armies going out of supply early in the scenario, costing them precious combat capabilities when they were at the peak of their power – part of the chaos of the chit-pull system.
This is one of my all-time favorite wargames and I’ll definitely be playing it again in the future. Maybe next year I will blog about the 1944 Bagration scenario and we will see how well the Soviets do when they are in full command of the initiative and the offensive power.
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