Post by easyeight on Mar 24, 2020 1:40:48 GMT
NUTS! Stalingrad – Heroes All
I’m really excited to see the revised NUTS! Stalingrad scenario book coming back into print to align with NUTS! 4e. This was a very interesting book to write, and was the focus of some intense research. While you can play either side, the focus of the book is on the operations of 16th Panzer Division, one of the few that fought across the entire campaign…and escaped. Well, some escaped.
Although intended to be played from the German side, Stalingrad – Heroes All plays just as well from the Soviet side. It can be played solo, cooperatively with all players on the same side or head to head.
Packed with 22 linked scenarios, this book covers a variety of small-unit and medium-sized actions from lunges across the Russia steppes during Fall Blau, to short sharp fights in the rubble of the Rattenkrieg, to desperate struggles for survival during the Kessel.
Why Heroes of Stalingrad?
A phrase was coined by both sides, the “Heroes of Stalingrad,” when discussing those who fought and died there. So despite the use of German terminology in parts of this book, I hope you can find equal interest in both sides of the campaign – thus my choice of name to reflect that idea.
The soldiers and citizens at Stalingrad just kept slogging on, fighting on under amazing conditions, enduring serious privation. It’s hard to understand, but the mentality of many Soviet soldiers was one in which they accepted their own deaths and were prepared to make the Invaders pay, and pay and pay. With an Urrah! Urrah! they would make launch a desperate charge against a well prepared foe, or fight desperately for every inch of soil. And so too did German soldiers fight with heroism and desperation. For both sides, it seems to me that their mindset was one of grim acceptance and fatal heroism.
Many of the scenarios have been “downsized” to make them playable at a skirmish level, and some scenarios have been created as an amalgam of experiences at Stalingrad to give the gamer an idea of different phases of the battle. For example, 16th Panzer did have units in the fight for the Tractor Factory, but was more heavily engaged on the “Northern Defense Sector” fighting off successive waves of Soviet attacks trying to encircle the Division. Also, the Soviet units’ role is somewhat fluid and acts as a stand-in for the many units engaged in the battle.
I hope that this book brings in the flavor of the scope of the battle, and introduces some elements of that war experience that challenges the gamer. Please keep in mind that this is a game, and my best depiction of real events of several generations past. The rules and scenarios are based on my impressions of the events, and my attempts to piece together what happened. The maps may not always be exact, but are based on old maps of the period and currently available sources like Google Earth to give a good representation of the terrain.
Lead a tank charge across the steppes. Scrabble for food in a ruined basement. Drive your foe into (or away from!) the Volga. It’s all up to you.
What will you do when you face hell in Stalingrad – Heroes All??
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