Matrix Games Forums

Have you tried Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa available through Matrix?

It allows for the German player to make decisions to not fight a dirty war, for example, but you lose a number of Security Divisions ... of course, there are fewer Partisans to fight as a result.

That's the closest you can get to not pursuing the war of extermination the Nazis pursued in the East, but it only covers the first bit of Barbarossa, not the whole of the war in the east.

It's particularly interesting as it allows (and spells out how in the rulebook) the German commander in the East to take all the steps necessary to prevent the German first winter problems ... at the cost of pissing off Hitler and, unless you are more successful than historical, being replaced for disobedience.

That's the closest any game I've ever seen gets to dealing with those knotty issues.

Phil

As for division counting ... by 1943-44 most Soviet Divisions were ~3000 men or so, except for Guards units, which were, perhaps, 2-3 times that strength at the beginning of an offensive.

German units by that time were mostly around ~5000 to ~8000 men.

Commonwealth units were generally at or close to full strength, around ~12000 to ~16000 or so, depending on type.

US units were likewise at or close to full strength.

Then, consider this, the US raised ~90 Divisions, not including Marines, and most of them fought in the ETO. Each was, roughly, between one and a half and twice the manpower of a German unit. So that's somewhere between 135 and 180 German division equivalents.

On top of that the US raised non-divisional Armour, Armoured Infantry, Infantry, Cavalry-Recon and Artillery units equivalent in manpower to the 'Divisions' raised ... so double the 135-180 German Division equivalents for 270-360 ... which is around the same as the ~350 Divisions the Germans raised.

The Commonwealth units, while not as lavishly equipped with non-divisional combat units, still had huge reserves of combat manpower in them as well.

Numbers can be deceiving.

Phil