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The manual states that a night turn occurs every third, fourth or fifth turn of a scenario where the ground scale is 2,500 meters per hex and every other turn in a scenario where the ground scale is 500 meters per hex

This seems backwards to me. Why can a unit move a minimum of 7.5 times further (and a maximum of 12.5 times ) in a day when the ground scale is 2,500 meters per hex than when it is 500 meters per hex?

Calculation: A minimum of thee movement phases per day with a ground scale of 2,500 meters per hex vs two movement phases per day with a ground scale of 500 m per hex is 1.5 times the number of movement phases, times 5 (the difference in hex scale (2500m/500m) = 7.5 times the distance moved per day.

Good question.

The short answer? Because these movement factors work best for the historical situation, the game's underlying design, and the player's gaming experience.

The long answer...

First, the battle in the city was a slow grind. There weren't any big "maneuver days" represented in the set of scenarios; all the historical re-deployments of divisions that occurred during the battle happen in between scenarios. The battle for the grain elevator is a good example of a fight for a 500-meter hex that took days to resolve. The assigned movement points support the actual battlefield friction in Stalingrad quite well.

Second, the game engine uses an interaction between an enemy unit's movement factor, a friendly unit's stacking points, and the max stacking per hex to determine the "hardness" of Zones of Control in the game. From the manual,

"A hex’s ZOC value is the cost in additional Move Points that an enemy unit must expend to enter that hex. For example, if a hex has a ZOC Value of 4, then it will cost an enemy unit 4 Move Points to enter that hex plus the cost of terrain. The maximum cost to enter a hex in an enemy ZOC (EZOC) equals the cost of the terrain plus 10 MPs. If the hex in question is occupied by a stationary friendly unit then the only cost to enter the hex is that of the terrain alone—i.e. the EZOC cost is 0."

What does all this mean? It means you can't just change the movement factors of the units--and then all is good. No--You also have to re-calibrate the Zone of Control effects by adjusting the stacking points assigned to each echelon (platoon thru army) and the number of stacking points allowed per hex given these adjustments. Everything has to be re-balanced.

Which brings us to the third and final reason we designed the city fight the way we did--the Player's gaming experience with 2500-meters has to carry over to this fight. We didn't want the player to have to re-learn all the interactions of the game system given the changes in time scale and ground scale. As has been observed by several players the learning curve is high but easy to play once you know the system. We wanted to make the transition from 2500-meters to 500-meters as painless as possible. The only difference between the two ground scales is the longer range of artillery--usually a happy face discovery. Nothing more to learn than that. Essentially, the game plays the same regardless of the ground scale...and we think the fight for the city is just about right.

The game editor allows anyone who is interested to explore the interactions between movement points, stacking points and stacking limit to find their own sweet spot for game play. Consider all the factors outlined in the game manual (p.65) with regards to Zones of Control as you embark on your adventure.

Have fun along the way!

Thank you for the detailed explanation.