Part 82: Turn 12 - March/April 43: Na Berlin!

The 2nd Tank Army is sent south, near Dnepropetrovsk, to better exploit the gap in the Axis line. From there, it appears they can advance virtually unopposed further and further west.

With this we conclude Turn 11.

Frontline change

Blue is last turn, red is now. As you can see, there have been some changes.



It is now Turn 12. The weather is Mud (meaning no Multi-hex advance, no Armour bonus in combat and all movement capped at 3 MPs) and neither side receives the Blitz/Shock markers. The event this turn is Initiative Change!


(click above)

The tide has turned, decisively. From this point on, the Germans no longer have access to many options they have held thus far, while the Soviets are only getting started. Events marked with a Balkankreuz icon are no longer playable. Instead, the events marked with a Red Star icon can now be played.

But that is not the only change to occur.



It is a Sudden Death turn, so let's look at the VP track. As you can see, the Germans are at 17 VPs. They need 27. So, I guess that's a no.

But let's do one more thing.


From this point on, it's the Soviets who will collect Victory Points, not the Germans. And as they control 15 Cities and the Caucasus Oil Fields and have 1 VP for events, they are at 17 VPs. That's one more than they need for the Sudden Death threshold. As we're playing with No Surrender, the Axis would have to discard a card, if they had any, and will draw one less this turn. Not a tragedy, but definitely a setback - and it will hurt their recovery.

The next Sudden Death threshold is 19 on Turn 15.

But wait, there's more. The Victory Conditions have changed!

From this point on, the Germans need to control four Objective hexes at the start of a Game Turn in order to win an Objective Victory.

If the Soviets gain 34 VPs at the start of any Game Turn, they will win a Total Victory.

The Germans can also win an Operational Victory if at the start of Turn 23 the Soviet VP marker will be less than the High Tide marker, which is now stuck at 17. That's a pretty tall order.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.


The Axis have no cards in hand. They draw 3.


Everything is fine.


1st Panzer, 4th Army, 6th Army, 9th Army, 11th Army and 16th Army can all be flipped back up to their full-strength side at a cost of 2 discards each.


To regain the strategic initiative, the Germans have received a wave of reinforcements. The 2nd Hungarian is just same old, same old, but the SS Panzer is a whole new beast. It represents the better equipped, elite forces, who receive special attention from the top brass. They get a couple of bonuses for that reason.

First of all, it always gets the Armour attack bonus. Always. Even when fighting tanks. Or in the mud. Or in the mountains. Always.

Second of all, flipping it back to its full-strength side costs one card instead of two.

There is a drawback, however. Much like the Soviet shock fronts, if it attacks or counterattacks and rolls an EX, it has to take the step loss. No other unit can substitute for them.

These two units have to be placed in any City hex in Greater Germany.


The Axis also have a wide range of replacements to pick from.

The Luftwaffe unit, since it has been merely shattered and not destroyed, can be reformed for free in any Axis-controlled City in the Soviet Union in addition to the normal placement locations. The City must be able to trace a supply path and be outside of EZOCs.

The rest of the rebuilt units can be placed either in any City hex in Greater Germany, or on the Kampfgruppe 1 (immediately destroying the Kampfgruppe). In the latter case, they do not arrive Disorganised.


I need discards and placements from Tekopo. The deadline for them is Wednesday, June 4, 6 PM GMT.