How to play · quick reference
A counter is a military unit. Its large number is combat strength; M is movement points. A pale counter has lost one of its two steps. A second loss removes it.
Move one unit at a time. Click a neighboring hex to move one step; continue until finished. Forest costs two points. Entering a space next to an enemy ends that unit’s movement. Moving another unit ends the previous unit’s move.
Declare all attacks before rolling any dice. Add adjacent attackers’ strengths, divide by the defender and round down. Cap at 6:1, then reduce one column per terrain protection. Below 1:1 has no effect.
Example: 12 attacking 4 gives 3:1. A forest reduces it to 2:1. A roll of 3 gives EX: the defender loses a step; the attacker matches those lost strength points. A surviving defender retreats.
Turns 3–4 bring mud: one hex per movement phase except rail; attacking armor is halved. German panzers get a special movement phase before combat; Soviet units get a rail phase. The opening German turn starts with combat.
Replacement steps restore a reduced counter or bring an eliminated counter back at reduced strength. Unused steps expire. The Soviet Shock Army arrives full-strength on turn 4.
Both modes use the same rules. Read the VPG rules for the full procedures. This teaching implementation uses original screen graphics and the published game facts; it is not an official edition.
Players: choose either side against a scripted computer opponent, or control both sides.
Designer notes
Consider the cost of concentrating units for an attack: which positions will you leave weaker? Terrain and the turn sequence also limit where you can move next. The odds table makes stronger attacks more favorable without guaranteeing success. Compare your expected outcome with the recorded result.
The German opening arrangement is a suggested legal setup. Before starting, swap German counters on the marked starting hexes to explore a different plan. Soviet identities are interchangeable at setup.
If every reinforcement entry is blocked, the players may explicitly agree to delay it one turn. This is a logged local ruling for an edge case the printed rules do not resolve.