Briefing
House of Cards 1945 The last battles on the Eastern Front Original ACOW scenario by Thomas Kolley, 1998 Unfortunately I was unable to get in touch with the designer, so this mod has to be classified as 'unauthorized'. More info on the original scenario http://members.fortunecity.de/mcsnipe/HoC.html if it's still on the web... 4 versions are included: PBEM Soviet PO Axis PO Free deployment "The Eastern Front is like a House of Cards." Generaloberst Guderian 1. Strategy 1.1. Soviet player As the Soviet player you will crush the enemy with initial artillery barrages and then steamroll through Poland, the old provinces East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia on to Berlin. Budapest, Vienna and Prague are big prices, as are the rich industrial areas of Silesia and Mahrisch Ostrau and the oilfields. It will pay to attack cities which historically got bypassed. Taking Berlin will trigger an early end to the scenario but won't mean an automatic Soviet victory... the level of victory is still decided by the addition of other objectives you capture on your way to the Reichstag. 1.2. German player As the German player you can't allow the loss of German territory to the enemy. You must hold at all cost and avoid losing too much ground. There are slender opportunities for counterstrikes but if these fail all is lost. Best use for this are 6 SS Pz Army, Germania SS, and the GD and HG formations. Do not lose the oilfields, Mahrisch Ostrau and the Lower Silesian Industrial Area because supply and replacements will drop dramatically. Defend Berlin at all costs as it will cause your replacements to drop like a brick and trigger the end to the scenario. 2. Notes on the TOAWIII mod Scenario expanded from 50 to a potential 120 turns. It originally only covered the Vistula-Oder and Budapest-Vienna operations. Map clean-up; geographics in Poland, Hungary and Austria made more accurate. Units and formations renamed; use of standard abbreviations. Detached those Soviet armies which were included in Front formations for more flexibility in objective tracks for the Soviet PO. OOB underwent a few tiny corrections. (reference Axis History Factbook website) Added command and support groups to HQ's. Changed all low mobile German FlaK counters to fixed artillery counters. Slightly adjusted force proficiency, supply stockpile and transport capabilities. Limited Soviet paradrops (Polish and Czech NKVD) and limited German naval transport are possible. Added Komarno, Nagykanisza and Zistersdorf. The loss of the oilfields near these cities will affect German supply, but overall losses remain the same as in the original Kolley scenario. Reconstitution for certain units set as "fixed". You won't see Cetniks popping up outside Yugoslavia... Hungarian units do not reconstitute Replacement priority varies by nationality and type of unit. In general SS and Soviet Guards get higher priority. Romanian and Hungarian as well as Volkssturm units have lower priority. Adjusted some weather effects, there is more chance of an early thaw, but storms may rage frequently till the final warm front. Automatic rail repair set at 10 hexes per turn for the Soviets The fall of Berlin is a disaster for the Germans... As central command collapses replacements will drop to 10% of their last value to reflect the desintegration of the German army... the loss of Berlin will also trigger the end of the scenario, set on a variable amount of turns... the last chance to capture or defend some VP's The Soviets receive positive shock values on turns 1 and 2, the initial breakout from their bridgeheads. German shock will be below 100 during these turns. The German side receives TO's for two timeframes of positive but rapidly declining shock values to aid tactical counter attacks. These time frames are named after and set on the historic dates of their two ultimate counter offensives in the East: "Sonnenwende" and "Fruhlingserwachen" but can be used anywhere on the front. Sonnenwende: TO available from turn 36, shock effects lasting 2 days Fruhlingserwachen: TO available from turn 54, shock effects lasting 9 days Don't forget to use these TO's. Each TO is only available for 7 days and these are most likely the only opportunities you'll get to seriously hamper the Soviets. The German PO will activate the shock events on variable turn range. 3. PO details I attempted to set the dates for activation of Soviet formations and their objective paths as close as possible to history. As you play vs the Soviet PO, don't provoke an early activation of formations in quiet sectors by moving units adjacent to them... Both PO's have three objective tracks, activated by events or turns. They affect following areas separately: 3.1. Soviet Vistula-Oder Operation and Hungary defense Silesia and Budapest-Vienna Operation Oder-Berlin (the great clean-up) 3.2. German Poland/Hungary defense Operation Fruhlingserwachen General defense 4. Sources I found lots of info in Earl Ziemkes "Battle For Berlin" and "Stalingrad to Berlin" both are a must-read Silvain Domen

Briefing

House of Cards 1945

The last battles on the Eastern Front

Original ACOW scenario by Thomas Kolley, 1998
Unfortunately I was unable to get in touch with the designer, so this mod has to be classified as 'unauthorized'.
More info on the original scenario http://members.fortunecity.de/mcsnipe/HoC.html if it's still on the web...
4 versions are included:

PBEM
Soviet PO
Axis PO
Free deployment

"The Eastern Front is like a House of Cards."
Generaloberst Guderian

1. Strategy

1.1. Soviet player

As the Soviet player you will crush the enemy with initial artillery barrages and then steamroll through Poland, the old provinces East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia on to Berlin.
Budapest, Vienna and Prague are big prices, as are the rich industrial areas of Silesia and Mahrisch Ostrau and the oilfields.
It will pay to attack cities which historically got bypassed.
Taking Berlin will trigger an early end to the scenario but won't mean an automatic Soviet victory... the level of victory is still decided by the addition of other objectives you capture on your way to the Reichstag.

1.2. German player

As the German player you can't allow the loss of German territory to the enemy. You must hold at all cost and avoid losing too much ground.
There are slender opportunities for counterstrikes but if these fail all is lost.
Best use for this are 6 SS Pz Army, Germania SS, and the GD and HG formations.
Do not lose the oilfields, Mahrisch Ostrau and the Lower Silesian Industrial Area because supply and replacements will drop dramatically.
Defend Berlin at all costs as it will cause your replacements to drop like a brick and trigger the end to the scenario.

2. Notes on the TOAWIII mod

Scenario expanded from 50 to a potential 120 turns. It originally only covered the Vistula-Oder and Budapest-Vienna operations.
Map clean-up; geographics in Poland, Hungary and Austria made more accurate.
Units and formations renamed; use of standard abbreviations.
Detached those Soviet armies which were included in Front formations for more flexibility in objective tracks for the Soviet PO.
OOB underwent a few tiny corrections. (reference Axis History Factbook website)
Added command and support groups to HQ's.
Changed all low mobile German FlaK counters to fixed artillery counters.
Slightly adjusted force proficiency, supply stockpile and transport capabilities.
Limited Soviet paradrops (Polish and Czech NKVD) and limited German naval transport are possible.
Added Komarno, Nagykanisza and Zistersdorf.
The loss of the oilfields near these cities will affect German supply, but overall losses remain the same as in the original Kolley scenario.
Reconstitution for certain units set as "fixed".
You won't see Cetniks popping up outside Yugoslavia...
Hungarian units do not reconstitute
Replacement priority varies by nationality and type of unit. In general SS and Soviet Guards get higher priority.
Romanian and Hungarian as well as Volkssturm units have lower priority.
Adjusted some weather effects, there is more chance of an early thaw, but storms may rage frequently till the final warm front.
Automatic rail repair set at 10 hexes per turn for the Soviets
The fall of Berlin is a disaster for the Germans... As central command collapses replacements will drop to 10% of their last value to reflect the desintegration of the German army... the loss of Berlin will also trigger the end of the scenario, set on a variable amount of turns... the last chance to capture or defend some VP's
The Soviets receive positive shock values on turns 1 and 2, the initial breakout from their bridgeheads.
German shock will be below 100 during these turns.
The German side receives TO's for two timeframes of positive but rapidly declining shock values to aid tactical counter attacks.
These time frames are named after and set on the historic dates of their two ultimate counter offensives in the East: "Sonnenwende" and "Fruhlingserwachen" but can be used anywhere on the front.
Sonnenwende: TO available from turn 36, shock effects lasting 2 days
Fruhlingserwachen: TO available from turn 54, shock effects lasting 9 days
Don't forget to use these TO's. Each TO is only available for 7 days and these are most likely the only opportunities you'll get to seriously hamper the Soviets.
The German PO will activate the shock events on variable turn range.

3. PO details

I attempted to set the dates for activation of Soviet formations and their objective paths as close as possible to history.
As you play vs the Soviet PO, don't provoke an early activation of formations in quiet sectors by moving units adjacent to them...

Both PO's have three objective tracks, activated by events or turns.
They affect following areas separately:

3.1. Soviet

Vistula-Oder Operation and Hungary defense
Silesia and Budapest-Vienna Operation
Oder-Berlin (the great clean-up)

3.2. German

Poland/Hungary defense
Operation Fruhlingserwachen
General defense

4. Sources

I found lots of info in Earl Ziemkes "Battle For Berlin" and "Stalingrad to Berlin" both are a must-read

Silvain Domen