Briefing
BLITZKRIEG Playable: Hotseat, PBEM, Blue PO, Red PO Many thanks to my playtesters: Ben, Pelle, and Tim. And to the members of TDG.nu for their valuable input. 1. ICON COLORS Blue = Great Blue Red = Big Red Yellow, Green, Brown, White, and Black are minor countries. Yellow and Green are controlled by Red, and the rest controlled by Blue. 2. INTRODUCTION This scenario is a re-make of the Avalon Hill boardgame classic "Blitzkrieg", later released as "Blitzkrieg 75". It is a set-piece battle which depicts a hypothetical confrontation between 2 nearly identical major powers, with several minor countries caught in the middle. Unless noted otherwise, all Events and Theater Options apply equally to both sides. 3. VICTORY CONDITIONS The scenario stops and a side wins a sudden death victory when the opposing capital is occupied. Otherwise, the game will run the full length and victory determined normally. 4. GAME LENGTH The default basic game length is 25 turns. However, to prevent last minute land grabs the game will actually end on a random turn between turns 20 - 30. The extended game can be chosen by either side via Theater Option. It will in effect run the game to infinity (999 turns), ending only when a home capital is occupied or infinity has been breached. All rules apply, and the game is fully playable, in either the basic or extended versions. However, some rules such as strategic bombing will have minimal impact during the short game. There are 2 ways to implement this. The preferred method for ladder/tournament play is to agree beforehand whether or not to utilize the extended option. If agreed upon, then the Blue player should select the option on Turn 1. Or, to add additional spice, leave the option open - either player can opt for the extended game at any time. As the game nears the Turn range 20-25, each player can evaluate what they have to gain for extending the campaign. 5. WAR PRODUCTION The scenario mimics the boardgame's economic model of conquer and control. The capture of cities will strengthen one's own forces while weakening those of his opponent. 5.1. Capturing Minor Capitals For each minor country capital that is captured the controlling side will get a +5 bonus to supply and a 25% increase in replacements. The opponents numbers are reduced by the same amount. These effects will take place as often as a capital changes hands. Note that in the beginning of the game players may not see much of a change since both sides are capturing capitals at the same time. 5.2. Capturing Opponents Home Cities Capturing one of an opponent's home cities will result in his supply dropping by -2 and his replacements by 10%. This applies to each city captured and is non-reversible. The captor does not receive any corresponding benefit. 5.3. Keeping Track The starting SMG Squad replacements for each side are set to 100. You can refer to this number at any time to easily determine how much your replacements have been increased/decreased. 6. AIRBORNE DROPS Aside from the small air transport allowance, players may make 2 large airborne drops per game. To make an airborne drop choose the appropriate Theater Option. On the following turn only, your air transport will be increased to 1000 (enough to drop 2 divisions). After a 4 turn delay, the Theater Option for the 2nd jump will appear and is executed in the same manner. 7. SEABORNE INVASIONS Players are allowed one Amphibious Invasion per game. To start the process choose the appropriate Theater Option. Your Sea Transport will then be temporarily reduced to zero for 8 turns while your shipping is mustered for the invasions. During this 8 week prep time you should start moving your invasion force to their embarkation ports to guarantee that they are ready and rested when the time comes. On the 7th turn (D-1) your Expeditionary Force HQ units will arrive. This should serve as a heads up that the invasion starts on the following tunr. After the 8 turns are up your Sea Transport is set to 4000 (make sure to read the situation briefing screen so you don't miss it). This is D-Day. On D+1 your shipping drops to 2000 and on D+2 it drops to 1000. After that, it returns to its pre-invasion level of 400. Each invadable beach has a supply point which is located in a "distant" hex. The result is that supply is provided on the beach head but quickly dwindles as one moves inland. Note: The players start with 400 Sea Transport points that they are free to use as they see fit aside from the above invasion rules. 8. PO RESTRICTIONS The Airborne Drops and Seaborne Invasions rules are disabled when playing against the PO. A Turn 1 event will cancel those Theater Options. If you start the game in hotseat mode, and later switch to the PO after Turn 1, the options will appear but you shouldn't use them. The PO is especially vulnerable to this kind of warfare and won't react properly, thereby destroying playbalance. 9. STRATEGIC BOMBING Each side has 14 Industry targets - 6 for supply, 6 for replacements, and 2 for transportation. If an opponent eliminates one of these targets (by bombing or other means) it will have detrimental effects to the owning player. Each supply target destroyed will reduce supply by 2 or 1. Each replacement target destroyed will reduce replacements by 8%. If the transportation target is destroyed Rail Transport and supply radius are reduced. Of course, these targets can also be destroyed by ground action. But if the enemy has penetrated that far into your country you would be in dire straights anyway. 10. DESIGNER'S NOTES 10.1. Think about it Think about it: The scenario is a simulation of a boardgame that was a simulation of a campaign that never occured. As I was designing Blitzkrieg the scenario, I was constantly tempted to implement ideas I had on how to enhance the game. But each step I took away from the original boardgame concept presented additional problems of playability and balance. Ultimately, I decided on a strict interpretation of the original concept. 10.2. MAP The map is an exact duplication of the boardgame, enhanced for TOAW purposes. 10.3. OOB The OOBs are almost an exact copy. I changed some names to avoid TOAW naming conflicts, and added some home defense garrisons as well as physical troops for the neutral countries (the boardgame represented their armies in the abstract). 10.4. TOE The TOEs are rather generic and designed to achieve the proper balance. Where possible, I used generic (non-country specific) equipment. When I had to choose, I chose late 40's U.S. equipment for Blue, and late 40's Soviet equipment for Red. 10.5. VICTORY CONDITIONS The boardgame had no set length to it. Seriously, the rules stated that the game continues until one side's capital falls, and I remember games of "Sitzkrieg" between 2 equal players that went on until exhaustion or old age set in. The current scenario length of 25 was a compromise arrived at by repeated solitaire and PO playtests. It is short enough to keep the game dynamic, yet just long enough to enable a victory by a skilled player. The new extended game for version 2.2 was put in due to popular demand. It certainly changes the character of the game. Long term plannig will be rewarded more that military prowess. If this version of the game turns out to be popular I'll probably further develop it with strategic economic enhancements. 10.6. SUPPLY The first version of the boardgame contained a supply system that mandated the capturing of cities to support large armies. Avalon Hill's 1975 version refined these rules somewhat but the game was still oriented towards a conquer and multiply type sypply engine. The supply rules I set up for the scenario were to replicate that system, as well as encouraging players to forge ahead and not withdraw into a tight little circle around their capital. 10.7. STRATEGIC BOMBING STRATEGIC BOMBING: Bombing rules were completely overhauled for version 2.2 (and revised again in 3.0), and better model the system used in the boardgame. 10.8. SEABORNE INVASIONS This was the hardest part of the scenario to design, and probably the part that has the least resemblence to the boardgame. The boardgame's amphibous assault rules were actually quite advanced for the day. There were limits as to how many units could be at sea, sea movement zones, and naval supremacy rules based on the number of controlled ports. In my initial design, I managed to come pretty close to the above, but found that it required about 200 events (300 if including the PO). What I wound up with here, is a system that does pretty good at duplicating the effects of an invasion, without strictly copying each step from the boardgame. And speaking of the PO, I just could not get the PO to execute invasions the way I wanted. In addition, the PO is incredibly vulnerable to being invaded without assigning a ridiculous number of units to beach duty. The final dissapointing choices were to disable all sea transport in PO game, use up a hundred events, or slap down a series of house rules. I chose the first option. Otherwise, the PO isn't too bad in this scenario. The game depicts the type of linear slugfest that the PO is usually good at. In addition, I added some variability to strategic bias and set up 3 objective tracks to keep the game entertaining against the PO. 11. STRATEGY AND TACTICS This section does not espouse one method of play over the other, rather it just emphasizes a few aspects of the scenario that will allow the player to become proficient a little bit faster. 11.1. WATCH YOUR SUPPLY Since there are several events that can affect your supply, you should make a habit of noting your supply at the start of each turn. 11.2. WATCH YOUR BACK JACK In many scenarios you can pile all your units on the front lines and fire away. Not here. You will need to defend against sea-borne invasions, and at the least provide a screen for air-borne landings. To defend the beaches, you can either place units directly on the beach, or hold a centralized reserve near your capital. To defend against airborne operations, I like to use my Army level units such as MPs behind the front lines. If a landing occurs, they can at least pin the invader down until help arrives. Even if you choose to play it risky and leave your rear exposed, at the very minumum, against a human player, you should garrison all cities and important road junctions. 11.3. FOLLOW ESTABLISHED CONCENTRATION OF FORCE PRINCIPLES You might get away with frontal random attacks against the PO, but not against a good human player. You will need to make a plan (where to attack) and allocate an appropriate concentration of force. 11.4. USE YOUR SEA INVASION CAPABILITY SPARINGLY. You have one shot at a major sea-borne invasion. If your opponent has garrisoned the beaches with strong forces, don't feel like you have to follow through. Sometimes the threat of invasion is more effective than the landing itself. 11.5. USE ALL THE WEAPONS IN YOUR ARSENAL You have Engineer and RR Repair units that should be used for their intended purpose. You have air units capable of blowing bridges or conducting naval attacks. You have some ground units that are better for defensive operations, and others that are more offensive oriented. The point is, in a scenario as balanced as this one, victory will go to the side that uses its resources more effectively. 11.6. EXTENDED GAME CONSIDERATIONS This really changes the whole character of the game. The time factor is removed and strategic bombing becomes more important. And the manner in which you and your opponent have agreed to implement these rules has implications also. If you know for a fact that you'll be playing the extended game, you'll operate different then if you know the game is ending on Turn 25, and differently yet again if you don't know. Despite the title, the game is "Blitzkrieg" for only about 5-10 turns. At that point things get bogged down as the 2 huge armies collide. The game will be decided by tactics, force allocation policies, and efficient use of combined arms. 12. RESOURCES "Blitzkrieg" boardgame by Avalon Hill used for the concept, rules, map, and OOB. Freeport-Tech.com used as a general reference for generic division sized TOEs Curt Chambers, Sept 2006

Briefing

BLITZKRIEG

Playable: Hotseat, PBEM, Blue PO, Red PO

Many thanks to my playtesters: Ben, Pelle, and Tim. And to the members of TDG.nu for their valuable input.

1. ICON COLORS

Blue = Great Blue
Red = Big Red

Yellow, Green, Brown, White, and Black are minor countries. Yellow and Green are controlled by Red, and the rest controlled by Blue.

2. INTRODUCTION

This scenario is a re-make of the Avalon Hill boardgame classic "Blitzkrieg", later released as "Blitzkrieg 75". It is a set-piece battle which depicts a hypothetical confrontation between 2 nearly identical major powers, with several minor countries caught in the middle.

Unless noted otherwise, all Events and Theater Options apply equally to both sides.

3. VICTORY CONDITIONS

The scenario stops and a side wins a sudden death victory when the opposing capital is occupied. Otherwise, the game will run the full length and victory determined normally.

4. GAME LENGTH

The default basic game length is 25 turns. However, to prevent last minute land grabs the game will actually end on a random turn between turns 20 - 30.

The extended game can be chosen by either side via Theater Option. It will in effect run the game to infinity (999 turns), ending only when a home capital is occupied or infinity has been breached.

All rules apply, and the game is fully playable, in either the basic or extended versions. However, some rules such as strategic bombing will have minimal impact during the short game.

There are 2 ways to implement this. The preferred method for ladder/tournament play is to agree beforehand whether or not to utilize the extended option. If agreed upon, then the Blue player should select the option on Turn 1.

Or, to add additional spice, leave the option open - either player can opt for the extended game at any time. As the game nears the Turn range 20-25, each player can evaluate what they have to gain for extending the campaign.

5. WAR PRODUCTION

The scenario mimics the boardgame's economic model of conquer and control. The capture of cities will strengthen one's own forces while weakening those of his opponent.

5.1. Capturing Minor Capitals

For each minor country capital that is captured the controlling side will get a +5 bonus to supply and a 25% increase in replacements. The opponents numbers are reduced by the same amount.

These effects will take place as often as a capital changes hands. Note that in the beginning of the game players may not see much of a change since both sides are capturing capitals at the same time.

5.2. Capturing Opponents Home Cities

Capturing one of an opponent's home cities will result in his supply dropping by -2 and his replacements by 10%. This applies to each city captured and is non-reversible. The captor does not receive any corresponding benefit.

5.3. Keeping Track

The starting SMG Squad replacements for each side are set to 100. You can refer to this number at any time to easily determine how much your replacements have been increased/decreased.

6. AIRBORNE DROPS

Aside from the small air transport allowance, players may make 2 large airborne drops per game. To make an airborne drop choose the appropriate Theater Option. On the following turn only, your air transport will be increased to 1000 (enough to drop 2 divisions).

After a 4 turn delay, the Theater Option for the 2nd jump will appear and is executed in the same manner.

7. SEABORNE INVASIONS

Players are allowed one Amphibious Invasion per game. To start the process choose the appropriate Theater Option. Your Sea Transport will then be temporarily reduced to zero for 8 turns while your shipping is mustered for the invasions.

During this 8 week prep time you should start moving your invasion force to their embarkation ports to guarantee that they are ready and rested when the time comes.

On the 7th turn (D-1) your Expeditionary Force HQ units will arrive. This should serve as a heads up that the invasion starts on the following tunr.

After the 8 turns are up your Sea Transport is set to 4000 (make sure to read the situation briefing screen so you don't miss it). This is D-Day. On D+1 your shipping drops to 2000 and on D+2 it drops to 1000. After that, it returns to its pre-invasion level of 400.

Each invadable beach has a supply point which is located in a "distant" hex. The result is that supply is provided on the beach head but quickly dwindles as one moves inland.

Note: The players start with 400 Sea Transport points that they are free to use as they see fit aside from the above invasion rules.

8. PO RESTRICTIONS

The Airborne Drops and Seaborne Invasions rules are disabled when playing against the PO. A Turn 1 event will cancel those Theater Options. If you start the game in hotseat mode, and later switch to the PO after Turn 1, the options will appear but you shouldn't use them. The PO is especially vulnerable to this kind of warfare and won't react properly, thereby destroying playbalance.

9. STRATEGIC BOMBING

Each side has 14 Industry targets - 6 for supply, 6 for replacements, and 2 for transportation. If an opponent eliminates one of these targets (by bombing or other means) it will have detrimental effects to the owning player.

Each supply target destroyed will reduce supply by 2 or 1. Each replacement target destroyed will reduce replacements by 8%. If the transportation target is destroyed Rail Transport and supply radius are reduced.

Of course, these targets can also be destroyed by ground action. But if the enemy has penetrated that far into your country you would be in dire straights anyway.

10. DESIGNER'S NOTES

10.1. Think about it

Think about it: The scenario is a simulation of a boardgame that was a simulation of a campaign that never occured. As I was designing Blitzkrieg the scenario, I was constantly tempted to implement ideas I had on how to enhance the game. But each step I took away from the original boardgame concept presented additional problems of playability and balance. Ultimately, I decided on a strict interpretation of the original concept.

10.2. MAP

The map is an exact duplication of the boardgame, enhanced for TOAW purposes.

10.3. OOB

The OOBs are almost an exact copy. I changed some names to avoid TOAW naming conflicts, and added some home defense garrisons as well as physical troops for the neutral countries (the boardgame represented their armies in the abstract).

10.4. TOE

The TOEs are rather generic and designed to achieve the proper balance. Where possible, I used generic (non-country specific) equipment. When I had to choose, I chose late 40's U.S. equipment for Blue, and late 40's Soviet equipment for Red.

10.5. VICTORY CONDITIONS

The boardgame had no set length to it. Seriously, the rules stated that the game continues until one side's capital falls, and I remember games of "Sitzkrieg" between 2 equal players that went on until exhaustion or old age set in. The current scenario length of 25 was a compromise arrived at by repeated solitaire and PO playtests. It is short enough to keep the game dynamic, yet just long enough to enable a victory by a skilled player.

The new extended game for version 2.2 was put in due to popular demand. It certainly changes the character of the game. Long term plannig will be rewarded more that military prowess. If this version of the game turns out to be popular I'll probably further develop it with strategic economic enhancements.

10.6. SUPPLY

The first version of the boardgame contained a supply system that mandated the capturing of cities to support large armies. Avalon Hill's 1975 version refined these rules somewhat but the game was still oriented towards a conquer and multiply type sypply engine. The supply rules I set up for the scenario were to replicate that system, as well as encouraging players to forge ahead and not withdraw into a tight little circle around their capital.

10.7. STRATEGIC BOMBING

STRATEGIC BOMBING: Bombing rules were completely overhauled for version 2.2 (and revised again in 3.0), and better model the system used in the boardgame.

10.8. SEABORNE INVASIONS

This was the hardest part of the scenario to design, and probably the part that has the least resemblence to the boardgame. The boardgame's amphibous assault rules were actually quite advanced for the day. There were limits as to how many units could be at sea, sea movement zones, and naval supremacy rules based on the number of controlled ports.

In my initial design, I managed to come pretty close to the above, but found that it required about 200 events (300 if including the PO). What I wound up with here, is a system that does pretty good at duplicating the effects of an invasion, without strictly copying each step from the boardgame.

And speaking of the PO, I just could not get the PO to execute invasions the way I wanted. In addition, the PO is incredibly vulnerable to being invaded without assigning a ridiculous number of units to beach duty. The final dissapointing choices were to disable all sea transport in PO game, use up a hundred events, or slap down a series of house rules. I chose the first option.

Otherwise, the PO isn't too bad in this scenario. The game depicts the type of linear slugfest that the PO is usually good at. In addition, I added some variability to strategic bias and set up 3 objective tracks to keep the game entertaining against the PO.

11. STRATEGY AND TACTICS

This section does not espouse one method of play over the other, rather it just emphasizes a few aspects of the scenario that will allow the player to become proficient a little bit faster.

11.1. WATCH YOUR SUPPLY

Since there are several events that can affect your supply, you should make a habit of noting your supply at the start of each turn.

11.2. WATCH YOUR BACK JACK

In many scenarios you can pile all your units on the front lines and fire away. Not here. You will need to defend against sea-borne invasions, and at the least provide a screen for air-borne landings. To defend the beaches, you can either place units directly on the beach, or hold a centralized reserve near your capital. To defend against airborne operations, I like to use my Army level units such as MPs behind the front lines. If a landing occurs, they can at least pin the invader down until help arrives.

Even if you choose to play it risky and leave your rear exposed, at the very minumum, against a human player, you should garrison all cities and important road junctions.

11.3. FOLLOW ESTABLISHED CONCENTRATION OF FORCE PRINCIPLES

You might get away with frontal random attacks against the PO, but not against a good human player. You will need to make a plan (where to attack) and allocate an appropriate concentration of force.

11.4. USE YOUR SEA INVASION CAPABILITY SPARINGLY.

You have one shot at a major sea-borne invasion. If your opponent has garrisoned the beaches with strong forces, don't feel like you have to follow through. Sometimes the threat of invasion is more effective than the landing itself.

11.5. USE ALL THE WEAPONS IN YOUR ARSENAL

You have Engineer and RR Repair units that should be used for their intended purpose. You have air units capable of blowing bridges or conducting naval attacks. You have some ground units that are better for defensive operations, and others that are more offensive oriented. The point is, in a scenario as balanced as this one, victory will go to the side that uses its resources more effectively.

11.6. EXTENDED GAME CONSIDERATIONS

This really changes the whole character of the game. The time factor is removed and strategic bombing becomes more important. And the manner in which you and your opponent have agreed to implement these rules has implications also. If you know for a fact that you'll be playing the extended game, you'll operate different then if you know the game is ending on Turn 25, and differently yet again if you don't know.

Despite the title, the game is "Blitzkrieg" for only about 5-10 turns. At that point things get bogged down as the 2 huge armies collide. The game will be decided by tactics, force allocation policies, and efficient use of combined arms.

12. RESOURCES

"Blitzkrieg" boardgame by Avalon Hill used for the concept, rules, map, and OOB.
Freeport-Tech.com used as a general reference for generic division sized TOEs

Curt Chambers, Sept 2006