Briefing
Poland 1939 Feldzug in Polen Version: 1.31 For the latest news on this scenario, please visite the home page 1. Unit Colours 1.1. German Heersgruppe Nord: Black on Field Grey 3rd Armee: White on Field Grey 4th Armee: Light Blue on Field Grey Landwehr: Beige on Field Grey Heersgruppe Sud: Dark Grey on Grey 8th Armee: Grey with Blue on Grey 10th Armee: Grey on Grey 14th Armee: Black on Grey Luftwaffe: Grey on Light Blue Schutstaffel: Black on Black 1.2. Russian (on Red) Belorussian Front: Red Ukrainian Front: Black Artillery: Grey/Green 1.3. Polish Regular Army: Blue on White Divisional/Brigade Artillery: Grey on White National Guard: Grey with Red on White Naval Forces Yellow on White Army Air Defence: Yellow with Red on White 2. MODIFIED EXECUTABLE This scenario is designed to be played with a modified Opart 300 Executable. If you are missing this file the scenario will still play but a few things will be wrong (mainly with the panzer divisions). It is included in the zip file. Great thanks to Biohazard for this superb tool. All German tanks have recon Bicycle Squads now used Armoured Trains modified TKS are unarmoured Heavy Motorcycle Squads 3. Significant Events 3.1. Shock On turn one the Poles, in particular in the air, will suffer shock effects. The air shock continues on turn 2. The Germans have a small shock bonus for the entire scenario. 3.2. Supply The loss of major cities will result in a drop in replacements for the Poles. The percentage loss is equal to the objective value of the hex except in the case of Warszawa, where it is 17%. There is also a drop in supply associated with these cities. The loss of all objective cities will leave Polish force supply at 5. 3.3. Panzer losses The loss of significant armoured forces by the Germans would be a major blow to their future plans. Therefore all German units with armoured, armoured recon or motorised icons will give the Polish player a victory bonus if destroyed. The bonus is 8 points for a regiment or brigade and 4 points for a battalion. From turn 2 the Poles suffer refugee affects across the country. 3.4. Fallschirmjeager The German player now has a Theatre Option on turn one to gain air transport to use with the parachute regiment located in Stolp. This will result in the loss of 3 victory points for Germany as the Wehrmacht had hoped to keep the Fallschirmjeagers secret as long as possible. Whether the option is used or not the regiment is available, but its lost will award a further 12 VPs to the Poles. The theatre option is only available for the first turn. If you activate this theatre option then you MUST move the unit before moving any other units that turn. The German plan called for these troops to be dropped on bridges in between 4th Army and Warszawa. The operation was cancelled at the last minute as the bridges in question had already been captured by the armoured spearheads. 3.5. VP awards for offensives There are hexes labelled "CENTRE" in East Prussia and Slovakia. Each hex closer to these hexes the Poles proceed will award 1 VP point or more as the Poles get very close. The fall of Insterburg gives the Poles 5 permanent victory points. The Poles gain VPs each turn unless the Germans advance at least a certain distance towards the centre of Poland. This to encourage the Poles to fight for the whole country, not just the cities. The Poles gain VPs for holding Radom, Kielce, Lodz, Lublin and Modlin at the end of the scenario, equal to a half to three-quarters of the value of the hex. 3.6. Soviet involvement Soviet troops appear on the marked hexes on turns 6 through 8. On turn 7 the Germans and Soviets begin the post-war plan for Poland- all German units must be withdrawn from the Soviet Area as much as possible and no more units may enter it or make attacks in it. Soviet units are not allowed to advance into contact with German units from turn 7. Soviet units cannot enter or make attacks into the German Area (though they may bombard into it). The dividing line runs mostly along the river Bug and is shown on the map. The scenario is essentially about the German part of the invasion and hence the Poles are awarded VP bonuses if the Germans are unable to captured Lvov and Brest. 3.7. Polish Supply Theatre Options The Polish player has four theatre options. Each gives a supply point in a major city (Warszawa, Lodz, Krakow, Lvov and Radom) at the cost of two points of force supply (4 for Warszawa). These options are available for the first turn only for Krakow, the first three turns for Lodz, the first five turns for Warszawa and Lvov and the first six turns for Radom, and all of them involve a one-turn delay. Be careful about the overuse of these options. They total half the force supply for the Polish army. However, it is advisable to take at least one of the TOs before they expire as the only initial supply points for the Poles are on the Eastern map edge. 3.8. Polish Mobilisation The Poles are in the process of mobilisation when attacked. The 9 reserve divisions arrive on the map as reinforcements at random from turn three, unless their mobilisation areas are captured in that time, in which case their arrivals cannot take place. Equipment arriving as replacements represents equipment which was in stores up to that point- obviously if the cities where the stores are located fall, the stores are lost with them. 3.9. Western front Historically, the Germans were concerned about the possibility of an attack from the west whilst the fighting in Poland was still going on. Once the Poles had been reduced to a few small pockets, the Germans began redeployment back to the West to face this possible threat. The Germans have theatre options to withdraw twelve infantry divisions, spread around the theatre. Every turn, the EEV will increase by one for each of these divisions that has not been withdrawn. Once the EEV reaches 60, the French will begin to react to the weakness of German defences in the west and prepare to attack. These events will give increasingly large VP bonuses to the Poles. The German player is advised to withdraw these units as soon as possible or else face catastrophe in the West. The final EEV trigger is 95; by this time the Poles will have gained a total of 255 VPs. 3.10. Polish Loss Penalty The Poles have a number of off-map units which begin the game empty but fill up with artillery as it goes on. Because of this, the Poles will not suffer any penalty unless more than three quarters of their army is destroyed. Thereafter, the loss penalty will be severe- around 4 VPs for one division. 4. Historical Result The German attack through Poland acheived astonishing success. The Polish air force was crippled on day one, and the army took little longer. Armoured units pushed deep into Poland while the German infantry held the enemy on the border and destroyed them there. Within two weeks, Polish resistance was reduced to scattered pockets holding out in the major cities. By the time the Soviets began their occupation, there was no real Polish army left to resist them, though they still made much slower progress than their allies. Warszawa was the last major pocket to fall- with the national radio station playing the Polish national anthem on a loop until the city finally surrendered on the 28th of September. In less than a month, the Germans completely destroyed the ability to fight of an army which had numbered 39 divisions, 13 brigades and numerous smaller units, including several hundred each of tanks and aircraft, though only a handful were modern. This swift and brilliantly executed campaign should have served to show the world that the Germans really did mean business, but it was treated as a fluke by the French army: "We are not Poles. It could not happen here." Of course, the Germans proved them wrong in the Spring, and with a campaign that overshadowed the invasion of the previous September in every way, Germany went on to crush France as well. 5. Balance The scenario is a presentation of the situation that the Polish and German armies were in on 1st September 1939- an optimistic presentation for the Poles at least. As a result a good German player will be able to neutralise a large part of the Polish army on the first two turns thereby making Polish victory impossible. For this reason it has been necessary to add a number of VP bonuses to the Polish player to give them a chance of victory against an experienced German player. For the novice this scenario is ideal for learning how to conduct a good Blitzkrieg offensive (in this case you may wish to play against a Polish PO), as well as being useful for learning how to conduct a fighting retreat with seriously limited resources. I intend to produce a variant of this scenario which allows both sides the chance to modify their deployment, making for a more recognisable TOAW contest, suitable for all skill levels. Ben Turner

Briefing

Poland 1939

Feldzug in Polen

Version: 1.31

For the latest news on this scenario, please visite the home page

1. Unit Colours

1.1. German

Heersgruppe Nord: Black on Field Grey
3rd Armee: White on Field Grey
4th Armee: Light Blue on Field Grey
Landwehr: Beige on Field Grey
Heersgruppe Sud: Dark Grey on Grey
8th Armee: Grey with Blue on Grey
10th Armee: Grey on Grey
14th Armee: Black on Grey
Luftwaffe: Grey on Light Blue
Schutstaffel: Black on Black

1.2. Russian (on Red)

Belorussian Front: Red
Ukrainian Front: Black
Artillery: Grey/Green

1.3. Polish

Regular Army: Blue on White
Divisional/Brigade Artillery: Grey on White
National Guard: Grey with Red on White
Naval Forces Yellow on White
Army Air Defence: Yellow with Red on White

2. MODIFIED EXECUTABLE

This scenario is designed to be played with a modified Opart 300 Executable. If you are missing this file the scenario will still play but a few things will be wrong (mainly with the panzer divisions). It is included in the zip file. Great thanks to Biohazard for this superb tool.

All German tanks have recon
Bicycle Squads now used
Armoured Trains modified
TKS are unarmoured
Heavy Motorcycle Squads

3. Significant Events

3.1. Shock

On turn one the Poles, in particular in the air, will suffer shock effects. The air shock continues on turn 2. The Germans have a small shock bonus for the entire scenario.

3.2. Supply

The loss of major cities will result in a drop in replacements for the Poles. The percentage loss is equal to the objective value of the hex except in the case of Warszawa, where it is 17%. There is also a drop in supply associated with these cities. The loss of all objective cities will leave Polish force supply at 5.

3.3. Panzer losses

The loss of significant armoured forces by the Germans would be a major blow to their future plans. Therefore all German units with armoured, armoured recon or motorised icons will give the Polish player a victory bonus if destroyed. The bonus is 8 points for a regiment or brigade and 4 points for a battalion.
From turn 2 the Poles suffer refugee affects across the country.

3.4. Fallschirmjeager

The German player now has a Theatre Option on turn one to gain air transport to use with the parachute regiment located in Stolp. This will result in the loss of 3 victory points for Germany as the Wehrmacht had hoped to keep the Fallschirmjeagers secret as long as possible. Whether the option is used or not the regiment is available, but its lost will award a further 12 VPs to the Poles. The theatre option is only available for the first turn. If you activate this theatre option then you MUST move the unit before moving any other units that turn.

The German plan called for these troops to be dropped on bridges in between 4th Army and Warszawa. The operation was cancelled at the last minute as the bridges in question had already been captured by the armoured spearheads.

3.5. VP awards for offensives

There are hexes labelled "CENTRE" in East Prussia and Slovakia. Each hex closer to these hexes the Poles proceed will award 1 VP point or more as the Poles get very close. The fall of Insterburg gives the Poles 5 permanent victory points.

The Poles gain VPs each turn unless the Germans advance at least a certain distance towards the centre of Poland. This to encourage the Poles to fight for the whole country, not just the cities.
The Poles gain VPs for holding Radom, Kielce, Lodz, Lublin and Modlin at the end of the scenario, equal to a half to three-quarters of the value of the hex.

3.6. Soviet involvement

Soviet troops appear on the marked hexes on turns 6 through 8. On turn 7 the Germans and Soviets begin the post-war plan for Poland- all German units must be withdrawn from the Soviet Area as much as possible and no more units may enter it or make attacks in it. Soviet units are not allowed to advance into contact with German units from turn 7. Soviet units cannot enter or make attacks into the German Area (though they may bombard into it). The dividing line runs mostly along the river Bug and is shown on the map.
The scenario is essentially about the German part of the invasion and hence the Poles are awarded VP bonuses if the Germans are unable to captured Lvov and Brest.

3.7. Polish Supply Theatre Options

The Polish player has four theatre options. Each gives a supply point in a major city (Warszawa, Lodz, Krakow, Lvov and Radom) at the cost of two points of force supply (4 for Warszawa). These options are available for the first turn only for Krakow, the first three turns for Lodz, the first five turns for Warszawa and Lvov and the first six turns for Radom, and all of them involve a one-turn delay. Be careful about the overuse of these options. They total half the force supply for the Polish army. However, it is advisable to take at least one of the TOs before they expire as the only initial supply points for the Poles are on the Eastern map edge.

3.8. Polish Mobilisation

The Poles are in the process of mobilisation when attacked. The 9 reserve divisions arrive on the map as reinforcements at random from turn three, unless their mobilisation areas are captured in that time, in which case their arrivals cannot take place.

Equipment arriving as replacements represents equipment which was in stores up to that point- obviously if the cities where the stores are located fall, the stores are lost with them.

3.9. Western front

Historically, the Germans were concerned about the possibility of an attack from the west whilst the fighting in Poland was still going on. Once the Poles had been reduced to a few small pockets, the Germans began redeployment back to the West to face this possible threat. The Germans have theatre options to withdraw twelve infantry divisions, spread around the theatre. Every turn, the EEV will increase by one for each of these divisions that has not been withdrawn. Once the EEV reaches 60, the French will begin to react to the weakness of German defences in the west and prepare to attack. These events will give increasingly large VP bonuses to the Poles. The German player is advised to withdraw these units as soon as possible or else face catastrophe in the West. The final EEV trigger is 95; by this time the Poles will have gained a total of 255 VPs.

3.10. Polish Loss Penalty

The Poles have a number of off-map units which begin the game empty but fill up with artillery as it goes on. Because of this, the Poles will not suffer any penalty unless more than three quarters of their army is destroyed. Thereafter, the loss penalty will be severe- around 4 VPs for one division.

4. Historical Result

The German attack through Poland acheived astonishing success. The Polish air force was crippled on day one, and the army took little longer. Armoured units pushed deep into Poland while the German infantry held the enemy on the border and destroyed them there. Within two weeks, Polish resistance was reduced to scattered pockets holding out in the major cities. By the time the Soviets began their occupation, there was no real Polish army left to resist them, though they still made much slower progress than their allies. Warszawa was the last major pocket to fall- with the national radio station playing the Polish national anthem on a loop until the city finally surrendered on the 28th of September. In less than a month, the Germans completely destroyed the ability to fight of an army which had numbered 39 divisions, 13 brigades and numerous smaller units, including several hundred each of tanks and aircraft, though only a handful were modern. This swift and brilliantly executed campaign should have served to show the world that the Germans really did mean business, but it was treated as a fluke by the French army: "We are not Poles. It could not happen here." Of course, the Germans proved them wrong in the Spring, and with a campaign that overshadowed the invasion of the previous September in every way, Germany went on to crush France as well.

5. Balance

The scenario is a presentation of the situation that the Polish and German armies were in on 1st September 1939- an optimistic presentation for the Poles at least. As a result a good German player will be able to neutralise a large part of the Polish army on the first two turns thereby making Polish victory impossible. For this reason it has been necessary to add a number of VP bonuses to the Polish player to give them a chance of victory against an experienced German player.

For the novice this scenario is ideal for learning how to conduct a good Blitzkrieg offensive (in this case you may wish to play against a Polish PO), as well as being useful for learning how to conduct a fighting retreat with seriously limited resources. I intend to produce a variant of this scenario which allows both sides the chance to modify their deployment, making for a more recognisable TOAW contest, suitable for all skill levels.

Ben Turner