Kharkov, May 1942: The Last Disaster

May 1942 saw the first major, considered offensive by the Red Army in the war against Germany. Expectations were high, with four Soviet armies aiming to encircle the German Sixth Army and to recapture the fourth largest city in the Soviet Union. Those expectations were dashed within a fortnight by the German Army’s ability to absorb the offensive and launch a counteroffensive of its own which, in its turn, encircled two Soviet armies.

Kharkov, May 1942 – The Last Disaster is a miniature wargames campaign system, designed for two to four players, covering these events. It is designed for games in which a stand represents a platoon or in which the main unit of manoeuvre is the battalion. Suitable rules would include Spearhead, Blitzkrieg Commander, Command Decision: TOB, A Fistful of Tows, Rapid Fire Reloaded and others, including those which wargamers may have written themselves.

The system generates fifty or so hours of gaming spread over ten to fifteen individual battles which are fought over six to fifteen daily campaign turns. The number of turns is flexible and determined by whether either player can encircle the enemy’s forces. Progress in the campaign is measured along campaign tracks representing the two major axes of attack with a number of battlefield ‘spaces’. Each turn players decide whether to attack or not and then which parts of their total forces they commit to any ensuing battle. Battles will generally be around a brigade or regiment of four to eight battalions on each side. The results of each on table battle determine the speed of advance on the main campaign map.