Here are Tim’s thoughts:

• As the German, I’m not sure it if is better to do overruns before combat or afterwards.  More than once, I had a stack stopped and left out of position for the combat phase when it received an adverse result on the CRT.  Maybe overruns are best used to disrupt a key soviet unit (most likely a headquarters unit).  I tried that once and it seemed to work well.
• I forgot that ZOC’s don’t extend across the Don (even though you reminded me…probably the beer had an impact…).  That explains why I put so much time and effort into that area.  I was trying to extricate a couple of motorized divisions that had gotten ZOC’d up and that I wanted to use elsewhere.  Just like Hougomont at Waterloo, a subsidiary battle took on a life of its own.
• I belatedly realized that I’d captured Voronezh on turn 2.  There are three hexes of Voronezh and I thought you had to capture all of them to get the VPs for the city…I only needed the two I had captured right away.
• The Hitler directives do play a role.  I lost a motorized division when I had too many motorized/panzer units in the north and I was reluctant to move units across the Don as I was afraid that a bad die roll would result in them being taken away and sent somewhere else.
• I enjoyed playing the game and I definitely want to try it again.

During Turn 2, the Germans advanced in the north and south, cleaning up Soviet delaying units in the center.  The Soviets pushed reinforcements to conform with the requirement for a continuous line along the Don, as well as in the center.  For the Soviets, the initial crisis has seemed to pass.

The Axis continues to develop its attacks in the north and south, while cautiously advancing in the center.

Soviet reinforcements continue to arrive, with some deploying on the south map anticipating the Axis will “turn the corner” at Rostov.

Heavy combat takes place in the north and south, with Axis units now advancing in the center,

Intense fighting continues.  The Germans take Rostov and begin moving south.  Soviet forces tenaciously defend in the north, but gaps are appearing in the center.  Fortunately, the bulk of the Axis armor is deployed elsewhere.

As usual, we had to pick it up just when things were getting interesting.  BTW, this is a 27 turn game…..

Lots of mixed opinions on this game, with the negative a little on the harsh side.

Special rules make Drive on Stalingrad different from its PGG predecessors. For the Axis player, these rules reflect the overarching goal of securing oil resources in the south, Hitler’s operational interference, and competing manpower requirements at Leningrad. For the Soviets, the rules reflect Stalin’s directives and political considerations. Failure to adhere to these special rules results in either a loss of victory points or units.

Most of the on-line discussion centers around the “Hitler Directives” rules. At the beginning of each turn, the German player roles a single die. On an “odd” result, the Directive Table is consulted. These directives involve operational priorities and troop dispositions. A directive remains in effect until it is superceded by another directive.

Hitler’s impact is also reflected in “No Retreat” orders, and the imperative to capture cities. Failure to adhere to these guidelines results in a loss of victory points.

Another Axis operational constraint is “Divisions Across The Don”. If the number of divisions exceeds those called for by the current Hitler Directive, then those divisions are removed for use on other fronts.

The Axis Commander is also limited in the number of mechanized divisions allowed on the north map. If this number is exceeded, these excess divisions are removed.

Both Soviet and Axis players must maintain “Continuous Fronts” on the South map, in which each hex must be occupied by a unit or a zone of control. If not, victory points are lost.

The Soviet player may withdraw from enemy zones of control during a turn, but loses victory points. And, the Soviet player must defend East of the Don River, or lose victory points.

Sure, these rules effect how the game is played; but they are part of the game. Without these rules, the game wouldn’t exist within any historical context. Frustrating, yes. Maybe in this regard, it can be considered a simulation. Axis and Soviet commanders were influenced by higher leadership, and these influence/interference directly effected operations.

Flawed? That’s always a matter of perspective and, even, taste. For me, its flaws are fewer than many games I’ve played.

Had a great experience with Drive On Stalingrad (DOS) this weekend over at Tim’s.  Of course, there was football to view, but we were able to get several turns in after our late Friday afternoon setup and initial play-thru.  As always, the first turn was brutal, so it was a quick re-set for Saturday’s action.

The basic system is taken from Panzergruppe Guderian.  However, there are important differences.  I’ll discuss these as the game narrative progresses.

Victory is determined by cities controlled, each of these has point value.  The Axis player (yes, there are Romanians and Hungarians) automatically wins if his victory point total is three times greater than his opponent.

Each side has constraints to their initial dispositions.  The Soviet player must remain on or within a ZOC of an initial defense line stretching across the northernmost of the two game maps.  The Axis player cannot use all of his units during the first turn.

Here’s the initial setup.  North is to the left.  Only the ten or so hexes to the right are in the South map.

The Soviet player has a very limited ability to start with a defense in depth.  On the other hand, the inability to leave ZOCs slows progress for the Axis player, unless a Soviet unit is eliminated or forced to withdraw two hexes.  However, the CRT is relatively bloodless up to 10:1 odds, with most results requiring the choice between withdrawal or a step loss(es).  Punching big holes for the second movement phase (armor/mechanized units only), takes time.

Tim concentrated his armor in the North and South, aggressively advancing in the North.

The Soviets receive 27 (!) units as reinforcements in Turn 1.  A total of three can be placed in a major city, with one each in smaller cities.  Eleven units can move up to 40 hexes by rail.  All I could do was patch up some type of defense in the North, and start pushing reinforcements eastward as fast as possible, using every city I could.

One terrible mistake was to allow the German SS unit to cut my rail line at Voronezh.  Any reinforcements coming by rail from the north had “to take the long way around.”  As a result, three Soviet units were left as a “forlorn hope” to hopefully slow down an Axis infantry advance in the center.