World at War #90 - The Great European War 1941 - 1943

From Decision Games:

The Magazine:

The Great European War: US Grand Strategy In retrospect, the Allied victory in World War II can seem inevitable. Yet it was not preordained. During the first two years of the European war, the Axis appeared to be on the road to victory. To understand the turnaround, the grand strategy of the US needs to be examined.

Articles

Battle at Libyan Omar In late November 1941, Axis forces in northeastern Libya were in a defensive fortified triangle at Bardia-Sidi Omar-Halfaya Pass. Between the triangle and Tobruk were two German panzer divisions and three Italian divisions. British XIII Corps was to advance and seize the area from Libyan Omar east to the coast.

Adm. Kimmel’s Dilemma Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, US Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Husband E. Kimmel was ordered to turn over command to his deputy. Kimmel and his army counterpart, Lt. Gen. Walter E. Short, were together held responsible for the disaster and forced to retire in disgrace for “errors in judgement.” Here is our analysis.

Barbarossa in the Baltic Sea When Operation Barbarossa began, Axis forces advanced not only on land but also on the Baltic Sea. The naval forces committed against the Soviets were not intended to destroy the Soviet Baltic Fleet in battle; rather, that was to be done by seizing its bases in the ground offensive.

The Game:

Great European War is a two-player game of an alternative World War II in Europe, based on the premise that Adolf Hitler did not order the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Instead, the Axis goes over to a naval-air offensive against the British with additional operations in North Africa and the Middle East, while waiting for America to enter the war and keeping a watchful eye on Stalin who may intervene.

The game assumes that the Western Allies decide on a Europe First Strategy, diverting forces and logistics from the Pacific. The Axis is under pressure to win the war before economic collapse sets in, the Allies to win before the Japanese seize too much of the Pacific. Given the shift in Axis logistics and planning against the British Empire and the US. only the westernmost Soviet Union is shown on the map, but there is emphasis on North Africa and the Middle East.

There are two players: Axis and Allied (to include the Western Allies and the Soviet Union). Both players can develop orders of battle by expending Mobilization Points. The game shows the war in Europe during the early and mid-war years before the full Allied buildup. Both sides will be fighting a war which is markedly different from that fought in the historical event. The game ends in 1943, the time when the Western Allies originally planned to return to Europe.

Components: 22x34 inch map, 280 1/2-inch die-cut counters.