Our first Flames of War campaign finished up a few weeks ago. It was a valiant effort by the club, which heroically raised a ton of cash to outfit four armies simultaneously! Next year will be even bigger, and some new ideas might make their way onto the campaign trail. Some off-season gaming will be done in Season 2 as well, so don't be too hasty to put down those rifles yet!
Directive 39
The Battle for Moscow
For the last few months, the Wehrmacht has been closing in on the Moscow Oblast. Since October, Hitler has pushed forces east in an attempt to wrest the city from the communists. Operations Typhoon and Wotan have both failed to push the Soviets from their layered defenses in the six hundred kilometers of defended area around the important and symbolic city of Moscow.
Today, the Fuhrer has issued Directive 39, ordering his troops to hold the defensive line at all costs. Today, a new counteroffensive starts into Russia from the west. Through the biting cold and severely constructed defenses of the Soviets, the Germans begin their push into the Red Bear.
Now, we begin our own battle here on the Eastern Front. The fate of Moscow hangs in the balance, as German forces push in from the west and massive reserves arrive from the eastern oblasts of the Soviet Union. Fascists and communists will clash here once again amidst the forests and defenses in the biting cold of the Russian winter as terror crawls across Europe...
Campaign Rules
Directive 39: The Battle for Moscow is a campaign for Flames of War, and it's the Wargate's first such campaign! We're not only introducing a new game system, but the way we're fighting the campaign will be open to anyone who wants to try the game out!
The campaign rules are simple: there are two sides, U.S.S.R. and Germany. All fighting done in each of the three months we have for the battles will be tallied up to create an Influence rating for the month. At the end of the fighting, all the battles will be averaged together to get a total Influence score.
So, play and win as many games as possible for your side!
Campaign Updates
- 10/14/12 - October games postponed due to extenuating circumstances. October games will be played the last week of October / first week of November and retro-actively applied to the month of October.
- 11/4/12 - Opening Volleys finished! This month, the battle moves Deep in the Woods!
- 12/30/12 - The final battles are fought, but Germany's new offensive takes the Russian defenders by surprise!
December 28, 1941
The chill of winter has set in. The forests are frozen and for a time, they are silent. It's hard to tell what will happen next, and every man on the line knows in his heart he is already dead. Except for the howling of the wind there is little noise except men quietly jostling, trying to keep warm.
The defense of Moscow oblast has gone poorly. The Reich's soldiers approach the city, but the armored tanks and fearless men of the Soviet Guards has each done his duty. At each stage of the conflict, more and more men died and more ground was lost. Yet for all this carnage, this is only the beginning.
German soldiers hid near the forest ridge, waiting for the next phase of the battle on the Eastern Front to commence. They had been lacking in armored vehicles, but their skilled infantry and powerful artillery had pummeled the oblast's defensive lines for weeks. There was little left for the Guards to defend. Now, however...the engines and metal creaking of heavy German armor approached from the west.
Soldiers on both sides grip their weapons, and wait for the command to engage. For the defenders, it is a desperate bid to save national unity. If Moscow is taken by the Reich, it could be disastrous to the defense of Mother Russia. For the invaders, the call to glory is great indeed...and littered with the spoils of conquered nations.
The fortunes of war will wax and wane.