Zhukov’s War - From Stalingrad to Kursk on the Eastern Front: The period between the battles of Stalingrad in late 1942 and Kursk in the summer of 1943 was a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front. Leading the Soviet charge was a master practitioner of the operational art, Georgy Zhukov.

Other Articles:

• Zeros versus American Heavy Bombers: Breathtaking maneuverability made the Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” in the Pacific Theater a formidable foe through early 1942. While it was a premier fighter early in the war, the aircraft’s flaws would doom it against improved American fighters and bombers as the US swept across the Pacific.
• The Slovak Uprising - August-October 1944: Three weeks after the famous insurrection of Warsaw in August 1944, another less well-known uprising took place in Slovakia. In an attempt to overthrow the puppet regime of Jozef Tiso, the Slovak rebels would face a counteroffensive by the German army.
• Gray Wolves and the Ides of March: By 1943 the tide had begun to turn on the Third Reich. Desperate to counter their losses, the Nazi’s would strike back in a theater where they were not known for supremacy—the sea. Over a four-day period in March 1943, German U-boats would sink over 140,000 tons of supplies and ships in the North Atlantic.

The Game:

Zhukov’s War covers the pivotal middle period of the titanic struggle between Hitler's Germany and Stalin's USSR, from July 1942 - July 1943. Strategic options abound for both players; victory goes to the one best able to carry out the chosen strategy, while maintaining a reserve to contain sudden enemy action or exploit an opportunity. The map covers the eastern front from Leningrad to the Sea of Azov at 20 miles per hex. Turns cover one month each for most of the year, two months during winter. Most units are Soviet armies and German divisions, plus a few Axis satellite corps. The turn sequence is built around the random drawing of chits to determine which player moves. Each chit drawn allows a player to both move and attack, but with a twist. One side allows the player to move first, then attack, the other side flips the sequence. There are two twists to the mechanism. First, chits come in several varieties, with differing penalties or bonuses depending on the chit and the side chosen. Second, during certain turns, one player or the other gets bonuses, allowing selection of the first chit to open the action, and providing a different mix of chits reflecting the overall situation at that point in the war. Victory may occur at one of three times during the game; the end of the first German offensive, the end of the Soviet winter counteroffensive, and finally the end of the game, after the final German summer offensive.

Components: One 22" x 34" map & 352 counters