Eastern Front 1941: Springtime for Hitler

November 30 - December 27

North River:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
		122	44 Infantry Army
28 Infantry Corps	108	126	42 Infantry Army
		147	8 Infantry Army
		126	1 Tank Army
4 Finnish Infantry	51	115	43 Infantry Army
26 Infantry Corps	77
6 Infantry Corps	119
7 Infantry Corps	126	101	13 Tank Army
34 Infantry Corps	48

Even with some support from Moscow, I don't love these odds! But they've been standoffish - if I can slip some divisions behind them, that might improve things.

 

Moscow: 

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	45
38 Infantry Corps	89
35 Infantry Corps	93
3 Panzer Corps	52
24 Panzer Corps	182
2 Infantry Corps	116
40 Panzer Corps	58
1 Infantry Corps	61
47 Panzer Corps	97	121	4 Guards Infantry
56 Panzer Corps	40	108	47 Infantry Army
10 Infantry Corps	82	137	50 Infantry Army

 

Moscow is a ghost town and no help from Stalingrad is on the way. Engage where possible, but overall, push south.

Orel:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
		132	54 Infantry Army
46 Panzer Corps	158	113	22 Infantry Army
9 Infantry Corps	94
8 Infantry Corps	121	136	45 Infantry Army
		143	6 Infantry Army
23 Infantry Corps	94	142	9 Tank Army
17 Infantry Corps	90	69	32 Infantry Army

 

The Soviet placements are a bit scattershot. We may be able to eliminate some divisions while Moscow moves in.

Kharkov:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
		137	2 Guards Infantry
		118	49 Infantry Army
		121	55 Infantry Army
4 Infantry Corps	41	142	52 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	80	74	40 Infantry Army
49 Infantry Corps	57	91	7 Cavalry Army
		76	37 Infantry Army
48 Panzer Corps	63	32	59 Infantry Army
14 Panzer Corps	76	128	46 Infantry Army
		124	14 Tank Army
57 Panzer Corps	84	92	48 Infantry Army
54 Infantry Corps	98
5 Rumanian Infantry	47

 

We are not in a great spot here. We'll engage targets of opportunity, but for the most part, we're keeping distance to the extent that it is possible.

 

Dnepropetrovsk: 

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
1 Rumanian Infantry	39	96	4 Cavalry Army
4 Rumanian Infantry	40
11 Infantry Corps	102
2 Rumanian Infantry	43
4 Italian Infantry	54
30 Infantry Corps	51

Good thing the opposition here is light because these companies are in rough shape. Move north to support Kharkov, and maybe catch the pursuing armies from the rear.

 

December costs me some divisions, and costs me some points, but Orel is retaken. Two more German reinforcements arrive from Moscow, and reinforcements from Stalingrad seem to be slowing down.

 

North river:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			130	122	44 Infantry Army
28 Infantry Corps	108	89		126	42 Infantry Army
			118	147	8 Infantry Army
			134	126	1 Tank Army
4 Finnish Infantry	51			115	43 Infantry Army
26 Infantry Corps	77	40	118		1 Guards Tank
6 Infantry Corps	119	119
7 Infantry Corps	126		107	101	13 Tank Army
34 Infantry Corps	48	47

Despite pulling off a promising multi-pincer attack early in the month, the Soviets are stronger and broke free. We were able to pick off two divisions with some help from Moscow, but this region looks bleak.

 

Moscow:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			101		2 Tank Army
2 Finnish Infantry	45	55
38 Infantry Corps	89	101
35 Infantry Corps	93	82
3 Panzer Corps	52	101
24 Panzer Corps	182	172
2 Infantry Corps	116	111
40 Panzer Corps	58	142
1 Infantry Corps	61	75
47 Panzer Corps	97	51		121	4 Guards Infantry
56 Panzer Corps	40	86		108	47 Infantry Army
10 Infantry Corps	82	38		137	50 Infantry Army

 

Moscow's relief is too late and is overwhelmed by its conquerors as they march south. A new tank army, though, is rolling in from the east unopposed.

 

Orel:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			112		61 Infantry Army
			110		15 Tank Army
				132	54 Infantry Army
46 Panzer Corps	158	91		113	22 Infantry Army
9 Infantry Corps	94	61
8 Infantry Corps	121	48		136	45 Infantry Army
				143	6 Infantry Army
23 Infantry Corps	94	94	71	142	9 Tank Army
17 Infantry Corps	90	51		69	32 Infantry Army

These groups punched well above their weight class and Orel is completely clear of enemies, all either eliminated or pushed back to Voronezh.

 

Kharkov:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			72	137	2 Guards Infantry
			126	118	49 Infantry Army
			129	121	55 Infantry Army
4 Infantry Corps	41	55	150	142	52 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	80	95	163	74	40 Infantry Army
49 Infantry Corps	57		106	91	7 Cavalry Army
			158	76	37 Infantry Army
48 Panzer Corps	63	110		32	59 Infantry Army
14 Panzer Corps	76	170	136	128	46 Infantry Army
			66	124	14 Tank Army
57 Panzer Corps	84		106	92	48 Infantry Army
54 Infantry Corps	98	47
5 Rumanian Infantry	47	23

Kharkov holds, but barely.

 

Dnepropetrovsk:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
1 Rumanian Infantry	39	87	34	96	4 Cavalry Army
4 Rumanian Infantry	40	73
11 Infantry Corps	102	46
2 Rumanian Infantry	43	38
4 Italian Infantry	54	52
30 Infantry Corps	51	51

The cavalry escaped multiple pincer attacks but is pushed halfway to Rostov and worse for the wear.

 

December 28 - January 17

My forces north of Moscow are fighting a difficult battle far from any possible relief. But the bulk of Stalin's forces are concentrated on Kharkov, where my men, though exhausted and frostbitten, have the numbers to surround them.

The jaws close shut. Even as my northern troops suffer further losses and withdraw, we now outnumber the Soviets nearly 2:1. Stalingrad is doomed, and western Russia is now Hitler's private skating rink.

 

January 18 - March 29

Mop-up. The last Soviet armies are resilient, but useless. Every city is sent under the yoke, and I finish with the maximum score.

No victory assessment in this version, just a number and a GAME OVER.

This was my first complete game - I made some prior trial runs, but this was the first one where I made it past August. Although I didn't at any point use save states to undo bad decisions or bad luck, I did make heavy use of a lot of tools that wouldn't have been available to players in the day - my own mapping tool to piece together the big picture, Excel to track casualties, and GIMP to visually aid traffic planning, which made all the difference here.

All this tracking and planning, though, makes things take a lot longer than intended. The manual says that a complete 41-week game takes two to three hours - I spent longer than that getting through each month, except for the last few.

Apparently, a lot of players were able to clear the board even then, which is why Crawford made an "Expert" mode in the 1982 retail re-release. I know what I need to do. 

But in the meantime,

GAB rating: Good

This is obviously a quality product and feels years ahead of its time, both from a standpoint of technical sophistication and gameplay polish. From my own experience, we don't really surpass Eastern Front until we get to 1984's The Ancient Art of War, and that game is a clumsy mess of UI difficulties and unintuitive gameplay mechanics compared to EF41's refined elegance.

I do wish that the game provided some way of viewing a turn summary - since everything happens all at once, and the game map is bigger than your computer screen, there's no way to view everything while it's happening, and no way to review turn action after it already happened. You just have to manually take notes before and after and compare, which is a bit of a time sink. But I can't see any way of doing this without further betraying the one-button interface scheme that Crawford had already begrudgingly polluted with a cancel button, or using context-sensitive menus which wouldn't be well-known to personal computer users for years.

Crawford wrote, in the first 1981/1982 issue of Computer Gaming World, that computer wargames needed to become more than just streamlined board games, and outlined five ways that computers' strengths could lead the way beyond merely being automatic dice-rolling and rule resolution machines. He had already released the initial version of Eastern Front 1941, and I thought I might look at them in that context.

1. Computational power can allow for more realistic combat resolution based on a wider variety of factors. It's difficult to say for sure how much that applies here, as the manual only explains combat resolution rules in broad strokes, leaving the actual tables and calculations as the computer's exclusive domain. For what it's worth, the rules in play don't seem to be terribly sophisticated, but the simultaneous turn execution would make human turn resolution a challenge.
2. Computers allow limited player intelligence without needing a third party referee. Fog-of-war style limited intelligence isn't really a factor in EF41, though the limited transparency in gameplay mechanics (i.e. snow affects German combat performance but we won't reveal precisely how) could be seen as a form of this.
3. Computers allow for solo play. Clearly that applies here and was one of Crawford's biggest priorities, although this had already been the trend by 1981.
4. Computers allow for realtime play. EF41 meets this halfway with realtime AI that thinks while you plan your turn and simultaneous turn execution that feels realtime, but doesn't truly pressure you with any time restraint. In a way, this is one of the least prophetic things he says (after his prediction that Atari will meet and surpass Apple one day) - realtime strategy certainly took off in a big way, but has since settled into the purview of casual, mass-market strategy, while hardcore simulation-style wargames remain largely turn-based.
5. Computers will allow play with other players over telephone lines. Not applicable here, but oh boy did this one come true. Bet he never imagined that one day your telephone itself would be a pocket computer that's always connected to the lines!

I'll be returning to the front next month, but for now I need a bit of a break. Possibly with a palette cleanser post in between, possibly not.