Sword and Siege: Age of Longbow Volume I

by

Wargame Design Studio

 

 So, here we have the battles of Henry V, Jeanne d'Arc, Talbot, Constable Bertrand du Guesclin, and Sir John Oldcastle (you know him just not by his real name). You also have some sideline characters such as mad King Charles VI and his son Charles VII. In England you have Henry VI given the crown as a child and suffering some of the delusions of his grandfather Charles VI. At least he did not seem to believe he was made of glass or murderously attack his own valets and knights. Here is what Wargame Design Studio says about the game:

"The lengthy conflict between England and France and their various allies, now known as the Hundred Years War, broke out after the death of Charles IV of France without a male heir. Charles' closest male relative was his nephew, the English King Edward III, who also controlled extensive lands in Gascony, in the south of France. Gascony was another major source of friction between the French and English crowns since the time of Edward's grandfather Edward I, but the English kings also had territorial claims to Normandy and other French regions dating back to the 12th century.

The Hundred Years War is usually divided into a number of phases. The first is the Edwardian phase (1337-60) which covers the famous campaigns of Edward III and his son Edward the Black Prince and the victories of Crecy and Poitiers. The War of the Breton Succession (1341-64) is an important sub-phase of this initial stage of the conflict, with England supporting John III's half-brother, John de Montfort, and France supporting the claim of Charles de Blois, nephew of the French king. Ironically, in the case of Brittany, the rival English and French kings were supporting the hereditary principles directly opposed to their own claim to the French throne! The capture of the French King John II at Poitiers in 1356 led to the temporary collapse of central authority in France. The subsequent 1360 Treaty of Brétigny effectively ended the initial phase of the Hundred Years War, with the English king receiving an extensive territory - effectively a much-enlarged Gascony – free from homage to the French crown. In return, the English King renounced his claim to the French crown itself. However, the treaty failed to secure a lasting peace.

While England and France were technically at peace during the 1360s, both powers intervened in the 1351-69 Castilian Civil War between Pedro I and his illegitimate half-brother Henry of Trastamara. To keep England safe from the powerful Castilian fleet, Edward III's son, Edward the Black Prince, who had taken part at Crecy and led the English army at Poitiers, led an army of English, Gascon and other mercenaries to assist Pedro I recover his throne. Meanwhile, Trastamara received assistance from France and the neighboring kingdom of Aragon. The Black Prince secured a decisive victory at Najera on 3 April 1367, but Trastamara survived and would later seize the Castilian throne, resulting in significant naval assistance for the French in subsequent decades. However, English support would later help prevent Portugal falling into Castilian hands in 1385.

The second phase of the Hundred Years War is termed the Caroline phase 1369-89, after the French king Charles V. With Edward III now old and the Black Prince ill, the French, supported by Castile, regained all the territory ceded to Edward III by the Treaty of Brétigny, not by winning decisive battles but mainly through Constable Bertrand du Guesclin's attritional strategy. Nevertheless, du Guesclin was ready to fight when a suitable opportunity arose and he could catch the enemy at a disadvantage, as at  Pontvallain on 4 December 1370. The English naval defeat at La Rochelle in June 1372 had a major impact on the progress of the war, allowing du Guesclin to overrun the various small English garrisons in the territory ceded by the Treaty of Brétigny. By the 1380s, the conflict subsided into a virtual stalemate, with both England and France preoccupied by unrest and open revolt at home. The English King Richard II, who ruled until the usurpation of his cousin Henry Bolingbroke in 1399, secured peace with France in 1389 and married the French king's daughter. However, the usurper Henry IV's weak political hold on the English crown, led to revolts and enabled the French to recover much of Gascony.

The third and final phase of the Hundred Years War known as the Lancastrian phase 1415-53, lasted from Henry V's invasion of Normandy in 1415 and famous victory at Agincourt down to the final French reconquest of all the English continental possessions except Calais in the early 1450s. This phase, in turn, can be subdivided into the period from 1415 down to the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, the resurgence of the French under the inspirational Joan of Arc, and the final recapture of English-held Normandy and Gascony after two decisive English defeats at Formigny in 1450 and Castillon in 1453.

Age of Longbow Volume I includes 94 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including a solo tutorial scenario plus specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI. An additional 49 scenarios are available in the Campaign aspect.

A range of maps are included covering all the significant locations fought over during the war and some of lesser known locations.

The order of battle files cover the various forces that participated in the campaigns with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.

There are extensive 3D unit graphics covering all of the major armies involved.

Campaign and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main maps to be subdivided into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Design notes which cover the production of the game, campaign notes and a bibliography that includes the sources used by the design team to produce this historical simulation game.

Age of Longbow Volume I provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play as well as two player hot seat.

Includes battles from all aspects of the war - major encounters to small skirmishes. 94 stand-alone scenarios and 2 campaigns. A sampling would be:

Cadzand

St. Omer

Morlaix

Auray

Blanchetaque

Crécy

Neville's Cross

Poitiers

Brignais

Najera

Pontvallain

Aljubarrota

Agincourt

Cravant

Orleans

Patay

Castillon

 Please take a look at this game and all of their other ones at:

Wargame Design Studio

 War of the Austrian Succession: Musket & Pike Series

by

Wargame Design Studio

 This game has two of my favorite personalities from this time period. The first, Frederick the Great, I absolutely love to hate. If given the chance I will always play the Austrians against him. The second is Bonnie Prince Charlie, 'The Young Pretender'. His grandfather James II of England was ousted from the throne of England in 1688. Charlie's father 'James III' was called 'The Old Pretender'. James II was a son of Charles I of England, the one that received a very close shave from Parliament. By Charlie's time the Stuart branch, which ended with Anne I, was no longer ruling England. The House of Hanover, all those Georges, had taken over after Anne's death. The split in the family occurred because of religions. James II and his male descendants were Catholics and his two daughters, Mary and Anne, were both Protestant. In 1745 Charlie landed in Scotland and during a wild year came close to toppling the Hanover line and becoming King. The year ended with the Battle of Culloden and the end of the attempts by the Stuarts to retake the throne of England. The last person to mention is Maurice de Saxe. He was an illegitimate son of the King of Saxony, Augustus 'The Strong'. Maurice became a Marshal of France and had a string of victories against France's enemies in this war. He was probably the most successful of his father's illegitimate brood that supposedly counted around 350. I am surprised that he wasn't called Augustus the tired. Enough of my prattle, here is what Wargame Design Studio says about the game:

"Notwithstanding his careful plans for the eventuality, the death in 1740 of the Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI without a male heir created the pretext for a linked series of conflicts that would end up spanning much of the globe. Through the so-called Pragmatic Sanction, Karl expected to be succeeded in the Habsburg domains by his daughter, Maria-Theresa, and as Emperor by her husband Francis of Lorraine. However, the Elector of Bavaria contested the succession on the basis of his marriage to the late Emperor’s niece. In due course, with French backing, he would – briefly – become Emperor as Karl VII. With such a blatant challenge to Habsburg dominance, war was inevitable.

Around Europe, other powers sought to take advantage of the turmoil. In Prussia, the newly-crowned Friedrich II – not yet ‘The Great’, but with definite ambitions – sought to gain the territory of Silesia at Austria’s expense. Bourbon Spain, already embroiled in a colonial war with Britain, sought to expand her position in Italy. The exiled House of Stuart saw a European war as the ideal opportunity to reclaim their lost crown, and with the support of the Bourbon powers would launch the last of the Jacobite Risings. Only after an epic eight-year struggle, and the death of Karl VII, would Maria-Theresa be confirmed in her inheritance – but it would be an inheritance shorn of some of its lands, and in the peace settlement were sown the seeds of the even greater conflict that would break out less than a decade later. In the meantime, Friedrich II would make his name, Maurice de Saxe would give the Bourbon monarchy its last great string of victories, and ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ would bring his rag-tag Highland Army to within 130 miles of London before going down to defeat at Culloden.

War of the Austrian Succession includes 85 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including a solo tutorial scenario plus specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI. An additional 43 scenarios are available in the Campaign aspect.

A range of maps are included covering all the significant locations fought over during the war and some of lesser known locations.

The order of battle files cover the various forces that participated in the campaign with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.

There are extensive 3d unit graphics covering all of the major armies involved.

Campaign and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main maps to be subdivided into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Design notes which cover the production of the game, campaign notes and a bibliography that includes the sources used by the design team to produce this historical simulation game.

War of the Austrian Succession provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play as well as two player hot seat.

Includes battles from all aspects of the war - major encounters to small skirmishes. 85 stand-alone scenarios and 3 campaigns. A sampling would be:

Mollwitz

Prague

Chotusitz

Sahay

Campo Santo

Simbach

Dettingen

1st & 2nd Velletri

Madonna dell'Olmo

Habelschwerdt

Fontenoy

Hohenfriedberg

Soor

Hennersdorf

Kesselsdorf

Rocoux

Lauffeld

Assietta

And from the Jacobite Rising of '45

Prestonpans

Clifton

Inverurie

Falkirk Muir

Culloden

 Please take a look at this one and all of their games at:

Wargame Design Studio

A Tempest of Iron and Lead

Spotsylvania Court House May 8-21, 1864

by

Chris Mackowski

 

 This battle does not get the attention that it deserves. Coming right after the more famous Battle of the Wilderness, it gets lost in the other battles of the 1864 Overland Campaign. The number of books written about Civil War battles is immense. Spotsylvania, by comparison, has very few. Some of the fighting in this battle was the most horrific and prolonged of the war. I am very glad to see that another author has decided to tell us the story of this amazing battle.

 The author is the editor-in-chief of the Emerging Civil War Series published by Savas Beatie. He was also employed by the National Park Service as a historian for the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. In my travels around those battlefields, it is possible I talked to him. He has also written more than two dozen books on the Civil War. So, you can see that he is extremely well versed in the book's subject.

 The book itself is 359 pages long. It is the standard fare for a book by Savas Beatie, meaning that it is well made and hefty to the touch. The book should also be lauded for its absence of one of my pet peeves with military history books. It is loaded with not only maps, but the maps are extremely well done and very easy to read. I think these are essential in military history books. It also has a large number of pictures of the people and period photos and drawings. 

 The book starts with Lee maneuvering from the Wilderness to cover the approaches to Spotsylvania Court House. It then continues with each chapter representing each day of the battle. Both May 10th and 12th have so much happening over the complete battlefield that sometimes authors make the exact history of those days hard to follow. However, Mr. Mackowski gives the reader a wonderful, and easy to follow, panorama of the battle on those days, and indeed the entire battle. 

 Thank you, Savas Beatie, for allowing me to review this excellent addition to your Emerging Civil War Series. I also want to thank the author for an easy to follow and well written book on one of my favorite battles. I am going to look for more of the author's books to add to my collection.

 Robert Peterson

Book: A Tempest of Iron and Lead: Spotsylvania Court House May 8-21, 1864

Author: Chris Mackowski

Publisher: Savas Beatie

 

Tactical Workshop Gaming Company Information

 This is some information right from the horse's mouth by Tactical Workshop.

"As an avid wargamer, I own and have played many types of games for the more than 35 years I have known the hobby: Clash of Arms/Marshall’s “La Bataille”, GMT’s “Great battles of History”, (old) Avalon Hill’s “Advanced Squad Leader”, MMP’s all types of Combat Series and “Great Campaigns of the American Civil War”… My interest, however, has always been towards the more tactically focused games from battalions in the musket period to squads and vehicles in World War II. I also have had a tendency, except for a few systems I found “perfect”, to house rule out or improve things that I found unrealistic, unbalanced, poorly designed in the games I played. This led me to create new rules, new counter sheets, new payer’s aids,… over the years, some of those can still be found on the Board Game Geek website.

About Tactical Workshop

This led me to create my company: “Tactical Workshop”. I wanted to publish my designs in physical form and not just have people “print & play” them.

I first used the resources provided by The Game Crafter website (www.thegamecrafter.com) to get my products out there. It is a “print on demand” company that lets you order games one copy at a time. I started selling add-ons cards for GMT games’ "Red Storm" in 2019 (pro-bono as it was a play aid for an existing game) but quickly expanded to produce two original battalion-level Napoleonic wargames, “1811: Albuera” and “1810: Bussaco”.

However, the “print on demand” model has many drawbacks: the selling price is far too high compared to industry standard for similar products, our profit margin was less than 5% of the MSRP, the system has restrictions on the kind and format of the components that could be produced and the printing quality is still below industry standard for some game parts.

These did not justify the long hours spent on creation, design, promotion and play testing we spent on the games. 

I therefore decided to incorporate as an LLC and look for professional printing companies soon after. The question of the initial printing/promotion costs would be answered by using the crowdfund model for each of our new creations through the board game dedicated Gamefound platform (https://www.gamefound.com/).

About our games

We currently have one game out “1811: Albuera Second Edition” (out in 2025) and are in the process of publishing a second one ”1809: Talavera”, that has already reached its goal in the crowdfunding campaign that is running on Gamefound from March 1st to April 1st this year (https://gamefound.com/en/projects/tactical-workshop/1809-talavera).

Both games use our “Fix Bayonets!” system of rules and make the first two volumes of a series we hope to expend further in the coming years.

“Fix Bayonets!” is a system simulating Napoleonic combat at the battalion level. The rules include an emphasis on Command and Control, a card driven initiative activation system and limit the use of informational markers. The combat resolution system differentiates between the effects of fire, infantry assaults and cavalry charges. 

We always aim for:

quality components with large (3/4”) colorful counters (rounded corners easy to punch out), mounted maps, full color rules and player aids;

easy to understand rules that, while not complicated, are a challenge to master;

a system that leads players to make difficult decisions leading to exciting gameplay but also leaves the door open to a satisfying “playing both sides” solitaire experience; 

less reliance on informational markers to allow players to enjoy the counters on map fully;

a historical fidelity when it comes to tactics, orders of battle and most certainly the various uniforms of the period.

For experienced Napoleonic gamers, I would put the system’s difficulty below “La Bataille”, about the same as the old Spanish Simtac’s games but definitely more detailed than Lock and Load’s “First Victories” or Vae Victis’s “Jours de Gloire”.

For people that have not tried our games, we have a special on the Gamefound campaign for Talavera, where you can purchase both games for $99.99 (running until April)!

Talavera Gameplay

About the future

With the success of our first two entries, we plan on producing more games in the future.

Our next project will probably be the next volume in the series which might cover a non-peninsular war battle this time: “1806: Auerstadt”. I think our command system will shine simulating this uneven engagement between an experienced and well-led French Corps against a fumbling Prussian army more than twice its size!

After that, we still have plans to finish a World War II air-naval tactical system that would start with the invasion of Burma/Malaya in late 1941 and to update our old “1810: Bussaco” game to its second edition format.

These are an excellent addon for Red Storm

Thank you for reading this short history of our company and overview of our products.

Find us at www.tacticalworkshop.com, contact us at support@tacticalworkshop.com.

 

Sword & Siege Crusades: Book II

by

Wargame Design Studio

  Wargame Design Studio is at it again. I am a little late to the party. It was released a few months ago, but better late than never. You have so many famous rulers in this time frame of the Crusades. Frederick I Barbarossa, Saladin, and Richard I Coeur de Lion - also called Malik Rik by his Muslim opponents (supposedly by saying Malik Rik they would frighten their children to behave). In this game you also get the rather unsettling Fourth Crusade and its conquering of Constantinople. Apparently, none of the Crusaders had a compass and landed just a little astray. As an extra added attraction, you get probably the most famous Siege of Acre included (it had quite a few). It was included in the 'Art of Sige' by SPI and was one of my favorite board wargames. This is what WDS has to say about the game:

"Crusades: Book II" is the second title in a planned trilogy documenting the Crusades launched against the Levant over several hundred years.

In the mid-12th century, the eastern Mediterranean was a complex region of competing powers. The Latin crusader states, though wealthy in ports and castles, were short on manpower. The Roman (Byzantine) Empire, a Christian great power, had its own strategic priorities and a history of lost provinces. The Muslim world, while not unified, was increasingly capable of consolidating resources under strong rulers in Syria and Egypt. Warfare was constant, influenced by both politics and piety, with alliances shifting and control of strategic locations often more important than holding empty land.

“Crusades: Book II” picks up after the Second Crusade’s failure outside Damascus in 1148. The Crusader forces abandoned the siege due to supply issues, conflicting goals, and mistrust among allies. The Levant was left with a frontier society, the Latin states of the Holy Land, which were rich in sacred significance but lacked manpower. These states aimed to maintain their territories, secure routes, and expand influence where possible.

The early period of this era was marked by vulnerability in the north. The first battle in 1149 at Inab saw Nur al-Din defeat the Principality of Antioch’s army and kill its prince, highlighting the fragility of the crusader frontier. The Latin East was not a unified “Crusader Kingdom” but a collection of lordships—Jerusalem, Antioch, and Tripoli—each with its own priorities and rivalries. Cooperation was possible but not guaranteed, and a concentrated enemy force could turn a local defeat into a broader crisis.

From the 1150s to the 1170s, the strategic landscape shifted as Muslim power consolidated. Nur al-Din’s expansion in Syria escalated the conflict from border raids to a struggle for regional dominance. The Crusader states retained strengths such as formidable castles, access to the sea for supplies and reinforcements, and the ability to attract periodic aid from Europe. However, these advantages could be undermined if an opponent could choose the time and place of battle, coordinate multiple armies, and maintain pressure on several fronts.

The rise of Saladin marked a major turning point. Emerging from the politics of Egypt and Syria, he unified resources previously divided between rival courts to wage a more coherent war. This led to a growing ability to concentrate forces and apply pressure to the Crusader states’ weakest points. In 1187, the Frankish field army was defeated at Hattin, followed by the rapid loss of inland strongpoints, most notably Jerusalem. Even where garrisons held out, the strategic balance had shifted: the crusader presence could survive but no longer dominate.

This crisis led to the Third Crusade (1189–1192), notable for its scale and for figures such as Richard I, Philip II, and Frederick Barbarossa. It also highlighted a recurring theme in Book II—crusading involved logistics and coalition warfare as much as battlefield courage. Western armies had to transport men, horses, and supplies across seas and hostile coastlines, coordinate large forces from different realms, and convert tactical victories into lasting control. Coastal strongholds like Acre were crucial as ports, depots, and gateways, but inland dominance required field armies that the Latin states struggled to maintain year after year.

The years after 1192 marked the era's challenging middle, characterized by raids, sieges, and relief marches through towns, castles, and along connecting routes. The crusader states, now focused on coastal cities and fortifications, had to defend supply lines and prevent enemy armies from isolating strongpoints. Their opponents faced operational challenges, such as assembling forces over long distances, coordinating commanders, and sustaining pressure through repeated campaigns. This period saw the strategic balance tested directly by who could seize, hold, and relieve key positions.

From this unstable equilibrium emerged the Fourth Crusade, intended to strike eastward but ultimately remembered for a catastrophic diversion. The decisive factors were practical rather than ideological: fleets, transport capacity, and the ability to deploy an army where needed. Entangled in Byzantine internal struggles and supported by Venice, the crusading force turned against Constantinople. In April 1204, the city fell and was sacked, shocking contemporaries and reshaping the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean.

Between 1149 and 1204, the background covered in Book II is a story of momentum and miscalculation: how a frontier society tried to survive in a hostile landscape, how its opponents learned to coordinate and concentrate, how charismatic leaders and hard geopolitics could turn containment into reconquest, and how grand plans of kings could be derailed by money, weather, and temptation. If Book I ended with disappointment outside Damascus, Book II shows the subsequent long struggle to endure between crusade and counter-crusade, culminating in a finale that transforms the eastern world even as the original goal slips further out of reach.

The region where the game’s battles unfold encompasses the modern-day territories of Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, parts of Turkey, and Iraq. This area has been a theater of nearly 3,300 years of continuous warfare, spanning from the Battle of Kadesh (dated to 1274 B.C., the first battle to be recorded with significant detail) to the present-day conflicts.

Crusades: Book II includes 102 Scenarios – covering a variety of sizes and situations, including a solo tutorial scenario, five Training scenarios, Historical, Variant and What If versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI.

A range of maps are included covering all the significant locations fought over during the 3rd & 4th Crusades, the period between the 2nd and 3rd Crusades and some of lesser known locations.

The order of battle files cover the various forces that participated in the campaigns with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.

There are extensive 3d unit graphics covering all of the major armies involved.

Campaign and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main maps to be subdivided into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Design notes which cover the production of the game, campaign notes and a bibliography that includes the sources used by the design team to produce this historical simulation game.

Crusades: Book II provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play as well as two player hot seat.

Includes battles from all aspects of the 3rd & 4th Crusades + period between 2nd & 3rd Crusades - major encounters to small skirmishes. 102 stand alone scenarios and 4 campaigns. A sampling would be:

Inab

Ascalon

Lake Huleh

Butaiha

al-Buqaia

Harim

Bilbeis

al-Babein

Alexandria

Montgisard

Damietta

Hama

Jacob's Ford

Kerak Castle

Hattin

Jerusalem

Tyre

Safed

Acre

Arsuf

Constantinople"

 Thank you WDS, for once again charging into the breach.

 Panzer Campaigns Donbas '43

by

Wargame Design Studio (WDS)

 If you play computer wargame simulations and you have never heard of WDS, I have only two things to say: 1st, please follow the link below and prepare to be blown away. 2nd, if you are not actually a real Troll or Dwarf how do you manage to live under that rock. Also, please say hello to Regin and Fáfnir for me. But seriously, and stop calling me Shirley, the wizards of WDS are at it once again. Here in their own wonderful words are some of their thoughts on Donbas '43:

"Donbas '43' Info

**Overview

For the Germans, the Battle of Kursk was intended to be the main summer operation of 1943, aiming to slow the advancing Russians and regain the initiative. Launched on July 5, the initial victory quickly turned into a stalemate.

On July 13, Hitler summoned von Manstein and von Kluge, commanders of Army Group South and Center, to his Eastern Front headquarters, the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia. The Allied invasion of Sicily on the night of July 9–10, combined with the Soviet counteroffensive of Operation Kutuzov against the flank and rear of the northern side of the Kursk salient on July 12, along with attacks by strong Soviet forces at Prokhorovka on the same day, prompted Hitler to halt the offensive and redeploy forces to the Mediterranean theater. He ordered his generals to cancel Operation Citadel.

Kluge welcomed the decision, as he was already pulling units back to respond to Soviet attacks on his flank. Manstein urged continuing the offensive, believing he was close to a breakthrough. Hitler remained unmoved, worried about the Allied landings and the stability of his Italian allies. However, he did agree to Operation Roland, which aimed to destroy the Soviet reserves in the southern Kursk salient, caught between both the III Panzer Corps and II SS-Panzer Corps.

On July 17, the Soviet Southwestern and Southern Fronts launched a major offensive across the Mius and Donets Rivers against the southern flank of Army Group South, pressing against the 6th Army and 1st Panzer Army. In the early afternoon of July 17, Operation Roland concluded with orders for the II SS-Panzer Corps to begin withdrawing from the Prokhorovka sector back to Belgorod. The 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment Kempf had already anticipated the order, starting to withdraw as early as the evening of July 16. Leibstandarte's tanks were split between Das Reich and Totenkopf, and the division was quickly moved to Italy, while Das Reich and Totenkopf were sent south to counter the new Soviet offensives.

In Donbas '43, as the commander of two Soviet Fronts—the Southwestern and Southern—you have multiple armies ready to defeat the proud but battered German Wehrmacht. As the German commander, you'll need to contend with limited panzer forces worn down by fighting at Kursk. Although Panzerarmee 1 is available, only the XXXX Panzer Corps has panzer divisions. Units from the 6th and 8th Armies are present, but their corps are mainly infantry defending the river lines. The Mius River defenses are strong, but both the quality and number of men available are likely to leave them vulnerable.

Lead Soviet spoiling attacks at Izyum and the Mius on July 17, while the Germans are still engaged at Kursk, or attempt a full multi-front offensive on August 16 to clear the Donbas. This will highlight how the Germans are discovering the challenges of ‘frontage versus depth’ and why the backhand blow tactics from four months earlier are no longer effective. The stage is set! All that's needed now is for you to launch one of the key campaigns of Summer 1943 on the Eastern Front!

**Game Content

Donbas '43 includes 101 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including 5 solo tutorial scenarios plus specialized versions for both head-to-head play and vs. the computer AI.

The master map (211,470 hexes) covers the entire area from the Dnepr River in the west to Izyum, Voroshilovgrad, Stalino, and Rostov-Na-Donu in the east. 

The order of battle file covers the Axis and Allied forces that participated in the campaign with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.

Order-of-Battle, Parameter Data and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.

Sub-map feature allows the main map to be subdivided into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.

Design notes which cover or include the production of the game, campaign notes and sources the design team used to produce this simulation game.

**Game features include:

Phase or Turn-based play with 2 hour turns and 1-kilometer hexes.

Three levels of 2D views and two 3D views of the battlefield.

The Panzer Campaigns game engine provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play, and two player hotseat.

**Document Preview

- Design Notes

- User Manual

- Changelog

**Credits

Scenario Designer: Daniel Asensio

Project Coordinator: David Freer

Artist: David Freer

**System Requirements

Windows 10 or 11

Processor: 1 GHz

Disk Space: 1 GB

Memory: 1 GB

Video Memory: 512 MB

This wargame is for sale at https://wargameds.com/collections/new-products - The Wargame Design Studio Store"

 As usual, WDS has created a game where you as the player are going to question your life choices. I mean if you can commit to playing 101 different scenarios in just this one game, being a monk in Shangri-la might have been a better lifestyle choice. However, for we Grognards their games are truly slices of heaven on earth. All of their games, which run the gamut from the Crusades to World War III, are filled to the brim with historical information about the campaign that you are playing. Thank you WDS, for continuing to not only flesh out more periods of military history, but for updating your older games almost on a weekly basis.