Warsaw 1920
by
Revolution Games
This was supposed to be the start of the world Communist revolution. All the Red Army had to do was to march into Poland, the oppressed workers would join them, and then it would march through the rest of the world. What really happened was that the Poles rose up in force to defeat the Red Army. This was just another time that Poland was left to defeat a rapacious neighbor. The picture on the cover is of Field Marshal Piłsudski, the main Polish hero of the Polish-Soviet War in 1920. During the first part of the war, the Red Army went from victory to victory and almost succeeded in taking Warsaw. The Poles then held them off and counterattacked to push the Red Army back over the border. On the Soviet side Marshal Tukhachevsky and Stalin and some of his cronies: Budyonny etc. were in charge of some of the troops.
This is what Revolution games has to say about the game:
"Warsaw 1920” is a two-player wargame that recreates the Battle of Warsaw in 1920, 101 years ago. One player controls the Polish (including Ukrainian and Lithuanian) and the other controls the Russians.
The war between Poland, which has regained its independence, and Russia, which wants to export the revolution to Europe, also called the "Soviet-Polish War," has been waged since September 1919 without a formal declaration of war. Full-scale combat began in April 1920, when the Polish army launched an offensive in the south and occupied Kiev while the Russian army was extracting troops from the front to clear the remnants of the White army.
However, the Polish didn't achieve the results they expected, and were repulsed by a counterattack of Semyon Budyonny’s 1st Cavalry Army. In July, the West Front Army, led by Mikhail Tukhachevsky, launched an offensive, and the Polish left wing collapsed. The Western Front reached the gates of Warsaw after defeating two Polish army groups and advanced 500 km in five weeks. In August, when Poland was thought to be engulfed by the red tsunami, reorganized troops and Polish units from the south launched an unexpected counterattack from the south against the Russian flank. Relentless and aggressive, the Polish continued to move forward, inflicting heavy losses on exhausted Russian troops and destroying many of them.
This game shows the battle from July 1920, when the Western Front began its offensive, to the end of August, when Tukhachevsky’s army was almost eliminated by Polish counterattack.
Designed by Yasushi Nakaguro"
This is what comes with the game:
-22 x 34 inch map
-1 counter sheet of 5/8" counters
-Rule Book
-Player Aid
-Ziplock Bag
This is the Sequence of Play:
1. Polish Player Turn
1. Reinforcement and Reorganization Phase
2. 1st Operation Phase (Game Turn 2 or later)
3. 2nd Operation Phase (Game Turn 3 or later)
4. 3rd Operation Phase (Game Turn 5 / 6 or later)
5. Refit Phase
2. Russian Player Turn
1. Reinforcement and Reorganization Phase
2. 1st Operation Phase
3. 2nd Operation Phase
4. 3rd Operation Phase
5.Refit Phase
After the Russian Refit phase is finished, advance the turn marker to the next turn, and start a new game turn. At the end of turn 8, the game is over, and the winner is determined
The map is not sartorial, but more of a modest type. The hexes are nice and large, and the terrain is easy to discern. The Pripet Marshes divide the eastern side of the map into two separate areas. The counters, as you can see, are also large and east to read. You will not have any counter clutter with this game. The Polish Player is allowed to have two units in a hex. The Russian Player can have up to three units in a hex. The only caveat to those rules is that units from the Russian Western and Southwest Fronts may not stack together. Polish units are not allowed to stack with Lithuanians either. The Rulebook is twelve pages long with ten of them being the actual rules. Pages eleven and twelve are the counter manifests. Like every other Revolution Game Rulebook, these rules are short and sweet and to the point. There is no ambiguity here. It is in full color and has some examples of play in it. The Player Aid is one sided and has the CRT and Terrain Effects Chart.
Looking at the counters you will see that the Soviets are hampered by a slow movement rate. Their infantry units have a movement ability of four and the Polish infantry have one of five. The cavalry units for both sides are a different matter. The Polish cavalry have a movement rate of nine compared to the Russian six. The Russian Western Front does have two artillery units. The war was probably the last where cavalry formations were one of the largest parts of each army. In fact, most of the war was determined by swirling masses of cavalry.
The Victory Point system is a bit long so let us take a look at how Revolution Games explains it:
"The game begins in July 1920, when Tukhachevsky’s West Front
launches the offensive, and ends in August, when the Polish
army almost eliminated it (exception: see 4.2 Russian Sudden
Death Victory). Victory is determined by the number of controlled cities / major cities, eliminated elite units, and surrendered units.
4.1 Win by Victory Points
At the end of the Game Turn 8, both players calculate each victory point: The side with the higher number wins. Draw if tie
4.1.1 VPs for Controlling Cities / Major Cities
At the end of the game, a player receives one VP for each controlled city hex: 2 VPs for each controlled major city hex. The
Polish player receives four VPs if they control Warsaw (Exception:
4.2, the Russian receives only two VPs for Warsaw). However,
neither player can score from a city / major city unless it can
trace a continuous railroad from its hex to a controlled friendly
supply source (see below).
4.1.2 Supply Source
Polish supply sources are Warsaw and the railroad hex at the
western map edge (printed national emblem). Russian supply
sources are Smolensk and Kiev (printed red star). At the end of
the game, if you can trace the unblocked railroad from a controlling city / major city to any friendly supply source, you can
receive VP from that hex. Enemy units and EZOC that are not
cancelled by friendly unit blocks railroad trace.
Note: The Polish player always receives 4 VPs from a Polish controlled Warsaw because Warsaw is a supply source.
4.1.3 VPs for Eliminating Elite Units
The Polish player receives one VP for each eliminated Russian
Cavalry Division and/or Artillery Brigade. The Russian player
receives one VP for each eliminated the Polish unit belonging to
the Polish Legion. Those units have a red star (Russian) or eagle
(Polish) on the upper right.
4.1.4 VPs for Surrendered Units
Both players receive one VP for each two surrendered enemy
units (see 12.3) round up.
4.1.5 Russian Re-supply
If the Russian player did re-supply (see 8.3), the Polish player
immediately gets one VP for each two supply points (round up,
calculate each front) the Russian player received.
Example: On Game Turn 4, the Southwest Front received 5 supply
points by re-supply. The Polish player immediately receives 3
VPs. On Game Turn 5, the West Front received 7 supply points by
re-supply. The Polish player immediately receives 4 VPs.
4.1.6 Piłsudski’s Early Counterattack
At the beginning of Game Turn 3, the Polish player must decide
to counterattack on Game Turn 5 or 6 (see 5.3). If the Polish
player chooses Game Turn 5, the Polish side will lose 4 VPs at the
end of the game. No VPs are lost if the counterattack begins on
Game Turn 6.
4.1.7 Recording VPs
Both players have VP markers. To record VPs place it on the
VP Record Track. Almost all VPs are recorded at the end of the
game. During the game, the Polish player may need to record
VPs for the Russian re-supply if the Russians choose to receive
them. Use the back side of the VP marker if your VPs exceeds 10
VPs.
4.2 Russian Sudden Death Victory
If the Russian player controls Warsaw before re-supplying (see
8.0) the game ends with a decisive victory for the Russians at
that moment. No need to trace the supply source railroad connection (4.1.2) for this condition. After Russian Re-supply, Warsaw is treated as a major city for the Russian for all purposes"
Warsaw 1920 is a fast-paced game that is built around the historic war. Both sides have a chance to win - just like in reality. This is another game from Revolution Games that has both a small footprint and deep gameplay. For a game with only ten pages of rules it also has plenty of immersion. Thank you, Revolution Games, for letting me review this fine product. I can recommend the game for both its history and gameplay.
Robert
Revolution Games:
Warsaw 1920 Rules:
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