Everyone knows that World Ward II started in September 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Germany, and discovered the concept of Blitzkrieg. This operational strategy game purpose is to let players discover how this new type of warfare worked. Both sides are playable, and you have at your disposal different units, from mobile infantry, tanks and planes to static defenses like bunkers, trenches and mines. To ensure a swift success, the attackers need to careful ly balance use of air support, armored units, artillery and the regular infantry, combined with a clever usage of cards (which you receive every turn to assist your strategy). When defending, you shall use also your forces and cards, but also take into account the assistance provided by good defensive terrains. Goals are simple: the invader must conquer key objectives in a lightning war (on the Axis side) that will leave no time to the Western powers to react. The defender shall resist as long as possible, gaining time for bad fall weather t settle in or the Allies to put more pressure on other fronts.

Fall Weiss

SGS Fall Weiss (Case White in German, the code name of the operation) covers the Polish campaign, between September and October 1939. It is a prequel to our previous titles Winter War and Afrika Korps, with a shorter period and turn duration (one turn representing one day).

As the Axis Commander-in-Chief, you must seize Poland as quickly as possible, avoiding an early Allied offensive in the west. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish forces, you must resist to the best of your ability, pushing your Western allies to invade the Reich to relieve German pressure.

Fall Weiss (Case White, the German code name of the operation) contains many scenarios, including some covering different hypothetical possibilities related to European diplomatic vagaries.

The small scenarios relate to the first days of the German invasion (September 1-4, 1939) in the Carpathians or the Polish counter-offensive of Bzura by the army of Poznan (September 9-12, 1939). The long campaigns retrace the historic attack on Poland by the Hitlerite armies or that of the USSR between September 1 and September 30, 1939.

Another campaign only sets the Germans against the Poles as the signing of the German-Soviet pact has not occurred. An uchronic campaign involves Russian forces on the Polish side in the context of a defense agreement between Stalin and Poland in the face of German aggression.

Finally, a last a-historic campaign simulates the fact that Hitler did not attack Poland when the Soviet Union invaded Lithuania in 1939. The latter then called on Poland to intervene against the Soviets while Germany remains neutral.

Scenarios last from 4 turns (for the small ones) to more than 30 turns, each representing a period of one day between September 1 and September 30, 1939. The ‘Axis’ player controls the German and Slovak units, while the other commands the Polish armies and air forces. The Soviet Union may intervene for the benefit of one side or the other depending on the scenarios.

• The Axis has strong troops with armor and significant air superiority at the start of the game, and its strategic position is better from the start. Large panzer units will make a difference on the battlefield, especially if paired with the Luftwaffe’s (classic or dive) bomber squadrons. The Blitzkrieg doctrine will find its culmination here by finding itself opposed by armies simply endowed with infantry and cavalry. The contribution of Slovak troops remains minimal but forces the enemy to disperse divisions that could be useful elsewhere.
• The Polish troops must in the historic campaign try to hold out as long as possible, even if defeat quickly seems inevitable. Despite their indisputable qualities, the Poles cannot survive this hurricane of fire and steel in the long term. It remains, however, possible to politically push the Western allies (France and the United Kingdom) to exert major pressure on Germany to force the latter to withdraw important land and air units from the Polish front to bring them back to the Ruhr.
• The Soviet armies are specific: although numerous and very well equipped in terms of armor and aviation, their use is much less flexible in 1939 than that of the Germans, because Stalin has just ended the period of the Great Purges and the few surviving officers are not the most effective, and their anxiety to displease or attract the attention of the master of the Kremlin causes significant paralysis within the Red Army.

The hypothetical and a-historic campaigns are more balanced in terms of play because the Poles are not surrounded in these situations, and allow more balance and opportunities.

Geographically, Poland remains a vast plain where obstacles are rare with the exception of large rivers. The lines of defense should therefore be mainly located on these water cuts, and some reductions may also appear to the south in the Carpathians and on the side of the vast Pripet marsh to the east.

The game’s event cards allow full replay ability thanks to the numerous various situations that they create on the diplomatic, military, political or economical fields.

Estimated Playtime: from 1h to many hours… 
Favored Side: Poland. 
Hardest to Play: Poland.

To activate the game, you need a Steam Account

• Login or register at the official
  Steam Website and download Steam client
• Install and start application, login with your Account name and Password
• Click the Games Menu.
• Choose Activate a Product on Steam...
• Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process
• After the successful code verification, go to the "MY GAMES" tab and start downloading.