Three Views of Fall Blau: Unity of Command - 2nd Kharkov

All of this playtesting Stalingrad scenarios for Command Ops has me interested in the entire campaign leading up to the massive battle itself.  Beyond reading Moscow to Stalingrad - Decision in the East I wanted to game the campaign to get an overall sense of events.  It seems I've been collecting games that allow me to do just that.  I have three different games that either have Case Blue as a scenario or are specifically focused on the German offensive of 1942.  Specifically, I have Unity of Command, Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue, and War in the East.

Each of these games is at a different scale and different level of abstraction.  Unity of Command is scaled at 20km per hex with four day turns; units are German divisions and Soviet Corps.  DC: Case Blue uses 10km hexes with two day turns, units are regiments and divisions.  War in the East has 10 mile hexes with weekly turns.  Units are divisions and corps.  Unity of Command is the most highly abstracted of the three, War in the East the most detailed and complex, and DC: Case Blue is also generally complex, though in ways different from WitE.

I then thought that it might be interesting, over the coming weeks and months, to play through the various scenarios and campaigns of these games covering the German offensive of 1942 and the Battle of Stalingrad/Operation Uranus itself and compare them.  All are great games with an eye toward historical accuracy.  I hope that playing through these campaigns will hone my skills with all three game engines the same way playing a lot of Command Ops has over the past few weeks.

While not part of the actual offensive itself, the prelude to Fall Blau is the Battle of 2nd Kharkov.  Let's start our series with this battle as depicted in Unity of Command's "Stalingrad Campaign."

Unity of Command - Black Turn

I'm playing a little Unity of Command: Black Turn while waiting for Arma III to download.  I missed picking Arma III up during the last Steam sale, but I suspect it's about the only thing I'll buy this time around.

I did grab Black Turn pretty much as soon as it became available.  It's interesting to contrast it with the obviously more detailed (and time consuming) War in the East and Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue.

I have to admit I have mixed feeling about Unity of Command.  On the one hand, it's entertaining, plays fast, is challenging and requires some thought to play well.  On the other hand, scenarios feel more like puzzles than an operational simulation.  Too often, I feel like I'm looking for a specific solution to maximize VPs rather than applying sound operational/strategic principles to win.  I like the UI, but am really not wild about the little busts and tanks and step dots.

Still, for the price its a fun and challenging East Front game for those time when you don't have the time or mental bandwidth for something more complicated.

CMBM 2

Combat Mission Battle for Normandy 2 is out.  After spending a few days looking at Panzer Commander Ostfront, the new engine in CMBN certainly looks pretty!

I like what I've seen so far of the interface improvements.  The upgrade is $10 at Battlefront, and brings CMBN in line with Combat Mission Fortress Italy in terms of engine and features.  This combined with the Red Turn DLC for Unity of Command would be enough to keep me busy for awhile - as if I didn't already have more to play than I have available hours!