War in Europe (game)
Encyclopedia
War in Europe is a board wargame
published by Simulations Publications, Inc.
(SPI) in 1976. It was an expansion of a previously published wargame, War in the East. In order to allow players to focus on the war in western Europe and North Africa, a "sub-game" was created known as War in the West. It was subsequently marketed separately from War in the East (which became known as War in the East, version 2. It was known as one of the premier games in the category called monster game, needing several square feet of room for the nine maps and days or months to play (the official estimated playing time was given as 180 hours).
Each game turn represents one week, with the game covering a period from 1939–45; units are based on Allied
and German
divisions and Soviets divisions and corps. The gaming system was based on SPI's old division-level World War II
gaming system used in various games (such as their game on the battle of Kursk
or "Destruction of Army Group Center", based on events of the summer of 1944) over the preceding five years or so. Much emphasis is placed on exploitation by armoured units, which, as usual, may move a second time after as well as before combat, and may conduct overruns – attacks in the course of movement – during either of their movement phases. The Soviets may attempt to slow tank advances by flipping their small infantry divisions to create static fortifications (which double the combat value of another unit in the hex) and by using antitank brigades (which halve the value of attacking German armour). Later in the game the USSR may build artillery units with offensive firepower of ten factors, equal to a German Panzer division
. Another factor slowing the German advance into the USSR is the different railway gauge, which means that railroad lines in the USSR take longer to convert to German control.
Each player has air factors, which may be used either for "air superiority" (fighting the enemy air force), or to enhance the die roll for ground combat, to suppress ports or to interdict
hexes, making them harder to move through; the numerically-superior air force, after winning the air superiority combat, may largely prevent the enemy from conducting the latter functions. Whereas the German Luftwaffe
might have ten or twenty factors during the invasion of France
in 1940, by 1944 the Western Allies alone might have approaching 100 air factors, enough to interdict almost every hex in France. The Western Allies may also conduct a strategic bombing
campaign, increasing in range and effectiveness as the war goes on, to bomb German industrial and resource centres (see below); the German player may attempt to fight this off with his own air factors and with flak units. The game also includes very rudimentary rules for seaborne invasions (apart from the landing craft needed for these, Western Allied naval forces are not shown in the game), and the German player may also build submarine and surface naval factors.
German production points are generated from industrial and resource centres (provided the Western Allies have not bombed them), with resource centres in Romania
and the USSR – representing oil and other raw materials – needing to be controlled for the German economy to operate at full effectiveness (Germany also has a limited capacity to "loot" production points from conquered countries). German production points are increased by a multiplier, which reflects the increased productivity of the German war economy as the war progresses.
Soviet production points are created from personnel and arms points; the latter are increasingly available as the war progresses, whereas personnel points, abundant in 1941, become scarcer and by 1944 are not available every turn, often forcing the Soviet player to cannibalise no-longer-needed infantry units for their personnel points (the arms points used to create them are lost). Soviet production is largely determined by the course of the war: the USSR needs to build infantry and antitank units first – although even in the desperate early turns the USSR is still required to build two new air factors each turn, so the Red Air Force will gradually increase in size – then switch to armoured corps and artillery units as the tide turns.
The German player has a wide of choice of units to produce: infantry, garrison infantry (for fighting partisans), static infantry (for coastal defence), Panzer and Panzergrenadier
divisions (stronger SS versions of both of these becoming available later in the game), small Panzer brigades, paratroops and air transport points, flak, fortifications, supply depots, and railroad repair units. Replacement points are available to rebuild units at the front which have taken combat losses. The German player is limited to spending at most 30% of his production on naval units, although he may spend between 30% and 50% on the Luftwaffe.
In the original version of the game, the Western Allies received only the historical reinforcements, which may be delayed or advanced somewhat depending on whether the German U-Boat campaign is more or less successful than in reality. Western Allied production was added in the 1999 reprint of the game.
. The full game can be played by two or three players (the Soviets have separate victory conditions, based on control of territorial objectives, from the Western Allies), but is also playable solitaire.
For many World War II wargamers, this became the ultimate World War II wargame, even if it was not possible to complete all that many games. Nearly two decades later, Decision Games
published a computer version by Greg Ploussios which recreated the game, which is still played by email between enthusiasts. The main limit to the computer game is that there is no computer opponent, so it must be played by two or more human players. Decision Games republished the monster in 1999, with additional optional rules (including Western Allied production) and counters (e.g. US Marines) and significantly upgraded map graphics. Decision Games is planning on again re-publishing this game, and stating they will add counters and new optional rules. A new computer game version of the War in Europe, redesigned to fit more advanced versions of Windows, appeared early in 2009.
An extension kit called the "First World War Module" was produced in the 1970s, containing rules and counters (mostly headquarter units with divisions being kept track of as abstract points), and instructions on how to amend the "War in Europe" maps (not included in the module) to simulate the First World War. This game, which placed great emphasis on keeping track of combat losses to affect a country's morale and industrial ability (both of which will reduce a nation's ability to withstand combat when a critical point is reached), has been out of print for many years and is now a rare collectors' item.
Board wargame
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer, or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The hobby around this type of game got its start in 1954 with the publication of Tactics, and saw its greatest popularity in the...
published by Simulations Publications, Inc.
Simulations Publications
Simulations Publications, Inc. was an influential American publisher of board wargames and related magazines, particularly its flagship Strategy & Tactics, in the 1970s and early 1980s...
(SPI) in 1976. It was an expansion of a previously published wargame, War in the East. In order to allow players to focus on the war in western Europe and North Africa, a "sub-game" was created known as War in the West. It was subsequently marketed separately from War in the East (which became known as War in the East, version 2. It was known as one of the premier games in the category called monster game, needing several square feet of room for the nine maps and days or months to play (the official estimated playing time was given as 180 hours).
Each game turn represents one week, with the game covering a period from 1939–45; units are based on Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
and German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
divisions and Soviets divisions and corps. The gaming system was based on SPI's old division-level World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
gaming system used in various games (such as their game on the battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
or "Destruction of Army Group Center", based on events of the summer of 1944) over the preceding five years or so. Much emphasis is placed on exploitation by armoured units, which, as usual, may move a second time after as well as before combat, and may conduct overruns – attacks in the course of movement – during either of their movement phases. The Soviets may attempt to slow tank advances by flipping their small infantry divisions to create static fortifications (which double the combat value of another unit in the hex) and by using antitank brigades (which halve the value of attacking German armour). Later in the game the USSR may build artillery units with offensive firepower of ten factors, equal to a German Panzer division
Panzer Division
A panzer division was an armored division in the army and air force branches of the Wehrmacht as well as the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II....
. Another factor slowing the German advance into the USSR is the different railway gauge, which means that railroad lines in the USSR take longer to convert to German control.
Game play
As is usual for such games, individual combats are determined by a die roll on a combat results table – of which this game contains four. The Germans begin by attacking on the table most favourable to the attacker, only to deteriorate slightly in quality during the war, whereas the Allies and Soviets begin on an unfavourable table and are deemed to improve in quality during the game.Each player has air factors, which may be used either for "air superiority" (fighting the enemy air force), or to enhance the die roll for ground combat, to suppress ports or to interdict
Air interdiction
Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. It differs from close air support because it does not directly support ground operations and is not closely coordinated with ground units...
hexes, making them harder to move through; the numerically-superior air force, after winning the air superiority combat, may largely prevent the enemy from conducting the latter functions. Whereas the German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
might have ten or twenty factors during the invasion of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in 1940, by 1944 the Western Allies alone might have approaching 100 air factors, enough to interdict almost every hex in France. The Western Allies may also conduct a strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
campaign, increasing in range and effectiveness as the war goes on, to bomb German industrial and resource centres (see below); the German player may attempt to fight this off with his own air factors and with flak units. The game also includes very rudimentary rules for seaborne invasions (apart from the landing craft needed for these, Western Allied naval forces are not shown in the game), and the German player may also build submarine and surface naval factors.
Production
The game places great emphasis on German and Soviet production; only German production is used in War in the West and only Soviet in War in the East (in each of these sub-games the German player must add or remove units to reflect historical transfers between the fronts). Once each month, the players spend production points to construct units, which are placed on giant production spiral displays to show how many months in the future they will become available – infantry units being available fairly quickly, with armour units taking longer, and air and naval units longer still.German production points are generated from industrial and resource centres (provided the Western Allies have not bombed them), with resource centres in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and the USSR – representing oil and other raw materials – needing to be controlled for the German economy to operate at full effectiveness (Germany also has a limited capacity to "loot" production points from conquered countries). German production points are increased by a multiplier, which reflects the increased productivity of the German war economy as the war progresses.
Soviet production points are created from personnel and arms points; the latter are increasingly available as the war progresses, whereas personnel points, abundant in 1941, become scarcer and by 1944 are not available every turn, often forcing the Soviet player to cannibalise no-longer-needed infantry units for their personnel points (the arms points used to create them are lost). Soviet production is largely determined by the course of the war: the USSR needs to build infantry and antitank units first – although even in the desperate early turns the USSR is still required to build two new air factors each turn, so the Red Air Force will gradually increase in size – then switch to armoured corps and artillery units as the tide turns.
The German player has a wide of choice of units to produce: infantry, garrison infantry (for fighting partisans), static infantry (for coastal defence), Panzer and Panzergrenadier
Panzergrenadier
is a German term for motorised or mechanized infantry, as introduced during World War II. It is used in the armies of Austria, Chile, Germany and Switzerland.-Forerunners:...
divisions (stronger SS versions of both of these becoming available later in the game), small Panzer brigades, paratroops and air transport points, flak, fortifications, supply depots, and railroad repair units. Replacement points are available to rebuild units at the front which have taken combat losses. The German player is limited to spending at most 30% of his production on naval units, although he may spend between 30% and 50% on the Luftwaffe.
In the original version of the game, the Western Allies received only the historical reinforcements, which may be delayed or advanced somewhat depending on whether the German U-Boat campaign is more or less successful than in reality. Western Allied production was added in the 1999 reprint of the game.
Scenarios
War in the West includes a four-turn introductory scenario on Poland 1939, as well as scenarios for France 1940, North Africa 1942 (from Gazala to Tunis), Italy 1943, and France 1944. "War in the East" includes a scenario for each of the years 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944. The complete "War in Europe" contains a single scenario for the fall of Germany, beginning in December 1944 with the Battle of the BulgeBattle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
. The full game can be played by two or three players (the Soviets have separate victory conditions, based on control of territorial objectives, from the Western Allies), but is also playable solitaire.
For many World War II wargamers, this became the ultimate World War II wargame, even if it was not possible to complete all that many games. Nearly two decades later, Decision Games
Decision Games
Decision Games is a wargaming company, founded by Christopher Cummins, that publishes Strategy & Tactics magazine. The company has bought the rights to many Simulations Publications, Inc...
published a computer version by Greg Ploussios which recreated the game, which is still played by email between enthusiasts. The main limit to the computer game is that there is no computer opponent, so it must be played by two or more human players. Decision Games republished the monster in 1999, with additional optional rules (including Western Allied production) and counters (e.g. US Marines) and significantly upgraded map graphics. Decision Games is planning on again re-publishing this game, and stating they will add counters and new optional rules. A new computer game version of the War in Europe, redesigned to fit more advanced versions of Windows, appeared early in 2009.
An extension kit called the "First World War Module" was produced in the 1970s, containing rules and counters (mostly headquarter units with divisions being kept track of as abstract points), and instructions on how to amend the "War in Europe" maps (not included in the module) to simulate the First World War. This game, which placed great emphasis on keeping track of combat losses to affect a country's morale and industrial ability (both of which will reduce a nation's ability to withstand combat when a critical point is reached), has been out of print for many years and is now a rare collectors' item.