Tag Archives: Europa

Groza – Barbarossa Unleashed Rules

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II,

Tim and I both like the draft of this ruleset.

We didn’t use any of the optional or experimental rules, just the new Combat Results and Supply Effects  alternate rules.  We also found two changes to the basic rules that had an immediate impact on play.

The alternate combat results seem less bloody, and, according to Tim, simplify the replacement process. Units that are out of supply no longer roll for elimination (4th Turn), but continue to exist albeit in a very weakened state.

The  changes in airfield capacity and stacking had the most significant impact on play.

Full and Partial Hex Cities now have a maximum capacity of 3 air units.  With Minor Cities having a capacity of one air unit.  In the older rule sets,  the former had a capacity of six air units, with Dot Cities at three units and Reference Cities at one unit.  Apparently there will some changes in the categorization of cities when new maps are published.  We simply used a capacity of one for both Dot and Reference cities.

The total number of Regimental Equivalents remains at twelve, but in the new rules all twelve factors can be divisions.  The allowance for artillery remains the same.  This change allows for some very robust combinations.

I’ve sent my initial dispositions to Tim.  More on that later……

Groza – It Only Gets Worse

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II,

The remainder of this session report will focus on Romania.  There was  mutual nibbling up north, but the bulk of the action was to the south.

Here’s the situation at the end of the Soviet Exploitation Phase.

Not good at all.  Desperate Times…..

Here are my Desperate Measures……Strategic Rail Movement for German ground reinforcements and Transfer Missions for air assets.  Fortunately, Hungary is a benevolent neutral, so the Axis can use Hungarian rail and airspace, as well as trace supply through it. Unfortunately, Romania does not have many airfields, although I had engineers working diligently for more fields to be ready in the Aug I Initial Phase.  The supply access really helped withdrawing units.

Axis Movement…..

Up north, I tried to extricate units by moving west into the mountains.  Down south, the priority was to stop the Soviet advance from down the valley, while having German armor in position to move during the Exploitation Phase.  Some of the stranded units had no hope for a successful retreat, so they would buy time for the others.

These two shots show the situation after the Axis Exploitation Phase.  A cobbled together perimeter defense with the panzers providing some depth.

The big problem is the Soviet unit identified by the red arrow.  Couldn’t reach it and establish a zone of control.

When Tim diplomatically suggested a re-set, I took up his offer.

Next, some observations we have about the Barbarossa Unleashed rules.  Plot Spoiler……..we like them.

Groza….Amateur Hour

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II,

My previous post covered the scenario’s basics.  Now to the gameplay.

Here are shots of the initial dispositions (after the Soviet Jun II Special Turn) from North to South.  I discovered it takes four (4), not three (3) screen shots to cover all fronts.  This group is missing the southern tip of Romania.

For some reason, I never “captured” an image with Tim’s Soviets dispositions in Romania.  But this is pic of mine is damning enough.  Just wait……

The following show Tim’s Soviet onslaught.  Not much going on in the northern and central pictures, but in Romania……whoaaa!!!

They say we create our own Hells.  Yes, my Romanian Hell was a product of failing to comprehend the interactions of two  Special Rules.

For the first turn, Zones of Control (ZOCs) are reduced.  And,  Axis units must be placed so as to either occupy border hexes or have them in a zone of control.  Too much of the latter, and not enough of the former.  I needed a solid front in Romania, with reduced border strength, but without gaps that, literally and figuratively, could (and would) be exploited.

To compound this error, I did not recognize the implications of the enhanced exploitation capabilities of Soviet units.  Here’s Romania after the Jul II Soviet Exploitation phase.

Gruesome.  Enough!  I’ll cover the rest of our game after my return from W.C. Fields’ (not so) favorite city.

Groza or Gorza?

Uncategorized,

I’m spittin’ tacks right now.

Went to the web to find a picture of The Europa Magazine #23.  This is the issue with Groza.  But wait!  Look at the cover!!!

What?  Gorza?  Jeez, did I get it wrong?

Backpedaling furiously, I changed EVERYTHING in the site to “Gorza”.  After this 20 minute frenzy I took another look.  Ahhhhhh…..it is “Groza”.  Either Winston or one of his minions jerked the cover up.

And,  a side note. Is it Romania or Rumania.  Here’s the scoop from our Beloved Google AI.

“It’s Romania, the official and current spelling, though Rumania (and French Roumania) were used in English previously, especially before the 1970s, influenced by historical spellings, but the “o” spelling aligns with the native Romanian language and is now the standard in English. “

Never Mind……

Groza (Finally)…The Basics

Boardgames, Review + Session Report, World War II,

Quick note:  If you are viewing this on an IPad or IPhone, scroll down to the bottom of your page.  This is where you will find the tags for Operation Groza and Europa.

Yes, it’s been a year since I  posted up about Operation Groza.  Why?  Sheer indolence.  But recent announcements about Europa provide new motivation.

To recap:  The Groza scenario was published in The Europa Magazine #23, with many special rules and modifications to the Orders of Battle (OBs) found in the Scorched Earth module.   Tim and I wanted to play Europa, were intrigued by the scenario, and anxious to try out the Barbarossa Unleashed draft rules published by John Astell.  Tim took on the herculean task of adapting the elderly, but still very serviceable (let’s just leave it there), JET Scorched Earth module for Groza.  This involved merging maps and creating supplementary counters.  We started play in late Winter 2025.

Might all of this involve confusion, numerous operator errors, and low levels of frustration?  Not to mention the usual screwing up?  Yes! So, here we go, starting with a summary of special rules with subsequent posts describing game play, observations about the rules, and lessons learned.

BTW…..We have reset, and are in the process of starting a new game.  But, back to old business.

The game begins with the Jun II 41 (Soviet) turn.  There are several significant factors affecting each side’s initial deployments.

Axis Player –

Deploys air and ground units first, with each Army having designated zones of deployment.  Units deployed include reinforcements for the Jun II and Jul I turns.  This placement simulates their movement during those turns the Axis player cannot move units.

Every hex along the Greater Germany (including occupied Poland) and Romanian borders must be either occupied by, or in the zone of control of, an Axis unit.

Note:  Hungary is neutral.  However, Axis units can overfly Hungary and use that country’s rail lines.

Soviet Player –

Deploys initial air and ground forces, with special modifications for each Military District (MD).  Again, each Army has deployment zones.

Can change four (4) combat/motorized (c/m) cadre units to full strength, and all 3-4 infantry cadre units to their full strength sides.

Places Jun II reinforcements on the map reflecting mobilization.

Game Play –

The Soviet player conducts a special Jun II turn limited to movement and exploitation phases (no combat).  For those  unfamiliar with Europa, c/m units may move during the exploitation phase. Movement is limited to within the Soviet Union (not occupied Poland).  Air units may move in either, but not both, phases.

The Soviet may designate NKVD units as Spetsnaz.  Ahhhh….Chrome!

After all Jun II movement/exploitation is finished, the Soviet Player begins a “normal” Jul I turn.  But, “normal” applies only to turn sequence as their are several special, and very significant, “benefits” ( per scenario designer) to be used during this turn, only.

The Soviet Player 1) ignores border river hexsides for purposes of combat and overruns (not movement).  2)  increases the attack strength of his artillery units by 50 percent.  3)  c/m units at full strength have full,  not limited, exploitation capabilities.  4)  conducts movement as though each Axis unit has a reduced zone of control (ZOC).  5)  Spetsnaz units are treated like commando units, and have an attack strength of “1” when used in conjunction with other units. Ahhhh…..Chrome!

The special Jun II move combined with the Jul I rules and inability of Axis forces to react simulates Groza’s surprise attack.

Next up…the game.

Bits And Pieces

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II,

Continuing to fiddle with the Balkan/Central Europe 1938 scenario.

Latest bit of information is a Wikipedia article on the Yugoslavian army, particularly the interwar section.  I know…thin stuff, but there isn’t a whole lot of pre-April War information out there.

Yugoslavia had sixteen (16) infantry divisions, one (1) alpine division, as well as two (2) cavalry divisions in 1935. Mobilization would create another eight (8) infantry, one (1) alpine and one (1) cavalry division within 30 days.

Well, it’s something to work with.

The  mobilization parameters need to be refined, especially for the less-than-reliable Croat units.  My instinct is to stay with random die roles for the Croats, and, since Europa uses two-week turns, having those mobilizing units attaining cadre status at the end of Turn 1, and divisional status at the end of Turn 2 if they do not move or are involved in combat.

Why not?

Choppy…But Worth It

Aircraft & Vehicles, Review, World War II,

This popped up on Boardgamegeek’s Daily Kindle Deal list.  Had to grab it given my current 1938 Central Europe/Balkans effort.  The beauty of subscribing to this thread is the ability to pick up titles like this for pennies on the paper version dollar.

The book’s content presents an overview of the modernization of the Yugoslov Air Force prior to WW2; a choppy day-to-day account of the “April War”; and a discussion of the various aircraft employed.

I use “choppy” because of the author’s use of the Serbo-Croation abbreviations for personnel ranks and unit designations.  Hard for my parochial mind to absorb.

The highlights of the book are detailed descriptions and excellent photographs of  individual aircraft.  The Yugoslav air force was polyglot outfit, with a wide mix of (relatively) imported and domestically produced modern types, obsolescent/obsolete aircraft, and one-offs.  I can only imagine the resulting maintenance nightmare.

An interesting aspect of the narrative are the numerous references to sabotage of aircraft and outright disobedience and circumvention of orders by personnel  sympathetic to the Axis.

Definitely  worth the $2.99.

Slow Going

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II,

Taking my time with the  1938 Balkans/Central Europe scenario.  I’m using both regional names as they overlap – just ask Google.

Decided to start things off  with a Bulgarian invasion of Romania, with Hungary and Yugoslavia content to wait and watch.

While Bulgaria can commit almost all their assets to the invasion, Romania has to keep several units on their borders with Hungary.  In this battle of “Ants” (where 4-4s and 3-4s are few and far between), a handful of units can make a big difference.

The Bulgarians have already seized both of their territorial objectives, but are bogged down in front of Bucharest.  On the other hand, the Romanians are hard-pressed to defend their capital, much less launch any kind of offensive to retake their occupied cities. Here’s a quick snap.  Bucharest lies below the blue Romanian air units.

Despite the low counter density, it’s just not an infantry and artillery fight.

Both countries do have limited air assets.  The Bulgarians have a mixed bombing unit (one tactical and two strategic bombing factors), while the Romanians have a fighter unit and two bombing (one tactical and one strategic bombing factor) units.  The Romanian fighters returned the first sorties by the Bulgarian bombers and destroyed it in a subsequent attack. The bomber units have supplemented Bucharest’s defense.

Each country has only one engineer unit, but each is active. The Bulgarian engineers constructed an airfield within range of Bucharest, while the Romanians have built a fort to buttress the capital’s defenses.

Armored battalions have also been involved in the combats around Bucharest.

This is a pretty vanilla scenario so far.  I need to spend some time working on the mechanics for triggering Yugoslavian and Hungarian involvement.

Set-Up!…..Play?

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II,

Here’s a pic of the set-up for Empire Reborn.

The blank counters are divisions that may or may not remain loyal to the government.  My thoughts are whatever units do not remain loyal will have another die roll to determine if their opposition is active or passive.

I also need to work through the readiness/mobilization process.  The current set-up has the Yugoslavians and Bulgarians already mobilized as divisions (except for aforementioned “blank” counters), the Romanians as cadres and Hungarians without divisional units, just brigades etc.    My instinct for my first play thru (and path of least resistance) is to allow everyone to mobilize as well as form divisional units.   Just focus on the operational aspects.

I’ll have time to ponder these weighty questions.  Another road trip looms…….

Structure…..However Flimsy

Boardgames, Sessions,

The hypothetical 1938 Balkan conflict (Empire Reborn) now has some parameters.  Maybe not the best, but at least some structure.

My latest efforts focused on victory conditions that, in turn, involved identifying the regions and ethnicities involved.

Balkan Front addresses the latter consideration with a  map outlining the area’s regions.

Unfortunately, I cannot find Map 14A (as well as all my War In The Desert counters – a collateral discovery while searching for maps).  But, I did find a scan of 14A which helped me work with my old Marita-Merker maps.

Decided to simplify matters by using control of a city or cities (shown below in parentheses) as objectives for each country.

Bulgaria’s  territorial objectives are  Northern Macedonia (Skopje) and Southern Dobruja (Varna and Pleven).  The Hungarian objectives are Transylvania (Cluj and Timpsora) and the Backa region (Novi Sad). Both Romania and Yugoslavia must  maintain their current borders.

Late in this process I recognized the maps reflect 1941 national boundaries.  In 1940’s  Treaty of Craiova, Romania’s ceded Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria.  The initial placement of each nation’s forces has to be adjusted accordingly.

The initial placement of units, like the order of battle (OB), is speculative and uses multiple less-than-reliable sources.  The composition and size of each country’s military changed significantly from 1938 to the opening of Barbarossa campaign in 1941 -where reliable OB information can be found.  “Educated Guess Work” is giving the OB process the benefit of the doubt.

Since the whole project is hypothetical and speculative, I decided to flesh out each country’s forces with some specialized units.  The inclusion of limited air, anti-aircraft, armor and engineer assets provides an opportunity to work with a wider variety of the Barbarossa  Unleashed rules. These rules will also be used in the Operation Groza game with Tim.

Additional scenario considerations now include guerilla warfare by disaffected minorities, the use of Balkan Front’s Yugoslavian mobilization guidelines in which certain regions – and the units based there – openly oppose Yugoslavia, and a variable game length  based on the Macedonia War (which helped inspire this entire twisted process) scenario published in Europa Magazine.

Need to get this moving so I can start pushing cardboard.