Fire in the East review

updated 031124

Hi There all,

This is yet another review of a Europa series module, this time one of the biggest.

Fire in the East is published by GR/D, who still claim to have a few copies of this mammoth games left. Originally published by GDW as Drag Nach Osten (Europa I), it was renamed/modernised in 1983, and reprinted in 1985, 1989.

CONTENTS:

The game comes in a large (about A3) size box which is fairly deep (6-8cm). Box art is a map of Europe with the area covered by the game highlighted. Over all colours are a red (maroon) background, with yellow art. Inside the box are 6 21 by 27" maps covering E Prussia/much of Poland, E Rumania, bits of Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. Finland is there in its entirety, along with parts of northern Norway and Sweden. The USSR stretches east to the Gorky area in the centre, and just as far as Stalingrad, and Krasnodar in the south. As many as 8 counter sheets have 2000+ counters, from the following nations:

1. Germany...black with white SS, pale blue with black Luftwaffe, feld grau(ish) with black or white, or black and white for Wermacht and Wermacht foreign contingents, and dark blue with white and/or black for Kriegsmarine.
2. Rumania...royal blue with white.
3. Slovakia...royal blue with black.
4. Hungary...RAF blue (smokey blue/blue-gray) with black.
5. Finland...white with royal blue.
6. Italy...pale green with black.
7. USSR...with brown and black for regular army, red with black for Guards units, a slightly lighter brown for VVS/PVS, a slightly darker brown for lend lease air units, marroon with black and/or white for Soviet Navy, and red with white for NKVD units.

Additionally, a three ring punched set of rules ( ^ 50 pages), and charts for corps markers, combat tables, terrain effects are provided. The charts are duplicated, with one set for each side. Separate victory charts are provided.

MAPS

These are of the normal high standard, and are in full colour. White represents clear terrain, Green squiggles reps. forest/woods dependant on intensity of the colour, medium brown reps. rough ground, while dark brown is mountainous. Clear with large blue speccles is lake intensive (cf Karelia), while cities and towns are represented as :

• a) small (Reference) cities are hollow dots,
• b)medium (point/dot) cities are round dots,
• c)conurbations (major cities) are partial, or full hexes of black speccling on white.
  

Hex size is 16 miles across.

GAME OBJECTIVES

As the Axis (Germany, Rumania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia) the player must capture every major city hex inside the 1939 (pre invasion of Poland) borders. As the Soviets, the game is a lot easier; you must prevent the Axis from attaining their victory conditions.

UNIT TYPES/SIZES

Units come in a number of sizes:

• a) Divisions (3RE)
• b) Brigades/regiments (1RE)
• c) Batalions (1/2RE)
• d) Company/Battery (nominally 1/2RE)
• e) Air units of 30-50 aircraft per counter
• f) Naval units of 1 capital ship/transport/ cruiser + escorts/destroyer flotilla.

Regimental Equivalents (REs) are a way of sizing units. A regiment is taken to have a size of 1RE, and all other units have sizes based on fractions of this as can be seen above.

Unit types are varied, but here is a list of major/important types:

1. Infantry....self explanatory
2. Tank/panzer...the weapons of blitzkrieg
3. AA...anti-air units, come in two flavours,
• a) Light..can fire on any air unit bar Heavy Bombers.
• b) Heavy..can fire on any air unit including Heavy Bombers. Have ATEC.
4. Artillery...provide support for the rest of the units, excepting divisions, which can do their job, or supported units which have integral support units within the counter, but which can't support other units.
5. Engineers...come in 4 main types,
   • a) Construction..the navies that build forts, airfields, repair damaged rail, air, port installations.
   • b) Combat..as construction, but are stronger, faster moving, and are good at attacking fortified positions.
   • c) Railroad..can reguage USSR's broad guage to standard guage or vice versa...vital for any offensive.
   • d) Assault..not able to construct things, but excellent against fortifications.
6. Security/Police...are able to fight the Soviet partisan's, and are good for
   providing garrisons in rear area due to their low cost in
   strength points.
7. SS...have the same properties as their face values, but van also fight partisans, and may (optional rule) have a "hold/take or die" ability which alters the die role/CRT effects on that specific combat. Soviet NKVD political police have similar properties.
8. Air units....3 main types here, with some sub-types. main types are:
   • a) fighters...provide escort/interception/ground attack (with modification if against enemy air units on ground) if they are capable.
   • b) bombers...able to perform specific attack missions using a tactical or a strategic attack factor. Dive bomber units have a +1 DRM. Attack unit generally have poor strat values.
   • c) Transports...shift units not dependant on heavy equipment such as trucks, tanks etc. arround. Can also move supplies, and are capable of launching parachute/glider borne air assaults.
9. Naval units...basically are able to move ground units arround on the sea, and may either provide gun support for land units, or may launch amphibious attacks.

GAME MECHANICS

Europa is based on fortnightly turns, with each player having a series of phases in which he may move ground units, allocate air/naval units to operations, partake in combat, and then any units which have an exploit capability may move again.

RULES

• Movement is governed by terrain costs, which are detailled on the terrain charts mentioned previously. Weather (such as mud, or snow) also affects movement (usually adversely) although certain unit types retain mobility longer than most others. Combat/motorised (armour and motorised unit types) units may move in the exploitation phase which follows combat.
• Combat is dependant on the ratio of attacking strength points:defending points. CRT results range from A\DE (attacker\defender eliminated) through assorted exchanges to NE\AS (No Effect\attack stopped [from BF]). Die role modifiers (DRMs) result from AEC/ATEC, terrain, fort counters, and weather effects. Air power is exerted here via offensive/defensive air support up to the value of the attacking/defending units' total combat strength. Air to Air combat is based on comparisons of attack and defense strenghths of attacking/defending air units. Bomber units are disadvantaged by DRMs. Soviet NON GUARDS air units are also disadvataged by DRMs against German, Finnish and Italian air units.
• Armour effects AEC/ATEC were explained previously on the net.
• Supply for the Axis comes from any western map edge, or for co-belligerants, from any two cities linked by rail lines. Soviets need three major cities to be joined to gain supply from them. Once a "supply terminal" has been captured by an enemy it never regains "supply terminal" status. Supply may travel an infinite distance along a friendly controlled and guaged (eg Standard guage for the axis) rail line. Supply may also move finite distances along other transport lines such as roads, or cross country. Truck counters may extend these supply lines by up to 3 hexes.
• Replacements(RPs)/Reinforcements. This is complex. (!!). Axis units may be rebuilt using same nation INFANTRY RPs and GERMAN armour RPs (if armour RPs are called for that is). They are placed EITHER in the country of origin, or at any axis owned city on the board. Weakened units (those at cadre strength) must be at a friendly owned city before they can be rebuilt. Only a limited number of Rumanian/Hungarian units may be at the front (as defined inthe rules) and any units wiped out are then moved back to "reseve status", ie ; they cannot be used outside their own borders until released by the OBs. Axis reinforcements arrive either in their country of origin, or at various places, as defined in the OBs
• Soviet RPs are generated at any Soviet owned city. There are specific Military Districts (MDs) and infantry RPs generated within a given MD must be spent within the bounds of that MD. Armour RPs are generated at various factories positioned arround the map board, which may be overrun by the Germans. These may be moved East by using some rail capacity. Artillery RPs are also produced at these factories.
• Special reinforcements are generated as a result of combat losses. Basically, a percentage (dependant on the nation) of total strength points lost are given to the various sides to represent casualties returning to the front after treatment. Only 10 such RPs may be spent in a specific Soviet MD.
• Air units are deployed against a given Group Allowance (GA) for each nation. The GA is basically the total no. of air units allowed for each nation on the map at any one time. It is affected by combat, and by the area (friendly or enemy territory) over which combat took place. Every 6 turns an air phase is run, at which new GA/air units are recieved, destroyed ones are processed, and the GA is adjusted to suit.

ZOC/STACKING

All Divison sized unit excert ZOCs in every hex arround them. All units have ZOC in the Arctic. A maximum of 3 divisions, 3 smaller units (eg AT batalions) and 2 additional artillery units may stack in one hex. In mountain hexes this is reduced to 2 divs., 2 supporting units, 1 additional artillery unit.

SPECIAL RULES

• The Double Whammy: on the first turn (JunII, 1941), German units receive a surprise attack turn, in which air units may attack enemy air units, German Ground units in Poland/Greater Germany may attack across the border into Soviet held areas, all of which is before the normal June II turn. Rumania enters the war at this time, with Hungary and Finland following on July I, 1941. Soviet units suffer reduced ZOCs, Rail Capacity etc for 3 turns.
• Balkan Hatred: Hungarian/Rumanian units may not stack together or participate in the same attack together as a result of the two nations "rivalry".
• Finnish limitations: Finnish units may not cross Finland's pre 1940 borders in the south, or out of the Archangel MD in the north. Only a limited no. of REs of German units may be deployed in southern Finland.
• Arctic: Limited stacking (50% mountain limits) and reduced movement combine with no AEC/ATEC to limit combat eficiency.
• Corps/army/air markers. Due to the high unit densities, a marker may be placed on the map in place of the units in that hex. The units in the hex are put into a marker display box relating to the marker used. Axis units have corps markers and air markers, while Soviet units have Army markers and air markers.

GAME LENGTH

FITE runs from June II 1941 to April 1942. Scorched Earth, Europa II extends the game farther, so it runs from June II '41 to Nov II 1944. Some 3-4000 additional counters, tidier rules, revised OBs (up to Nov '44) and 4 1\2 maps are provided. The Urals module farther extends the map area beyon the Ural mountains, and farther refines the rules, and the Soviet OB. SE/TU also include rules for the defection of Germany's Allies and father Soviet unit types such as the massive Tank Corps etc which they built.

GAME PLAY/COST(!!!!)

FITE cost me arround 60 pounds. It cost about $65. SE was similarly costly, with TU weighing in at about $20. It is a very expensive game, but the cost is definitely worth it as the modules easily show how the war in the east was almost won by the germans, along with the long, hard slog of the Russians back from near defeat, to eventual triumph. The rules are clear and concise, with excellent OBs and high map and counter qualities. The only glitch in the eastern front scenarios is the immense length of time taken to play the game.... over an 8 month period, I ground my way up to mid 1944......Additionally, the shear counter densities can put people off this module. I couldn't reccommend FITE as an introduction to wargaming, but for any hardened addict I reckon that it is a MUST. Balkan Front and the upcoming First to Fight/Second Front will probably offer easier introductions, and the play test of Supermarina has the germ of a better air combat sytem within it. I hope I have tempted some of you to try and get these games. SE/TU ARE NOT PLAYABLE WITHOUT FITE.

May all your wars be with card board....

JOHN

OTHERS IN WGA ARCHIVES