TUTORIAL MANUAL

CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
4.1.
4.2.
4.2.1.
4.3.
4.4.
5.
5.1.
5.2.
6.

GARY GRIGSBYS WAR IN THE EAST TUTORIAL................................................ 3

FIRST THINGS FIRST.......................................................................................... 3
GETTING STARTED............................................................................................. 4
NAVIGATING THE INTERFACE OR WHAT THE HECK DO I DO NOW?............... 8
Map Information Tab........................................................................................... 9
Info Screens Tab, Unit Detail Window, and Unit Bar............................................ 10
HQ Unit Detail Window ....................................................................................... 13
Administration Tab............................................................................................ 27
Practice Makes Perfect..................................................................................... 27
MOVING AND FIGHTING................................................................................... 28
Command and Control (C2) Radius.................................................................... 30
Attacking.......................................................................................................... 31
MAXIMIZING COMBAT STRENGTH IN A HEX................................................... 35

Thanks go to Don Lazov and Pieter de Jong for writing up this Tutorial.

1. TUTORIAL
Welcome. We hope you find the following introduction to the game using the Velikie Luki 42
Tutorial scenario helpful in reducing the learning curve.

2. FIRST THINGS FIRST

When you first launch Gary Grigsbys War in the East you will be at the main menu screen. From
here, you can select which side controls the Axis or Soviet player (human or computer), the
difficulty level (Easy, Normal, Challenging, Hard, or Impossible), the Game Options (Computer
Controlled, Fog of War, Lock HQ Support, Random Weather, and Help levels, which allow you
to further fine tune the Morale, Fort Build, Logistics, Transport and Admin Help levels), and
the User Preferences. For this tutorial we will walk you through what you need to know to get
up and get playing as quickly as possible. For a more detailed explanation on all these other
functions and actions, please see the Game Manual.

3. GETTING STARTED
Set the game set-up buttons on the main menu screen as follows for this tutorial by selecting
(select = left click) on the menu buttons to cycle through the various available options:
Axis: Computer
Soviet: Human
Difficulty: Easy
Your display (Main Menu Screen) should look like this:

Now click the Game Options button, which will take you to the Game Options screen. Make
sure that the following are set (If not, you can do so by simply selecting the check box items):
Computer Controlled:
Axis checked
Soviet unchecked
Fog of War: unchecked for both sides
Non-Random Weather: checked

General Difficulty Level: Leave this and the help levels below it as they are; they were already
set when we set the difficulty level to easy on the main screen.
Your screen (Game Options Screen) should look like this:

When these are set per the above go ahead and select the check mark in the upper right to
close this screen, saving your changes and returning to the main menu screen.

Now select the Preferences button. Normally, you can set these to whatever your heart desires,
but for now we will change the default settings as annotated per the screen shot below, with
the following default preferences turned off: Show Jump Map and Show Weapon/Aircraft Icons.

Again, once you have unchecked the above items, select the check mark in the upper right
hand corner to save your changes and return to the main menu screen.
Okay, with all the basics out of the way we can now select the button labelled Pick Scenario
to select the tutorial scenario. When the Load Scenario screen appears you will see a list of
available scenarios to choose from. Please select the Velikie Luki 42 Tutorial and then select
the load scenario button, which is located near the bottom left hand side of the screen.

Your screen (Pick Scenario screen) should look like this:

After you select the scenario and then select the load scenario button your screen should look
like the below screenshot, with the game started in Move mode, signified by the pushed in
Move mode button (F1). We are going to talk about the interface next, so some of the parts have
been annotated for the upcoming discussion:

Game Play Note: The greyed out map sections are not playable, thus
leaving an 18 hex by 5 hex playable section of the map area.

4. NAVIGATING THE INTERFACE OR

WHAT THE HECK DO I DO NOW?
Okay, now that we have selected all our game preferences and options and finally have the
tutorial scenario loaded, what do all those tabs and buttons mean? Well here again we will
assume you have at least glanced over the game manual and became somewhat familiar with
the tabs and buttons. But here is a quick, high level overview. We wont go over every button,
screen or window, but you can find those kinds of details in section 5.0 of the manual.

The game screen is divided into two sections, the top panel and the main map area. The
top panel is a multi-purpose interface that provides information and allows interaction with
the map area and on-map units. It consists of a title bar, three menu tabs (Map Information,
Information Screens, and Administration), each with a separate associated toolbar, unit soft
factor selector, action mode selection toolbar, and a general information and city box.
The three (3) tabs control various functions or modes within the game, these tabs organize the
various functions of the game into logical sub-areas, such as Map Information (where you can
manipulate the presentation of the map area and on-map units, to include some unit actions),
Info Screens (where you can view information such as your Order of Battle, the Commanders
Report (CR), Victory Conditions, Losses and Production) and Administration (where you can
set your preferences and game options and save and quit the game). Within each main tab
there is a tool bar, which further controls various actions available to you. To the right of each
tab tool bar is the soft factors toggle button, which sets the type of information displayed in
various colors in the left corner of the unit counters. Below the particular tool bar associated
with the tab is the mode tool bar, which is common to all three tabs (this is further indicated
by the hotkeys F1-F12 listed on each button). In the far right corner of the top panel is the
general information and city box. For the purposes of this tutorial, the only parts you need to
know about are the turn number and date at the top and the number of administrative points
currently available, which is the number (you start with 30) in the left corner of the box. Lets
spend some time looking at the interface.

4.1. MAP INFORMATION TAB

This tab can have up to fifteen (15) buttons/functions, depending on the map action, unit and
hex selection you are currently performing, available within the toolbar, most of which have
something to do with map information. Well talk about the permanent mode tool bar that sits
below the tab tool bars later.
Although this is a small map scenario (with most of the map area greyed out and not playable),
it is still a good idea to be familiar with the functions available, lets briefly take a look at some
of map information tab buttons.
Go ahead and select the first button in the tool bar. This is the toggle units on the map button
and this is how you can display just the map to get yourself oriented. Now select this button
again to redisplay the units. Alternatively you can use the hot key {t}.
Tutorial Note: All references to hot keys in this tutorial will be displayed
in squiggly {} brackets just like on the game screen.

Next you can either click the + or the - buttons to zoom the map area in or out. You can also use
the hot keys ({+}/{-}) on your keyboard or you can, if you have a scroll wheel on your mouse,
use it to zoom in and out by scrolling forward (zooming in) or backwards (zooming out).
Okay the next button is the Toggle enemy hexes on/off (or the {e} hotkey). Once selected it will
turn the hexes that are controlled by the other player to a light red as well as turn hexes that
you are in the process of taking control of to light grey.
The toggle fort levels on/off will display the amount of man-made fortifications that have been
constructed in a hex. The fort levels range from 0-5 and are added to the terrain modifiers to
arrive at the hexes fortification defense modifier. Note that Velikie Luki (X82, Y40) could be a
tough place to take, as it is city terrain (+2 defensive modifier) and has a level four fort level.
Another useful button is the Toggle unit modes on/off button {shift-r}. This is used to view at
a glance some of the various modes each unit can be on in the game. Youll note when you
clicked it that nothing changed. This is because none of the units in the tutorial are in one on
the four available modes (Refit, Reserve, Withdrawal, and Static).
The Toggle unit isolated, far from railhead or receiving beachhead supply {shift-o} displays the
current supply status of units.
Lastly, (for now) since this is a non-campaign scenario, town, city and urban hexes can be a
major source of victory points. The toggle victory locations on/off button {shift-v} at the end of
the tool bar will display grey flags for Axis VP locations, red flags for Soviet VP locations, and
grey/red flags for VP locations for both sides.

We will cover other buttons on this tool bar as they are needed, but that should cover the
basics for now.

4.2. INFO SCREENS TAB, UNIT DETAIL WINDOW, AND UNIT BAR

This tab has nine (9) buttons, which as the tab indicates, displays various information such as
Show Order of Battle {o}, Show Losses {l}, Show Production {p}, Show Victory {v}, Show Weather
{w}, Show Air Doctrine {d}, Show Reinforcement/Withdrawal schedule {i}, Show Commanders
Report {c}, and Show Logistics [Phase Event] Log {Shift-e}.
Lets go ahead and click the Show Order of Battle button and get an overview of all of our
forces within this scenarios Order of Battle (OOB). On the left hand side youll see a list of all
the available higher Headquarter formations (HQ) and their leader (Commanding General). On
the right hand side youll the total amounts of men, guns, Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV)
and aircraft. The number to the left represents totals in each category and the number in the
parentheses represents the ready or undamaged elements.
In this screen shot we see the OOB unexpanded and the totals on the right.^

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Game Play Tip: Almost all displays can be closed by clicking the X in the
upper right hand corner to close the display.

In this screen shot we have expanded the OOB out by selecting each [+] so that they change
to [-]. Now you can see that the STAVKA High Command headquarters (HQ) has no units
attached directly to it but the Kalinin Front HQ has the 3rd Shock Army, which is commanded
by General Purkaev, as well as an Air Base unit with several attached air group units (Soviet Air
Regiments). Also in the chain of command are the subordinate units attached to the 3rd Shock
Army such as the 2nd Mechanized Corps, several Rifle divisions, a Guards division, a tank
brigade, a ski brigade and a number of battalion and regimental sized support units.

Go ahead and scroll up to the top of the screen and select the blue text labelled STAVKA (the
text will turn yellow indicating its selectable or that something can happen). Once you have
selected the text the game interface takes you directly (and centers on) to the map with the
units hex location selected and its detail window displayed.

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Your screen should look like this:

Okay, there is a lot going on here but dont panic. We going to digress for a minute to cover the
unit detail window (the display currently covering the main map area) and then the unit bar
(the display on the right).
First, things first, when you select the text for STAVKA the game interface selected the hex and
the unit you wanted to look at and opened up the unit detail window, centered on the map. On
the right hand side youll see the unit bar, which displays all the units in that particular hex. In
this case besides STAVKA HQ we also have the Kalinin Front HQ.

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Okay, back to the unit detail window. From the top left hand corner we have numbered in pink
each item that has selectable (blue) text (something you can change) and lettered in yellow the
information areas.

4.2.1. HQ UNIT DETAIL WINDOW

(1) Display leader detail or dismiss leader
(2) Display ground element detail
(3) Form a new support unit OR Assign a unit from a higher HQ
(4) Change to show on-map units attached or show support units attached
(5) Increase (ADD), Decrease (SUB) Support units and/
or Turn off auto movement (LOCK) of support units
(6) Display unit TOE details

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 (7) Set unit MAX TOE: 50-100%

(8) Show supply segment information
(9) Go to Commanders report with filter set to display all subordinate units
(a) FAT = fatigue level
(b) Morale of unit
(c) Motorized (vehicles/need)
(d) Nation
(e) Supply, Fuel, Ammo and Support totals/need
(f) Transportation Costs and In Supply MP
Shall we now cover all of these items? Oh you got it all okay lets just move on then, no?
FIGURE 1:
Starting with item 1, when you hover over the Leaders name youll see something like:

For now just note that you can dismiss this leader and assign a new leader from here and
while hovering over the leaders name youll note all of his values ranging from Political, Morale,
Initiative, Admin, Mech, Infantry, Air, Naval as well as see his Victories and Defeats.

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If you actually select the leaders name you are presented with a leader detail window that
looks like this:

These just show the same values with a few more details and gives you a chance if you desire
to dismiss the leader and assign a new one from the available pool of leaders.
Go ahead and click the Dismissal Cost text and then youll see the following:

This shows us all the available leaders to choose from. From here you can also see Marshall
Shaposhnikovs values across the top. For each leader you can see the Admin Cost in Admin
Points (AP) and the values of that leader and compare him to the leader you want to dismiss.
Youll note on this display that the values use the abbreviation P-M-I-A (Political, Morale,
Initiative, Admin) and M-I-A-N (Mech, Infantry, Air, Naval) and V-D (Victories-Defeats, which are
the same as Wins-Losses). Lastly, there is a Unit section which tells you if the leader you want
to assign to command this formation is already assigned to another unit.

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Moving on to item number 2, if you move the mouse cursor over the text it will show Display
ground element detail.

When this text is selected the ground element detail window will be displayed. This will show
the Nation, Type, and all the details for that ground element. Since this ground element is a
support squad ground element there is not a lot to see, but here is what it looks like.

Item number 3 is form new support unit or assign a unit from a higher HQ. When the mouse
curser is over the text you will see this:

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When you select this text youll be presented with a list of support units to choose from. For
Soviet units, the player has the option of creating a new unit if one is not available (0 in the AVL
column), though the support unit will be a shell that needs replacements prior to being ready.
When you select the Assign/Form text you should see something like this:

For this tutorial go ahead and select the TOE (Table of Equipment) of the first unit, the 42
Separate Tank Regiment. The TOE window, which provides the prescribed number of generic
and specific ground elements in the unit, should look something like this:

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Click the X in the right hand corner to close this display. Now go ahead and select the 42
Separate Tank Regiment to attach it to this HQ unit. Note that this will cost some AP from your
existing pool, but that is okay because we have plenty (30) for this scenario.
A text pop up will briefly appear, indicating that this unit is being attached. After you see that,
go ahead and close the pick support unit window.

Your screen should now look like this:

Item number 4 allows you to cycle through displaying either the combat and HQ units attached
or the support units attached to this HQ unit. Here are the two different displays that you will
see.
Showing attached combat and HQ units, in this case there is only one, the
Kalinin Front HQ.

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 Showing attached support units, in this case the newly created 101st Separate
Tank Regiment. Note that the (u) indicates that the support unit is unready and
cannot be committed to combat yet. When a new unit is created it starts with
no troops and must be filled with replacements.

We can now select the 101st text to view the unit and thus see that it currently has no ready
(RDY) ground elements but that each type of ground element has had an initial experience
(EXP) level established. Damage (DAM) and fatigue (FAT) will not be a factor for this unit until
ground elements arrive as replacements at the beginning of the next Soviet turn.

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You may have noticed that the support unit detail window is very similar to the HQ display,
since these are both unit detail windows. Close this display and now look at item number 5
from Figure 1.
The ADD, SUB and LOCK are used for setting the Support Levels. As their names imply, you can
add, subtract or lock the support level. What this does is to increase, decrease or lock the
possible (depending on the overall demand for support units) flow of support units. As you may
recall from the Pick a Support Unit (accessed from Assign/Form), depending on the time frame
the support units can range from independent tank, heavy tank, flame tank, motorcycle, gun,
artillery, AT, AA, Mortar, Rocket, Sapper, Construction, RR construction brigades, regiments and
battalions that can be assigned to help support the unit in question. Generally, Soviet Corps
sized combat units and HQ units can attach support units, while for the Germans, besides their
HQ units, their division sized combat units can also attach support units. So be advised that if
you see German infantry divisions and Soviet Corps combat units, they may have support units
directly attached in addition to their normal TOE allotment. There is also a special combat unit
called a fortified zone/region that can directly attach support units. Also, note that while there
is no limit for HQ units attaching support units, the combat units (Soviet Corps, German
Divisions, and fortified regions/zones) these units can only have three (3) support units attached
at any one time.

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By default we are letting the game handle the flow of support units to our higher HQ units and
then down to the lower HQ units that are part of their chain of command. So STAVKA High
Command HQ is the highest HQ in our OOB and its current default support level is 3, which
means that the game interface will attempt to automatically attach up to 3 support units of
each type as they become available. Recall that when we had you set up the tutorial that we
had you make sure that you did not check the Lock HQ support. If locked at the start, then
you have to manually change the support level for all your HQ units in a chain of command to
allow automatic transfers. While this may seem trivial in this tutorial you can imagine in a large
scenario with fifty or more HQ units that this can be quite a chore.
To add or subtract support levels simply click the button you wish do this with, likewise to lock
and prevent the game from assigning available support units to your unit click the Lock text.
For this tutorial we will leave it at the default support level for STAVKA HQ.

For Figure 1, item number 6 in the second part of the display we can hover over the TOE 51/59
text and the text pop up will indicate that we can select this to view or display the TOE for this
unit. Go ahead and select this.

As you can see from this window there are two sides, the TOE side shows the unit type, in
this case HQ High Command, the number (NUM) and GROUND ELEMENT TYPE. In this case
the prescribed TOE is 1000 Support squads, which at 20 men per support squad, is equal to
20000 men. On the right hand side we see the ACTUAL TOE of the unit and the actual name,
in this case STAVKA, as well as the NUM and GROUND ELEMENT type along with the actual
percentage (PCT) of the TOE, in our case 59% of TOE strength. So we can see that STAVKA HQ
has 590 Support squads and 11,800 men, which is equal to 59% of the prescribed TOE. We will
find this type of information more useful when we get to some actual fighting units.

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Go ahead and close this window and we will move on to Figure 1, item number 7, Set MAX TOE
50-100%. As the name indicates you can set the max TOE you want this unit to have. Youll
note that by default this should be set already for you to a max of 100 (or 100%).

So how does this help you? Good question comrade! Basically, as you play the game and you
watch your production values or the Logistics Phase Event Log {shift-e} or the the OOB display,
youll have a running list of available men and ready men. If you feel or from your analysis you
see a trend of a decrease in available manpower you may decide to set your MAX TOE to say
50% for units in quiet sectors of the front so that units that are actively engaged in operations
can slurp up more of the available replacement manpower and equipment.

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Referencing Figure 1, item 8, Show supply segment info, there is a lot of information here (see
the Game manual for details), but you can see the current status of supplies, fuel, ammo,
generic vehicles (e.g. trucks) in the unit compared to 100% of the applicable requirement in the
top portion. The bottom half shows you supply details for each turn, but since there is no
logistics phase for the first player turn of a game, all the values will currently be zero. Later on,
you should go back and take a look at the beginning of turn 2 to see more action in the supply
detail window.

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Go ahead and close that window. For Figure 1, item 9, you will find this near the bottom of the
unit detail display and if you have a HQ unit selected you will see text that says SHOW
SUBORDINATES (CR).

When you select this, the Commanders Report screen will be displayed showing you all the
subordinate units attached to that HQ unit.

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Your display should look something like this:

Since STAVKA is a High Command HQ you will see all units (and by default all on/off map
units) that are attached not only to STAVKA, but also all units attached to HQ units attached to
STAVKA, i.e. the entire Soviet chain of command for this scenario. The Commanders Report is a
multi-tabbed spreadsheet containing information on units, leaders, equipment and battles that
can be sorted and filtered in numerous ways. Briefly, there are various reports across the top
tab and the total number of units that are currently assigned to this HQ, the units themselves
are then listed, and there are also sort able fields such as unit name, type and other items.
Lastly on the bottom are the filters that you can use to further refine your queries. We will cover
more as needed for this tutorial but please see the electronic version of the game manual,
where the CR rates its own appendix, for more detailed information.

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Go ahead and close this window. Okay that covers our selectable items so we will now move
on to the static text items. Please reference Figure 2 and the a-f items for this portion.

FIGURE 2:
Hopefully most of the static texts are self explanatory, but basically they are from top to bottom:
Starting with item (a) ground element experience (EXP), ready ground elements (RDY), damaged
ground elements (DAM), ground element name or type (GROUND ELEMENT), and fatigue (FAT).
In this example we can see 510 ready support squad ground elements and 80 damaged ones.
Morale (b) is the current morale of the unit, motorized (c) means that this unit uses mostly
vehicles and fuel to move (non-motorized units use mostly horses and supplies (fodder)) and
it also shows the total vehicles in the unit as well as the number needed to have 100% of its
requirement. Nation (d) shows the country (SU for all Soviet units, but can be different for Axis
units) and then we see a listing (e) of Supplies, Fuel, Ammo, Support and the totals in the unit
and the totals needed to maintain the current number of ground elements in the unit. Finally
with (f) we have the Transport Cost (for strategic movement by train or ship) and the supply
status (for this tutorial, either in supply or isolated) and the distance in movement points (MP)
from its supply source.
That covers the bases for the Info Screens tab, the unit bar and some of the other interface
windows. We will cover more functionality as needed.

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4.3. ADMINISTRATION TAB

This tab has five (5) buttons that allow you to 1) Quit and exit to the main menu {shift-q}, 2)
Show Preferences {shift-p}, 3) Show Game Options {shift-g}, 4) Show Save Game {shift-s} and
5) Show Hotkey {shift-h}.
Administration covers, well, basic administration of the game such as saving the current
scenario, setting your preferences or game options, exiting the game or displaying the hot keys
available, of which there are quite a few.

4.4. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

We suggest you take a few minutes now and view the Game Manual, hover the mouse over
each button to see what it might be used for and also select some of the tabs and associated
tool bars to see what they do. When you are done we will see you back here and get you ready
to crush the 3rd Panzer Army.
Okay, now that you are ready and familiar with the interface lets rock and roll.

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5. MOVING AND FIGHTING

Well now that youre somewhat familiar with the basics, lets begin with the nitty-gritty of
tactical movement and combat.
If you have loaded the tutorial then you should be looking at a screen that looks something like
this, in this case with fort levels and VP locations toggled on:

Youll also notice that by default in the mode tool bar at the bottom of the top panel the F1 key
is pressed in and yellow while the rest are white and not pressed in.
Each hex in the map area is designated by a set of coordinates labelled X and Y. You can
always use the hotkey {h} to locate a specific hex, but since we have such a small map area,
for this tutorial please move the mouse cursor over the hex in the right lower corner that has
the two HQ units and is also the location of a town named Nelidovo (X90, Y42) and then select
the hex.
The stack consists of two HQ units: Kalinin Front and STAVKA.
When you select a hex, all units stacked in the hex are automatically selected. You can select or
de-select individual units by selecting in a blank part of the unit box in the unit bar to the right
of the screen. Selected units have their unit box highlighted in white.
Now, move the cursor to a nearby hex on the map.
Note that, as the interface is in move mode, the map area indicates both the path the unit will
take to the hex your mouse cursor is over and the amount of movement points (MPs from now
on) the unit will have left upon reaching that destination. The MPs left upon reaching the

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destination are also indicated in the hex pop-up box that appears when you hover over a hex.
Here is an example of what the screen will look like:

The MP cost to move to a certain hex is influenced by the terrain type, weather conditions and
adjacent enemy units. You can find a detailed description of movement and attack MP costs
in the game manual.
To move a unit, make sure it is selected (bordered in purple on the map area and unit box
highlighted in white in the unit bar), place the mouse cursor over the destination hex and right
click the mouse. Feel free to move the HQ units around the eastern part of the playable map
area by right clicking on a destination hex.
Game Play Info: If while moving the mouse cursor around, you end up
lost in the grey un-playable part of the map area, use hotkey {Shift-C} to
center back on the hex and units you have selected.

Note that movement causes fatigue in ground elements and may damage vehicles. The greater
the distance a unit moves during a turn, the greater the fatigue and equipment damage.
In some cases you can immediately undo a move. If a unit is eligible to undo its move, the
undo last move button will appear to the right of the toggle shift key on button in the mode
tool bar. Select the undo button or use hotkey {u} to undo the move.

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In the screenshot below, the stack of HQ units has been moved. The undo button is annotated
and a path is traced to the hex where the HQs were moved from.

5.1. COMMAND AND CONTROL (C2) RADIUS

Lets check whether units are in range of the HQ unit that they are attached.
The maximum command and control radius is 5 hexes for combat units tracing a path to their
HQ. If theyre outside that radius, they will be unable to draw supply from the HQ unit (there
are alternatives to receive supply, but they are not as effective) or have access to that HQ units
attached support units during combat. There is an additional type of support (using excess
support squad ground elements) that HQ units can provide that has different range restrictions,
but we arent going to talk about it in the tutorial. A description of HQ units and the impact of
C2 can be found in section 7.6.4 of the game manual.
Take a look at the map, and take note of the blue outline around the counters of the 3rd Shock
Army HQ and the 3rd SA air base unit. The outline indicates that they are directly attached to
one of the currently selected HQ units (in this case the Kalinin Front HQ unit). In other words,
the selected HQ is the higher HQ of the unit with the blue outline. If the unit was out of HQ/
command and control range, it would have a red outline.
As you can see, the selected HQ units dont have any of the combat units directly attached.
Go ahead and select X88, Y40, which will select the 3rd Shock Army HQ unit.

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Note that the combat units on the map now have a blue outline, as theyre in the C2 radius of
their HQ unit.

5.2. ATTACKING
Select X85, Y40 with the stack of combat units containing a Tank brigade and two Rifle
divisions.
Now, with the hex with the three combat units selected, move the mouse cursor over to the
German infantry regiment directly to the west.
Note that the cursor changes to a round icon with an arrow and a flash in it. This icon indicates
a hasty attack can be launched against the German infantry unit.

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Hasty attacks are ideal for attacking weakened units, as spoiling attacks against units in the
process of constructing man-made fortification levels and for mobile units since deliberate
attacks (the other attack type that well discuss later) cost a significant amount of MPs for
mobile units. As mentioned earlier, all MP costs for attacking can be found in the manual (either
in section 6.0 of the printed manual or section 14.1.5 of the electronic version).
Hasty attacks can only be made by a unit or a stack in a single hex, so a maximum of 3 on-map
combat units can be involved in the attack. The units making a hasty attack will have a lower
combat value than they would have when making a deliberate attack, which makes the hasty
attack less ideal for attacking a fortified line or units in difficult terrain hexes such as heavy
woods, rough, mountain, city or any form of urban hex.
Now, with the hasty attack icon displayed, right click on the German unit to launch the attack.
The combat window will now appear and you can see the attack unfold. The screenshot shows
the combat resolution window at the end of the combat, with the German infantry regiment
already retreated as a result of being defeated. Note that the red line on the map area is the
graphic display of the flight of Soviet air group units flying automatic ground support, with the
green line being the graphic display of Axis air group units flying automatic interception of the
Soviet ground support mission. See sections 5.4, 8.0 and 16.0 in the game manual for details
on air units and air missions in the game.

The combat resolution window shows the following information:

The top part of the window includes the hex coordinates of the location of the battle, the terrain
type and the weather.
The upper left hand side of the window displays the Axis forces involved in the attack, with
their combat values (if any) indicated next to their unit name. The number and type of aircraft

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supporting the attack or defence are also indicated, as well as the number and type of AA guns
firing at enemy planes, if present. In the lower part, you can see the combat value (the precombat combined strength of the units indicated above), command modifier (manual section
15.6.2.2), modified (post-combat) combat value and the man-made fortification level.
The center of the window displays the initial strength for both sides in men, guns, AFVs, and
aircraft and below that the losses each side suffered during the fighting.
Below that is provided the final result and odds of the battle (ratio of modified combat values),
as well as the pause and exit buttons. You can pause the battle at any time and also exit the
battle at any time. Exiting the battle will resolve the battle normally, but you dont have to watch
it in detail should you desire not to.
While the combat is taking place, this part of the combat resolution window will also display
the actions (bombing, firing, etc.) that individual aircraft and ground elements involved in the
attack are taking, with the amount of detail displayed depending on the current combat detail
level (0-7), which can be set in the preferences section or by hotkeys {0-7}. A lower detail
setting wont show individual aircraft or ground elements firing at each other, but will only
show the general types of information being discussed now.
The right hand side of the combat resolution window will show the same information for the
Soviet side as on the left hand side for the Axis player.
As the attack is a Soviet hasty attack a (H) is displayed next to Soviet forces attacking.
In this case the German infantry regiment lost the battle and was forced to retreat. In other
circumstances where the Axis lost, the defeated unit may have been routed, shattered
(destroyed) or surrendered. If the Axis had won the battle, the German unit would have held
and remained in the hex.
Use hotkey {F11} or the show battle sites button in the mode tool bar and hover over the icon
you see in the hex you just attacked. The attacker and defender strengths and losses as well as
the results will be displayed in a pop up window. If you select the icon, the combat resolution
window with the final results of the battle will be displayed.
Press F1 or the move mode button in the mode tool bar to return to tactical movement mode.
Now we are going to try another kind of attack: the deliberate attack.
Deliberate attacks can be made both from a single hex or multiple hexes and multiple stacks
can participate in them as long as the units have enough MPs to attack.
You can make a deliberate attack by selecting a single combat unit or stack and holding the
shift key or by pressing the toggle shift key on button in the mode tool bar.
First, select hex X84, Y38 with the 44th Ski brigade.
Next, either toggle the shift key on or hold the shift key and move the cursor over to the Guards
Rifle division in the adjacent hex. Hold the shift key or keep the toggle on during this process.

33

The Guards Rifle division should now be selected too, as you can see in the modified unit bar in
the right hand corner of the screen, which will now show the names of the units involved, their
combat strength as depicted on their counter and their MPs.
Selecting the unit counter icon to the left of the unit name will deselect it. In most cases, if
youve selected units that cant make a deliberate attack, their counter will not appear in the
panel. There are some cases (e.g. combat units with insufficient MP, non-artillery combat units
in a stack two hexes away) where you will have to manually deselect units before you will be
allowed to attack.
With the units selected and shift key pressed/toggled on, move the cursor to the adjacent hex
with the German infantry regiment.
The cursor will change to a circle with a large flash in it.
The screenshot shows the deliberate attack symbol and has the shift toggle button encircled.
You can see which units are participating in the attack by the selected units in the unit bar on
the right hand side of the screen.

Finally, right click on the hex with the German infantry regiment to conduct the deliberate
attack.

34

The combat resolution window will appear, this time without the (H) next to Soviet forces
attacking. For this battle, the combat resolution message level has been set to 4, providing
more detail. In the screenshot below, we are in the middle of the fight and a Soviet rifle squad
ground element has just been hit and damaged by a German 81mm mortar ground element.

This battle may go either way, perhaps requiring the commitment of more Soviet combat units
in an additional attack to force a German retreat.
Congratulations, youve just launched your first attacks and hopefully have forced the enemy
to retreat!

6. MAXIMIZING COMBAT STRENGTH IN A HEX

Once you have forced the enemy back, the next step is to plan your assault on Velikie Luki for
the next turns.
The Soviet player can maximize combat strength in a hex through the formation of both division
and corps sized combat units from a number of smaller size units. See section 7.5.3 of the
game manual for a listing of when certain unit types can form corps or when rifle or airborne
brigades can form divisions.
You can form a corps size combat unit by selecting a stack that can combine into a corps and
pressing the build-up/breakdown units button under the map information tab of the top panel
or by using hotkey {b} key with the stack selected.

35

Corps sized combat units allow you to consolidate the strength of, for infantry units, three
divisions or two divisions and a rifle brigade or, for motorized units, three motorized or tank
brigades into a mechanized or tank corps (three motorized brigades form a mechanized corps
and three Tank brigades form a Tank corps).
Building up multiple units into a corps sized unit is important as corps combine strength into a
single unit, so instead of three Rifle divisions in a hex (combined maximum of around 30.000
men), you can triple that strength by having three Rifle corps in a hex (combined maximum
strength of around 90.000 men).
The strength of an infantry corps is the sum of three divisions, so it has a maximum TOE
strength of around 30.000 men, as the average Rifle division has a maximum TOE strength
of around 10.000 men. Also keep in mind that Ski brigades, NKVD regiments or Naval Rifle
brigades can never buildup into a divisional unit or a corps. Airborne brigades can only build
up with other airborne brigades, either into a guards rifle division or a guards airborne division,
depending on the date the buildup occurs.
Even if you buildup a rifle corps from two divisions and one brigade, the maximum TOE setting
will still be that of about three divisions, the main difference will be that your newly formed
corps will probably have less men in it compared to if you formed it from three divisions. The
strength of a Rifle corps in manpower remains fairly constant throughout the war, the main
thing improving their performance as the war goes on will be experience and morale if the
corps combat units are managed properly. There is a cost in admin points to initially form a
corps sized combat unit that varies depending on the type of unit.
Likewise, a cavalry corps will have the strength of three cavalry divisions. As the cavalry
divisions decrease in maximum TOE strength substantially after a few months in 1941, this
brings their strength in manpower to about the level that a division starts with in June 1941.
Cavalry corps TOE strength increases over time as the corps upgrades to new TOEs.
A mechanized or tank corps is not the sum of three motorized or tank brigades, as the mobile
corps have unique TOEs. Mechanized or tank corps are the only Soviet mobile combat units
that have a maximum MP allowance of 50, as brigades are limited in their maximum MP
allowance.
You can form Guards corps by combining at least two Guards units with a non-Guards unit of
the same unit type, so in the case of the tutorial scenario, two Guards Rifle divisions with a
non-Guards Rifle division. You can naturally also form Guards corps from three Guards units.
It is important to note that corps can only be formed if all units in the stack have at least 1 MP
left. There are other restrictions that can be found in section 7.5.3 of the game manual.

36

In the screenshot, the 3 units circled to the north could form a guards rifle corps when built up,
whilst the units to the south could buildup into a regular rifle corps.
Now create some Soviet corps combat
units, experimenting with what suits
your immediate needs best in the
process, and note the difference between
corps performance and divisional unit
performance.
Now that youve made your first attacks
and formed your first corps, continue to
attack the German positions and try to win
the scenario. Take your time to try different
strategies. You can always save your game
prior to a move or battle if you want to, for
example, try the battle several times using
different units or if you want to see how a
certain movement action will change the
operational situation.
Good luck!

37

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