EastFront II

EastFront simulates the largest military campaign in history: the "Eastern Front" in World War II, 1941-45.  Although it is largely unrecognized in the West, World War II in Europe was won and lost on the Russian Front. In November 1942 the Axis tide of expansion was reversed at El Alamein in North Africa and at Stalingrad in Russia. However, while Montgomery chased Rommel's forces of about 3 corps westward in North Africa, the Red Army began driving 45-50 German corps back towards Berlin. In July, 1943, the Red Army crushed Germany's last eastern offensive at Kursk, a titanic battle involving thousands of tanks and millions of men. In the same month the Allies invaded Sicily and defeated 3 German units on this scale. By the time the Allies landed (with five Corps) in France on D-Day, Germany had been retreating in the east for 18 months. By then, she was fighting to survive, not to win. The Allies lost around a third of a million men fighting Hitler. Russia lost over 13 million, forty times as many. One player commands the Axis forces, the other commands the Soviets. The mapboard depicts the eastern half of the European theater in WW2. The mapboard is divided into hexagons, called "hexes", to determine location and movement. Terrain features affecting play include: rivers, forests, mountains, marshes, cities, ports, and railways.