Operation Storm: Stalin's Barbarossa

Operation Storm: Stalin's Barbarossa What if the Soviets Attacked First in 1941?

Operation Storm is a two-player, low-to-intermediate complexity, strategic simulation of the campaign that could've resulted had Stalin agreed to Gen. Georg Zhukov's plan for a preemptive attack against the Germans. The Soviet player is mainly on the offensive, attempting to win the game by seizing key objectives within the territory of the Third Reich. At the same time, though, the situation allows for--and at times demands--the launching of sharp counteroffensives by the German player.

Each hexagon on the map represents 16 miles (26 kilometers) from side to opposite side. The units of maneuver for both sides are primarily divisions, along with a few units of other organizational sizes. Each full game turn represents from two weeks to two months, depending on the season. By telescoping time in that way, the turn-by-turn movement and combat capacities of the units can held as a constant. The game map illustrates the militarily significant terrain found in the border area between the Third Reich and the USSR in mid-1941 when viewed at these time and space scales.

The initial orders of battle for both sides are drawn from the forces historically available to both sides in early June 1941. Similarly, on the Soviet side, the reinforcement schedule is based on what was generated by them during the historic campaign, minus only the historic emergency mobilization of the militia divisions.

The Soviet player is generally on the offensive, striving to win by seizing important areas on the map while causing heavy casualties on the opposing side. The German wins by preventing his opponent from fulfilling the Soviet victory conditions. Unless one player assesses his situation to have become hopeless, and therefore capitulates to this opponent, victory is only judged at the end of Game Turn 10. There are no “sudden death” victories in this game. Soviet performance in that regard is based on that side side’s accumulation of victory points.