Stephen Phenow has volunteered to run a world wide campaign for Crossfire set in Stalingrad. Steve announced it on the Crossfire-WWII Yahoo Group but the action will take place on Stalingrad A World Wide Web Miniatures Campaign Facebook Group.
Background (24 November 2018)
Steve has been thinking about Stalingrad for a while.
So in the Early ’70s Scale Modeler showed a t34 profile by Sidney Chivers unpainted and rusting as driven from the Dzerzhinsky Tractor Plant in Stalingrad right into battle. That fired my imagination and I painted up many an Airfix t34 like that.
Several years later, after the success of ‘Drang Nach Osten’ four designers including myself were asked to design a Stalingrad game, using one counter per a battalion. Alas my band took off and I had to drop out, however I retained all my extensive research. (My mother spoke Russian, and we had relatives behind the Curtain) Recently clearing out an area in my house for an addition, I came across my research, stacked up in yellowing binders. Mien Gott! I had forgotten how much detail I amassed! So, I want to use it.
How the Campaign will work (24 November 2018)
The campaign will be run over twelve real months but game time will only be 12 days, 11-23 Nov 1942.
Everybody knows my comments that Crossfire in Stalingrad are made for each other. Terrain dense areas with point blank shooting. Lots of close actions. Everybody has also heard of Lloyd’s World Wide Crossfire Day. But Crossfire day is labor intensive, and a major time commitment. Even Lloyd won’t do another. (I don’t blame him.) So what if we had a World Wide Crossfire Campaign? 12 days in Stalingrad. Nov 11, to Nov 23rd?
Players are expected to fight one game per campaign day / real month. Failure to fight a game means you lose assets. Fighting more than one game means more than one campaign day passes for those players … so I suggest you don’t.
Campaigns are messy things.. Like a shark they have to move forward, or they die. All it takes is someone not fighting a campaign battle in the allotted time and disaster strikes. So the ideal campaign has to not die if a battle is missed. In the recent WW Sealion Campaign (2015-16) I saw that demonstrated. Some divisions fought battles, other delayed. Delayed battles would eventually be fought but with less kit. Because the GMs would strip assets off the division to other active divisions.
After a while the lazy gamer would would find himself with so many assets stripped off and he’d be forced to retreat! So eventually everybody would be fighting their battles as fast as possible. So that is what I intend here. 12 days game =12 months real time. A day will run 1 month, and you have 30 days to fight your battle. Now time is elastic. If you want to fight 4 days say rather then one in month, you can, but you are four days ahead of everybody else, which could mean you run out of men and material since no one can re enforce you. If you need time off – say family or business trips, you could fight your battle early and take the time off.
The campaign will have a Facebook Group
We will have a dedicated website, and we have a daily (Monthly) report to their respective sides so those who are in the dark will have an idea what’s going on. You will be responsible for posting pictures, battle reports, AAR recon, etc on the website, but NOT required to.
Campaign style = Bathtub Campaign (24 November 2018)
Since we cannot represent 150,000 men, we will bathtub the forces. I.E a Brigade = a Div. a Regiment a Battalion and so on down the line. The average size of force will likely be two Xfire companies. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less.
Steve will do the orders of battle, maps, replacement schedules, and scenario specific rules.
I’ll take care of the OBs, maps, and replacement schedules with a whole bunch of optional rules including airpower. (It’s not Stalingrad without Luftflotte 4) You also will have to get used to not having balanced forces, often the Soviet Rile companies had a single platoon.
The campaign ends 31 Dec 2019.
Tentative start date: 4 Jan 2019 Proposed end date 24 Dec 2019 PM: January 2020
After Dec 31st 2019 the campaign will be over, and we will analyze the results.
Sign up instruction (1 Dec 2018)
Sign up instructions:
We will probably have sign up sheet at the website. Those who are interested can sign up there, those who are not, thank you for your time.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/308674409746156/ for those ready to join.
For those not on Facebook. Here are the official instructions:
To Join the Crossfire Stalingrad Campaign:
1. I need a list of your and your opponent’s existing equipment and troops.
2. Your opponents name and e-mail address.
3. The understanding you are willing to fight your battles by the end of each month.E-mail list to: sfp55@aol.com
Depending on your choice of sides, you will get an info packet via e-mail in 3-5 days. Those who want to test out rule’s additions can do so. There will be TOEs included, so you can get an idea of the numbers of bases involved.
Adding troops. You are welcome add troops and equipment during the campaign. Just let me know what are the new additions so I can amend the main list of resources. If you are adding troops or have troops being painted on the table, do not add them in your original list. They are added only after they are completed and ready to be used.
Stephen Phenow House Rules for the Stalingrad Campaign
You can download the Stalingrad Campaign Rules (PDF). Although called “Campaign Rules” these 22 pages are really Steve P’s house rules for the using Crossfire in Stalingrad.
Recording Casualties
Steve P wants us to record casualties for fighting stands (bases) killed, and to specify whether by close combat or by fire.
For Battle Reports
1st. take the TO&E you were sent, and note the following. If a Rifle base was removed by CLOSE COMBAT (CC) or any type of fire: Indirect, or direct.2nd. Bases you have to note:
BCs, Com. CCs, Rifle bases, SMG bases, all crew served weapons, all Vehicles,3rd. Bases you don’t have to note:
PLs, Snipers, FOs, ACs
For example:
Resources on the Battle of Stalingrad
I’ve got lots of stuff on Crossfire, Stalingrad (and urban combat in general), Making Ruins. These are the must reads …
- Timeline of the Battle of Stalingrad
- Academy of Street Fighting: Tactics during the Battle of Stalingrad
- Ruin Painting Style – Brick or Black?
- 2 Foot City – A Crossfire Scenario and Battle Report
- 92nd Naval in Stalingrad – A Crossfire Scenario and Battle Report 1 and Battle Report 2.
- Crossfiregrad – A Battle Report of the Crossfire Scenario by Doctor Phalanx
- Stalingrad – A Crossfire Battle Report
- Not Stalingrad but a great urban scenario … SU-152s Up Close and Personal Scenario and Battle Report, Battle Report 2, Battle Report 3, Battle Report 4.
Oh boy, I am in! Discovered Crossfire just as Lloyd’s second campaign was finishing up, and always hoped to get the chance at another, similar one!