“Black Wednesday”: The Blue Division at the Battle of Krasny Bor

The Battle of Krasny Bor was the climax of the Blue Division’s time on the Eastern Front during WW2. Four Soviet rifle divisions, supported by tanks and guns, smashed into the equivalent of five Spanish battalions. the Spanish took a mauling but were only pushed a few kilometres back from their starting positions before the line was stabilised.

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Rhine Crossing ala Rapid Fire – A Crossfire Scenario

Table - Rhine Crossing - Crossfire - Banner

This Crossfire scenario is based on the Rhine Crossing scenario by Durston (1996) although I converted it from Rapid Fire to Crossfire. Since then I have discovered serious historical flaws in the scenario. It might work as a game but the historical bugs annoyed me so I started playing with a couple of alternatives:

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Steven’s Blue Division Battalion

The Spanish Blue Division is what got me into WW2. Officially the 250th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht and comprising Spanish Volunteers, this unit was also know as the Spanish Volunteer Division, Division Azul, or the Blue Division. They are Spanish, of course, but I use them as Germans when needed.

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Arnhem 17-25 Sep 1944

In the English speaking world at least, Arnhem is one of the defining battles of World War II. Vince Lody from the Shed ran a multi-player Crossfire game based on the last stand of the Paras at Arnhem. A last stand poses certain challenges for a scenario designer, i.e. you know the defender has to lose, so I wondered what other aspects of the battle would make for interesting gaming. I’ve sketched out the course of the battle and outlined what I think might make interesting scenarios.

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Huge Crossfire Table at the Shed

For a couple of years I wargamed at The Shed. These guys specialise in multi-player games on a big table. They play all sorts of game systems but for most of the time I was there they played Crossfire. The table at the Shed is 14′ x 6.5′, which in Crossfire terms is quite big. The table, as you’ll see, absorbs a lot of terrain. Thanks to Vince for sending through the photos.

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