Battles In The East Volume 3 - Battle for Pomerania and Drive to the Sea

Battles in the East (BITE) is a series simulating World War II Eastern Front battles. The system rules are an evolution of the SPI classics Panzergruppe Guderian, Army Group South, and Cobra. Unit integrity bonuses include Soviet Corps and vary to show the increasing Soviet cohesion and decreasing German cohesion as the war progresses. HQ units provide higher level combat support and supply advantages to corresponding units in range. BITE also incorporates standardized scales (unit size, distance, time) for easy comparisons. While the series rules allow players to play many games with the same core rules, the scenario rules add unique situational elements of each battle. Each volume includes two battles from one year with two copies of the charts and tables as well as scenario rules and set-up cards for easy reference.

West Prussia, January 1945: Stalin’s agenda focused on the conquest of Prussia, the first German territory reached by the advancing Red Army. The German Army, ahead of a total collapse, prepared a ‘defense in depth’ while deploying many Prussian recruited units to defend the region. The Soviet plan was simple—drive from the east while also cutting Prussia from the rest of Germany. The Soviets earmarked Rokossovsky’s 2 Belorussian Front for the task with the veteran 5th Guard Tank Army selected for the drive to the sea. The game runs from 13th January 1945–1st February 1945, a total of 10 game turns.

Pomerania, February 1945: By February 1945 the German Army faced a desperate situation. The Soviets under Zhukov regrouped at the Oder River preparing to press forward to capture Berlin. However, the northern flank of his Belorussian Front was thinly held and the besieged German garrison in the town of Arnswalde continued to hold. Himmler, with his personal credibility in terminal decline, opted to utilize vital German reserves and SS units to launch a relief effort of limited forces to drive south, relieve Arnswalde, and severely disrupt the Soviet plans. Once the Stavka, the Soviet General Headquarters, recognized the danger, clearing Pomerania became their objective for February and early March 1945. Himmler soon found himself out of his depth in a bloody campaign in Northeast Germany. The game runs from 15th February 1945–5th March 1945, a total of 10 game turns.