Case Blue (OCS)

From 1941 through 1943, Army Group South fought a campaign in southern Russia. Hitler issued goals that ranged from the far oil fields to a city on the Volga by the name of Stalingrad, finally deciding not to decide and ordered the far flung Army Group to divide and go for both.

Across endless steppe, in the blazing sun and freezing cold, the Axis legions advanced to the edge of Asia and the Caucasus mountains. Some of the oil fields, and most of the city were taken.

Then the Red Army had its turn...

Case Blue is a game that covers both the Axis advance (1941 and 1942) as well as the Soviet counterattacks (Nov 42 to Jan 43) and the German counteroffensive at Kharkov (Feb-March 1943) that ended the series of campaigns in the south. The game covers in great detail all the operations from October 1941 until May 1943 on a large play area extending from Voronezh almost to the Turkish border. The full scope and grandiose nature of these operations come to life here.

Case Blue covers and replaces the 1994 award winning game Enemy at the Gates. Players get to encircle Stalingrad, run their pocket and relief attempts and the many operations that game covered.

Case Blue is the 10th game in the award winning Operational Combat Series and is the result of over 6 years of intensive research and testing. Players control units ranging from battalions through divisions (OK, there are a few, very strange, companies), making key decisions on the use, objectives, and means of war. The series is based on modern concepts of maneuver warfare and allows players a far more insightful look into how campaigns (large and small) really work.

Case Blue is designed to be played both separately or linked to the 2001 game Guderian's Blitzkrieg II. The monster linked game allows players to run operations on the entire Eastern Front (except for Leningrad) from the fall of 1941 until mid-1943. Multiple scenarios (from one map small scenarios to very large) allow play to be picked up at various key points in the campaign.

If you want a serious look at these pivotal campaigns while having fun at the same time, this is the game for you. Perhaps the Operational Combat Series finest hour, this game is huge.

Unit Scale: Battalion through Division

Hex Scale: 5 miles

Players: 2 (also suitable for solitaire and team play)

Playing Time: 3 to Hundreds of hours

Complexity: High

Solitaire Suitability: Moderate