BGG posts about rules questions: 8
Fun Rating 10
I am penning this session report assuming those fanatical enough to read it already know the game. If you have never played Europe Engulfed, skip down to “final thoughts” a quick opinion of the game. Comments are not only welcomed but encouraged as this is my first EE game and my first SR.
We played the 1941 scenario using the suggested set-up. The Germans received a hit-bonus to all rolls during the initial combat phase of the first Axis turn. No other optional rules where used.
An overview of the game by years
1941 Axis – Barbarossa
As Germany I bought all of the Special Actions (SA) every clear weather turn and 8 U-boats every turn period. The first 2 clear weather turns I concentrated about 2/3 of my force in the South and pushed past the first river taking away 3 resource areas and surrounding the small force contested by the Axis minors in Eastern Europe. In the North, I pushed just short of Leningrad.
No, my advance was not spectacular but one must consider two things. First, I am a conservative player by nature. Second, my overall strategy was not to crush Russia but rather to push and hold the first two years and then stall the Soviet advance long enough to win a marginal victory. Push and Stall…
As the first string of bad weather approached, the Russians stood behind the river that protects Moscow and Stalingrad. I backed my armor and GS units into Bryansk leaving a sizable group of infantry Kursk. The weather was mud so I welcomed a Soviet counter attack. It was not to be. Instead he pressed into Finland which would stay contested most of the game. Any time I can get a Soviet unit pinned down in 1941, I will take it!
In the Mediterranean, I attacked the British force in Africa with the Germans and Italians. This are would stay contested until the end of 1942. I can’t answer as to why the Allied player didn’t finish the job earlier. Novice mistake perhaps but it sure helped me.
1941 Allies – Conscript and Reinforce
For the Allies, reinforcing Africa was a no-brainer. On the first Allied turn, I chose to engage his Mediterranean fleet figuring my odds would never be better. HE ROLLED 3 6’s sinking my ENTIRE FLEET. Hindsight tells me that I caught quite a break because we were learning the rules. I bought a fleet the next turn but should have been out of supply by 2 units. However, we did not realize this until I had my second fleet and all 4 of my remaining units were in supply. This mistake went both ways as he had too many allied units in the area to meet supply as well.
Lesson learned – In 1941, The Axis Fleet is for supply.
Africa was reinforced by British units and the Russians took the conscription. Moscow was reinforced and to my surprise, the Soviets immediately counter attacked. The Allied player by nature is a very aggressive player and this was his first game. He pinned the Finish down, and put enough units in Leningrad to deter a 2nd turn attack.
A beachhead was established in Trondiem because the Allied player wanted me to lose the 2 Swedish WERPs. For me it was a welcome sight because it used one of his 2 precious beachheads and I knew I could keep it contested for several turns.
1941 – Key Tactical Moves/Mistakes
At the end of his first turn, the Soviet player had left open Grozny and Baku. Perhaps he mistakenly thought the army in the Don River Bend was all infantry. Regardless, I used a SA and operational moved armor into both spaces. I realized that I would likely lose at least 1 unit (OOS) but figured losing the 6 WERPs would hurt him more.
Good Move? See Photo on blog.
Europe Engulfed Session Report with Stats
The HUGE mistake for the Allies was not increasing his ASW. I kept purchasing 8 subs per turn so by the end of the year I was almost into the 51-60 column. Add to this the two additional fleets purchased during the year and Britain was down to very little income right away. The ASW die rolls further hurt the Allied player. My subs were only reduced once during the year.
As mentioned, my mistake was putting the Mediterranean OOS. Had we known the rules, I think that would have had a much farther reaching consequence.
End of 1941
Early 1942 Axis – Waiting for Clear Weather
At the end of 1941, I had set my Eastern front to take advantage of the mud. My infantry were pushed up to the edge of the Moscow (not sure of its true name) River so that a Russian crossing would give me 2 hit bonuses. My armor was safely in the rear. When snow came, I recombined my units and when mud came again in Mar-April, I went back to the same mud defense position.
My WERP’s were up briefly with the capture of Gronzy and Baku. I even managed to keep them in supply because the Russian attack to cut them off at Don River Bend ended up as a contested area (thank you mud). I used my WERP’s to buy an elite infantry and armor unit, strat-moved them in and continued to play a patient defense. For Italy, I was sure to buy the SA because I knew it was only a matter of time before the morale collapsed.
Kept in supply
At the beginning of the last mud turn I used a SA to provided unlimited replacements to my largest army in Russia. Now all my armor was at full strength along with most of the infantry. Because I had virtually all of my armor still in play and in Russia, I was feeling pretty good about my situation.
1942 Allies – Here Comes the USA
The US entry into the war stopped the automatic lend-lease to Russia and England. With the added two fleets, the UK was averaging about 4 WERPs per turn. The ASW was upgraded as were bombers and fighters. The US immediately landed in Vichy occupied Morocco. We would later learn that the landing is not allowed before a certain date. It wasn’t a big deal as we chalked the entire game to learning.
In Russia, the 4 elite infantry immediately went to work pushing Germany and Finland out of northern Russia. A counterattack at the Don River Bend continued from 1941 and eventually all of the WERP’s were recovered.
Africa at The End of 1941
By the end of the year the Trondhiem and Africa campaigns were complete. Bombing of Germany was taking away 6 WERPs per turn and a large force was assembled in both England and Africa. In Russia, Leningrad had been liberated and Northern Russia was very strong.
1942 – Axis in Clear Weather
By clear weather, the Germans had two large armies in Luki and Dnepr River Bend standing across from 2 large Soviet armies in Ladoga and Byansk. The Bryansk army was huge and contained most of the Soviet armor. At this point I decided to change my strategy and go for broke.
I used my SA’s and moved both armies into Bryansk for what historically could be considered the battle of Kursk. Ground support and elite units made the difference here and I won a decisive victory.
I spent the rest of the year slowly pressing into the South because the allied player was reinforcing in the north. By the end of the year, I held Baku and Gronzy again.
1942 Key Tactical Moves/Mistakes
In Africa the Allies pinned the Axis down and eventually took over. However, I think that considering the Axis ceased to reinforce it after 1941, waiting until almost the end of 1942 to clear it, was a waste of time. The allied player seemed content to have me pinned. Experience has now taught us that finishing Africa sooner would have slowed my progress in Russia. This is especially true when you consider that I was able to transfer the maximum number of Italian units allowed to the Russian front, because I didn’t not have to fear an invasion.
During the operational moves prior to the huge battle in Bryansk, I moved what had to appear as 4 infantry units into Kursk. I believed that it would appear like a move to cut him off. In fact, two of the units were armor and with my last SA, I rushed them up to an emptied Moscow. In defense of the Allied player, it was very hard to see coming when you consider it meant pulling precious resources away from the battle that may determine the outcome of the game. It was also a one way mission. But I weighed the loss of armor vs. his loss of income and time taken to retake Moscow and figured the move to be well worth it.
Early 1943 Axis Decision Time
At the end of March-April I found myself in a tempting position. I held the entire South of Russia including Stalingrad and Guryev. The Russians had chosen to only reinforce the North and hold (or so it looked) because D-day was about to come.
1943 March-April World View
1943 March-April Eastern Front
1943 March-April Western Front
I positioned my largest army in Smolensk and pressed two smaller armies just south of the retaken/re-fortified Moscow in Tula and Voronzeh. The Voronzeh army was loaded with armor that could strike Gorky. That way on the first clear turn, if the opportunity presented itself, I could hit every Russian supply center.
With the main Russian Army in Minsk, I positioned my back line such that even with the used of armor and both SA’s, the Russians would fall one space short of cutting my supply.
Early 1943 Allies Strike Back
In what I now think was the best move in the game by the allied player, the Russian army immediately moved into the Pripet Marshes. I thought this was perfect because it meant that no armor was in the large army and that with infantry there was no way that my supply could be cut off. My gamble was about to pay off, or so I thought.
Germany used a SA to reinforce Pripet to further slow Russia. When the units were tipped over, there lay 2 cavalry units and the end of my game as supply would surely be cut. Great Move!
Despite an assault, the reinforcement, gave me just enough units so that the space stayed contested. I was never so happy to have snow. Lucky for me, I had another SA and reinforced it again during his breakthrough move. At the end of the Russian turn the space was contested and I was completely in supply. I got lucky here, big time.
In the Mediterranean, the assault on Italy I expected never came. Instead the landing came in Thesalonika into wide open Eastern Europe. The allied goal was to take out the Polesti oil.
1943 May-Jun War on All Fronts
My plan now was to use my operational and strategic moves to virtually clear the West and make a push for the fall of Russia. I figured that afterwards I could simply breakthrough strat move everything back to the West. As long as I didn’t lose Paris, I would win.
I moved everything I had it into place then realized, Oh @#$%, it’s light mud, no breakthroughs allowed. I was out of position big time.
The Allies took advantage and launched D-day. Only one beachhead was available because Thesalonika was still contested. The landing came in Normandy with 4 infantry, 2 airborne and 4 GS units. By some miracle, the space was contested after the initial combat phase and so the 2nd SA of both nations was expended to clear the space.
1943 Clear Weather at Last!
Twenty hours over 3 days came down to this. During the operational phase I attacked Moscow and Gorky, assembled a large army next to Leningrad and positioned a defensive wall around all of the Russian supply centers. The large army that defended Moscow proved only to be a group of one and two step infantry. Both spaces were easily taken.
My first SA was used to assault Leningrad. The benefit of Elite and GS units cannot be understated. That space too was taken rather easily.
I used my last SA to strat move my army back to Paris.
1943 Endgame
The Russian income was 17. The only placement options were The Ural Mountains, Archangel, and Kazan.
Endgame Russia
The US and Britain had a force of 7 blocks (5 infantry, 2 airborne) and 3 GS in Normandy standing across an Axis force of 9 blocks (7 armor, 2 infantry).
Endgame Western Front
The German army also had 2 SA’s remaining with which to reinforce.
At this point the allied player decided that there was no way that either Paris or a Russian supply center could be taken so he surrendered thus providing the Axis with a Major Victory.
Endgame Eastern Europe
Endgame World View
Final Thoughts
I am someone who cut my teeth on Risk and Axis and Allies. I love Eurogames and the new generation of American games. Block war games are a new discovery for me. That said, if I had the time, this is the game I want to be playing. I enjoyed every minute, every mechanic especially the special actions and the effects of weather. I am sure that we murdered the rules along the way but our experience was made all the better by the fact that the game is heavily supported by the designer in the BGG forums.
If you are considering block wargames and love the WWII theme, I highly recommend this game.
Game Stats
I have reached that geek plateau where one stops condemning his game to bad dice and starts tracking their every little roll to see if I really am “being screwed by my dice rolls.”
The following is clearly non-scientific tracking of the percent of time a hit was scored when rolling for a certain number.
Hits / Number of dice rolled (% chance of a hit)
Rolling For: 3 (66.6%) 4(50%) 5(33.3%) 6(16.6%)
Axis 27 / 46 78 / 155 108 / 302 79 / 431
58.7% 50.3% 35.8% 18.3%
Allies ----- 20 / 34 115 / 298 116 / 657
58.8% 38.6% 17.6%
Total Hits Rolled/ Total Number of Dice Rolled – Percent of Dice Rolled that Were Hits
Axis 292 / 934 31.2%
Allies 251 / 989 25.3%
Number of Hits Based on Odds vs. Actual Hits – Hits Above or Below Odds
Odds Actual +/-
Axis 279.5 292 +12.5
Allies 225 251 +26
On the surface it doesn’t appear that the dice played a major role in determining the outcome of the game. In fact, it looks that if not for the German income, the game would have been lost for sure.
