Crimea PLAYBOOK PLAYBOOK Game Design by Vance von Borries Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction .................................................... 2 10.3 Scenario 3: Crimea: The Road to Sevastopol .. 25 2.0 Game Basics ................................................... 2 10.4 Scenario 4: Sevastopol: First Assault ............... 27 3.0 Special Rules .................................................. 4 10.5 Scenario 5: Crimean Campaign ....................... 29 4.0 Special Movement Situations ......................... 5 10.6 Scenario 6: Kerch: The Party Boss Attacks ..... 32 5.0 The Sevastopol Inset Map .............................. 6 10.7 Scenario 7: Kerch: Operation Trappenjagd ...... 33 6.0 Air Units ......................................................... 9 10.8 Scenario 8: Sevastopol: Operation Storfang .... 36 7.0 Special Units and Situations ........................... 11 10.9 Scenario 9: The Kerch-Feodosiya Operation ... 38 8.0 Naval Operations ............................................ 13 11.0 Detailed Examples of Play ............................... 43 9.0 How to Set Up a Scenario .............................. 20 12.0 Designer’s Section ........................................... 46 10.0 SCENARIOS .................................................. 20 Credits ...................................................................... 49 10.1 Scenario 1: The Tartar Ditch........................... 20 Counter scans ........................................................... 50 10.2 Scenario 2: Odessa: Hero City ....................... 23 Expanded Sequence of Play ..................................... 54 GMT Games, LLC • P.O. Box 1308,© 2010 Hanford, GMT Games, CA 93232-1308 LLC • www.GMTGames.com Crimea PLAYBOOK • One 8.5 x 11 chart card with Super-Heavy Artillery Inset Effects .0 Introduction Table. ‘He who controls the Crimea is master of the Black Sea.’ • Two Air Unit Status/Unit Rebuilding Cards (one Soviet [beige] and one Axis [gray]). Historical Setting • Two Cards containing Scenario 3,4 and 5 Victory Conditions The Crimea is a large peninsular region in the Black Sea known • One 8.5 x 11 card with naval charts and tables by many invaders since antiquity. During the current era after be- • One 8.5 x 11 Card with Turn Record track and Weather Table ing held by the Crimean Tartars (Tatars) for three centuries, it was • 740 die-cut ½ inch counters in two full counter sheets and two annexed in 1783 by Catherine II (The Great) of Russia. Later, the half counter sheets Crimean War (1854 – 1856), fought by Britain, France, Turkey, and • One ten-sided die others against Russia, focused attention on the importance of the great Russian naval fortress at Sevastopol, an importance renewed . The Game Maps by the Second World War. .11 Maps are used as follows: In the fall of 1941 there could be no question whether the Axis would • Scenarios 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9 use separate scenario cards. invade the Crimea. The Soviets had been using air and naval bases • Scenarios 3, 4, and 5 use Map Q and the Sevastopol Inset map. there to threaten German oil supplies in Romania since the start of the war. When German troops fought their way into Crimea during .12 The Map-T Holding Box. This represents a large geographical October they had hoped it would be a quick campaign. Instead it region adjoining the game map for use by game units without the became protracted with a costly siege of over eight months at Sev- need for additional playing space. The holding box is printed on Map astopol. Where the British and French had dared to challenge the Q and appropriate scenario cards, and is used in most scenarios. Russians a century before; now it was Germany’s turn. NOTE: The actual Map T will be found in a later game in this series. General Introduction a. All Soviet units can to move to and from the Map-T Holding Barbarossa: Crimea recreates the World War II campaign in the Box. Axis ground units cannot enter it or attack Soviet units there Crimea, historically from late September 1941 through early July but Axis air units can conduct Shipping Attack missions [PB 6.44] 1942. One player will control the Axis forces (Germans and Roma- against Soviet naval units located there. nians), while his opponent controls the Soviet forces. The playing pieces represent the actual units that participated in the campaign b. Soviet air units designated as beginning their mission in the Map-T and the map represents the terrain over which those units fought. Holding Box count range [PB 6.13] beginning with any hex on the The players maneuver their units across the map and conduct combat east map edge south of hex 7011. according to the standard rules of play and the additional rules and c. Soviet artillery units in the Map-T Holding Box can conduct artil- scenario instructions found in this Play Book. One player wins by lery support combat on any hex on Map Q within range from the capturing certain specified objectives while his opponent wins by east map edge or from hex 7014; treat hex 7014 as in the Holding avoiding those victory conditions. Box (the artillery need not be positioned on hex 7014). More than one such artillery unit can support any one combat per combat phase .3 Combining Games if an HQ is with them in the Holding Box. These artillery units do This game is part of a series of games covering World War II in the not require Attack Supply. Soviet Union. Players should feel free to combine play of this game DESIGN NOTE: This is the Kerch Strait; the land on the far side with that of Barbarossa: Kiev to Rostov, (KtR), also published by is very close. GMT Games. All games of this series have been built with the idea they could be played together. Some share a few of the same histori- d. A player can place as many units as desired in Map-T Holding cal units. It is anticipated that players would want to explore more Box. There is no stacking limit. Units might be placed there At Start historical alternatives with combined play. To facilitate such play, or as reinforcements. Ground units leave only by naval transport some references to KtR are found in this Play Book with general procedure. There is no direct Map Q land connection with the hold- guidelines on combining play. ing box [exception: PB 10.44.c]. e. Map-T Holding Box is also a port (not a sea zone) adjacent only to the Kerch Sea Zone. For purposes of Naval unit basing and repair, the .0 Game Equipment Map-T Holding Box is considered a major port [Port characteristics Barbarossa: Crimea contains: on player aid card]. Naval units enter or leave by Naval Movement procedure [PB 8.2]. • One 22x34 inch map (map Q) • Four 11 x 17 Scenario Cards f. Map-T Holding Box provides General Supply during the Supply • Two double-sided Soviet Set Up Cards Determination Phase to all units there, and to all units on Map Q • Two Axis Set Up Cards (one double-sided) able to trace Supply to the Ice Bridge. • One 11x17 inch folded Chart Card with Combat Results Table, g. HQ units can attempt to recover to Operational status while in Terrain Effects Chart, movement charts, artillery and Non-Op HQ the Active Box or Map-T Holding Box. Their Non-Op status does charts not affect other units in either box. • One 11x17 inch folded Chart Card with “How to Read Units” h. A Zap unit can increase a unit while that unit is in Map-T Hold- information, air combat, AA fire, interdiction effects, overrun and ing Box. combat related charts © 2010 GMT Games, LLC Crimea PLAYBOOK 3 i. Units in the Map T Holding Box marked with Garrison markers are released individually. The Playing Pieces .21 Carefully remove the cardboard playing pieces from the counter sheets and sort them into categories. Refer to the “How to Read Units” information on one of the 11x17 Chart Cards. Unit counters are not coded for specific scenarios (as was done in previous games of this series). .3 Barbarossa Standard Rules (BSRs): Exceptions and Changes “No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten.” —Red Army slogan .3 Take time to familiarize yourself with all additions and excep- tions to the BSRs contained in this Play Book and in the scenario Example of extending a captured rail line in Dry Weather you are playing. Some BSRs used in previous games of this series have been changed for Crimea and their accompanying charts and c. When an Axis converted Railhead marker is moved forward by tables have been revised to reflect those changes. Rules changes expending RCPs, any adjacent captured rear Railhead marker is have been noted in many Play Book rules sections with reference moved back by an equal number of hexes. to the appropriate BSR. .3 The Sevastopol Inset Map. Unit density in the Sevastopol area forced a change to a different scale to prevent stacking problems and static game play [See PB 5.0 for a complete discussion]. .33 Naval Operations. The need for transport of reinforcements and supplies by sea adds another dimension to regular game play [see PB 8.0 for a complete discussion]. These rules will be retrofitted at a later date to allow play in Army Group North. .34 Captured Rail Lines [addition to BSR 9.0] HISTORICAL NOTE: During late 1941, overextended Axis forces resorted to using captured Soviet rolling stock and unconverted Soviet rail lines to remain in Example of Converting captured rail hexes. supply. d. There is no hex length limit to the hex length of a captured rail a. During the Axis Engineering Phase after expending rail conversion line, but the 60 hex per turn limit for rail movement applies to both points, the Axis player may extend the railnet by bringing uncon- converted and captured rail lines. verted Soviet rail lines under Axis control. Scenario instructions will specify how many captured rail lines may be utilized, but the e.