BAND OF GAMERS TOUR OF & PRUSSIA 2016 with Mark Simonitch and Jaro Andruszkiewicz WHY POLAND? RACE TO THE RHINE

Poland, which lies on the North European plain, is a perfect bat- No gas, no ammo, no food. ere’s no time to spare to cross the tleground. The only true obstacles to military campaigns are Rhine before the enemy closes all the gaps. You need to secure a rivers, lakes and forests. Here Gustav Adolf learned the hard bridgehead before the others do. at’s the only way to Victory and way from Polish hussars how to effectively employ cavalry, which your own personal glory. turned so useful at Breitenfeld. Here Suvorov received the famous

two-word letter from Catherine the Great (Hurrah, Field-Mar- 1944 Race to the Rhine is a new game experience. You can’t win this game with- shal!). From here Napoleon, and Hitler launched their failed Rus- out proper planning. Your tanks need gas to move and ammo to ght. But don’t sian adventures. forget to feed your GIs. So what will be your transport priority?

The Poles had many enemies, who were always looking for plun- Will you follow Patton’s strategy and discard ammo in order to bring along der: Swedes, Russians, and Turks, and Prussians, for Po- additional fuel barrels to move forward boldly? Will you risk your prestige and land was a very wealthy state at the time. This largest state of gamble on Operation Market-Garden as Montgomery did? Will you cross the Europe and second constitutional nation in the world, Poland was Rhine quicker than Bradley managed, with the help of your hard work and a finally defeated and divided by her neighbours. It took her 123 little luck? years to raise from the ashes. This was possible only after the

Poles, as the only nation in the World, defeated Soviet armed forc- “In preparing for battle I have always es at Battle of 1920 dubbed Miracle at and subse- found that plans are useless, but quently forced a treaty on Soviet Russia. planning is indispensable”*

SO, HOW ARE YOU PLANNING YOUR VICTORY? Campaign. Source: Bundesarchiv. German forces somewhere in Poland 1941 prior to Barbarossa

4 * General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe.

2 Find more at www.phalanxgames.co.uk 3 TRIP NOTES ’’GO TO POLAND FOR AN AUTHENTIC JOIN US! HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE’’ Travelweekly.co.uk Join renowned American game designer Mark Simonitch and Jaro Andruszkiewicz, Polish journalist, tour leader, game publisher and JOIN US Poland is Best in Travel 2016 destination by Lonely Planet. There amateur historian for their Tour of Poland. Book now, we can only is a lot things to see and experience. There are many hidden offer limited number of spaces on this trip and they are running gems, which are only known to local people. Poland is also a home out fast! to a great cuisine. We will be happy to introduce you to both the places and the food. BAND OF GAMERS TOUR OF WHY MASURIA? POLAND 2016 INCLUSIONS Masuria, in northern Poland made it to the Best Trips 2016 ac- cording to National Geographic. The region, once in the hands of Meals the Teutonic Order and King in Prussia is dubbed by the Poles a Breakfast: 6 District of Thousand Lakes. It has witnessed many military cam- Light lunch: 6 paigns, including that of Napoleon in 1807. Two famous battles Dinner: 5 take name from Tannenberg - one saw Teutonic Knights defeated at the hands of a multinational army led by two brothers: Vytautas, Transport Van or mini-bus with dedicated driver, depending on number of Prince of Lithuania and Jogaila, King of Poland. 500 years later, participants. armies of two cousins, grandsons of Queen Victoria and Emperors of Germany and Russia, clashed in the Battle of Tannenberg and Accommodation Battle of the Lakes. This time the Germans had the upper hand. Hotel: 3 nights (of which one in converted palace/castle) Guesthouse: 2 nights Russian PoWs after Battle of Tannenberg. Source: Bundesarchiv. We share rooms at 2 per room basis. Single rooms may be ar- ranged at premium.

Included Activities Guided tour of Warsaw Polish Army Museum entry + guide Marienburg Castle entry + guide Westerplatte guided walk Wolf’s Lair entry + guide entry + guide

Days: 6 | USD 1100 | EUR 1000 | GBP 750

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4 5 ITINERARY , Sep 6th: Gdansk to Wolf’s Lair C Tuesday Gdańsk Westerplatte visit Gdańsk & Gdynia and lunch D Malbork B Transfer to Mrągowo (arrange military vehicles driving for next day) Transfer to Wolfsschanze Dinner & night in Wolfsschanze

Mrągowo ITINERARY Wednesday, Sep 7th: Wolf’s Lair and Masuria Wolfschanze E Lunch Tykocin Late afternoon: optional attractions/side trips Toruń Dinner in Mrągowo or Wolfschanze Night at Mrągowo

Wisła Pułtusk Thursday, Sep 8th: Wolf’s Lair to Pultusk Transfer to Boyen Fortress A Boyen Fortress Lunch Transfer to Osowiec START: Osowiec Fortress Warsaw, Poland, Transfer to Pułtusk via Tykocin & Różan September 4, Sunday (11am) Dinner & Night at Pułtusk

Sunday, Sep 4th: Warsaw all day Friday, Sep 9th: Warsaw Slaughter of Praga 1794 Cross (Praga) Transfer to Warsaw German WW2 bunker (Praga) Warsaw Uprising Museum NKVD/UB HQ (Praga) Lunch Kościuszko Infantry Division Memorial (Praga) Old Town Walk: Polish Army Museum in Warsaw (Indoor. Old Town) Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Old Town) Cavalry Monument (Mokotów) Maly Powstaniec (Old Town) Monument in Memory of the Fallen Polish Airmen in WWII Bank Polski redoubt (Pole Mokotowskie) (Old Town) Soviet Cemetary (Mokotow) Monument to the Battle of Monte Cassino (Old Town) Polish Army Museum in Warsaw (Outdoor. Mokotow) Monument to the Ghetto Heroes (Old Town) Dinner & Night at Warsaw Optional POLIN Museum visit

Monday, Sep 5th: Warsaw to Gdansk END: Transfer to Torun Warsaw, Poland, Walk + Lunch at Torun September 9, Friday (5pm) Transfer to Malbork Malbork Castle Days: 6 | USD 1100 | EUR 1000 | GBP 750 Transfer to Gdansk Dinner & night in Gdansk Contact us 6 7 DAY ONE WARSAW PRUSSIA

Welcome to Warszawa, Poland. Our adventure begins when, not Teutonic Knights. Settled at the border by Prince of Mazovia back long after breakfast we head out on a tour of Warsaw, which will in early 13th Century, and after conquering Prussia and taking her

give some insights into history of the city and the Nation. We will name, finally turning against Poland remaining a thorn in her body DAY TWO see signs and evidence of both Nazi and Soviet aggression, pres- for 600 years. On Monday we will visit their famous city of Thorn, ence, and occupation; and the glorious Polish and Jewish resist- place of birth of Nicolaus Copernicus. Later in the day, we travel to ance. Teutonic capitol and at the same time one of the largest medieval We will see the last still standing German WW2 street bunker, fortresses in Europe - Marienburg. The evening drive brings us to NKVD headquarters, and memorials to the Poles, those slaugh- Gdansk (Dantzig) an ancient Baltic port, often contested by Prus- tered in 1794 by Suvorov’s army and those trying to relieve fighting sia and Poland. Warsaw in 1944.

We will spend considerable time in the Polish Army Museum, where you can see armour of famous Polish winged hussars as well as uniforms of not less famed Napoleonic Vistula Legion. There is also a great collection of Warsaw Pact armor, artillery and planes at the outdoor exhibition grounds of the Museum, which we will also be exploring. We will also pay a visit to Soviet Cemetary to understand the cost that nations of Soviet Union paid for liberating, and subsequently subduing Central Europe. destroyed in or after the Uprising. Source: Bundesarchiv. German flamethrower in action. 80% of Warsaw’s substance has been Source: Bundesarchiv. Source:

8 woods Westerplatte. at battered advancingGerman Infantry through 9 DAY THREE GDANSK WOLFSSCHANZE

We start the day with a visit at Westerplatte, where 77 years ago, Wolf’s Lair - Hitler’s Eastern Front military headquarters, built the first shots of WW2 were fired by SMS Schleswig-Holstein, Ger- as a command center for Operation Barbarossa. Later a place of man battleship on her ceremonial visit to Gdansk. assassination attempt known as 20th July plot. DAY FOUR DAY FOUR We will also have a chance to visit Polish ORP Blyskawica, the old- est preserved destroyer in the world and the most heavily armed Half a day visit to the headquarters is followed by optional tours, and fastest destroyer of WW2. After lunch at Gdansk Old Town, we including a trip to nearby military museum, where a drive in any of are heading to Masurian Lakes district. On our way, we will pay the museum vehicles, including T-34 and T-55, can be arranged. a short visit to the battleground of Grunwald/Tannenberg, where Teutonic Knights were defeated by Polish and Lithuanian armies in the largest battle of Middle Ages. We will be arriving to Mragowo by night. Source: Bundesarchiv. Burning Westerplatte and German battleship Schleswig-Holstein. assassination attempt. Source: Bundesarchiv Source: attempt. assassination Hitler and Mussolini inspect the site of Stauffenberg’s failed failed Stauffenberg’s of inspect the site and Mussolini Hitler

10 11 DAY FIVE EASTERN POLAND WARSAW

After breakfast, we leave for Boyen Fortress, witness to great Ger- We arrive back to Warszawa in late morning and head out to the man victory over Tsarist Russia at Battle of Tannenberg in 1914. evocative Warsaw Uprising Museum. Opened on the 60th anniver- DAY SIX DAY SIX sary of the Uprising, this museum recounts the events of 63 days Then driving to Osowiec, where we will see Russian and Polish of fighting which took place in the city. fortifications from 1914 and 1939 from where we continue to Me- morial at Rozan and Napoleonic battlefield of Pultusk, where we After lunch we set off on a walking tour around the major loca- stay for dinner and night at the renovated castle. tions of the Rising, including Old Town (rebuilt true to the original after WWII had left 85% of Warsaw in rubble, which effort was rec- ognized by UNESCO in 1980 when it was added to the world herit- age list), Warsaw Uprising Monument, redoubt of Bank Polski and many more, including place of entry to the sewage system, which was used for communication and evacuation. In the evening you may want to explore POLIN, a Museum to Polish Jewish communi- ty and yet another ‘must see’ on your list. German artillery at BattleGerman artillery of Tannenberg. Source: Bundesarchiv. Polish fighter leaves the sewage. Source: Bundesarchiv. leaves the sewage. Source: fighter Polish

12 13 CRACOW CRACOW SEGMENT Tour of Poland & Prussia 2016

Please get in touch if you are interested in two day trip to ancient Jaro Andruszkiewicz Polish Capital Kraków (Cracow), with a sobering side trip to WW2 [email protected] German Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Visit the largest CONTACT +44 775 733 22 93 (UK) and one of the most magnificent city main squares in the World, lively again Jewish quarter Kazimierz and Wieliczka Salt Mines! +48 512 848 955 (PL) Skype: jar.ray Join Jaro Andruszkiewicz at his private tour, which will continue after the Band of Gamers tour. www.someonehadtowriteaboutit.com

START: Friday, Sept, 9th evening, at Warsaw END: Sunday, Sept 11th evening, at Warsaw

INCLUSIONS Meals Breakfast: 2 Light lunch: 2 Dinner: 2

Transport Train and van or mini-bus with dedicated driver, depending on number of participants.

Accommodation Guesthouse: 2 nights

Included Activities Guided tour of Krakow Day trip to Auschwitz Auschwitz Museum entry + guide

PLEASE CONTACT US TO EXPRESS INTEREST.

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14 15 Jaro with his Grandpa and Dad during his first visit to Wolf’s Lair