The Strategy Game Studio SGS – Battle For Stalingrad

SGS Battle for Stalingrad is the first game of our new SGS Battle Series, covering intense fights and battles in well know (or not) small but fighting-heavy locations ; ‘grand tactical’ scale for regiment, battalion, company and even platoon-size units (depending on the games) and game turns which represent a very short real period of time (one or two days, half a day, a few hours…).

One of the many particularities of the Battle series compared to other SGS relates to a unit activation system which means that not all units will necessarily be able to move and fight in a turn. This will only be possible for them if they have been activated. And depending on the battles or the episodes during them, the activation limits will be more or less important.

Stalingrad, one of the most famous and bloody battle of the Second World War seen by many as a turning point in the conflict, is depicted in this game where you can play both sides, German or Soviet ; against another player in PBEM or in hot seat, against AI.

Scale

In this specific game, units are mostly battalion-size. They confront each other in urban and industrial areas, on both banks of the Volga and on the immediate outskirts of the city. Some “off map boxes” are also integrated to represent more distant areas (where close strategic points such as air bases are located).
Each turn is two days.

The game consists mainly of ground units and some air units. However, the latter have more of a role of support “markers” as in traditional board games or wargames than of units with fine and dedicated management. A few river units are also present to represent the Soviet craft that operated on the Volga.

All the types of units present in Stalingrad in 1942 appear in the game: armored vehicles, infantry, engineers, artillery and even a few surprises (temporary kampfgruppe, Soviet grouping with diehards, terrain elements such as fortified ruins, etc.).

SGS Battle for Stalingrad covers the period from September till December of 1942 (the battle as a whole extends from August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943). That is to say before Operation Winter Storm (from December 12 to 23, 1942) supposed to break the encirclement of Stalingrad but which fails.

At the beginning of December, when the game ends, the fate of German troops trapped in Stalingrad is settled. But maybe you will manage to have them seize Stalingrad before the Soviet counter-offensive (November 19 to February 2, 1943), thus complicating Moscow’s plans ? Or, as a Soviet, will you perhaps hold the city more effectively, placing Germans in an even more precarious situation than the historical one when your counter-offensive comes ? Each block of the city will become the stake of a thousand battles.

The game will contain a grand campaign scenario covering the battle from September until December, as well as other (intermediate or shorter – see below) scenarios based on different starting days or limited to specific areas (Tractor Works Factory, Mamaiev Kurgan, the Last German Assault, etc…) of the battle.
We plan to also provide the players with interesting options to explore potential what-if situations.

The player will also find in the game historical events.
Those can be strictly historical or random depending on their nature, and/or depending on the game setting (historical scenario or what if). A more efficient Luftwaffe? An Operation Uranus which is delayed or which does not go as planned? An Operation Winter Storm triggered much earlier? Or, on the contrary, a scenario where all external events occur at exactly the same time as in History.

Most events generate even more immersion, sticking to a historical reality. All are carefully designed, with extensive historical research, to go beyond the game, to bring its playful dimension closer to what could be a highly interactive history book.

Scenarios

Mamaiev Kurgan scenario: a short scenario on the trench battles for control of the Hill 102 in September 1942.
The grain elevator: a short scenario on the fierce battle for the grain elevator in the South of the city, 4 turns (September 16 to 22), small number of units.
Battle for the South: intermediate scenario (not in time but in terms of counters) in the South of the city, September 16 to September 27 (including first fights for the grain elevator).
The Rush scenario: The rush of the Germans to seize the city as quickly as possible from September 12 to September 27, when the 62nd Soviet Army retreated into the city. The challenge is simple : for the Soviets not to give up an inch of ground, for the Germans to control most of the city (if not all of it). A big scenario (a kind of “short campaign”).
The Factories scenario: intermediate scenario, attack on the three big factories of Stalingrad (+ the smallest brick factory), the Dzershinzky/Stalingrad tractor works, the Red October gun foundry and the Red Barricade steel plant, September 27 to October 15 (?).
Operation Hubertus: intermediate scenario, the last German assault in Stalingrad, 11 to 13 November 1942 against the 138th Rifle Division holding worker settlements.
Stalingrad Grand Campaign historical : a big part of the battle, in the city and its outskirts, frm September to December 1942. All major events are strictly historical.
Stalingrad Grand Campaign free unfolding : a big part of the battle, in the city and its outskirts, frm September to December 1942. All historical events are meticulously searched, but with an element of uncertainty and chance as to when they occur, as to their intensity, and their main and side effects.

Estimated Playtime: from 1h to many hours… with great replayability.

Favored Side / hardest to play: depending on the scenario played and in the campaign it can alternate, being harder for one side at one point in the game before becoming easier (and harder for the opposing side).

For example, in The Rush scenario, the Soviet is at a distinct disadvantage in appearance. In fact, the German player must go very quickly and has little (or no margin) as to his rate of progress. The game is therefore difficult but differently.