Lost Victory: Manstein At Kharkov, Winter 1943

About this board game

Lost Victory: Manstein at Kharkov, Winter 1943 is a 1994 board wargame for 1–4 players, covering the winter 1943 campaign with games lasting from 2 to 12 hours.

Players command opposing forces through an integrated Operations Phase. Movement, combat, support, and bombardment can be combined in any desired order, giving commanders broad control over when their units act instead of imposing artificial limits on operations.

Combat rewards careful preparation and the selection of appropriate bonuses. Artillery, tanks, antitank units, engineers, assault bonuses for penal battalions, and C3I influence the outcome of battles. However, an unsuitable coordinating HQ or the involvement of units from too many formations can disrupt even a carefully planned attack.

The special SNAFU system models the consequences of military plans going awry. Additional rules cover weather, reconnaissance, reaction, HQs, fuel depletion, urban uprisings, and Soviet recruitment, adding further considerations to the campaign.

• Game turns represent 3 days, with each hex covering 4 miles or 6 kilometers.
• Units represent regiments and brigades.
• Unit types include motorized infantry, panzergrenadiers, heavy tanks, assault guns, flammpanzers, recon, cavalry, partisans, ski troops, commandos, katayushas, armored trains, and ersatz units.
• The game includes a 22 × 34-inch map, 480 counters, a rulebook, a study booklet, player aid cards, and a 10-sided die.

With medium complexity and medium solitaire suitability, Lost Victory focuses on operational freedom balanced by command friction and battlefield uncertainty. Every assault must account for coordination, support, and the possibility that a promising plan will collapse at the crucial moment.