The Great War in the East: Four World War 1 Battles

About this board game

The Great War in the East: Four World War 1 Battles is a two-player World War I strategy game featuring four separate battles and an approximately 300-minute playing time. Released in 1978, it uses a shared standard rules system across its scenarios.

In Serbia/Galicia: Austria-Hungary at War, 1914, Austria-Hungary must allocate its forces between two fronts, conducting offensives in Serbia while attempting to withstand the Russian advance in Galicia. The game focuses on the pressure created by simultaneous demands in different theaters.

Von Hindenburg in Poland: The Warsaw-Lodz Campaign, 1914 covers the struggle between Russia and Germany for the mineral-rich province of Silesia. The Brusilov Offensive presents Imperial Russia’s 1916 campaign, as one of its few effective generals organizes a major drive despite ammunition shortages.

The fourth game, Caporetto, 1917: Catastrophe for Italy, depicts the Central Powers pushing Italian forces back over 100 miles. Together, the four titles offer contrasting situations and challenges from the Eastern Front and its surrounding theaters.

• Four 17-by-22-inch maps
• 800 playing pieces
• Two standard rules booklets
• Four exclusive rules booklets
• Original SPI tray and dice

The set also forms part of a broader series designed by David C. Isby. The Strategy & Tactics magazine game Tannenberg served as a “fifth wheel” using the same standard rules. With its collection of battles, maps, counters, and dedicated rulebooks, The Great War in the East presents a substantial tabletop examination of four World War I confrontations.