Barbarossa: The Russo-German War 1941-45

About this board game

Barbarossa: The Russo-German War 1941-45 is a two-player historical wargame with an approximately 360-minute playing time, covering Hitler’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union through the Red Army’s victory in Berlin.

The game presents the campaign through three distinct formats. Four Standard Games recreate crucial situations from the war, while the Campaign Game combines them and fills in the gaps so the conflict can be played in sequence. Variable Situations add several “what if” historical effects to these scenarios.

Players maneuver units across a 23-by-29-inch map depicting the areas of the Soviet Union where the operations took place. A hexagonal grid regulates movement and unit positions, while the all-inclusive combat map provides a Terrain Effects Chart and Combat Results Table.

• Two opposing armies represented by units distinguished by type, strength, nationality, and mobility
• Alternating player turns focused on movement and attacks
• Combat resolved through attack-to-defense odds, a chosen CRT, and a die roll
• Objectives centered on destroying enemy units, gaining territory, and minimizing friendly losses

The historical scope includes the failed German attack on Moscow during the winter of 1941-42, the siege of Stalingrad, and the major Soviet offensive beginning in 1944. That advance leads to the Red Army’s meeting with American forces at the Elbe and its final victory in Berlin.

In Barbarossa, each game-turn consists of two player turns, and each player turn is divided into three phases. The result is a detailed tabletop treatment of one of the most consequential and brutal campaigns in military history.