A Victory Lost: Crisis in Ukraine 1942-1943

About this board game

A Victory Lost: Crisis in Ukraine 1942-1943 is a two-player simulation of mobile fighting between Axis and Soviet forces, played over approximately 3–5 hours. Set in the southwestern USSR, it covers the campaign from the Soviet encirclement completed in December 1942 through von Manstein’s famous “Backhand Blow” counterattack.

The Soviet player seeks to trap and eliminate Axis forces retreating from the Caucasus. The Axis player must withdraw successfully, then try to restore the front line with a desperate counterattack. With the balance of the campaign vulnerable to even the slightest mistake, an apparent victory can quickly become a rout.

Operation Saturn begins beneath the harsh winter conditions of the Russian steppes, as Soviet forces attempt to encircle the extended German armies. The game’s operational scale places players in command of formations ranging from divisions to corps, with each hex representing 8 miles, or 13 kilometers.

• Game turns: 10 days each
• Players: 2, with medium solitaire suitability
• Complexity: Medium
• Playing time: 3–5 hours; listed at 360 minutes in BoardGameGeek data

The physical game includes a 22 × 34-inch full-color mapsheet, 280 dual-sided half-inch counters, a 16-page rulebook, a single-sided player aid card, and a six-sided die. Part of Multi-Man Publishing’s International Game Series, A Victory Lost focuses on the operational choices behind a rapidly changing Eastern Front crisis, where encirclement, withdrawal, and counterattack define the struggle for control.