Baltic Gap: Summer 1944

About this board game

Baltic Gap: Summer 1944 is a two-player operational wargame with an approximately 240-minute playing time, depicting the Soviet drive into Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania during the summer of 1944.

As the game opens, the defense of Vitebsk has collapsed. The 1st Baltic Front is advancing westward through the shattered German line, threatening to encircle Army Group North. Over four months of fierce battle, the Red Army seeks to capture Riga and pocket German forces in the Courland region of Latvia.

The game presents this campaign from a range of historical and hypothetical perspectives. Players can undertake a long campaign, which supports up to five players, or choose from several shorter scenarios designed to work best with one player per side.

As the 11th game in the award-winning Operational Combat Series, Baltic Gap remains true to the system’s exploration of why the two sides fought with notably different skills and behaviors. The Soviet army is much more developed than in 2007’s CSR Award-winning Case Blue, while the German Wehrmacht remains a potent opponent. German forces must be handled with great skill to avoid being overwhelmed.

• Game turns represent 3 to 4 days.
• Each hex represents 5 miles / 8 kilometers.
• Units range from battalions to armies.
• The game includes two full-color 22 x 34-inch maps and 1,400 dual-sided counters.
• Two rulebooks, two charts and tables booklets, and two six-sided dice are included.

With its large operational map, multiple scenarios, and sweeping summer 1944 campaign, Baltic Gap: Summer 1944 offers a focused way to examine the Soviet advance and the German struggle to keep the Baltic front from collapsing.