Scorched Earth

About this expansion

Scorched Earth is a two-player World War II simulation covering the war in the Soviet Union from April 1942 through December 1944, with an advertised playing time of 6,000 minutes. Released in 1987, it requires Fire in the East and expands that game with additional maps, counters, and rules.

The three new maps extend the campaign across the Volga River, the western shores of the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains toward Turkey and Iran. The game supports either two individual players or teams, with up to three or four players per side.

Its sixteen counter sheets contain 3,840 counters representing the diverse forces of the Eastern Front. Axis units include German formations and Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, Rumanian, Slovakian, and eastern troops, while Soviet forces include regulars, Guards, NKVD, militia, and foreign contingents. More than 40 ground unit types appear, alongside aircraft ranging from Fw 190s and Hs 129 tank-busters to lend-lease A-20 and B-25 bombers and late-war German jets.

• Partisan warfare and oilfields
• Surrender and defection among Germany’s eastern allies
• Armored and mechanized force upgrades
• Artillery divisions and new aircraft abilities
• Allied lend-lease support to the USSR

Scorched Earth includes detailed Axis and Soviet orders of battle, plus campaign options beginning in June 1941 or April 1942. Players can undertake the full campaign through the end of 1944 or play the 1941 and 1942 campaigns separately for shorter games.