Hube’s Pocket

About this board game

Hube’s Pocket is a two-player wargame, released in 1995, depicting the campaign in Western Ukraine from January to April 1944. With an approximate playing time of 360 minutes, it sets Manstein’s Army Group South against the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts in a series of demanding encirclement battles.

The game focuses on three major actions: Kirovograd, Korsun, and Kamenets-Podoliskiy. Both sides face difficult strategic and tactical problems. The still-potent German army occupies a vulnerable position, while poor logistics hamper the maturing Red Army.

Five scenarios provide different views of the campaign, from the opening Battle of Kirovograd to the Korsun Pocket, its relief, the German Collapse, and the Moving Pocket. Scenario lengths range from four to nine turns and use either one or two maps.

• Battle of Kirovograd: 2 maps, 4 turns
• The Korsun Pocket: 2 maps, 7 turns
• Relief of Korsun: 2 maps, 5 turns
• The German Collapse: 2 maps, 6 turns
• The Moving Pocket: 1 map, 9 turns

Hube’s Pocket uses the OCS Series Rulebook (version 2.0i) alongside a game-specific rulebook, two dice, and two charts and tables booklets. The game includes maps, combat-unit counters, and OCS markers for recreating the campaign.

At a scale of two or three days per turn and five miles (8 km) per hex, units range from battalions to divisions. This combination gives the campaign a broad operational scope while keeping attention on the movement of forces, battlefield pressure, encirclement, and the logistical challenges confronting both armies.