Von Manstein’s Triumph

About this board game

Von Manstein’s Triumph is a two-player, card-driven game of the final German assault on Sevastopol, with a playing time of approximately 180 minutes. Set on June 6, 1942, it recreates Operation Störfang and the struggle between Erich von Manstein’s German 11th Army and Ivan Efimovich Petrov’s Soviet Independent Coastal Army.

One player commands the attacking German forces, while the other directs the fortress’s Soviet defenders. Players maneuver wooden blocks across a map divided into areas, fighting for control of critical locations marked with Victory Points. The Axis player must capture these sites, while the Soviet player initially controls all of them and aims to delay the assault until time runs out.

Combat begins as a costly battle of attrition. German forces must carefully plan their assaults, weaken the sizable Soviet formations, and create a breach before attempting a breakout toward the most valuable objectives. Soviet forces can counterattack, use the outer ring’s field and permanent fortifications, and trade ground for time.

• Card-driven play: Cards represent orders, historical events, equipment, movement, assaults, counterattacks, combat effects, and air or artillery bombardments.
• Historical forces: Romanian and Mountain troops join the German side, while elite Soviet Naval Infantry brigades and an NKVD regiment strengthen the defense.
• Victory Point race: The player controlling the most Victory Points at the end wins, while an exact tie produces a draw.
• High-quality components: The game includes 2×2 cm wooden blocks, cards, and a battlefield map, plus a playbook with designer’s notes, historical commentary, and an example of play.

In Von Manstein’s Triumph, both commanders face an opponent and a relentless clock. The German player must seize the fortress in time, while the Soviet player must contest every inch and preserve the defense long enough to thwart the assault.