As dawn breaks, the Soviet 129th Rifle
Division finds itself in positions outside the historic Smolensk after a rough night
march. New to the front, a certain uneasiness prevails through
the ranks, but the word from the Front HQ is that they'll remain in
reserve and won't see action for at least a few more days.
As the sun rises above the horizon into a clear blue sky, the weary
men remain completely unaware of the storm of German armor rapidly
bearing down on them, confident they are safe behind the Red Army
front line. Unfortunately for them, the master of the
approaching storm is none other than the German panzer leader Heinz
Guderian, and the defensive front on which they are depending has
already been shattered.
The beautiful summer day which is
beginning so peacefully is about to turn into a day of death and
desperation...
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Panzer
Campaigns: Smolensk '41
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$49.95
"Smolensk has the look of a game that was lovingly worked on by
designers who cared about their product"
TGN
Review Feb 2000
"Old-style
wargaming with a clean, modern look"
Computer
Games Online Review Dec 1999
Computer Games Magazine "Wargame
of the Year" 1999
HPS Simulations and John Tiller are proud to announce
the release of Smolensk '41, an operational level World War II simulation.
Smolensk '41 covers Army Group Center's offensive in the summer of 1941 to seize
the crucial city of Smolensk, the historic gateway to Moscow.
$49.95
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Smolensk '41 features 1 km hexes, 2 hour turns, with a map measuring
over 300 hexes by 200 hexes. Over 1500 battalion sized units represent
PanzerGruppes Guderian and Hoth, the supporting Infantry Divisions of
Army Group Center, and the massive forces of the Soviet Western Front.
Nineteen
Scenarios are included and the editor allows for creation of
countless scenarios.
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Supports single person play against the computer,
two-person hot-seat, two-person Play-By-E-Mail, and multiplayer network play
over LANs and the Internet.
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Complete on-line Help documentation plus on-line
printable documentation in Microsoft Word format. All documentation is
on the CD. No printed manual is included.
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We asked veteran playtester and computer gamer
John Kincaid what he liked best about playing Smolensk `41.
Here's
what he had to say:
"Talk about having fun! For me, there's nothing like a good Email
game with realistic "fog of war", and Smolensk delivers that
in spades. I have to admit, that as the German player, I began the
game with quite a feeling of power. But, as I found out to my cost, in
battles like this power can be fleeting - so you need use it
well."
"The following few pictures from our game conclusively
demonstrate how what you don't know can absolutely hurt you. To set up
the situation, Smolensk is the objective and I've given the 17th
Panzer Division the task of heading east towards it. The division's
advance is in a sector with a good road, and which does not require
bridging a major water obstacle. The Dnepr River, which flows east and
south through Orsha, will provide some degree of protection on the
right flank. However, Orsha itself is a major crossing point, and the
advance remains at risk until it can be taken. Even so, I decide
nothing must slow down the attack against the disintegrating Soviet
forces. So the town will have to wait for the infantry. The 17th
Panzer Division will press on. "
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Recon units lead the 17th Panzer
as it travels east along the road.
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As I anticipated, the
Russians are dug in along the east side of a
fordable stream. They should be little trouble for
the 17th Panzer Division with some Artillery
assets thrown in from the parent 47th Corps.
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The combined artillery fire and
assault of the Panzers have cleared the Russians from their
improved positions.
Two Russian units have broken and headed east. As a
precaution, I've sent a recon unit skirting around the woods
to the south.
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But things are not always as they
seem. As night falls two turns later, the Russian 5th Mech
Corps (comprised of
the 13th and 17th Tank Divisions) slams into the southern
flank of the Panzer Division. Where is that infantry?!
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$49.95
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Players control tank, reconnaissance, artillery,
infantry, engineer, antitank, flak, rocket, headquarters, and a wide
variety of other specialized units.
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starter scenarios, through intermediate historical scenarios, up to
the full 170 turn campaign game. Also included is an optional
"what-if" parachute drop scenario with the 7th Flieger
Division. Read
about the 19 Scenarios included.
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'41 can be viewed in either 2-D or 3-D mode.
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Includes full-featured Scenario and Order of
Battle Editor.
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Experience authentic WW2 operational-level
combat in the vast White Russian steppes and forests.
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Getting
started help file. Provided here for people who would like to see a
little bit of what the game is like.
Seven
Habits of Effective Panzer Campaigns Players. Non-tactical game
playing tips illustrating how to use features of the game interface in an
effective manner. By Glenn
Saunders, an expert Panzer Campaigns playtester. Also,
please visit Glenn's "Unofficial"
Panzer Campaigns web site.
Panzer
Campaigns: Smolensk '41 Campaign Maps and Historical Synopses
follow the course of the actual battle. Includes a printable map of
the Smolensk '41 campaign scenario map. Created by Michael
Avanzini
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$49.95
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
Pentium-based PC with 16 megabytes of RAM.
200 megabytes of hard drive space
Windows 98/2000/XP operating system. (Windows is a registered trademark of
Microsoft).
NOTE: The
program documentation on the CD-Rom is in Windows HLP and Printable Document format -
there is no printed manual included
with the game. This allows us the ability to continually update and improve the manual with each
enhancement of the program.
Click
here to download the latest free patch and manual revision.
Be sure to
visit: The
Unofficial Panzer Campaigns Home Page!
a
John Tiller Games ring site
