Scorched Earth

Contents in excellent unpunched condition. Minor shelf-wear to the game box but two box corners have needed to be  repaired. Includes an extra laminated map 9a.

Scorched Earth, the sequel to Fire in the East, covers the war in the Soviet Union from April 1942 through December 1944. Scorched Earth uses Fire in the East as a base (and cannot be played without Fire in the East), adding more maps, counters, and rules. The game requires two players - one for the Germans and one for the Soviets - or two teams of players. The size of the game makes it well-suited for team play, with up to 3 or 4 players per side.

Scorched Earth's three maps extend the coverage of those in Fire in the East. The maps cover:
The Volga River, from its heavily forested northwestern reaches to its mouth at the edge of the deserts of Asia; the western shores of the Caspian Sea; the Caucasus Mountains area of the USSR, to the borders of Turkey and Iran.

Scorched Earth's sixteen counter sheets (3840 counters total) encompass the diversity of forces in this theatre. All Axis forces engaged in the east are shown, from German through the Axis Allies (Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, Rumanian, Slovakian), and including the eastern troops - Soviet citizens fighting against their government. The entire range of Soviet forces is given: regulars, guards, NKVD, militia, and the foreign contingents in the Red Army, including the Poles, Czechs, and even the German formations raised from prisoners of war. Over 40 different types of ground units are represented, from divisions (including division-sized Soviet Corps) to individual batteries of super-heavy artillery, such as tank corps, panzergrenadier divisions, artillery divisions, parachute brigades, and commando battalions. Aircraft units cover the many new aircraft sent to the front, such as the Fw 190 fighters and ground attack aircraft, Hs 129 tankbusters, A-20 and B-25 lend-lease bombers, Yak-9DD long-range fighters, and even late-war German jet aircraft.

Scorched Earth's rules expand upon those in Fire in the East to cover the rest of the war in the USSR. New features include:


Abilities of new aircraft types
Partisan warfare
Oilfields
Surrender and defection of Germany's eastern front allies
Continual upgrading of armored and mechanized forces
Use of artillery divisions *Allied Lend-Lease to the USSR

Scorched Earth's orders of battle present in game terms the most detailed and accurate orders of battle ever published for the Russian front. The grand campaign game can be played to the end of 1944 from two starting points: from June 1941 or April 1942. The rules also allow the 1941 and 1942 campaigns to be played seperately, giving two campaign games shorter in playing time than the grand campaign game. Scorched Earth covers the largest land campaign in history with the scope it deserves. It presents a detailed, exciting game situation, challenging and rewarding the players' strategic and tactical skills.

Game Components:
3840 die-cut counters
Three maps
One rules booklet
Two orders of battle booklets
One set of game charts

Note that the quoted playing time is utterly unrealistic. Average playing time is about 1-2 hours per player turn, and a complete game is 85 game turns.