Errata:
Drive On Stalingrad (SPI edition)

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Known Errata:

Source: Fire & Movement 11

Date: As of 1/23/1978

DRIVE ON STALINGRAD
Standard Rules:

From Fire and Movement 11

MAP

'Vornezh' should be 'Voronezh'

The Victory Point Index, mentioned in Section 19.0 (Procedure), was
omitted.

One cannot move a unit from S1202 to S1304 by way of S1303.

'Fractional' land hexes (such as S3243, S2848, and S2452) are off limits
- Players should use reasonable judgment, or roll a die if they cannot
agree.

COUNTERS

Grosse Deutschland is erroneously indicated to be an SS unit.

Two Soviet HQ units were omitted: 40/Parsegov/2-12 and
38/Moskaleko/2-12.

TABLES

[9.5] Combat Results Table (Correction)

Ae (or De) = All Attacking (or Defending) units are eliminated. Opposing
Player may advance two hexes (see 9.86).

[15.5] Game-Turn Record and Reinforcement Track

Turn 3: the Hungarian 1-11 should be 3-11

Turn 8: the Russian receives two Guards divisions in the North; zero in
the South.

Turn 13: the Mt. troops are Italian, not Rumanian.

[16.23] Directive Contents Index - 11th Army deployment is in effect
under C and D, not under E and F as listed incorrectly (16.7 is
correct).

[19.2] City Victory Point Values (Addition) - Nevinnomyssk (hex S2728)
is worth 5 Victory Points; the Bonus Points Game-Turn Deadline is 8.

RULES

[5.12] (Addition) Soviet Control Markers are also placed in the
following hexes: Balashov (N0924), Saratov (N0811, N0812), and Tambov
(N0132).

[5.2] (Clarification) Soviet Guards cavalry divisions are selected as
reinforcements from among other Soviet Guards divisions.

[5.21] (Correction) 'six Untried cavalry divisions'

[5.24] (Correction) 'Up to 14 of the selected initial forces'

[5.31d] (Correction) 'one 3-11 Italian mechanized division'

[5.33] (Addition) '(d) one 6-9 German Jaeger division'

[5.34a] (Correction) nine 9-9 German infantry divisions

[6.38] (Change) Units may be moved by Rail from hex S1001 or S0601 to
hex N1701 or N1001 [or vice versa] at a cost of 40 Rail Movement Points.
Units may be moved from hex N0811 to N0911 (or vice versa) at a cost of
10 Rail Movement Points.

[6.39] (Addition) Units may be moved from hex N2154 to hex N2253 (or
vice versa) by expending 4 Rail Movement Points. Units may be moved from
either hex N2154 or N2253 to hex N3754 (or vice versa) by expending 25
Rail Movement Points.

[6.42] (Change) 'the Axis Player can clear up to three Rail hexes'

[6.43b] (Change) 'The Axis Player may clear three consecutive Rail
hexes'

[6.46] (Correction) 'east' not 'west'

[7.1] (Clarification) Trucks and air units do not count toward the
stacking limit.

[7.2] (German Divisional Integration - Change: Whole Case) Each German
Panzer Division has one Panzer and two Panzergrenadier regiments, and
each Panzergrenadier division has two regiments. When stacked together,
units of the same Panzer or Panzergrenadier division have Divisional
Integrity.

[7.21] If all of the regiments comprising a particular Panzer or
Panzergrenadier division are present in a single hex. their total Combat
Strength is doubled on both attack and defense.

[7.22] If all of the regiments comprising a particular Panzer or
Panzergrenadier division are present in a single hex, they may be
treated as 'one combat unit' for the purposes of Case 7.1. That is, the
Axis Player may stack three entire Panzer Divisions (nine regiments) in
one hex, if he so desires.

[7.23] If any regiment in a division is eliminated. that division can no
longer attain Divisional Integrity. German infantry, and non-German
divisions never have Divisional Integrity.

[8.13] (Addition) Zones of Control, except for those of Mountain
divisions, do not extend into Mountain hexes.

[9.33] (Addition) Whenever an attack is made against a unit or stack of
units in a major city hex, all step losses called for on the CRT may be
doubled for both the Attacker and Defender at the option of the
Attacking Player. This option may be exercised only if both Players
choose to stand; if either Player retreats his units, the results as
printed are applied normally.

[9.65] (Change) All Soviet Untried units have one step. Whenever such a
unit incurs a combat loss, it is removed from the game and considered
eliminated.

[9.72] (Clarification) A unit that is retreated must always end up in a
hex as far away from the hex in which it was attacked as possible; i.e.,
if a unit incurs a 'D2' result, that unit must be retreated to a hex
that is two hexes away from its initial position (or take step losses).

[10.23] (Correction: the second sentence should be replaced with the
following) 'However, no unit may ever be moved through a Don River
hexside into a hex that is in the ZOC of an enemy unit that is adjacent
to the Don River, unless that hex is occupied by a Friendly unit.'

[11.5] (Clarification) Disrupted HQ units may not be evacuated.

[13.4] (Omit entire Case)

[14.6] (Correction) Case '10.4' should be '11.5.'

[14.24] (Addition) If the Attacking Player allocates more Air Points to
an attack than the Defending Player, then any river defensive benefit
that the defending units would normally receive is negated.

[15.0] (Correction) General Rule: All reinforcements are considered to
be in Supply for the first Movement Phase after their entrance onto the
map.

[15.1] (Correction) 'one Slovakian 2-6 infantry division'

[16.0 Procedure] (Addition) Should the Axis Player have fewer than 30
Victory Points at any time during the game, the '30 to 39' column of the
Hitler Directive Table is utilized. However, prayer would probably be
more appropriate. Also, the example should cite a Die Roll Bonus of '7,'
not '11'.

[18.11] (Clarification) 'East' means 'in an easterly direction;' i.e..
the unit may be moved into hexes to the cast, northeast, or southeast of
the hex it is in.

[18.12] (Change) Any Soviet unit that is moved through Enemy ZOCs in
accordance with Case 18.11 during a particular Soviet Movement Phase may
not be left in any hex in an Enemy ZOC at the end of that Movement Phase
- Initial or Mechanized - any Soviet units that executed a strategic
withdrawal that Game-Turn that are in an Enemy ZOC are eliminated.

[18.15] (Addition) Any unit that attacks during the Soviet Player's
Combat Phase cannot execute a strategic withdrawal during the Mechanized
Movement Phase of that Player-turn.

[18.16] (Addition) Any unit that executes a strategic withdrawal during
a Soviet Player-turn loses its ZOC for the remainder of that
Player-turn.

[19.13] (Correction) Reference to Case '18.27' should be '18.22.'

[19.17] (Addition) The Axis Player receives one Victory Point each
Game-Turn Indication Phase that a supplied Axis Combat unit is in a hex
adjacent to the Volga River.

[20.2] (Corrections) Turn 2: delete 51st Army; add 57th Army. Turn 8:
delete 27th Guards Rifle Division. Turn 18: add 5th Tank Army; 58th Army
HQ units.

(The following are Suggestions for a Second Edition of DOS by Fred.
Maybe you can put some of these ideas to the test in your game - Ed.)

1. New map with brighter colors and better terrain. Items: white
'glaciers' for impassable mountain hexes or hexsides (mountain passes);
. steppe' with advantage for attacker (column shift on CRT) for lack of
cover, but with limitations on supply; 'desert/salt marshes' with same
as steppe. but reduced mobility and more severe restrictions; no 'light
forest' on eastern rivers, but all rivers should have some rough terrain
on west bank (only). (West banks had steep cliffs and undulating
terrain. while east banks were flat and coverless.) Also, printed
airfields.

2. Counters to include engineers (for bridge destruction/construction)
and aircraft (ground support and transport separate) to operate from
printed airfields (only).

3. Weather rules with rain and snow in fall and winter.

4. Rules for bridge destruction/construction. More penalty for supply
lines being traced across larger rivers in absence of bridge.

5. Hitler Directive rule less complicated and so rewritten that
limitation may be defied at cost in victory points.

6. No victory points for objectives in northernmost portion of map. Axis
victory contingent on attaining objectives in south.

7. Scrap all special rules for Don River except movement point penalty
for crossing and tripling of defender.

8. Allocate initial Soviet forces to sectors (like Axis forces) and make
Rostov sector not too strong.

9. Modify combat system by introduction of rule allowing attacker to
press at extra cost in casualties; and defender to hold in face of such
pressure at an extra cost in casualties. Extra casualties should result
in attrition favoring the defender, but be so costly that the Soviets
can only employ this option sparingly.

10. Tune game-balance through playtesting - only the strongest Soviet
unit should have second steps. Limit can be raised or lowered to give
the Soviet Player fewer or more two-step units.

Comments: Terrain, weather, bridge, and aircraft rules are designed to
improve on the validity of the simulation and 'feel' of the game. Hitler
Directives need not be as un-resilient as they are now, in order to
prevent Axis 'northern strategy'. (Also, ludicrous situations will be
avoided where units unable to disengage are 'transferred to Leningrad'
while those able to disengage may remain in the south.) Elimination of
special Don rules tones down overblown importance of river as natural
obstacle and makes it easier for the Axis to cross and possible for the
Soviets to launch historical counteroffensives deep into the northern
flank of the Axis. Combat modification will enable Soviets to hold under
attrition unfavorable for Axis, but only at a few selected points (such
as Stalingrad) as opposed to defending on a broad front in mass.

(The following errata is 'unofficial'. Fred presents this for your
possible use in cleaning-up the game - Ed.)

MAP

Correct following place names: N3228 Osinovskiy, N3636 Kamesk
Shaklitinskiy, S1129 Proletarskaya, S1539 Pavlovskaya, S1737 Tikhoretsk,
S2124 Petrovskoye.

TABLES

Table 19.2, Astrakhan is S1001; Correct spelling is Likhovskoy, Tuapse
(Table 16.23 is Trapse).

COUNTERS

Field-gray counter 2-6 marked 'Cz' should be 'Slov'. Two Soviet
mechanized units are erroneously back-printed with infantry symbols.

RULES

[3.1] Delete reference to Victory Point Track on map.

[5.12] Replace 'Donskaya' with 'Kalach na Donu'.

[5.34d] Replace 'Divisions' by 'Division'.

[6.4] Soviet railway guage was wider than standard European.

[15.3] [Addition] If Soviet Order of Appearance calls for a unit beyond
those provided in the counter mix, a unit of the same type is to be
taken from the 'deadpile' at random.

[18.14] There is no penalty for strategic withdrawal in the first
Game-Turn.
 

(Published with the following note from designer Brad Hessel of SPI, to F&M Editor Fred Helfferich in Fire & Movement 11):

1/23/78
Ad: Fred Helfferich
Ex: Brad Hessel
Re: Drive on Stalingrad

'I am sorry to have taken so long to answer your letter of the 3rd and
also of the 16th, but in the interim I have determined that you are
right and that I was wrong and have been testing changes. I have
enclosed a copy of the revised errata, which is pretty much the final
direction - I am holding off for just a bit to allow a little more time
for feedback to wander in, but that should not affect any of the
changes... Here is a summary of the changes that are pertinent to the
playbalance: (1) Three Rail hexes per turn may be cleared by the Axis;
(2) Three panzer divisions may be stacked together (as long as they have
divisional integration); (3) Casualties in attacks made against units in
Major Cities are doubled (this is two-edged, of course); (4) All Soviet
untried units have one step (the way I had it originally, before I
lowered the victory ratio); (5) Strategic withdrawal may not be used
'offensively': (6) Axis gets one point/Game-turn units are on the Volga.

I have put your question about retreats into the errata as well,
although I doubt it will have much effect on the game balance (I see
your point about its importance, however). As for reinforcements, they
may be moved in the Game-Turn in which they arrive, as they are brought
into the game during the Initial Movement Phase...

Anyhow, I want to thank you for persistently crying out in the
wilderness and bringing (the above) to my attention. I am pretty upset
about making such an error in judgement on the Victory Conditions in
this game, and it would have been worse still if you hadn't come along
and opened my eyes...'

(The above letter shows the professional concern a designer and reviewer
can have concerning a game that is 'in trouble.' Together they have
worked-out the problems. I wanted you to see how closely we try to work
with game designers on our reviews. The following is the up-dated errata
on DOS - Ed.)


 

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