1 September, 1939… Panzers roll across Germany’s border with Poland, intent on the subjugation of their neighbour. In front of the German soldiers lay thousands of square miles to conquer, under them the eager panzer tanks, and leading them the officers eager to try out a new type of war…Lightning War… Blitzkrieg.
Designed by veteran designer Brian Train, Summer Lightning is an operational simulation of the invasion of Poland by German, Slovakian and Soviet forces in September-October 1939. The campaign was a brief, bloody, and confusing affair fought between two armies which were considered equals by many in the world.
Despite the interesting campaign, there aren’t many war games on the Polish campaign, probably because the conventional wisdom is that it was a very unbalanced contest. This is informed mostly by hindsight. The German Army knew it had superior numbers and organization, but much of its equipment was no better than that fielded by the Poles, the concept of blitzkrieg had not been proven in actual combat, and they were not at all sure that the campaign would not bog down into static fighting. As it was the Germans lost over 16,000 dead in five weeks of campaigning.
It’s a complete, boxed game. Rules, players aids, box, everything you need to play. Here’s what you get:
– A 22″ x 17″ game map, dispicting Poland and small sections of the surrounding countries.
– 280 gorgeously rendered, scuff resistant, gloss finished, counters representing German, Polish, Russian, and Slovakan units.
– Complete rules and scenario book including numerous what-if variations to extend the game’s re-playability.
– Player aid cards.
– A very nice box that keeps the outside out.
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