From Stalingrad to Kursk Next month we will see Iron Cross and Enemy at the Gates hitting the shelves. These two books are the first half of the Eastern Front story for Mid War with the second pair of books (Ghost Panzers and Red Banner) to follow just before Christmas. When the team first started working on the Eastern Front books they already knew that there would be just too much content for one pair of books and this gave them a great opportunity to really organise the two in a way that would be exciting to players, as well as giving event organisers a powerful tool to theme events (more on this later).

Iron Cross and Enemy at the Gates

By the end of 1941, the German blitzkrieg had swept across open plains of the Soviet Union and stopped at the gates of Moscow as winter set in. The halt was only temporary as the Germans were back on the offensive in the summer of 1942. The attack sliced into the southern front, aiming at the oilfields of the Caucasus. Two army groups charged forward, one heading to the mountain country in the south, the other focussed on a small city on the Volga River called Stalingrad. The unstoppable German offensive was pushing Soviet morale to a breaking point as the most pivotal battles on the Eastern Front were about to be fought on the streets of Stalingrad and in the Russian Steppe. These two books will allow you to field a wide variety of Formations and Units, giving players plenty of options for building their Forces.

For German players, Iron Cross has some similarities to Afrika Korps in terms of equipment but the different theatres have resulted in some different organisations. Gone are the light Afrika Rifle Platoons that worked against the British and Americans in the desert, replaced by more robust versions, supported by much more equipment. Panzer commanders also benefit from having a wider range of support Units and Formations available to them.

Armoured Panzer Grenadier Platoons and Tunisia The Formations in Iron Cross will also give players an opportunity to build a German force during the Tunisian Campaign and whilst the book does not specifically include an Armoured Panzergrenadier Platoon, we will have a web release up (shortly after the release of Iron Cross) to tide you over until Ghost Panzers hits your gaming table.

Ghost Panzers and Red Banner (scheduled for release Christmas 2018)

Soldiers of the Reich! This day you are to take part in an offensive of such importance that the whole future of the war may depend on its outcome. More than anything else, your victory will show the world that resistance to the power of the German Army is hopeless. —Adolf Hitler, 5 July 1943 on the eve of the Battle of Prokhorovka

These two books continue the story of the Eastern Front, picking up where Iron Cross and Enemy at the Gates left off. The war has now progressed, both sides have deployed new equipment to the battlefield. German commanders will have access to Panther tanks, Brummbär, and Ferdinand assault guns, along with new Armoured Panzergrenadiers and self-propelled artillery batteries. Soviet commanders also have new equipment making its way to the front, including lend-lease Churchill tanks, improved T-34 tanks, new T-70 tanks, and self-propelled assault guns.

Themed Events and Organised Play

By splitting the Eastern Front into two pairs of books we have been able to give event organisers and players a powerful tool to theme their events. Tournament Organises can simply choose a pair of books and can effectively run a 1942 (Iron Cross and Enemy at the Gates) or, 1943 (Ghost Panzers and Red Banner) tournament or event. Of course, if you want to run a Mid War event using both books, then players will have no problems building their forces as both books allow you take Support and Formations from each other. This means you can field a Panzergrendier Company and their Sd Kfz 251 halftracks, along with a Panther Company (both from Ghost Panzers) alongside a Grenadier Company from Iron Cross.

We will also have a pair of instore campaigns; Firestorm: Stalingrad and Firestorm: Kursk. Team Yankee players will recognise the streamlined and player friendly Firestorm system which makes it very simple for a store (or club) to run an enjoyable campaign. Players can focus on playing their games whilst having an immediate impact on the outcome of the campaign. First up is Firestorm: Stalingrad. German players will need to try and weather the Soviet onslaught whilst supporting the defenders inside Stalingrad. Soviet players will need to balance their desire to push the Germans back and surround Stalingrad whilst making time to crush the German defenders inside the city before they can turn it into a Fester Platz (Fortress).

Command Cards

Both sets of books will come with a wide array of Command Cards to expand your gaming experiences even further. From one-off effects like Deadly Gunner that will allow a Tiger tank to re-roll a failed Firepower Test, to the Cossack Regiment Build card that will let you build an entire Formation of Cossacks.

The second half of 2018 is going to be full of good news for Eastern Front (and Mid War) players. If you are a veteran player it is time to pull out your T-60, KV-1, Panther, and Panzer III tanks, whilst new players will have some exciting new lists and exceptional new plastics to choose from.