Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2: Steel Inferno

Expand The Front!

Steel Inferno puts the spotlight on several major offensives that influenced the course of the war in the East, while opening up new areas of the War in the East 2 map. With 8 new Scenarios and 2 new Campaigns, it will significantly expand your War in the East 2 experience.

For the first time in the War in the East 2 series, operations in all of Yugoslavia in 1944 are covered. Finnish forces also make an appearance in the area just north of Leningrad. Several scenarios cover the German attack into the Caucasus, including a hypothetical scenario that provides the Germans with an additional army for the campaign. Drama on the Danube places the German player in the difficult position of trying to deal with the surrender of Romania and Bulgaria, and the difficulties of the German forces in Greece trying to escape north through partisan-controlled territory.

Also included are two new full map campaigns which begin with the German Operation Citadel in July 1943 and about a month before the Soviet Operation Bagration in May 1944.

1) 1943 Campaign - 3 Jul 43 - 6 Jul 45 - A full Campaign starting out with the German Operation
Citadel, the largest tank battle in history. It allows players to explore the best way for the Germans to recover from the earlier Stalingrad debacle, and the best way for the Soviets to beat the Allies to Berlin.

2) 1944 Campaign - 11 May 44 - 4 Jul 45 - A full Campaign that begins with the Soviets readying for the start of their massive Summer 1944 offensives. Within four months, these offensives led to the destruction of Army Group Center, and the capitulation of Romania and Finland. Within a year, Berlin had fallen. Can you do better?

3) Operation Kutuzov - 12 Jul 43 - 3 Oct 44 - Following the repulse of the German attack on Kursk, Operation Kutuzov was launched to retake Orel and push on towards Smolensk.

4) Road to Karelia - 22 Jun 41 - 11 Oct 41 - The first WitE2 scenario to include a section of the Finnish front. It covers the first 4 month German push to capture Leningrad, and the Finnish effort to push the Soviets out of Finnish Karelian territory, recently ceded during the Winter War.

5) Army Group A - Part I - Race for the Caucasus - 25 Jul 42 - 20 Nov 42 - Covers the German attempt to capture the oil fields of the Caucasus in Summer 1942. This oil could change the course of the war.

6) Case Blue Phase II 42-43 - 25 Jul 42 - 5 Mar 43 - Covers the critical phase of the German attack to seize Stalingrad, along with the rush south into the Caucasus. Assuming the Soviet player can hold on, it also covers the Soviet build up and counteroffensive that through the Germans back.

7) Case Blue Phase II 43-43 - Alternate - 25 Jul 42 - 5 Mar 43 - What if German High Command hadn’t dismantled their 11th Army after the capture of Sevastopol, but instead had kept it together to help take Stalingrad and the Caucasus. In this scenario you can find out the answer.

8) Army Group A - Part II - Kuban Bridgehead - 1 Feb 43 - 10 October 43 – After the loss at Stalingrad, the German 17th Army was ordered to hold on to the Kuban Bridgehead. They did for over 8 months. Can you?

9) AG C - Kutuzov to Bagration 43-44 - 12 Jul 43 - 2 Apr 44 - This Soviet offensive began as Operation Citadel ended, and recaptured Orel and Smolensk in less than 3 months. Can the Soviets drive further into Belorussia and destroy Army Group Center a year early?

10) Western Ukraine 43-44 - 3 Nov 43 - 25 Apr 44 - The Soviet push into Western Ukraine which led to their recapture of Odessa, and the Battle of the Kemenets-Podolsky pocket. A punishing offensive, but could the Soviets have done even better?

11) Drama on the Danube 44 - 20 Aug 44 - 5 May 45 - A complete look at the unusual and varied fighting across the Balkans in 1944-45. Starting with the conversion of Romania and Bulgaria into Soviet allies, the scenario also covers the desperate attempt of the German forces in Greece to escape north. Covers the transition of the Yugoslavian partisan war into being part of the front line, the Soviet advance through Hungary, the last major German offensive of the war near Budapest, and the fall of Vienna.

The Eastern Front, the most decisive theatre of World War II and the largest land battlefield. A fight to the end, Total War between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, each commanding millions. The legendary wargame team at 2by3 Games has spent years revisiting this titanic conflict to once again establish a new state of the art.

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2 is a complete overhaul and improvement of the original War in the East, with no stone left unturned to provide a more realistic, more historically rich, and more challenging strategy experience. War in the East 2 comes with a wide array of scenarios ranging from the short tutorial on the Battle for Velikie Luki, to the four month Destruction of Southwest Front, up to the immense full 1941 – 1945 Grand Campaign of the entire Eastern front from Operation Barbarossa to the fall of Berlin. A total of seven Operational Scenarios and three Full Map Campaigns await you with hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of historical gameplay.

Years of new development have resulted in the best AI opponent ever made by 2by3 for any of their game. Also included are a much more accurate map including a full single and double rail network as well as the historical road network, a detailed and expanded Order of Battle, new realistic movement and combat models, an advanced Logistics system, a vastly improved and easy to manage Air system and many other improvements in the interface and game management, as well as a built-in encyclopedia of the weapons and units of the Eastern Front. This is just scratching the surface of the many new features and improvements, all of which are explained in a fully comprehensive manual, also available as a physical copy.

• 3 Full Map Campaigns
  
  • 1941-45 Campaign (June 22 1941 – 1 August 1945)
  • Stalingrad to Berlin (November 19 1942 – 4 July 1945)
  • Vistula to Berlin (13 January 1945 – 1 June 1945)
• 7 Smaller Operational Scenarios
  
  • Velikie Luki ’42 (17 November 1942 – 25 January 1943) – The Soviet counterattack to recapture this important rail junction.
  • Road to Minsk (22 June 1941 – July 2 1941) – The rush to the Dnepr by Army Group Center.
  • Road to Leningrad (22 June 41 – 8 Oct 41) – Army Group North moves on Leningrad.
  • The Destruction of Southwest Front (22 June 41 – 15 October 41) – Army Group South and Guderian cause the largest Soviet surrender in the war.
  • Operation Typhoon 41 (30 September 1941 – 5 January 1942) – The final offensive to take Moscow.
  • Red Army Resurgent (19 November 1942 – 17 March 1943) – The destruction of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad.
  • Red God of War (24 November 1942 – 8 February 1943) – The failed Soviet northern offensive.
• Improved AI Opponent
  • Newly re-designed and re-built by Gary Grigsby for War in the East 2
  • Greatly enhanced Defensive AI performance as well as improved Offensive AI performance
• More Accurate Map and Movement rules:
  
  • Map based on better projection yields a larger number of hexes in the main combat area (106 hex frontage from Rostov to Leningrad versus 87 in WitE).
  • Advanced Terrain/Road rules – Road quality in every hex combines with terrain to generate much more realistic impacts of terrain on movement, combat and supplies.
  • Administrative Movement – Accounts for ability to move rapidly in friendly territory, especially where there are better roads.
  • Ability to stack additional units into urban and port hexes
• Off-Map Theater Boxes and Theater Events:
  
  • Theater boxes representing other theaters of the war (North Africa, Italy, etc.), and a full set of events including garrison requirements in the TBs along with other events like partisan operations.
  • Partisan war now handled with a Soviet Union garrison box, events, and partisan interdiction placed on map.
  • Enhanced Player Theater Box Control game option that allows players to choose more flexible movement of units between theaters, but at a cost for failing to meet garrison requirements versus benefits for exceeding them.
  • More accurate historical line up of units, HQs and support units and their historical movement between theaters.
  • Additional historical campaign events.
• Improved Air System incorporating both a more Advanced Air Mode and a Streamlined Air Operational Group Mode
  
  • On Map Airbases
  • Much more realistic Air Combat and Support Resolution compared to War in the East and War in the West.
  • A separate Air Phase is now used for many air actions, with ground support and transport done in the movement phase.
  • Advanced Air Mode allows full detailed control of the entire Air War, equivalent to a game within a game.
  • New “Air Operational Group” Mode which allows you to move Air Groups on the map and provides an easy and streamlined way to manage the air game while focusing on the ground game. This makes the air game easier to manage even for those players that want full control.
  • Full AI Air Assist that can run most of the air operations based on just a few orders given by the player to the Air Operational Groups.
• More accurate and detailed historical weather model incorporating per-hex Weather changes based on the system developed for War in the West.
• Changes in Ground Combat to reflect Historical operations:
  
  • New Combat Preparation Points for units allow for build ups for better offensive operations and punish units that are in combat every turn without a rest.
  • Combat Delay Points account for the time spent fighting in a hex and will slow units that move through a hex where significant combat took place that turn.
  • Attacks can now deprive defending units of future MPs.
  • Multi-hex retreats.
• Many interface improvements, including new art, reorganized screens, a new Turn Summary and more important information regarding your units and situation brought to the top level for easier discovery and quicker access.
• Automated Soviet factory evacuation.
• Improved Commander’s Report screens with more flexibility and CSV export capability for out of game analysis.
• Special designation of Assault HQs allowing Command benefits for offensive armies at the cost of some defensive abilities.
• Increased Command cost of integrating multiple nationalities under the same command.
• Greater direct attachment of support units to certain Soviet and Axis Allied divisions, along with multi-role units that can be on map or used as support.
• New In-Game WitEpedia – Includes Detailed Information and Links concerning units and weapons of the Eastern Front.
• Detailed TO&E and Order of Battle Charts with information about many of the units on the Eastern Front.
• 520 Page full color manual, including appendices and designer's notes fully documenting every aspect of the game. The additional Physical version (only) comes with a hardbound full color printed manual.