Brezhnev's War: NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact in Germany, 1980

Brezhnev’s War: NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact in Germany, 1980 enables two players to game the first month of a hypothesized communist invasion of Western Europe sometime between the fall of Saigon and the start of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. It was during that period, the conventional "correlation of forces" between the two hostile alliances most favored the communists.

The scenario portrayed is the one that was most anticipated and feared by NATO’s intelligence analysts at the time. That is, despite their knowledge of the existence of Soviets plans to begin such a war with massive chemical and nuclear strikes, the West’s military planners gave those schemes little credence. They knew the Soviets understood such a strategy would bring on immediate nuclear retaliation by the West. That would’ve ended the war as quickly as it began — mostly likely along with all the civilization — with no winner identifiable.

The 50" x 35" map covers the core area of the Federal Republic of Germany at 6.66 miles (10.8 km) per hex. There are 352 large-size (5/8") unit counters, representing the divisions and brigades immediately on scene at the time, along with the masses of other units that could’ve been sent as reinforcements. Each of the 10 game turns represent three days of real time.

The turn sequence uses the classic fight-move or move-fight structure. Special rules account for heliborne units, Spetsnaz, the ultra-elite Soviet Eighth Guards and Guards Airborne Armies, East German and Czechoslovakian disloyalty, ranged Soviet artillery divisions, air power, supply, the criticality of Frankfurt for US operations, paradrops, German territorials, electronic warfare and variable Soviet victory objectives. 

• Map of 3 sheets
  
• Two Countersheets
  
• Player Aids
• Rulebook
• Two 6-sided dice