Game Vs Book II - The Polish-Soviet War 1919-1920 - Part One

The game: Revolution Under Siege
The book: White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War 1919-20, by Norman Davies

Two enemies with different strategic objectives in the years after World War I. The Polish Chief of State Jozef Pilsudski, obsessed with the nation's border situation and the right of self determination of the Ukrainian people. The leader of the Russian Revolution, Vladimir Lenin, fancying the expansion of the movement all the way to Germany. The game scenario drifted wildly from the historical path, but was spot on in showing how difficult is to conduct operational warfare when the troops to terrain ratio is less than 1 man per 5 square miles.



White Eagle, Red Star is an excellent book about the war. Sometimes a bit heavy on the political details and a bit lacking in the maps department, but still very thorough. A shorter, 10+ pages of the war can be found in  Mawdsley's The Russian Civil War.

Revolution Under Siege is one of the best war games ever made with the AGEOD's engine. If you are looking for something to make you forget about the disappointing Pride of Nations, this is it.

The two main areas of operations during the war were north and south the Pripyat Marshes. I am playing the Communist side and there are two "fronts" (army groups).

The Southwestern Front, commanded by 27 year old (later to become legendary) Tukhachevsky. Two "armies" (judged by size they are just divisions at best) widely separated.

The Ukraine Front, commanded by Egorov, is not any better in terms of strength. 

In real life, the areas depicted here have been the subject of continuous engagements during the years previous to the war, but the invasion of the Ukraine by the Polish is considered as the official start of the war. Such offensive operation reached Kiev almost without opposition. The Red 12th and 13th Armies abandoned their positions and moved east so fast that were spared complete destruction.

In the game scenario, the Polish have not yet started their offensive in the Ukraine. Every single army at my disposal has bad or overstretched leaders. This is accounted in the game as a command penalty, which is around 35% for almost every formation at the start of the scenario. I will have to spend the first month of the war reorganizing my forces and consolidating formations.

Historical hindsight is a very powerful military decision aid and I can't put myself through the thought of leaving the 12th and 13th Armies exposed in the plains of the Ukraine. I can't avoid summoning up my 12th Army to Kiev in order to put it under the command of Egorov and ordering the 13th Army southwest towards the Berezina River.

Stay tuned, more is coming.

Cheers,