59-Player Stalingrad Convention Wargame
Four years ago, at Historicon 2021, Miles ran a 7-part linked Stalingrad mini-campaign. The outcome of each game influenced the next, and players controlled a limited pool of reserves to call upon across the entire campaign. We did film this epic event at the convention...but nothing ever came of the footage. Until now! Thanks to a question submitted in our 100k Subscriber Celebration, we finally remembered to dust off the old 2021 hard drive and share the outcome of the convention campaign. 59 different players participated across the 7 game sessions over a weekend. Let's find out what happened! Miles still has this stunning custom tabletop stashed away in the basement, too. We've long talked about breaking it out for a proper episode on Little Wars TV, gaming one of the specific operations set in Stalingrad's famous city center. Is that something you'd like to see on the channel? And if so, what rule recommendations do you have for a 15mm scale, battalion-level engagement? Let us know in the comments!
Video Chapters
- 0:00 Epic Stalingrad Campaign Kicks Off!
- 1:35 Setting the Desperate Stage: Battle for Stalingrad Begins
- 1:50 Game On! German & Soviet Forces Clash
- 2:20 Game 1: Sewer Surprise Leads to Early Stalemate!
- 4:00 Decisive Push: Soviets Capture Train Station in Game 3
- 4:50 GM's Insight: The Pitfalls of Tunnel Vision
- 6:15 Champagne & Strategy: The Patron-Exclusive Game 5
- 7:20 Tension Builds: Close Games & Exhausted Reserves
- 8:00 The Final Showdown: Naval Infantry & Train Station Battle
- 8:40 The Verdict: Soviet Victory!
Original Output
0:00 Epic Stalingrad Campaign Kicks Off! 1:35 Setting the Desperate Stage: Battle for Stalingrad Begins 1:50 Game On! German & Soviet Forces Clash 2:20 Game 1: Sewer Surprise Leads to Early Stalemate! 4:00 Decisive Push: Soviets Capture Train Station in Game 3 4:50 GM's Insight: The Pitfalls of Tunnel Vision 6:15 Champagne & Strategy: The Patron-Exclusive Game 5 7:20 Tension Builds: Close Games & Exhausted Reserves 8:00 The Final Showdown: Naval Infantry & Train Station Battle 8:40 The Verdict: Soviet Victory! Timestamps by StampBot 🤖
Unprocessed Timestamp Content
0:00 The grand Stalingrad campaign from HistoriCon 2021 is finally here 0:15 The basement-bound mastermind created this epic 7-part campaign during lockdown 0:42 Why did it take so long to release this 31-hour event? Editing is hard 1:10 A patient patron's inquiry finally spurred the video's release Thank you pblitzer76 1:35 Historical footage sets the desperate stage for the battle for Stalingrad 1:50 The first game begins as German and Soviet forces clash on the board 2:10 Disclaimer: these are inspired games, not historically detailed simulations Fair enough 2:20 Game 1: Germans sweep, Soviets use sewers for a surprise attack resulting in a tie 3:05 Game 2: Panzer reserves used, a Soviet counter-attack recaptures Univermag for another tie 4:00 Game 3: Both sides make big pushes, a decisive Soviet counter-attack captures Train Station 4:50 A Game Master's observation: players succumb to tunnel vision and groupthink easily 5:00 Game 4: Soviets voluntarily retreat from Train Station; Germans exploit the opening for a victory 6:00 A risky sewer move in Game 4 leads to a narrow German victory 6:15 Game 5: A Patron-only event with champagne, resulting in another deadlocked tie 6:50 Miles confirms champagne did not cloud any players' battle-ready judgments 7:00 Game 6: Desperate Soviet defense at Train Station, German sewer surprise leads to another tie 7:20 All games are incredibly close; Germans used all reserves, Russians still have one push 8:00 Game 7: Naval infantry lands; relentless fight for Train Station results in a final tie 8:40 Final campaign result: Soviet victory by default after seven grueling games 9:00 Thanks to the assistant GM and the talented miniature painter Tony 9:10 Greg asks for more thank yous; Miles insists he's thanked everyone important Timestamps by StampBot 🤖