The Enemy is at the Gates: Berlin

The East Germans were well prepared to attack and conquer West Berlin. Every step of the process was thoroughly planned. The Battle was to take no more than three days. Major installations and infrastructure compounds were the primary targets. Airports and train stations would be destroyed. The NATO forces in the great city were to be crushed with no hope of relief. After the utter defeat of the organized enemy armed forces in the city, the second phase of the Communist operation would see the imprisonment of politicians, police officers, journalists, and all deemed a danger to the state. From the crack Friedrich Engels Guard Regiment to the 1st Motorized Rifle Division – as well as paramilitary forces of the Socialist Unity Party, East Germany was ready. The Soviets had their own elite force of the 6th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in East Berlin, ready to join the fight. And, if anything went astray in the plans, the massive 35th Motorized Rifle Division was 10 miles away to the west and available to intervene if needed. The Warsaw Pact forces massively outnumbered the isolated NATO forces.

But NATO was not ill prepared for what might come. But while the forces there were under no illusion of what would undoubtably happen if war ever came, they too were well trained and ready to give their best. NATO had three independent brigades in West Berlin. The well-equipped and famous “Berlin Brigade” of the US Army, The Berlin Infantry Brigade of the UK, and The Forces Françaises à Berlin from the French Army. Three b brigades fully armed with tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and artillery. In addition, the numerous, if less well equipped, West German Police forces were to stand with their NATO Allies. It would perhaps be a stiffer fight than the East German planners were envisioning. The Stage was set. The fight that never happened would begin in this strange reality in the early hours of August 1, 1985 in this alternative nightmare that never happened. The artillery would light up the sky.

The Enemy is at the Gates is the second installment of the Modern War series using the well-regarded Company Scale System. Players will fight this might-have-been battle using mostly companies at 500 meters a hex scale. Each turn is 2 hours, and the game uses a “chit-pull” system that makes for both unpredictable face-to-face play as well as an excellent solitaire experience. The maps are a painstakingly and meticulously drawn by Antonio Pinar providing perhaps the best major urban map ever made. Greg Sarnecki is also on board to provide the most exacting order of battle also ever made for this campaign. This is the ultimate game of modern urban warfare on a massive scale. As befits a game on modern war, air power, helicopters, electronic warfare, chemical weapons, and sabotage will be included as well. Using all your weapons effectively will determine who wins the battle for Berlin!

Product Information:

• Complexity: 8 out of 10
• Solitaire Suitability: 8 out of 10
• Time Scale: 2 hours per turn
• Map Scale: 500 meters per hex
• Unit Scale: Company/Platoon
• Players: 1-4
• Playing time: 2-50 hours depending upon scenario

Scenarios:

• 8 Scenarios are included

Components:

• Four Maps at 22” by 34″
• One Map at 8.5″ by 11″
• Nine 5/8″ inch Counter sheets
• One CSS Rulebook
• One Exclusive Rulebook
• Two Identical CRTs and TECs
• One Weather/Date Display
• Eight Division Displays
• One Scenario Book
• Four Ten-sided dice
• One Box and lid

Game Credits:

• Designer: Adam Starkweather
• Graphic Designer: Antonio Pinar