Operation Unthinkable (S&T #333, 2022)

[Whiterook]

Picked this up today for $9.99 (about 11 bucks shipping).

Operation Unthinkable is a two player alternative history wargame intended to investigate the strategic parameters that would have been in place during the first month of operations had the Anglo-Allies and Soviets gone to war against each other starting on or about July 1945. The map illustrates the militarily significant terrain found in and around this portion of Germany in 1945 when portrayed at this scale. Each hex on the map represents five miles (8 km) from side to opposite side. The Soviet units of maneuver are corps or corps equivalents (western division equivalents). Those on the Allied side are mostly divisions, along with a separate brigades and regiments. The rules abstractly represent air power with the presumption that the Allies would have unchallengeable air supremacy. Each full game turn represents half a week of real time.

Components: One 22" x 34" map & 228 counters.

I don’t know who this following woman is, but she’s cute! …and I love seeing women playing wargames!!!



This looks like a good one!

[McCoy]

Possibly something that would've been good if it in fact had happen. Talk about what a big historical turning point Operation Unthinkable would've been...

[Whiterook]

May 21, 2024 13:02:46 GMT -5 McCoy said:

Possibly something that would've been good if it in fact had happen. Talk about what a big historical turning point Operation Unthinkable would've been...

I agree… as I remember it, General George S. Patton was strongly pulling for confronting the Russians while we had so much over there. I don’t recall exact statistics, but though the Russians outmanned us in soldiers, we had clear superiority in air, armor, and resource/manufacturing capability ...it would still have been a blood bath of attrition, but I think the Russians would have been subdued, especially if what was left off the German Army was brought into the fold.

[Whiterook]

I totally f*ed up this order… I guess I thought it was a sale of the game edition, but it arrived as just the magazine. DOH! I’m heavily debating next steps of, do I get the game edition, which is out of print at Strategy & Tactics, or find a secondary seller and buy it. It’s a hell of a game!

[Whiterook]

Here’s an interesting Home Rule from the game designer himself, answering to the following:

A claim has come in that the Soviets are unbeatable if that player simply adopts a defend-a-hex-skip-a-hex deployment across the map, and thereby runs out the clock on the Allies before they can get to the east map edge victory area.

I thought we had determined in playtesting the Allied player could, during the first six or seven turns (due to the fact there are no Soviet replacements) wear down the Red Army sufficiently such that, on the last turn or two, a breakthrough to the east map edge could be achieved. (Or not, it IS supposed to be a tightly balanced game.)

No matter -- if you feel the Soviets are unbeatable using the technique described above, add the following two rules to your play of the game.


— Ty Bomba

11.4 Probing Attacks
If you have units located such that they are adjacent to one or more hexes that contain only EZOC, you may decide to attack into that empty-but-EZOC-containing hex in a procedure known as a “probing attack.” Probing attacks may be conducted by either player using the same general procedures as regular attacks, with the important exceptions no odds calculation process is undertaken and neither side can in anyway suffer any losses. Instead, just announce the probing attack and then make an advance after combat into the probed hex. Momentum attacks (see below) may be conducted as probing attacks, and the advance resulting from an initial probing attack may be used to create the opportunity for a momentum attack. Note, however, that no given attacking unit or stack may make more than one probing attack and one momentum attack per friendly combat phase (in either order). Also note Soviet artillery and Allied paratrooper units may never take part in probing attacks.

11.5 Momentum Attacks
All overland supplied Allied non-paratrooper units and supplied Soviet non-artillery mechanized units that advance after combat may attack again immediately (owning player’s choice) in a procedure known as “momentum attack.” Such attacks are always resolved as only one hex of attackers versus one hex of defenders. Further, the option to launch such an attack must be exercised immediately, prior to starting the resolution of any other battle. Also note there are never any serial momentum attacks. That is, even if a given momentum attack is successful in clearing another defended hex, and those victorious attacking units advance after combat again, they would not be allowed to make yet another momentum attack that same phase. In all other ways, momentum attacks are resolved as normal combat. Further, do not forget to recheck the supply status of advancing attackers, as they may, due to EZOC, advance themselves into an OOS position.