Game of the Week, Apr 7 to 13

Hi everyone,

It’s Monday again, and it’s time for Game of the Week!

This week’s Game of the Week is Panzer Campaigns: Spring Awakening ‘45. We published this title in March 2024, and this will be the first time we have made it available at a discounted price. This final German offensive was fought from March 6^th to March 15^th, 1945, 80 years ago, so it is a fitting time to highlight this title.

Panzer Campaigns: Spring Awakening ‘45 covers one of the final actions on the Eastern Front. Following the fall of the Hungarian capital, Budapest in February 1945, the Soviet forces wanted to quickly take Vienna and deny Austria to both the Germans and the Western Allies. Presuming the Axis forces had been heavily defeated at both Budapest and the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, it was a surprise to the Russians to have to contend with yet another German offensive.

Panzer Campaigns: Spring Awakening ‘45 is the latest 4.05.1 version, and our product description encapsulates this campaign well:

Operation Spring Awakening (German: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen), the last major German offensive of World War II, is in some ways a battle unknown to many despite its critical importance to the outcome of the battle for the Third Reich. Initiated almost two months before Germany's surrender and three months after the simultaneous Bulge and Operation Konrad offensives for the relief of Budapest, it is quite incredible that it could be launched due to the state of the German armies and logistics in 1945. The objective of Operation Spring Awakening was firstly, that the Hungarian and Vienna oil regions, which made up 80% of remaining reserves, had to be defended and/or retaken, and without which the war effort could not be continued; and secondly, the defense of the Upper Silesian industrial region, vital for the war economy and coal production. Without these resources, meaningful, long-term resistance on any other front was impossible. Step into the shoes of either the Soviet or German late war commanders, where weather, attrition and supplies will all play a part.

The game comes with 85 scenarios, and all the historical forces that had been allocated to the campaign are included.

The longest campaign scenario is a very manageable 98 turns, with most scenarios a very playable sub-30 turns.

The master map (106,554 hexes) includes the River Danube from Bratislava in the north, flowing through Budapest and onto Yugoslavia in the south.

Panzer Campaigns: Spring Awakening ‘45 includes the aforementioned playable scenarios and campaigns as well as a Getting Started scenario to introduce new players to the game system. The included scenarios are a good mix of small (division), medium (corps) and large (Army/Army Group) engagements.

The Order of Battle has nearly 2,500 units from the German, German SS, Luftwaffe, Hungarian, Allied Bulgarians, Yugoslav, Russian, and Russian Guard forces that participated in the campaign.

We included a lot of historical documentation and notes with this title, you can review each by clicking on the links below.

Getting Started Guide

Design Notes

There has been a range of books covering Operation Spring Awakening. Following are some representative books for anyone that would like some more background on the campaign. You can click on the book images below to be taken to the Publisher or Amazon, if applicable.

Informational

“From the Realm of a Dying Sun: Volume III: IV. SS-Panzerkorps from Budapest to Vienna, February–May 1945” by Douglas E. Nash.

Douglas E. Nash is no stranger to our recommended reading. This title is the third and final work on the actions of the IV. SS-Panzerkorps. Although the unit only played a supporting role in Spring Awakening, the documentation its actions both at Budapest and afterwards at Vienna really provides a deep background to the various operations.

For reference, here are links to volumes I and II. All are available on Kindle if desired.

“Tomb of the Panzerwaffe: The Defeat of the Sixth SS Panzer Army in Hungary 1945” by Aleksei Isaev, Maksim Kolomiets.

Written by two Russian academics, this book covers perspectives from both the German and Soviet sides. Covering both the Budapest and the Spring Awakening operation, it is another title to help understand the situation for both opponents on the cusp of the end of the war.

"Last Panzer Battles in Hungary: Spring 1945" by Norbert Számvéber

Norbert Számvéber has written a number of detailed titles on the fighting in Hungary in 1944/45. He details engagements, losses and a range of other information that is useful for anyone trying to understand the battle.

"The Battle for Budapest 1944 - 1945 (Images Of War)" by Anthony Tucker-Jones.

A worthwhile picture book that covers all the operations in Hungary, including Operation Spring Awakening.

Now for video content:

The Mack has ten episodes covering Panzer Campaigns: Spring Awakening ’45. The introduction episode is below:

The full playlist is here: Playlist Link

Let’s talk about hex! also has a play through of the “#45_0306_14 Battle Between the Lakes Balaton & Valence” scenario:

Historigraph offers a great divisional overview of the campaign:

War Academy has an excellent overview video here:

Following are some in-game screen shots of what to expect. Each image can be clicked for a full-sized view.

As mentioned, the build we are making available today is updated to the newest 4.05.1 version. A range of new features were included, and you can read the Changelog here. All new purchases will be this latest version.

If you don’t already own this title, what are you waiting for? You can buy it directly from the dedicated product page.

We hope you enjoy this week’s Game of the Week. Like all WDS titles, there is a lot of game play included at a very attractive price.