Game of the Week, Jan 27 to Feb 2

 Hi everyone,

It’s time for Game of the Week!

This week’s Game of the Week is Squad Battles: Winter War.

November 30th, 2024 was the 85^th anniversary of the start of the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland. To commemorate this uneven struggle, we are pleased to make this title available at a discounted price.

Squad Battles: Winter War is the current 4.03.1 version, released in March, and our product description encapsulates this campaign well:

For 105 days, the tiny nation of Finland fought a war that typically merits only a footnote in the history books, or a passing remark in a WW2 documentaries. Taking on the vast manpower of the Soviet army, the Finns put up a fanatical defense of their homeland, inflicting horrific casualties on the invading Soviet army. In the end, the overwhelming number of Soviet troops and tanks sent into Finland forced the Finns to sue for peace, but they walked away from the conflict with their much bigger neighbor with their independence and national pride intact. Their struggle influenced the landscape and direction of the entire World War that followed--and perhaps the outcome as well.

There are 58 scenarios included. These scenarios cover a range of engagements from the initial invasion of Finland by the Soviet Union in 1939 to its conclusion after 105 days, as well as the Continuation War of 1941, when Finland as a co-belligerent with Germany sought to recover much of what it had lost in 1939. Three Campaigns link a number of scenarios together.

The longest scenario is only 22 turns, allowing a player to finish multiple engagements in a single evening.

The game includes 24 unique maps ranging in size from 270 hexes to 38,272 hexes, covering the various engagements that typified the Winter War in Finland.

Squad Battles: Winter War includes the aforementioned playable scenarios and campaigns, as well as a Getting Started scenario to introduce new players to the game system. 

The Order of Battles include Finnish, German, and Russian soldiers.

We have included a lot of historical documentation and notes with this title - you can review them by clicking on the links below. Bill Trotter’s 400-page essay "The White Death", on the Russo-Finnish War 1939-1940, is a fantastic, free inclusion.

Designer Notes

Situation Map

Scenarios Listing

 

     

  

There has been a range of books covering the Winter War. 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

Bill Trotter’s original work, Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 has a 4.6 star rating on Amazon. As one reviewer said: "I needed this for my A-Level history coursework and have read it cover to cover several times because the winter war period is very interesting, I have reviewed several of the books on the winter war and this is by far my Favorite with a majority of my quotes coming from this book."

How Finland Survived Stalin: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950. Written by professor emeritus of political history Kimmo Rentola, this book provides the larger context of the Finnish struggle through WW2 and beyond while living in the shadow of their powerful neighbor.

The Winter War 1939–40, by Philip Jowett, is a concise summary of Soviet Invasion and subsequent battles.

Finland at War: The Winter War 1939–40, by Vesa Nenye, is another very highly rated title drawing on first-hand accounts and rare photographs to explain just how the Finns were able to perform military feats that nearly defy belief.

Now for video content:

The Mack introduced Winter War here:

The Mack also has four videos related to the "Delaying Action at Krylänmäki" scenario. The first part is below:

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 a the 4.03.1 version that was released in March. 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. We thought it was important to showcase this title with the 85^th anniversary of this truly unique conflict.  Like all WDS titles, there is a lot of game play included at a very attractive price.