Stalingrad ~ Red Verdict

Apr 222010

An after action report brought to you by the F.E.A.R Paintball team media machine.

On June 22, 1941, the German Army (Wehrmacht) launched a surprise attack, code-named Operation Barbarossa, on the Soviet Union. By October, the Wehrmacht had advanced to the outskirts of Moscow, the Russian capital. However, with the bitter Russian winter setting in, the advance was brought to a grinding stalemate. Adept at fighting in brutal wintry conditions, the Red Army pushed the Germans back from their capital.

In the aftermath, the German High Command decided to rethink its strategy for waging war against the massive Soviet Army. The Wehrmacht would focus on the Caucasus – a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia – in an attempt to cut the Soviet War Machine off from the rich oil supply there. The Red Army screeched to a halt. In the path of the German advance lay a bustling city on the banks of the Volga River. Stalingrad would become the site of the bloodiest battle in history.

During the early stages of the battle, incessant German air raids reduced Stalingrad to rubble. Unbeknownst to the Wehrmacht, the ruins favored the Soviet defenders by preventing their superior armor from making sufficient progress, and provided excellent cover for the well-trained Soviet snipers. The fighting was intense and close range. Each side fought block by block, building by building, and even room by room.

Just as in Moscow the year before, the Russian winter set in and the Germans found themselves at a familiar disadvantage. By the end of November 1942, the German 6th Army had been completely surrounded in the center of Stalingrad. They were able to hold off the Soviets for two months before finally surrendering at the end of January 1943. The Battle of Stalingrad ended, claiming 1.6 million casualties in its wake, but the strength of the Red Verdict lived on.

Welcome to Stalingrad: Red Verdict, a re-telling of one of the most historic battles during World War II. Will you take the side of the invading German Wehrmacht, hell-bent on extending the reach of the Third Reich throughout Europe, or will you fight alongside your fellow Red Army comrades to defend “Stalin’s City” from the Nazis? You have the power to choose in this epic 2010 inaugural event presented by Mission Masters Scenario Paintball Games.

Stalingrad was probably one of the best season opener games that we have had the pleasure to play. Mission Masters changed a lot of aspects of their games, making the games longer and adding a ton of awesome elements! Just when we thought that they have done it all, MM pulls out another great scenario full of fun, surprises and intense scenario action. The day went back and forth between the Germans and Russians. It was a head to head fight to the finish that came down to the last epic Mission. The Battle of Stalingrad! The Russians came into the final mission on top of the game but in order to keep their score the Russians had to prevent the Germans from completing their objective 100%. Though the Russians fought hard, the Germans re-wrote history and won the battle of Stalingrad!