Review / Poland Defiant: The German Invasion, September 1939

 Review by Paul Chernoff, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As a teenager I bought SPI’s War in the West just so I could play the German attack on Poland. As with many WW2 ETO games it is a walkover for the Germans and acts as a training scenario. Though I can’t imagine a worse outcome than preparing to play a monster game for weeks or months, only for it to end in a German loss in the first few hours of play.

Fortunately we have better options today.

Poland Defiant (PD) covers the first 10 days of the German invasion. Most units are divisions and brigades though some units are as small as battalions. Turns are 1 day, and hexes approximately 10 miles wide.  The map covers most of western Poland­, Eastern Germany, and Prussia. The rules are based on the Königsberg/Across the Narva system. The chit pull system brings in unpredictability and reflects the quality of command for each army for each turn. Most land units are infantry, armored, motorized infantry, mechanized infantry, fortress, and calvary, though there are also special units such as the ship(s) Schleswig Holstein, fortresses, and armored trains. Yes, the Polish might be short on armor but they can move armored trains quickly on the game board, rails permitting.

We often imagine the German conquest over Poland a done deal, the victory of Blitzkrieg over antiquated forces. 

Not quite. Germany had aircraft and tanks but had not attained Blitzkrieg warfare, we will see that in France 1940. Germany was not on a full war footing. Poland was in the midst of a modernization of its army, Germany needed to attack in September while the weather cooperated. Waiting for the Spring of 1940 probably would have seen a stronger Polish army. If Poland could have held off German forces longer, then the Germans might have collapsed from ammunition and fuel shortages. PD does not track the German ammunition or fuel situation but victory conditions require a quick conquest of Poland to win the game.

BoardGameGeek.com has useful resources for PD. I recommend downloading the 2024 rules revision by Jonathan Warshay. Stuka Joe created Random Event Cards which can be used to supplement or replace the games Random Events Table. Setup cards help make setting up the game quicker work. 

Not the Blitzkrieg

Germany was still developing Blitzkrieg warfare in 1939. The German military had  more planes and tanks than the Poles but it was still working on tactics. This is reflected in the game in a number of ways. German planes attack Polish ground units on their own, not in conjunction with German ground forces. Bombing is limited to enemy units on the front line. Interdiction missions are available for the German Air Force and they hamper Polish forces, but the Germans are limited to interdicting up to 3 hexes a turn.

Armor and motorized units have some advantages. They are faster than infantry or calvary and can infiltrate EZOCs. They tend to be stronger than infantry, especially the divisional armor. The brigades aren’t bad, but even though smaller than divisions they don’t provide a stacking advantage. And they can advance 2 spaces instead of one after combat.

Armored units are penalized if they attack without infantry or calvary. They suffer a column shift to the left. Most other games offer a combined arms bonus. So armor doctrine is not yet good enough for armor to offer an advantage to infantry beyond its attack strength.

The Map

The maps is both pleasant to look at and very functional. The most used tables are printed on the map. The design assumes that the German player sits to the west and the Polish to the east, they are each present with their appropriate tables. The Turn Track, victory point track, and activation tracks all make the game easier to play. The turn track itself is very useful in presenting the number of activation chits for each side and the German Operational Pace, and information on reinforcements for each turn. I find it much easier to have this information on the map instead of a seaparate sheet, though there is always the danger of the cat sitting on the CRT.

The map itself is easy to read and I never wondered about the terain of the hex or hexside. Finding Polish entry hexes did take me some time, especially if a unit was already on the hex, but I later found a list of these hexes in the rules book. I appreciate the use of Polish and German names for towns and cities rather than the English version.

The Counters

The 1/2 inch counters are attractive and functional. Counters are printed double-sided. Many units have full and step down versions. Aircraft have healthy and damaged sides. The Out of Supply markers have Isolated on the other side.

At first I thought unit IDs are a little small even when I wore my reading glasses but a bright overhead light helped a lot. Mechanized units have images of the main unit while the other military units use NATO symbols, which is how I sticker my Vento Nuovo game units. Reinforcements have their entry turn and location printed on the counters and units with no Zone of Control have a special symbol on them.

My only criticism is the use of color as the only way to see the connection between HQ and their army units. Additional text to see which army/HQ is the parent to each ground unit would have been helpful for the colorblind. I have other games, such as Bar-Lev 3rd Ed and Test of Faith which also depend on color for displaying organization.

Sequence of Play

The PD Sequence of Play (SoP) is fairly simple.

The Air Unit and Reinforcement Phases start each turn. Germans bomb first, the  single Polish air unit next. Then the German interdiction aircraft are placed to slow down the Polish ground units. The German air force is split into north and south factions, each can operate only on its side of the north/south boundary line. Air units risk losses when they are used. If a 1 is rolled in a bombing mission the air unit is removed from the game for 2 turns. The Germans roll a die at the beginning of the interdiction phase and lose one air unit if a 1 is rolled.

Ground attacks can create a small hole in the enemy line by either forcing a ground unit to retreat or lose a step or two. You may only attack ground units adjacent to your friendly ground units.

Interdiction causes non-motorized units to lose 1 movement point and motorized ones to lose 2 if they enter the hex or the adjacent hex of an interdicting aircraft. Given the movement rules this can hinder the movement of Polish units in key areas.

In the Reinforcement Phase reinforcements are placed on the board

The Command Phase includes HQ activation, ground movement, and combat

A Command Chit is drawn and that HQ is activated. Chits from both sides are placed in the same cup so a chit for either side can be drawn. The maximum number of HQ that can be activated each turn changes.The Command Phase is over once each side activates the maximum number of HQs. Event Chits are mixed in later in the game and do not count against the maximum number of chits that each side can draw.

An activated HQ may activate ground units belonging to the HQ's army and up to 2 independent units within command range of the HQ. All activated units have a standard movement and then combat segments.

The Supply Phase occurs after all movement and combat has been completed. Both sides check for supply and mark Out of Supply (OOS) and Isolated units.

The last phase includes Administrative cleanup and a check if the Germans occupy Warsaw with an in-supply unit. If so, the Germans have achieved sudden death victory. 

Activation

As with most chit-pull games, a ground unit can only move if its HQ is activated. Ground units must be within activation range of their HQ. Each HQ controls an army. Players have to be wary of units, mostly divisions, wandering too far away from their HQs. In addition to its own ground units, a HQ may command up to 2 independent units. Independent units may be moved by more than one HQ in a turn.

A few exceptions to command rules are independent HQs, when a HQ has lost its army, and when an HQ is destroyed. An independent HQ may command up to 5 units, which can be units attached to another HQ or are independent. An army HQ acts like an independent HQ if its associated units are destroyed. If an HQ is destroyed its associated units become independent units.

The Germans HQ have advantages in activation over the Poles. The average Polish HQ has a command range of 4, the German HQs of 5. The German also has fewer HQs which means a larger percentage of its units will move every turn. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to easily capture a victory city just because the HQ closest to the city doesn’t get activated that turn. The Germans get more activations than the Poles most turns.

The single German HQ in East Prussia has to cover a lot of territory. The East Prussian forces get some relief with the introduction of an independent HQ in the middle of the game.

The activation system allows some units to move more than once a turn. An independent unit can be activated by multiple HQs. Later in the game the Germans get Army Group North and South activation chits which allow the player to select which HQ they want to activate, allowing for a HQ to be activated twice in a turn because a German army can be activated both by its own HQ chit and an Amy Group chit.

PD would be a very different game if it was a traditional I Go, You Go game. The Germans would be able to overwhelm the Polish lines and have a much more coordinated attack. The chit-pull mechanism makes it much harder for armies to coordinate. The uncertainty of if or when any army will be able to participate in a turn makes the game more interesting.

Movement

Moving 1 hex is not guaranteed. Units can only move if they have sufficient movement points (MPs) to enter a hex. If they don not have enough movement points to move a single hex they are stuck in place. This is key because a combination of Enemy Zones of Control, terrain, isolation, and air interdiction can immobilize ground units

Enemy Zones of Control (EZOC) slow down group units. Units pay +1MP to enter or leave an EZOC or +3MP to move directly from one EZOC to another. Since Infantry are 3MP they cannot infiltrate between enemy units since that would require at least 4MP. A player moving infantry from the front line is often limited to a maximum of 2 hexes. Advancing infantry to the front lines can be a challenge since infantry must start within 3 hexes of enemy units and minor rivers and other terrain can make it impossible for infantry to reach the front lines.

Calvary has 4MP, so in theory can move one hex between enemy units. That one extra MP is often useful.

Armor and motorized/mechanized infantry have 6 to 8 MPs, enough for German armor to penetrate enemy lines if Polish units don’t form a solid line. German armor units can be useful in infiltrating enemy lines and surrounding units, allowing for them to punch holes. But if they race ahead of the infantry they end up attacking at lower odds.

Major rivers block all movement unless there is a bridge. Bridges exist wherever railroads and roads crossing rivers. There are a few temporary bridges that can only be used by Polish units.

Stacking is limited to 2 ground units plus an HQ. 

Poland gets two unique types of units. The first are fortress units, which cannot move nor retreat. The other are armored trains, which have unlimited movement but are restricted to traveling on railroad hexes. They aren’t very powerful but getting one to a weak position helps. They are often stacked with other units since they are fragile and lack a Zone of Control. While it never happened to me, if the Germans leave a hole in their lines the Polish Armored trains can move on German railroad tracks.

Combat

Combat is fairly conventional for a hex and counter game but there are a few wrinkles. A unit can attack only if activated. Attacking is always optional but you must attack all of the units in a hex. Units in multiple hexes can combine in an attack. A unique twist is that if armor units attack without infantry the combat column is moved to the left. So no combined arms benefit but an armor penalty for lonely armor.

Combat modifiers are a little different from most games I’ve played. They are commutative, so a unit that is unsupplied and attacking across a minor river is quartered in attack strength since each of these cause a loss of 1/2 strength. Regular bridges eliminate the river penalty for attacking. When there are attack penalties you assign them to each unit individually, add up the number with fractions and then round down the total. Units that would round down to a strength of 0 get a strength of 1/2. So if some units are attacking across a river and others aren’t, those individual units attacking across would be halved.

The Combat Result Table (CRT) is biased towards the defender. An attack at 3-1 will cause an Attacker Retreat 1/3 of the time and defender losses/retreat 2/3 of the time. If the attacker wants to ensure a defender retreat or step loss they will need to attack at 5-1 odds.

CRT results are in terms of retreat and/or step losses. Step losses are 1-3 steps though 1-2 are the norm. Retreats are always 1 to 3 hexes. Surrounding enemy units is rewarded by additional step losses because a stack loses a step for every hex it retreats into that is in an EZOC. Friendly units do not protect retreating units.

Most ground units are 2 step units. The first step loss is absorbed by an armored train or the strongest unit in the combat. After that the owning player can distribute step losses as they wish.

The CRT can require retreats between 1-3 hexes, though 3 hex retreats are rare. If a stack has to retreat through an EZOC, even if occupied by a friendly unit, that stack must lose on step. Units with 0 movement points are destroyed if required to retreat.

Terrain which helps defending units is interesting. As mentioned, rivers cause the attacking units to halve their attack strength. But there are no defense multipliers. Mountains, woods, and swaps force a column shift to the left. Cities allow the defending stack to ignore the first step-loss and retreat results, towns just the first retreat. So cities and towns can allow the Polish forces to hold territory, even if isolated, and slow down the German advance, which is the main Polish tactic. An attack against a unit in a city or town might result in the loss of an attacker's step.

Reinforcements & Replacements

There is a reinforcement schedule which is simple. Just place new units as predetermined places on certain turns. Those units then get to move. The Poles have an event that allows for 0-2 replacement points to strengthen reduced units or to bring units back from the dead.

Supply

Supply rules are simple. Trace supply to a friendly supply source. Konigsberg and various entry hexes for the Germans, Warszawa (Warsaw) for the Polish. Supply is determined during the supply phase after all movement and combat has been completed. A ground unit must be within 5 hexes of a road or rail hex that leads to a supply source. EZOC will block supply but friend units will nullify the EZOC in this case. If a unit is unsupplied for 1 turn it is Unsupplied and can only attack at 1/2 strength. After a 2nd turn attack, defense and movement are halved.

The Germans Must Keep Advancing

The game penalizes the Germans if they are not successful enough. Each turn both sides are given up to 6 HQ activations. But the Germans lose 1 HQ activation if they cannot occupy the required number of VP hexes shown on the game turn track. The Germans need to occupy at least 1 VPH in the first turn, usually Danzig. Then 2 VPH on turn 3. It gets tough as the game goes on. The Germans need to stay aggressive. If they rest in a turn they risk losing an activation the next turn. 

Special 1st Turn Rules

The Germans have advantages and disadvantages on turn one. The disadvantage is that all German attacks suffer a column shift to the left. We normally expect an advantage from a suprise attack, but not here. I am not sure why the Germans had issues on the first day. Two advantages are that interdiction missions extend out an extra hex from the interdicting aircraft. The other is that a HQ can activate all of its units even if they are out of range.

Victory Conditions

If the Germans occupy any Warszawa with an in-supply ground unit at the end of any turn they win instant victory. Otherwise the Germans must end the game with 10 Victory Point Hexes (VPH) or more. 10 hexes, which is the historical result. 11-13 hexes is a German Major victory and 14 is an Overwhelming victory. Less than 10 is a Polish victory. The German player should decide before playing the game if they are going to go for Warszawa or VPHs.

Victory conditions are both gamey and realistic. The long term survival of Poland is poor, the Germans must win quickly. In the scope of the game the Germans are not going to face military shortages in just 10 days. But if the Polish Army can win a Major or Overwhelming victory perhaps the Soviets would have cancelled their invasion plans and the German army could have been weakened enough that an Anglo-French invasion could have happened and maybe even a collapse of the Nazi government.

For the record I have never won as the Germans. I am not saying that the game is unbalanced, just that I haven’t figured out a very good German strategy. I have ended games thinking that the Germans could have won if they had just 1 more turn. 

Conclusions

A happy thumbs up. A fun to play game of an important battle we don’t see gamed enough. I would say moderate/low complexity. The biggest issue is learning rules which are somewhat different from other games, such as how to round down units in combat and when EZOC are not countered by friendly units.

PD is exciting as either player. The Germans need to be aggressive on the offensive. Its advantage in aircraft, armor, and organization are important but they will not roll over the Polish forces without a sharp strategy. If you have a chance to surround Polish forces do so but keep in mind it will take 2 turns for them to lose mobility and have a weaker defence. And never lose sight of the Victory Hexes.

Even though on the the Polish player is defensive they are an active player. On one hand they should present a determined defence but also trade ground for time. Keep an eye on the victory conditions and concentrate on denying the Germans Warszawa and as many VPHs as possible. Your limited armor is better suited for plugging in holes than mounting an offense. But keep looking for German units that have advanced too far and are vulnerable to a counter-offense. Rivers provide important defences but remember that bridges undo the defensive advantages. Towns and cities allow even isolated units to slow the Germans if the attacker's die rolls aren't too bad. And while the Germans have more armor and air, you have Armored Trains. Have fun with them

$50 ziplock edition.

Poland Defiant. Revolution Games, 2019.
Designer: Stefan Ekström
Developer: Roger Miller
Map Graphics: Joe Youst
Counter Art: Charles Kibler