World at War 85: Storming the Gap

The commander of the West German 15th Panzer Brigade held the headphones away from his ears, protecting them from the voice of his border battalion commander, the man’s voice rambling and emanating out of them at high volume.

“There are Soviet tanks pouring across the border south of us heading for the Fulda crossings, our Intel section says it must be the 79th Guards Tank Division….so many…we are pulling our right flank back already, the American 11th Armored Cavalry over there will have to take care of themselves, but we need artillery…and Air, yes Air….NOW!”

“Calm down, Otto, Air is on the way, and the guns are firing now. Tell me how many tanks you see.”

“How many??...” There was a momentary pause. Through the headphones, he heard the battalion commander’s breath sigh out. Then his voice came through again, only, this time, it was sad, resigned, almost normal.

“All of them.”

STORMING THE GAP is the first volume in the World At War 85 series of games of fast and furious platoon-level combat. Set in 1985, in an alternate history of World War III, when the Warsaw Pact armies storm across the border of East Germany in a powerful attempt to seize West Germany and the whole of Free Europe.

The World At War 85 system features a unique combat system that involves die rolls by both attacking units and defending units, which keeps both players engaged throughout the game. Die rolls are compared and hits are applied quickly, as all the information you need to fight your units is on the counters. No combat results table is necessary. The initiative, formation activation, random turn length, close air support and air cover are all integrated smoothly.