Description

“Charles XII became the King of Sweden in 1697 at the age of fifteen. He inherited a sizable empire and one of the best armies in the world. Sweden's rivals thought they could take advantage of the young King. The Great Northern War (1700 - 1721) was a military struggle between Sweden on one side, and Russia, Denmark, and Saxony-Poland on the other."

"In 1708 Charles XII launched an invasion of Russia, determined to capture Moscow and force the Tsar to accept a peace treaty that favored Sweden. The Russians dug in behind the River Vabitch to try and block the invasion. Charles surprised the Russians by crossing the river and marshland at night and appearing suddenly on the right flank of the trench line. The disorganized Russians were forced out of their prepared positions and fought in the open and in the woods. The Swedes suffered heavy casualties but were able to succeed in opening the door to an invasion of Russia.”

A miniatures wargame intended for classroom use with two teams of students (grades 6-8). The game is designed to be played on a 7.5x5 foot table using 1/72 scale plastic miniatures. Free print-and-play paper miniatures are also provided for use with the rules.

The order of battle for each army (Swedish and Russian) is broken down into two groups according to the position of the units on the battlefield: the left wing or right wing. Each side also has a reinforcement group which enters after the start of the battle. Each wing has one or more commanders, and each army has an overall commander. The only terrain features addressed in the rules are several wooded areas that may be designated by simply drawing their borders on the playing surface.