This may be the best game I ever designed, and it is introductory level in mechanics but DEEP in strategy. It starts with about 15 pieces on each side, and the Barbarossa scenario can be played in about an hour.
It is currently FREE on my http://www.coatneyhistory.com webpage.
It was indexed as a social studies/sciences instruction aid by the government's ERIC, Educational Resources Information Center, as ERIC Document ED 361 256.
My 12 yr old daughter Rebecca did the cover eagle vs. bear artwork freehand in 20 minutes for $20 - not bad pay for an artist. Of course, we were in Alaska at the time (1987), and she was regularly seeing eagles and bears close-up. :-)