Stalingrad (1963)

The original edition came out in 1963; in a large oversized box nearly twice the size a normal AH flat box is normally. Later the box returned to the normal 1.5 inch thick size. A second edition with some revamped rules / clarifications was issued in 1974. Both editions share the same box - the rules are the only difference.

As far as AH games go, this one is fairly simple. Not too many units, and the strategies are not overly complicated. A good game to use to introduce players to hex-based wargames.

Avalon Hill Complexity rating - 2

from The Avalon Hill Company History, 1980

Stalingrad (1963) Revised 1974
Designed by Lindsley Schutz
Development by Tom Shaw
1974 Development by Don Greenwood

Everybody’s “classic,” STALINGRAD is probably the most analyzed wargame in existence. Despite this, it has never sold well and is well down the list of AH titles despite its longevity. The revision made only slight changes to the rulebook regarding clarity and play balance.

Magazine References:

The GENERAL Index Article List:

• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Plan Lenin . . . .” (Strategy) Carl Knabe
  • Stalingrad – “CONTEST NO. 3” (Strategy)
  • Stalingrad – “Operation Barbarossa” (Variant Discussion) Daniel Hughes
  • Stalingrad – “Sage Sarge Sez: Stalingrad- Win with Either Side” (Strategy) Lou Zocchi
  • The Question Box - D-Day, Chancellorsville, Tactics II, Dispatcher, Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.4
  • The Question Corner - Afrika Korps, Tactics II, U-Boat, Stalingrad, D-Day
• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.5
  • Midway, D-Day, Tactics II, Stalingrad – “Midway, D-Day, Tactics II, Stalingrad Re-worked” (Variant Discussion) Victor Madeja
  • The Question Box - Midway, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Baseball Strategy, Stalingrad, Tactics II
• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad Re-Played” (Strategy)
  • The Question Box - Afrika Korps, Midway, Stalingrad
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad” (Variant Discussion) Victor Madeja
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.1
  • Stalingrad – “A Critique: Stalingrad Replayed” (Strategy)
  • Play-by-Mail Grid-Coordinates - D-Day, Stalingrad, Waterloo
  • Stalingrad – “New Stalingrad” (Variant Discussion) J. K. Norris
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “Best Stalingrad Defense Ever” (Strategy) Ron Bullis
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Perfect Russian Placement” (Strategy)
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.4
  • Stalingrad – “Attack & Expectations” (Discussion) Stanley Hoffman
  • Stalingrad – “Invitation to Disaster” (Strategy) William Creamer
  • Stalingrad – “"The Perfect Russian Placement" Criticized” (Strategy) Raymond Utz
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.5
  • Stalingrad – “Hints for Stalingrad” (Strategy)
  • Stalingrad – “How to Exploit Russian Errors in Stalingrad” (Strategy) Richard A. Shagrin
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad Over Simplified” (Discussion) Terence Zuber
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “In Defense of Finland” (Strategy) Carl F. Knabe II
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad-Tournament Game” (Variant Discussion) Dick Westlund
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.1
  • Stalingrad – “German Chances in Stalingrad” (Strategy) Carl F. Knabe II and Roger Cormier
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “Moscow at 3 to 1” (Strategy) Jack Donovan
  • The Question Box - Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Success in Stalingrad” (Strategy) Richard Shalvoy
  • The Question Box - Guadalcanal, Stalingrad, Blitzkrieg
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.4
  • Stalingrad – “Russian Front - 1941” (Historical) Barry Jackson
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.5
  • Stalingrad – “COVER STORY: Stalingrad - Refought 25 Years Later” (Commentary)
  • Stalingrad – “The True Worth of Stalingrad” (Commentary) J. K. Norris
  • Stalingrad – “An Amazing Stalingrad Tactic” (Strategy) Richard A. Shagrin
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad-Super Tournament Game” (Variant Discussion) James J. Stein
  • Stalingrad – “CONTEST NO. 17” (Strategy)
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “The Phyrric Victory - The Doubled Exchange” (Variant Discussion) James J. Stein
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.1
  • Stalingrad – “The Forgotten Attack” (Strategy) Robert Shalvoy
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “Son of General von Blunder” (Commentary) James J. Stein
  • Stalingrad – “Rejuvinated Stalingrad” (Variant Discussion) Norman Zinkhan
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.4
  • Stalingrad – “Speedy Stalingrad” (Discussion) Michael Whinihan and Larry Hunt
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “Bring Ivan to His Knees” (Strategy) Ted Harpham
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.1
  • The Question Box - The Battle of the Bulge, Midway, D-Day, Afrika Korps, Blitzkrieg, Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Yes, a German Victory in Stalingrad” (Strategy) Ron Salcedo
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.4
  • Stalingrad – “All it Takes is Efficient Planning...” (Strategy) Emmet Dowling
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.5
  • Stalingrad – “The Goldwasser Test - a new Dimension for S-Grad” (Variant Discussion) Naomi Goldwasser
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.1
  • Stalingrad – “The Mathematics of the CRT” (Variant Discussion) William J.M. Gilbert
  • The Question Box - Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “The Mathematics of the CRT -- Part II” (Variant Discussion) William J.M. Gilbert
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Quality vs. Quantity” (Strategy) TM1 William B. Searight
  • Stalingrad – “Barbarossa” (Variant Discussion) Thomas Fowler
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.5
  • Stalingrad – “Strategic Breakthrough - Strategic Paralysis” (Strategy) Mark M. Lowenthal
  • Stalingrad – “Tactics of Defense” (Strategy) Thomas Fowler
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “19(41)14???” (Strategy) William B. Searight TM 1 (SS)
  • The Question Box - Afrika Korps, 1914, Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.2
  • Stalingrad, Guadalcanal – “Realism and Play-balance” (Variant Discussion) John Ellsworth
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Barbarossa With a Purpose” (Historical) E.D. Henderson
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.4
  • Stalingrad – “Fabian Stalingrad” (Strategy) Mark Morss
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.5
  • Stalingrad – “Getting it Together” (Strategy) Scott M. Sherwood
  • Stalingrad – “CONTEST NO. 41” (Strategy)
  • The Question Box - Blitzkrieg, Anzio, The Battle of the Bulge, Stalingrad, Waterloo, MISCELLANEOUS
• The GENERAL Vol.7,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “Ostrieg [sic]” (Strategy) Mark Teehan
• The GENERAL Vol.8,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “What! Another Stalingrad Variant?” (Variant Discussion) Daniel Kronemyer
• The GENERAL Vol.8,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad Breakthrough” (Variant Discussion) Lawrence R. Valencourt
• The GENERAL Vol.8,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “Urals Before 1942” (Strategy) William B. Searight TMC (SS)
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad the Middle Game - Part I” (Strategy) George Phillies
• The GENERAL Vol.9,No.1
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad the Middle Game - Part II” (Strategy) George Phillies
• The GENERAL Vol.9,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “Double Stalingrad” (Variant Discussion) Robert Garbisch
• The GENERAL Vol.9,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “The Lambert Defense” (Variant Discussion) Richard Lambert
• The GENERAL Vol.9,No.4
  • “COVER STORY: The Classics - Afrika Korps, The Battle of the Bulge, Waterloo, Stalingrad, D-Day” (Commentary)
• The GENERAL Vol.9,No.5
  • Stalingrad – “Assault from the South: STALINGRAD” (Strategy) Rick Moyer
  • The Question Box - France, 1940, PanzerBlitz, Midway, Blitzkrieg, Luftwaffe, Origins of World War II, Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.1
  • Stalingrad – “Reader Buyer's Guide Submission Form” (Insert)
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.2
  • Reader Buyer's Guide - Stalingrad
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “CONTEST NO. 57” (Strategy)
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.4
  • Series Replay - Stalingrad Dan Evans, Tom Oleson, George Phillies
• The GENERAL Vol.11,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “The Invasion of Russia: A Cultural & Strategic Analysis” (Historical) Mark Saha and Mark Irwin
  • Stalingrad – “Defense in Stalingrad” (Strategy) Mark Irwin
• The GENERAL Vol.11,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Defending Russia” (Strategy) Richard Shalvoy
• The GENERAL Vol.11,No.4
  • Stalingrad – “The Southern Gambit” (Strategy) Gary Gygax
• The GENERAL Vol.11,No.5
  • Stalingrad – “CONTEST NO. 64” (Strategy)
  • Series Replay - Stalingrad Don Greenwood, Randall C. Reed, George Phillies and Mark Swanson
  • Stalingrad – “CONTEST NO. 64” (Insert)
• The GENERAL Vol.12,No.1
  • Stalingrad – “The Turk Connection: A Role for Turkey in STALINGRAD” (Variant Discussion) Michael Markowitz
• The GENERAL Vol.12,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “Which City First? - Emphasis on Advanced Planning” (Strategy) Richard D. Moyer
• The GENERAL Vol.12,No.4
  • Stalingrad – “Starting Stalingrad in 1942” (Variant Discussion) Dr. Joseph Connolly
  • Stalingrad – “Starting Stalingrad in 1942 counters” (Insert) Dr. Joseph Connolly
• The GENERAL Vol.12,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad Scenario Strategy” (Variant Discussion) George Phillies
• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.3
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad: The Finnish Front” (Variant Discussion) Mark Saha
• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.4
  • Stalingrad – “Taking the Offensive in Stalingrad” (Strategy) Joe Angiolillo
• The GENERAL Vol.14,No.3
  • Series Replay - Stalingrad Part I - Tom Baruth, INVALID OBJECT ID=4678, type=person, Paul Bakulski
• The GENERAL Vol.14,No.4
  • Series Replay - Stalingrad Part II, Tom Baruth, INVALID OBJECT ID=4678, type=person, Paul Bakulski
• The GENERAL Vol.15,No.2
  • Stalingrad – “Stalingrad - Revisited and Revisited” (Variant Discussion) Lou Coatney
• The GENERAL Vol.17,No.5
  • Stalingrad – “Once More, Into the Rubble - Of Stalingrad!” (Variant) Lou Coatney
• The GENERAL Vol.17,No.6
  • Stalingrad – “The Russian View - An Exhaustive Analysis of the Defense in Stalingrad” (Strategy) INVALID OBJECT ID=4678, type=person

Panzerfaust Article List:

• Number 53 May-Jun '72
  • Stalingrad - "Fuhrer Directive 33: Stalingrad and the Southern Offensive" (Strategy), Gary Gygax