My journey with Wargames started with typical Hex & Counters titles. And while my hobby grew across the years, and I started to experience many more types of conflict simulations, I was always very fond and keen to play that type of games. The moving lines of the front, breakthroughs, encirclements, etc. – I loved and love it all. I experienced a lot of various designs – simple I-Go, You-Go, chit pull, card driven and many others – in essence, each of them tried to depict as best as possible the initiative on the battlefield, switches of action and simply the chaos of war.

Today I would like to focus on one of the best Dean Essig & Carl Fung creations – the Battalion Combat System, also known as BCS and released by Multi-Man Publishing. In essence, I will talk about the title most appealing to me from historical perspective and which gave me a lot of joy – Panzers Last Stand. Let us start!

The System

The Battalion Combat Series (BCS) is a simulation of grand tactical warfare from the advent of mechanized armies in the late portion of World War I to the present. It was created to show that there is a level of warfare that has its own distinct nature and behaviors between the tactical and operational levels of war. It is neither a large-scale version of one, nor a small-scale version of the other. BCS attempts to find the best balance between simulation accuracy and playability and not compromise either unduly. Ground Scale is from 500m to 2 km per hex, depending on the terrain being shown. Combat Units are generally Battalions, with some Companies.

Compared to MMP’s Operational Combat Series (OCS) System, BCS is less intricate while still offering the challenge of executing well-planned and prepared operations. Enhanced logistics, streamlined artillery mechanics, simplified air support, diverse unit modes, and integrated combined operations are among the notable features of this series. In general, BCS boasts fewer components in motion, reduces sub-systems, and uses significantly fewer charts and tables. It occupies a favorable middle ground that caters well to the preferences of most wargamers.

The Game & Historical Background

A very thematic box cover

Panzers Last Stand is a Battalion Combat Series game that portrays the Axis relief operations of Budapest from January to March 1945, representing Germany’s final major offensives in World War II. The campaign game encompasses the Konrad Operations (I, II, and III) in January 1945, along with scenarios for each of these operations as well as Operation Southwind in February and Operation Spring Awakening in March 1945.

In the closing months of the war, Germany, still determined, saw Budapest as pivotal in turning the tide. Surrounded by Soviet and former-Axis Romanian forces, the situation within the city was dire. Germany devised a plan to relieve Budapest by deploying the SS-Totenkopf and SS-Wiking Panzer Divisions from Poland for a surprise attack before the Soviets sealed off the trapped forces. Launched in the early hours of New Year’s Day, 1945, the fate of the Axis hung in the balance as the Soviets, battle-hardened from continuous campaigns since the summer of 1944, fiercely countered the elite SS Panzer Divisions.

(left) T-34-85 tank destroyed during the defense of the village of Bayna. (right) Moving “Panther” from the 3rd SS Panzer Division “Totenkopf”

A significant portion of armored forces from both sides converged in the Budapest area. Nearly all of the seven SS Panzer Divisions and half of the Heer Panzer Divisions on the Eastern Front (comprising a third of all Panzer Divisions) ultimately engaged here. The Soviets deployed three Tank, five Mechanized, and one Cavalry Corps to halt the Axis advance, turning the battlefield into a graveyard of tanks.

The game features late-war equipment such as the Tiger II, Brummbär, IS-2, and ISU-152, alongside unique units like Cavalry, Assault Pioneers, Soviet Naval Infantry, Hungarian SS, and ad hoc forces mobilized to defend Budapest. Rules covering Danube River crossings, urban combat, redeployment deception (Maskirovka), and fortress defense tactics highlight this distinctive and often misunderstood campaign.

Session Report

With that prolonged introduction we are now ready to talk a bit about my session reports and then experiences with the game. Important to note – the game is vast, deep and in full scale (when playing big scenarios) might turn into monster game. However, I had initially exposure to smaller set-ups which anyhow gave a lot of fun!

After couple of attempts, I decided to play the full Konrad II scenario solo. This is small to medium battle, giving enough space and depth to test major game mechanics while not being too narrow or contained. Historically, it is almost direct continuation of Konrad I operation albeit at smaller scale.

We play on Map C (one-fourth of maximum game size), there are 5 turns, from January 7th till 11th, there will be like four activations for Axis and three for Soviets each turn (you will need to choose wisely which formations to attempt to move). The victory conditions will be two-fold:

  • Axis Major Victory – if at least four units manage to breakthrough into Budapest.
  • Axis Minor Victory – control of three strategic points on map (you will see them marked below).
  • Soviet Victory – prevention of above two.

Presentation of the involved forces, map and objectives is best done visually, so please enjoy my picture-rich session report! And feel free to click any of below images to expand them in new window for more details.

Konrad II scenario set-up; four formations on German side, five on Soviet. The three points which contribute to German Minor victory marked in colors (blue – already occupied by Wehrmacht, red – still under Red Army control). Budapest if far in the upper right part of the map.
Close-up on the right German wing, where we expect most fierce battles between 3rd & 5th SS Panzer Divisions and 18 Tank Corp. The 62nd Guard Infantry division – as we shall see – will be quickly brushed aside 🙂
Heart of the game activation process. You choose from available formations based on your allotment of Primary and Secondary Activation numbers. But you still need to roll on SNAFUL table to see how full the ability to act will be.
Here it comes! 5th SS Panzer Division “Wiking” smashes into the 62nd Guards. It is important to first drop armor support of attacked formation, before assaulting it fully. You also position objective chits and can attack only in close neighborhood of it (focused axis of attack). Some of your recon units can create additional objective hexes which is helpful.
You can usually do a follow-up attack with particular formation albeit at the possible cost of increasing fatigue. I decided it is good to follow up as I managed to close on one of the objective hexes (Bickse).
But now time comes for Soviet counterattack. The 18th Tank Corp – equipped with great IS and ISU tanks & tank destroyers, smashes at exposed 3rd SS Panzer Division “Totenkopf” flank. The loses are severe.
The main focus stays in the central front; 18Tank Corp follow-ups but 5th Panzer counterattacks. Both sides bleed heavily but the overall numbers are in favor of Germans.
Overall view at the battlefield; most action in the right, some moves on the left flank.
That is how the Game Track looks like; we have here also some additional information on Terrain and Weather. Also, I collect here all the losses for both sides. One important thing – the destroyed Heavy Tanks will be returning to the game almost each turn once destroyed.
I continued the game further, again focusing on 3rd & 5th Panzer who in the end managed to overcome the 18th Tank Corp defenses; Bickse was lost by Soviets, the path to Budapest slowly but steadily open.
Situation when I had to call off that scenario; couple of turns played, main action on right German flank, with one of the Minot Victory Objectives captured. Local fights on left flank, but without conclusion.

Wow, that was crazy ride! Most of the action happened in southern part of the map and Germans were close to the Breakthrough. The losses on both sides were significant, but as will be explained below – it is not so important to eliminate enemy; breaking his resistance is key!

First Impressions

Let me share now my impressions, observations, things I liked after that couple of plays and elements which I found less impressive. Let us see:

  • I really like both the initiative & activation mechanisms. You have only limited number of formations that can be activated as primary or secondary each turn. Still, your SNAFU roll will decide how successful that activation will be – with fatigue having major impact here. It is not so predicable as I-Go, You-Go, not so crazy ride like chit-pull but still leaves a lot of uncertainty with decent degree of influence from commanding general. Simply love it!
  • Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance – oh, how accurate those Sun Tzu words are in BCS system. Focus on breaking / routing the opponent rather than destroying him – rarely, you will be able to entirely wipe-out the formations or even units; still, after 30-40% losses they will be barely combat efficient. Here the system and game really nicely simulate the actual battlefield situations.
  • We are getting multiple scenarios, from tiny ones – which are like 1/16 of the total map, through medium sized – one-two maps, up to the ultimate experience of the full campaign. That allows for gradual exposure and learning of the system without too much overhead or headache 🙂
  • I am not sure how to say it, but Panzers Last Stand has the right feel. You play it with joy, you see how the things develop, how the units and formations react to changing circumstances, how your command options are limited – and you feel deep inside it all makes sense, is logical and greatly interconnected. Some of the system solutions / choices can at the onset raise the question why it was implemented like this, but when you see it in action – you nod with approval.
  • We are getting also some chrome here – latest technique from World War II, like Tiger II, Brummbär, IS-2, and ISU-152. Those fire fights are most fierce and juicy, adding to the game enjoyment!
  • Now, let us be honest, if you want to experience that game in full you would need a lot of space and a lot of time. While smaller scenarios are nice experience, only the grand campaign / operations show the beauty and ingenuity of the system in the full. Still, even for smaller-scale engagements this is definitely worth getting.
  • Another important thing is storing and sorting all the components. Cube4Me storage solution helps greatly, without it one would be quickly and easily lost.

Now, do I regret spending multiple hours on analyzing game and system rules? Digging into examples, starting from smaller scenarios and then gradually moving to larger ones? Of course not! That was such a fun, such great, new solution / system I could experience. I will definitely be playing more of this – of course, time and space permitting! Highly Recommended!