Bounding Fire Production’s Onslaught to Orsha 2 Unboxing

This was my second Scouting Report, and it’s a big one. Onslaught to Orsha 2 is Bounding Fire Productions’ revamped Historical module on Operation Bagration, the Soviet offensive that wrecked Army Group Center in the summer of 1944. I never saw the original, so this version was all new to me. It’s got 32 scenarios, a Campaign Game, a three-sheet historical map and two new double-wide boards.

Getting It

I pre-ordered mine from Bounding Fire Productions around Black Friday 2019, and it showed up in February 2020. BFP lists it at $134 in the US and $164 internationally. As usual, the link is at the bottom of the article.

Contents:

• 32 scenarios (10 new), on geomorphic boards and the HASL map
• The Ontrack to Orsha Campaign Game
• 370 die-cut 1/2″ counters
• 296 die-cut 5/8″ counters
• Two 22″ x 28″ and one 28″ x 28″ HASL map sheets
• Rules pages for the aircraft, vehicles, Guns, map terrain and Campaign Game
• Two 16″ x 22″ double-wide boards, DW-8 and DW-9
• A player aid for the HBRs, procedures and tables

Also, it isn’t a complete game. To play every scenario, you also need BFP’s Crucible of Steel, Poland in Flames and Into the Rubble 2, plus MMP’s Beyond Valor and a long list of boards.

Packaging

There’s no box. Like most third-party ASL products, it comes shrink-wrapped, so storage is up to you. I split mine into a couple of bags and keep them in a magazine holder.

What always gets me about BFP is the quality. Still, some third-party stuff I’ve bought used is well below MMP’s standard. BFP, Lone Canuck and Le Franc Tireur are a different story. This is top-notch work.

The History

Operation Bagration opened on June 22, 1944, three years to the day after the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. Army Group Center held a huge bulge in Belorussia. Most of its armor had been pulled south, where the Germans expected the main blow to fall.

The module covers the fight along the Moscow-Minsk highway and the Smolensk-Minsk railroad near Orsha. The 16th Guards Rifle Division led the way, backed by mine-roller tanks, KVs, flamethrower tanks, assault engineers and heavy artillery. Facing them was the German 78th Sturm Division, probably the strongest infantry division in Army Group Center. It held one of the densest networks of mines, trenches and bunkers in the whole front, including rotating machine gun bunkers.

Even so, the Soviets broke through. Within weeks Army Group Center was gone, and the Red Army had rolled all the way to the Vistula.

Rules and Player Aids

You get force organizers for both sides and a Campaign Game roster that reminds me of an MMP fold-out reference card. For that reason, they’d fit nicely in a notebook. There are vehicle and ordnance notes for the Russians and Germans, much like Chapter H. As you’d expect, most of the vehicles are Russian.

The rules run 15 to 20 pages, with their own index. In addition, there’s a section on the mine-roller tanks and about six pages on aircraft. After all, air support mattered a lot in this offensive. You also get two Solitaire ASL missions with their own random events.

The Scenarios

The 32 scenarios are printed in full color on thick, glossy cardstock. Some are small, five or six turns, and some are a lot bigger. It’s a nice mix. Just know that you’re getting Germans against Russians, every time. That’s what Bagration was.

Ten scenarios are new in version 2. The Russians attack in most of them, but the Germans hit back in five. Each title links to its page on the ASL Scenario Archive.

* New in version 2. The Germans attack in OtO 15, 18, 21, 22 and 27.

The Counters

BFP’s counters are always some of the best around. They’re full color, well centered, and the die-cutting makes them easy to punch and trim. Every one carries a small BFP mark, so you won’t mix them up with anyone else’s.

The Russian color is a little different from MMP’s, but you’d never mistake it for another nationality. Besides that, you get plenty of aircraft and a full set of Campaign Game markers.

Boards DW-8 and DW-9

The two double-wide boards are near twins. They share the same roads, hills and grain fields. DW-8 adds a river cutting across both halves, and DW-9 trades it for open ground and a couple more grain fields. However, the colors are a little more muted than MMP’s boards, but not by much.

The Historical Map

The historical map is three sheets showing the Smolensk-Minsk railroad on June 23 and 24, 1944. Down the middle runs the railroad. It’s mostly open ground, with grain, orchards and plenty of shell holes, and only a sprinkling of woods and buildings. Expect a lot of armor action.

I did notice two things, though. The green background is a slightly different shade on each sheet. That’s just how print runs go, so I won’t nitpick it. I also wondered about the overlap. A third to half of each sheet overlaps the next. My guess is it lets some scenarios play on a single sheet.

Where to Buy

Bounding Fire Productions

BFP also sells the parts on their own. Replacement counters run $40, the historical map sheet is $20, and board DW-9 is $7. DW-8 is sold out.

Debriefing

Onslaught to Orsha 2 is another high-quality product from Bounding Fire Productions. You get 32 scenarios, a Campaign Game, a big historical map, two boards and some of the best counters in the hobby. The printing and die-cutting are top-notch.

My nitpicks are small. The map sheets don’t quite match in color, and there’s a lot of overlap between them. If you like the Eastern Front and you don’t mind Germans and Russians every time, this one’s easy to recommend. Now I just need to get it on the table.

Academy Out!

GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!!

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