Bear's Claw: The Battles of Kiev-Uman and Smolensk, 1941

Bear's Claw: The Battles of Kiev-Uman and Smolensk, 1941 2012

7.8 /10
BGG rating
3.0
Weight
2
Players
180
Minutes
12
Age

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About the Game

Bear's Claw is two-games-in-one; featuring two separate and standalone, operational-level treatments of the German advance and the Soviet counter attack from July to August 1941 during Operation Barbarossa.

Kiev-Uman covers the action of German Army Group South, from the beginning of Soviet bold counterattack on 26 June led by the Soviet South-Western Front comprising four full mechanized corps (more than 2,000 tanks), to the closing of the Uman Pocket on 6 August.

Smolensk covers the action of German Army Group Center, from the German 2nd Panzergruppe's crossing of the Dnepr on 11 July, followed by numerous Soviet counterattacks of the Soviet Western Front led by Marshal Timoshenko, to the climax of operations at Smolensk on 9 August.

Both games share a common set of rules and deliver a quick, yet intensive gaming experience as BOTH sides will have the opportunity to initiate attacks during play. In essence, these are not one-sided affairs as the pendulum will swing in the Soviet's favor as well as they attempt to mount several counter blows to thwart the German advance.

Filed Under

Categories
Mechanics
Also known as
Bear's Claw · 赤熊之爪
BGG ratings
9
BGG data
refreshed Sep 7, 2026