The Eyes of the Enemy: The Battle for Madrid, November 1936

The Eyes of the Enemy is a moderate complexity level solitaire play game on the battle for the capital city of Madrid during the first months of the Spanish Civil War. Following liberal victories in Spain’s early 1936 elections the Spanish military in Spanish colonies in North Africa, led notably by Generals Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco, rose in rebellion in July starting a civil war. Aided by planes sent by Adolf Hitler that transported Spanish troops from North Africa to Spain proper, the “Nationalist” regular army soldiers, joined by fascist “Falangist” and royalist “Carlist” volunteers soon began taking control of several Spanish cities and towns in western provinces. These were joined by fascist “volunteers” soldiers and airmen sent by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, as well as airmen and aircraft from Nazi Germany. The loyal “Republican” Spanish navy and armed forces, as well as some loyal elements of the Spanish Army, were hard-pressed to stop the Nationalist forces, now under the unified command of Franco (General Mola was killed just weeks after the start of the conflict in an airplane crash), who ordered that the capital of Madrid be taken as quickly as possible. However, volunteers and weapons from many democratic nations, as well as the Soviet Union, were also arriving at Spain’s ports and deploying to Madrid. What ensued was the largest battle in Europe since the end of the Great War. The player takes on the role of the commander of the Nationalist forces seeking to wrest control of key points in and around the city of Madrid that can lead to the capture of the Spanish capital. The rules govern the actions and counterattacks taken by the Republican defenders. As the Nationalist, you will be challenged in taking Madrid as Republican forces fight in terrain well suited for the defense, and as their reinforcements gather. Can you do as well or better? All infantry units are mostly battalion sized or similarly sized battle groups (Banderas) of 600-800 men, and tank units represent a company of 12 to 15 vehicles. An inch on the map is about three kilometers. Each turn represents 3 days of time. —description from the publisher