Fire & Sword:
Map Preview
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
August 2024

Panzer Grenadier: Fire & Sword is the largest game in the series (at least that’s currently in print), with five new maps, 913 playing pieces and 39 new scenarios. It’s the story of the intense fighting in late 1944 as the Red Army advanced on the Hungarian capital of Budapest. The Red Army has turned the hard lessons of the past three years into an effective way of war, while the Germans remain at the peak of their tactical abilities, even if they’re rapidly losing the war. All of the heavy weapons are here: Tiger II and Stalin 2 tanks square off, as Panthers battle their T34/85 nemeses.

Fire & Sword brings together the rich history and tense game-play you’ve come to expect from Panzer Grenadier. This is the game you’ll return to over and over, and you’ll be able to play it online through Panzer Grenadier HQ.

Those new maps are works of art by Guy Riessen, depicting the Hungarian countryside at 200 meters across each hex (what wargamers call that chicken-wire pattern that regulates movement in the game). Let’s have a look at them:

Map 50 includes a new feature for Panzer Grenadier, a gully. Plus a large hill that sees much fighting, often along the banks of the Danube (see below).

Map 51 is the wide river board, usually (but not always) the beautiful blue Danube.

And Map 52 is the narrow river, with some swamps there on the left.

This is Map 53, peaceful Hungarian farmland about to become a bloody quagmire. Remain calm, the 53 is visible in the printed version.

And finally, the second gully board, Map 54. Once again, remain calm: the yellow line is not present in the printed version, and cannot disturb you.

You can order Fire and Sword right here.
Please allow an extra two weeks for delivery.

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Mike Bennighof is president of Avalanche Press and holds a doctorate in history from Emory University. A Fulbright Scholar and NASA Journalist in Space finalist, he has published an unknowable number of books, games and articles on historical subjects. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife and three children; he misses his dog, Leopold.

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