Dragon
vs Bear: China vs Russia in the 21st Century is a wargame based on the premise
that the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation go to war
sometime in the twenty-first century. The game is an update of SPI’s East Is
Red game, specifically showing the developments in warfare that have occurred
in the intervening decades, and projected out to the near future. Both side’s
armed forces are smaller than they were during the Cold War, but have access to
modern high-tech weapons and tactics, termed in the game as Hyperwar.
Dragon
vs Bear: China vs Russia in the 21st Century is operational level with two
players: One for China and one for Russia. It puts players in the position of
having to utilize the full spectrum of military operations, which also include
weapons of mass destruction. The game is played in scenarios, each postulating
different reasons for the war, as well as different levels of mobilization. You
win by defeating the enemy and gaining national objectives.
The game
emphasizes land and airpower. Naval warfare is factored out on the premise that
the Chinese and Russian navies would cancel each other out for the period that
the game scenarios covered.
Conventional
land and airpower are treated in a generally similar manner. This is in part
because of the lack of sophisticated higher level airpower doctrines in the
Chinese and Russian armed forces, but also because of the range and lethality
of modern munitions: firepower is going to be the same whether delivered by a
multiple rocket launcher system, an attack helicopter, or a jet bomber. The
real difference will come in with the application of Hyperwar capabilities.
Hyperwar is inherent in certain unit types, and can be assigned to others via
Hyperwar strikes.
Components: One 22" x 34" map & 228 counters
Scale:
Players: 2
Level: Brigade/Division
Hex: N/A
Other Articles:
- Dragon vs. Bear: Possibilities for Chinese versus Russian operational conflict with a look at both countries' armed forces.
- Chinese Special Forces: Power projection in East Asia via unconventional warfare.
- War in Mali: Current fighting in the War on Terror leads to the Foreign Legion returning to Timbuktu.
- Air Ambush over Vietnam: The USAF's Colonel Olds springs a trap on North Vietnamese interceptors.
- Operation Able Archer: The incredible moment in 1983 when the USSR almost went to war with NATO.
- The G-6 Rhino: The South African Army's super artillery gun.
