Conflict of Heroes Series
Price of Honour: Poland 1939


"Cavalry Charges, Tin Can Cars, and Poles, OH MY!"
- As quoted by a marketing guy, 30th Sept, 2010
September 1st, 1939. Germany invades Poland in the early morning hours. The Germans employ highly mobile massed tank formations, closely supported by mobile artillery and their air force - the Luftwaffe. The world would come to know this form of warfare as the "Blitzkrieg". The Germans overwhelm the Polish forces and in a desperate bid to survive the Poles are ordered to mass together near the Romanian border, where they will try to hold out until their allies invade Germany from the west. But then the Soviets launch a surprise attack against the Poles from the East, cutting through their weakly defended border and fulfilling their secret pact with Germany to divide Poland between their two nations.
Awakening the Bear had the Soviets overwhelming the Germans with their monster KV and T-34 tanks. Only the quick German command network and crew training allowed the Panzer tanks to sometimes tactically beat the Russians. Then we introduced the new German Tiger and Panther battle tanks with Storms of Steel. With Price of Honour, we are proud to introduce the 1939 KING OF THE BATTLEFIELD, the mighty armored cars and Panzer I and II tanks! You will feel the exhiliration as your tin cans on wheels roll in to save the day. The Price of Honour expansion game offers a totally new gaming experience to owners of AtB and SoS!
Designer's Note: Michael Ozon, myself and our staff have worked on this expansion project for over 1.5 years and I am very happy with the results. Since this is an expansion, we could immediately present players with very challenging and exciting firefights that are presented in chronological order. I feel that this game is one of the best learning tools for anyone interested in the Polish invasion of 1939. The campaign overview and firefights describe the political, military and tactical dilemmas faced by the leaders of all countries involved. Then players refight the battles, experiencing the trials of the Polish, German and Soviet forces. The campaign was very hard fought and we have tried to dispel many of the myths that have evolved since the war. I hope that you enjoy this game.Price of Honour is an expansion which requires either of the award winning games - Awakening the Bear! or Storms of Steel! In it, players are presented with the same tactical dilemmas and decisions that commanders faced during some of the most ferocious engagements of WWII.
This particular painting for Price of Honour was perhaps the most fun to do as I had the chance to combine in a queer way two seemingly conflicting elements of the war: the modern war machine of the German army and the Polish cavalry . The German invasion of Poland although unjustifiable in the eyes of most the world, gave them a quick view of German style blitzkrieg at its best and far from finding the Poles helpless, the attack actually elicited a prompt response from them and some of their more effective units were horse cavalry which were able to ferry troops and needed fire power to critical points in the battle for their country. Naturally I opted to show the Cavalry in a speed rush responding to their nations needs, and decided to put the German Stuka's in the air to represent the modern weaponry of the Germans.
Stephen Paschal
Stephen Paschal's Art Studio
www.stephenpaschal.com