Eyes of the Enemy, The

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, including the United States and 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.

Game Components:

• Two 11" by 17" map sheets
  
• One sheet of 184 double-sided counters and markers
  
• One Player Aid Card
  
• This set of rules