The year is 1941.

Germany had defeated Poland, Denmark, Norway, and France with ease. In the morning hours of June 22 over 3 million German soldiers attacked soviet forces along 1 1600 kilometer front heralding the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. Complete surprise was achieved and Germans struck deep into Soviet territory. The Germans thought that the Soviets would fold like a house of cards. Their officer cadre had been massacred by Stalin, training was poor, and morale low. The Blitzkrieg catches the Soviets by surprise and they lose over 1.75 million men in their first two months alone.

The Germans are unstoppable, their Panzers pushing to the very gates of Moscow. But then winter hit and the cold drained the Germans resources, strength, and morale. The Soviets began striking back in the dead of winter and the momentum began to shift in their favor through the following spring. The bear had awoken!

Modern day tactics used by most of todays advanced armies find their roots in WWII doctrine. These tactics evolved throughout conflicts and wars that followed such as Korea, Viet Nam, Africa, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. "Awakening the Bear!" is the first game in the Conflict of Heroes series, which follows evolution of modern tactics from WWII to present. CoH features a fast and fluid system that is easy to learn, but realistic for every unique time period portrayed. CoH offers your opponents a wealth of options to learn and explore the combined arms tactics spent fighting the opponent and exploring unique new techniques rather than fighting the rules.