How much should we know ahead of time?

[Liebchen]

This is a hard one. I would hazard a guess that most Blitzers are passing familiar with the way that these major battles went, although clearly some may not. If you want to know, you can ask your opponent regarding their familiarity with the historical engagement.

If you are really concerned, you might find some kind Blitzer to choose randomly from one of the many variant scenarios that come with each game, so that you do not, necessarily, know what to expect. Of course, it would take a great amount of discipline not to look at the "Units:Scheduled" menu and get some idea.

Even if you're going for total FOW, it would not be, IMHO, improper to have some passing familiarity with the campaign that led up to the engagement, since this would give an idea of the forces involved and their general dispositions (although in Nappy's day even that might be TMI).