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Historical Background:
Army Group Center, spearheaded by Guderian's 2nd Panzergruppe with Hoth's 3rd Panzergruppe on his left, scattered 3 Soviet armies as they advanced on Smolensk. Desperately trying to stiffen resistance, the Soviets hoped to stop the Germans' drive toward Moscow by using the natural defensive lines of the Desna and Dnieper rivers. The forces of the Soviet Western Front (Timoshenko), Reserve Front (Zhukov), Central Front (Kuznetsov), and Bryansk Front (Yeryomenko), scrambled to hold the line along these rivers.
Smolensk fell on July 16, but Soviet resistance in the area remained fierce and they even managed several counter-attacks. At one point they broke the German encirclement for a while and evacuated troops out of the Smolensk pocket. The bitter fighting considerably delayed the overall German advance toward Moscow, giving time for defenses further east to be strengthened. German losses eventually totaled 250,000 men. Despite the lack of street fighting, Smolensk was progressively razed to the ground by a Soviet air force hell bent on punishing the German occupiers! After the battle for Smolensk was won, Hitler diverted Army Group Center's Panzers south to Kiev and the oil fields beyond. While yielding some 600,000 prisoners, this was considered the mistake (or the miracle, as the Allied generals saw it) that saved Moscow!
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.
Briefing:
Axis player [Germany]
Take 5 Command cards.
You move first.
Allied Player [Soviet Union]
Take 4 Command cards.
Conditions of Victory:
Axis: 7 Medals.
Allies: 5 Medals (the difference reflects the greater ability of the Russian army to absorb losses).
The town of Vyazma is a Temporary Medal Objective for the Axis forces.
The 2 hexes of Smolensk are a Temporary Majority Medal Objective, worth 1 medal for whoever occupies them.
Special Rules:
Blitz Rules are in effect (Actions 15 - Blitz Rules).
Russian Command rules are in effect for the Allied player (Nations 2 - Red Army).
Place a badge on von Stockhausen's elite German tank unit, and on the German mechanized infantry units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
Place a badge on the Allied cavalry unit (Troops 8 - Cavalry).
The Train (Troops 5 - Trains) is a Supply Train (Troops 6 - Supply Trains) and carries 1 Russian infantry unit in its locomotive, and 1 Russian armor unit in its wagon.
Air rules are optional: If used, give both players 1 Air Sortie card at game start.
Scenario Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Smolensk_(1941)
Heinz Guderian, Panzer Leader, Panguin Classic, ISBN 0141390271
Panzergruppe Guderian - The battle of Smolensk, SPI, 1976
Text by: yangtze . Last update: Fri Dec 5 12:07:27 2008
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