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Historical Background:
From July 24th to August 8th, German mobile divisions held off all of Timoshenko's attacks on the Yelnya salient. On the 8th, Army Group Center successfully eliminated all Russian opposition in the Smolensk pocket, just to the rear of the salient. The Soviets no longer had any reason to break through and rescue their isolated troops, so the attacks stopped. But when the Soviets realized the Germans had diverted Army Group Center's armor south toward Kiev, General Zhukov's Reserve Front was immediately given the task of renewing attacks on the salient. Army Group Center found itself manning a thin defensive line against wave after wave of Soviet attacks. German positions were poorly located, undermanned, undersupplied, and often thinned to the breaking point around the salient's limits. Some divisions held frontages of twenty miles, and Hitler's insistence that the salient be held resulted in the powerful 10th Panzer Division being attached to the salient as a mobile reserve. However, the stabilizing intervention of the 10th Panzer Division only brought temporary relief and on September 5th, the Germans began pulling out of the salient. Zhukov's unrelenting assault and deep penetrations into the salient had far reaching consequences. By tying down German units in the salient, the Russians delayed the movement of forces to support offensive thrusts to the north and south. Zhukov's assault left Army Group Center depleted of resources and with a shortage of experienced officers it never recovered from.
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.
Allied player [Soviet Union]
Take 4 command cards.
You move first.
Conditions of Victory:
6 medals.
The town of Yelnya is a Temporary Medal Objective for the Allied forces.
German Withdrawal: Exit markers are in effect for Axis infantry units. The German player is awarded one Victory Medal for every two standard infantry units (not armored, or mechanized infantry) that escape off the German baseline between and including the exit markers.
Special Rules:
Russian Command rules are in effect for the Allied player (Nations 2 - Red Army).
Place a badge on the Axis mechanized infantry unit (Troops 2 - Specialized units).
Air rules are optional: If used, give the Allied player one Air Sortie card and shuffle the other into the deck, at game start.
Scenario Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelnya_Offensive
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/wray/wray.asp
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JAP/is_2_13/ai_n15623829
http://www.beobachtungsabteilung.derkessel.de/B49.html
Text by: yangtze . Last update: Mon Dec 8 18:06:18 2008
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