Historical Background:
After the capture of the bridge over the Berezina River at Borisov, German units of the PanzerGruppe Guderian continued their advance to Smolensk by the highway from Minsk to Moscow. For General Guderian the next objective was the city of Orsha and the crossing of the Dniepr River. On the soviet side, the 1st Metropolitan Motor rifle Division, under the command of General Kreizer, was deployed along the highway to stop or to slow down the German panzers. On the 3rd of July 1941, near the village of Lipki, the vanguard of the 18.Panzer division fought for the first time against Soviet tanks of a new type : T-34 and KV-2. The size and the armor of these tanks were a bad surprise for the German crews. For several days, the German advance was slowed down by the fierce resistance of the Soviet Rifle Division and the rate of losses increased for the German troops. After the blitzkrieg of the end of June, the road to Moscow seemed to be longer.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn and you are in command. The rest is history.

Briefing:
Axis player [Germany] : 6 command cards, you move first.
Allied player [Soviet Union] : 5 command cards.

Conditions of Victory:
12 medals.
For the Axis player, use the "Exit" token rules (Action 23) to the road hexagon marked "vers Orsha".

Special Rules:
- Use "Red Army" rules (Nation 2 - Red Army).
- Place badges on German and Soviet elite units (Troops 2 - Specialized Units).
- Place a badge on the Axis mobile artillery unit (Troops 14 - Mobile Artillery).
- Use "Blitz" rules (Action 15 - Blitz).

Scenario Bibliography:
- "Opération Barbarossa" - Paul Carell.
- Article numérique sur la "1st Metropolitan Motor Rifle Division".

Scenario played on the 5th tournament of Picardie at Ravenel on the 4th of June 2016.

Warning:
Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.