[Russia] Battle of Tikhvin - December 01, 1941 - December 09, 1941

General Winter's offensive.
Eastern Front By: jdrommel - Last update: 07/15/2011
Axis Player: Allied Player:
x6 x7 x5 x7
    first You play first


Historical Background:
In November 1941, German troops of Army Group North were delayed then stopped by the Russian hard defense and by the freezing cold spreading on the steppe. Temperature was below 40° Celsius. When seizing the city of Tikhvin, German soldiers had cut the railway Vologda-Leningrad, vital supplies road for the besieged Leningrad. Soviet general Meretskov had imperative orders from the STAVKA to take again Tikhvin and re-open the railway. He was helped by a strong allied : General Winter. The soviet attack began on the 1st December and lasted 8 days. German 61st Infantry Division resisted with the last energy to assaults of Siberian troops of the 44th and 191st Rifle Brigade, supported by T-34 of the 46th Tank Brigade. The severe cold froze injured soldiers laying on the ground, blocked the weapons and the vehicles. Finally, on the 9th of December, surviving German troops left Tikhvin, destroying before all installations and withdrew on the Volkhov river in spite of Hitler's definite order to resist on place. With the railway free, Leningrad was supplied and never fell.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

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

Conditions of Victory:
7 medals.
Each destruction, bridge, railway station and factory is a permanent medal objective for the Axis player.

Special Rules:
- Use "Red Army" rules (Nation 2).
- "Air Power" card is not allowed to the Axis player, discard it and take another card in the pile.
- Use "Heavy Antitank Guns" rules (Troops 23) to the two Axis artillery units with badges.
- Use "Sabotage" and "Blowing up a bridge" rules for the Axis player (Action 2 - option 2).
- Use "Frozen River" rules (Terrain 47).
- Freezing rules : 1) At the beginning of each turn, the Axis player must roll 2 dice, a star means a loss of 1 infantry figure (of his choice).
2) All Axis tanks can't move, they only can fire, a flag means a loss.

Scenario Bibliography:
- Magazine Historica hors-série n°65 - Leningrad ville assiégée.
- Militaria Magazine hors-série n°30 - La bataille de Leningrad.
- "Opération Barbarossa" - Paul Carell.

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.

Set-up Order
9
1
1
5
7
3
8
16
3
1
8
3