Historical Background: After the defeat of Kursk and the loss of Kharkhov, the German army withdraw west of the Dniepr river and prepared the main defensive line (hauptkampflinie) on the river and called it "Ostwall". But Stavka decided to attack quickly, before the line was ready. On the 21st of September, while 10.PanzerGrenadier Division was still on the east bank of the Dniepr, 3rd Soviet Guard Army crossed the river and got a bridgehead in a loop of the Dniepr near Bukrin. Stopped by the German hard defense, this army needed some help to breakthrough the enemy lines. On 24th of September, three Guard Paratroop brigades landed on the rear of the German line. A lot of paratroopers were killed before landed, the others joined soviet partisans groups in the forest and harassed the enemy on the rear. During this time, assault troops of 3rd Guard Mechanized Corps crossed the Dniepr and got a new bridgehead on the west bank. The battle of Dniepr ended on the 13th of November 1943 whereas Kiev was already liberated for a week. The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.
Briefing: Allied player [Soviet Union] : 8 command cards, you move first. Axis player [Germany] : 6 command cards.
Conditions of Victory: 14 medals. Kovaly and Stepantsy villages are a temporary medal objective for the Allied player. The destruction of Kanev's bridge after the withdrawal of all German troops from the east side is a permanent medal objective for the Axis player.
Special Rules: - Use "Specialized Units" rules for German infantry units with badge (Troop 2). - Use "Mobile "Artillery" rules for German artillery unit with badge (Troop 14). - Dniepr river is impassable except by bridges (Terrain 8). - Hedgerow hex is impassable area for any units. - Use "Blowing Up a bridge" rules option 1 for the Axis player (Action 2). - Use "Pontoon Bridge" rules for the Allied player (Terrain 33). -Use "Resistance" rules for the soviets partisans (Nation 1). -Use "Camouflage" rules for the soviets partisans in the beginning of the game (Action 16). - Parachute drop rules : The Allied player must drop 5 infantry units during the game. The air drop is made on hex with battle star tokens at Allied player choice by the activation of a section card. Drop one figure at a 10 cm height then complete the unit in the hex of arrival. If the figure fall out of the board, the unit is definitively removed of the game but doesn't count as an Axis medal. If the figure fall in an enemy occupied hex, put the Russian unit in a free adjacent hex and the enemy unit can fire immediately as "Ambush" rules. Once landed, all parachute units are activated normally and the battle star token is removed. - Air rules are optional. If used, the 2 "Air Sortie" cards are in the pile. Allied player use Yak-9.
Scenario Bibliography: - Magazine Troupes d'élite - Les paras de Staline. - 39-45 Magazine n°26 - Opération Dniepr. - Atlas de la seconde Guerre mondiale - Ed. France Loisirs.
Official scenario of FFM44 played during the Open de Paris des jeux d'Histoire (OPJH) in Paris on the 29th of September 2018.
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.
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Set-up Order |
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8 |
 |
12 |
 |
42 |
 |
18 |
 |
1 |
 |
1 |
 |
7 |
 |
15 |
 |
1 |
 |
2 |
 |
10 |
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