[Germany] Battle of Halbe - April 25, 1945

1st breakout attempt.
Eastern Front By: jdrommel - Last update: 03/07/2017
Axis Player: Allied Player:
x5 x6 x5 x6
first You play first    


Historical Background:
25th of April 1945, Berlin was entirely surrounded by soviet forces. IXth German Army of General Busse was enclosed in the Halbe pocket, south east of Berlin, pinned between troops of 1st Ukrainian Front (Koniev) and those of 1st Bielorussian Front (Zhukov). IXth Army was ordered to join XIIth Army of General Wenck and to attack together to release Berlin. The vanguard was the "Kampfgruppe Von Luck" with the remnants of 21.Panzer Division. On the evening of 25th of April, the Kampfgruppe crossed Staakow forest,and rushed on units of 50th Guards Rifle Division in defense along the ballast of the railway Boruth-Zossen, reinforced by dug-in Stalin tanks. This first breakout attempt failed but on the 30th of April, another breakout was successful and 40 000 German soldiers reached the XIIth Army lines and then went to the Elbe to surrender to the US Army.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

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

Conditions of Victory:
6 medals. For the Axis player, use "Exit" token rules to the whole Allied side of the board.

Special Rules:
- Use "Specialized Units" rules (Troop 2) to all infantry units with badge.
- The two tank units are dug-in and can't exit or withdraw. Use "Field Bunkers" rules (Terrain 22).
- The Allied player lays out the minefields (Terrain 29).
- "Air Power" card is not allowed to the Axis player. Use it as "Barrage" card.

Scenario Bibliography:
- Album historique 21.Panzer Division - Ed. Heimdal.
- Wikipedia - "Battle of Halbe".

This scenario was played on the 17th of April 2010 on the 3rd Moscow Open Tournament, organized by Serge Ovcharenko aka "Longbearder".
Official scenario of the "Fédération Française de Mémoire 44".

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
27
1
10
1
7
4
3
5
2
6
2
3