Historical Background: At the beginning of February 1945, Soviet troops of 1st Bielorussian Front (Marshal Zhukov) were arrived in the Oder valley near Küstrin and had established a bridgehead on the opposite bank of the river. But the Küstrin old fortress kept the railway and road bridges and German troops counter-attacked in Pomeranie, so Zhukov was obliged to besiege Küstrin during two months. At the end of March, Zhukov decided to finish with the besieged fortress. After a huge artillery shelling, infantrymen of 82nd Guards Rifle Division crossed the Oder on boats and assaulted the fortress which fell definitively on the 29th of March 1945. At that time, Zhukov was free to prepare his last attack to Berlin. 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: 6 medals. Control of the fortress counts as two Victory Medals. To control the fortress, you must occupy at least two hexes of it. The Germans control the fortress at the start of the battle, so place two Victory Medals on the Axis Medal Stand.
Special Rules: - Use "Specialized Units" rules (Troop 2) to the Guards units. - Use "Combat Engineer" rules (Troop 4) to the three Allied units with "Engineer" badge. - Use "Collapsible Rafts and Boats" rules (Action 5) to all Allied infantry (and engineer) units. - Oder and Warta river are impassable (Terrain 8).
Scenario Bibliography: - 39/45 Magazine n°115 - article : "les Russes traversent l'Oder". - Image Google Earth.
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.
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