056 Prelude to Breakout

After Soviet tank armies sealed the pocket at Korsun on 28 January 1944, the Germans immediately begat: supplL, operations by air to sustain their troops surrounded in the encirclement. But a counterattack by German panzers to rescue the trapped men was the only MTV to avoid their eventual sus-lender. Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, commander ofiirmy Group South. assembled an armored force to prepare the way for a breakout by the two surrounded corps. On 4 February, elements of the 17th Panzer Division and an independent panzer regiment equipped with hemy Panther and Tiger tanks advanced. Their goal: reach and hold crossings over the Gniloi Tikich River to establish a secure corridor for the second part of the breakout operation.

You can see a revisioned version of this scenario here: 333 Prelude to Breakout (Revised)

	Soviet	German
Division 1	4 Squad Bases - 1 Elite Infantry - 10 Regular Infantry - 1 Officer - 1 Machine Gun Crew - 1 Mortar Crew 1 ZiS 76.2 AT Gun 1x Medic 2x Concealed	4 Squad Bases - 2 Elite Infantry - 9 Regular Infantry - 1 Officer - 1 Machine Gun Crew - 1 Mortar Crew 3 SdKfz 251 Half-Tracks 2 Tiger Is
Division 2	4 Squad Bases - 1 Elite Infantry - 10 Regular Infantry - 1 Officer - 1 Machine Gun Crew - 1 Mortar Crew 1 ZiS 76.2 AT Gun 2x Concealed	4 Squad Bases - 2 Elite Infantry - 9 Regular Infantry - 1 Officer - 1 Machine Gun Crew - 1 Mortar Crew 3 SdKlz 251 Half-Tracks 2 Panthers 1 Panzer IV
Strategy Decks	Artillery 1 Combined Air Support 1 (Shared) Winter Tactics 1 (Shared)	Artillery 2 Combined Air Support 1 (Shared) Winter Tactics 1 (Shared)
Starting Strategy Cards	2	2
Operations Cards	044 Soviet Command Restraints 041 Increased Firepower: T-34 040 Lack of Tank Radios 039 Snow Squalls (shared)	043 Tank Riders 039 Snow Squalls (shared)
Deployment Zone	Division 1: Any of the hexes on map 39B. Division 2: Any hex on maps 31A, 32A, and 37A.	Division 1: Any hex with a grey border on map 36A. Division 2: Any hex with a grey border on maps 33A and 35A.
Starting Initiative
Objective	The Soviets win if the Germans are unable to fulfill their objectives by the end of round 10.	The Germans win if they control at least one victory hex by the end of round 10.
Rounds	10
Actions per turn	3	3
Reinforcements	Status Phase of Round 3 (Soviet D2) - 1 T-34/76 Status Phase of Round 5 (Soviet D2) - 2 T-34/76s Mark one of these T-34/76s as the 041 Increased Firepower: T-34 version with the 85mm gun.	-
Special Rules	The Operations card "039 Snow Squalls" is removed at the end of round 6. Snow reduce movement values of all units by 1.
Terrain Features	The stream is Shallow.
Historical Notes	The Germans were only able to capture the ford over the river. By 16 February, more than half of the 60,000 soldiers trapped in the pocket reached German lines, but almost all of their equipment was left behind.

The two-point command objective on map 32A is Soviet and not German. Also, there should be a two-point German command objective on map 33A behind the hill (compass direction 3) on the clear hex next to the balka, and a neutral two-point command objection on the hill hex of 36A.