The Germans advanced 500 Km in the first eighteen days of the invasion of Operation Barbarossa. The German army ran into unexpected resistance near the town of Smolensk, about 400 km west of Moscow. Three Soviet armies, the 16th, 19th and 20th were encircled and destroyed south of the town. Though a significant number of men and equipment managed to escape the encirclement. The Red army began to recover and a new plan was made for the build up around Smolensk for a defensive line. The German plan was a pincer move with the second Panzer army coming from the south and the Third Panzer army coming from the North. But they didn't know about the Soviet Build up.
Soviet | German | |
Division 1 |
4 Squad Bases 6 T-34/76 Tank |
6 Squad Bases 2 STuG III Tank 1x Engineer |
Division 2 |
5 Squad Bases 1 Zis-3 76.2 Gun |
5 Squad Bases 6 Panzer IV Tank |
Strategy Decks | Artillery 1 Sabotage Combined Air Support 1 (shared) |
Ground Support 1 Combined Air Support 1 (shared) |
Starting Strategy Cards | 2 | 3 |
Operations Cards | 043 Tank Riders 040 Lack of Tank Radios |
009 Tank Ace 008 Lay Smoke |
Deployment Zone | Division 1: Dark Brown hexes on maps 12A and 5A. Division 2: Light Brown hexes on maps 11A and 8B. |
Division 1: Dark Gray hexes on maps 3A and 1A. Division 2: Light Gray hexes on map 1A. |
Starting Initiative | ||
Objective |
Defend the Bridge, fords (if found on the river), and villages to help the 3rd Army to cross into town on it's counter-offensive. The Bridge is worth 5 points, the ford is worth 4 and each village is worth 3 points. The crossroad is worth 1 point. |
Attack and seize the bridge, fords (if found on the river), and villages to facilitate the 7th Panzer Group's attack on Smolensk. The Bridge is worth 5 points, the ford is worth 4 and each village is worth 3 points. The crossroad is worth 1 point. |
Rounds | 10 | |
Actions per turn | 3 | 3 |
Reinforcements |
Status Phase of Round 5 on the eastern most edge of the board 2 T76 tanks |
Status Phase of Round 4 on the western most edge of the board. 2 Stug III 1 Panzer IV 3 Elite Infantry 1 Officer |
Special Rules |
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