On July 9th 1943, the German Amy Group Center led by Gunther Von Kluge were ordered to attack Kursk from the north to encircle Russian units in the "Kursk Salient". His first objective was to take the railway station and Hill 253.3 in the little town of Ponyri that lay between him and his main objective, Kursk. The Russians took heavy losses and the ground was litered with burning T34 tank hulls. That evening the 508th Grenadier Division along with a handful of Elefant tank destroyers took Hill 253.3. The next day, Walter Model ordered in his reinforcements to replenish the 292nd Infantry Regiment, which had all but been decimated. The Soviet resistance was still too strong and the Germans retreated on the 16th.
Soviet | German | |
Division 1 |
5 Squad Bases 6 T-34/76 Tank 1x Sabotage |
5 Squad Bases 2 Jagdpanzer IV TD 1x Engineer |
Division 2 |
5 Squad Bases 4 KV-1 Tank |
4 Squad Bases 1 Panther Tank |
Strategy Decks | Artillery 2 Combined Air Support 1 (shared) Sabotage |
Combined Air Support 1 (shared) Command 1 Ground Support 1 |
Starting Strategy Cards | 3 | 2 |
Operations Cards | Heavy Support T34 Increased Fwpwr KV1 Increased Fwpwr |
Clear Mines Panzer IV Ausf E |
Deployment Zone | Division 1: dark brown hexes on map 11A. Division 2: light brown hexes on map 7A. You may deploy with your AT guns as being transported by your half track. |
Division 1: dark gray hexes on map 12B. Division 2: light gray hexes on map 8A. You may deploy with your AT gun, or squads as being transported by your half tracks. |
Starting Initiative | ||
Objective | Germans are to take the three objective medals by the end of the 10th round. The three objectives are to secure hill 253.3 , the train station to the South and the tractor factory in the center. If the Germans are able to take all three objectives, they have a major win. If they are only able to take two objectives by round 10, they have a minor win. They also get one point for every tank that exits the board through the blue hex, 2 for each Tiger that exits. The Soviets need to hold on to all three objectives for a major win, or two for a minor win. | |
Rounds | 10 | |
Actions per turn | 3 | 3 |
Reinforcements | At the end of Round 6 the Russians receive the following ; 3 squad bases with 6 infantry, 1 officer, 3 elite, and 1 MG crew. They also receive three T34 tanks and 2 KV1 tanks in the reinforcement spaces. | At the end of round 2, the Germans receive 3 Panzer IV tanks, 2 squad bases with 4 infantry, 3 elite, and 1 officer with engineering, deploy in dark gray hexes. |
Special Rules | - | - |