Battle of Kharkov [by PatrickWR]

NeuralDream · **NeuralDream**

Originally posted by PatrickWR 11-06-2005 in the old AH forums: http://boards.avalonhill.com/showthread.php?t=6730

[note by Neural Dream: This is part of the forumini project of recovering the most popular scenarios and campaigns from the old forums to an active forum instead of letting them die in an archive. I haven't asked all authors' permission for re-posting their brilliant work, since many have now left the community and cannot be contacted.]

Battle of Kharkov – August 1943

After the Allies invaded Sicily on July 10, 1943, Hitler made the critical decision to cancel Operation Citadel. The German effort to crush the Soviets at Kursk had effectively ended, and an entire SS contingent was sent from the Eastern Front to Italy, to help repel the invaders. At this same time, Soviet tacticians (unaware that the true battle was over) spearheaded a massive counteroffensive at the end of July. This attack renewed the momentum that the Soviet army had enjoyed immediately following the victory at Stalingrad, and Soviet forces gained ground as they once again pursued the retreating German army westward.

Kharkov lay in the path of the advancing Soviets as they pushed into Ukraine. The devastated city had changed hands three times during the war, and now the Soviet vanguard was determined to dislodge the German defenders. This scenario represents the final pitched battle to reclaim Kharkov.

Victory conditions

There are 12 town hexes on the four maps. At the end of turn 8, the player who controls more town hexes is the winner. In case of a tie, continue playing and check victory conditions again at the end of turn 10.

German Forces – 120 points of pre-1944 German, Italian and Romanian models.
Soviet Forces – 120 points – may consist of units from the following list:
Commissar
Cossack Captain
Mosin-Nagant
PTRD-41 AT Rifle
PPSh-41 SMG
Fanatical Sniper
ZIS-2 57mm AT Gun
T-34
KV-1
T-70
M3 Stuart
M5 Half-Track
Jeep
Vickers MG

Optional for campaign play: The player who won the Battle of Kursk scenario may add +10 points to his or her army build allotment.

Map setup
Charlie 1/Able 1
Baker 1/ Dog 1

Orienting the maps horizontally as described above, north is “up” for the viewer.

The German forces may deploy in the first 4 hexes on the westernmost edge of Charlie-1 and Baker-1. Soviet forces may deploy on the first 2 hexes on the easternmost edge of Able-1 and Baker-1.

Important note: Treat all pond hexes as forest hexes. I recommend using the forest hexes from the Combat Zone kit to cover up the ponds.

Conclusion: The Soviets reclaimed Kharkov, although over 70% of the city was destroyed during the war. The German army continued to fall back, and the Soviets pursued them across Eastern Europe.
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