PatrickWR
11-17-2005, 04:40 PM
Hube’s Pocket – March 1944
Fast-moving Russian units continued to surround and destroy isolated German forces as the Wermacht withdrew across Ukraine in 1943. In particular, the 1st Panzer Army under the command of General Hans Valentin Hube found itself commanding relief operations for other beleaguered units. Unbeknownst to Hube, Soviet General Zhukov was laying plans for a massive encirclement to trap Hube’s army against the Dniestr River. With the 1st Panzer Army contained, Soviet soldiers could liquidate the soldiers inside this aptly-named kessel (cauldron).
The vicious Soviet flanking operation was successful, and by March 25, 1944, General Hube’s 1st Panzer Army had been contained in a small, deadly pocket around the town of Kamenets-Podolsky. This same circle-and-destroy technique had worked to devastating effect against the German 6th Army in Stalingrad. Thousands of Germans faced eventual and unavoidable annihilation. Hube, the one-armed, grizzled veteran of Stalingrad, had his work cut out for him.
After gathering his forces, Hube was ordered to breakout in a westerly direction and attempt to rejoin the German front. On March 27, the breakout began. Moving day and night, over 200,000 men and machines attempted to smash their way to survival through a lethal Russian-held perimeter. This scenario represents the steady stream of German war machines trying to push past small groups of determined Soviet defenders.
Victory Conditions
The German player must exit 3 or more vehicles off the Allied edge of the board at the end of turn 7.
German Forces – 100 points of pre-1945 German units from the following list:
Important note: The German player’s army list must contain at least three vehicles.
Wehrmacht Oberleutant
Light Mortar
Mauser Kar 98k
MG 42
Panzergrenadier
Sturmpanzer Brummbar
Panzer II
Panzer II Flamingo
Panzer III
Panzer IV
Panzerfaust
Sd Kfz 251
sIG 33
Soviet Forces – Two 60 point army lists from the following list:
Commissar
Cossack Captain
Mosin-Nagant
PTRD-41 AT Rifle
PPSh-41 SMG
T-34
Guards T-34/85
T-70
ZIS-2 57mm AT Gun
M3 Stuart
Jeep
Vickers MG
Optional for campaign play: The player who won the Withdrawal Across The Dnieper scenario may add +10 points to his or her army build allotment.
Map set-up
Dog-2/Baker-1
Able-2/Charlie 2
Orienting the maps horizontally as described above, north is “up” for the viewer.
The German forces deploy on the westernmost hex of maps Dog-2 and Able-2. Soviets deploy one 60-point force anywhere on maps Baker-1 and Charlie-2. At the start of the movement phase on turn 3, the Soviet player’s other 60-point army units may deploy on any hill hex on map Charlie-2.
Conclusion: Hube’s two-week-long breakout was a success, though his men were forced to abandon many of their tanks and vehicles. They escaped with relatively light casualties and proved that the Soviets’ deadly encirclement tactic could be defeated on the field.
Fast-moving Russian units continued to surround and destroy isolated German forces as the Wermacht withdrew across Ukraine in 1943. In particular, the 1st Panzer Army under the command of General Hans Valentin Hube found itself commanding relief operations for other beleaguered units. Unbeknownst to Hube, Soviet General Zhukov was laying plans for a massive encirclement to trap Hube’s army against the Dniestr River. With the 1st Panzer Army contained, Soviet soldiers could liquidate the soldiers inside this aptly-named kessel (cauldron).
The vicious Soviet flanking operation was successful, and by March 25, 1944, General Hube’s 1st Panzer Army had been contained in a small, deadly pocket around the town of Kamenets-Podolsky. This same circle-and-destroy technique had worked to devastating effect against the German 6th Army in Stalingrad. Thousands of Germans faced eventual and unavoidable annihilation. Hube, the one-armed, grizzled veteran of Stalingrad, had his work cut out for him.
After gathering his forces, Hube was ordered to breakout in a westerly direction and attempt to rejoin the German front. On March 27, the breakout began. Moving day and night, over 200,000 men and machines attempted to smash their way to survival through a lethal Russian-held perimeter. This scenario represents the steady stream of German war machines trying to push past small groups of determined Soviet defenders.
Victory Conditions
The German player must exit 3 or more vehicles off the Allied edge of the board at the end of turn 7.
German Forces – 100 points of pre-1945 German units from the following list:
Important note: The German player’s army list must contain at least three vehicles.
Wehrmacht Oberleutant
Light Mortar
Mauser Kar 98k
MG 42
Panzergrenadier
Sturmpanzer Brummbar
Panzer II
Panzer II Flamingo
Panzer III
Panzer IV
Panzerfaust
Sd Kfz 251
sIG 33
Soviet Forces – Two 60 point army lists from the following list:
Commissar
Cossack Captain
Mosin-Nagant
PTRD-41 AT Rifle
PPSh-41 SMG
T-34
Guards T-34/85
T-70
ZIS-2 57mm AT Gun
M3 Stuart
Jeep
Vickers MG
Optional for campaign play: The player who won the Withdrawal Across The Dnieper scenario may add +10 points to his or her army build allotment.
Map set-up
Dog-2/Baker-1
Able-2/Charlie 2
Orienting the maps horizontally as described above, north is “up” for the viewer.
The German forces deploy on the westernmost hex of maps Dog-2 and Able-2. Soviets deploy one 60-point force anywhere on maps Baker-1 and Charlie-2. At the start of the movement phase on turn 3, the Soviet player’s other 60-point army units may deploy on any hill hex on map Charlie-2.
Conclusion: Hube’s two-week-long breakout was a success, though his men were forced to abandon many of their tanks and vehicles. They escaped with relatively light casualties and proved that the Soviets’ deadly encirclement tactic could be defeated on the field.