Prokhorovka Campaign (1/3): Kosmolets Farm

Pasalades · 01-29-2006, 06:33 PM

Introduction:

Operation Citadel stands as one of the most heavily scrutinized and famous battles of the Second World War. At the end of the Soviet winter offensive in 1943, the Soviet operations Star and Gallop, a large bulge extended into Army Groups Center on the Voroznezh Front, all this despite brilliant counterattacks from Field Marshall von Manstein. At the center of this bulge lay the city of Kursk. Army Groups South and Center were to assemble their forces on the flanks of the salient and make a pincer attack toward Kursk itself. The operation was to be launched in late spring, but problems with the refitting of the army had delayed the operation until July 5th. By then the Russian army had gleaned notice of the attack and it’s parameters and spent their time feverishly preparing for the attack. It was at this time that the Whermacht had one last chance to regain control of the Eastern Front and put the Soviet Union back on the defensive. Four days into the operation, only the southern spearhead, led by elite SS Divisions, had made significant progress. The 2nd SS Panzer Corps had pushed close to Oboyan and Prokhorovka, key cities on the approaches to Kursk itself. Prokhorovka Station was a key railway axis that led to Kursk itself. Control of it would seriously destabilize the southern front for the Soviet forces, and vast numbers were committed to its defence. The offensive in the north had stalled by the 9th of July, and it rested on the southern flank to secure victory in this pivotal battle of the war. Spearheading the assault on Prokhorovka itself was the SS-Panzergrenadier Division ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ supported by the First SS-Panzer Regiment. This is where this campaign begins.

What I am presenting here is a three part campaign where each battle is played for specified victory points. Each scenario can be played individually, or the accumulated points from the three battles may be added up to determine the overall winner. I will be releasing one map each week until they are all published, whereupon I hope I will begin work on a fourth scenario that is related but not directly connected to this campaign (a bonus scenario as it were). The purpose of this campaign is to put two or more players right at the ground level of the action leading up to the ‘greatest tank battle in human history’. These battles are meant to replicate actual operations carried out over the period of July 10th-12th outside of Prokhorovka. The battle of Kursk is an awe inspiring yet horrifying series of clashes that encapsulated the conflict between entire civilizations that was the Second World War. The German player will be playing the role of the 2nd SS-Panzer Grenadier Regiment which was the fighting tip of the SS-Panzergrenadier Division ‘LAH’ and supporting armour from the 1st SS-Panzer Regiment. The Soviet player will be operating under the 2nd Tank Corps and its supporting infantry divisions, and later the formidable 5th Guards Army. These three scenarios have been recreated from a variety of sources, both primary and secondary, including Soviet tactical manuals and maps, German troop dispositions, and secondary accounts of the battle and its parameters (I’d be happy to share some sources via PM, they are too numerous to list here). All new maps have been created specifically for this campaign. Each one is a realistic rendering of the battlefield to scale on maps fully compatible with existing Axis and Allies Miniatures maps. Soviet and German forces are recreated as accurately as possible to the squad level and with accurate representation of the armoured forces present at each engagement (as much as the array of units available in AAM allows). Each scenario has been play-tested thoroughly for balance, and present interesting and varying objectives for each side representative of the aims of each side at the engagement. These maps will be updated to accommodate new units as they become available, so check back with the release of each new set. Each of these scenarios require a lot of pieces, so I recommend making use of substitutions, and pooling resources with your friends to pick up the slack. If you desire, more than two people may play the game with extra players taking over the role of the armoured formations. These campaigns are the product of two months of research and hard work. I hope you have as much fun playing them as I did making them. Hopefully historical accuracy will translate into actual enjoyment. PM me with any questions about the scenarios, or for any help with playing either side, and of course please post your comments in this thread, I’d love to hear them!

All of the Maps for these scenarios will be stored here:
http://24.150.163.38/pasalades

Pasalades · 01-29-2006, 06:36 PM

Battle for Kosmolets Farm:

Description: At 1045 hours on July the 10th the 2nd SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment begins their offensive drive on Prokhorovka. The first objective to be taken is Kosmolets Collective Farm, resting on the confluence of the Prokhorovka Highway and the rail-line that ran all the way to Kursk itself. Soviet forces had taken up defensive positions in the farm and the adjacent forest. Having spotted the German spearhead they call up armour from rear formations to intervene.

Forces (point alternatives listed in parenthesis):

Axis

Leading Elements of the 2nd SS-PGR: (201pts)
SS-Panzergrenadier x 10
MG-42 Machine Gun Team x 4
Light Mortar x 4
Whermacht Expert Sniper x 1
SS-Haupsturmfuhrer x 2
SD Kfz-251 x 5

13th Company of the 1st SS-PR: (215pts)
Panzer Mark IV Ausf. G x 4
SS-Panzer Mark IV Ausf. F2 x 1
Tiger I x 1

Allies

Elements of 183d Rifle Division: (135pts)
Mosin Nagant x 15
Fanatical Sniper x 2
Zis-2 57mm Model 1943 x 5
Kuomintang Machine Gun Team x 4
Commisar x 2

Elements of the 169th Tank Brigade: (124pts)
T34/74 x 4
PPsh-41 SMG x 4

Elements of the 178th Tank Brigade: (95pts)
T-70 x 5
KV-1 x 1
PPsh-41 SMG x 1

Maps: All maps are placed with the name in the bottom left. Letters at the end (a or b) refer to half maps.

.............................North
...........Kosmolets-5 Kosmolets-6 Hill-241-3a
...West Kosmolets-3 Kosmolets-4 Hill-241-2a East
...........Kosmolets-1 Kosmolets-2 Kill-241-1a
.............................South

Setup:

Soviets deploy soldiers from the 183rd D Rifle Division first on any forest or town hexes on Maps Kosmolets-3, Kosmolets-4, Kosmolets-5 and Kosmolets-6. The 169th and 178th Tank Brigades will deploy after both movement phases of the first and third turns respectively. They may deploy up to two hexes from the upper right corner (quarter hex) of Map Kosmolets-6 or up to two hexes from the rightmost (east) road hex on Map Hill-241-3a. Soldiers may be deployed on vehicles as if it were the beginning of the game.

Germans deploy second. The 2nd-SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment deploys on the left(west) half of Map Kosmolets-1, except for hexes that overlap both sides (hexes horizontally center) of the map. The 1st SS-Panzer Regiment deploys up to two hexes from the bottom left corner (quarter hex) of Map Kosmolets-2. Both players roll for initiative as per normal at this point.

Objective: Play for Victory Points - At the end of turn ten the player with the most points according to this list of criteria wins.
For each Panzer IV damaged – 1 point Soviets
For each Panzer IV destroyed – 2 points Soviets
For each Tiger I damaged – 3 points Soviets
For each Tiger I destroyed – 5 points Soviets
If German forces control the crossroads (three-way road) hex on Map Kosmolets-6 – 5 points Germans
If no Soviet units occupy any town hexes – 10 points Germans

Special Rules:

All German vehicles possess the SS-Determination Special Ability for the duration of this scenario.

The road hexes on Maps Kosmolets-2, Kosmolets-4, and Hill-241-3a represent the merging of the Prokhorovka Highway with the Kursk Railroad. They rest on an embankment that offers a modicum of protection allowing soldier units to receive cover with a minus one (-1) penalty to their cover rolls.

Aftermath: The advancing forces quickly flanked the farm and drove away approaching armoured units. With the forward panzer formations relatively unscathed, the panzergrenadiers moved in to clear out the farm itself, an operation requiring another two hours and some reinforcements. By 1245 hours, the 2nd SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment was ready to move on to its next target for the day, Hill 241. (Germans Win 5pts – 3pts)

Production Notes: This engagement is where the battle for Prokhorvka really began. For me I had some trouble working the scale properly as this was the first part campaign that I was to do. Originally I wanted to extend the battlefield further north to the tributaries of the Psel river, but I found it strung out the Soviet armoured reinforcements quite a bit. The two segments of road give the Soviet forces some options in deploying their tanks, and they will be making game winning or losing decisions regarding how best to use them against the German tanks. The objectives fit nicely with what the tiered Russian defence was trying to accomplish. They did not feel that they could stop the German forces at Kosmolets but rather set out to inflict maximum damage on the German forces and delay them as much as possible. The Soviet objective reflects this well. I should note that for the entire campaign against Prokhorovka, the 1st SS-PR possessed only 4 Tiger tanks. They had to be rationed carefully and would fight together as a platoon on the outskirts of Prokhorovka as an armoured spearhead (You’ll get your chance). All four survived the battle; a testament to the power of the Tigers and the skill of their crews. Lastly, working on these has shown me how good map design can really make the dimensions of the game much better. The maps that come in the starter set are too crowded for my liking with tiny bits of terrain interspersed all over the place. The strategic element of the game breaks down a bit in these cases. I find it’s better to have sizable terrain elements and ridgelines (represented by hill hexes) with a fair degree of space in between to represent more realistic topography. Try playing normal games with these maps and you’ll see how maneuvering, using vehicles like the Sd Kfz 251 and employing SAs like Extended Range really have their use.

Lotus · 01-29-2006, 06:57 PM

Nice job Pasalades!

fifleche · 01-29-2006, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pasalades

Forces :

Allies

Elements of 183d Rifle Division: (135pts)
Mosin Nagant x 15
T34/74 x 4

ACK!

I hate you!

Pasalades · 01-30-2006, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fifleche

ACK!

I hate you!

I happen to have everything I need for this, but I recomend substitutions if you don't. There will probably be no way around it for the third scenario. My collection cannot handle that.

Ballshot · 01-30-2006, 06:54 AM

Awesome job !!! Definitely saving this one to the hard drive for later use.

johnnyonthespot · 01-30-2006, 07:11 AM

Oh... my... goodness!

Stojakovic · 01-30-2006, 01:56 PM

This scenario is going in the "FOLDER" but I don't have the ink to print all the maps. So I will have to use my blank maps or the one in the starters

horacus · 01-30-2006, 02:36 PM

Great job¡¡¡¡¡ I will try this scenario the week end.

Pasalades · 01-30-2006, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by horacus

Great job¡¡¡¡¡ I will try this scenario the week end.

Please tell me how it goes! I want to know if there are any points of confusion or problems executing the scenario, and of course if it was fun.

01-29-2006, 06:33 PM	#1
Pasalades Look how big my hat is! Join Date: May 2004 Location: Exeter, Devon, UK Posts: 871	Prokhorovka Campaign (1/3): Kosmolets Farm Introduction: Operation Citadel stands as one of the most heavily scrutinized and famous battles of the Second World War. At the end of the Soviet winter offensive in 1943, the Soviet operations Star and Gallop, a large bulge extended into Army Groups Center on the Voroznezh Front, all this despite brilliant counterattacks from Field Marshall von Manstein. At the center of this bulge lay the city of Kursk. Army Groups South and Center were to assemble their forces on the flanks of the salient and make a pincer attack toward Kursk itself. The operation was to be launched in late spring, but problems with the refitting of the army had delayed the operation until July 5th. By then the Russian army had gleaned notice of the attack and it’s parameters and spent their time feverishly preparing for the attack. It was at this time that the Whermacht had one last chance to regain control of the Eastern Front and put the Soviet Union back on the defensive. Four days into the operation, only the southern spearhead, led by elite SS Divisions, had made significant progress. The 2nd SS Panzer Corps had pushed close to Oboyan and Prokhorovka, key cities on the approaches to Kursk itself. Prokhorovka Station was a key railway axis that led to Kursk itself. Control of it would seriously destabilize the southern front for the Soviet forces, and vast numbers were committed to its defence. The offensive in the north had stalled by the 9th of July, and it rested on the southern flank to secure victory in this pivotal battle of the war. Spearheading the assault on Prokhorovka itself was the SS-Panzergrenadier Division ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ supported by the First SS-Panzer Regiment. This is where this campaign begins. What I am presenting here is a three part campaign where each battle is played for specified victory points. Each scenario can be played individually, or the accumulated points from the three battles may be added up to determine the overall winner. I will be releasing one map each week until they are all published, whereupon I hope I will begin work on a fourth scenario that is related but not directly connected to this campaign (a bonus scenario as it were). The purpose of this campaign is to put two or more players right at the ground level of the action leading up to the ‘greatest tank battle in human history’. These battles are meant to replicate actual operations carried out over the period of July 10th-12th outside of Prokhorovka. The battle of Kursk is an awe inspiring yet horrifying series of clashes that encapsulated the conflict between entire civilizations that was the Second World War. The German player will be playing the role of the 2nd SS-Panzer Grenadier Regiment which was the fighting tip of the SS-Panzergrenadier Division ‘LAH’ and supporting armour from the 1st SS-Panzer Regiment. The Soviet player will be operating under the 2nd Tank Corps and its supporting infantry divisions, and later the formidable 5th Guards Army. These three scenarios have been recreated from a variety of sources, both primary and secondary, including Soviet tactical manuals and maps, German troop dispositions, and secondary accounts of the battle and its parameters (I’d be happy to share some sources via PM, they are too numerous to list here). All new maps have been created specifically for this campaign. Each one is a realistic rendering of the battlefield to scale on maps fully compatible with existing Axis and Allies Miniatures maps. Soviet and German forces are recreated as accurately as possible to the squad level and with accurate representation of the armoured forces present at each engagement (as much as the array of units available in AAM allows). Each scenario has been play-tested thoroughly for balance, and present interesting and varying objectives for each side representative of the aims of each side at the engagement. These maps will be updated to accommodate new units as they become available, so check back with the release of each new set. Each of these scenarios require a lot of pieces, so I recommend making use of substitutions, and pooling resources with your friends to pick up the slack. If you desire, more than two people may play the game with extra players taking over the role of the armoured formations. These campaigns are the product of two months of research and hard work. I hope you have as much fun playing them as I did making them. Hopefully historical accuracy will translate into actual enjoyment. PM me with any questions about the scenarios, or for any help with playing either side, and of course please post your comments in this thread, I’d love to hear them! All of the Maps for these scenarios will be stored here: http://24.150.163.38/pasalades

01-29-2006, 06:36 PM	#2
Pasalades Look how big my hat is! Join Date: May 2004 Location: Exeter, Devon, UK Posts: 871	The Scenario Itself Battle for Kosmolets Farm: Description: At 1045 hours on July the 10th the 2nd SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment begins their offensive drive on Prokhorovka. The first objective to be taken is Kosmolets Collective Farm, resting on the confluence of the Prokhorovka Highway and the rail-line that ran all the way to Kursk itself. Soviet forces had taken up defensive positions in the farm and the adjacent forest. Having spotted the German spearhead they call up armour from rear formations to intervene. Forces (point alternatives listed in parenthesis): Axis Leading Elements of the 2nd SS-PGR: (201pts) SS-Panzergrenadier x 10 MG-42 Machine Gun Team x 4 Light Mortar x 4 Whermacht Expert Sniper x 1 SS-Haupsturmfuhrer x 2 SD Kfz-251 x 5 13th Company of the 1st SS-PR: (215pts) Panzer Mark IV Ausf. G x 4 SS-Panzer Mark IV Ausf. F2 x 1 Tiger I x 1 Allies Elements of 183d Rifle Division: (135pts) Mosin Nagant x 15 Fanatical Sniper x 2 Zis-2 57mm Model 1943 x 5 Kuomintang Machine Gun Team x 4 Commisar x 2 Elements of the 169th Tank Brigade: (124pts) T34/74 x 4 PPsh-41 SMG x 4 Elements of the 178th Tank Brigade: (95pts) T-70 x 5 KV-1 x 1 PPsh-41 SMG x 1 Maps: All maps are placed with the name in the bottom left. Letters at the end (a or b) refer to half maps. .............................North ...........Kosmolets-5 Kosmolets-6 Hill-241-3a ...West Kosmolets-3 Kosmolets-4 Hill-241-2a East ...........Kosmolets-1 Kosmolets-2 Kill-241-1a .............................South Setup: Soviets deploy soldiers from the 183rd D Rifle Division first on any forest or town hexes on Maps Kosmolets-3, Kosmolets-4, Kosmolets-5 and Kosmolets-6. The 169th and 178th Tank Brigades will deploy after both movement phases of the first and third turns respectively. They may deploy up to two hexes from the upper right corner (quarter hex) of Map Kosmolets-6 or up to two hexes from the rightmost (east) road hex on Map Hill-241-3a. Soldiers may be deployed on vehicles as if it were the beginning of the game. Germans deploy second. The 2nd-SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment deploys on the left(west) half of Map Kosmolets-1, except for hexes that overlap both sides (hexes horizontally center) of the map. The 1st SS-Panzer Regiment deploys up to two hexes from the bottom left corner (quarter hex) of Map Kosmolets-2. Both players roll for initiative as per normal at this point. Objective: Play for Victory Points - At the end of turn ten the player with the most points according to this list of criteria wins. For each Panzer IV damaged – 1 point Soviets For each Panzer IV destroyed – 2 points Soviets For each Tiger I damaged – 3 points Soviets For each Tiger I destroyed – 5 points Soviets If German forces control the crossroads (three-way road) hex on Map Kosmolets-6 – 5 points Germans If no Soviet units occupy any town hexes – 10 points Germans Special Rules: All German vehicles possess the SS-Determination Special Ability for the duration of this scenario. The road hexes on Maps Kosmolets-2, Kosmolets-4, and Hill-241-3a represent the merging of the Prokhorovka Highway with the Kursk Railroad. They rest on an embankment that offers a modicum of protection allowing soldier units to receive cover with a minus one (-1) penalty to their cover rolls. Aftermath: The advancing forces quickly flanked the farm and drove away approaching armoured units. With the forward panzer formations relatively unscathed, the panzergrenadiers moved in to clear out the farm itself, an operation requiring another two hours and some reinforcements. By 1245 hours, the 2nd SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment was ready to move on to its next target for the day, Hill 241. (Germans Win 5pts – 3pts) Production Notes: This engagement is where the battle for Prokhorvka really began. For me I had some trouble working the scale properly as this was the first part campaign that I was to do. Originally I wanted to extend the battlefield further north to the tributaries of the Psel river, but I found it strung out the Soviet armoured reinforcements quite a bit. The two segments of road give the Soviet forces some options in deploying their tanks, and they will be making game winning or losing decisions regarding how best to use them against the German tanks. The objectives fit nicely with what the tiered Russian defence was trying to accomplish. They did not feel that they could stop the German forces at Kosmolets but rather set out to inflict maximum damage on the German forces and delay them as much as possible. The Soviet objective reflects this well. I should note that for the entire campaign against Prokhorovka, the 1st SS-PR possessed only 4 Tiger tanks. They had to be rationed carefully and would fight together as a platoon on the outskirts of Prokhorovka as an armoured spearhead (You’ll get your chance). All four survived the battle; a testament to the power of the Tigers and the skill of their crews. Lastly, working on these has shown me how good map design can really make the dimensions of the game much better. The maps that come in the starter set are too crowded for my liking with tiny bits of terrain interspersed all over the place. The strategic element of the game breaks down a bit in these cases. I find it’s better to have sizable terrain elements and ridgelines (represented by hill hexes) with a fair degree of space in between to represent more realistic topography. Try playing normal games with these maps and you’ll see how maneuvering, using vehicles like the Sd Kfz 251 and employing SAs like Extended Range really have their use. Last edited by Pasalades : 01-30-2006 at 07:40 AM.

01-29-2006, 06:57 PM	#3
Lotus Working on a Guinness. Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: My Winter Fortress, just outside of Syracuse, NY...Capital of the Known Civilized World Posts: 4,082	Nice job Pasalades! __________________ Look! Look! My Avatar will not die! Bwahahaha! http://aaminis.myfastforum.org Whosoever conquers others has force. Whosoever conquers himself is strong. --Lao Tzu "Perhaps you are dead, dead tired, dead asleep in your bunk. A hand shakes you and a voice calls you again to go on watch. The ship is reeling through the night....Wrenched from oblivion...sickened and dreadfully alone, you stagger onto the main deck, into the openness, into a darkness, a madness of waves from which one water-laden gust has drenched you before you have even secured the door. If you endure your way to the bridge, you'll never make it; a smash against the bulkhead jolts you out of endurance into fighting your way along...."---Henry Bugbee, The Inward Morning Outrider Northern Contingent of the SYRACUSE-BINGHAMTON ALLIANCE

01-30-2006, 06:54 AM	#6
Ballshot Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 119	Awesome job !!! Definitely saving this one to the hard drive for later use. __________________ "There's no booze, there's no broads, there's no action!" - Big Joe

01-30-2006, 01:56 PM	#8
Stojakovic Yohoho Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: 42°6′11″N, 76°3′17″W Posts: 5,941	This scenario is going in the "FOLDER" but I don't have the ink to print all the maps. So I will have to use my blank maps or the one in the starters __________________ Solve the Riddle [b]5pts. solve the math riddle: 50, 432, 6402.6, 131072, 3401222.4, what is the next number? [b] If you know pm me and get a point. 20 points and get a prize. Contest for US and Canadians only. Cruizin2000-1 TheCygnysGuardian- 4 Testicleez-6 Michael Hayden-1 RBloom0566-1 Redgar-1 RaidingParty-1 Grenzewolf-1 fifleche-2

01-30-2006, 07:11 AM	#7
johnnyonthespot The Man in Black Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 902	Oh... my... goodness!

01-30-2006, 02:36 PM	#9
horacus General of the 3rd Army. Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, at 30 minutes of mexico City. Posts: 3,060	Great job¡¡¡¡¡ I will try this scenario the week end.

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