JasonC
09-24-2007, 10:39 PM
I am pleased to announce that my Operation Kutuzov scenario pack is now up at the Proving Grounds and ready for playtesting.
This scenario pack contains 10 scenarios set during Operation Kutuzov, the Russian 1943 summer offensive against Army Group Center that ended the German Kursk offensive and drove the Germans from the Orel salient.
Frequently called "the Orel offensive" by German side sources, it has curiously received scant mention in most histories compared to the famous Kursk campaign.
The fights were comparable in scope and immediately adjacent in time. In Kutuzov, the Russians had the initiative throughout, and despite large losses and skilled German defensive fighting, succeeded in the
end.
The campaign is divided into two major theaters, the northern and eastern faces of the Orel salient. Minor actions on other portions of the front are omitted.
The Russian main effort began on 12 July, with 11th Guards Army spearheading the northern attack for Western Front, while 3rd and 63rd Armies led the eastern attack for Briansk Front.
After the initial breakthrough fighting, the Russians committed numerous armor formations to develop each attack. In the east they used the 1st Guards Tank Corps, followed by the 3rd Guards Tank Army. In the north they first used the 5th Tank Corps, and later the 25th Tank Corps and 4th Tank Army.
The German defending force was the 2nd Panzer Army, initially mostly an infantry force. The 5th Panzer division was committed against 11th Guards Army early in the offensive, on the northern face. Later, additional reserves arrived from the south as the Kursk offensive was called off. In the east, the German defense was originally led by the 35th infantry corps under General Rendulic. The 8th Panzer division
was brought up from reserve to support them. Against the northern prong, thin screens were used to contain exploiting Russian armor, later thickened by mobile divisions draw from the Kursk front. Late in the campaign, even forces from Army Group South, notably Gross Deutschland, arrived to hold the door open for the withdrawing units of Army Group Center.
The terrain in the area of the two prongs of the
Russian attack differed dramatically. The northern drive was launched in a heavily forested zone, stretching south then southwest in a long arc from Ulianov to Karachev, midway between Orel and Briansk. 11th Guards Army channeled its attack through this forested zone, while its supporting armor occasionally attempted to widen the penetration to the more open farmland on either side of it. The eastern prong, on the other hand, drove through open farmland, seamed with wooded draws in the low ground dividing the fields. The Germans were also considerable better prepared for
the eastern attack than for the northern one.
I have tried to depict a variety of tactical problems presented by the different terrains and the different force types the sides had to use in different phases of the battle. I have not attempted to get exact incidents or placements, and the maps are of my own construction (though based partially on google earth impressions of the different sectors).
This scenario pack contains 10 scenarios set during Operation Kutuzov, the Russian 1943 summer offensive against Army Group Center that ended the German Kursk offensive and drove the Germans from the Orel salient.
Frequently called "the Orel offensive" by German side sources, it has curiously received scant mention in most histories compared to the famous Kursk campaign.
The fights were comparable in scope and immediately adjacent in time. In Kutuzov, the Russians had the initiative throughout, and despite large losses and skilled German defensive fighting, succeeded in the
end.
The campaign is divided into two major theaters, the northern and eastern faces of the Orel salient. Minor actions on other portions of the front are omitted.
The Russian main effort began on 12 July, with 11th Guards Army spearheading the northern attack for Western Front, while 3rd and 63rd Armies led the eastern attack for Briansk Front.
After the initial breakthrough fighting, the Russians committed numerous armor formations to develop each attack. In the east they used the 1st Guards Tank Corps, followed by the 3rd Guards Tank Army. In the north they first used the 5th Tank Corps, and later the 25th Tank Corps and 4th Tank Army.
The German defending force was the 2nd Panzer Army, initially mostly an infantry force. The 5th Panzer division was committed against 11th Guards Army early in the offensive, on the northern face. Later, additional reserves arrived from the south as the Kursk offensive was called off. In the east, the German defense was originally led by the 35th infantry corps under General Rendulic. The 8th Panzer division
was brought up from reserve to support them. Against the northern prong, thin screens were used to contain exploiting Russian armor, later thickened by mobile divisions draw from the Kursk front. Late in the campaign, even forces from Army Group South, notably Gross Deutschland, arrived to hold the door open for the withdrawing units of Army Group Center.
The terrain in the area of the two prongs of the
Russian attack differed dramatically. The northern drive was launched in a heavily forested zone, stretching south then southwest in a long arc from Ulianov to Karachev, midway between Orel and Briansk. 11th Guards Army channeled its attack through this forested zone, while its supporting armor occasionally attempted to widen the penetration to the more open farmland on either side of it. The eastern prong, on the other hand, drove through open farmland, seamed with wooded draws in the low ground dividing the fields. The Germans were also considerable better prepared for
the eastern attack than for the northern one.
I have tried to depict a variety of tactical problems presented by the different terrains and the different force types the sides had to use in different phases of the battle. I have not attempted to get exact incidents or placements, and the maps are of my own construction (though based partially on google earth impressions of the different sectors).