Arctic Front: Across River Vuoksi (2 x 2 Team Game)

[Crossroads]

Picture: A PaK40 being manhauled into a new firing position at Vuosalmi.

Karelian Isthmus
**Across River Vuoksi is marked as (5)
** Bitter Kuuterselkä is marked as (1)
**Fury at Viborg Bay 3x3 team game fronts marked with (2) (3) and (4)


**Across River Vuoksi LWM 1.2

Complexity: 9
Turns: 18
Modified complexity: 9 * 18 = 162
Size modifier: 4

First side Allied

Visibility 7

Allied Air 6; Ammo 80; Smoke 35
Axis Air 10; Ammo 80; Smoke 10
AI Allied 85; Axis 35

Major Loss 600; Minor Loss 900; Minor Win 1200; Major Win 1500

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[Karelian Isthmus, 80 km North from Leningrad, Finland.] [H2H] [HIS] [GD] [ALL : N VV : AF OPT]

Marshal Govoror, Commander of Red Army's Leningrad Front, was running out of time and patience. Despite some early success, his Vyborg Offensive in Karelian Isthmus is now in danger of grounding to a halt. After just four days into offensive, on June 14 1944, his 21st Army had decisively broken through the main Finnish defensive line at Kuuterselkä (See: ** Bitter Kuuterselka LWM 1.x). They advanced rapidly and took the major city of Vyborg by June 20. The offensive was proceeding exactly as planned.

However, the Finns were now fast recovering from the initial shock, and the hard battles during the next two weeks had denied him the ability to continue towards Southern Finland. Instead, by beginning of July, the 21st Army was forced to deploy into defensive positions due to heavy losses. Simultaneously, the 59th Army was denied their ambitious landing into Finnish mainland over Vyborg Bay, forcing them to discontinue their advance as well.

As his last gambit, he ordered the available 23rd Army to break the Finnish defense around the towns of Äyräpää and Vuosalmi, an area that both sides knew intimately from their fierce battles there during the Winter War of 1939-40. To be able to do that, they would need to negotiate the obstacle that was the grand river of Vuoksi.

On July 4, the 98th Army Corps were ordered to first secure the vital high ground south of the river, and then to force an initial bridgehead over the river Vuoksi. The 115th Army Corps would then join in and swing West towards the Finnish Gulf, creating a huge pocket from the remaining Finnish forces in the area.

Elements of the Finnish 2nd Division knew the situation well. Given the commanding view which the southern heights provided, a retreat to the relative safety of the northern shore was absolutely out of the question. Vuosalmi needs to hold on long enough for the reinforcements to arrive! Participating in the battle were also the Stukas and FW-190s of the German Detachment Kuhlmey, and elements of the understrength 303rd Sturmgeschutz Bde.

(Players note: The four heavy bridges in this scenario represent first Finnish then Soviet pontoon bridges built in the area. Access to these pontoons can be blocked by using a successful Damage Wall or Bridge command on the medium bridges located at the southern end of each pontoon bridge. Access can be restored to the pontoons from these same hexes through successful Build Lt Hexside Bridge or Lay Vehicle Bridge commands)

[Requires players to install Lapland War Mod version 1.2 or newer]
[Can be played as 2x2 team game]

About the battle map: Extra effort put into the map again. I have access to fully digitalised 1:20 000 and 1:100 000 maps from 1938 of the area. Used those together with Google Earth to have a very authentic end result. Had lots of fun with mapping again