(FGM) Byte Battle - Bagration the Struggle History Forgot - Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

Title: Byte Battle - Bagration the struggle history never noted. Game Type: German Defend Forces: Soviet / German Date: August 1944 Region : Central Terrain: Urban, Hills, Moderate Trees Wind: Windy from NNE Turns: 20+ Weather: Warm, Very Dry Map Size: Small Points: 4900 Semi-Historical Designed for 2 player PBEM & Tcp/IP combat The more experienced player should take the Soviet forces Author: Braden "FGM Schutzstaffel" Brown [email protected] Operation Bagration - June 22 1944, three years to the day after the German attack on the Soviet Union the Soviet juggernaught had the Axis in their crosshairs.The objective was to destroy Army Group Centre. Bagration, in combination with the neighbouring Lvov-Sandomierz Operation launched in Ukraine, allowed the Soviet Union to recapture practically all the territories within its 1941 borders, advance into the territory of Germany in East Prussia, and reach the outskirts of Warsaw after gaining of control of the part of Poland located east of the Vistula river. Operation Bagration pitted over 1,700,000 Soviet soldiers in 200 divisions with 6000 tanks and massed artillery against the 34 German divisions of Army Group Centre. This resulted in the death or capture of nearly 350,000 German troops. Tired and worn out from the Soviet offensive, Kampfgruppe Schultz was but a ragged shadow of its former self, but they still had some sting left. The orders from HQs were to hold out a little longer, help was on the way. Looking over his meager forces, Oberst Schultz studied the map of this desolate town, looking for the best place to set up a nice surprise for those peasant dogs that were just outside their range preparing to attack. Herr Stalin will get yet another report of heavy losses from the front! Aftermath: The Soviets achieved a ratio of ten to one in tanks and seven to one in aircraft over their enemy. At the points of attack, the numerical and quality advantages of the Soviets were overwhelming. The Germans crumbled. The capital of Belarus, Minsk, was taken on July 3, trapping fifty thousand Germans. Ten days later the Red Army reached the prewar Polish border. Overall the annihilation of Army Group Centre cost the Germans 2,000 tanks and 57,000 other vehicles. German losses are estimated at 300,000 dead, 250,000 wounded, and about 120,000 captured; overall casualties at 670,000. Soviet losses were 60,000 killed, 110,000 wounded, and about 8,000 missing. Considering comparisons to other battles, this was by far the greatest victory in terms of numbers for the Soviets, having inflicted nearly 4 times as many losses for the Germans and capturing a vast amount of Soviet land back in a span of 2 months. It was one of the few major Axis-Soviet battles in which the Germans lost more troops than the Soviets. 2,957 tanks, 2,447 artillery pieces, and 822 planes were lost by the Soviets as well. The German army never recovered from the matériel and manpower losses sustained during this time having lost about a fourth of its Eastern Front manpower, similar to the percentage lost at Stalingrad. I would like to thank the playtesters RedDevil and Dangerous Dave for their contributions in making this fun match - WAY TO GO DEV AND DAVE! If you are not a member of The Blitz please visit our website at https://www.theblitz.club. If you are a member, then please continue to support the site and have fun, for that is why this game and the site were created.