#0713_01 Tolstoye Woods_2 - Kursk Southern Front

Tolstoye Woods, West of Verkhopenye 13 July, 1943 (Scenario Size: Corps. German Human vs Russian AI or Head to Head.) After pushing the Russian 10th Tank Corps back into Tolstoye Woods on the 12th of July, the German 3rd Panzer Division withdrew back to the newly formed defense line just west of Verkhopen'ye. During the night of 12/13 July, the Russians, seeing that Hill 256.2 was unoccupied, moved back into their old positiions. Thus, on the morning of the 13th, the Germans saw that they would have to clear the hill mass all over again. With the 332nd Infantry Division finally in position to the 3rd Panzer's left, and having received the Gross Deutschland Division's Panzer Regiment as a reinforcement, the Germans felt ready not only to clear the hill again, but to actually move into Tolstoye Woods and clear it. The attack was supposed to start at 0600 hours, but the Gross Deutschland Panzer Regiment's commander, Colonel Decker, called for a delay as he was not ready yet. The attack is postponed twice to later times in the morning and in both those times Colonel Decker requested further delays. Finally, at about 1300 hours, the 3rd Panzer Division attacked without the support of the Gross Deutschland Panzer Regiment, eventually driving the 10th Tank Corps back into Tolstoye Woods, but found themselves stymied on the western slopes of Hill 256.2 by heavy enemy fire from the woods. Meanwhile to the south, the Russian 184th Rifle Division attacked the German 677th Grenadier Regiment in an effort to capture the town of Berezovka in several assaults involving elements of the 294th and 297th Rifle Regiments. These attacks failed and the Germans, seeing an opportunity, counterattacked in the late aftermoon with units of the 3rd Panzer and Gross Deutschland Divisions, driving deep into the 184th Division's rear area. This set up an opportunity to surround the Tolstoye Woods, but it was late in the day, so the encirclement operation would have to wait until the next morning.