0623_01a: The Destruction of Army Group Center - [HTH] - PzC 16 Minsk '44
![0623_01a: The Destruction of Army Group Center - [HTH] Image](https://www.theblitz.club/images/regular/blitz/scenarios/Minskee12856f36.png)
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| Rating: | 5.04 (14) |
| Games Played: | 15 |
| SM: | 8 |
| Turns: | 129 |
| Type: | Stock |
| First Side: | Russia |
| Second Side: | Germany |
Minsk, June 23rd 1944: After some small "recces in force" the day before, the Soviets launched Operation "Bagration", an all-out offensive to crush the salient of AG Center. The fortified cities of Vitebsk, Orsha, Mogilev, and Bobruysk were all encircled by pincer movements, then the Soviet armor and mechanized formations swept on towards the west. Taken by surprise, the majority of the German 4th and 9th Armies were trapped between Minsk and the Berezina River. So complete was the victory, where the Soviets had amassed overwhelming superiority particularly in armor and aircraft, that five weeks later the Soviets were on the banks of the Vistula and the borders of East Prussia. [Size, large] Designer Note: This scenario has been optimized for HTH play.
| Player Voting Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Member | Balance | Enjoyment |
 Smedley |
Moderately Pro Russia | 6 |
 Sgt Fury |
Moderately Pro Russia | 8 |
 Ricky B |
Totally Pro Russia | 7 |
 Hadge |
Totally Pro Russia | 7 |
 Engelbrekt |
Totally Pro Russia | 6 |
| Gaming Records | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Side Player | 2nd Side Player | Result | Score | ||||||
|
 |
Oldman | vs. | crazyivan |  |
|
Russia Minor Victory | 112 | 48 |
|
 |
bwv | vs. | panzerkrieg44 |  |
|
Russia Major Victory | 144 | 16 |
|
 |
alaric99x | vs. | Indragnir |  |
|
Draw | 80 | 80 |
|
|
crazyivan | vs. | Oldman | |
|
Russia Minor Victory | 70 | 30 |
|
 |
typhoon | vs. | garymc |  |
|
Russia Major Victory | 144 | 16 |
This game is a monster! It became a chore after about 30 turns. It is good for hardcore gamers who can devout six hours per turn!
Got 40+ turns into a team game. Entertaining as the Soviets but must be frustrating as the Germans. VP levels are off. Soviets were at major level essentially for crossing the Dnepr and destroying a goodly number of troops. In my view a Major should be impossible without capturing Minsk as happened in the actual campaign.
Very compromised scn for the germans, any little mistake can be very bad for them. I think they have some chances though...
Not heard from Milo for ages but we were I think about 1/2 way and I had killed 100K of soviets
For those that view this scenario as a cake walk for the Russian, think again. A very large advantage in troop strength is largely offset by the miserable terrain the Russian has to travel. The opening battles for the fortified line can and should evolve into a massive delaying action by the German. The weather stinks, the roads stink, the woods and swamps make your armor nearly useless for maneuvering purposes, and the ensuing traffic jam is just unbelievable. You can win almost every battle with the German if and when you can make him fight. An astute use of the terrain advantages will jam up the Russian so that large parts of his army will be waiting for the roads to clear. As an example, for the last 40 turns I parked 4 of my armies because there was no way to get them to the front. But I still got within 13 hexes of Minsk for the minor victory. Long game, each Russian turn took between 3 and 4 hours. Good fun.
The only way to prevent the Russians from a major victory is to fight a delaying action starting turn one. Germans are not capable of fighting toe to toe with the Soviets. Using rear guards and fighting at the right time so that Minsk cannot be captured by the end of the game. Oldman and I played the complete scenario. Long game, we made sure we a completed a turn every day.
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