#0306_01s_Manstein Pushes North - The road to Kursk - PzC 19 Kharkov 43

Manstein Pushes North - Mar 5th to Mar 18th, 1943. With German forces back on the Sevrenyy Donets and the Soviet 1st Guards, 3rd Tank & 6th Army badly mauled, planning continued apace to retake the city lost just under a month ago. The German plan called for the SS Panzer Korp to push to the west of Kharkov and envelop it. If the opportunity presented itself they were to take the city on the fly. XLVIII Panzer Korp was to cover the SS right flank and envelop Kharkov from the south. Korp Raus with the replenished Gross Deutschland Division was to launch their offensive a day later and to drive a wedge between 69th and 3rd Tank Army and ultimately cut off the Soviet 40th Army that was threatening both Poltava & Lebedin. This campaign covers combat operations until the Germans were stopped by the spring thaw. By that time both Kharkov and Belgorod had been recaptured and the stage had been set for the titanic battle of Kursk less than four months later... (Size, Campaign Game) This campaign game is recommended for HTH play. For the German player the initial objective is the capture of Kharkov by the SS. Korp Raus and the Army Group Centre forces are to pin the Soviet forces west of Kharkov until Kharkov is captured. Gross Deutschland has just returned from a short refurbishment and is the strongest German unit available. Understand the road network as the terrain is much more closed than further south, particularly around Kharkov. The Soviet player needs to use every bit of terrain to his advantage, forests and river lines will funnel the German advance and make defence possible. Try to rescue as many of your front line units as possible (particularly directly south of Kharkov) as they will be needed for the close in defence on both the Mzha and Udy rivers. Note that there are a number of Front engineers around Kharkov. Use them to lay minefields, obstacles and build bunkers. Further west, Gross Deutschland will be ascendant and again delaying tactics need to be applied, but be aware that a number of Rifle Divisions are transferred to 69th Army on the 8th March and should be moved to the Bogodukhov area.