#1206_02 December Campaign : December 6th, 1941 - The Battle for the Flanks - PzC 21 Moscow 42

The December Campaign : Moscow '42 - Dec 6th, 1941 to Jan 5th, 1942. Stalin had played for time. He had provided his field commanders with the bare minimum in guns, tanks and reinforcements to stop the Germans from reaching Moscow. The Stavka reserve was only doled out when Stalin deemed it so and the time had come now that the Germans had exhausted themselves less than 20 km from the city. When the Soviets launched their December attacks it was only to secure the Northern and Southern flanks of Moscow, it was only once the catastrophic state of the Axis forces was revealed that the counter offensive became theatre wide. This campaign scenario covers the first month of the Soviet attacks, up to the period when Stalin expanded the operation on Jan 6th, 1942. (Size, Campaign Game) Like the Moscow '42 Grand Campaign, the scale of this campaign game is theatre wide and best played head to head, ideally with team play. The Soviets have strong fresh units, hitting German units that will invariably be low on supply. The heavy forest cover around Moscow also favours the Soviet mobile troops both on ski and horse. The German player will need to determine how far to pull back to ensure that he is adequately supplied. Withdrawing while delaying the stronger Soviet forces will be a challenge. General Guderian's forces in the South are particularly exposed and this is an area of opportunity and challenge for both sides.