#a0122_01 Campaign : January 22nd, 1942 - The Tipping Point - PzC 21 Moscow 42

The Tipping Point Campaign : Moscow '42 - Jan 22nd to Feb 15th, 1942. Stalin had staked everything on pushing his tired soldiers forward after the success of December's counter offensive. The strategic change to all-out assault all along the front line had created both opportunity and danger by January 22nd. Kalinin Front's 29th & 39th Army had pushed past Rzhev without managing to capture it. 29th Army was preparing to assault the city while 39th Army continued to push south towards Vyazma. 33rd & 43rd Amy had prevented the German's from closing the breach near Medyn and was now pushing west and attempting to pocket the bulk of Von Kluge's 4th Armee. To further sow confusion a large airborne operation was underway near Znamenka further isolating 4th Armee. Zhukov also took personal control of 1st Guard Cavalry Corp and ordered it to reach the paratroopers at Znamenka. Further South, Sukhinichi was still under siege, but 2nd Panzerguppe having fallen back on Orel was now receiving new Infantry Divisions from France as well as pulling a number of Panzer Divisons out of the front line. XXIV Panzer Korps had been tasked to break the siege of Sukhinichi and if possible maul the Soviet 10th & 16th Army formations and prevent them marching further west. (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. This is probably one of the most interesting campaign games. The front line for both sides has been penetrated and at times it is difficult to understand who is encircling who. The Soviet forces were finding resupply extremely difficult the further West they went, just as supply improved for their opponents. For the Soviet player, there are a plethora of different strategies and it will come down to how bold they want to be. For the German, the influx of fresh formations and a more stable South, allow a focus on how to both save 4th Armee and take advantage of the overextended 29th & 39th Armies. Finally, the very cold weather is back and will again play a key role.