Fall Kreml : Plan North - Jun 28th, 1942 to Jul 20th, 1942.
In 1941, the Axis forces were able to launch three army groups to invade the Soviet Union. As the German armies advanced further into the Russian hinterland the more dissipated their strength became culminating in the Soviet Winter Offensive and the massive loss of men and materials. With the passing of winter both sides attempted to use the raspusita (mud season) to rebuild their formations and prepare for further actions in the summer. The German plan for summer 1942 (Fall Blau) called for a lull on both the northern and central fronts while attacking in the south with the aim of winning the war economically by capturing the Caucasus and it's oil reserves. The advance on Stalingrad was to only be a shield to protect the northern flank of the Caucasus operation. While Fall Blau was being planned an Axis misinformation campaign was in play indicating that a renewed attempt to capture Moscow was the summer's objective. This operation was codenamed 'Fall Kreml'. Stalin was convinced that this was the Axis main focus and placed significant forces between the frontlines and Moscow. This subterfuge was so successful that it would be close to a full week after the launching of Fall Blau that the Soviet's would realise their error and send forces to the south. What if Fall Kreml was real? This campaign has the Heeresgruppe von Weichs attacking towards Moscow in tandem with Heeresgruppe Mitte. In this version of the campaign, Von Weich's forces are attacking in the north towards Mozhaysk, utilising the Ardennes like terrain to try and achieve strategic surprise and take the most direct route to Moscow. In this variant of the north campaign, 9th Armee attaches all its Panzer Forces to XXXXI Panzer Korp and attacks towards Moscow in tandem with Von Weichs spearheads. The early availability of the additional Panzers will favour the Axis player.
(Size, Campaign Game)
The scale of this campaign game is theatre wide and best played head to head, ideally with team play.