Tightening the Noose at Izyum - The Matrix Games version of East Front II

Izyum, 130km SE of Kharkov: [Best played against Human opponent or as Axis] With the Russian summer offensive underway disaster was in the making for the German Sixth Army as the Soviets thrust west from the Izyum bulge in an attempt to encircle Kharkov. Field-Marshal von Bock decides to counterattack with the forces poised for Operation Fridericus. On the morning of May 18, 1942 elements of the German 16th Panzer Division, supported by a motorized infantry regiment from the 60th Motorized Infantry Division, was dispatched for Izyum. The city on the Donets River was a key Soviet communication center for the whole Kharkov bulge, located in the center of the narrow breach that was the lifeline for the attacking Russians. Defending Izyum and the surrounding area was the Soviet 270th Rifle Division supported by a tank battalion from 54th Tank Brigade and a company of cavalry determined to hold open this vital path against the unexpected German counterattack.