Kharkov 1943: Orages a l’Est 4

Kharkov 1943 follows Debrecen 1944 and Kiev 1943 and is the 4th volume in the Storms in the East series.

In late winter 1942–43, the Soviets, intoxicated by their successes, particularly at Stalingrad, launched massive offensives across the entire Eastern Front. They believed their opponents had been broken by their recent defeats, without realizing that their own forces had been severely depleted by the fighting of the previous months.
On the southern sector of the front, Operations Star and Gallop were launched with the aim of capturing the major urban center of Kharkov and, above all, creating a second Stalingrad by forming a “pocket” between Stalino and the Black Sea to trap the troops of Army Groups B and Don.
The Voronezh (Golikov) and Southwestern (Vatutin) Fronts, comprising a total of 54 infantry divisions and ten armored corps, were tasked with the main effort. The former was to advance toward Kursk and the Donbas. The latter attacked toward the southwest and the Sea of Azov in order to cut off the retreat of German troops coming from the Caucasus via Rostov.
Facing the Soviet deployment, the Germans deployed Army Group B (Weichs) against the Voronezh and Southwestern Fronts on either side of Kharkov, and Manstein’s Army Group Don (renamed Army Group South on February 13) covering the northern part of the Sea of Azov.
In early February, Kharkov, an important logistics center and communications hub, was threatened by three Soviet armies. By late January, the first elements of the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and Das Reich divisions, under the direct command of General Hausser, had moved into position east of the city; however, like the Großdeutschland division fighting northeast of the city, they were forced to retreat under enemy pressure…
Will the city be recaptured by the Soviets?
Will Manstein’s counter-offensive push them back beyond the Donetz?
This is the general situation at the start of a game of Kharkov 1943.

Three scenarios are proposed:

• the first 20 days of Operation Galop,
• the counteroffensive led by Manstein beginning on February 20, and
• the complete campaign from February 1 to March 20, 1943.