Vassilievka (Subset of Prokhorovka - The Historical Battle) - The Matrix Games version of East Front II
| Rating: | 0 (0) |
| Games Played: | 0 |
| SM: | 10 |
| Turns: | 50 |
| Type: | Custom |
| First Side: | Allies |
| Second Side: | Axis |
| Downloads: | 189 |
12 July, 1943
Vassilievka, 15 Km west of Prokhorovka, Russia (Best played against Human player or as German vs AI):
At 8:30 AM on July 12th, a massive artillery barrage opened up along the length of the German frontline. After fifteen minutes the barrage was lifted and various Russian units moved out against the Germans. Among these units was the Russian 18th Tank Corps, followed by units of the 42nd Guards Rifle Division. The 18th Tank Corps moved down the Psel River Valley in two columns. The left column was led by 170th Tank Brigade, which was supported by the 36th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment. The right column was led by the 181st Tank Brigade. The left column was to support the 29th Tank Corps assault on Hill 252.2 but found its path blocked by an anti-tank ditch so it continued its way south towards its ultimate objective, the Sukh Komsomolets. The right column was to move down the road by the Psel River and relieve the Russian force holed up in the town of Vassilievka. The Germans replied by sending the Tiger platoon from the 1 SS Panzer Regiment, plus elements from the 1st SS Assault Gun, 1st SS Recon, and 1st SS Anti-Tank Battalions to block the left column, while various elements of the 3rd SS Division tried to eliminate the trapped Russian force before the 181st could relieve it. The Russians then sent in their second echelon consisting of the 110th Tank and the 53rd Motorized Rifle Brigades, followed up by the 132nd and 136th Guards Rifle Regiments of the 42nd Guards Rifle Division. Ultimately, the Russians did relieve the force in Vassilievka and capture Sukh Komsomolets but could not advance further and were later pushed back up the valley by the two German divisions until the afternoon rains brought most of the combat to a halt.
Designer Notes:
First, the maps: The areas depicted are the actual areas that the forces had to work in historically. The limits represent their maneuver boundaries. Actually I cheated a bit and gave them one or two hexes past their historical limits because sometimes units would go past their boundaries before being hauled back in by higher command. To go any further is to go into another scenario that is occurring at the same time
Second, game turns: If I wanted to be totally historically accurate, then the these scenarios would be 70 - 90 turns in length to match the total length in time that combat occurred in the areas depicted. Of course, in each case the fighting was most intense the first couple of hours (20-30 turns), after that the Russians would attack with reduced forces, get beaten back, then spend an hour or so regrouping, then attack again, repeating this cycle for the rest of the day. Because of the mechanics of the Campaign System, I had already shrunk the time length down to eliminate those periods of no combat. But as we both know the Campaign System does not do a very good job in depicting the friction of war. Any way there are a lot of scenarios in the normal game that end well before the time limits too, mostly because of how people play the game
Last, but not least: this scenario is for history, not tournaments.
Updated 12 September 2020: A revision of the area near Hill 252.2, especially the anti-tank ditch and minefields around it.
Updated 24 June 2018: Order of Battle and starting position updates
Updated 6 Feb 2018: A full design note document added to the download archive
Vassilievka, 15 Km west of Prokhorovka, Russia (Best played against Human player or as German vs AI):
At 8:30 AM on July 12th, a massive artillery barrage opened up along the length of the German frontline. After fifteen minutes the barrage was lifted and various Russian units moved out against the Germans. Among these units was the Russian 18th Tank Corps, followed by units of the 42nd Guards Rifle Division. The 18th Tank Corps moved down the Psel River Valley in two columns. The left column was led by 170th Tank Brigade, which was supported by the 36th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment. The right column was led by the 181st Tank Brigade. The left column was to support the 29th Tank Corps assault on Hill 252.2 but found its path blocked by an anti-tank ditch so it continued its way south towards its ultimate objective, the Sukh Komsomolets. The right column was to move down the road by the Psel River and relieve the Russian force holed up in the town of Vassilievka. The Germans replied by sending the Tiger platoon from the 1 SS Panzer Regiment, plus elements from the 1st SS Assault Gun, 1st SS Recon, and 1st SS Anti-Tank Battalions to block the left column, while various elements of the 3rd SS Division tried to eliminate the trapped Russian force before the 181st could relieve it. The Russians then sent in their second echelon consisting of the 110th Tank and the 53rd Motorized Rifle Brigades, followed up by the 132nd and 136th Guards Rifle Regiments of the 42nd Guards Rifle Division. Ultimately, the Russians did relieve the force in Vassilievka and capture Sukh Komsomolets but could not advance further and were later pushed back up the valley by the two German divisions until the afternoon rains brought most of the combat to a halt.
Designer Notes:
First, the maps: The areas depicted are the actual areas that the forces had to work in historically. The limits represent their maneuver boundaries. Actually I cheated a bit and gave them one or two hexes past their historical limits because sometimes units would go past their boundaries before being hauled back in by higher command. To go any further is to go into another scenario that is occurring at the same time
Second, game turns: If I wanted to be totally historically accurate, then the these scenarios would be 70 - 90 turns in length to match the total length in time that combat occurred in the areas depicted. Of course, in each case the fighting was most intense the first couple of hours (20-30 turns), after that the Russians would attack with reduced forces, get beaten back, then spend an hour or so regrouping, then attack again, repeating this cycle for the rest of the day. Because of the mechanics of the Campaign System, I had already shrunk the time length down to eliminate those periods of no combat. But as we both know the Campaign System does not do a very good job in depicting the friction of war. Any way there are a lot of scenarios in the normal game that end well before the time limits too, mostly because of how people play the game
Last, but not least: this scenario is for history, not tournaments.
Updated 12 September 2020: A revision of the area near Hill 252.2, especially the anti-tank ditch and minefields around it.
Updated 24 June 2018: Order of Battle and starting position updates
Updated 6 Feb 2018: A full design note document added to the download archive
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