Kharkov '43 Grand Campaign AAR

[larsonney]

KHARKOV ’43 GRAND CAMPAIGN---Day 5/Final

Well, my friends…sadness! The game was called in the late hours of day 5…the Russians conceded. Unfortunately, because of the night turn, you won’t see much from the Russian side, but I will do my best…

Day Five saw more retreats in the center, but a surprise German counter-attack in the southeast and a sneaky move that would have brought a heavy northern thrust from us the morning of the 6th.

North Front
The decision was made mid-day on Day 3 to move the Grossdeutschland to the extreme north, centered on Pokrovka, to attempt a “schwerpunkt” on the northern flank of the Russian forces and relieve pressure on Belgorod. Recon elements of the Russian 40th Army found the lead elements of this splendid division on the morning of Day 6, which might have influenced the concession of the match. As you can see, the division was rested and ready to roll…



The Russian 40th Army continued chasing our retreating 168th infantry division on day 5, moving farther into the trap. The division planned on turning on their pursuers just north of Belegrod and forming the anvil to GDs hammer.



Center Front
In the center, Axis units disengaged, using their higher mobility to retreat across Severnyy Donets. Below are the 4 center areas, no enemy in sight…we saw very little push here during day 4, just some limited skirmishing east of Volchansk.

We had expected a major push in the Volchansk & Martovaya areas. We did feel confident that we could at least hold the Red hordes back a couple of days, using the river to keep them at bay.