Kharkov 1941-43

Kharkov in the Ukraine was the focus of four major battles during World War II:
20–24 Oct 1941 – First Battle of Kharkov – German took the city
12–28 May 1942 – Second Battle of Kharkov – Failed Soviet attempt to retake the city
(2-19 Feb 1943 – Operation Star – Soviets retook the city)
19 Feb to 15 Mar 1943 – Third Battle of Kharkov – Germans armoured forces counter-attacked and retook the city
12-23 Aug 1943 – Fourth Battle of Kharkov – Soviets captured the city for good

Chuck Noland’s Crossfire Table – And playing some Balagan Scenarios

17 Aug 202124 Nov 2018 by Steven Thomas

Sometimes I feel that I post my stuff into a silent void. So it is great when people respond and particularly to discover that people actually play my scenarios. I’m always keen to get feedback about my scenarios, whether good or bad, so I can tweak them. In this case Chuck Noland emailed and ended up sending me some great photos of his Crossfire games. I particularly like the black and white ones.

Kharkov 1942 Map for Deep Battle with 20km hexes

17 Dec 20227 Apr 2018 by Steven Thomas

I’ve drawn a new map for the Second Battle of Kharkov with one hex per 20 km. As you probably know, I’m focussing on the Second Battle of Kharkov as I develop my thinking on Operational Wargaming and my own Deep Battle rule set. A map is an essential part of this.

Rasputitsa – Quagmire on the Eastern Front

7 Jan 202324 Mar 2018 by Steven Thomas

Wehrmacht soldiers pulling car from the mud, November 1941

The rasputitsa are severe weather conditions occurring in Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that were part of the Soviet Union during WW2. The rasputitsa occurs twice a year, in the spring and autumn. The spring rasputitsa occurs when the surface level ice and snow starts to melt over ground that is still frozen. The Autumn rasputitsa occurs because of the rainy season. Although the cause is different the effect is the same. The ground, including unpaved roads, dissolve into mud and rivers can become enlarged. The result is transport bogs down, making troop movement and logistics very difficult. The Russian term ‘time without roads’ very aptly describes the conditions.

Kharkov 1942 Map for PanzerGruppe with 10km Hexes

25 Jun 20222 Dec 2017 by Steven Thomas

In a moment of enthusiasm I drew a map for the Second Battle of Kharkov at one hex per 10 km. Perfect for PanzerGruppe. I thought I’d share it, although I’m no longer sure I’ll use it.

Kharkov 1942 – German Order of Battle

6 Feb 2016 by Steven Thomas

Next up in my grand scheme to refight the whole of the Battle of Kharkov 1942, on a table using Megablitz, is the historical German order of battle.

Kharkov 1942 – the Soviet Order of Battle

31 Jan 201630 Jan 2016 by Steven Thomas

I’ve got a grand scheme to refight the whole of the Battle of Kharkov 1942 on a table. Probably using Megablitz. The first step is a historical order of battle for the Soviets.

Papa Eicke – A Crossfire Battle Report

19 Aug 20216 Jun 2015 by Steven Thomas

Chris Harrod and I played my Papa Eicke Scenario for Crossfire.

Summary: Chris, playing Kampfgruppe Masarie, recreated history and secured the body of Papa Eicke and his insignia and consequently won the game. However, he did this at the cost of a half his armoured fighting vehicles. The scenario had the right elements but could do with some tweaking.