The encirclement began as the Demyansk Offensive Operation, the first phase being carried out from 7 January-20 May 1942 on the initiative of General Lieutenant Pavel Kurochkin, commander of Northwestern Front. The intention was to sever the link between the German Demyansk positions, and the Staraya Russa railway that formed the lines of communication of the German 16th Army. However, owing to the very difficult wooded and swampy terrain, and heavy snow cover, the initial advance by the Front was very modest against stubborn opposition.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

The illustration above shows that in this particular game, the Soviets gain control of Demyansk by Turn 9, 12-17th March, 1942

The Capture of Staraya Russa

In this game, Staraya Russa is captured by Turn 10, 18-23rd March, 1942

The Northwestern Front offensive was planned to encircle the entire northern flank of the 16th Army's forces, of which the IInd Army Corps was only a small part, and the Soviet command was desperate to keep the Front moving even after this success. The first thrust was made by the 11th Army, 1st Shock Army and the 1st and 2nd Guards Rifle Corps released for the operation from the Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Stavka Reserve). A second thrust was executed on 12 February by the 3rd and 4th Shock Armies of the Kalinin Front, with the additional plan of directly attacking the encircled German forces by inserting two airborne brigades to support the advance of the 34th Army (Soviet Union). The front soon settled as the Soviet offensive petered out due to difficult terrain and bad weather.

The Northwestern Front grew increasingly desperate to wipe out the pocket, and over the winter and spring launched a number of assaults on the "Ramushevo corridor" that formed the tenuous link between Demyansk and Staraya Russa through the Ramushevo village that were repeatedly repulsed. In total five Soviet Armies composed of 18 infantry divisions and three brigades were tied up for 4 months.

However, by the end of May the Stavka reconsidered the overall situation on the Front sector and decided to shift its attention to the Moscow sector where a new German offensive was expected in the summer.

The Axis Counter-Attack at Demyansk

In this game, after losing Demyansk in Turn 9, 12-17th March, 1942, Axis forces counter-attack with strong air-support in Turn 10, 18-23rd March, 1942. The Soviets also attacked with air support in defence of Demyansk, which meant that the Axis ground support attack was diminished (on a 2/3 ratio, which meant that the Axis forces won one column-shift to the right on the CRT (Combat Results Table), but did not succeed in regaining Demyansk.