WARGAMESOSD

GDW White Death
 
Velikiye Luki - The Stalingrad of the North

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

wargames.wilkey.org.uk

 

 

NOVEMBER 1942

In the south of Russia the German army had torn open the Soviet front with their summer offensive and driven into the Don River bend and south into the Caucasus. By mid-November the German Sixth Army had cleared all but a few blocks of Stalingrad and Army Group A seemed on the verge of reaching the oilfields to the south. Soviet Russia seemed finally beaten.

The Red Army was not beaten, however, and by ruthlessly feeding only the bare minimum of reserves into the battle had managed both to blunt the German drive and accumulate a sizeable strategic reserve. Waiting until the Wehrmacht had spent its strength and extended itself to its limit, Stavka carefully planned the boldest Soviet offensives of the war to date. In midNovember, with the freeze negating much of the defensive advantages of rivers and making the northern swamps passable for armored vehicles, the time had come.
In the south Vatutin's Southwest Front, Rokossovski's Don Front, and Yeremenko's Stalingrad Front would launch a massive encircling offensive against the Axis troops in the Don River bend and Stalingrad. In the north an offensive of nearly equal proportions would be launched against the German Rzhev Salient by Sokolovski's Kalinin Front and Konev's West Front. This twin blow north and south was planned to cripple the Wehrmacht and serve as the prelude to its final expulsion from Soviet soil.

Preceding both offensives by several days, however, was a third offensive launched by the right flank of Sokolovski's
Kalinin Front against the city of Velikiye Luki and aimed at cutting the vital Vitebsk-Leningrad railroad. Lieutenant General Perkayev's Third Shock Army, reinforced with three separate corps, was assigned the mission. Defending the sector were two understrength German divisions plus a number of rear-area security and support troops. Insufficient troops were available to cover the entire front and two ten-mile gaps were patrolled only by small detachments of ski troops. Furthermore, it was anticipated that most local German reserves would be drawn into the intense fighting in the Rzhev Salient, 100 miles to the east. But the Germans had an important advantage. Velikiye Luki had been intensively fortified in preceding months, and all roads in the near-trackless wilderness ran through Velikiye Luki. The stage was set for one of the most bitterly fought battles of the war in the East.
SCENARIO I: Purkayev's Attack (Turns 1-4)

1. Historical Background and Summary:

Since the German front was only thinly held, a major rupture of the line was little problem. Purkayev's 3rd Shock Army did face several problems, however. First among these was a real shortage of heavy artillery. Although Kalinin Front made available one heavy mortar regiment and one heavy artillery regiment, most of the front's supporting assets were tied up in the assault on the Rzhev salient. Once the front stabilized and massive barrages became necessary to break key points of resistance, it would be necessary to rely on massing divisional assets, and that could cause problems. Second, all roads led through Velikye Luki, and it was unlikely that the city could be taken by immediate direct assault. Until the city was at least partially in Soviet hands it would be difficult to put even divisional artillery across the Lowatj River. The resulting tactical situation was fraught with potential peril: Velikiye Luki had to be taken to threaten the Nevel-Leningrad railroad in strength. Velikiye Luki, to be taken, had to be isolated and then pounded into submission by heavy concentrations of artillery. To surround it troops had to be put across the Lowatj, but to mass the artillery concentration necessary to take the city the troops would have to leave their divisional guns on the east bank, thus leaving them vulnerable to a counterstroke.

Purkayev's solution was probably the only viable option open to him. Infantry and armored elements penetrated the German lines as quickly as possible and made for the Lowatj and the railroad beyond it. Surrounded German units were left behind for the follow-up echelons to deal with. By the end of the first scenario (about twenty days of fighting) the Soviets were across the Lowatj in strength and, while they had little artillery with them and had temporarily run out of steam, they had kept the Germans off-balance. Advanced elements of the 3rd Shock Army had in places been within sight of the vital rail line and had clearly gained a tactical success.
2. Losses:

None. All units begin Scenario I at full strength.

3. Set-Up:

A. Germans (set up first):

1. In 3rd Mountain Division Sector (East of Lowatj River, west of Kunja Creek, on or south of the Tabory-Velikiye Luki railroad):
3rd Mountain Division (7 battalions, 2 companies)
743 Engineer Battalion
506 Artillery Battalion
5 Ski-Jaeger Battalion (4 companies)

2. In 83rd Division Sector (East of Lowatj River, west of Kunja Creek, on or north of the Tabory-Velikiye Luki railroad):
83 Infantry Division (less units in Velikiye Luki
garrison) (7 battalions)
3 Ski-Jaeger Battalion (4 companies)

3. In Nowossokoljniki:
248 Construction Battalion
416 Construction Battalion
795 Security Battalion
663 Security Battalion
843 Antiaircraft Battalion
1/55 Rocket Artillery Battalion
111/55 Rocket Artillery Battalion
185 Assault Gun Battalion (2 companies)
3 Bridging Battalion
12/803 Commando Company (Abwehr)

4. In Isotcha:
303 Antiaircraft Battalion

5. In Velikiye Luki:
All units listed on the German Set-Up Chart as
Velikiye Luki Garrison (16 battalions)
All seven bunkers (one strength 10 bunker on each
rail hex in town, one strength 15 bunker on hex 2021)

B. Soviets:

All Soviet units set up in any non-prohibited
hex east of the Kunja Creek.
28 Rifle Division (3 rgts, 3 bns)
257 Rifle Division (3 rgts, 3 bns)
44 Ski Brigade (4 bns)
184 Tank Brigade (3 bns)
603 Mortar Regiment
613 Artillery Regiment
3 SA Guards Rocket Regiment

C. General:

One unidentified bridge is placed in each of the following hexes: 2122, 2123, 2025, and 1637.

Neither player begins the scenario with any accumulated supply points beyond those received at the start of the
turn.

4. Victory Conditions:

The Soviet player receives victory points as follows:

For each 10 SP of German units eliminated: 1 VP
For each 20 SP of Soviet units eliminated: -1 VP
For each bunker totally destroyed or captured: 10 VP
For each town hex held on the north-south railroad
through Nowossokoljniki: 5 VP per impulse

Victory level is determined by the following schedule:

0-10 VPs: German Victory
11-20 VPs: Soviet Marginal Victory
21-30 VPs: Soviet Tactical Victory
31-40 VPs: Soviet Strategic Victory
41+ VPs: Soviet Overwhelming Victory

(Historical Result: Soviet Tactical Victory with approximately 22 VPs.)


Velikiye Luki Garrison (16 battalions)


The Tabory-Velikiye Luki railroad (red lines)


The German 83rd Division Sector


The German 3rd Mountain Division Sector
Velikiye Luki
Kalinin Front (right flank)
28th Rifle Division
Army Group Centre
3rd Mountain Division
Kalinin Front (right flank)
44th Ski Brigade
Kalinin Front (right flank)
257th Rifle Division
Army Group Centre
83rd Infantry Division
Army Group Centre
3rd Ski-Jaeger Battalion
Lowatj River

Game Mechanics

Time Scale: 5 days per turn
Map Scale: One mile per hex
Unit Scale: Division, Brigade, Battalion
Players: Two - Medium Complexity
Solitaire Suitability: High complexity
Playing Time: 2 to 24 hours, depending on which scenario is played or whether the campaign game is played

Scenarios

1) Purkayev's Attack (Turns 1-4)
2) Woehler's Response (Turns 5-7)
3) The First Relief Attempt (Turns 8-9)
4) The Second Relief Attempt (Turns 10-11)
5) The Final Relief Attempt (Turns 12-13)

Game components:

436 Die-Cut Counters (448 including blanks, which are not required to play the game).
Colourful 22" x 28" Map (an authentric map of the time)
1 Rules and scenario booklet
1 Battle Manual
1 Soviet Organisation Chart/
1 German Organisation Chart
3 reference cards
2 Die

Game Strategy

The game uses an impulse turn system. Frank Chadwick's impulse system was later adopted and used in such games as Korsun Pocket, Black Sea Black Death and others. This game is not well known but it is a pleasure to play. It is a complex game and is designed for experienced gamers.

The game is produced by GDW stock no 814. It was published in 1979 and is now very rare.