Barbarossa '42.

Time: July 1942
Author: Douglas Wick (kes@ten.net)


This speculative scenario (and scenario 90, Leningrad '42) 
were written as an attempt to write a complete Campaign 42
based on the possibility that Hitler put more emphasis on
winning the war in the West but was forced to attack the 
USSR in 1942 after being unable to win naval or air dominance
near Britain.  That project is (permanently?) on hold due to
technical difficulties and time pressure, but I am releasing 
Barbarossa 42 and Leningrad 42 at this time.  A new Moscow
42 will be finished this summer, and the three can be played
in order as a mini-campaign.  (Info elsewhere.)   I assume
larger-than-historical German forces have driven the British
out of the Middle East but Sea Lion (the invasion of England) 
has not been feasible.
Mounting suspicion and mistrust between Hitler and Stalin and
the possibility of invading the Caucasus immediately have 
swayed the Nazis into invading slightly less than a year later
than they historically did.


The Russian arguments over tank design and strategy
reached a peak in early 1941.  Laboring under the mistaken
belief that German armor was 80 to 140 mm thick in their
PzIII and IV types, Russian generals advocated super-heavy
tanks built on the cumbersome KV chassis.  The German 
invasion in 1941 interrupted the planned shifting of 
production to these super-heavies, as Stalin felt (rightly)
that large numbers of the existing KV and T-34 types 
produced immediately would have a greater impact on the
German advance than a smaller number of superior machines
delivered after redesign and retooling.  But if Hitler had
held off his attack for a year in order to attempt an assault
on Egypt and the British Home Isles, it is very likely that 
the prototype OK-220 type would have supplanted the KV in 
mass production.  This vehicle, which is only slightly in-
ferior to the PzVI Tiger in armor, was armed with a heavy 
85mm cannon mounted in an expanded KV hull.  It would
have been totally invulnerable to 50mm and short 76mm 
German tank guns, and only the long-nosed Pz IV's would
have had any chance at all of knocking out these clumsy
giants.

The Russian strategy for the deployment of tanks
was changed several times during 1939-1943. For this scen-
ario,  I have assumed that the 
"massed formation" strategy rather than the "infantry 
support" paradigm held sway, and that soviet tank corps were 
a balance of heavy, medium, and "independent" (BT-7) types.
Infantry and even anti-aircraft guns are therefore not given
trucks for the most part, as they were not envisioned as 
needing to keep up with the tanks in this strategy.
But larger numbers of all unit types are available due to 
the continuing rearmament begun in 1938.  

I have assumed that more German production 
efforts were diverted to air and naval power during 1941.
Not having the benefit of a year's experience against heavy
Soviet tanks, less effort has been made to rush the Tiger and
Panther tanks into mass production.  Fewer tank units are 
available due to the diversion of armor plate into the ship-
yards at Kiel and Hamburg.  Large numbers of units are not 
provided with mechanized transport due to aircraft engine
priority.  As a result, German ground forces are only moderately
more powerful than in 1941, with a large number mounting 
an offensive against the Caucasus through Persia.  

Similarly, much less effort would have been
made to marry AT guns to tank chassis, and therefore the
large number of tank destroyer types actually present in 
German formations during 1942 has been drastically reduced 
in this scenario.  The Pz 38 and even 35 types would likely
have remained longer in front line service, although I have
assumed that the PzI and II would have been withdrawn from
service after great losses in North Africa.

In Barbarossa 42, the challenge is the same as in 
Barbarossa:  To drive forward so quickly that no serious 
entrenchment is possible.  The surprise historically gained 
in 1941 is not present; Soviet troops are in good defensive 
positions along the river.  A victory with seven turns left
should constitute a major victory.


Strategy notes:  

Russian:  If you have downloaded my amended Panzequp.eqp file,
you will have a powerful tank (OK-220) in the north, which is
the best unit on the board.  Do not let it be trapped, but 
don't retreat headlong; use the terrain in the North to hit 
and run when possible.  You must decide whether to commit 
your air forces (large but inexperienced) to attacks on the
river crossing points and the German artillery or to conserve
it for possibly winning superiority after your AD and AA units
have weakened the superior German fighters.  Defend the river 
tenaciously, and notice that your bridge engineers and cavalry
units can hit hard in the vast forests surrounding several
critical targets.  Use your 76mm AT guns well, and can will
win the game for you.  Do not expect your T-34s and BT-7s to 
survive in the open.  You have vast numerical superiority in
all unit types, but you can easily lose that advantage with
over-agressive tactics.  

German:  You must decide whether to force a river crossing or
accept the delays concomittant to waiting for your artillery  
and dive bombers to open a path.  Do not expose your fighters
to his 76.2 mm AD guns.  Similarly do not expose single tank 
units.  Patience and finesse are required.  The need for speed
is less than in the Barbarossa 41 scenario; this combat begins
in May, so you have a little extra time.  But only a little.

Note on play balance:  I have not extensively tested this in
human vs. human play.  It is balanced to be significantly 
challenging in human vs. computer play as the German side.
As the Russian side, or in human vs human play, I recommend
a substantial prestige bonus to the German side. 



 





