BYOC Kharkov - Battle for the Square

As the debacle at Stalingrad winded down, the Red Army continued the pressure that threatened to burst open the eastern front in the form of Operation Star. One of the goals of the operation was concluded successfully with the capture of Kharkov on 16 February 1943. The loss of this vital urban center resulted in an immediate and forceful response by Adolf Hitler: the German Führer flew east for a meeting with his best commander in the theater, the commander of Army Group South, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein. The result was control over operations by the legendary general and a planned counter-stroke against the overextended Soviets, with the aim of recapturing Kharkov and Kursk.

In the face of the approaching thaw, and resulting loss of mobility caused by deep mud or rasputita, von Manstein pushed the operation forward in early March after initial success. The general ordered his men to move to the west of Kharkov, then north, in order to encircle it. On 8 March 1943, Hausser’s SS Panzer Corps completed the drive north, splitting the Soviet 69th and 40th Armies, before turning east the next day. The next orders to Hausser led to the controversial choice by the SS general to launch his men into a pitched urban battle. On 10 March, Hausser received orders from General Hermann Hoth to take Kharkov as quickly as possible. Though von Manstein and Hoth wished to continue the encirclement, Hausser directly attacked the city from the north and west on 11 March.

Hausser launched the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte into northern Kharkov where it met heavy resistance. The use of air support allowed the SS soldiers to obtain a foothold before the attack was continued to the south on 12 March. With memories of Stalingrad fresh in the collective psyches of the German soldier, over the next two days brutal house-to-house fighting broke out as the casualties mounted for both sides. By the night of 13/14 March, most of the city had been cleared. The final defenders would not be expelled until 15-16 March, as fighting continued on a north-south axis, expelling the enemy from their last stronghold, the Kharkov factory complex in the southern portion of the city.

What was the Third Battle of Kharkov (called the Donets Campaign by the Germans) saw them shatter fifty-two Soviet divisions while inflicting approximately some 80,000 casualties. The house-to-house fighting in Kharkov was also very bloody for the German SS Panzer Corps, which lost approximately 4,300 men by the time operations ended. After securing Kharkov, von Manstein’s forces pushed northeast and captured Belgorod on 18 March. Erich von Manstein was finally forced to halt the offensive in the face of exhausted troops and worsening weather conditions. Manstein was unable to continue and recapture Kursk, a failure that set the stage for the massive and disastrous Citadel offensive during July 1943, the final significant German attack in the east.

Recreate it all here with the BYOC historical module, "Kharkov: Battle for the Square". You receive everything you need to play, just bring your own existing versions of the following counter sheets or BETTER YET, nail the VERY LATEST NEW PRINTINGS of the following sheets, required to play this module:

• 1 × ATS German VEH and H WPNS 2018_1a
  
• 1 × ATS Russian Infantry and L Weapons 2018_1
  
• 1 × ATS German Infantry and L Weapons 2018_1
  
• 1 × ATS Russian Veh and H Wpns 2018_1a
  
• 1 × ATS Winter German and Russian Veh and H Wpns
  

Includes:

• 1 Color Wraparound Cover Sheet
  
• Nine 18” x 12” Color Cardstock Maps
  
• 2 ATS Battlefield Walkaround Sheets
  
• 2 ATS AFV Sheets
  
• 10 Scenarios
  

Scenarios included:

• Double Trouble – Kharkov, Ukraine, March 10th 1943
  
• The Zoo-Lancers - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 10th 1943
  
• Knights of the West - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 10th 1943
  
• A Walk in the Garden - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 11th 1943
  
• Track Meet - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 12th 1943
  
• The Hammer of Pravda Street - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 11th 1943
  
• Captain Sanin’s Lament - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 12th 1943
  
• ”I Hear the Deep Mournful… Urra!” - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 13th 1943
  
• Death Rides a Pale Horse - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 10th 1943
  
• Nothing to Fear - Kharkov, Ukraine, March 12th 1943