Rzhev Pocket - The Front Collapses 1942

It was a bold Russian plan to trap much of the German 9th and 4th Army in January-February, 1942. Both of these armies had nearly reached Moscow a few months earlier only to be stopped by weather and resistance, In December, 1941, the first Russian counterattack offensive began and pushed back both of these German armies. In January, 1942, the German 9th Army around Rzhev was nearly isolated from the 4th Army. The breakthrough by the 39th Army and the 11th Cavalry Corps smashed weak defenses west of Rzhev and both raced some 100 km towards Vyazma, a critical hub for German supply trains in the region. The Germans were in a controlled panic, quickly shifting units from one Corps to another like a fire brigade as Russian units attacked all along the front. Complicating things, further south (not in the game), Russian armies had also penetrated and were closing in on Vyazma and Yukhnov along the Moscow-Warsaw Highway, another key road used for German supply efforts. The whole situation was dire.