The Commander Series Forum

I enjoyed following book on my recent holiday:

“Stalin’s Revenge” by Anthony Tucker-Jones, (Pen & Sword, 2009) subtitled: “Operation Bagration and the Annihilation of Army Group Centre”. (It has been on offer from publishers website and often also cheap through outlets like Amazon.)

Tucker-Jones’s book, of twelve chapters, is in fact a short book of only 147 pages including the first 5 appendices, the next 24 pages of appendices VI to IX being lists like orders of battle and last two simple lists of types of AFV used. Tucker-Jones’s provides a simple if readable history drawing on memoirs, Fort Leavenworth Papers, and other secondary sources.

It provides many ideas for games. It provides many thoughts for game rules and reviewing existing games rules. I shall give you a sample of the possibilities to savour: as in WW1, the Russians used medium and heavy artillery bombardments in WW2, prior to launching their offensives, to try and destroy enemy AFV and artillery pits, trenches, tank traps, minefields and wire entanglements; which proved only randomly successful. (see for example pages 60/1 of book)

In an incident similar to Warsaw rising, the Polish Home Army rose up on 7th July, 1944, in Vilnius, battling for a week against the German (only?) garrison and seized the city centre. There was co-operation between this uprising and the Soviet 3rd Byelorussian Front force, but on the Soviets entering Vilnius on the 15th July, the NKVD set to work on rounding up the Polish Home Army! (see page 83 of book)

Another possible scenario is the attempt to stop the demolition of buildings in central Minsk by the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Corps (very below strength Corps) on 3rd July, while the 5th Panzer Division worked to keep them out as the ongoing evacuation continued relying on trains. Tucker-Jones says the garrison of 1800, tried to protect perimeter, while 12000 support staff, 8000 wounded, and 15000 unarmed stragglers looked for trains to take them westward. It appears 53 trains conducted an evacuation on 1st and 2nd July despite Hitler declaring Minsk to be “fester platz” Minsk (a fortified area, or strong point, to be defended to the last). Tucker-Jones quotes Zhukov’s lament on entering Minsk: “The capital of Byelorussia was barely recognisable. I had commanded a regiment there for seven years and knew well every street,” [etc]. “Now everything was in ruins; where whole apartment buildings had stood, there was nothing but heaps of rubble.” (from page 77)

A possible tank battle to play out involves some interesting variations for the Eastern Front buff: on 26th June the 5th Panzer Division had arrived to defend Minsk and holding the line on the Minsk-Moscow highway. Under Karl Decker, General der Panzertruppen, the division had 70 Panthers, and 55 Panzer IVs, and were supported by 29 Tiger Is, from Schwere Panzer Abteilung 505 (under Hauptmann von Beschwitz) and had task of creating a stop-line north east of Borisov. Shortly after going into position the Tiger Is were attacked by 3rd Guards Tank Corps, (under General I.A. Bobchenko), near Krupki station, on 28th June, where the Soviet lead tanks were M4A2 Shermans!! On the 29th June the Soviets broke through and the Soviet reconnaissance encountered the German engineers preparing to blow bridges on the approach road to Borisov. (see pages 65/6)

Another possible game could be built around the German break out from Fester Platz Bobruisk from 27th June 1944. (see pages 67-9) This led to tanks from the 20th Panzer Division attempting a break out along the western bank of the Berezina river. The tanks and Panzer Grenadiers of the 20th Panzer were attacked by T34s and the Soviet Air Force. Others also made break out attempts. On 29th June, the 12th Panzer Division’s panzer-grenadier battalion, supported by a company of tanks under Major Blanchbois, attempted to rescue one such group who found their path blocked by Soviet force holding the only nearby bridge.

For those who like role play games or non-figure games, the politics of Lvov and the Ukraine would make an interesting end game for 1944 or 1945, as the Soviets liberated the them: the Jews of Lvov had been persecuted by the Nazi regime and it is said by the Ukrainian nationalists, who wanted Lvov to be part of Ukraine and not Poland. Under the Stalin-Hitler pact the Soviets occupied Lvov until operation Barbarossa led to German occupation. The German appeal to Ukrainian patriots led to many thousands serving in the Wehrmacht, and Waffen SS, and the German Schuma (police). While the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrains’ka povstans’ka armiia – UPA), formed in 1944, fought both Germans and Soviets. The German inspired Ukrainian Liberation Army (Ukrainske vyzvolne viysko – UVV) added to the mix, but Tucker-Jones gives little indication of its activities. There was another German inspired Ukrainian National Army in 1945 too. The 14th SS-Freiwilligen Division Galizien (which appears to have formed originally in Ukraine around Ukrainian volunteers) was shipped to the Eastern Front in June 1944, where they encountered the Lvov-Sandomierz Soviet offensive. Enough elements there to make for a RPG or risk like game?

Carl Luxford

Thanks for the review Carl.

Very useful stuff there Carl

Cracking review - Inspired to buy the book now.

Just ordered it!