Historical Background:
The German invasion of the USSR in 1941 was, at first, a smashing success. However by 1943 the German army was on the brink of disaster. The Soviet army had stopped Germany's momentum, most notably at Stalingrad. The Red Army was gaining strength, adding the men and machines it would need to go onto the offensive. Hitler decided to gamble on a massive armored assault designed to force the Soviets out of the war before the Allies could open a new front in Western or Southern Europe. The Soviets anticipated the German attack at Kursk and prepared the battlefield with dense mine fields, trenches, and well hidden gun positions. They also assembled an enormous reserve force. Their plan was to grind down the Germans in the defenses. When the German attack was exhasuted, and the last of their reserves were committed, the Soviets would launch a massive counterattack. The plan worked. The Soviets absorbed the ferocious German attack, then went on the offensive. They would remain on the offensive until the fall of Berlin. The battle of Prokhorovka, near the end of the Kursk campaign, was the largest tank battle in history.
Battle 1:
This battle has not yet been playtested.
Building the Armies:
You can get relatively cheap plastic 1/72 tank models, but they are much too large to use in this battle. Micro-scale tanks are available from specialty stores, but they are expensive. I would suggest looking for small cheap toys, such as those found in the board game Axis and Allies. I will us paper tanks. Paper tank models are included which you can print and use. One tank should be on each base. Bases should be 1" long, and 3/4" wide.
Deployment:
The Soviets and Germans deploy as shown on the map. The tanks don't have to be in a formation, but historically they would attack in a wedge.
The Map:
The battle was played on a 5' x 7.5' table. The battlefield is mostly open ground. The woods, hills, and village of Prokhorovka should be represented on the battlefield. They can be drawn with marker, outlined in felt, or modeled in detail. The rail line and Psel River did not have much effect on the battle, and don't have to be modeled.
Orders of Battle:
The order of battle is simplified, and leaves out the infantry and anti-tank guns. This part of the Kursk battle was mostly tank versus tank.
- Germany
- II SS Panzer Corps
1st SS Panzer Division (Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler)
2nd SS Panzer Divison (Das Reich)
- Each Division has:
2 Tigers
10 Panzer IVs
10 Panzer IIIs
USSR
- 5th Guard Tank Army
2nd Guards Tank Corps
18th Tank Corps
29th Tank Corps
- Each Corps above has:
3 KV-1s
12 T-34s
8 T-70s
Useful Resources:
Kursk 1943: The Tide Turns in the East by Mark Healy, Osprey Campaign Series #16
There is a great, simple set of rules for the battle at the website (home2.pi.be/sk032140/index.htm) of the Wargame Clubs Bylandt and Red Barons (Ghent, Belgium). They were written by Koen Schoonjans.
The Kursk webpage (dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/vy75/) by Alan Wilson is loaded with useful information
John Palomino gave me the idea for this scenario, and had some good suggestions on writing the rules
Kursk: Taming the Tigers Battle of Prokhorovka (1943)
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© Copyright 2004 by Matt Fritz.
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