Operation Mars

[Northern Neighbour 3,424]

~ OPERATION MARS ~
Zhukov's Greatest Defeat

The Operation Mars offensive, the possibility of Operation Jupiter, and the Velikye-Luki Campaign.

DESIGNER: Daniel R. McBride

 

* Soviet Programmed Opponent (PO) version *
* and PBEM *

TOAW IV (4.1.0.21) conversion
by Don Lazov 4/25/2019

Scenario version: 4.0

 

LOCATION: Russia
MAP SCALE: 2.5 km/hex
TURN LENGTH: полдня 
UNIT SCALE: 
  German:  Regiment/Battalion
  Soviet:  Division/Brigade/Battalion
NUMBER OF TURNS: 52, максимум 77 с возможной внезапной победой немцев на 30 ходу

 

 

UNIT COLORS:

 

SOVIET:
Soviet Regular - Yellow on Tan with Red symbology
Soviet Mech Formations - Green on Tan
Soviet Artillery Groups - Yellow on Tan with black symbology
NKVD - Black on Red
Soviet Airforce (VVS) - Blue on Tan
Soviet Partisans - Red on Red

 

GERMAN:
German - White on Fieldgray
German Mech:  Rose on Fieldgray
German S.S. - White & Black on Fieldgray
Freiwilliger (Russian volunteers): Gold-black on Fieldgray
Fliegerkorps I -  Royal Blue on Blue
Luftwaffe Ground Units - Blue on Fieldgray

 

Это малоизвестное сражение, фактически одно из величайших столкновений в истории современной механизированной войны и, безусловно, одно из крупнейших сражений на Восточном фронте, было похоронено в советской официальной истории более чем на полвека. ошеломляющий провал, чему способствовал одновременный успех советского оружия под Сталинградом. Недавно она была обнаружена в результате более широкого доступа ученых к советским документам, и, в частности, благодаря недавней превосходной работе Дэвида М. Гланца «Величайшее поражение Жукова: эпическая катастрофа Красной Армии в операции «Марс, 1942»» (Университет Канзас Пресс, 1999). Это исследование было бы невозможно без этой новаторской работы, в частности подробного советского OB, который Гланц представляет в своем исследовании.

 

Советы потеряли более 335 000 человек убитыми и ранеными в этом сражении, что сопоставимо с потерями союзных армий за всю Гражданскую войну в США с 1861 по 1865 год — невероятная статистика для одного сражения. В наступлении, задуманном и осуществленном Жуковым, Ставка выделила больше войск и техники, чем было получено Васильевским для операции «Уран» в Сталинграде, что отражает постоянную одержимость Ставки этим выступом у Ржева, все еще продвигаясь в пределах 114 миль от Москвы. в начале зимы 1942 года. Марс был сестрой-близнецом Урана, и Ставка действительно ожидала, что наибольший успех достанется Жукову, а быстрый триумф Васильевского на юге оказался неожиданностью. Еще большим шоком была непревзойденная защита выступа Моделью и почти полное уничтожение их огромных ударных сил, одновременно атакующих вокруг выступа. Общие цели Марса были амбициозны: не что иное, как окружение 9-й армии, уничтожение группы армий «Центр» и наступление на Смоленск. На флангах находилась 3-я танковая армия Рыбалко и, возможно, 2-я гвардейская армия Малиновского, готовые начать операцию «Юпитер» — прямой удар на Вязьму и Смоленск в поддержку Марса. Сигнал так и не поступил, и оба соединения были отправлены на юг, чтобы закрепить успех под Сталинградом.

 

Советский шок начинается со 105% и затем снижается на 1% за ход, достигая минимума на уровне 90% для игры на 17-м ходу.
Немцы получают вариант театра военных действий для контратаки примерно на 10-м ходу. Когда это срабатывает, они получают 2 хода при 140% шока, 2 хода при 120%, а затем 110% на протяжении всей игры.

. Если Советам удается убедительно проникнуть через Ржевский выступ, создается кумулятивный эффект с помощью переменной механизма событий; если эта переменная превысит определенное значение, операция «Юпитер» начнется в юго-восточной части карты с наступлением на Вязьму и Смоленск. Пока это событие не произойдет, как советские, так и немецкие передовые войска в этом районе застыли на месте. Если это событие произойдет, все силы будут высвобождены, а описанное выше снижение советского шока будет отменено.

Игроки должны изучить прикрепленный текстовый документ, чтобы найти другие важные детали игровой механики и условия победы над советским компьютерным противником.

 

 

Спойлер

 

Special Features:

1) Airpower: the airforces of both sides are grounded for the first day due to bad
weather. The Luftwaffe is activated on turn 3, the Soviet VVS on turn 4.
Continuing bad weather throughout the campaign will significantly affect airpower
performance. The Luftwaffe has an air shock factor of 110% for the duration.
2) Shock Effects: Soviet shock turn 1 is 115%, and 120% on turn 2; following
this it is generally 105%; however, every four turns there will be a one turn boost
up to 120% on a random basis until 15; following this there is a one turn drop to
90% every four turns on a random basis, with a base shock of 100% for the
duration. The Soviet PO (Programmed Opponent) could receive two back to back
120% turns conceivably (or 90% from turn 16 onwards): it could also have up to
six consecutive turns @ 105% (up to turn 16, and 100% afterwards). If Operation
Jupiter is launched the Soviets go to 105% shock for the duration.
German shock is 100 at the outset, increasing to 105% on turn 5, representing their
preparedness and recovery from the initial attack. Furthermore, on turn 10 the
Germans receive a strategic counter-attack option. When used, this will give one

turn at 130%, the following turn at 120%, and 110% for the rest of the game.
German shock represents their overall preparedness for the attack and quick
recovery from the shock of it, as well as their ability to mount a very effective
counter-attack. Soviet shock early on represents sheer determination and ruthless
drive emanating downwards from higher commanders; later on, this works against
them as it represents disorganisation amongst a high percentage of green troops
and officers. This, coupled with an aggressive attack posture assumed by the PO,
should result in high losses for the Soviets against a capable German player.
3) Velikye Luki: The German garrison in Velikye Luki is essentially ordered to
stay in position until turn 10, afterwhich these units will be free to move. A
German Supply Point exists in the central city hex until turn 10, afterwhich it is
removed.
4) German units between the Velikye Luki and Rzhev Fronts: these units are
frozen in place until an enemy unit moves adjacent or attacks. Various units will
be released on certain turns and the German player should check for this. The
German player is advised to let sleeping dogs lie on quiet fronts and not attack as
this may activate Soviet formations.
5) Soviet Programmed Opponent (PO): Operation Mars involves action in the
Velikye Luki Front and around the Rzhev salient, with other areas remaining
dormant until specific events are activated. The PO for Mars follows two
objective tracks along various routes (tracks 1 & 2) which are complimentary to
each other generally. The PO will switch back and forth between tracks 1 & 2 at
various times according to probability events, all formations going over to track 3
if Jupiter starts. All PO forces will switch to track 3 around turn 39-40 for the
duration of the game in any case. Track 3 has key strike armies striving for
Smolensk while others take up position along the south edge of the map covering
the front there against the southern forces of Army Group Centre, assumed to be
entirely on the defensive against this breakthrough and not directly depicted in the
model.
6) Operation Jupiter: an event engine variable is set to 0 at the beginning of the
game. The Soviet capture of various locations in the Rzhev salient, as well as two
on the Velikye Luki Front, will increase this variable by a certain amount.
Subsequent German recapture of these locations will not lower this value. All
such locations have a percentage in brackets on the map, to indicate the increase
given to this variable; e.g. the Soviet capture of Rzhev increases this variable by
40%. The German player is advised to initially highlight place names under
Options, and have them “floating” in order to properly note all of these locations
on the map. They are as follows:

 

RZHEV (105,11): 40%
VELIKYE LUKI (16,5): 20%
OSUGA (105,21): 20%
SYCHEVKA (104,30): 20%
OLENINO (86,13): 15%
BELYI (74,29): 20%
GZATSK (122, 42): 20%
VYAZMA (105, 55): 40%
Kholm (87,43): 15%
Vladmirskoe (81,38): 15%
Novoskol’niki (3,6): 10%
Molino (90,33): 10%
Pombiy (99,30): 10%
Bol. Molevniy (88,24): 10%
Gusevo (82,18): 15%
Zviagino (97,13): 10%
Sereda (101,24): 10%

When the event engine variable climbs to a set value due to Soviet capture of any
combination of the above locations, Operation Jupiter is launched. All Soviet
armies on the south-east portion of the map, including Rybalko’s 3rd Tank Army,
immediately assume attack orders, as does the Soviet 43rd army manning the
western base of the salient. In addition to this the game-length is extended from
52 turns to 77. This event value needed to activate Jupiter is set as follows:
turns 1-10: value needed = 45
turns 11-20: value needed = 60
turns 21+ : value needed = 80
Malinovsky (> turn 22): value needed = 100
7) Malinovsky’s 2nd Guards Army: this army was being held in the Tambov area
for employment either in Mars, or Uranus at Stalingrad. Historically, it and
Rybalko’s group, were sent to reinforce success at Stalingrad given the failure
of Zhukov to attain objectives in Mars. The employment of Malinovsky in
Mars is more difficult, as it was historically sent to blunt Manstein’s relief
attempt at Stalingrad; essentially, it will not be released in Mars unless Soviet
success is on a large scale, and even then there is a limited window of time
within which it is allowed to appear. The event engine variable must reach 100
before Malinovsky will appear, and this appearance must be triggered before
turn 22, afterwhich Malinovsky goes to Stalingrad regardless. The German
player should note that this is a powerful formation. The cities of Gzatsk and
Vyazma will not figure in triggering Jupiter itself; however, after this they could be instrumental in bringing Malinovsky into play if Jupiter is triggered
early enough, and the German player should note this.
8) Automatic Jupiter: The German player has this theatre option available on turn
1 (only). Activating this will mean that the Soviets launch Jupiter somewhere
within a 6-turn frame from turn 12 onwards (variable). The German player
receives 200 VPs for his bravado.
9) 19th Panzer Division: this formation is withdrawn for Stalingrad on turn 31
unless Operation Jupiter has been launched in which case it remains. A one-turn
warning of withdrawal will be given in Recent Events.
10) 10th Panzer Grenadier Division: if Operation Jupiter is launched, this unit
will appear as a reinforcement 3 turns later south of Vyazma.
11) Soviet Partisans: the German player will be tempted to use his Security units
in the front line, and may often have no choice; however, he should be aware that
Soviet guerrilla forces will appear behind his lines at various times, and will
attempt to cut critical rail-lines. The Jupiter activation cities should be guarded
against partisan attacks obviously.
12) German Operational Limits (Honour Rule): the PO, in any situation,
obviously has it’s limits. The German player is not allowed to send his forces into
Soviet territory beyond the on-map Operational Limit line. The Soviets had ample
reserve forces which could have been employed in such an emergency and it was
not desired to overload the game with alot of superfluous units to guard against
such unlikely incursions. Historically, the Germans regained their ground on the
critical fronts, and sealed off the other Soviet penetrations, but nowhere advanced
beyond their opening front-lines. The German player should be hard-pressed as it
is; this rule is simply intended to avoid unrealistic situations.
13) German Victory. As was historically the case, German victory lies entirely in
thwarting Soviet aims: initially the Soviets must be denied their chance for a
major victory by making sure that Jupiter does not happen. If the German player
can keep the PO from taking more than 25% in Jupiter activation cities, up to turn
30, he will win an automatic decisive win on that turn. failing this, a German
victory is to be won through regaining lost VP locations and through the
destruction of Soviet units, especially the victory-point bonus units. Further to
point #12 above, the German player will note that there are no Victory Point
locations to capture beyond his front lines in Soviet territory, apart from the city of
Zubtsov (112, 12) east of Rzhev, as they have all been located off-map.

The German player receives extra points for destroyed Soviet HQs that have the
commander’s name (only):
Soviet major HQ (Army level) = 100 pts
Soviet corps HQ = 50 pts 
The German player receives extra points for certain destroyed Soviet units (RB =
Rifle Brigade; RD = Rifle Division; Tk Btn. = Tank Battalion; Tk Rgt = Tank
Regiment; Gd Mtz RD = Guards Motorised Rifle Division; CD = Cavalry
Division, etc.):
Pts - 25 50 75 100
Partisans Mtz RB Gd RD Gd Mtz RD
Tk Btn* Tk Rgt* Gd Tk Rgt Gd Tk Bde
Ski Bde Gd CD Mech Bde
Gd Mech Bde
* There are no extra points for destroyed standard Soviet Tank brigades, except
those with “Guards” status. Soviet tank battalions and regiments were composed
of heavier tanks and were specialty/elite formations. 
Soviet Victory: 
For a conclusive Soviet victory to occur, Operation Jupiter must be launched. Only
this activation will give the Soviets the chance at a sudden-death victory in
occupying Smolensk (52,76) at any point in the game.
The Soviets receive points for all on map occupied victory locations at the end of
the game. They also receive extra points for destroyed German HQs:
German major HQ (Corps/Army, and all Pz Div HQs) = 100 pts
Infantry Division HQs = 50 pts
*NOTE: ONLY HQs which give the actual historical name of the commander
give victory points for either side.
14) Note that the number of turns in the game will be noted as 77 in the turn
report. This will only be the case if Operation Jupiter is triggered. Most games
will end on turn 52. If the German player can contain the PO to 25% or less
Jupiter cities by turn 30, he will win a decisive victory on that turn.
15) Play Balance. For a greater or lesser challenging game against the PO, players
can experiment with the handicap settings when opening the game, as well as the
auto-Jupiter function. Note that this scenario will NOT work with two human
opponents as various events will not function properly and the play balance will be decisively in the Soviet player’s favour. This is a Soviet Programmed
Opponent game only. A future release for head to head play is planned at some
point.

 

German Player Notes (human player vs. “Deep Red”):
I’m certainly not going to give away any of the PO’s secrets here. Suffice
to say that with the CW version of TOAW (originally appearing in WotY), the
ability of the PO to switch to different objective tracks mid-stream represents a
revolution in PO play, and that this scenario has attempted to exploit this feature to
optimum advantage. It should, at the very least, ensure that even repeated plays
will offer up surprises for the German player.
Model managed to hang on in this battle, just barely at times, by seeming to
conjure up that last reinforcement battalion out of a hat, at exactly the time and
place where it was most needed around the circumference of his salient. Model’s
responses were well-timed, and his overall performance in this battle was nearperfect. I leave it to the German player to figure out his best options from the
ground up. One piece of advice I will offer: assignment of major reserve
formations is obviously critical, as the neutralisation of one danger area frees up
reserves for employment elsewhere. Your three aces here: 1) good defensive
positions and interior lines 2) your artillery is an infantry-killer for stacked
attacking Soviets 3) your counter-attack option appearing on turn 10 can turn the
tide if used properly. Many Soviet units, urged on by a ruthless high command
(the PO can be considered “ruthless”), will drive on in depth. These units can be
surrounded and destroyed entirely. Note those units that give you extra victory
points. The destruction of these premier units can be decisive on the final point
total.
Obviously the German is forced to defend the Jupiter percentage cities at all
costs. If Jupiter starts, you’re going to be in deep trouble as the entire front, not
just the salient where your reserves are committed, erupts in flames. At this point
it might be advised to evacuate the Rzhev salient entirely, saving what you can.
To check and see how close the PO is to this activation you can either add up all
the occupied locations on the map, or scroll back through Recent News to see each
capture, as they are detailed therein. I think it best to keep a running total on hand.
If you can keep the PO’s total to 25% or less up to turn 30 you will win an early
decisive win.
One might liken the historical battle to a chess-match between Zhukov and
Model. Zhukov, as white, opts for a “pawn-storm” offense aided by deeply
deployed knights. Model bides his time, relentlessly attriting the pawns at a
favourable ratio, and finally manages to trap and eliminate the knights. Zhukov
does not concede defeat and petulantly launches attrition attacks seeking to jar the situation loose, finally conceding in the end-game long after a more rational player
would have called it quits. Since Zhukov in this model is a PO, I found myself
ironically referring to it in playtesting as “not-so-Deep Red”.
Acknowledgments:
This project would not have been possible without the ground-breaking study of
Operation Mars by David M. Glantz (Zhukov’s Greatest Defeat: The Red Army’s
Epic Disaster in Operation Mars, 1942. University Press of Kansas: 1999). Mr.
Glantz was also most helpful in responding to questions about the OB and other
matters. My thanks to him for this.
The map is taken directly from Soviet topographical maps of the area. Numbers
on the map--e.g. “^55.5”--represent lats and longs and were left on for reference.
I have done larger maps, but this one was about the most difficult in terms of
detail. This area represents the headwaters for a host of venerable Russian rivers:
the Volga, Dnepr, and Dvina, all start in this area. It is a vast tableland of forest
and swamp, intersticed with a myriad number of rivers, and the road network is
poor. It is horrible terrain to attack into, summer or winter.
I should apologise to Russian-speakers for the inevitable inaccuracies and
inconsistencies in my transcriptions from the Cyrillic.
The Soviet OB is taken entirely from Glantz’s work.
The German OB is taken partially from his work, with reference to Georg Tessin’s
Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten
Weltkreig 1939-1945.
The TO&E for both sides is sound, but unrefined. If anyone wishes to offer their
assistance here, I would be pleased to hear from them.
Finally, for the original idea, and usual stalwart playtesting, my thanks to Doug
Hensley. Thanks also to Ilkka Mutanen for playtesting and advice.

 

 

 

 

Отзыв и комментарии : drmcb@colba.net

ноябрь 2000 г.

 

 

Изменено 24.01.2022, 17:42:23 пользователем Northern Neighbour

[Northern Neighbour 3,424]

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