KALININ FRONT: As the Soviet Operation Mars stalled, only Maj. Gen. A.I. Zygin's 39th Army showed any signs of success. German counter-attacks isolated 39th Army's armored spearhead, mostly tanks of 81st Tank Brigade, and Zygin ordered fresh divisions to break through to rescue the trapped tankers. Preceded by a four-hour bombardment, the 16th Guards Rifle Division assaulted the positions held by the 11th Panzer Grenadier Regiment. "The battle raged," wrote one German survivor, "and the earth, covered by a maelstrom of fiery iron fragments, trembled." Operation Mars had only a few more days to run, as even the most optimistic Soviet commanders began to recognize the waste of men and material as pointless.

The Soviet attack made only minimal gains, and could not penetrate the German lines. By disrupting the German defenses, however, the attack did give the trapped tankers the chance they needed to break out of their encirclement and return to the Soviet lines. The Germans pulled hack in hopes of re-organizing their own battered units, but Zygin gave them no peace and attacked again the next day, this time with more tank support.

This scenario could also be played using East Front maps and Red Warriors Counters. This scenario has an updated version in Red Warriors.

The German StuG IIIg originally had an AT value of 5-8 in the game system, later the AT value was changed to 6-8. The 5-8 AT value would better describe the StuG IIIf, a vehicle which never officially entered the PG universe. For players not using Heroes of the Soviet Union or Red Warriors counters, use 5-8 for the AT values.

Soviet Guards transport counters may be downloaded from Avalanche Press. Otherwise, use RKKA trucks and wagons in place of the Guards counters as needed.