On July 8, 1943, General Breith, Commander of III Panzer Corps, ordered the 6th Panzer Division to move north toward Prokhorovka accompanied by units from 503 Panzer Abteilung at 1230 hours. The initial objectives were to break through the Soviet defenses, secure a north/south road in the area around Melikhovo, and take control of the town and two surrounding villages. Units from the Soviet 92nd Guards Rifle Division and 31st Anti-Tank Brigade formed a dug in defense both in town and along the hills east of the town. Soviet pickets were placed in some of the wooded areas and wheat fields south of the town, as well as in a small village SE of it. German armor and infantry advanced northward in force, along with long range artillery being called in with some accuracy. Soon after the battle began, German artillery destroyed a 45mm AT emplacement in the SE village. At 1300, Soviet armor reinforcements along with tank riders arrived on the northern front, while German infantry eliminated another Soviet AT platoon (76.2mm). German armor continued to strike at the Soviet front picket line inflicting infantry casualties and bursting through along the road to Melikhovo. By 1345, both a T-70 and T-34B had fallen to the German Tiger platoons as they drove toward Melikhovo; meanwhile, German PzIII’s and IV’s, a Grille and FPzIII attacked the Soviet troops in the SE village eliminating resistance from HMG and infantry platoons there. The FPzIII was lost in the skirmish, but the Germans took the village. The Germans then shifted the battle to the Soviet right flank in an attempt to secure the west N/S road and the town of Melikhovo, and vicious fighting occurred for the next hour. By 1515, the Soviet troops guarding the south side of Melikhovo put up a valiant defense, but resistance was beginning to crumble as they had no defense against the German armor other than direct assault. German Tigers and PzIIIJ’s eliminated the T-70’s that had been placed in the town. On the Soviet left, the Germans had firm control of the SE village, but a Kommissar bravely tried to rally the front line troops while Katyusha, mortar and artillery fire decimated German infantry en route to the village. By 1600, a German Tiger had taken the north village in the Soviet center; shortly thereafter, another Tiger destroyed the last remaining Soviet tank, a T-34C. At 1645, the German combined forces had captured the road running through Melikhovo, which gave them a clear thoroughfare from north to south on the battlefield. At 1515, a brave Soviet Major and his Guards infantry platoon were finally eliminated from Melikhovo, giving the Germans control of the town. By that time, 2 German Tigers, a PzIIIJ and a PzIIIN had moved north off the battlefield, giving the Germans a major victory.

This is a complex scenario with many counters and a 4-map playing surface. The Germans need to exit 20 steps, secure a north/south road and control all town hexes for a major victory, while the Soviets need to prevent these three objectives from being attained. In the opening, the Germans held back most of the Hanomags and the Flammpanzers until it was clear where they would be most needed. HMG’s and engineers also held back until the Hanomags moved them forward to key areas. The Soviet placed dug-in units both on the ridges in the NE corner of the map and in Melikhovo, which was heavily defended. The German opening tested the front lines, but once it was clear the SE village could be secured, the majority of effort went to seize and clear the western N/S road and potentially take the prize of Melikhovo. The Germans had some good shots at the right time, which helped their cause, but the Tiger platoons are very difficult to tackle for the Soviets. There were attempts to catch them in a crossfire, but the firepower & range of the Tigers can damage any unit before it can get in range. The Germans also had the initiative in 18 of the 20 rounds, sometimes having three action segments before the Soviet could respond, other than for occasional opportunity fire. The only real break that the Soviets had involved the fog of war rules, since 11 of the 20 turns ended early; however, five of those 11 turns went through many action segments before they were stopped short. By the time of this scenario, I had stopped using the logistics rules; if these had been in play, the Soviets would have suffered two critical shortfalls.

All things considered, this is a great scenario, but definitely a weekender. The tension level gets high, or at least it did in this example, as the Germans struggled to clear Melikhovo, which was the key for two of three objectives as played here. Regarding the third objective, only 4 of the 20 points were moved off the board prior to Turn 20. So, entering the last turn of the game, the Germans had only accomplished one objective, since they had a tenuous hold on the N/S road. Melikhovo was cleared on that last turn, and 16 German points then exited the map once secure perimeters were established around all towns, and the Soviet units that might threaten a late assault and compromise hex control were disabled to the point that they could not reach any of the town hexes. The latter situation is probably the most difficult for the Germans, since a “rogue” Soviet unit can make a last minute run to gain a road hex or enter for an assault to negate objective completion. Thus, the Germans not only have to have cleared all the road and town hexes, but must have a good blocking perimeter to insure that unchallenged control is maintained.