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CMP FH2 Campaign #17: The Unyielding Battle #4: Operation Mars History "Operation Mars was the codename for the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция) launched by Soviet forces against German forces during World War II. It took place between 25 November and 20 December 1942 around the Rzhev salient in the vicinity of Moscow. The offensive was a joint operation of the Soviet Western Front and Kalinin Front coordinated by Georgy Zhukov. The basic plan of the offensive was to eliminate the Rzhev salient by launching multiple, coordinated thrusts from all sides of the salient. After the destruction of the German 9th Army, the forces would regroup and link up with the 5th and 33rd Armies which were to attack along the Moscow-Vyazma highway. This latter part of the operation was codenamed Operation Jupiter. When resistance around Vyazma was neutralized, the 9th and 10th tank corps and the 3rd Tank Army would then penetrate deeper into the rear of Army Group Centre. The offensive was one in a series of particularly bloody engagements collectively known in Soviet and Russian histories as the Battles of Rzhev, which occurred near Rzhev, Sychevka and Vyazma between January 1942 and March 1943. The battles became known as the "Rzhev meat grinder" ("Ржевская мясорубка") for their huge losses, particularly on the Soviet side. For many years it was relegated to a footnote in Soviet military history. "

CMP FH2 Campaign #17: The Unyielding Battle #3: Operation Edelweiss History "After neutralizing the Soviet counter-attack in the Izyum-Barvenkovsk direction the German Army Group A rapidly attacked towards the Caucasus. When Rostov-on-Don, nicknamed "The Gates of Caucasus," were reached on 23 July 1942 (falling on the 27th), the tank units of Ewald von Kleist moved towards the Caucasian Mountain Range. The "Edelweiß" division commander, Hubert Lanz, decided to advance through the gorges of rivers of the Kuban River basin and by crossing the Marukhskiy Pass (Maly Zelenchuk River), Teberda, Uchkulan reach the Klukhorskiy Pass, and simultaneously through the Khotyu-tau Pass block the upper reaches of the Baksan River and the Donguz-Orun and Becho passes. Concurrently with the outflanking maneuvers, the Caucasian Mountain Range was supposed to be crossed through such passes as Sancharo, Klukhorskiy and Marukhskiy to reach Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Sukhumi and the Soviet Georgian capital city of Tbilisi. The units of the 4th German Mountain Division, manned with Tyroleans, were active in this thrust. They succeeded in advancing 30 km toward Sukhumi. To attack from the Kuban region, capture the passes that led to Elbrus, and cover the "Edelweiß" flank, a vanguard detachment of 150 men commanded by Captain (Hauptmann) Heinz Groth, was formed. From the Old Karachay through the Khurzuk aul and the Ullu-kam Gorge the detachment reached the Khotyu-tau Pass, which had not been defended by the Soviet troops. Khotyu-tau gained a new name – "The Pass of General Konrad". The starting point of the operation on the Krasnodar-Pyatigorsk-Maikop line was reached on 10 August 1942. On 16 August, the battalion commanded by von Hirschfeld made a feint and reached the Kadar Gorge. On 21 August, troops from the 1st Mountain Division planted the flag of Nazi Germany on the summit of Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in both the Caucasus and Europe. On 9 September, Hitler sacked List from command of Army Group A and sent him into retirement, for perceived sluggish leadership. Hitler then took personal charge of Army Group A, a highly impractical arrangement. By 1 November 1942, the German 23rd Panzer Division had reached Alagir and the 13th Panzer Division had reached Ordzhonikidze, approximately 610 km from their starting positions, the high water mark of the Axis invasion of the Caucasus. The 13th Panzer Division was encircled by Red Army counterattacks shortly after however, but was able to break out with assistance from SS Division Wiking. These events led Ewald von Kleist to halt further offensive operations.[ On November 22nd, Hitler gave command of Army Group A to von Kleist, and Eberhard von Mackensen replaced von Kleist as commander of 1st Panzer Army." Map created / edited by: @king_tigernator@GeoPat Pictures taken by @Hawk

CMP FH2 Campaign #17: The Unyielding Battle #2: Kalatsch History "At dawn on 7 August, XIV and XXIV Panzer Corps shredded the Soviet front line near Kalach from the north and the south, all the while receiving immense support from Fiebig's air corps and parts of Pflugbeil's. From the northeast and southwest, tight against the Don River, XIV and XXIV Panzer Corps struck into the Kalach bridgehead. Their spearheads made contact southwest of Kalach by late afternoon, trapping the main body (eight rifle divisions) of the Soviet 62nd Army in an encirclement. Joined by LI Army Corps the Germans began systematically destroying the surrounded Soviet forces. The pocket was wiped out in four days, by 11 August. Nearly 50,000 prisoners were taken, and the Germans claimed the destruction of a thousand Soviet tanks and 750 guns, although the claims of destroyed Soviet tanks are considered a little exaggerated. These losses threw the Soviet leader Josef Stalin into a panic and compelled him to feed more reserves into the fight at Stalingrad. Air support in the battle was crucial, Fiebig's Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers mercilessly hammered the trapped Soviet troops and vehicles while Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers bombed the Soviet railway network and airfields with impunity, destroying 20 Soviet aircraft on the ground on 10 August alone, the technically and numerically inferior Soviet 8th Air Army achieving nothing thanks to losing its 447 replacement aircraft from 20 July to 17 August as fast as it received them. The Soviet Air Forces had poor logistical systems, a low level of crew training and abysmal standards for army-air communications and liaison. The Soviet aircraft were prematurely committed to the fight immediately upon arrival and were promptly and easily destroyed by the experienced German aviators. The disparity in effectiveness between the combatants became evident on 12 August when Fliegerkorps VIII destroyed 25 of 26 Soviet aircraft that attacked German airfields that day, suffering no losses in turn. No German losses were sustained the next day either as Fliegerkorps VIII destroyed 35 of 45 Soviet aircraft that tried to attack the German airfields."

CMP FH2 Campaign #17: The Unyielding Battle #1: Brody History "The battle between Panzer Group 1 and the Soviet mechanized corps was the fiercest of the whole invasion, lasting four full days. The Soviets fought furiously, and crews of German tank and anti-tank guns found to their horror that the new Soviet T-34 tanks were almost immune to their weapons. The new KV-1 and KV-2 heavy tanks were impervious to virtually all German anti-tank weapons, but the Red Army's logistics had completely broken down due to Luftwaffe attacks. The German Kampfgeschwader bomber wings, namely KG 51, KG 54, and KG 55, contributed a series of heavy low-level attacks against Soviet ground targets. The headquarters of the Soviet 15th Mechanised Corps was destroyed, and its commander, General-Major Ignat Karpezo, was wounded. The Luftwaffe destroyed some 201 Soviet tanks in this area. The five Red Army corps were mishandled while being concentrated into large powerful groups. The German troops sought to isolate individual units and destroy them. Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe ranging over the battlefields was able to separate the supporting infantry and deny them resupply of fuel and ammunition.Ultimately due to lack of adequate planning and overall coordination, the Soviet counter-attack failed to meet at Dubno." --- --- --- ---

Axis Training For FH2 Campaign TeamSpeak Server: ts.cmp-gaming.com You will need to be on Teamspeak for both training and for the battles. If you are not on Teamspeak, you will be kicked from the server! FH2 Campaigns - What You Need To Know

Allied Training For FH2 Campaign TeamSpeak Server: ts.cmp-gaming.com You will need to be on Teamspeak for both training and for the battles. If you are not on Teamspeak, you will be kicked from the server! FH2 Campaigns - What You Need To Know

CMP FH2 Campaign #17: The Unyielding Scrimmage

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CMP FH2 Mini-Campaign: Rising Tides, Soaring Skies Battle #1