Hell Freezes Over

Panovo, Russia, December 14, 1941: As Operation Typhoon ground to a halt and the brutal
Russian winter closed in, The German Army was left in a position of extreme peril at the 
gates of Moscow. Strung out and suffering from heavy casualties, the Germans were in no 
position to deal with the cold and the Russian counter-offensive that was brewing. The 
German generals pleaded with Hitler to withdraw their frost-bitten and exhausted troops 
to more defensible locations. Incredibly, and with rare good sense, Hitler sanctioned 
the retreat of his troops. Not a moment too soon. Even as the Germans were pulling back 
and digging in, STAVKA was positioning tough and especially equipped Siberian troops and 
armor for the counter-offensive. Among the positions the Germans were determined to hold 
was the highway brdge near the town of Panovo. Patiallty destroyed during Operation Typhoon,
the town still provided the Germans with cover. Grim and shivering infantry of the 3rd 
Motorized Rifle Regiment hunkered down in the frozen, burnt out rubble and waited for the 
Russians to appear.

Game length: 8.5 turns

For the Russians to win they must break-through the town of Panovo
For the Germans to win they must prevent the Russian break-through

Russians: Squads, MMG's, LMG's, ATR's, AFV's
Germans: Squads, HMG, MMG's, LMG's, Radio, AT Guns, AFV's

Boards: #12, #33 

Aftermath: The Soviets were determined but lacked both leadership and a clearcut strategy. 
Russian troops and armor swarmed across the bleak landscape time and again, but the Germans 
had entrenched and fortified the key positions into into hedgehogs. The Russian attacks 
were broken up by German MG and artillery fire, and breakthroughs were headed off by the 
timely arrival of German armor and mechanized infantry. In the case of Panovo, the defenders 
were invested from several directions at once by Siberian ski troops and armor. Only the 
intervention of reinforcements from the 6th Panzer Battalion prevented a breakthrough. German 
flexibility and combined arms had driven off this attack. But it would not be the last.

Source: Scenario OTT 4 (version 3.4), Hell Freezes Over by Dan Preston
