Matrix Games Forums

This scenario is playable vs AI or a human opponent.


You can find the latest version of the scenario HERE ( V1 6/16/2024)

To install:

0) make sure you upgraded your copy of WEGO Stalingrad to v1.06 or newer.
1) Unzip 1942.Briansk.zip (it will contain 8 files including a README file)
2) place Bryansk.png and Bryansk-v2_thb.png in Documents/MyGames/Stalingrad/maps
3) place Bryansk-v2.sce and Bryansk-v2.sum in Documents/MyGames/Stalingrad/scn
4) read the short pdf "Red Army" and Whermacht" guides and save them wherever you like
5) save and print the grayscale Bryansk.planningmap.pdf if you find it useful to mark where units are and where you want them to go...

No other files are needed. When you start the game it will show up in the scenarios list as "1942 - Bryansk Front Attacks! V1.06"

You will be able to post a challenge on the forum, however your opponent will need WEGO upgraded to v1.06 and to install the map file as in 2) for the game to look as intended.

The following posts add a lot of historical background to this battle, using documents from both sides. Check them put to get a better perspective of the strategic situation.

This relatively unknown battle was almost comparable in size to the Ardennes Offensive in 1944 (the equivalent of a full Tank Army against vs weak German Infantry divisions and a Panzer Division) ...like on the West front the attacker has to break into open ground and encircle the enemy before it regains air superiority and mobile reinforcements pour in. The offensive was not successful. Same scale as the Stalingrad game, with some changes in the way forces are described to reduce unit density. Hope you like the new map by user NickGen

Sources: Glantz's "To the Gates of Stalingrad" and Sdvizhkov "Confronting Case Blau"


Scenario Description

Bryansk Front Attacks!
Time span: 21 July 1942 - 26 July 1942
Turns: 25
Turns per day: 5
Map size: Small (23 x 30)
Scale: 2500 meters per Hex
Number of units (Axis/Allies): 138 / 197

After the opening phases of Case Blau, Hoth's 4th Panzer Army has seized control of the city of Voronez and the West bank of the Don. With the bulk of its mobile forces now headed for the Volga and the Caucasus, a small mix of green divisions brought from France and some veteran divisions from Salmuth's 2nd Army are left behind to cover the extended left flank and the Don banks. Stalin has ordered the Red Army and its new, large tank reserves to regain the initiative in this sector, in order to divert significant German forces from their race to the Volga.

Red Army Briefing:

The Boss has assigned a large fraction of the existing tank reserves to Group Chibisov. You outnumber the German tanks by at least 3:1. He expects you to break the German front line with your infantry, envelop the Don salient with your tank reserves, reach the Voronez highway and retake the city. You have four days to achieve these goals. The attack in the Voronezh Front sector will begin on July 22nd at the latest.

Tactical Considerations

1) Break the weak German lines with infantry and tank brigades before unleashing the bulk of your tank forces and head South to Zemliansk (6,12)
2) pivot South East to Voronezh (18,23), encircling the German salient.
3) 60th and 40th Army will join from the East side of the Don and retake Voronezh, starting on July 22nd (they get released later on July 21st).

- You are well aware that your infantry and division level officers are poorly trained
- Make sure you use your numerous Ground and Logistic Assets early to secure a breakthrough
- Try to concentrate forces and use Ammo+ wisely. Small, dispersed attacks by badly trained infantry was the main mistake made by Group Chibisov
- Secure the bridge to the town of Bol'shaia Vereika (hex 10,7) as soon as possible. Rebuild it if necessary.
- Move the tanks to the open ground across of the river and push South before the Germn mobile reserves are activated.
- Your forces outnumber the enemy, especially in tanks, but are untrained, not fully ready and with poor Command & Control.
- The weather is clear and the VVS (The Soviet Air Force) has promised to support your ground forces to the best of their abilities.
- You will have plenty of ammo and fuel for your tanks!

(this info is based on the one historical available to the real Group and Army Commanders)

Axis Briefing:

Your task is to protect the North shoulder of the Axis effort as 6th Army thrust to Stalingrad and the Caucasus. The enemy has significant tank forces in the area and a previous attack by an entire Tank Army was recently repulsed with heavy enemy losses. Defend the highway to Voronezh and protect your forces along the Don salient from encirclement. Enlarge your bridgehead around Voronezh if possible. If the enemy breaks your Main Line of Defense the 9th Panzer Division will be released to support you. Counterattack swiftly, but keep your mobile losses low as they will be needed to fight another day

Tactical considerations:
- defend Zemliansk (6,12) and Voronezh (18,23) at all costs while reinfircements arrive.
- SETUP: Most of your infantry regiments start split into battalions to better defend your long frontline.
- Artillery and HQs move slowly due to their large logistics trains. Keep them on roads as much as possible.
- The Luftwaffe will provide support within 24 hours
- Reinforcements: significant reinforcements will arrive within the first 36 hours to bolster your lines.
- The 169th Infantry division is limited to the area of the Don salient as for 2nd Army orders
- fuel is somewhat limited, take advantage of fuel+ assets to move elements of 9th PzD when it's finally released to the front and counterattack!

Nice!

Impatient...

Hellway wrote: Sun Apr 23, 2023 3:04 pm Impatient...

Same. I put a lot of work/research in these scenarios. They are ready and tested (vs human and AI) , but need the readiness recovery bug and a couple of AI bugs/features fixed to work to their full potential. So I have been waiting .

Wow. Looking forward to playing this in the not too distant future. Thanks for your work on this.

Any news of this work ?

Hellway wrote: Thu Jun 29, 2023 11:49 pm Any news of this work ?

I wish! The scenario is ready, (and the ACW scenarios too ), but apparently there is no immediate plan for a patch, which I think is essential for them to play properly.

Currently, due to a bug, the readiness recovery rates are INVERTED compared to what was intended. Meaning that green units recover fast, and faster than the elite ones, that recover..well very slowly.
In my opnion this bug (which I think was present from the start!) makes most scenario in Stalingrad (not just mines) play differently from how they were intended.


This bug affects all the official Stalingrad scenarios. It is not super evident in games vs the AI, but when played by a human, my experience has been that the Red Army always remains cohesive, instead of melting away (as it often did), and the Axis does not have the bite and resilience it should have.
I hope I do not sound too harsh, but I think we have not seen ' WEGO Stalingrad' playing properly yet...which is a pity.

Here is the bug post (from 11/2022!)

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 1&t=389714

The ACW scenarios also play incorrectly for the same reason, and the assets bug found by others also affects them.


Both (and other) bugs have been fixed, but I have been told by the developer that it is impractical to submit a patch until the new game is under beta testing.

I have put a lot of work in these scenarios and I think these scenario (the ACW ones especially!) really show the potential of this WEGO engine, so I decided I will not share them while the engine is in the current state.

Hope you understand and I hope things will change soon!

This and your Civil War scenarios look really, really good, and one can already tell from the screenshots and the description that a lot of effort has been put into them. Having mods/scenarios like this would actually finally convince me to buy this game.

So here's hoping two things:

1. The bug gets squashed very soon, since I assume that it not only affects your scenarios but also the base game.

2. Matrix will have a "end of summer sale" in a month or so.

WEGOWW2: Desert War and Stalingrad will be patched after Monty's Front: OVERLORD is published. One engine to rule them all.

bcgames wrote: Mon Jul 31, 2023 3:15 am WEGOWW2: Desert War and Stalingrad will be patched after Monty's Front: OVERLORD is published. One engine to rule them all.

This is great news! I am looking very much forward to your Normandy games as well!

bcgames wrote: Mon Jul 31, 2023 3:15 am One engine to rule them all.

Sounds like a very reasonable choice to maintain one engine for all games with slight modifcations!

Currently testing the scenario 'AI vs Human' with patch 1.03...I plan an early release by end of April and I will also post a multiplayer challenge.
After that feedback from players will be super appreciated.

This is one of a few posts to add some background to the" Bryansk Front attacks!" scenario. I feel it's important to know a bit of the history behind a scenario, to better appreciate the expectations and challenges faced by the commanders and the players.


Some of the reasons that made me design the Bryanks attacks!" scenario were its sheer size (800 tanks involved in a relatively small area, comparable to the Ardennes forest) but also its replayability factor.

In any realistic "Battle of the Bulge scenario" the main variables are relatively uncheangeable (the Allies regain air superiority while the Panzers run out of fuel)....so it is difficult for the German player to do better than history if faced by an even relatively competent Allied commander.

On the Bryansk front instead... while most of the Whermacht attention was focused toward Stalingrad, the Red Army had a real chance for a decisive breakthrough, but it wasted it due to hasty planning and the poor performance of its commanders. Namely poor arm coordination, slow commitment of tank forces, ad attacks spread over too large a front.

So in this scenario the Soviet player really has a chance to do better than history! And the German player will have fun counterattacking within a relatively short amount of time with a competent Panzer Division. However, they will find out that even veteran Panzers will be most effective if used where terrain most favors them (I screwed up a few times myself in playtesting, but kudos to the engine to model logistics and tank formations quite effectively)

Here is a planning map for the scenario with the original orders and timeline from Stavka (note Stalin signed it . Appreciate that in 1942 Stavka orders tended to be wildly optimistic...

I also wrote two little "essential guides" for the German and Red Army players. They are attached below and also will come with the scenario.
While both sides will get to be on the offensive, their approach should be very different. Neither of them can afford "to push their counters forward and hope for the best" ..this was designed to be a challenging scenario where some knowledge of the engine ability to model logistics and recon is necessary. The reward should be high, as this is a scenario that may take 10-20 minutes per move, but possibily (hopefully?) longer to actually decide what to do..

The Red Army has to choose where to attack (South or West across the Don?) and how to expend its tanks and supply resources. Losses should be irrelevant...(as ordered by Stalin himself!)

The German side will be faced by the need to maintain a cohesive front without losing too much ground before the Panzers arrive. They cannot afford many losses tho.

For both sides being aggressive at the right time will be vital.

Below is a screen shot from the "German Scenario Guide"

How did the Red Army perform in real life? Not very well as it failed to achieve a rapid breakthrough. BUT they certainly had the resources and a time window wide enough to do that...if at "wathever the cost" as per Stalin's orders. Try vs the German AI first and then with a human opponent and do not be scared to lose 400+ tanks ...


As mentioned in the scenario notes a great source was the book Confronting Case Blue: Briansk Front's Attempt To Derail The German Drive To The Caucasus, July 1942 (from which this map was taken)




I will finally post the scenario by the end of the week (NOTE: this took a bit longer because I decided to wait of patch 1.06 that fixes a couple of important AI bugs and introduces a few new features 6/2024)

You can finally download the scenario from the top of the thread! OR HERE ( V1 6/16/2024) (for V1.06 and higher)
Any new versions will always be posted at the top.

Being a scenario not set on the Volga there is additional info/charts etc on this thread that you might find useful. Comments welcome!

Fantastic work. Enjoyable to play as the Soviet, and a very tough fight. Need to start playing seriously as the Axis next. No doubt it will feel different, but just as good. An excellent topic for a scenario.

Here's a detailed history of this scenario's outcome; https://globeatwar.com/article/briansk- ... -july-1942 .

Governato some of the units - in the picture it's the 2nd Tank Corp 2nd Motorized Brigade - aren't registering men in the unit - they are empty on their face; Also the AA unit with the 2nd Bde HQ - no guns

In WEGO each unit TOE can only have vehicles, guns or men, depending on type and also icon.
So a motorized brigade or an AA unit might have only vehicles ..I will check.

The important thing is only the Strength of a unit affects game play, not the TOE!


The long answer: The TOE was added to help players visualize losses…(example: if a full strength unit has a full strength value of 10 and TOE of 1000 men and your losses are say 10% then your new strength is 9 and the game also record 100 men in the losses tally..with some little accounting bugs here and there…

Tx for taking a look!