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Savoia!

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Title
Savoia!
Description
As the Italian 8th Army took up positions along the west bank of the River Don, a Russian counterattack opened a gap between it and the German 6th Army advancing on Stalingrad. As part of the effort to seal this breach, the Savoy Cavalry and Novara Lancers were sent …
Source
Publisher
Date
1942-08-23
Scenario#
A012
Scenario Description
As the Italian 8th Army took up positions along the west bank of the River Don, a Russian counterattack opened a gap between it and the German 6th Army advancing on Stalingrad. As part of the effort to seal this breach, the Savoy Cavalry and Novara Lancers were sent to aid the hard-pressed 3rd Celere Division. With the dawn of 23 August, elements of the Soviet 304th Rifle Division advanced expecting no opposition, but immediately ran into the Savoy regiment. Unprepared for suddenly finding themselves on top of the enemy, the overextended Russians began to withdraw -- only to be met by a squadron of Italian cavalry charging headlong at them from the rear.
Location
Ischbuchenskiy, Russia
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
Case Blue was the German Armed Forces' name for its plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The operation was a continuation of the previous year's Operation Barbarossa, intended to knock the Soviet Union out of the war. It involved a two-pronged attack: one from the Axis right flank against the oil fields of Baku, known as Operation Edelweiss, and one from the left flank in the direction of Stalingrad along the Volga River, known as Operation Fischreiher. Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd) of the German Army was divided into Army Groups A and B (Heeresgruppe A and B). Army Group A was tasked with crossing the Caucasus mountains to reach the Baku oil fields, while Army Group B protected its flanks along the Volga. Supported by 2,035 Luftwaffe aircraft and 1,934 tanks and assault guns, the 1,370,287-man Army Group South attacked on 28 June, advancing 48 kilometers on the first day and easily brushing aside the 1,715,000 Red Army troops opposite, who falsely expected a German offensive on Moscow even after Blau commenced. The Soviet collapse in the south allowed the Germans to capture the western part of Voronezh on 6 July and reach and cross the Don river near Stalingrad on 26 July. Army Group B's approach toward Stalingrad slowed in late July and early August owing to constant counterattacks by newly deployed Red Army reserves and overstretched German supply lines. The Germans defeated the Soviets in the Battle of Kalach and the combat shifted to the city itself in late August. Nonstop Luftwaffe airstrikes, artillery fire and street-to-street combat completely destroyed the city and inflicted heavy casualties on the opposing forces. After three months of battle, the Germans controlled 90% of Stalingrad on 19 November.
Narrative Source
Combatants
Italian
Russian
Additional Information
Scenario Type = Standard

Geolocation