Against the Odds 62: Strike of the Heron

Strike of the Heron - The Approach to Stalingrad explores the sudden and astonishing breakthrough operation “Fischreiher” (Heron) by the German XIV Panzer Korps and other supporting units, to the Volga River in August, 1942.

It sent shock waves all the way up to Stalin and his Front commanders as the Soviets had been able to previously repel German attacks, allowing only a slow advance.

This rapid breakthrough and arrival of German units along the banks of Volga River at Rynok (just north of Stalingrad proper) on August 23rd also cutoff chances of a general offensive by Soviet forces on the German’s left flank to the north. This had been part of STAVKA's overall plan but had to be hastily abandoned.

The suddenness of their success even caught the Germans off guard. How to keep and further exploit their break- through? All the units in the Panzer Korps had suffered losses prior and all were somewhat understrength. Many of the AFVs were Panzer II, the rest mostly Panzer III, and maybe 30 long barreled Panzer IV. The corridor was not wide, just a few miles and many miles long....

The Soviets did react quickly and by Aug. 24th were launching counter thrusts against the base of the German corridor (near the Don), on both the German's right and left flanks. But, like the Germans, the Soviets were also weak. Their divisions were really at brigade strength, with around 4000 men. Their tank corps averaged 50 AFVs, but many times half of these were light tanks. The Soviet euphoric attacks managed to cut the corridor briefly, forcing the Germans to re-supply themselves by air, but had turned into a dire defensive action within a few days.

A second Soviet "pincher" offensive against the corridor nearer to Stalingrad was launched from Kotluban' to the north and Orlovka to the south in early Sept. Using the newly formed 24th and 66th Armies, plus the 4th, 7th and 16th Tank Corps’, along with elements of 1st Guards, slow gains were made but eventually faltered. The Soviets lost 200 tanks. The Germans felt secure enough to begin major operations to enter and capture Stalingrad.

Designed by Perry Moore, Strike of the Heron includes one map with 280 counters. Units are at the division/brigade level for the Soviets while German forces are depicted from battalion to division. Each turn is 12 hours and a hex is around one mile.

In terms of game play, the Soviet player must not only ensure sufficient forces escape the intended German encirclement, but then maintain constant pressure on the overextended Panzer Korps with a series of counterattacks from both north and south of the corridor.

Strike of the Heron and issue #62 of ATO

Maps - One full color 17"x44" hex mapsheet

Counters - 280 full color 1/2" die-cut pieces

Rules length - 15 pages

Charts and tables - 1 page

Complexity - Medium

Playing time - Up to 4 hours

How challenging is it solitaire? - Average

Design - Perry Moore

Development - Russ Lockwood

Graphic Design - Mark Mahaffey