Operation Gallop - late January to mid-February 1943
Co-op Missions. (IL-2 Sturmovik - BAT 4.2.x)
Flying for the Soviets.
Based on historical events.
These 10 missions are intended for a virtual-squadron of up to 16 players flying a wide mixture Russian aircraft. You will have the opportunity to fly La-5s, Yaks, IL-2s, Bostons IIIs, Pe-2s and Li-2s against AI controlled Bf109s, Fw190s, Fw189s, Ju87s, Ju52s and Ju88s. There are a mixture of mission types involved (ground pounding, defense, CAPs etc), and as many a 3 separate flight/activities per mission.
Can be easily modified for single player use.
The German planes are all AI.
Skins are all winter default.
I have not used any special BAT features to make the game as universally playable as possible.
I have included images to share with you players for each mission.
I also included a map of the region with many of the major locations highlighted. This is so you payers can become familiar with map as the games goes along.
HISTORICAL SETTING
"The Soviets came close to winning the war in the east with the battles in southern Russia in the winter of 1942-1943. The German 6th Army remained surrounded and the relief attempt to free the German forces in the pocket failed. Stalin planned to destroy all the German forces in southern Russia and win the war. From Stalingrad south to the Caucasus Mountains the heavily outnumbered German forces were in flight to the West. Desperate fighting raged near Rostov on Army Group South's southern flank. If the Soviet forces took Rostov, 1st Panzer, 4th Panzer, and 17th Armies would be trapped in the Kuban Bridgehead.
Stavka assigned Southwest and Southern Fronts the eastern Ukraine. The main effort and most powerful front resided with General N. F. Vatutin's Southwest Front. The Southwest Front's 6th and 1st Guard Armies along with Mobile Group Popov were to divide Army Group South in two, outflank the German forces at the Dneiper River, and encircle them by advancing to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. The Southern Front would advance west to Mariupol to complete the destruction of the trapped German forces."
"N.F. Vatutin, commander of the Southwestern Front, offered an ambitious operational plan to the Soviet Stavka on 19 January. He proposed to create a mobile group that would penetrate Heeresgruppe Don's porous front, drive deep into the rear of the army group and then swing south toward the shores of the Gulf of Taganrog. By reaching a point on the coastline approximately 100 miles west of Rostov, Vatutin hoped to sever the rail and road network extending east from the Dnepr River and thereby cut off 1. Panzerarmee, 4. Panzerarmee and Armeeabteilungen Fretter-Pico and Hollidt. This ambitious plan was code named Operation "Gallop" and its daring scope was typical of Vatutin, whose operational ambitions were characterized by aggressive optimism throughout his career."
REFERENCES
Black Cross Red Star volume 4. Christer Bergstrom
David A. Shunk, Major, USAF, Master's Thesis.
LAST VICTORY IN RUSSIA: The SS-Panzerkorps and Manstein's Kharkov Counteroffensive February-March 1943. George M. Nipe, Jr.
These missions were created for the on-line Squadron II/JG11.
They are a continuation of my Caucasus Defense 1942 campaign.
I will post the zipfile at Mission4Today if the site is still operational.
Enjoy.
Author
Topic: Operation Skachok (Gallop) - late January to mid-February 1943 (Read 1033 times)
