Part of the Barbarossa plan, the overly-ambitious operation “Siberfuchs” (Silver Fox) aimed at no less than taking Murmansk and some localities south of it on the strategic railroad leading from the Arctic port to the heart of the USSR. It was just one hundred kilometers on the map, but it led through damp and wooded areas, across many streams and very few trails. The central attack groups, with two German divisions, including one Waffen-SS, and the 6th Finnish Division, soon encountered strong resistance. Trying to outflank the defenders, Axis troops finally met with success and arrived, in August, near Alakurtti, one of the largest towns before the railroad. When the Russian defense of the Enianjoki river checked the advance to Alakurtti, Finnish sappers built a bridge five kilometers down the river and fifteen panzers crossed with some infantry. No less than twelve tanks then bogged but the last three gave decisive support to the Finns.
Attacker: Axis (Jalkavakirymantti 54 and Panzer Abteilung 211)
Defender: Russian (88th Rifle Division)
6.5 turns
Players: 2 OBA: None Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:15.0 D:16.5
AFVs: A:3
AFVs: D:0
Guns: A:1 D:3
Misc Rules:
Bldgs: Wooden, Streams: Dry. CI (E2.4). D: MOL (A22.6) vs AFVs
Gorgeous map, implacable Finns reclaiming a part of their homeland, and hapless Stalinist stooges trying to hold off the Finns with an Infantry Gun and an 82mm Mortar. What more do you want? Oh, very well: let's throw in a captured French SOMUA S35 and a couple of Hotchkiss tanks added to the Finnish OOB. Fun fun fun. To be honest, I had more fun as the Finns than my opponent, for whom things generally went wrong.
