OCS Case Blue - scenario 7.8

The SS Viking Div pushed far into the South, attempting without success to take the city of Armavir by surprise.

The 60^th Mot Div fail to take the town of Pechanokopskoye, near Sal'sk but cut the railroad there: they are no more rail link between Stalingrad and the Kuban.

The 3^th Mot Div screens the city oy Yeysk, sending a delegation to surrender it.

With the Kuban cut from Stalingrad, it is not the time to regret to miss sending supply there before...

Trucks are sent to Astrakhan in order to have a very long journey from the city to the troops defending the oil fields.

The 63^th Cav Div launched an audacious raid in the rear of the forward elements of the SS Viking Div.

Lot of troops are arriving by train at Sal'sk, and the defences around are organizing themself quickly.

The SS Viking takes Armavir! The 3^rd Mot Div takes Korenovskaya, last step before Krasnodar!

More and more reinforcements and supply are arriving in Sal'sk where the 5^th Tank Army is formed. The 1^st and 21^st Tank Corps are at the railway station. From Sal'sk and Pechanokopskoye, units leaded by the remnants of the 4^th Guard Cav Corps are slowly encircling the German Panzergrenadieren, supported by long-range very efficient bombers flying from Stalingrad.

The 3^rd Mot Div helps their comrades of the 60^th to deal with the waves of Soviets coming from Sal'sk. The SS Viking enlarge his spearhead.

The 5^th Tank Army continues to press the German and destroy the forces facing them West of Sal'sk. The road to oil field is clearly menaced.

It looks like the Germans will be unable to go further neither eastward nor southward and that their must prepare to defend themselves strategically from now until May, 1943...

Violent struggle in front of Sal'sk. The Stukas and He 111 with very precise bombings clear the path for the Panzers of the 60^th and 16^th Mot Div. The 16^th Pz Div arrives by train as the 29^th Mot Div join the front. The idea is to cut Sal'sk from Stalingrad the next week.

In the same time, the 3^rd Mot Div run to Krasnodar and takes the airport where a first squadron of Croats pilots lands their Messerschmitt 109g. The fight for the center of city is not yet finished.

Arrival of the 1^st Tank Corps at Sal'sk.

The battle develops around Sal'sk, cut from Stalingrad by the 16^th Pz Div.

One more step into Kranodar, on the western side of the city with a very precise support from the Luftwaffe.

Failed attempt from the 1^st Tanl Corps to repulse the 16^th Pz Div behind Sal'sk. The forward defence gathered around the town.

The South is awakening.

(I discovered very late the South box...)

Failure to take the centre of Krasnodar, despite the fact that they were only a few defenders there. Even the NKVD were gone behind the river...

The chances to take both or even one oil field before the mud and to keep it with a very extended front are fading...

The NKVD is back in Krasnodar, some tanks are waiting in support south of the city... Around, the lines are mooving: the Russian abandon Timashevskaya air base in order to avoir to be out of supply. But, in the east, from Maikop, the newly formed 58^th Army pushes and takes back Ust-Labinskaya, followed by the 2^nd Tank Corps.

The Kuban is too big for the overstretched German army!

New failures in front of Krasnodar and Sal'sk.

The 2^th Tank Corps pushes back the Germans before Krasnodar. The city would probably be saved, finally.

In Sal'sk, the evacuation process began: protected by the 1^st Tank Corps, the troops are leaving to form a new stronghold in south.

The Soviet tank counter-attack near Krasnodar is repulsed by the arrival of the 16^th Mot Div. The SS Viking regroup to take the city, and even launch a deep reco toward Kerck strait, cutting the supply of Soviet troops behind.

Sal'sk is besieged and cut from the Soviet Tank Army, retreating to find some cover.

Meanwhile, the officers and soldiers of the 126^th Inf Div do not want to wait for the fall of the townto continue marching “nach Osten”: they cross at night the Manych river, with the support of the artillery of the 16^th Pz Div – the very same heroes who ambushed the Soviet tank at Tatsinskaya! A new bridgehead is setting up.

The German bridgehead on the Manych has been totally destroyed! The troops in Sal'sk received enough supply by air to stand.

Yeysk is finally take, due to starvation of the garrison.

Krasnodar is taken too, wit heavy losses by the 3^rd Mot Div. The SS Viking launched a successful raid to the coast, taking by surprise Tuapse and the supply depot there.

Consolidation of the prots on Black Sea and around the Maikop oil fileds.

The 5^th Tank Army continue his retreat from Sal'sk crushing the Panzergrenadieren on the road.