Unity of Command - Gameplay Notes - 2nd Kharkov Scenario - The March Up North (06Jun42 / 18Jun42)

All things considered, it turns out I have trashed my operational tempo by over-sizing my main effort.

The Soviets are packing and fleeing up north!

My command is battle-weary, understrength and behind schedule to secure the two remaining objectives.

There is also that sharp thorn at Kharkov, which hurts my pride more than my logistics.

I never intended to have any of my divisions east of the Oskol river because of supply issues. But the Soviet's defeat and subsequent retreat from Izium has created a vacuum that sucks my troops in. In this screenshot, the 97th Light Division moves north, seeking for trouble.

Re-capturing Kharkov was not difficult. In this screenshot, the Soviets pull out a corps from the 6th Army from the narrow salient east of Kharkov in order to reinforce a defensive position southwest of Kupyansk.

Speeding up the operations beyond my comfort level. The 60th Motorized Division and the 22nd Panzer Division making a desperate dash towards the north-most objective (Olkhovatka). The Soviet forces near Kharkov have been completely destroyed.

The final screen. Obliterated the Soviets and bought all the real state,  but just too late ...

This was a great scenario and it taught me that no matter how important the main effort and decisive operations are, it takes a good amount of supporting effort and shaping operations to achieve victory. One of my biggest failures was to not harass the Soviets with my left wing. Although the Soviets kept a sizeable amount of infantry corps opposing my left wing, they were totally free to move their other high mobility/shock troops wherever they wanted, including Izium, where I placed my bet for a quick victory. A limited push with my left wing would have spooked the Russians into diverting some of their best troops north, making my drive to Izium more quick.

Cheers,