FIRST CRISIS AT ARMY GROUP NORTH*
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DATE: 25 June 1941*
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BATTLE TYPE: Soviet Union vs. Germany meeting engagement*
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Two-Player PBEM Game*
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Northeast of RASEINIAI, LITHUANIA, :  When Army Group North moved toward the River Daugava (renamed Dvina by the Soviets), the Russian command responded by detailing the 3rd Mechanized Corps to meet and destroy Mainstein's units. On June 24th, the Soviet armored force made contact with the 6th Panzer Division, the spearhead of XLI Panzer Corps. Over a hundred of the Soviet tanks were the super-heavy KV models. The size and power of these stunned the panzer crews and baffled the AT gunners; neither seemed to posses a gun that could penetrate the armor of their opponents. The German advance was halted and the 6th Panzer Division cut-off. The following day, the 1st Panzer Division was ordered to relieve and reinforce the 6th, while the Soviet force moved to continue its advance. These two efforts immediately collided.*
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AFTERMATH: The Soviet heavy tanks outclassed the German defense and simply drove through the German units toward their objectives. The German armor commanders responded with careful maneuver and precision fire, turning their tanks around to follow the Russian advance while the infantry attempted to close assault the Russian behemoths. These tactics eliminated a few Russian vehicles, but the rest continued their steady advance until they ran into German AA and artillery positions in the rear. Unlike the AT and tank guns, these weapons had a fair chance of penetrating the thick armor of the Russian tanks. The Soviet advance ground to a halt. A rapid German counterattack threw the confused Russians back about two miles and ended the crisis.*
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NOTES: This scenario is based off of Avalon Hill's Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) General magazine scenario M with some minor modifications. The map is not based on the scenario.*
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Sources:  The "General" ASL Scenario M*
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Design by:  Don Lazov*