Operation Roland

**Operation Roland** is a scenario in *Panzer Corps 2*.

## Briefings

How can one stand so close to the summit and suddenly turn around?

Herr Field Marshal?

Apologies, I did not mean to muse aloud.

My meetings with High Command are over, and so too it seems is this ill-fated venture.

I have been informed that the Allies have invaded Sicily, and Italian resistance is already collapsing. As a result, forces must be stripped from the Eastern Front to deal with this new development.

Army Group South did manage to fight for one final concession, however. Before it retires from Kursk, we have been given one last opportunity to engage and destroy the enemy's armored reserves.

**Primary Objective: Capture all Victory Hexes.**

Before we are stripped of too much strength, I need you to wheel your forces around towards the Oskol River here.

We need to destroy as much of the enemies reserve armor as possible, lest we be forced to deal with them on their own terms in the coming weeks and months.

Now if you will excuse me, there are other contingency plans I must begin to prepare, in light of these new developments.

*Oberst Wagner salutes Erich von Manstein, and waits for him to leave the room before turning to address you.*

Mein General, I understand the Field Marshal's dejection. For us to fight so hard, only to suddenly be forced to give up all we have accomplished, it dishonors the memory of our fallen comrades and the sacrifices they have made.

As you are aware, the supply for our forces is severely depleted, limiting our deployment and probably forcing us to focus on Manstein's new scaled back objectives.

But if our past victories have given us the strength to continue, I believe now is the most critical hour to press onward!

**Alternate History Objective: Capture all Secondary Hexes.**

Instead of turning southeast, we could attempt to continue the advance north.

I still believe we were right to distance ourselves from the endless sea of Soviet defensive lines by detouring east around Oboyan.

And if we continue advancing north around Kursk...

There is still a chance we will finally plunge our forces deep into the heart of the enemy's strategic depths!

Wherever you decide to lead our forces, we will follow.

To victory, for Germany!

### Debriefing

**Historically, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein's Operation Roland was a minor, closing action in the Battle of Kursk.**

**By this time, Operation Zitadelle had already been called off, due to the slow progress of both German pincers, new Soviet counterattacks against these German pincers, and the Western Allies' invasion of Sicily.**

**Operation Roland was a hasty attempt by Manstein to destroy as much Soviet armor as possible before he would lose several powerful units who were due to transfer to Italy.**

**While the attack reached its territorial goals, the large formations of Soviet tanks Manstein hoped to destroy had escaped the trap.**

**And soon enough, Manstein's worst fears would be realized as the Soviet armored reserves began their own offensive actions across the Eastern Front.**

**But in this alternate history, Operation Roland is greatly expanded to plunge deeply into the Soviet strategic depths.**

**With the vast majority of the Soviet defensive lines behind them, German panzers wreck havoc on Soviet forces still in the process of mobilizing for their own counterattacks.**

**During the battle, Army General Konstantin Rokossovsky's HQ is raided and destroyed.**

**Although Rokossovsky, the Soviet Commander of the Central Front, managed to escape, many high ranking Soviet officers did not, including General Nikolai Vatutin, who would be captured.**

**This event resulted in the total collapse of the Soviet command structure around Kursk, paralyzing Soviet forces long enough for Germany to focus on and complete the encirclement of the Kursk salient.**

**For these failures, Stalin would immediately dismiss Rokossovsky, and General Konev would be tasked with getting the planned Soviet counterattacks back in motion.**

## Walkthrough

*This article is a stub. You can help Panzer Corps Wiki by expanding it.*

## Locations

* Kursk

* Oskol River

* Livny

* Stary Oskol

* Gorshechnoye

* Gubkin

* Seym River

* Tuskar River

* Psel River

* Seymitsa

* Verkhneploskoe

* Kazachok

* Saprykino

* Pristen

* To Prokhorovka

* Kursk

* Oskol River

* Livny

* Stary Oskol

* Gorshechnoye

* Gubkin

* Seym River

* Tuskar River

* Psel River

* Seymitsa

* Verkhneploskoe

* Kazachok

* Saprykino

* Pristen

* To Prokhorovka

## Messages

* Special Objective to Capture all Secondary Hexes completed.
Ahistorical Token Acquired!

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Mein General, some of our forces have seized control of an enemy heavy tank depot! We've commandeered a handful of vehicles and you can access them as captured equipment.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Mein General, our forces have secured an airfield with several Soviet strategic bombers apparently abandoned in nearby hangars. We've commandeered all of the intact aircraft and you can access them as captured equipment.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Mein General! Special reinforcements are here to assist us! The survivors of 6th Army we saved from Stalingrad have been rallied, and have come to join us in this most critical hour. With their added strength, I absolutely believe we can and should push north; to Kursk and the awaiting 9th Army!

* Special Objective to Capture all Secondary Hexes completed.
Ahistorical Token Acquired!

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Mein General, some of our forces have seized control of an enemy heavy tank depot! We've commandeered a handful of vehicles and you can access them as captured equipment.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Mein General, our forces have secured an airfield with several Soviet strategic bombers apparently abandoned in nearby hangars. We've commandeered all of the intact aircraft and you can access them as captured equipment.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Mein General! Special reinforcements are here to assist us! The survivors of 6th Army we saved from Stalingrad have been rallied, and have come to join us in this most critical hour. With their added strength, I absolutely believe we can and should push north; to Kursk and the awaiting 9th Army!

## Notes

* Importing a core force that completed Operation Blut in Axis Operations 1942 will result in the 6th Army appearing as reinforcements.
* Capturing Gubkin will grant players 19 Strength points worth of Captured KV-85 Tanks and 24 Strength points worth of Captured SU-152 Anti-tanks.
* Capturing the hangar at (9,34) will grant players 34 Strength points worth of Captured Ilyushin Il-4 Strategic bombers and 29 Strength points worth of Captured Yermolayev Yer-2 Strategic bombers.
* Capturing all Secondary Hexes sets a variable that can be used to access Axis Operations 1943's ahistorical branch.
* To access the ahistorical branch of Axis Operations 1943, at least two of the following are necessary:
	+ Import a core force that completed Operation Blut in Axis Operations 1942.
	+ Complete the Prokhorovka scenario by capturing all Victory Hexes.
	+ Capture all Secondary Hexes in this scenario.
* Notable allied formations:
	+ 6th Army
* Notable enemy units:
	+ 133rd La-5, which is Level 3 and has a hero with the Artillery and AT Support traits.
	+ 139th Yak-9D, which is Level 3 and has a hero with the Artillery Support and AT Support traits.
	+ 140th Il-2M3, which is Level 3 and has a hero with the Artillery Support and AT Support traits.
	+ 142nd Il-2 Shturmovik, which is Level 3 and has a hero with the Artillery Support and AT Support traits.
	+ Alexey Rodin, a Level 3 KV-1/42 with 17 Strength points and a hero with the Consolidator and Overwhelming Attack traits.
	+ General Vatutin, a Level 5 KV-85 with a hero that has the Leadership, AT Support, Fearsome Reputation, and Rapid Fire 2x traits.
	+ Mikhail Mudrov, a Level 4 Yak-9D with a hero that has the Double Support, Artillery Support, Evasive, and Rapid Fire 1.5x traits.
	+ Rokossovsky's HQ Bunker, a Level 5 Strongpoint that has a hero with the Double Attack, Artillery Support, Ferocious Defense, and Overwhelming Attack traits.