Operation Winter Storm

**Operation Winter Storm** is a scenario in *Panzer Corps 2*.

## Briefings

Herr Field Marshal, what are you doing here?

High Command has put me in charge of the situation around Stalingrad. I have been tasked to organize what forces I can into a new Army Group, Army Group Don, and our goal is the extraction of the forces trapped in Stalingrad.

General %playername%, given the strength of your forces relative to other units in the area, I'm going to need you to spearhead this operation.

**Primary Objective: Hold at least 7 Victory Hexes at the end of the scenario.**

I'm afraid there is little time for fancy maneuvers or clever strategies, the state of the forces within Stalingrad demands immediate relief.

I am counting on the shock of our attack will be enough to break through the Soviet encirclement, but it is imperative for you to strike quickly and directly to make the most of the element of surprise.

And what of Sixth Army, what orders for them?

*Field Marshal Manstein shakes his head.*

Despite my objections, they will not be attempting to breakout to link up with your forces. I am still attempting to change High Command's mind on this, but for now this means you will be on your own.

Mein General, we do have a weather warning for more snow. We may want to limit our deployment of aircraft for this operation, for fear of them being grounded by the weather.

To victory, for Germany!

### Debriefing

Orders have been confirmed, Operation Winter Storm is being called off.

Thet (Sic) increasing pressure on our flanks has become untenable, and Field Marshal Manstein believes if we continue to advance any further, we risk ourselves becoming cut off and encircled too.

I'm afraid there's nothing left for us to do for Sixth Army...

The Field Marshal has ordered us back to our starting positions, to preserve our strength while we ride out the winter.

One thing is for certain, our war with the Soviet Union appears to be very far from over...

But for now we have a moment to rest, and I've gotten another letter from Ana Sofia to share, if you'd like to read it.

My dearest Stefan,

I know that things are not going well for you, so I am writing this letter in the hopes that it will lift your spirits and bring you warm feelings and comfort through these winter months. The German Press has stopped printing stories about what is happening in Stalingrad, and I know enough to see this as an ill omen.

But maybe I can distract you from all of that, if for just a moment. It occurs to me that I haven't yet told you something important, so I will tell you now. There were two days this year that may have been the happiest day of my life. It might have been the night we were wed, but I think it is that day in February... when I had thought I lost you forever, only for you to suddenly arrive home with Adolf Galland in tow. I hope I did not embarrass you in front of him too much with how much I cried, but I had never been so overwhelmed by emotion as I had that day. Yes, that was definitely the happiest day of my life.

Since then, things have been going very well. Your daughter Johanna is almost one year old, and she has already begun to speak a few words! I can already tell she will be brilliant, and that she is taking after you, because I am told when I was young, I did not start speaking until I was two.

Life in your family home is pleasant. I help around the estate and with errands as much as possible, to the point your mother has asked that I do less, because she is bored from not having enough to do. I think it is the least I can do though, for all the help and love your family as shown me

I sometimes get strange looks from some Germans when I go to town, because of my Spanish roots no doubt, but it is nothing serious. And whenever I tell anyone I am an officer's wife, their demeanor immediately warms up, which is nice.

But I must confess something to you now. There is a baker that I regularly purchase from, a gracious older gentleman named Rutger who is a friend of your mother's. He invited us for dinner one night, and I believe his teenage son now has a crush on me. Ironically enough his name is Stephan, which I found especially amusing.

I fear I will have to let him down easy, as I only have enough love for one Stefan in my life, but I was flattered for such a handsome young German to be interested in me. I wouldn't worry about him though, as I understand it he is off to Youth camp next year, and I am certain they will make him forget about me in no time. And if not, we will have to find a nice young German girl for him to pursue instead.

I hope that these stories from home have brightened your day. I know the war is not going well, and there are whispers that the Germany might move to a full wartime economy as the battles continue... but these are concerns for another day.

We hope you will home come to us soon, and until then I will continue to await your next letter.

Your Capitana,
Ana Sofia

**Historically, all efforts to provide relief to the Axis forces trapped in Stalingrad would prove to be a failure.**

**The promised supplies that were to be delivered by air, as they had done before in battles such as Demyansk, fell short of their minimum goals from the very beginning. Soviet interception of these supply flights cost the Luftwaffe hundreds of transport aircraft and prevented much needed supplies from reaching the pocket.**

**Manstein's ground attack relief effort initially made rapid gains, but soon bogged down as Soviet forces reacted to the new attack. With their forward progress stalling, threats of attacks on their flanks emerging, and Sixth Army's refusal to attempt a breakout from Stalingrad all stacking up, Field Marshal Manstein called off Operation Winter Storm.**

**The combined result of all these failures amounted to the greatest loss the Germans has so far suffered during the Second World War. Nearly a million Axis soldiers were captured, wounded, or killed as a result of the battles in and around Stalingrad.**

**And of the hundreds of thousands who did surrender, less than ten thousand would survive long enough to ever see Germany again.**

## Walkthrough

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

## Locations

* Stalingrad

* Kalach

* Don River

* Chir River

* Stalingrad Airfield

* Chir Rail Station

* Verkhne-Kumskiy

* Kotelnikovo

* Morozovskh

* Stalingrad

* Kalach

* Don River

* Chir River

* Stalingrad Airfield

* Chir Rail Station

* Verkhne-Kumskiy

* Kotelnikovo

* Morozovskh

## Messages

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Mein General, come with bad, and worse news.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** As Field Marshal Manstein has feared, Sixth Army refuses to assist our efforts by breaking out of Stalingrad. High Command refuses to allow them to abandon the city, and they even went so far as to promote General Paulus to Field Marshal, to encourage him to continue to resist.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Additionally, it seems the Soviet have shaken off the initial shock of our attacks, and are preparing a huge counterattack against our efforts.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** I must recommend we slow our advance, and prepare for the incoming Soviet assaults. If we continue to blindly advance, we might get cut off ourselves and that would only add to the disaster.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Mein General, come with bad, and worse news.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** As Field Marshal Manstein has feared, Sixth Army refuses to assist our efforts by breaking out of Stalingrad. High Command refuses to allow them to abandon the city, and they even went so far as to promote General Paulus to Field Marshal, to encourage him to continue to resist.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Additionally, it seems the Soviet have shaken off the initial shock of our attacks, and are preparing a huge counterattack against our efforts.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** I must recommend we slow our advance, and prepare for the incoming Soviet assaults. If we continue to blindly advance, we might get cut off ourselves and that would only add to the disaster.

## Notes

* Enemy reinforcements will arrive at the fortified zones in the northeast on turns 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 18, 19, and 20.