Panther Line

**Panther Line** is a scenario in *Panzer Corps 2*.

## Briefings

I finally have some answers for you, Mein General, but I have to say... there are none of them that you are going to like.

Army Group Centre has been fighting hard, much harder than anyone anticipated.

Just as we were approaching Orel, the order to fall back to a new 'Panther Line' was sent out.

But the state of these defenses in this northern sector of the 'Panther Line'...

To say they are incomplete is an understatement.

And in some areas, I don't think construction has even begun!

What's more, Russian forces have regrouped for renewed attacks towards Smolensk.

Between the incomplete complete defenses, no Army Group Centre reserves in the area, and our force still limited to our Command Group... I do not think there is much we can do here.

**Primary Objective: Escort HQ Halftrack to Orsha.**

The main avenue of Soviet attack is undoubtably (Sic) going to be directed to Smolensk.

While we should definitely stay clear of them, we might want to garrison this crossing here, to prevent them from advancing on both sides of the Dnieper River.

But we will have to fight to reach that crossing, as a small scouting party of Soviet units has been spotted emerging from the forests here.

And we are going to need to help bottle up the Soviets as long as possible, because we have yet another problem.

The Soviets have airdropped a large force of paratroopers in this area south of Smolensk, and that force has now joined together with local Partisans. They are blocking our escape route, and will need to be cleared before we can complete our retreat to Orsha.

But there is one single piece of good news: I have made an emergency request for assistance from our air wings, and we looted enough supplies to deploy them for combat.

I suggest we bring at least a few of our combat aircraft to battle. I get the feeling we will need their assistance!

To victory, for Germany!

### Debriefing

**Historically, the German attempts to form defensive lines on the Eastern Front after the withdrawal from Kursk produced mixed results.**

**In the northern part of the Front around Smolensk, this section of the line was named the Panther Line, and it was intended to stretch towards the Baltic Sea.**

**Though the defensive lines were incomplete, Army Group Centre had anticipated Soviet attacks in this region since before the Battle of Kursk.**

**As a result, it would take three months of very costly offensives before Soviet forces finally recaptured Smolensk.**

**So while the German defenses failed to completely halt repeat Soviet attacks, they extracted a deadly toll from their opponents while also preventing a major breakthrough past Smolensk for the remainder of 1943.**

**But this effort tied down many German units, leaving precious few reinforcements available to defend the enormous length of the Dnieper River that lay to the south...**

## Walkthrough

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

## Locations

* Dnieper River

* Smolensk

* Sozh River

* Orsha

* Mogilev

* Yartsevo

* Glinka

* To Bryansk

* Dorgobuzh

* Dukhovshina

* Demidov

* To Vyazma

* Dnieper River

* Smolensk

* Sozh River

* Orsha

* Mogilev

* Yartsevo

* Glinka

* To Bryansk

* Dorgobuzh

* Dukhovshina

* Demidov

* To Vyazma

## Messages

* General, there is an update regarding the situation in Italy, and I am afraid to say it is not good news. While it has not yet come to pass, German Intelligence knows that the general surrender of the Italians is probably weeks, if not days, away.

In preparation for this, German forces are being earmarked to move in and disarm any remaining Italian forces. Although the vast majority of the Italians have been withdrawn from the Eastern Front since February, I have been informed there are caches of Italian equipment that still linger. With your influence, we could move in and secure any and all Italian equipment left. By my reckoning, there are good amounts of armored cars, tanks, and self-propelled artillery we could commandeer.

You have %d Commendation Points.

Would you like to use 6 Commendation Point take control of a very large amount of Italian combat vehicles?

* You choose to accept the offer. You now have %d Commendation Points.

* You choose to reject the offer. You still have %d Commendation Points

* General, there is an update regarding the situation in Italy, and I am afraid to say it is not good news. While it has not yet come to pass, German Intelligence knows that the general surrender of the Italians is probably weeks, if not days, away.

In preparation for this, German forces are being earmarked to move in and disarm any remaining Italian forces. Although the vast majority of the Italians have been withdrawn from the Eastern Front since February, I have been informed there are caches of Italian equipment that still linger. With your influence, we could move in and secure any and all Italian equipment left. By my reckoning, there are good amounts of armored cars, tanks, and self-propelled artillery we could commandeer.

You have %d Commendation Points.

Would you like to use 6 Commendation Point take control of a very large amount of Italian combat vehicles?

* You choose to accept the offer. You now have %d Commendation Points.

* You choose to reject the offer. You still have %d Commendation Points

## Notes

* If players have at least 6 Commendation Points at the start of the scenario, they will be given the option to exchange 6 Commendation Points for 51 Strength points worth of Captured L6/40 Lf Tanks, 65 Strength points worth of Captured M15/42 Tanks, 82 Strength points worth of Captured AB 43 Recons, 45 Strength points worth of Captured Autocannone 90/53 Anti-tanks, and 37 Strength points worth of Captured 20/70 quadruplo Anti-airs.
* Notable allied units:
	+ HQ Halftrack, a Level 5 SdKfz 250/1 with Stefan Wagner, a hero with the Leadership, No Split, Artillery Support, and Survivor traits.
* Notable enemy units:
	+ 43rd SU Paratroops 43, which is Level 2 and has 24 Strength points and a hero with the Consolidator trait.
	+ 61st IS-1, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the Bunker Killer and First Strike traits.
	+ 71st T-34/43, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the Through Preparation and Evasive traits.
	+ 101st Yak-7, which is Level 2 and has 18 Strength points and a hero with the Consolidator trait.
* Enemy reinforcements will arrive in the northeast on turns 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19.