Return to Stalingrad

**Return to Stalingrad** is a scenario in *Panzer Corps 2*.

## Briefings

General %playername%, before we begin, it is only apropos to congratulate you on your successes in this most trying of years.

You have led your men to victory time and again, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

But now we must ensure that your victories are not lost, as we find ourselves once again on the edge of Stalingrad; where all of our gains from the campaigns of 1942 were previously undone.

While you are probably eager to conquer this now infamous city, this is not to be your objective.

*Oberst Wagner is stunned by these words.*

Pardon me, Herr Field Marshal, but the latest directive from High Command was quite clear, Stalingrad...

Overambition and overextension is a folly of the past, and one it is time to stop repeating.

To attempt to fully conquer this city would push your forces to exhaustion, leaving no strength left for the impending Soviet response.

You are intent to ignore a directive from High Command?

Allow me to worry about High Command. Having fought the war of words on that front many times now, I assure you it can be accomplished.

I don't understand. Then why are we here, sir?

You are here to complete your campaign of denial against the Soviets. We have control of Rostov and its oil pipelines to Baku. We have control of the Caucasus, and the vast Caspian Sea shielding that conquest. Tell me, what would change with control of Stalingrad? It is nearly as meaningless of a location as Kursk.

Your objective today is not to seize Stalingrad, but to deny Stalingrad's usefulness to our enemies.

**Primary Objective: Destroy Stalingrad Ammo Dumps.**

**Primary Objective: Sink Volga River Shipping.**

While the Caspian Flotilla rests on the bottom of the Caspian Sea, it is foolish to believe we have eliminated all shipping across a river as mighty as the Volga.

Find and destroy as many ships as your forces detect, we must continue to hammer all traffic on the Volga to further reduce its value.

Additionally, you should destroy any and all ammunition stores you come across.

It is likely that most, if not all, of them will be within Stalingrad itself.b

In addition to our bombing efforts, we could take the heights west of the city, and bombard them from a distance with our heavy 17cm and 21cm artillery units.

As you know by now, our attack on Moscow, diversionary though it may have been, ended in fiasco.

Sooner or later, Soviet reinforcements will descend on this region.

Stick to your objectives and caution your forces from extending too far north, and Army Group South may yet retain the strength to resist the inevitable Soviet counteroffensives.

To victory, for Germany!

### Debriefing

Mein General, I have a slew of reports for your attention.

Our strike on Stalingrad was a success, and our forces have returned to their starting positions: hunkering down for the winter but still prepared for action should a Soviet counteroffensive materialize.

High Command is furious at the failure of Army Group South to even attempt to seize Stalingrad, and Field Marshal Manstein has been recalled to Berlin to answer for his actions in person.

There are rumors that his dismissal is imminent, but I cannot believe they are true. Under the Field Marshal, we snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat at Kursk, decimated the Soviet summer offensive at Rostov, and returned to the Caucasus in triumph.

Surely these successes must count for something?

But alas, for now, our campaign is at an end.

While I do not know when we will be recalled to action, I believe it is merely a matter of when, not if. This war with the Soviet Union has not yet been won.

While we have some rest, I've been catching up on the last couple of letters from my wife.

Would you like to see how Ana Sofia has been doing in Germany?

My dearest Stefan,

Much has happened in Germany since I last wrote you, but I don't want to waste your time repeating events that you are probably already well aware of. No, not when I have something very important to tell you:

I love you, and I always will.

I imagine this is not a surprise to you, as we have said it to each other on many occasions, but I really needed to let you know this, after what almost happened last week.

It was a chilly day, but I distinctly remember the skies were very clear when I was out for a walk with Johanna. We were on our way to the bakery when I heard the air raid sirens. Of course, I knew immediately that we needed to find shelter. Everyone had heard of the horror that befell Hamburg back in July, and since then the civil defense ministries have made great efforts to instruct everyone on what to do when the sirens begin to sound.

But I was so distracted by the sudden wail of the sirens, I lost track of Johanna for just a brief second, and she was gone! Now I was doubly panicking as I called out for her. But between the wail of the sirens and general chaos as people on the street sought shelter, it was futile.

Seeing how pointless yelling was, I stopped and made an effort to calm myself. Now instead, I looked all around me for some sign of her. Amongst the few people running, I could not see her, but through the crowd I thought I saw a glimpse of someone waving to me. With nothing else to guide me, I ran over to see if this was something, and it was!

Young Stephan was holding little Johanna's hand while waving frantically towards me. I could have kissed that baker's son, I was so relieved! It only took me a few short seconds to reach them, but until I had seen the two of them, Johanna felt lost to me.

I leaned down to scoop up little Johanna into my arms, and that's when I realized her gaze was fixed towards the sky. Looking up, I was stunned by the strange sight that had captured her attention. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of contrails now ominously stretching across the once clear skies above...

Then suddenly there was a new sound, I sound I never heard before. It was a flight of aircraft rising above the city, rising towards the approaching contrails! These aircraft were so strange looking, but even more incredible, they flew faster than I have seen any aircraft fly! I think the radio broadcasts later called these new Wunderwaffen 'jets'!

We couldn't have been looking up for very long, but I swore I saw one of the leading contrails burst into flames before young Stephan managed to bring me back to my senses. He was trying to tell me he knew the way to the closest shelter, and now that I acknowledged him, I followed him.

Not long after we entered the underground, the bombs began to detonate above us. We didn't so much hear them as we felt them. The ceiling, walls, and ground all shook with every explosion. But we were safe.

Forgive my lengthy letter, but this is the closest the war has come to me in a long time. Since our time in Spain...

So I wanted to write to you, I needed to write to you, to let you know we are safe and sound. I know that you are fighting your hardest to bring this war to its end, and I pray for your continued success.

I love you, and I always will.

Your Capitana,
Ana Sofia

**In this alternate history, Germany has secured a solid hold on the Caucasus, and the oil they plunder from the region keeps their war machine running at maximum efficiency.**

**Shortages of fuel that historically plagued everything from proper pilot training to forcing new offensives to scale back to local operations are no more.**

**But this victory has not won the war, it has merely allowed Germany to continue to pursue that war with renewed vigor.**

**The collapse of Italy is unaffected by fortunes on the Eastern Front, but the Allied advance through the Italian peninsula is as sluggish as it was historically.**

**As for the war in Russia, it remains ongoing.**

**For all of their victories, German manpower on the Eastern Front has still dropped considerably.**

**Historically, from July 1st 1943 to January 1st 1944, the Wehrmacht lost 1,413,000 killed, wounded, or missing, leaving 2 million spread soldiers across the Eastern Front, but only 400,000 on the front lines.**

**In this alternate history, German casualties during that same period of time would fall well below a million, but the enormous casualties that continue to be inflicted against the Soviets has still not reached a level high enough to take the USSR out of the conflict.**

**Soviet propaganda works overtime to celebrate the defeat of a second German offensive towards Moscow, and this becomes much easier to believe than the German 'excuse' that it was merely a diversion.**

**Realizing the lack of German intent to risk another attempt at Stalingrad, and seeking another morale boosting victory after Moscow, Soviet reinforcements are not sent south, but instead diverted to Leningrad, which is freed from its siege in late 1943, a few months before its historical liberation.**

**Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, for Army Group South's victories at Kursk and Rostov, would be awarded with swords to his Knight's Cross. For the successful conquest of the oilfields of the Caucasus, he would then be awarded with Diamonds to his Knight's Cross.**

**But for his refusal to attack Stalingrad, German High Command would dismiss him from his position as Commander of Army Group South.**

**Whether or not Field Marshal Manstein will be appointed to a new post remains to be seen.**

## Walkthrough

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

## Locations

* Volga River

* Stalingrad

* Sarpa

* Ivanovo

* Tulbytobo

* Chervlennaya River

* Varvarovka

* Gavrilovka

* Marta

* Blynikov

* Semkin

* Aleskseevka

* Volzhsky

* Mamayev Kurgan

* Manstein Warning Line

* Volga River

* Stalingrad

* Sarpa

* Ivanovo

* Tulbytobo

* Chervlennaya River

* Varvarovka

* Gavrilovka

* Marta

* Blynikov

* Semkin

* Aleskseevka

* Volzhsky

* Mamayev Kurgan

* Manstein Warning Line

## Messages

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Our soldiers have found something, mein General. Something important enough to warrant your immediate attention.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** The last time I was at Stalingrad, my hand was forced to leave behind several of my fellow officers. Among them was a young Leutnant Gerhardt. He had a brilliant mind for logistics, but he was no soldier. He certainly had no business doing any fighting...

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** I never knew what happened to him, but I have always wondered. Until now, that is. Mein General, our soldiers have come across a large gravesite. From the looks of it, German POWs must have been allowed to bury their dead officers here. Among the wooden crosses, I found Felix Gerhardt.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** I know that we have a mission to accomplish right now, and I would be the last man to forsake my duties to grieve... Doing so would dishonor the sacrifices of both the fallen and also those still under our charge, but he was my brother in arms, and all of these fallen officers deserve to be brought home. As soon as there is a lull in the fighting, I will lead a group of volunteers to exhume the dead, and see to it that their remains are returned to Germany to rest.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** Our soldiers have found something, mein General. Something important enough to warrant your immediate attention.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** The last time I was at Stalingrad, my hand was forced to leave behind several of my fellow officers. Among them was a young Leutnant Gerhardt. He had a brilliant mind for logistics, but he was no soldier. He certainly had no business doing any fighting...

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** I never knew what happened to him, but I have always wondered. Until now, that is. Mein General, our soldiers have come across a large gravesite. From the looks of it, German POWs must have been allowed to bury their dead officers here. Among the wooden crosses, I found Felix Gerhardt.

* ***Oberst Wagner:*** I know that we have a mission to accomplish right now, and I would be the last man to forsake my duties to grieve... Doing so would dishonor the sacrifices of both the fallen and also those still under our charge, but he was my brother in arms, and all of these fallen officers deserve to be brought home. As soon as there is a lull in the fighting, I will lead a group of volunteers to exhume the dead, and see to it that their remains are returned to Germany to rest.

## Notes

* Notable enemy units:
	+ 52nd SU HW Inf 43, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the Tenacious Defender and Leadership traits.
	+ 55th SU HW Inf 43, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the Artillery Support and Butcher traits.
	+ 87th T-34/43, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the Readiness and Low Profile traits.
	+ 99th T-70, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the Rapid Fire 1.5x and Hit and Run traits.
	+ 104th BA-64, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the No Retaliation and Tank Killer traits.
	+ 141st BM-8-24, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the Lethal Attack and Lightning Attack traits.
	+ 180th P-40M, which is Level 2 and has a hero with the Survivor and Aggressive Counterattack traits.
* Notable enemy formations:
	+ Stalingrad Ammo Dump