Prokhorovka July 12th project

[CzechTexan]

Prokhorovka July 12 project

July 12, 1943 was the climax at the Battle of Prokhorovka - which was part of the greater Battle of Kursk.  It is when the 5th Guards Tank Army attacked head on against the attack of PzD LAH in the narrow alley between the Psel River and the railroad embankment, west-southwest of Prokhorovka.

This "project" of mine tries to re-create parts of that huge battle.  I am taking the huge "pie" and cutting it into smaller pieces, because, with our limitations, it is impossible to show the whole huge battle.  So, I'm dividing it up into brigade-size engagements on just a section of the battlefield.

These will be single-player missions and they will become available to download whenever I finish them.  Future missions will be posted here.  I welcome all comments and tips or criticism so that I can get better at this great TANK CREW module!

The first two missions are about the 170th Tank Brigade of 18th Tank Corps attack on the northwest side of the Oktyabyrskiy State Farm.  I have depicted two companies of T-34s and two companies of T-70s.  In one mission you will command 1st Company of T-34s and the second mission you will command the 2nd Company of T-34s.  Each company battles side-by-side with its neighbor but the enemy is a little different in each sector.  Both have the task of battling through the enemy to reach the enemy command post which is beside the road in the enemy rear.

Download here:  https://www.mediafire.com/file/zuv6jlhm2abgoih/Kursk_July+12.zip/file

The downloaded folder is "Kursk_July 12" and it includes the first two missions depicting 170th TB.  You can put future missions inside this same folder to keep them all in one place.

Books cited:  Demolishing the Myth by Valeriy Zamulin.  The Battle of Kursk by Glantz and House.

See more screenshots here:  

 

[Billsponge1972]

Tried the first mission last night. Good stuff! Thank you!

[CzechTexan]

Thank you @Billsponge1972  I'm glad you liked it.

This simulator battle is skewed to make it more playable and player friendly.  The actual historical battle to take this initial objective took a few hours to accomplish.  That was also with the help of the 181st Tank Brigade which made a left hook maneuver into the German flank.  I did not include that part because it involved many more tanks.  Adding the extra tanks would have to include adding more German defenses to "even" the sides.  All that would probably slow down computers too much.  There is a thin line to balance on, but I hope my method pays off for good playability.  The same method will be used for all future missions.  The missions will not show ALL tanks and anti-tank defenses that may have been in the historical battle, but I will try to make the atmosphere seem like you're a part of the real thing.

[Billsponge1972]

I totally agree about the games limitations like that. If I recall correctly there were about 5, 000+ tanks and SPGs in the battle.

Second one was excellent also! I like your creative use of waypoints for vehicles.  Also, I helped a couple smaller tanks through the barbed wire defenses! 

[CzechTexan]

21 hours ago, Billsponge1972 said:

I totally agree about the games limitations like that. If I recall correctly there were about 5, 000+ tanks and SPGs in the battle.

Second one was excellent also! I like your creative use of waypoints for vehicles.  Also, I helped a couple smaller tanks through the barbed wire defenses! 

5,000 is a myth but is most likely referring to the total for the whole Battle of Kursk which includes the northern pincer (north of Kursk) and the southern pincer (south of Kursk).  On July 12 at Prokhorovka, the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army's tanks that participated in the counteroffensive only totaled 642.  53% of those tanks were knocked out!  The 5GTA's counterpart, German tanks of the II SS Panzer Corps totaled about 294.  (statistics taken from Demolishing the Myth by Zamulin).

Anyhow, it's not thousands at Prokhorovka but 891 is still way too many to portray in a simulator.  Even a brigade of tanks is too many. 

18th Tank Corps

• 170th Tank Brigade = 39 Tanks participated in combat
• 181st Tank Brigade  = 44 
• 110th Tank Brigade  = 38
• 36th Guards Separate Heavy Tank Regiment = 19 MkIV Churchills

29th Tank Corps

• 32nd Tank Brigade = 63
• 31st Tank Brigade   = 67
• 25th Tank Brigade  = 69
• 1446th SP Artillery Reg = 20 Su-76 and Su-122

2nd Tank Corps = 138 total 

Unfortunately, for us simulators, there were no Su-152, no Panthers, no Elefants participating in combat at Prokhorovka on this day.  I'd like to include a MkIV Churchill scenario but I don't have this collector vehicle right now.  Now, I'm working on 32nd TB scenario at Hill 252.2