Version: 1.02 (March 2006)

Engine: Battles in Italy

Turns: 32

AI or PBEM: PBEM or AI

Author: Brubaker

Download Battle for Moscow Version 1.00

Download Battle for Moscow 1.02 Patch

Note that you should download and install Version 1.00 prior to downloading and installing the 1.01 patch.

Setting:

By early October 1941, the huge German Army that had swept all before it across the expanse of Belorussia, was again prepared to go on the attack. In the preceding weeks Smolensk has been reduced by the infantry armies whilst the most of the panzers refitted for the coming campaign.

OKH had returned to FeldMarshall Bock the bulk of the forces taken from him for the operation at Kiev. Now, at the beginning of the final attack on Moscow, his armies totaled more than 1.5 million men, augmented by 1,000 tanks and panzer units. Indeed 14 of the 19 panzer divisions on the Russian Front where under his control. Their target? Nothing short of the Soviet capital itself. The simmering jewel in the east that had eluded Napoleon before him.
Facing Bock where the remnants of the Soviet armies shattered over the proceeding summer. Their numbers were around ¼ of a million troops though they now had the advantage of sunken earth works and defenses prepared hastily during the period of rest the last two weeks had brought them. They were literally the final defenders before Moscow, though they would soon be augmented by fresh divisions from the east. In command of these troops Stalin placed one of his most trusted generals, Zhukov, and he along with General Mud would battle to stop the fascist invaders at the very doorstep of the capital.

The attack began in text book blitzkrieg fashion, with the panzer divisions slicing through the soviet defenses as easily as they had in the middle of June. Within a week six soviet armies were surrounded west of Vyasma and it seemed very little would stop the Germans from capturing Moscow. But alas the weather changed for the worse and as the rains and first snows fell in mid October, so the advance slowed to a crawl in the viscous gelatinous mud. Yet by mid-October, Army Group Center was poised for a climactic drive on Moscow. Most of the Soviet reserve has been destroyed and very little stood between the Wermacht and their goal.

At this point Hitler intervened. His directive stated that the capital itself was not important, and that the panzer arms should veer north and south of the city heading for the important industrial towns of Kalinin and Tula. Thus robbed of a 1/3 of his armour, Bock’s main drive slowly petered out as his supply system collapsed in the ever treacherous quagmire that the rains has created of the road system.

But despite all these difficulties, the German armies managed to forge ahead, penetrating the so-called Mozhaisk Line and preparing for an all-out assault on the capital itself. With ever increasing Soviet resistance from troops drawn from the eastern provinces, and large (albeit green) tank units of t-34’s straight from the production lines, the German assault dwindled to a stop in early November. The German’s awaited a freeze to continue their assault. To continue on was going to be a terrible gamble, but not to would invite disaster…

Game:

Operation Typhoon is a 32 turn game that simulates the dramatic encirclement of the Soviet forces at Vyasma in early October 1941. AI is included for both sides and is recommended to be played with an advantage to the AI player.

Due to the large number of forces involved on both sides and huge map, players can expect a slight decrease in performance (especially on older machines) whilst using the Combat Advisor. This will disappear as the game goes on and the number of units present changes. A historical outcome will typically result in a draw, though both sides have a realistic opportunity to extract a victory.

Installation:

Download the self extracting EXE from the link above. Double click on the Operation Typhoon.exe and then follow the installation prompts. This will install all files into a ...scenarios\Moscow folder under your main Battles in Italy Folder. The game may be selected by choosing Operation Typhoon within the Moscow folder. Good luck!