Clash of Arms -COA-

Historical Game

Kesselschlacht (literally, “cauldron battle”) is a simulation depicting the encirclement and escape of the German First Panzer Army from the Ukraine in the Spring of 1944.x0Dx0AThe German forces were very low on fuel and ammunition and had been caught flat-footed by yet another overwhelming Soviet offensive. First Panzer Army had been cut-off by a total of nine Soviet armies.x0Dx0Ax0Dx0AThe breakout began on March 25, 1944, and continued into early April. In these two weeks, the Germans continuously conducted a mobile defense as their pocket drove westward in an effort to meet a relief force (which was spearheaded by the II SS Panzer Corps) attacking eastward.x0Dx0ASupplied by air much of the time, First Panzer Army deceived the Soviet forces by moving west, instead of south as the Soviet generals had anticipated. The pocket crossed several swollen rivers, and struggled through thick mud and deep snow, yet somehow remained intact.