Velikiye Luki - Little Stalingrad of the North
As 1942 turned to 1943, the free world watched with bated breath as the Soviets tightened the noose around the trapped German Sixth Army at Stalingrad. By some miracle, the Soviets had held and were now on the cusp of capturing or destroying 265,000 German, Croatian, Romanian, and Italian soldiers inside the surrounded pocket of the destroyed city on the Volga.
800 miles North of Stalingrad on the Soviet Kalinin and North-Western Fronts there was another crisis unfolding for the German Army. On November 27th 1942, The Soviets successfully encircled the city of Velikiye Luki which was being held by a regiment of 7,000 soldiers of the German 83rd Infantry Division. The garrison's commander, Lieutenant General Theodore Scherer was ordered by Hitler to hold the city at all costs. No stranger to being surrounded, The previous winter of 1941-42 Scherer led the successful defense of Cholm in the Demyansk area where he was surrounded for 104 days before being relieved.
With re-supply efforts from the air, The German defenders of Velikiye Luki fought off several determined attacks from Soviet Tanks and Shock Troops throughout the month of December 1942. Two major attempts to relieve the German defenders met stiff Soviet resistance and fell short just five miles from the city in late December and early January. On January 5th the Soviets launched a major attack and split the city into two. On the night of January 14th, a break-out was attempted and 150 men were able to reach the German lines. Two days later, on January 16th the remnants of the surrounded garrison surrendered to the Soviets.
Known as “Little Stalingrad of the North”, Velikiye Luki was a critical battle that effectively ended any threat to Moscow and severed the rail lines between German Army Group North and Army Group Center. This FSO is set during the encirclement of the German Army at Velikiye Luki.
PLANE SET:
SPECIAL RULES:
2ND HOUR AIRCRAFT AVAILABLE
A-20G and Bf 110G-2 must carry bombs and operate in the Jabo role.
20K ALT CAP FIGHTERS - Yak-9T, La 5FN, Bf 109G-2, Fw 190A-5, P-39D, P-40E, Yak-7B, Bf 109F-4
14K ALT CAP - Boston III, A-20G, Bf 110G-2, Ju 88A-4, IL-2 Type 3, Bf 110C-4B, He 111H, Ju 87D-3
Rockets Disabled - Bf 109G-2, Fw 190A-5, Bf 110G-2
AIRCRAFT SCORING:
OBJECT SCORING:
ACE MISSIONS
Each side will have one mandatory Ace mission per frame. These frames will represent notable pilots of the time and theater. One pilot from each side will be designated an "Ace" Pilot. They must fly the Aces listed aircraft.
They will be scored as follows.
Ace Pilot Kills = 5 Points
Ace Pilot = 20 Points
So for example if an Ace Pilot is shot down they are worth 20 points to the other side. Likewise, every victory an Ace Pilot lands they will be awarded 5 points.
ALLIED:
Frame 1 – (VVS) - (La-5FN) - Vladimir Serov - Born in 1922, Serov joined the military in 1941 and graduated from the Krasnodar Military Aviation School of Pilots the same year. He was deployed to the front in April 1942 and got his first kills flying the P-40 with the 159th Fighter Regiment. The following year Serov would begin flying the La-5 where he would reach 39 aerial victories and six shared victories. In two short years he would rise in rank from sergeant and would end it as a squadron commander and senior lieutenant before being killed in action June 26th 1944.
Frame 2 – (VVS) - (La-5FN) - Dmititry Medvedev - Graduating from the 8th Odessa Military Aviation School in 1937, Medvedev saw action against the Japanese at Khalkin Gol in and the Finnish in the Winter War before the German Invasion in 1941. In 1942 he was assigned to the Volhkov Front near Leningrad flying the Lagg-3 and in February 1943 received the new La-5 fighter. Medvedev would go on to fight at the battle of Kursk and the push into Romania and Czechoslovakia totaling 14 victories and 15 shared victories. Medvedev passed away in 1992.
Frame 3 – (VVS) - (La-5FN) - Konstantin Krasavin - Krasavin was born in 1917 near Moscow and graduated from Stalingrad Military Flying School in 1940 and commissioned a Military Officer. Initially flying a Lend-Lease Hurricane in the battle of Moscow, he would fly in the fighting for the Demyansk Pocket accruing nearly 300 sorties by 1943. Krasavin would later fly the La-5 and La-7 all the way to the Prague Offensive near the end of the war. Krasavin would be awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union in 1946 and passed away in 1988 at the age 70.
AXIS:
Frame 1 – (Luftwaffe) - (Fw 190A-5) - Hannes Trautloft - Trautloft joined the Luftwaffe in 1931 and was one of the first German volunteers to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Trautloft served in the Invasion of Poland, France, the Battle of Britain and the Balkans campaign. Trautloft would score the first day of the Russian campaign and go on to score 45 more victories over Russia until he was promoted to Inspector of all Fighter units. Trautlloft would be sacked in 1945 for taking part in the fighter pilots mutiny. Trautloft would survive the war and passed away in 1995. His total victory count stood at 58.
Frame 2 – (Luftwaffe) - (Fw 190A-5) - Walter Nowotny - Nowotny joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 and after training was sent to the Eastern Front with JG 54 in 1941. Nowotny claimed his first victories in July 1941 and his victories continued to mount over 1942 including 5 kills in one day on July 14th and 7 kills in one day on August 2nd. When Nowotny transitioned to the Fw 190 his victories totals soared and by September 1943 was the highest scoring Luftwaffe Ace to that point in the war with 215. Nowotny was killed November 8th 1944 while flying the Me 262. His final victory count was 258 kills.
Frame 3 – (Luftwaffe) - (Fw 190A-5) - Hans Philipp - By late 1942 Philipp was a veteran of nearly every German campaign. Seeing his first victory over Poland in 1939, he participated in the Invasion of France, the Battle of Britain, the Balkans and the Invasion of Russia. On January 15th, 1943, Philipp would claim his 150th victory and two months later would achieve his 200th becoming the 2nd Luftwaffe pilot to reach this number. Philipp was killed in Action on October 8th, 1943 while fighting P-47s over Bremen.
SETTINGS
- Russia Winter terrain
- Icon Range - Friendly 3k, Enemy 3k.
- No Radar
- Fighter and Bomber Warning Range - 79200 (15 miles)
- Tower Range - 79,200 (for display to match the above Fighter and Bomber Warning)
- External view for bombers (F3) - On
- Friendly Collisions - Off
- Enemy Collisions - On
- Kill Shooter - Off
- Fuel - 1.0
- Ack - 0.3
- Formations - ENABLED
- Bombsite calibration - Main Arena Standard
- Time:
FRAME 1 - 0900
FRAME 2 - 1200
FRAME 3 - 1500
- Object Downtime - full (200)
- Winds - MAX Downdraft 20K
Designed by Nefarious