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NORTHERN STAR: Leningrad Front Spring 1942


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NORTHERN STAR: Leningrad Front Spring 1942

By the beginning of 1942 much had changed in the war in Europe. Operation Barbarossa, the Third Reich's invasion of the Soviet Union had begun in June of 1941. It had stalled at the gates of Moscow that winter with the Soviets desperately hanging on as they attempted to rebuild the army and air force. The German invasion of the USSR had also drawn Finland into the war for a second time, after a brief armistice between Finland and the Soviets in the aftermath of the Winter War between 1939 and 1940. In the northern sector, the Baltic Sea city of Leningrad had been under siege by the Axis since September of 1941 with no sign of victory yet in sight. Throughout the winter of 1941-42 Allied aid had continued to the Soviets via Murmansk and other routes with vital supplies of combat aircraft and other vital war material to keep the Red Army in the conflict as the Soviet Union labored to rebuild its industrial capacity. Domestic Soviet aircraft like the workhorse I-16 were joined by P-40s, P-39s, Hurricanes and other western types. Some 18 percent of all combat aircraft used by the USSR in WW2 were of foreign manufacture, with more than 100 pilots achieving ace status flying them

For the  Luftwaffes part the fighter arm would see its zenith on the Eastern Front with many aces achieving victories above the century mark. The Finnish Air Force fighter squadrons would also add their own impressive chapter in air combat, flying a small mix of fighter planes from both the west and Germany during the years fighting the USSR from 1939-1944.

This FSO recreates the contest between these combatants when the war in the East was still less than a year old, and would ultimately claim the lives of tens of millions on both sides.

Country Percentages:

Axis 50%
Allied 50%

Field Assignments:

Axis Bishop
Allied Knight
CM Rook
 
OOB:
 
Axis (German/Finnish):

AC-

Bf 109F-4 (48 max)
Bf 109E-4 (48 min)
Brewster B-239 (20 min-36 max)
Bf 110C-4b (20 min-24 max)
Ju-87D 'Stuka' (20 min)
Ju-88A (20 min)

GV-

Panzer IVH (16 min-24 max)
SdKfz 251 halftrack (8 min-16 max)
Jeep (optional only, drawn from tank or halftrack assigned players)
 
Allied (Soviet):

AC-

I-16 (48 min)
P-39D (20 min-24 max)
P-40B
Hurricane IIC (20 min-24 max)
IL-2 'Sturmovik'' (20min)
B-25C Glass nose bomber (20 min)

GV-

T-34/76 (20 min-30 max)
M3 halftrack (8 min-16 max)
Jeep (optional only, drawn from tank or halftrack assigned players)
 
Special Rules and Ordnance Restrictions:
 
* All aircraft must be used by a minimum of 12 *players*.
*  Initial strikes must be completed by T+45 minutes.
* The B-25 is restricted to the glass nose bomber varient.
* The IL-2  37mm option is disabled.  
*  Bomber formations are on.
* There is one GV battle per frame starting at T+0 and lasting 45 minutes.
* The Jeeps are *optional* and MUST BE DRAWN FROM TANK OR HALFTRACK ASSIGNED PLAYERS ONLY. They are included to give the GV Tank and Halftrack units some scouting flexibility if they want them.
* All GV players get a 2nd life at T+45; Axis in 109E-4s, Allies in I-16s. These 2nd life rides do not count towards the min-max limits. 
 
Scoring:
 
Aircraft Pts
------------
Bombers = 5 pts
All other aircraft = 2 pts
 
GV Pts
------
Tanks = 2 pts
Halftracks = 1 pt
Jeeps = 0.5 pt
Ground Target Pts
-----------------
Gun = 1 pt
Ammo Bunker = 3 pts
Barracks = 3 pts
Radar = 3 pts
Vehicle Hangar = 25 pts
Fighter Hangar = 25pts
Bomber Hangar = 25 pts
Town Building = 3 pts
Factory at strategic target = 3 pts
Truck in convoy = 1 pt
Train = 2 pts
Base Capture = 25 pts

Arena Settings:

- FinRus terrain
- Fuel burn 1.0
- Icons short (3k)
- 0.5 Ack
- Fighter and Bomber warning range 42,000 (about 8 miles)
- Tower range set to 42,000 (for display only to match the above setting)
- Haze/fog full visibility (17 miles)
- Radar off
- Enemy collisions on
- Friendly collisions off
- Killshooter off
- Time: 15:00 ( 3PM ) Game Clock
- Formations: On
- Bomber calibration: Manual
- Wind: 0-2K NO WIND
           2K-18K N TO S - Speed 5
           18K-25K NW TO SE - Speed 10
           25k+ NW TO SE - Speed 15
        
Designer's Notes:
 
* There are Russian skins available in the AH download section for all the US a/c types and the Hurricane.
* The Bf 109E variant used most commonly at this time was the Bf 109E-7, which the Bf 109E-4 will stand in for.
* 1/2 of Soviet fighter aviation at the time of 'Barbarossa' was using the I-16 'Rata' and it was used in large #s throughout 1941-2.  * The Brewster B-239 is the Finnish Air Forces most celebrated WW2 fighter and represents their contribution in this setup.
* Aircraft will not be assigned to the GV battle in this particular event to give the tankers a pure armored engagement.

Please note the updated rules:

http://ahevents.org/fso-related/fso-rules.html

Design by Warloc

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