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Kuban Climax (alt. 1943)

The year is 1943 and the Wehrmacht has lost the Caucasus. Hundreds of miles of retreat has broken the pride and morale of the once triumphant 11. Armee; cornered in the Kuban region, Hitler gives the order to turn Tuapse and Novorossiysk into fortresses, unwilling to give up the last foothold in that war-plagued mountain range. There can be no help from the north - the main Soviet offensive has crossed the Don and it looks like there can be no stopping them 'til Kharkov.

All von Manstein can rely on is beaten remnants of the German, Italian and Romanian armies in the Caucasus as well as a hastily mobilised mix of Hungarians and local Cossacks, shipped across the Black Sea to fill the holes of a frontline over 150 miles long. His task is impossible and he knows it, yet he travels to the frontlines to give the impression that they can hold, even as he plots his own escape.

But while 11. Armee is in pieces, British 10th is even worse off. The Indian armoured divisions that have proven their worth from Iran to Sochi have begun the long journey back home to fight off Japanese incursions, leaving not much more than an oversized infantry corps to capture the fortress town of Tuapse. It will be hard going for the remaining British, Indian and French colonial infantry to advance up the coastline but the end of the tunnel is in sight, and it will be delivered by the Transcaucasian Front.

Once the remnants of the shattered Persian Front, the Transcaucasian Front has evolved into the finest fighting army group in the Soviet military - with an almost complete lack of armour to boot! With newly christened Guards rifle divisions and Kuban cossack cavalry corps, the Front will lead the main charge into the Kuban, with express orders not to stop until every last port on the Black and Azov seas are liberated. Supported by whatever troops Southern Front can spare to guard their flank, the Transcaucasian Front has come a long way, and fought a hundred bloody battles, for this final offensive.

This is it: the final battle for the Caucasus. End the Third Reich's campaign in the region for good and finish off the tenacious 11. Armee - there is nowhere left for them to run.


(This scenario concludes the miniature almost-campaign that started with 'Armenian Nights', 'Back to Baku', and 'Caucasus Rush' which is in turn a follow-up to the final scenario of the 'Stalingrad' DLC ahistorical track 'Yerevan'. I had a lot of fun making these missions and I hope you play the others as well! This one is probably the easiest of the four, representing the massive strength of the Soviet forces at this point in the campaign, but don't let it trip you up! Good luck and have fun!

This scenario is balanced for Classic difficulty.)