Already on location were hard-pressed Wehrmacht elements from the 102. While “Wiking” was fixed in place by the Red Army and unable to reposition, a small battlegroup from the “Totenkopf” was formed around the division’s Panther battalion and rushed to face the new threat. However, only four days later, the Soviet vanguard managed to move past the town and threatened to surround it further west. SS-Panzerkorps, which included the elite 3. On July 20th, the German garrison in the eastern Polish city of Siedlce was relieved from an impending encirclement by the timely arrival and subsequent swift counter-attack of the IV. But this time, the Soviets gathered massive amounts of air, artillery, and engineer units in support of the elite assault elements from 26th and 84th Guards Rifle Divisions leading the attack. Sturm, had thwarted all previous attacks in early 1944. This German strongpoint, defended by one of the Wehrmacht’s best infantry divisions, the 78. Immediately after striking Vitebsk, the Soviets launched a second all-out offensive along the strategic Moscow-Minsk highway further south at Orsha. Kavallerie-Brigade - pushed out of Slutsk, and in grave danger of being completely overrun. But before the whole division had arrived, its lead elements were sent in an urgent counter-attack to the east, to help the weary 4. Panzer-Division in Baranovichi to create a new defensive line to the west of the Belarus capital. Well aware of the danger, Feldmarschall Model detrained the incoming 4. But on June 28th, another Soviet assault, this time coming from the north and supported by partisans, managed to enter Krupki proper and engage the Tigers where they were at their most vulnerable - close range.Īs the main pincers of the Soviet offensive were converging on Minsk from Bobruisk and Orscha, the Red Army launched another armored thrust further west, toward Baranovichi, in an effort to trap Army Group Center in a second encirclement. Their objective was to stabilize the defenses and deny the Soviet use of the highway. The delaying action fought at Bobr by Kampfgruppe Bridoux bought schwere Panzer Abteilung 505 precious time to detrain its Tiger heavy tanks at Krupki station, just behind the frontline. Using a shortened front to concentrate a small but powerful mechanized battlegroup, Gruppe Hoppe reminded the incoming Soviets that they were not to be underestimated, even in defeat. In a natural bottleneck near Lake Naratch in northwest Belarus, the retreating Germans saw an opportunity. However, the Soviets got too bold and overextended their line. Right after its opening move against Vitebsk, 1st Baltic Front wheeled north toward Lithuania in pursuit of the remnants of 3. In the skies above, the Luftwaffe made a special effort that day, matching the Soviet Air Force in aircraft for a brief moment. Gathering as many tanks from the front as possible, General von Saucken used his new ad-hoc battlegroup in a desperate counter-attack against the key Pleshchenitsy crossroads - already under Soviet control thanks to the support of local partisans.
These units were now bearing down on Minsk. Panzer-Division managed to hold back the main Soviet armored forces along the Moscow-Minsk highway, fast-moving cavalry and mechanized troops had forced their way across the Berezina river further north. In a desperate effort to stem the tide, and only supported by a handful of Tigers and Stukas, their mission was to slow down the Soviet onslaught long enough to allow for much-needed reinforcements to be brought up to the front. The only regular Wehrmacht unit available in the area was the anti-partisan French collaborationist LVF (Grenadier-Regiment 638). Steel Division 2 ships with four different Army General campaigns, with more available as DLC.Īlthough the garrison at Orscha was still stubbornly holding on, the Soviet armored breakthrough forces had bypassed it already and were racing through the undefended German rear.
Each campaign covers a different sector of the front and runs for a select number of days. You will be able to pick either side and command dozens of authentic battalions and air squadrons.
Steel Division 2’s new turn-based Dynamic Strategic Campaign mode! In the new Army General mode, you will be able to play through a dynamic campaign that faithfully represents, on a 1:1 scale, some of the most important Operation Bagration battles that took place on the Eastern Front in the summer of 1944. Steel Division 2 has a sizable offer for fans of single player modes.