Battlelines®: Operation Uranus Ready-to-Play Set
Product Information
The Battlelines®: Operation Uranus Ready-to-Play Set contains everything needed for a two player game of Battlelines® World War II card game.
Included:
-
a total of 165 unique high quality cards
Price: $34.95
History
Operation Uranus
Zhukov’s
Kettle was the name the troops gave to Operation Uranus. The slow steady
buildup of men and material came to an end as divisions of Soviet artillery and
thousands of tanks attacked the exposed flanks of Army
Group B
. Zhukov’s plan for the encirclement of 6th Army was a master stroke of
planning and logistics given the situation in 1942. But the self imposed
blindness by the Germans was not shared by the Rumanian Army. The German High
Command had been notified of the build up by Rumanian, Hungarian and Italian
forces holding the shoulders of the salient leading to Stalingrad, but those
warnings were dismissed as being the jitters of un-blooded troops. More as a
political action than a military one, the 48th Panzer Corps was formed with
Rumania’s own 1st Panzer Division as the central combat power to provide a
mobile reserve intended to counter the Russians should they attack. The 48th
Panzer Corps had over two hundred tanks of which almost all of them were
antiquated R2 Rumanian tanks. Just a week before Zhukov’s offensive the Germans
had conducted a firing test of the R2 tank versus the T34 and KV1 tanks. The
results were chilling to the Rumanians since the R2 could not penetrate the
Soviet tanks even at point blank range.
The expected attack came with a violence that shocked and soon destroyed the Rumanian 3rd Army and tore a hundred mile hole in the northern flank of Army Group B. Into that breach flowed over 1200 tanks, thousands of guns and hundreds of thousands of men. Believing the breakthrough could be stopped, the 48th Panzer Corps was ordered to counter-attack and close the breach. Both of the German panzer divisions assigned to the 48th Panzer Korps were out of fuel, had few operating machines and had troops that were not ready to engage and destroy the juggernaut that was upon them.
The 1st Rumanian Panzer Division finding a gap in the front was able to smash the Russian 8th Cavalry Corps against the remains of the 11th Panzer Division and destroy it. The victory was bitter sweet since the 1st Rumanian Panzer was surrounded and destroyed soon thereafter.
Battlelines®: Operation Uranus is the third game in the Stalingrad campaign. The 1st Rumanian Panzer Division is pitted against the Soviet 4th Cavalry Corps. Both unit decks rely heavily on the forces comprising the Operation Deck’s reinforcements. This operation is a bloody and dangerous fight by doctrinally simple, courageous opponents in a snow bound landscape.
1st Rumanian Panzer Division
Elements of the "Rumania Mare" division saw action in the first year of the
war. After gaining some operational experiece the division was completely
assembled and organized during the winter and spring of 1942. The 1st Rumanian
Panzer Division was fully equipped despite the large number of antiquated
tanks.
Assigned to the 3rd Rumanian Army, the "Rumania Mare" moved into the Don River
bend to cover the flank of German 6th Army in
Stalingrad. In November, 1942, as part of the 48th Panzer Korps, 3rd Rumanian
Army’s only reserve, the division counterattacked against the Soviet offensive,
"Operation Uranus," and broke through a gap in the
Russian lines, destroying the 8th Cavalry Corps. After this
initial success the division was subsequently surrounded and destroyed.
4th Cavalry Corps
The
4th Cavalry Corps, a prewar formation, saw plenty of action during the war. The
corps invaded eastern Poland in September 1939. During 1941 the 4th Cavalry
Corps served in the rear areas and avoided destruction. Committed to stop the
Axis during the "Drive on Stalingrad" the the 4th
Cavalry Corps served with Southwest Front during
the late summer of 1942. In the winter of 1942, the 4th Cavalry Corps attacked
the southern flank of the Army Group B as part
of the 51st Army in the massive Soviet offensive that encircled Stalingrad, "Operation
Uranus". Because of the mobility of the the 4th Cavalry Corps, it
shadowed and harrassed the flank of the German’s "Winter
Storm" offensive.
Card List
Operation Uranus Operation Deck
The "Operation Uranus" operation deck covers the Soviet destruction of Rumanian 3rd Army. During the fighting the newly formed 48th Panzer Korps, centered on the 1st Rumanian Panzer Division, counterattacked the overwhelming flood of Soviet Forces. Swirling snowbound combat on the steppes of the Don river bend left the 8th Cavalry Corps and 1st Rumanian Panzer consumed by the fighting that ensued. By the end of the Soviet offensive the German 6th Army was encircled in Stalingrad and most of the Rumanian and Italian troops holding the lines of communications were destroyed.
| Card Name | Card Type | Card Name | Card Type |
| Axis Objectives | Axis Reinforcements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Zety | Objective | 197th Assault Gun Battalion | Troops |
| Kalatch | Objective | 283rd Anti-Tank Battalion | Troops |
| Zhirkovskii | Base | 851st Artillery Battalion | Artillery |
| Kletskaya | Objective | Remains of the 22nd Panzer Division | Troops |
| Chalk Cliffs | Objective | 52nd Heavy Artillery Battalion | Troops |
| Height 87 | Objective | Remains of Army Detachment Hollidt | Artillery |
| Nariman | Objective | 307th Heavy Flak Battalion | Troops |
| Buzinovka | Objective | ||
| Soviet Objectives | Soviet Reinforcements | ||
| Buzinovka | Base | 392nd Artillery Regiment | Artillery |
| Melokletski | Base | 565th Tank Battalion | Troops |
| Zariza River | Objective | 58th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment | Troops |
| Starokletski | Base | 216th Tank Brigade | Troops |
| Sirotinskaya | Base | 1214th Medium Antitank Regiment | Troops |
| Barmatsak | Base | 377th Artillery Regiment | Artillery |
| Beketova "Bell� | Base | 4th Breakthrough Artillery Division | Troops |
| Tunguta Station | Base | 97th Infantry Brigade | Troops |
| Locations | Missions | ||
| Sovietskii | Location | Attack of the Southwest Front | Mission |
| Nizhne-Chirskaya | Location | Romanian Counterattack | Mission |
| Marinovka | Location | Attack of the Don Front | Mission |
| Platonovka | Location | Meeting at Kalatch | Mission |
| Golubinskaya Heights | Location | Into the Open Steppes | Mission |
| Raspopinskaya | Location | Wrecking the 4th Panzer Army | Mission |
| Berezovskii Crossing | Location | Attack of the Stalingrad Front | Mission |
| Krivomuzginskaya | Location | Attack of the 51st Army | Mission |
| Verkhne-Tsaritsynsk | Location | ||
| Tundutovo | Location | ||
| Abganerovo Railway Station | Location | ||
| Plodovitoe | Location | ||
| Kurtiak River Valley | Location | ||
| Peschany | Location | ||
| Pronin | Location | ||
| Perelazovskii Junction | Location | ||
1st Rumanian Panzer Division Unit Deck
The 1st Rumanian Panzer Division was originally deployed in brigade sized elements during operations in 1941. When the Germans blunked the Russian spring offensive in 1942 around Kharkov and launched operations aimed at the capture of Stalingrad and the oil rich caucasus, the 1st Rumanian Panzer division was being reintegrated into a single division, entering the Don River Bend in September, 1942. When the Operation Uranus was launched by the Red Army the 1st Rumanian Panzer Division was commited to counterattacking an over whelming enemy force and was destroyed. The 1st Rumanian Panzer Division is a very brittle heavily armed unit. This unit deck has a high operational tempo and adequate fire-power however it is brittle and can be destroyed more readily than other axis units.
| Card Name | Card Type | Card Name | Card Type |
| Formation Cards | Actions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Rumanian Panzer Division | Headquarters | IAR 80 - Strafing | Aircraft |
| 1st Tank Regiment | Headquarters | JRS-79B - Bomber | Aircraft |
| I/1st Tank Battalion | Troops | Probe | Maneuver |
| II/1st Tank Battalion | Troops | Attack | Maneuver |
| 3rd Motorized Regiment | Headquarters | Blitz | Maneuver |
| I/3rd Motorized Battalion | Troops | Delay | Tactics |
| II/3rd Motorized Battalion | Troops | Firing Line | Tactics |
| 4th Motorized Regiment | Headquarters | Charge! | Tactics |
| I/4th Motorized Battalion | Troops | Hurricane Drum Fire! | Tactics |
| II/4th Motorized Battalion | Troops | Pin and Flank | Tactics |
| I/1st Motorized Artillery Battalion | Artillery | Smoke | Tactics |
| II/1st Motorized Artillery Battalion | Artillery | Close Action | Tactics |
| III/1st Motorized Artillery Battalion | Artillery | Shell Them! | Tactics |
| 1st Anti-Tank Battalion | Troops | Flank | Tactics |
| 1st Engineers Battalion | Troops | Battlefield | |
| 1st Reconnaisance Battalion | Troops | Entrenchments | Fieldworks |
| Supply Column Battalion | Troops | Gun Pits | Fieldworks |
| Camouflage | Fieldworks | ||
| Minefield | Obstacles | ||
| Attachments | Fortune | ||
| Lt. General Niculescu | Leader | Military Intelligence | Confusion |
| Colonel Trespacz | Leader | Drive On! | Confusion |
| Seargeant Utti | Leader | Ambush! | Intelligence |
| Cavalry Squadron | Company | Captured Tanks! | Intelligence |
| Pak 38 Company | Company | Interceptors! | Fog of War |
| Pak 38 Battery | Company | Captured Supplies | Fog of War |
| Pak 38 Antitank | Company | Captured Equipment | Fog of War |
| R-35 Company | Company | Found the Passage | Fog of War |
| Shock Troops | Company | Sniper | Fog of War |
| Anti-Aircraft section | Company | Medic! | Fog of War |
| Statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand Maximum | Hand Minimum | Troop Quality | Service | Victory Points | Damage | Hits |
| 5 | 4 | Trained | 1941–1942 | 252 | 54 | 47 |
4th Cavalry Corps Unit Deck
The 4th Cavalry Corps is a Conscript quality unit deck that is skilled at raiding enemy locations and melting away or retreating after action. The Conscript troops rely heavily on the reinforcements to help prosecute the battle. This deck is for the players that love to harass the enemy and look for momentary advantages that can be exploited at little risk of loss.
| Card Name | Card Type | Card Name | Card Type |
| Formation Cards | Actions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Cavalry Corps | Headquarters | Like Water on the Steppes | Tactics |
| 61st Cavalry Division | Headquarters | Hit and Run | Tactics |
| 213th Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Fast as the Wind | Tactics |
| 219th Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Dismount | Tactics |
| 222nd Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Charge! | Tactics |
| 61st Horse Artillery Battalion | Artillery | Distraction | Tactics |
| 63rd Cavalry Division | Headquarters | Melt Away | Tactics |
| 214th Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Forward Observer | Tactics |
| 220th Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Probe | Maneuver |
| 223rd Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Screen | Maneuver |
| 63rd Horse Artillery Battalion | Artillery | Attack | Maneuver |
| 81st Cavalry Division | Headquarters | Pursue | Maneuver |
| 216th Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Boots and Saddles | Maneuver |
| 227th Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Pe-2 | Aircraft |
| 232nd Cavalry Regiment | Troops | Battlefield | |
| 81st Horse Artillery Battalion | Artillery | Barricades | Fieldworks |
| 4th Artillery-Mortar Regiment | Artillery | Fields of Fire | Fieldworks |
| 4th Horse Artillery Battalion | Artillery | Camouflage | Fieldworks |
| 4th Mortar Battalion | Artillery | Mines | Obstacles |
| 4th Antitank Battalion | Troops | ||
| Attachments | Fortune | ||
| Corps Commander | Leader | Confusion to the Enemy! | Confusion |
| Brigadier - 61st Cavalry | Leader | Scouts | Intelligence |
| Brigadier - 63rd Cavalry | Leader | Medic | Fog of War |
| Brigadier - 81st Cavalry | Leader | Rally | Fog of War |
| Light Mortars | Company | Reform | Fog of War |
| 4.5cm Antitank Battery | Company | Dress Ranks | Fog of War |
| BT-5 Squadron | Company | Captured Supplies | Fog of War |
| BT-5 Company | Company | ||
| BT-5 Light Tanks | Company | ||
| Statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand Maximum | Hand Minimum | Troop Quality | Service | Victory Points | Damage | Hits |
| 4 | 4 | Conscript | 1939–1942 | 144 | 44 | 48 |
