Memoir '44: The Battle Map - Volume 3 - Sword of Stalingrad

The third volume in the Battle Maps Memoir' 44 series contains 2 Overlord scenarios, 2 standard scenarios, the summary maps of the previous Battle Maps and the Mediterranean Theater and, for the very first time, new maps that can be used in game: the Combat maps specially designed for urban combat. At the end of August 1942, German troops reached the Volga River north of Stalingrad. The 4th Panzerarmee needed only a few days to reach the river south of the city, isolating the men and women of the 62nd Soviet Army. Stalin's order of July 27, "Not a step back", was self-evident, and Stalingrad's defenders soon realized that his slogan "there is nothing behind the Volga" described the harsh reality they would face.

Lieutenant-General Chuikov had seen with his own eyes the terrible effectiveness of the German Blitzkrieg in the Russian steppes. He knew how to turn the situation to his advantage: the carpets of bombs dropped on the city had turned it into a field of ruins where it was easy to set up defensive lines overlooking the strategic streets and squares of Stalingrad. The Soviets had to fight as close to the enemy as possible, even if it was a house or a gate away, making it impossible for the Germans to use artillery strikes or bombardments. By October 1942, Stalingrad had become a symbol by name. For Stalin and Hitler, it was now more a question of prestige than a truly strategic issue. The whole eastern campaign was focused on this. In mid-October, the Luftwaffe stepped up its strikes against Red Army units holding the west bank of the Volga River. More than 2,000 air sorties were carried out, and 600 tons of bombs were dropped by the Stukas on the city.

In the aftermath, three infantry divisions and two armoured divisions supported by battalions of engineers surrounded the three factories north of the city. Their attack was aimed at the center of the Soviet front line. The 14th Armored Division made a breakthrough, isolating almost the entire tractor factory: the violence of this attack cut the 62nd Soviet Army in half. General von Paulus knew that the capture of the tractor factory would lead to the collapse of the Russian right flank. He committed fresh troops to the battle to finish off the entrenched Soviet defenders. Two standard scenarios are provided in addition to these two Overlord scenarios: Mamayev Kurgan and Pavlov, Heroes of the Soviet Union. In addition, you will also find the currently unpublished summary maps (the Mediterranean Theater and Battle Maps), as well as a corrected edition of the Infiltration map.

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