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Box Description
In an effort to bolster the feeble defense of Viipuri, reinforcements in the form of Er. Ps. K., commanded by Lieutenant Sippel, was ordered to move into supporting positions. Nine BT-42 assault-guns entered friendly lines among the wary and frightened soldiers just as the menacing outlines of Soviet JS-II tanks were seen advancing through the morning mist, heading for Finnish positions around Ristimaki cemetery. The defenders fired on the enemy tanks ineffectually, using HE ammunition from the obsolete 114mm howitzers of the Finnish assault-guns. On the northeast side of the ancient city a Soviet ISU-122 and four T-34 tanks clanked menacingly into the heart of Finnish positions. The attackers were stopped by Finnish soldiers serving as close-defense squads using Molotov Cocktails and Panzerschrecks...
MANNERHEIM'S CROSS is a detailed new ATS system game that tells
the story of the Northern Theater of World War II in the kind of detail Eastern Front purists demand, individual squads and tanks. The game provides die cut counters depicting the orders of battle of Soviet, German and Russian forces during the famed Winter War (Talvisota), Continuation War (Jatkosota), and the final push to rid Finland of Nazi forces, the Lapland War (Lapinsota). What's more, heretofore never depicted actions will be wargamed using additional counters and scenarios provided for actions from Finland's War of Independence/Civil War (Vapausota) of 1918!
The counter-set provided is as colorful as the scenario place-names. Orders of Battle for four wars are provided, with numerous German, Russian and Finnish troop-types including Sissi, SS Nord reservists, Wehrmacht and Russians ranging from crack Siberians to plodding 'Motti-bait'. You'll also receive a collection of Finnish AFVs and guns, reflecting correct nomenclature for each weapon in Finnish service and including the BT-42 home-built assault-gun, the diminutive Komsomolets Tractor in Finnish service, and the ITPSV AA tank. Even the fearsome JS-II makes an appearance during the late-war action at Viipuri.
You'll also receive special rules and scenarios that aim to depict the unique nature of the conflict, fought in wet, dark wooded countryside, and involving Mottis and a faithful rendition of the Mannerheim Line and its unique and varied bunkers. And since the ATS system brings you into the action right down to the individual tank and NCO, while you play and recreate these battles you will enjoy an up-close perspective of the history being depicted.
BEGIN PLAY ALMOST IMMEDIATELY using the provided BASIC GAME RULES AND TRAINING MAPSHEET that takes minutes to read and allows you to get your units into action within minutes.
SOME OF THE UNITS YOU CAN COMMAND IN
EXCITING AND REALISTIC WAYS:
BT-42: In 1942 the eighteen surviving Russian BT-7 tanks possessed by the Finns were converted to become the 'BT-42' by fitting a locally manufactured larger turret and the 114mm OQF 4.5-in. howitzer. The British had provided 25 of these weapons to the Finns, along with 25,000 rounds of ammunition, during the Winter War. Although a new German hollow-charge round was developed for the gun, it was not effective against heavy armor. All of the remaining BT-42s were withdrawn from service after the defeat at Viipuri during the Soviet summer offensive of 1944.
ITPSV 40: Six of these AA tanks were purchased from the Swedish firm Landsverk in 1942 and served in the Finnish Army until 1961. The AFV featured a 40mm Bofors AA cannon in an opentopped, fully rotating turret. The Landsverk AA tanks were assigned as an anti-aircraft support platoon in the Finnish Panzer Division, notably shooting down four enemy aircraft, while driving off six more, during the heavy fighting at Kuuterselka in 1944.
Brewster Model 239: The Finns had such great success with the American fighter, the export model of the F2A-1, that they called it Taivaan Helmi. 'Pearl of the Skies'. Along with air superiority duties the planes were used for strafing missions despite official discouragement due to many Brewsters being damaged by Soviet AAA.
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