Breakout from the Crimea: Wrangel's Offensive

Breakout From the Crimea covers General Wrangel's Russian White Army offensive from their trapped environs of the Crimea. Wrangel and his 25,000 men were evacuated from Novorisisk in March 1920, later reforming and re-supplied by the British. The Red 13th army was responsible for Wrangel's containment, as well as the Communist's attempt to break through to Sevastopol. In April, both sides tried in vain to achieve their goals. Wrangel's forces were not numerically as strong as the 13th Army, but their morale, as well as skillful use of tanks and aircraft, returned the balance of power to their favor. By May 1920, Wrangel had up to 20 operational tanks and an equal number of DH9A bombers. Their tankers and pilots trained since March, and learned well the lessons taught by their British advisors in combined arms tactics. During the battle, both sides fought tenaciously, but it was the use of tanks and aircraft that tipped the scales. The DH9A bombers faced little Red air opposition and flew constant missions over the front. The tanks were massed into a hammering force for a breakthrough. All of these lessons were ignored by Wrangel's former superior, General Denikin, a year earlier. To supplement the attack, Wrangel also had several divisions land along the Black Sea coast, which was weakly held by the Communists. By June 12th, the Communist 13th Army lost 8,000 men and was fleeing to the protection of the Dniepr River. Wrangel, lost nearly the same amount and exploiting the White victory was not easy. The Reds counter-attacked a few days later and briefly retook Melitopol. Eventually, the Whites recaptured the city and the lines became static, with neither side having the strength to overcome the other. Components (High Flying dice edition): Four 11" x 17" map sections Two sheets of 280 playing pieces One Players' Aid Sheet One, 12 page rule book (Firefight edition): one 11 x 17 map 280 DTP counters