Fighting Formations: Grossdeutschland Division’s Battle for Kharkov

About this expansion

Fighting Formations: Grossdeutschland Division’s Battle for Kharkov is a two-player, 270-minute expansion covering the Grossdeutschland Division’s battles in Ukraine during 1943 and the winter of 1944.

As one player commands elements of the elite German formation, the other controls opposing Soviet forces. The scenarios portray a front defined by repeated attacks and counterattacks, as both sides fight for the roads, villages, hills, and transportation hubs around Belgorod and Kharkov.

The campaign setting includes the Soviet Operation Star, the capture of Belgorod and Kharkov, and Manstein’s February “Backhand Blow.” German advances in March helped establish the conditions for the upcoming battle for Kursk, while the winter battles of 1943–44 placed each side’s future positions at stake.

The expansion adds 10 new scenarios, including several smaller and shorter engagements, along with 10 new maps. The scenarios range from surrounded German units and desperate defensive stands to armored assaults and the first appearance of Grossdeutschland’s Tiger tanks.

• Ten scenarios featuring battles around Kharkov, Belgorod, and nearby areas.
• Three large and two small back-printed game maps, providing 10 maps in total.
• A half-sized counter sheet with new German and Soviet units.
• An updated Grossdeutschland order of battle covering equipment added in 1943.
• Historical notes on Grossdeutschland’s fighting in Ukraine.

New forces include Soviet SU-76M assault guns, SU-85 tank destroyers, T-34C and T-26b tanks, plus the German Tiger I, PzIII M, 7.5cm PaK 40, and low-quality artillerymen pressed into frontline service.

With its focused scenarios and detailed historical setting, Battle for Kharkov expands Fighting Formations with a tense series of engagements over the routes and defensive positions that shaped the 1943 campaign.