Firestorm Campaign - Operation Bagration, June-August 1944

Firestorm—Bagration gives you the tools to recreate the 1944 Soviet offensive in Byelorussia. On 22 June, more than 2,000,000 Soviet soldiers stormed the heavily fortified lines of the badly outnumbered German Army Group Centre. The German defenses quickly crumbled under several sledgehammer blows. German armored reserves rushed forward, desperately counterattacking to stem the on-rushing Red tide in the climactic Battle of Minsk.

Firestorm—Bagration is Battlefront’s first map campaign using the Firestorm system. This campaign allows you to re-fight the battles of Operation Bagration on a grand scale in which you and your friends will be taking the part of the commanders that decided the course of history in those critical weeks of June and July 1944.

While the course and outcome of the real Operation Bagration can’t be changed, the outcome of your campaign is up to you. Either side can win. The Red Army could smash Army Group Centre opening the way to the offensives that ended the war, or the German Army could reverse history and stem the Soviet tide, buying time to rebuild and go on the offensive once more. The only guarantee is that the more games you play and win, the closer you will bring your side to victory.

No matter who wins, the campaign is a great opportunity to get in plenty of Flames Of War games, play new opponents, win glory for your army, and perhaps to meet new friends and rewrite history along the way.

Firestorm—Bagration uses a map to plot the strategic situation and show the effects of your tabletop games on the battles for Byelorussia. All of the important units, cities, terrain, and objectives of the operation are represented on the map.

The factors that shaped the historical battle will shape your campaign too. The rail lines that supplied each side and the fortress cities that dominated these railway lines are the key to victory.

The rivers that formed the successive German defensive lines decide where the battles will be fought. The Soviet partisans that virtually controlled the forests and marshes of Byelorussia hinder German efforts to move reinforcements to the front line.

Campaign Scenarios

There are two different campaign variants that you can try. The main campaign starts on 26 June, once the Soviets have broken through the fortifications and virtually surrounded the fortified cities. This scenario concentrates on the mobile battles on the road to Minsk and is a great place to start playing Firestorm—Bagration.

The extended campaign runs right from the start of Operation Bagration on 22 June 1944. In this scenario the Soviet offensive crashes into the Germans fortifications, seeking to break through and capture the fortified cities in their path.

German Firestorm Troops:

• 2 Tigers
• 1 Panther
• 1 Panzer
• 1 StuG G
• 4 Half-Tracks
• 4 Engineer Trucks
• 1 Artillery
• 2 Polizei
• 1 Aircraft
• 1 Armored Train

Soviet Firestorm Troops:

• 3 IS-2
• 5 T-34/85
• 2 T-34
• 4 SU-76
• 4 Artillery
• 4 Engineer Truck
• 4 Partisans
• 1 SMG
• 5 Aircraft
• 1 Armored Train

Other Contents:

• Rulebook
• 10 Area Control Tokens
• 1 Victory Point Tokens
• 1 Turn Token
• 5 Proxy Unit Token
• 10 Battle Arrows