Panzer Grenadier: Romanian Soil, Battles for Targu Frumos 1944. En abril de 1944, los restos del Ejército alemán pasaron tambaleantes de Ucrania a Rumania. El segundo Frente ucraniano desplegó los imponentes nuevos tanques de Stalin, para flanquear la bien construida línea de fortificación rumana al sur y el este. Los alemanes habían sido derrotados duramente, mientras el Ejército rumano había empleado un año y medio en recuperarse de la derrota en los alrededores de Stalingrado. Ninguno parecía que iba a oponer una seria resistencia, pero los soviéticos se habían estado debilitando luchando constantemente y los aliados estaban terminando su propia ofensiva.

Para poder jugar todos los escenarios se requieren componentes de Eastern Front, Road to Berlin, Battle of the Bulge, Elsenborn Ridge y Red Warriors.

Escenarios:

• Booted from Botosani 7 April 1944
The town of Botosani controlled the road net (such as it was) east of the Seret River, so 40th Army designated it as a first-day objective for 2nd Ukrainian Front’s upcoming offensive. In late March, Gen. Otto Wöhler had started pulling Romanian formations from the front lines as soon as German ones became available, because he was convinced the Romanians “had no discernable desire to fight.” But the Romanians were still at Botosani when the Red Army attacked.

• Steamrolled at Coarnele-Capru 7 April 1944
The last natural barrier between the Soviets and their primary objective of Tirgu Frumos was Coarnele-Capru. Despite Marshal Ion Antonescu’s devotion to the Axis, most Romanian soldiers were concerned only with their own survival and the officers had stopped wearing any German decorations awarded them. The only positive from their perspective was the fact that the Soviet logistical system was breaking down after three months of constant maneuvering, leaving Red Army formations significantly under strength.

• Slowing the Juggernaut 9 April 1944
Marshal Ivan Konev of 2nd Ukranian Front identified Targu Frumos as his main target thanks to its strategic position. Interrogations of German prisoners revealed that the Axis would stand around Kishinev before falling back to the Romanian Strunga Line. Taking Targu Frumos would outflank the Kishinev position from the northwest and unravel the German line. If the Soviets could strike quickly, Konev believed, they could isolate and destroy the entire Axis force on the Romanian front.

• Engineers Really Can Do Anything 9 April 1944
Targu Frumos had an importance all out of proportion to its size; its loss would threaten two German and two Romanian armies with encirclement. When word reached Gen. Wöhler that the Romanians had been driven from there, he ordered Grossdeutschland Division to rectify the situation at once. As luck would have it they had already been ordered eastward, and were currently arriving on the battlefield. Their engineer battalion was one of the first to arrive, and without waiting for help they took the fight to the enemy.

• Situation Under Control 10 April 1944
With his engineer battalion fighting for control of Targu Frumos, Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel needed to get the rest of his Grossdeutschland Division there without delay. On the morning after the engineers took the town, he brought the rest of Grossdeutchland into action along the Podu Iloaie-Targu Frumos road.

• A Slow Response 10 April 1944
After pushing aside a rifle division at Podu Iloaie, Grossdeutschland replaced the shock units with new ones and continued westward. Among the shock units were a group of Romanians with an attitude, riding on the lead tanks. Initially little opposition was encountered as the 93rd Guards Rifle Division was still trying to re-orient itself to meet this new threat.

• The Guards Move Forward 10 April 1944
An often overlooked reason for Grossdeutschland’s success (especially in German accounts) was the forceful pinning attacks mounted by the Romanians farther south. One such attack was carried out at Ganesti by Romania’s battle-hardened 1st Guards Division. Viewing the Royal Guards as a symbol of political reaction, Red Army kommisars encouraged a particular dislike for the Romanian division, one heartily returned by its officers.

• Forward Again 12 April 1944
The German counterattack totally frustrated the Soviets, but two days later they had reorganized their forces and were ready to push forward again. Their main effort would fall on the small village of Totoesti, held by Lt. Gen. Maximilian von Edelsheim´s 24th Panzer Division, a converted cavalry division with a poor fighting record. Edelsheim had greatly improved the division´s performance, but he would need his troops to exceed that standard if the Axis line was to hold.

• And Again 13 April 1944
Marshal Konev had given firm orders to Lt. Gen. S.I Bogdanov of Second Tank Army: the salient held 24th Panzer Division was to be eliminated. Having failed with one of his two tank corps, Bogdanov now committed his other, fresh corps and attached additional infantry for the assault. Twice as many tanks would be used, with the main thrust shifted slightly to the west to accommodate the larger forces.

• When Elites Meet 13 April 1944
Unsure whether the Soviet offensive had really ended, Lt. Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel of Grossdeutschland Division ordered a series of small-scale attacks to expand his defensive perimeter around Targu Frumos. The Soviet 3rd Guards Airborne Division had entered the line, and Manteuffel reasoned that a spoiling attack might also upset Soviet plans should they be preparing a fresh attack.