ODESSA, SOVIET UNION, 2 October 1941: As part of Operation Barbarossa, the Romanian Army was tasked with capturing Odessa. In August, they reached the city and began their attack. With the seaport city cut off from most forms of support, the defenders had to rely on their own resources. One significant shortage was tanks. To address this, the workers of Odessa converted Komsomolets tractors into makeshift armored vehicles. As the Romanians advanced closer to the city center, the fighting grew more desperate. German Panzer forces also threatened the bases in Crimea that the Red Navy was using to supply the beleaguered citadel. On October 2nd, the 157th Rifle Division, supported by 24 tanks, launched an attack up the Dalnik-Perselent road in the sector held by the Frontier Guard Division. Following a heavy artillery barrage, the men of the 157th, supported by terror tanks, quickly routed the 8th Machine Gun Battalion. As the dazed survivors retreated, the terror tanks, along with air support, smashed into the left wing of the 5th Frontier Guard Regiment. After rolling over this unit, the tanks were engaged by batteries from the divisional artillery. Firing over open sights, Romanian gunners managed to destroy half of the Russian tanks. The remainder rolled over the guns until finally being stopped by the Divisional Reserve. Although the counter-attack was successful, it only delayed the inevitable fall of Odessa. The city was evacuated two weeks later.
When the Red Army drove into Bessarabia and Bukovina in 1940, the government of Romanian strongman Ion Antonescu, the Conducător, was firmly driven into the camp of the Third Reich, with ramifications that play out to this day. Even when Ionescu was convinced by Hitler that the best interests of Romania would be served by further territorial concessions, namely Transylvania to Hungary and southern Dobrogea to Bulgaria, the march to war in the east was inexorable.
CH put Romanian boots on the ground in the form of GWASL 11, and it's high time the GEO 2025 program meets the R-1, R-2, and sons of the men that won the Battle of Mărășești in 1917, Romania's 'Little Verdun' ... march again.
Ionescu may not have promised his people a '1,000 year Reich' -- BUT we can provide YOU 1,000 color, die-cut counters in the form of the Romanian Order of Battle in Classic Axis Minors green, with a supply of ½" and 5/8" concealments, Control markers, vehicle crews ... more than the counters needed to play the scenarios provided -- and ALL the new Geo 2025 boards needed to play, a collection of 6 that also mate with ALL of the recent boards of this generation (provided in T-35 forward).
The set includes 8 scenarios, ALL played on a set of 6 geomorphic boards that are part of our GEO 2025 series, now in its third release (T-35 and Huns)! You also get a ew color folio AND if you order between 13-16 December 2024 A COMPLETE SET OF 1,000 color die-cut Romanian Nationality counters in Classic Axis Minors Green from the latest counter print run.
