Stalingrad Map Question?

[RuffMonk]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of working up a series of historical missions for the Battle of Stalingrad and I have a map question. In the interest of finding good bombing targets, I swear I have seen a small military base somewhere on that map in the distant past, but can't seem to find it anywhere here recently. Can anyone tell me if there is a military camp somewhere on that map and where if so? Also, besides the airfields, are there any other good ground targets for bombers to hit on the map anywhere else?

Thanks in advance!

[grislawskijg52]

Originally Posted by RuffMonk

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of working up a series of historical missions for the Battle of Stalingrad and I have a map question. In the interest of finding good bombing targets, I swear I have seen a small military base somewhere on that map in the distant past, but can't seem to find it anywhere here recently. Can anyone tell me if there is a military camp somewhere on that map and where if so? Also, besides the airfields, are there any other good ground targets for bombers to hit on the map anywhere else?

Thanks in advance!

The Factory seemed to be on of the focal points of battle in the city. Pitomik airfield was a hot spot (traficking of German aircraft in and out). Any area on the banks of the Volga as well, at one point the Germans had the Russians pinned there with only a few hundred yards to spare. Initially the Germans bombed the entire city rendering the city streets impassable, this really hindered their armor when they entered the city (cost them dearly). Hope this helps.

[RuffMonk]

Thanks grislawskijg52,

Yeah, I've just finished up "Stalingrad - The Air Battle: 1942 through January 1943" by Christer Bergstrom for my research for the mission setups and it was packed full of all kinds of great information. I'm planning to have the opening mission the bombing of the city, with the factory way to the north of the city the focus of another mission or two down the road. I was just wondering if there were any other good targets outside of the airfirelds and the city itself on the map that I could use as not all of the battles focused on Stalingrad. Both sides were continually hitting airfields, troop columns, tank formations and railways in support of their forces. I'm even planning to have a few missions aimed at hitting certain railway points on the map for each side. I've flown quite a few recon flights in training mode looking for other good targets on the map and so far haven't really found anything that stands out. However, Stalingrad is a huge map and I was just wondering if others might know about some other potential juicy bombing targets hidden away that I haven't seen.

[grislawskijg52]

Hey Ruffmonk, You might want to research Hermann Graff as he scored the first Double Century in that arena. May get you some insight as to where they were flying.

[RuffMonk]

The book covers most, if not all of the top aces on both sides of the invasion. Dickfeld, Steinhoff, Graff, Dammers, Rossmann & Grislawski just to name a few of the German ones. The Stalingrad book is quite extensive and goes into great detail about all operations (ground and air) from the Demyansk Air Bridge (Jan. 1942) all the way through to the German defeat at Stalingrad (Feb. 1943). It's actually the second in a 4 book series by Bergstrom. The other three covering Operation Barbarossa (1st book), Kursk (3rd book) and Bagration (4th book). I have the first 3 and so far have read Barbarossa and Stalingrad to bone up for the missions I'm planning to set up. They're a great read if you're into WWII ground or air history and if you ever have the opportunity to pick them up, I STRONGLY suggest it. I was lucky enough that one of the major universities near me had these available!!!