Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943

The year is 1943. The Wehrmacht has begun Operation Hawk in an attempt to capture Kharkov with its steel claws. The SS Division Totenkopf has moved forward to crush the Soviet tank forces, but the Red Army has held the line, digging in and putting up a fierce resistance. In response, German tank armies have renewed their offensive with Operation Panther, and Soviet tank crews are now finding themselves severely outnumbered.
Want to step into the role of a commander in the very heart of Kharkov’s defense? You'll have everything the officers had back then: tanks, guns, and fearless soldiers. The success of each opposing force hangs in the balance every day. Your decisions will determine who wins the Battle of Kharkov.

Main Features:

High replayability and flexible AI: "smart" AI analyzes the players’ tactical movements and chooses the best strategy based on behavior rather than a script. Scenarios can be replayed using different tactics, as though playing against a human opponent

Painstaking reconstruction of Kharko in scope and size

Detailed recreation of weapons, artillery, and vehicles: all battle characteristics, including missile trajectories and crew numbers, have been modelled according to archived military records and WW2 chronicles

Dynamic day, night and weather effects, all of which affect combat through terrain traversability, battlefield visibility, hidden force capabilities, and more

Destructible environment: nearly everything can be blasted and destroyed, from ground terrain to houses and enemy defenses. All traces of previous battles (shell holes, broken vehicles, corpses, etc.) remain on the battlefield

Realistic ballistics: bullets and projectiles follow accurate trajectories. Proper shot longitude, number of frags, and their range are calculated

Comprehensive vehicle damage system: engine, suspension, weapons, and aiming mechanisms can all be damaged separately, affecting the combat capabilities of the vehicle

Real soldier behavior: every soldier has several basic parameters, such as experience level, fatigue, and morale, which affect their behavior and effectiveness

Military encyclopedia with 3D model viewer and detailed data on all units, describing their historical and in-game characteristics

Fast Facts:

6 scenarios taking place in 1943 during the operation to defend Kharkov

2 playable opposing forces: the USSR Red Army and German Wehrmacht

Up to 250 soldiers and officers and up to 40 vehicles in each tactical battle

Detailed global map: 36 square kilometers in size

87 unit types: infantry, artillery, support vehicles, battle tanks, and aviation

More than 40 accurately and carefully reconstructed weapons and vehicles

2 control modes: turn-based strategic mode and real-time tactical mode



The Achtung Panzer forum is by far the most active third party forum at the moment, if not one of the most active forums overall. Very, very good indication of the interest this has caused in the Wargamer community.