when I originally began this dio, I planned to cover Koeningsberg. Basically, a group of grenadiers ambushing a T-34 from their make-shift command-post in a bombed out church. As the dio developed, I eventually changed it to Kharkov, with a different group of soldiers bracing for a Russian counter-attack, including a sd. kfz 251/C half-track. The half-track and the T-34 took up entirely too much space, thus, after grabbing a Marder III during my infatuation with Panzerjagers, I changed the theme yet again. I applied hydrocol "snow" to cover the lentil-bean "cobblestone" and then I felt like I really solidified a theme. In that sense, this diorama has taken about a year to finish.
This is the 3rd battle of Kharkov, where the SS panzer army was deployed to envelop the Russians after they already surrounded the city. The point when the dio takes place is when they've entered the city and have began house-to-house fighting. There are pockets of Russians defending their freshly won prize. You can see that the church has already changed hands a few times. In spite of the fresh snowfall, there is rubble everywhere and its a shadow of its former self. On the first floor of the church, you'll see some equipment from the ill-fated German defenders, and on the second floor, you'll see the soviet officer preparing to go out in a blaze of patriotic glory! The machine-gunner is observing the still-wet soviet grafitti covering the church. The German officer, the focal point of the scene, is shouting orders to his men from the back of a Marder III(H) panzerjaeger with a lugar in hand, just in case.
The church has an advantage over the surrounding terrain, making it a critical spot to deploy artillery, but, in spite of being the victim of a few 105mm salvoes, it still needs to be secured, since the Russians also recognize its value.
The grenadiers of 3nd SS Panzergrenadier division "Totenkopf" have been tasked with pushing out the resistance while they simutaniously move a Marder into position.
Sets Used:
# Dragon Marder III Ausf. H
# Dragon Panzergrenadiers (Kharkov 1943)
# Verlinden German SS Officers
# Verlinden Soviet Officers
# Verlinden Church Ruins
More Info/Photos
On to the pics!
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hopefully, you like it!