ACG Campaign - Krymskaya Phase 4 - Mission 21 “Trouble and Strafe“ (8.(pz) in action)

Campaign desription: Phase 4 covers the final Soviet attempt the break through the ‘Blue Line’ around Krymskaya in late May. Tactical air support was heavily employed for all of these actions, with a continual battle for air superiority to provide protection for ground attack units. Luftwaffe bomber units were drawn away as the battle progressed due to other operations in the Ukraine and general preparation for the Kursk offensive (Operation CITADEL) which was due to start in the Summer. In contrast, the VVS received significant reinforcements that allowed them to continue to contest the airspace over the Kuban throughout the period. The Kuban Campaign was the first instance where the VVS took on the Luftwaffe fighter force directly, in areas where they had chosen to defend, and had some successes in doing so. Frequently this involved prolonged battles over the same areas as both sides fed their units into the combat. As such it was a key point in the air war on the Eastern Front in much the same way as Stali