Scenario 3mm


Early Fall 1943, somewhere in Southern Russia.

 

The Soviet drive to the West has finally run out of steam, with a Soviet Tank Corps having run ahead of its supporting armies, it is now ripe for destruction.  You are the CO of a panzer grenadier regiment in a reduced state; the division commander has given you 2 companies of Panzer 4G and a company of Tiger 1 to destroy the leading brigade of the Soviet Tank Corps.  Your mission is to advance up Route “Thor” taking the bridge over the stream to your front.  The stream is swallowed and cannot be crossed expect at the bridge.  Once you cross the bridge and have taken the village you must advance and the town beyond setting up a defence to cover the bridge.  Follow on units will relieve you and set up a bridgehead for further operations.  You are to concentrate on destruction of local enemy forces during your advance.  There is no air support available to either side, forces available is as follows:

 

German Forces

Soviet Forces

Morale B

Morale B

1 CP

1 CP

1 OP

1 OP

1 AAHT

8 T34/76

1 GW1

4 T70

1 251/9

2 BA20

2 222

2 M/C

2 M/C

3 Engr

3 105H

9 SMG

6 Pz4G

1 82M

3 Tiger 1

1 45ATG

9 Rifle

2 MG

1 Engr

1 120M

3 MG

3 122H

1 81M

2 SU57

1 Marder II

2 SU76

10 251/1B

1 SU122

4 Truck

9 M2HT

3 Sdfz 7

11 Truck

 

1 ATR

 

The current deployment is as follows:

 

Pic 1, 1a, 10

 

On turn 1 the German force pushed out toward the centre village with one battle group on either side of the road (axis of advance).  The third (Tiger 1) battle group following.  The turn was un-eventful although the Soviet player plotted indirect fire for the next turn.

 

Pic Turn 1 German Another more and more

 

Turn 2 opened with a continued German advance interrupted by 120mm mortar fire into battle group 2.  The soviets chose to withdraw their advanced recce elements causing the Germans to use opportunity fire on a BA20 scoring a kill. The German OP plotted fire to land on a spotted recce element on the bridge in the village.

 

Pic Turn 2 German

 

Turn 3 saw Germans elements reach their FUP for the assault on the village.  The tanks took up fire positions and the panzer grenadiers moved forward for the run in.  German artillery fired a pre-plotted pattern centered a spotted BA20 on the village bridge.

 

Pic Turn 3 Soviet

 

Turn 4 and the German panzer grenadiers attacked the village on either flank suffering some fire from SU122s and SU57s on the opposite bank of the river before dismounting on the objective.  The grenadiers suffered further infantry fire on the dismount.  German tanks returned fire silencing the Soviets on the far bank.  The Tiger heavy battle group moved forward to exploit any gaps in the Soviet line.  The Soviet player moves his SP guns forward to support the infantry holding the village.

 

Pic Turn 4 Soviet 

 

Turn 5 and the Panzer Grenadiers find themselves in a hard fight for the village, room by room.  The Germans move SP infantry guns in to assist.  Tanks move to cover the flanks of the infantry attack by suppressing fire from the opposite bank and the depth positions in the village.  A number of hits are scored on Soviet infantry and guns.

 

Pic Turn 5

 

Turn 6 saw the grenadiers are still trying to fight through and begin to suffer hits to their half tracks with little headway beyond dispersing the Soviets in position.  The Soviets order their tank group to counter attack and the recce group to take over the city defense freeing an additional infantry company to move out with the counter attack.

 

Pic Turn 6

 

Turn 7 Required the German artillery to displace as the advance was now at 90% of the artillery range.  Once again the battle raged for the village with German infantry on a right flanking clearing the road through the village for the tanks to exploit pass.  The Soviets continued to hold stubbornly in order for their counter attack force to deploy on line.  At the same time the SU76s took up position to kill any German vehicles coming out of the village.

 

Pic Turn 7

 

 

Turn 8 opens with the German artillery still on the move.  The village battle is nearing it’s end as the German right flank falls on the Soviet positions that held up the German Left flanking.  This right flank also protects the shoulder of the German tank breakthrough on the road.  A ripe artillery target but the Soviet OP is deployed where he cannot see anything.  The Soviet infantry resisted bravely but they are almost used up.  SU76s do manage to cut short the German armour advance with a few dispersals but kills as they spread their for maximum delay time.

 

Pic Turn 8

 

Turn 9 begins with a massive German tank break out into the waiting arms of massed Soviet armour.  The German artillery deploys just short of the village which is finally secured on the German bank.  The German tanks are finally clear of the village on the Soviet side of the river.  The Germans begin to re-organize their infantry to accompany the tanks on the assault on the city.  The Soviets hammer away at the German tanks by concentrating their massed fire on the Tiger 1s keeping them out of the action with dispersals but no kills.  Soviet infantry mounts and move forward to meet their tanks for the counter attack on the village.

 

Pic Turn 9

 

Turn 10 brings on a massive tank duel as both sides exchange AP.  The Tigers quickly get the upper hand now that they have the range, inflicting taking out 1 SU57, 2 SU76 and 2 T34/76s.  The Germans fire covers a mounted infantry assault on the fields that hold a Soviet engineer company.  The Soviets manage out a single dispersal on a Tiger 1.

 

Pic Turn 10

 

Turn 11 brings more bad news to the Soviets as German tanks continue to use superior range and firepower to destroy their armoured force.  The Germans for their part have managed to move to their right flank cutting the Soviet armour off from the city and support.  Behind the wall of German armour an infantry attack is put in against the Soviet engineers.  The Soviets fall back partially to re-establish a line with the city but do manage to make more dispersals on some German armour.  A Soviet mounted SMG company is caught in the open by 2 Pz4 and a Tiger and promptly eliminated.

 

Pic Turn 11

 

Turn 12 finishes our game with the Germans scoring further kills on the T34/76s and a lone Pz4 circles the city to cut off Soviet retreat.  In the centre, German tanks cut the road into the city.  Leaving 2 T34/76s and an 82mm mortar platoon cut off.  The German infantry attack gains success as the Soviets decide to disengage part of the engineers to help the city. 

 

Pic Turn 12

 

Aftermath; the German fell short of their depth objectives by about 2 turns but the price was very light.  The Germans suffered a lot of dispersed units but little actual KIAs.  This fact can be chalked up to the fire coordination of the German player.  If the German falls down any where it was the lack of fire power massing to achieve more KIAs on the Soviets, this fact means that the Germans took on the same force time after time, turn after turn. 

 

The Soviets put up a stout defense of the village and the bridge but it was for the most part a passive defense.  Earlier counterattacks would have massed firepower on the Germans and produced more German KIAs while providing the movement protection of the river.  Soviet Artillery was not well represented and the OP always seemed to be displacing.  The Soviets counter attack was too late once it was obvious the Germans were going to break out.  Had the Soviet tanks been at the edge of the village they could have massed fire against the each German tank as it came out of the village thus blocking access for the German’s follow on forces.

 

Pic Game Over

 

Lessons Learned

 

This scenario was designed to test the basic game principles (armoured, infantry, artillery combat and movement) and thus a number of issues came up:

 

  1. All stands should have a “D” on the bottom so that one can tell when the unit is dispersed.

 

  1. Indirect fire ranges are far too short.  They must be doubled.

 

  1. A new method of determining who is in urban terrain and who is not devised.  Possibly a map on the side of the villages and towns.  Anyone in a building is put on the town map in that building; anyone on the road in the town is put on the game board.  Units in open spaces on the game board in the town are in open terrain, units on the town map are in urban terrain.  A secondary effect is that the player attacking the town will not see every thing the defending player has.

 

  1. A new method to fire indirect fire at key terrain features when the enemy is not spotted.  The rules currently prohibit the player from putting IF on terrain with un-spotted enemy.  This is not in accordance with reality.  Therefore, an area neutralization indirect fire rule is necessary.  ANIF is IF that has its strength halved and attacks all units in the indirect fire template centered on some key and easily seen terrain feature.

 

I still need to test the aircraft rules, engineer vehicle rules, amphibious rules and airborne rules.  I can’t decide whether to do an amphibious assault or an airborne assault next.