The
Stalingrad scenarios were great fun for the last two winters but now
it feels like time to move on to a bit later in the struggle! Just
before we got into all the Stalingrad scenarios we had previously
gamed a Winter Storm scenario, Verkhne-Kumsky, which
now slides into the timeline at December 1942 about a month after our
last Krazny Octyabr scenario.
Lately
I have been feeling the urge to to push ahead about 8 months in the
timeline and do a Kursk scenario. Perhaps I have been missing tanks
running in wide open spaces :-) Naturally one should not fight
one's gaming desires so after a little reading on Kursk I became
interested an action by Grossdeutschland Divisions near Berezovka
that resulted in this scenario very loosely based on a Battlefront
WW2 scenario "Grossdeutschland at Kursk" by Eric Feifer.
We
continued with our customized set of rules for company/battalion
based on the Panzergrenadier series (Deluxe & 2nd Edition) by
Dave Brown. When
we use a custom rule in the game log I'll indicate in blue
to show where we depart from the original Version 2 or Deluxe rules.
With one of our gaming group currently out of action with a
long-recovery illness I played the Russian defender while Brent and
Tim played the German attackers. This AAR is reported in some detail
for those that already play with the BGPG rules or those interested
to see how BGPG plays. It's long so bring a coffee! Or if you wish you can
just look at the photos to follow the game events!
Berezovka
- July 10, 1943
Historical
Overview
As
part of XLVIII Panzer Corps in the south, after four days of grinding
against Russian belts of defences the somewhat depleted
Grossdeutschland Division was poised to spring toward Oboyan, the
gateway to Kursk. However, their left flank was vulnerable since the
3rd Panzer Division to the west was not making progress in bridging
the Pena River due to determined resistance from Russian 6th Tank
Corps. Therefore, most of Grossdeutschland Division was ordered to
make a 90 degree turn left and attack into the flank of 6th Tank
Corps to cut the main road in the hills north of Berezovka that
supplied the Russian defenders at the Pena.
References:
Armour
& Blood: The Battle of Kursk by Dennis E. Showalter.
Battlefront
WW2 scenario "Grossdeutschland at Kursk" by Eric Feifer.
Map
And General Scenario Notes:
The
table displays Hills 247 and 243 that command the supply road south
to Berezovka and shows the starting deployment areas for each side.
The
woods and gully are Difficult Terrain. Hedges, fences, stone walls,
and crops do not block LOS, and are medium height so -1 Hindrance to
fire. Ploughed fields are normal Open terrain. The hills are gentle
and the houses are wood (-1). If both target and firing unit are
within same woods LOS is 2 inches, otherwise woods block LOS. The
attacking Germans (veteran) are deployed visible anywhere within 10"
of the east edge with the Russian defenders (regulars) deployed
dug-in and hidden west of the red dotted line.
The
relative force strengths totalled 2485 points for the Germans and
1870 for the Russians yielding a 615 point advantage to the German
attacker and a 1.3 attacker to defender force ratio. However, the
main Russian reserves are not available until early/mid-game so
without them the Russians have only 945 points on the board at start.
Therefore the Germans enjoy a massive superiority at start which
slowly decreases over the game. The BGPG Deluxe rulebook calls for a
ratio of 1.25 or better with a maximum of 500 extra points to the
attacker, so this scenario overall still might be favouring the
German. A ratio of 1.25 to 1.5 has worked well in the past for our
smaller battles so it is definitely in the ballpark.
A
variable game end was used. At end of Turn 9, roll 2d6. If 7 or
more, game ends. Turn 10 ends on 6 or more, etc. We play on a 5x4
foot table in 15mm with figures based on FoW stands and use modified
Panzergrenadier rules: Our guns and tanks are 1:1 and we use the 20mm
ranges for firing and activation. We also replace Built Up Area
terrain with individual buildings or portions of buildings as "small
terrain features." In this game the Exploit
Order Phase can only used for Promotion.
Russian
Briefing and Force (Kapitan Chapovich)
6th
Tank Corp's 200th Tank Brigade is already heavily engaged with German
forces attacking from the east. An enemy force has been detached to
attack your position and cut the main supply road south where 90th
Guards Rifle Division and elements of 3rd Motorized Corps are holding
back the enemy at the Pena River. Your orders are to defend the
Hills 247 and 243 and the village. Not One Step Back! You have had
time to order your troops to dig in with some light AT Gun support.
The importance of maintaining the supply road is such that you may
expect limited reserve armour support sometime later. No artillery
support is available since they are already committed to the main
attack to the east.
Mission:
Maintain at least 1 Russian unit on either Hill 247 or 243 or inside
a west village building at the end of the game to win, or cause a
German Battlegroup Break Point. Otherwise lose at game end.
Deployment:
On
Table at Start (west of red line):
Infantry
Elements of 9th Panzer Corps (Regular)
Battlegroup
Command
Infantry
Company #1 Command
Rifle
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle Squad)
Rifle
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle Squad)
Infantry
Company #2 Command
Rifle
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle Squad)
Rifle
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle Squad)
Infantry
Company #3 Command
Rifle
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle Squad)
Rifle
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle Squad)
MMG
Teams (2x Maxim MMG Team)
Anti
Tank Plt (Command, 2x45mm AT Guns)
Reserves
(enter on west edge):
Turn
2 - Medium Tank Platoon (Command T-34, 3x T-34)
Turn
3 - Medium Tank Platoon (Command T-34, 3x T-34)
Turn
7 - SMG Plt (Command, 2x SMG Squad)
Special
Rules: All troops are dug-in and rifle squads have 1x Molotov each.
In addition to normal fire a squad can throw a Molotov with a range
of 1" which has a armour penetration of 2 vs. top armour. T-34s
are Inferior. Prior to the German setup I had deployed my troops as
follows in accordance with my orders, realizing that my position is
quite untenable without armour support.
Basically
I just order one infantry company to dig in an each hill with an MMG
each and light AT Gun each for support. The AT guns are positioned
behind the hills so they can fire at closer range. The last infantry
company is ordered to dig in around the west village.
German
Briefing and Force (Hauptmann Millenstein and Hauptmann Pollowitz)
As
part of Kampfgruppe Von Strachwitz you are ordered to attack and
secure the west village and Hills 247 and 243 that straddle the road
south. Most of the Russian 6th Tank Corp's 200th Tank Brigade are
being dealt with elsewhere by the rest of the Kampfgruppe but expect
the hills to be heavily defended with infantry and Russian armour is
still active in the area. You have extensive organic artillery
support available, but Stuka support is not available due to weather
and the higher priority target of 200th Tank Brigade.
Mission:
Clear
both hills and the west village buildings of Russian troops at the
end of any game turn to win, or cause a Russian Battlegroup Break
Point. Otherwise lose at game end. Battlegroup Breakpoint is 50%.
Deployment:
All
Forces On Table at Start (within 10" of east edge):
Elements
of Grossdeutschland Division (Veteran)
Battlegroup
Command (1x Truck)
Panzergrenadier
Company #1 Command (1x Kubelwagon)
Panzergrenadier
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle/LMG squad, Armoured Transport (4x SdKfz
251/1)
Panzergrenadier
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle/LMG squad, 2x Truck)
Panzergrenadier
Company #2 Command (1x Kubelwagon)
Panzergrenadier
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle/LMG squad, Armoured Transport (4x SdKfz
251/1)
Panzergrenadier
Plt (Command, 3x Rifle/LMG squad, 2x Truck)
MMG
Platoon (Command, 2x MG34 Team, 1x Truck)
Mortar
Plt (Command, 2x 80mm Mortar Team, 1Truck)
Panzer
Company Command (1x Befehlswagen)
Heavy
Panzer Plt (Command PzVD, 1x PzVD)
Medium
Panzer Plt (Command PzIIIL, 3x PzIIIL)
Assault
Gun Plt (Command StuGIIIG, 1x StuGIIIG)
Offboard
Art (F.O., Kubelwagen, 2x Missions - 120mm Mortar)
Offboard
Art (F.O., Truck, 3x Missions -105mm Wespe)
Offboard
Art (F.O., PzBeobWg III, 2x Missions - 150mm Hummel)
Off-Board
Artillery: On Turn 1 only all have automatic availability and will
Near Miss on 2-7.
Special
Rules: A PzVD Panther moving with Rapid Move or in Difficult Terrain
must roll 1D6 for Immobilization. On a 1-2 is Immobilized for the
rest of the game. PzVDs have no radio communication (new Panther
radios were unreliable at Kursk). The PzBeobWg III is Arty Observer
only (dummy main gun) with turret & hull MG for defence only.
Grossdeutschland forces are rated veteran and given +1DRM for all
actions (activation, fire, close assault, morale, rally) instead of
the regular attributes for veterans in the rules.
After
the Russians complete their hidden setup, Hauptmanns Millenstein and
Pollowitz confer and form an attack plan leading to this
German deployment:
Their
plan is for a main "Schwerpunkt" to the north where all the
foot infantry and loaded 251/1s are stacked, with armour support from
the PzIIIs and StuGIIIGs. (Note: In their advances the
Grossdeutschland Division liberated three 251/1s that the Russians
had previously captured and painted with a red star and these are put
to immediate use.) The centre is held mainly by artillery F.O.s, the
two Panthers and MMG platoon deployed to hold the south flank.
Game
Play
Turn
1 - German Initiative & Force The Russians To Go First
Russian
Command Phase:
As
Kapitan Chapovich I just pass, not wanting to provoke Defensive Fire.
Advance outposts arrive breathless and inform me that a large force
of German infantry are close and advancing in the north woods with
armoured transports and tanks near them so that is where to call in
the artillery now. "They can't miss, comrade!" they say.
I regretfully tell them the divisional artillery is busy elsewhere
and we are on our own. (Comment: The original scenario did have two
offboard 120mm Russian mortar missions but I did not include it.
Russian artillery was mostly used in bombardments on fixed enemy
defences or pre-bombardment before an attack. As far as I know it it
was not generally used for close tactical support during engagements
at close range in a swirling fluid battle situation. However, if I
did have an off-board fire mission available it would have been a
game changer landing on all the massed German infantry in the battle,
so perhaps it is best for the game that the Russians did not have
artillery!) End Russian Command Phase.
German
Command Phase:
Since
all German artillery must fire at the beginning of their Command
Phase, Hauptmanns
Millenstein and Pollowitz order bombardments from all three off-board
artillery supports plus fire the on-board 81mm mortars. First the
150mm Hummels pound the west village to soften it up for the assault.
Despite the heavy barrage only one squad disengages with little
other effects on the dug-in Russians (low dice rolls with the squads
ducked way down into their trenches).
[House Rule: We take separate rolls for each unit under the
template.]
Then
the on-board 81mm mortars lay smoke just east of Hill 247 to cover
the advance. After that the 120mm mortars and 105mm Wespe fire
missions are both centred on Hill 247 and these are far more deadly,
wiping out 4 Russian squads and a Maxim MMG, leaving only one lonely
Russian squad at the north end to defend against the onslaught! The
Russian defence of Hill 247 has already been shattered!
After
the dust settles Hauptmanns
Millenstein and Pollowitz order the grey
halftrack platoon to advance and unload their platoon in the smoke,
which then advances boldly toward the tree line just leveled by the
artillery. [House Rule: Provided the transport
can pay the 6" cost to disembark passengers, infantry that
dismount during the transport's move can perform an immediate
Tactical Move and Fire Order and may Close Assault.] One
remaining Russian squad opens fire and with deadly aim disperses a
German squad! The rest close assault resulting in the demise of the
Russian squad but he takes another German squad with him (no medal
for him since there are no witnesses!).
The
PzIII platoon rapid moves to the north west to flank Hill 247, but
one PzIII bogs down in the ploughed field and stays put. Seeing no
anti-tank fire the recaptured "green" 251/1 platoon moves
up to join the PzIIIs and the rest of the infantry on foot in the
woods move straight west threatening to also flank Hill 247. The
StuGs move up and take up hull down positions behind the stone fence.
(Comment: This is one of the tension building fun things about
attacking vs a hidden defender, you don't know what is out there! Is
there a battery of 76mm or 57mm AT Guns waiting in Camouflaged
Ambush?)
To
the south the MMG platoon moves into the building and is spotted by a
Russian Maxim MMG in the woods which reveals and fires, completely
missing either due a bent barrel or a residual vodka effect.
End
German Command Phase.
Rally
Phase:
The
Russian squad in the west village rallies. End Turn 1.
Turn
2 - Russian Initiative And Goes First
Russian
Command Phase
Winning
Initiative is a bonus and a chance to slow the Germans down since a
platoon of four T-34s suddenly show up and must enter anywhere on the
west board edge. Careful to stay out of LOS of the Panthers, StuGs
and Artillery Observers, the best place for them to enter is at the
north end to directly meet the PzIIIs. Hopefully four T-34s can put
some serious dents in three PzIIIs. However, one T-34 is immediately
smoked by Defensive Fire from a PzIII and a second T-34 is forced to
disengage suppressed. The two remaining T-34s, being Inferior,
moving, and with the crop hindrance only manage to suppress one
PzIII. Rats!
In
the west village the squad fails his activation and stays exposed in
the open. In the south the Maxim MMG fires on the German MMG platoon
again getting hits but the MMG crews shrug off their morale tests.
The German roll to see if the smoke disperses results in the smoke
staying. [House Rule: After placement each
smoke screen is tested at the end of the next enemy Command Phase to
see if it dissipates. On a 1D6 Roll of 1-4 the smoke dissipates. On
a 5-6 score the smoke stays until the end of the following enemy
Command Phase. Smoke is always removed at end of the second enemy
Command Phase after placement.] End Russian Command Phase.
German
Command Phase
To
begin, Hauptmanns Millenstein and Pollowitz order more
artillery. First the 81mm mortars place smoke in the centre of the
table on the road. Then the 150mm Hummels repeat their bombardment
in the west village again. Russian luck still holds there since all
troops survive the pounding except the one squad caught in the open
that is dispersed and his nearby company commander in a building that
fails a disengage test but is able to stay in position suppressed
with damage. [House Rule: We play that infantry
& guns that must disengage take damage.]
Then
the 105mm Wespe artillery comes down on Hill 243 with again the
Russian luck holding since only the Company Commander is dispersed
and the rest miraculously survive unaffected. Plus another break for
the Russians as the 105s roll low and go down to low ammo. The
remaining 120mm mortar observer loses radio contact for this turn.
Haupts.
Millenstein and Pollowitz now order the
remnants of the first platoon (beige) in the woods on Hill 247 to
move slightly up toward the hill top but stay hidden, out of LOS. The
red platoon beside the PzIIIs in the open scrambles out of the tank
firefight into the same woods and advances up near the hilltop,
staying hidden. Then the green platoon (recaptured) halftracks unload
their green platoon into the nearby woods and move back out of LOS of
the T-34s to a cover position behind the hill. The last foot
infantry platoon to the rear refuses to move and just hunkers down
for a moment. The PzIII platoon activates and the bogged one in the
rear moves toward the action while the foremost two PzIIIs boldly
advance around the corner of the woods and are fired on by the two
T-34s, but just pings result as the PzIIIs pass their morale tests.
The PzIIIs fire was also one miss and one ping, so both sides now
have Acquired Targets. [House Rule: A unit
fired on is an Acquired Target by the firing unit with automatic
activation to fire at it. Units that are mutual Acquired Targets are
engaged and roll dice to see who fires first (Interactive Fire).]
It looks like Lady Luck will decide the tank duel next turn since
both sides are now locked into a close range firefight!
In
the rear the StuGs, sensing a lack of AT threat from the hilltops
crash over the stone wall. One easily passes his bog check but the
other is slowed to half rate as they advance toward Hill 247. The
previously bogged PzIII in the ploughed field advances into the smoke
and the grey halftracks move back into their "motor pool"
behind the east house.
To
the south Millenstein
and Pollowitz order the Panthers to move
up and fire at the Maxim MMG, luckily for the Russian only forcing it
to disengage back into the woods suppressed with damage.
End
German Command Phase.
Exploit
Phase:
I
thought about replacing the eliminated south Company Commander by
promoting a platoon commander. This is always a saw-off since this
reduces the Battlegroup breakpoints by one. And it causes all
activations by platoon commanders in contact with the new less
experienced Company Commander to have a -1 DRM [House
Rule]. The plus side is that the Russians don't lose a
Command Point on Initiative rolls, and generally the Russians are
usually in need of those! Plus the platoon would have no platoon
command so would need to have one promoted from a squad in the south
woods. [House Rule: Replacing a dispersed
platoon commander with a squad seems too high a platoon cost, the
loss of a squad's full firepower. We play that an eliminated platoon
commander is still counted as a casualty for Breakpoint but at
promotion time the new platoon commander acquires a "Replacement"
marker with -1 DRM to activate and is moved to near a platoon squad.
The squad that the new platoon commander and his runner were drawn
from is left on the table and takes damage to reflect loss of its
strength.] Lots of negative costs to
balance against worth keeping about seven more Command Points over
the course of the game. I decided to not replace the Company
Commander since I suspect I'm going to need every Breakpoint benefit
I can get!
Rally
Phase:
The PzIII rallies and
becomes Battle Hardened! The T-34 and Company Commander in the
village both rally. The Maxim MMG in the south woods does not rally.
End Turn 2.
Turn
3
- German Initiative And Goes First
German
Command Phase
The
150mm Hummels are all out of missions and the Battlegroup observer's
radio lost contact with the 105mmm battery so Haupts. Millenstein
and Pollowitz order the 120mm mortars to
drop fire on the bridge/gully/crop area to catch any Russians hiding
there but there is nothing in the blast zone! The 81mm mortars did
not fire.
The
two PzIIIs at the rear move up first next to the lead tanks. One is
shot at by the lead T-34 which misses. A second T-34 to the rear
activates and shoots, also to no effect. The PzIIIs that just moved
fire and the lead T-34 is forced to disengage. The two other
stationary PzIIIs fire at the T-34 platoon leader and smoke it! The
T-34 platoon could not hold back the veteran Grossdeutschland
tankers!
Seeing
the T-34 threat has diminished the infantry begins their assault.
First the remaining squad and commander in the beige platoon advance
toward the woods but run into a dug-in hidden Company Commander which
disperses the squad with a double-six defensive fire roll! [House
Rule: Command units are allowed close assault defensive fire at -2
DRM.] But the the lone German commander close assaults and
wins, damaging the Russian Company Commander due to double
suppression and forcing him to retreat after which he fails his Rally
and disperses due to double damage. [House
Rule: Losers of a close assault must pass a Rally test or are
suppressed.] Afterwards the German commander repositions
toward the woods but cannot quite reach it.
Seeing
no resistance the green platoon moves from the hilltop toward the
north end of the woods while the Russian 45mm AT Gun holds fire and
stays hidden. Then the red platoon advances down the hill, and the
Russian AT Gun reveals and Intensive Fires with HE suppressing one
squad. A Russian squad in the pigpen also opens up and hits another
squad that fails his morale miserably and is dispersed! The
remaining squad and command close assault the AT Gun dispersing the
gun which suppresses the two German units. The two German units
reposition to the centre of the woods. This is a big loss to the
Russians since the AT Gun was a last hope to put down one of the
PzIIIs! Lastly the German blue platoon moves up to the top of Hill
247, staying hidden in the woods.
Seeing
no resistance past Hill 247 Haupts. Millenstein
and Pollowitz order the two StuGs to advance to the hill top, but
coincidentally each one runs right into a hidden entrenched Russian
squad! The south squad throws a Molotov and with a lucky hit
disperses the StuG! The north squad throws a Molotov which
suppresses the other StuG! Finally a Russian success against the
German armour!
Then
the two Panthers open up with their main guns on the Russian squad in
the pigpen and the heavy fire suppresses and damages him but he
manages to stay in place.
The
MMGs in the south try to activate but roll a double one and the
Germans lose 3 Command Impetus (no big deal since they are at the end
of their turn). [House Rule: Only a double-one
roll for any activation attempt causes Command Confusion and a loss
of only 3 Command Impetus.] The 150mm Hummel PzBeobWgIII
Observer moves back behind the east hill and the
company commanders move up. End
German Command Phase.
Russian
Command Phase
The
lone unsuppressed T-34 attempts to become the Command Tank but fails
his activation roll and he cannot not use Command Impetus with no
platoon leader. Kapitan Chapovich orders the two Russian squads on
Hill 247 to close assault the remaining suppressed StuG and one squad
assaults from the rear and the other from the flank so the Russians
assault first forcing it to disengage with damage back into the crop.
The
rest of the Russian units patiently stay hidden. All the smoke
disappears. The Turn 1 smoke has to go and the Turn 2 smoke roll
disperses it. End Russian Command Phase.
Rally
Phase:
The
German red platoon commander in the woods rallies but the squad next
to him routs on a double one! The StuG rallies. The Russian squads,
T-34 and MMG all fail to rally. End Turn 3.
Turn
4
- German Initiative And Force The Russians To Go First
Russian
Command Phase
Finally
the remaining unsuppressed T-34 becomes the platoon leader (Sgt.
Orlov) and fires at the only PzIII in LOS but the shot pings with the
PzIII's return fire a miss. My four T-34s have had terrible luck
against the four PzIIIs only scoring 1 suppression vs suffering two
T-34s KIA and one suppressed!
A
squad hidden in the west village moves over to the north hedge in the
garden to try and stave off the German horde but flashes into LOS of
the Panthers so is revealed. Both Panthers fire at it and miss but
the squad becomes an acquired target.
An
attempted hidden movement by the platoon hidden deep in the south
woods fails activation (I wanted to bring them closer to the top of
Hill 243). End Russian Command Phase. [Comment: Rats! I forgot to
bring on the T-34 platoon reserves this turn which is a BIG missed
opportunity.)
German
Command Phase.
The
81mm mortars try to place smoke on the top of Hill 247 but the
barrage falls a bit short. Then the StuG rolls up the hill and fires
on the nearest squad but misses.
Then
the lone PzIII in LOS of a T-34 fires first at the new T-34 platoon
commander (Sgt. Orlov) and forces him to retreat suppressed.
Seeing
only suppressed T-34s left Haupts. Millenstein
and Pollowitz order the green platoon in the woods to split up and
the platoon command and one squad to close assault the north
suppressed T-34 while the other two squads close assault the other
suppressed T-34 command tank (Sgt. Orlov). The northern T-34's net
roll is low due to suppression so has no effect on the German
attackers. The T-34 loses the exchange and is forced to retreat back
into the woods suppressed and damaged. Unfortunately he fails his
Bog Test miserably taking a further damage which causes the crew to
abandon the tank! The south T-34 (Sgt. Orlov) rolls a double six
eliminating one German squad and damaging and suppressing the other!
Unfortunately the German assault is too much for his already damaged
tank and Sgt. Orlov and crew are dispersed. The remaining green
platoon units reposition back into the woods after the assaults.
With
the T-34 and AT Gun threats gone in the north the remaining
three Panzer IIIs advance south with one positioning on Hill 247 and
the other two at the base of the hill. All three fire on the north
Russian squad on Hill 247 obtaining hits. The Russian squad fails
morale with a nasty 3 roll and is dispersed.
With
the Russian defence shattered on the German right flank Haupts.
Millenstein
and Pollowitz order the Panthers to move
up to command the gap between Hills 247 and 243. A Russian 45mm AT
Gun in the south crop decides that a side shot on a Panther at
effective range is likely the best chance it will ever see against a
Panther so it reveals and Intensive fires but no luck again and the
the shot just bounces. The return fire from both Panthers was
ineffective (entrenched plus small target).
With
the Russians reeling, the German blue platoon hiding in the woods at
the top of Hill 247 are ordered to mop up the area. The blue platoon
splits up with one squad and the commander circling around east
through the smoke to close assault the last Russian squad on Hill 247
(no defensive fire due to smoke). The Russian squad is dispersed and
one German squad is suppressed.
The
remaining two squads in Blue platoon advance down Hill 247 toward the
pigpen, taking fire from a squad in the garden that misses. The two
German squads close assault the suppressed and damaged Russian squad
dispersing it with no effect on the German squads. They reposition
with one going into the nearby pig house and the other the trench in
the pigpen.
Down
south the MMG platoon in the building decide to move out toward the
Panthers to get a better field of vision between the gap between the
hills. Two Russian squads on Hill 243 decide they are too juicy a
target to ignore and fire at one of them in the open but both miss!
The return fire from the MMG crew completely obliterates one squad
entrenched on the hill! End German Command Phase.
Rally
Phase:
The
German green squad in the west forest and the blue squad on Hill 247
both rally. The Russian MMG in the south forest does not rally.
The Russians are now over their 25% Breakpoint so need to test,
rolling a nasty 3 so all suppressed units must rout! The MMG on Hill
243 routs. End Turn 4.
Turn
5 - German Initiative And Goes First
German
Command Phase:
Haupts.
Millenstein
and Pollowitz order the Panthers to fire at the 45mm AT Gun which
they blast out of existence. Next the MMGs fire at the Russian squad
at the north end of Hill 243 causing it to disengage with double
suppression, thus dispersing it.
Next
the StuG up on the hill repositions and
takes a shot at the Russian squad in the garden and forces it to
disengage back behind the west building.
Now
the PzIII platoon is ordered to advance to the top of Hill 247 for a
better LOS to the enemy. However, the lead tank runs smack dab into
the last hidden Russian unit on the hill, a platoon commander.
Without a Molotov the platoon commander is forced to defend in a
close assault and acquits himself well, double suppressing the PzIII
requiring it to disengage back down Hill 247. But the Russian
platoon commander is dispersed.
Two
more of the PzIIIs move up onto Hill 247 and perform Recon By Fire at
the west building with nothing revealed while the last PzIII holds
back to guard the north west flank. The blue platoon commander and
squad move down from Hill 247 and take up positions in the pigpen.
The
green platoon in the north woods moves up to near the south edge of
the woods, staying hidden, and the nearby Company Commander moves up
nearby to support them. The red platoon commander performs a
Reorganization and incorporates the beige platoon commander into
their platoon, then orders the platoon to move to a jump-off point
near the south edge of the woods, staying hidden. The distant
Company Commander in the woods on Hill 247 moves up into the woods
near red platoon.
Lastly
the 81mm mortar battery tries to move closer but rolls a 1 and barely
moves. And the Pz Company Commander circles around behind the mortars
and onto the road in the centre. End German Command Phase.
Russian
Command Phase:
[Comment:
I forgot to bring on my reserve T-34 platoon in Turn 4 and the German
moves in Turn 4 have wrecked my plan. I had planned to bring them on
in the south and rapid move them up behind Hill 243 to discourage the
Panthers, StuG and PzIIIs from moving west and south to overrun Hill
243, and also to keep the top of Hill 247 in LOS to discourage the
PzIIIs and StuG from perching there. This option is now not available
after the Panthers, PzIIIs, and StuG moved up so the T-34s would have
to enter into a hail of AT fire all within in German effective range.
I thought to bring them on in the north but the gap is choked with
wrecked T-34s and a PzIII is aimed right at the entry point. My goal
now is to try and prevent more unit losses as the Russians are
rapidly getting closer to their Battlegroup Breakpoint and at the
same time they should hamper the German infantry from taking over the
whole village.]
The
T-34s come on and quite cravenly stay behind the west woods in the
village with two T-34s in the south guarding the flank and two in the
north positioned out of LOS of the Panthers. The two north T-34s
blast at the German squad in the building across the road but one
rolls low ammo and the other misses. No
more Russians reveal to fire because it would only invite their
elimination. Better to wait and defensive fire when they move. End
Russian Command Phase.
Rally
Phase:
The
German PzIII rallies and the Russian squad behind the west building
fails to rally. The Russians easily pass their 25% Breakpoint test
roll, no problem.
Turn
6 - German Initiative And Force The Russians To Go First
Russian
Command Phase:
The
two north T-34s again fire at the squad in the building and both get
hits but the shrapnel miraculously misses everyone in the German
squad! The Russians are getting close enough to their Battlegroup
Breakpoint that self preservation is paramount so they decide to just
hold position and pass on any further orders, just wait for the
Germans to move. End Russian Command Phase.
German
Command Phase:
Haupts.
Millenstein
and Pollowitz order smoke from the last 105mm mission to land on the
westernmost building of the village. Then the 81mm
mortars bombard the south building in the village with no effect on
any Russians within.
With
smoke in place to cover their advance the green platoon in the north
woods is ordered to assault the western building but they roll snake
eyes on their activation and decide to stay where they are with the
Germans losing 3 Command Impetus. Red platoon has more nerve and
rapid advances toward the westernmost building but their charge is
ambushed in the open by one remaining Russian squad hidden in the
garden (I forgot he was there!). He suppresses the platoon commander
leading the charge and the other squad can't reach him to participate
in close assault so just the recruited biege platoon commander enters
close assault with the Russian squad. Lucky with the dice, the
German platoon commander is just suppressed and the Russian squad is
dispersed.
While
the red platoon is busy in the garden, the full strength blue platoon
in the pigpen and pighouse is ordered to close assault the nearest
portion of the westernmost building. The lone Russian platoon
commander hidden there is overwhelmed and eliminated but he gets a
good roll and valiantly disperses one German squad and suppresses
another before expiring.
After
clearing two Russian squads off of Hill 243 Haupts. Millenstein
and Pollowitz look to establish a strong MMG firebase there and order
them to move onto the hill. One MMG moving up the hillside is
ambushed by a still hidden Russian squad that fires with deadly
accuracy and disperses it!
The
other MMG moves up into a trench on the north end of Hill 243 while
the Panthers move south and blast the offending Russian squad out of
existence.
Next
the PzIIIs activate in two separate groups. The group of two on Hill
247 fail activation with a 3 roll and stay put since there are not
enough Command Impetus to help. The second group, one east of Hill
247 and the other at the north end both move into the centre of the
village, and Recon By Fire at the south building with no effect. The
two Company Commanders in the north woods move up to help rally the
suppressed squads in the open near the garden. The Pz Company
Commander moves up the road. End German Command Phase.
Rally
Phase:
All
the German units rally with one squad nearest the westernmost
building battle hardened! The Russian squad behind the westernmost
building rallies. The Germans have not hit their 25% Breakpoint yet.
The Russians pass their 25% Breakpoint test. However, they are
dangerously close to their Battlegroup Breakpoint!
Turn
7 - German Initiative And Goes First
The
German 81mm mortars fire with FFE on the south building again with no
effect.
The
green platoon near the garden close assaults the damaged Russian
Company Commander in the west building and the damaged squad just
outside, dispersing the squad and causing the Company Commander to
retreat suppressed across the road behind the stone wall. He fails
his rally test and must take another suppression. Since he is
already suppressed from the close assault he must take a damage and
since he is already damaged he is dispersed! This puts the Russians
over their Battlegroup Breakpoint and they immediately lose the game!
Here
is the table at game end. The remaining Russian units (including
hidden) have a red dot near them.
BGPG
Berezovka - T7 Game End 1.jpg
Tallying
The Score:
The
Russians lost 27 of 44 units (61%) and the Germans lost 9 of 45
units (20%).
Comments
On The Scenario:
The
German "Schwerpunkt"
strategy worked like a charm! However, it was aided by a lack of
Russian artillery which, if available to drop a heavy 120mm barrage
on the Turn 1 troops in and around the north forest, the game would
have been a much tougher endeavour for the Grossdeutschland. It is
interesting that this game was mainly decided by infantry! My Russian forward deployment on the hilltops was just
easy meat for the Germans. The initial German bombardments on Hill
247 pretty much eliminated the Russian north defence. Better to have
used only one screening (read "speed bump") platoon on each
hill and the MMGs and had the second platoons positioned to the rear,
screened by the hills and in woods if possible. A defence in depth.
Also one platoon in the village force could have moved on Turn 1 into
the north woods to support an MMG and second platoon's positions
there. If deployed close together so able to resist close assaults
in platoon-sized groups, it would have made it a much tougher nut to
crack for the Germans. As it was my scattered deployment just
allowed the Germans to eat up the Russian forces piecemeal so the
game ended early. However, this analysis is for the game! I feel the
Russian deployment and "hold positions" strategy was
probably quite historical plus the Russians rarely used close range
tactical artillery during a fluid battle.
I
certainly enjoyed the game! After Stalingrad it was refreshing to get
into an open country scenario with room to manoeuver forces. I think
both sides had about even dice luck overall witht perhaps the Germans a slight edge on some critical rolls. In all a fun game!
Historical
Aftermath:
To
quote from Armour & Blood by Showalter. "In a model example
of battlegroup tactics, Grossdeutschland's
reconnaissance battalion, its mechanized panzer grenadiers, and the
assault guns seized Hill 247. After three hard hours the panzer
regiment led truck-riding panzer grenadiers onto neighbouring Hill
243."
However, the diversion of Grossdeutschland to the west
to aid 3rd Panzer Division was successful for the Soviets since
Grossdeutschland would be tied down in the west for the remainder of
the Kursk offensive dealing with significant Russian forces in the
area and was not able to return east to resume it's advance toward
Oboyan.
Comments
On The Panzergrenadier Customized Rules:
The
+1 DRM for all actions of the veteran Grossdeutschland forces
certainly made a difference and highlighted the difference between
them and regular troops. We continue to enjoy our customized
Panzergrendier rules which we feel moves the game slightly more
toward skirmish level.
Thanks
for taking the time to look at this AAR! I recently bought the
Battlegroup Kursk rules and supplement so perhaps we will give those
a whirl next. Not sure when that will be since, even with a foot of
snow left, my little cabin at the lake is beginning to whisper at me
to come back for the summer!
Until
next time...
Gary
