BGPG - Defending Kobrin

Welcome back to the second battle of the Barbarossa campaign, “Defending Kobrin”, adapted from the Skirmish Campaigns' scenario book “Russia '41 – Drive on Minsk.” The first battle, “Armour Clash” scored Germans 8 and Russians 3, a pretty historical outcome. “Defending Kobrin” was played on a 5x4 foot table using Battlegroup Panzergrenadier V2 rules with some house rules added in.

Map and Defender Setup

Defending Kobrin is a German attack on a prepared Russian defense. On June 23rd lead units of German 3rd Panzer Division meet a well dug-in blocking force from 205^th Motorized Division. Again, the terrain is not tank friendly with streams crossing the map that can only be crossed by vehicles at either the bridge or at fords, and with hills, marshes, and sunflower crops all blocking LOS. The German also has no intelligence about the stream fords, the weight capacity of the bridge, or the location of two hidden anti-personnel minefields, plus there is a heavy bunker to deal with. All woods are impassible to vehicles and there are numerous marshes (Difficult Terrain).

The German force enters at the west board edge and the Russian can deploy entrenched and hidden anywhere except within 12 inches of the German entry edge. The objectives and victory point conditions are secret from each side. The German secret objective is to exit AFVs off the east side of the table (toward Kobrin) for 2 points each by the end of Turn 10, plus get 1 point for each enemy destroyed. If the Russians fail a Battlefield Withdrawal Test the German also gets 1 point for each AFV not yet exited. The Russian secret objective is to prevent any German AFVs exiting the east side plus get 2 points for each enemy destroyed, with highest total points the winner. My initial feeling was that this one could go either way so I wasn't sure if setting these victory point allocations would be reasonable.

Since the Russian deployment was secret, to save set up time I placed Russian units in what I thought were good defensive positions to be used for the game and took a photo of the table before everyone arrived. Then I removed all the Russian units to be placed as they are “discovered”. Here is the Russian defense. The light green is also marsh since I didn't have enough “good” marshes built.

Pretty simple – The stream and marshes protect the south flank so the main German attack is expected to the centre and north. Therefore, the bunker with MMG backed up by a Kommissar (the C.C.) was placed to cover the bridge. One AT Gun and command unit was placed forward in the sunflower crop to cover the ford and also to get nice side shots at any armour crossing the bridge. The second AT Gun was placed with the Battlegroup HQ well back to cover the main road and bridge plus engage any armour that got through on the flanks. And an AT Rifle Team in the swamp for side shots at the bridge. One infantry squad covered the west flank of the AT Gun in the crop and the other squad plus LMG in the centre woods. The anti-personnel minefields were placed in front of the infantry positions. All units were entrenched. An amusing comment during play was “entrenchments in marsh?” Oops! Perhaps think of them as hard cover built above ground and camouflaged?

Tim and Brent took Germans and Rick and I the Russians.

German Force (Lt. Von Pollockstein and Lt. Mueller)

Battlegroup HQ + Truck (+2 bonus on initiative roll)

Company Commander + Kubel
Recon Light Tank Plt (2x PzIIC, 1x PzIIC command)
Medium Tank Plt (1x PzIIIG, 1x PzIIIG command,1x PzIVE)
Recon Motorcycle Plt (2x rifle squads+2x LMGs, 1x command)

Russian Force (Lt. Lowellinski and Lt. Chappevich)

Battlegroup HQ (no bonus on initiative roll)
Company Commander (Kommissar)
Infantry Plt (2x rifle squads+1x LMG, 1x command)
2x 45mm AT Gun teams
1x MMG team
1x AT Rifle team
1x Bunker
2x Anti-Personnel minefields

Game

Turn 1 The Germans won the initiative roll – surprise!

The medium panzers move on first and the PzIV smokes the bridge to block LOS from the MMG bunker (rats!) while the rest of the German force comes up. The motorcycle plt moves straight up the road and is ambushed by the Russian squad + LMG in the woods, the Sustained Fire from the LMG just causing one M/C squad to dismount suppressed. The PzIIs move next and their 20mm autocannons suppress the Russian squad as payback. Then the German HQ moves into the woods and the C.C. moves up in his Kubel.

That ends the German Turn. Since the squad is suppressed and no LOS from the bunker, the Russian just passes with no actions. In the Rally Phase both squads rally.

Turn 2 German Initiative.

The smoke on the bridge drifts away, but the PzIV moves up and places smoke right on the bunker while the PzIIIs fire on the squad in the woods and force a retreat with damage. The PzIIs move across the first stream ford and discover that on a 1-3 roll (1d6) each vehicle takes a Bog Check. Only one is temporarily stalled in the stream. The C.C. in his Kubel follows the PzIIs.

The two mounted M/C squads on the road move across the bridge and are completely missed by ambushing Defensive Fire from the highly inaccurate north squad newly revealed in the swamp.
However, the AT Gun down the east road unveils and manages to cause the lead M/C squad to dismount suppressed. The previously dismounted squad moves across the bridge separately coming up behind them, ending the German turn.

In the Russian Orders all fire was ineffective. In the Rally Phase, both the Russian and German squads rally.

Its looking a bit grim for the Russian at this point! The MMG in the bunker is ineffective from the smoke laid by that pesky PzIV. Those M/C troops may Close Assault the bunker!

Turn 3 German Initiative

The smoke drifts away so the medium panzer plt immediately moves closer for a better shot, but the PzIIIs both miss the MMG in bunker so the PzIV tries to smoke the bunker again and hits off-target on a 6! Too bad it wasn't a 5 which would have put it out of smoke for the rest of the game. Deviation moves the smoke to the south leaving the MMG clear LOS! While the PzIIIs were moving up both AT Guns open up, the east road AT Gun missing at long range and the newly revealed crop AT Gun getting side shots with Intensive Fire but just suppressing one. The C.C. in his Kubel moves up behind the suppressed PzIII to aid his rally. Two PzIIs now realizing the crop AT Gun has fired, now move up and fire at close range but miss! The third stays stalled in the stream.

Not wanting to Close Assault the bunker without smoke cover, the M/C plt tries to move off the road into the woods. Defensive Fire from the MMG disperses one squad and dismounts and suppresses the command. The last squad escapes into the woods, revealing an adjacent minefield they almost walk into. That ends the German Turn.

On the Russian Turn, the east road AT Gun fires at a PzIII at long range and misses and the crop AT Gun fires and hits the nearest PzIII again causing it to abandon position and withdraw back down the road with damage.

The MMG in the bunker misses the already suppressed M/C command on the road. That ends the Russian Turn. The PzIII and M/C command both rally.

Turn 4 German Initiative. Lt. Lowellinski receives a message by runner from HQ that only one Russian CP is available this turn! (Kapitan Zippy is hitting the vodka again!)

The bunker smoke drifts away. The PzIIs move up and using Intensive Fire the crop AT Gun suppresses one. Fire from the other two PzIIs both miss the AT Gun. Lucky! With the crop AT Gun already fired, the medium tanks move, one PzIII starts to cross the bridge and is missed by long range Defensive Fire from the road AT Gun. The bridge is found to be shaky and requires a 1d6 die roll, on 1 or 2 the bridge will fail, the tank fall in the stream immobilized and damaged with only the MG functional. But the PzIII rolls high and crosses the bridge, taking Defensive Fire in the side from an AT Rifle team in the marsh to the south. They miss! The PzIII then pulls into close range of the bunker, and both PzIIIs fire at the bunker causing the MMG to Retreat. Since the MMG crew is in hard cover they elect to stay inside and be suppressed and damaged. Actually they tried to run out the back door and saw the Kommissar holding a pistol on them and decided it was in their best interest to go back and lay low in the bunker. The PzIV fires at the road AT Gun and misses. The M/C command races across the road into Close Combat with the AT Rifle team in the marsh. Should have been an easy wipeout of the AT Rifle but the German roll is bad and the M/C command is suppressed and forced to withdraw. The AT Rifle crew fail their rally test after winning so they became suppressed also. The remaining M/C squad just holds position in the woods. The C.C. in his Kubel moves up near the PzIII/PzIVs in case one takes suppression, ending the German turn.

On the Russian Orders Phase both AT Guns fail to activate with only one CP available! Sheesh! The AT Gun crews must be on a vodka break! Imagine what a close range Intensive Fire could have done to the two PzIIs bearing down on the crop AT Gun. [Error note: The crop AT Gun is in close range so could have fired Point Blank at the PzIIs in the open without activation. I forgot that rule at the time! Dang!]. On the Rally Phase the MMG in the bunker didn't rally, even with prodding by the revealed Kommissar. The German M/C command and the PzII both rally.

Turn 5 German Initiative

Seeing an opportunity to finish off the crop AT Gun, the PzIIs all fire, but miss! Wahoo! In a bold move they move forward to overrun the AT Gun and this time the Defensive Fire (using Intensive Fire) rolls high, destroying one PzII and retreating the second into the stream. The third PzII crosses the stream and rolls toward the now harmless AT Gun but doesn't have enough movement to reach it. Seeing the fix the PzIIs have got themselves into, the medium panzers activate and the PzIV successfully places smoke on the crop AT Gun. Grrr! The PzIIIs then fire on the suppressed MMG in the bunker yielding an Abandon Position Test but the MMG passes the test with a 12! The M/C squad and command in the woods fire on the Russian squad there hoping to suppress before close combat, but miss. As they move in the Russian squad Defensive Fires and suppresses the M/C squad before it can make contact, so the command stops too, not wanting to go alone. As a last move, the C.C. dismounts the Kubel and starts across the bridge, ending the German turn.

In the Russian turn, seeing no enemy except one lonely unsupported PzII in open ground, the squad in the nearby trench goes berserk, grabs their Molotovs, and runs to close assault it. The PzII swings it's out-of-arc turret and blows the squad to vodka heaven (red X). Ouch! Guess that is payback for the PzII.

Then the east road AT Gun fires at the PzIV and misses. The crop AT Gun is blanketed with smoke so can't see anything to shoot at. And the squad in the woods fires at point blank range at the suppressed German M/C squad and misses, ending the Russian turn. In the Rally Phase, the MMG in the bunker rallies along with the M/C squad in the woods, but the PzII in the stream fails. The Russian AT Rifle team fails with a crummy 2 roll and is Dispersed!

The game is taking longer than expected and Brent and Rick have to leave the game at this point but Tim and I decide to see it through. At this point the Russians are holding. Can they hang on?

Turn 6 German Initiative

The smoke on the crop AT Gun dissipates but the PzIV successfully renews it immediately. The PzIII at the bridge fires at the bunker and misses. The other PzIII fires at the squad in the woods & also misses. The lone PzII, concerned about more possible berserk infantry hidden near the crop AT Gun, decides to wait for support and speeds over to the woods to pump a few 20mm rounds into the Russian squad there at close range, and misses! Then the German M/C squad and command in the woods close assault the Russian squad there again who miss with Defensive Fire. Once more the Russian squad stands its ground and wins the engagement, throwing them back suppressed. The C.C. stays put on the bridge, not wanting to risk the MMG fire, ending the German turn.

The Russian turn goes nowhere with the MMG, road AT Gun, and the squad in the woods all missing their targets. In the Rally phase the PzII in the stream rallies but the German infantry squad doesn't. For whatever reason I forget to snap a photo for the end of Turn 6.

Turn 7 German Initiative

The smoke on the crop AT Gun holds on for another round (rats!). The medium tanks activate first, with the PzIV successfully placing smoke on the east road AT Gun. Then one PzIII fires on the MMG in the bunker getting a Retreat Test result. And the MMG crew rolls snake eyes on the morale test and is Dispersed! Ouch!

The second PzIII fires on the Russian squad in the woods and rolls high for a Dispersed Test and the squad fails that miserably and is also Dispersed! Double Ouch! The PzIII near the bunker moves around back to threaten the Kommissar. The remaining PzIII and PzIV then try their luck crossing the shaky bridge and both roll high and make it! The C.C. moves into the woods with the M/C squad and command. The PzIIs now combine their movement to close assault the crop AT Gun who cannot Defensive Fire due to the dang smoke.

The Close Assault reveals a hidden command unit adjacent and supporting the AT Gun. However, despite the German low roll, the Russian roll is just as bad so the PzII win handily. The AT Gun is dispersed and the commander is suppressed, retreating through the crop into the eastern woods.

The Russian turn is short with so few units left. The Kommissar makes a run for the stone cottage and is fired on by the PzIII getting a Retreat result which puts the Kommissar in the stone cottage where he was headed, but suppressed and damaged. That ends the Russian Turn. The Kommissar fails to rally, the Russian command in the woods rallies, and also the M/C squad with a 12 roll, earning Battle Hardened status and a Hero figure (+1 to all die rolls). Three Russian units were lost this turn putting the Russian's over 50% losses and triggering a Battlefield Withdrawal Test. Since no German AFVs have exited, the Russians still defend their objective so get a +2 DRM plus another +1 for being Tenacious. They pass the test and go on to Turn 8. Again I forget to take a turn end photo, perhaps mourning the loss of so many good units this turn! It's looking bad for the Russians with the road AT Gun the Last Hope.

Turn 8 German Initiative

The smoke on the road AT Gun dissipates and the PzIV tries to replace it but misses. The PzIII in LOS fires on the AT Gun but misses. Neither the PzIII or PzIV risk moving and incurring Defensive Fire from the AT Gun so stay put. The last PzIII behind the bunker just moves up and fires on the Kommissar in the stone cottage with no effect. The M/C squad, hero, command, and C.C all move to the east end of the woods and fire on the AT Gun getting a Suppression Test. The AT Gun rolls 12! on morale, easily passing and getting an instant return fire as bonus, but misses. One PzII moves near the Russian command in the woods and fires, getting a Dispersed Test. But the Command rolls 11 and just retreats into the woods, suppressed and damaged. The other PzII moves toward the road AT Gun emerging like a raptor suddenly from the sunflowers, unnoticed by the AT Gun crew since their attention is on the PzIII and PzIV bearing down on them on the road (targets suddenly appearing in LOS must move 4 inches in LOS before Defensive Fire is allowed when the AT Gun is out-of-arc, 1 inch in LOS if within firing arc). The PzII fires and rolls 11 and the AT Gun fails morale miserably and Disperses! That ends the German Turn.

The Russian turn is short, actually a pass since only 2 units remain and they are suppressed. Neither one rallies. The Russian again passes the Battlefield Withdrawal Test based on the bonus that no German AFVs have exited yet. (pardon the blurry picture).

Turn 9 German Initiative.

The Germans are going to win and it remains only to see by how much. The PzIIs, PzIIIs and the PzIV all race to get off the board but with poor movement dice rolls not one tank makes it! Hah! To gain at least one more VP the M/C squad, Hero, command, and C.C. move across the road to the stone cottage and Close Assault the Kommissar, Dispersing him in spades. There are no Russian actions but the Russian command rallies. Again the Russians pass the Battlefield Withdrawal Test based on the bonus since no German AFVs have exited.

Turn 10 German Initiative

I am prepared to call it and tally the score, but Tim says if the German rolls low on Initiative it could affect the result. Sure enough he rolls a 1 for 3 CP, then needs all of them to augment a lousy activation roll for the PzIIIs & PzIV and roll them off the board toward Kobrin. Then the PzIIs failed activation with no CPs left so they stay put! [Error note: Lt. Mueller could have activated all 5 AFVs using one command unit and exited them all, but we forgot this at the time]. End of German Turn. No Russian turn actions, no units to Rally. But now that the German have exited AFVs off the board, the Russians lose the bonus and fail the Battlefield Withdrawal Test so the game ends before rolling to see if it continues on to Turn 11.

Tallying Up The Score 

The original scenario allows the German to earn 2 points for each AFV exited, 1 point for each AFV left on the table and 1 point for each Russian KIA. With 3 exited, 2 on the table and 7 Russian KIAs that is 15 VP. Tim and I both agree this is horribly excessive (I expected way more German AFV losses). So we tinker with the German victory conditions and give 1 point for those exited, none for the ones left on the board and 1 for each KIA. This brings the German VP down to 9. Russians get only 4 points, 2 KIAs for 2 points each and lose the 5 VP bonus for preventing any German AFVs from exiting. Still a hefty German win at 9 to 4! Adding this battle's VP to those of the previous battle, Armour Clash (German 8, Russian 3), gives a Campaign total so far of German 17 to Russian 7. Probably fairly historical I suppose.

Observations:

1. Despite the big German win, I still feel this one could have gone either way. Tim M. (Lt. Mueller) made an important observation that small skirmish scenarios with few units become more dependent on dice roll luck at critical points so the results can swing wildly either way for any one playing even if the scenario is close to balanced over many playings. As he said, “It's just the nature of the beast with the smaller games. We have to manage our expectations accordingly.” Thinking on that I wonder what the game outcome would have been if the PzIV had lost smoke capability early - no more smoking the AT Guns. Or if the first PzIII collapsed the shaky bridge. Or the AT Guns had another lucky roll. Two or three more tanks could easily have gone down in mid-game, with possibly a Russian win. So in future I'll just try to plan a balanced scenario as best I can and let the dice decide!

2. The total Battlegroup points used for each side are worth considering too. The first scenario “Armour Clash” was a Meeting Engagement. That was German 1050 to Russian 780 points. Defending Kobrin was an Attack/Defend battle with German 915 and Russian 620. I've always felt that for Attack/Defend battle scenarios the attacker's strength should be at least about 1-1/2 times the defender's. Otherwise no “schwerpunkt.” But the German won both these scenarios handily so maybe I should be looking at say 125% for Attack/Defend scenarios and 100% for Meeting Engagements. On the other hand, if the dice in the previous Point 1 went hot for the Russian and caused the PzIV to lose smoke early and collapsed the bridge.... Hmm...

3. The variable game ending and variable effects on the bridge and fords seemed to work OK.

Anyway, the “crew” all thought it was fun to play which is the most important thing. Tune in for the next scenario in the Barbarossa campaign which is planned for Thursday November 21st. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. - Gary

BGPG - Armour Clash

It seems fitting that the first AAR posted here should be one from the opening day of Barbarossa. The scenario, “Armour Clash,” was adapted from the Skirmish Campaigns' scenario book “Russia '41 – Drive on Minsk”. We played on a 6x4 table with 15mm minis and used the excellent Battlegroup Panzergrenadier Version 2 rules with some house rules added in. Check these three links if you wish to see a review of BGPG V2, a detailed example of play, and the house rules.

Armour Clash is a meeting engagement with lead units of the veteran German 3rd Panzer encountering advance elements of the inexperienced Russian 22nd Tank Division sent to intercept. The terrain is not tank friendly with an alternating series of low ridges and gullies, with gullies and woods being Difficult Terrain (Bog Check for vehicles). The German setup area is near the west end and the Russian near the east end. The objectives and victory point conditions were supposed to be secret from each player. However, there was just two of us playing tonight so instead of moderating I played one side and therefore knew all the secrets. The German secret objective was to exit 4 AFVs off the east side of the table by the end of Turn 10. The Russian secret objective was to exit 2 AFVs off the west side. Achieving an objective earns 5 victory points and every enemy KIA earns one additional point, with highest total points the winner. My initial feeling was that this was going to be a German cakewalk and therefore be pretty historical. It turned out to be not quite a cakewalk, but still pretty favourable to the German.

Tim M. and I diced for side, Tim winning German and I the Russians. Tim brought a bag full of Russian military hats he had collected so we had to try them on. He thought his grey hat was perhaps a border guard hat. I really liked the huge peaked cap I tried on and Tim thought it might be a dress parade hat for the air force.

We both secretly marked our initial deployments down on paper maps and then placed our units on the table. Hidden deployment was not used for this meeting engagement. We presumed that advance scout patrols had reported in.

Tim's German Force (Hauptmann Mueller):

Battlegroup HQ + Truck (+2 bonus on initiative roll)

Company Commander + Kubel
4x PzIIC Recon Light Tank Plt (3x + 1x command)
2x PzIIIg Medium Tank Plt (1x +1 command - on Turn 2 west edge)
2x SdKfz 222 Recon Armoured Car (1x + 1x command)
Recon Motorcycle Plt (1x squad + 1x command HQ)
Recon Schutzen Team (1x squad + 1x SdKfz 251/1)

My Russian Force (Kapitan Chappevich):

Battlegroup HQ + Truck (no bonus on initiative roll)

Company Commander (Kommissar)
Infantry Plt (2x squads + 1x command HQ – one squad can start hidden in the neutral area)
3x T-26 Light Tank Plt (2x +1x command)
3x T-26 Light Tank Plt (2x +1x command)
2x BA-6 Armoured Car Plt (1x + 1x command – on Turn 2 south-east edge)

Game Start:

Turn 1: Tim won the initiative roll on Turn 1 and the Germans went first.

Hauptmann Mueller moved all of his main force over the first ridge line and kept his armoured cars to the south to cover his flank, ending the German turn. It looked like he might go for the northern route to the west table edge. For the Russian turn, as Kapitan Chappevich, I was really wishing for a module or two of artillery support to catch the enemy massed behind the ridge. One of my T-26 platoons took up hull down positions on the east ridge and the other in the south moved up between the east and centre ridges screened by the woods to try and catch the German armour in a cross-fire. My strategic plan was to hold the south T-26s back and then after the Germans bypassed them on their way to the east table edge, I could race them west and exit them for the 5 VP. My plan didn't survive to fruition.

Turn 2: The German continued with initiative in Turn 2. Hauptmann Meuller got a nasty PzIIIg plt for reinforcements and then advanced his main force toward the north gap around the gully and into LOS of the T-26s on the ridge, betting their small size aspect and poor DRMs from the Russian gunners defensive firing out of arc inside their single-man turrets would minimize the damage. The good thing (for me) was these Russian gunners got incredibly lucky with 11 and 12 rolls which brewed up one PzII and caused another to retreat with suppression and damage!

The bad thing was that the A/C222 Plt moved up to the centre ridge line and the combined A/C222 and PzII return fires suppressed two T-26s hull down on the east ridge line, ending the German turn. On the Russian turn the remaining unsuppressed T-26 withdrew behind the east ridge and the south T-26 plt moved up and fired at the exposed M/C plt, wrecked one squad's motorcycles, and forced the squad + LMG to dismount suppressed. In the Rally phase the damaged PzII and one of the T-26s rallied but the other T-26 and the M/C squad failed and remained suppressed.

Turn 3: The German won initiative again, and moved the PzIIIs up to the first ridge line in hull down positions and fired on the eastern T-26s (missed – whew!). The A/C 222 plt came north and positioned hull down to gain LOS on the south T-26 plt but their fire missed as well. The PzII fire before moving smoked one T-26 on the ridge and suppressed the other (the yellow bead is not visible). Then the PzIIs, halftrack, and one M/C squad continued their advance along the north table edge and the C.C. in his Kubel moved over to help rally the suppressed M/C squad + LMG. All the defensive fire by the Russian was ineffective.  End of German turn. My Russian turn had the south T-26 plt holding in position and firing at long range which adds additional negative mods so was pretty ineffective (Hindsight is a wonderful thing – I should have moved the south T-26 plt right to the woods edge – out of LOS from the centre ridge line forcing the enemy to move in the open into defensive fire). In the Rally phase only the German M/C squad rallied.

AAKKK! Big head slap! I forgot to bring on my A/C BA-6 plt reinforcements in Turn 2! Tim and I agreed that they could be placed behind the east ridge line mid-way across the table as if they had come on in Turn 3.

Turn 4: German initiative continued. Hauptmann Mueller gave orders to the PzIIIs to move up to the centre ridge line hull down and paste the enemy T-26s to the south. They missed! The A/C 222s were ordered to move north and join the main force but rolled snake eyes on the movement roll, meaning a Bog Check for all. One passed and fired with a miss before moving, but the other got stuck for a turn with no fire allowed. The German main force continued east along the north side, the loaded halftrack reaching right to the eastern gully unscratched by Russian defensive fire from the lone T-26. However, the BA-6's firing from long range AGAIN rolled an incredible 11 and a 12 against the advancing PzII plt, brewing up one and causing another to retreat suppressed! What great shooting from those green Russians! As a bonus, the rest of the German fire was ineffective and the German turn ended. All of a sudden it looked pretty good for the Russian side. Two PzIIs KIA, another one damaged and one more suppressed, with only one T-26 gone. All I needed now was to pull the south T-26 plt toward the woods and out of LOS of those nasty PzIIIs. So of course I rolled snake eyes on the activation losing all my CPs, plus lost the initiative roll after thus ending the Russian turn leaving the T-26's exposed! Ouch! In the Rally phase neither the T-26 on the ridge nor the PzII rallied.

Turn 5: The German maintained the stranglehold on initiative. Their first order of business was to smite the now terribly exposed south T-26 plt with the heavy PzIIIs on the ridge. This is where it began to go south for the Russian. One brew up and one retreat with damage! Then the PzIIIs moved north-west toward the main force. The A/C 222s followed up this blow with a direct charge against the remaining T-26 to get into close range, who was obviously rattled and completely missed his defensive fire. After moving up, one A/C222 missed with snake eyes, earning a blue low ammo marker, but the other A/C 222s didn't miss and the last T-26 was lucky to get away with just a retreat. Then the M/C squad + LMG moved to the mid-line gully to be joined by their command HQ who dismounted there and consolidated on foot. No further movement by the north main force was attempted to avoid triggering defensive fire from the BA-6s and T-26. Fortunately for the Russian, the German fire from the damaged PzII on the T-26 was ineffective, ending the German turn. On the Russian turn, I moved the BA-6s closer into effective range. Luckily, the defensive fire was ineffective, but so was all the Russian return fire. Then the Russian infantry plt commander in the south woods was ordered to move up next to the nearby suppressed T-26 in the south plt to aid its rally chances, ending the Russian turn. In the Rally phase, the T-26 rallied but the other T-26 nearby stayed suppressed, as did the T-26 on the ridge which seemed only interested in staying suppressed. The only consolation was the PzII didn't rally either.

Turn 6: The Russian wins initiative! The lone unsuppressed T-26 in the south plt fires at an A/C222 and misses, then reverses behind the trees, dodging defensive fire from the A/C222s. The nearby Russian infantry plt commander runs over to the other T-26 to help rally it but is suppressed by fire from the PzIIIs. Fire from the 2 BA-6s and the lone T-26 fire misses the halftrack, but does destroy the damaged PzII! End of Russian turn. The armour force behind the east ridge is holding! Things seem to be picking up a bit for the Russian!

The German turn started out fairly benignly. The C.C. in his Kubel activated the halftrack which passed his Bog Test through the gully, evaded defensive fire from the T-26, and moved to the base of the hill. And the C.C just moved over to contact the suppressed PzII and help his rally chances. Then in a bold surprise flank attack, Hauptmann Mueller ordered the A/C222 plt to suddenly move east right up to the east ridge line into hull down positions behind the BA-6s and the lone T-26! Arrg! One BA-6 missed on defensive fire, but despite the bad DRMs for being out of arc, single man turret, small, fast target, the other BA-6 managed a great shot and caused one A/C222 to retreat damaged. But the other A/C222 bagged a BA-6 in return. Ouch! Since the Russians now had no defensive fire capability left, the already-fired PzIIIs moved quickly east to take a position near the burnt out PzII and in LOS of the last BA-6 and T-26.  The M/C infantry plt moved east, heading toward the easternmost gully, and the German turn ended. In the Rally phase only the last PzII rallied. The suppressed Russian infantry plt commander in the south rolled snake eyes to become dispersed. Sheesh!

At this point I kind of slipped up in the game tracking since I forgot to get a photo after Turn 6.

Turn 7: The German won initiative so got to act again immediately and continue the slaughter. Without moving any units to trigger defensive fire, the A/C 222 on the ridge fired and destroyed the unsuppressed T-26 and the PzIIIs fired as well, destroying the remaining BA-6 but missing the suppressed T-26 on the ridge. OK, a sudden wipe-out! Check out the shattered Russian armour!

With no further threat of defensive fire the last PzII moved east to beside the PzIIIs. And the loaded halftrack moved over the hill and exited the east edge untouched! The M/C Plt also moved east into the last gully and the C.C. in his Kubel moved part way toward the suppressed A/C 222 to help him rally, ending the German turn. On the Russian turn Kapitan Chappevich finally concluded the main German force was heading for a breakthrough at the northeast edge at the hill so ordered his C.C. and a squad guarding that sector to move north to a last ditch blocking position behind the hill. The south T-26 attempted to individually activate without a leader, but rolled low with no CP help available from the HQ. The Russian turn ended and no units rallied in the rally phase.

Turn 8: German wins initiative again. The C.C. and Kubel moved to the suppressed A/C222, the M/C plt moved east to the base of the hill. After moving east to the last gully, the PzIIIs and PzII fired at the last T-26 on the ridge, miraculously only managing to cause it to retreat. The A/C222 on the ridge stayed to protect the other A/C222 from the south T-26s while it rallied, ending the German turn. Kapitan Chappevich, in desperation, activated a hidden infantry squad in the woods on the middle ridge and attempted to rush them into close combat with the suppressed A/C222 and C.C. However, a poor movement roll stopped them short. The south T-26 advanced toward the A/C222 on the ridge, but was suppressed by its defensive fire. Depleted of Russian CPs Kapitan Chappevich could not help his C.C. on a low activation roll so the squad and C.C. could not continue to move north behind the hill for a better blocking position, ending the Russian turn. No Russian T-26s rallied in the Rally phase but the A/C222 with the C.C. rallied (The photo shows it incorrectly still suppressed but it was not suppressed next turn since it moved then so we must have forgotten to remove the yellow bead or to apply the C.C. DRM and it actually passed???).

Turn 9: German initiative again. The M/C plt moved up into hard cover behind the hill crest line into LOS of the exposed Russian squad that missed with defensive fire. The M/C squad + LMG fire dispersed the Russian squad. The PzIIIs and last PzII whacked the nearby T-26 into oblivion and then made a dash for the hill. Two made their Bog Checks as they raced through the gully, but one PzIII bogged down there, suppressed and damaged. Then the damaged A/C222 and C.C moved east so the C.C.'s Kubel was atop the last ridge and the A/C222 near the end of the east gully. Not sure why the other A/C 222 didn't move???? Maybe he was having a schnapps break! That ended the German turn. There were no Russian actions in the Russian turn. All remaining units of potential use were suppressed. In the Rally phase the only good thing was that both remaining south T-26s rallied, one with boxcars making it Battle Hardened (+1 dice roll for all dice rolls)! It is a race for the finish now that Russian resistance has collapsed.

Turn 10: Hauptmann Mueller won initiative and exited a PzIII and a PzII off the table. But the A/C 222 plt got a poor movement roll so the one at the gully could not exit through the woods and just ended near the north east hill. The other A/C222 on the ridge just moved off north. The C.C. & Kubel moved off the ridge to the north as well. The M/C plt moved up to the crest line and suppressed the Russian C.C on the hill, ending the German turn.

On the Russian turn, the Battle Hardened T-26 was promoted to commander by Kapitan Chappevich on a good die roll. Then the new T-26 commander activated the other T-26 and the infantry squad. To try and get one more VP with a KIA, the T-26 commander decided to try for the east ridge top and a final shot. A last gasp of dedication to hopefully ward off the Kommissar's bullet for cowardice in the face of the enemy. Boxcars were rolled for movement, giving one more dice which was also a 6! 18 inches movement! All moved to the ridge top. Pardon the blurry picture...

The damaged T-26 fired at the easternmost A/C 222 and missed, the other fired at the A/C222 by the Kubel, suppressing it as shown in the photo. Then realizing the Battle Hardened +1 mod should be added in, the suppression was upgraded to a retreat. The infantry fired on the Kubel, dispersing it and causing the C.C. to dismount suppressed, ending the Russian turn. Rats! No KIAs. In the Rally phase the Russian C.C., the German C.C., the retreated A/C222, and the bogged PzIII all rallied. Since the Russians had lost 8 units, more than half of their force, a Battlegroup Withdrawal Test was required in the Rally phase which they passed otherwise it could have been a game stop with an automatic German win. Therefore the game ended because Turn 10 was finished.

Tallying up the score: Neither side achieved their objective for 5 VP but the German was close. So just 1 VP for each KIA. The Germans got 8 KIAs so 8 VP and the Russians got 3 KIAs for 3 VP. A hefty German win!

Observations:

I think a contributor to the Russian demise was leaving the south T-26 plt to slug it out in the open with the hull down PzIIIs and A/C222s. But the real turning point was the bold A/C222 plt charge to the east ridge that caught the BA-6s and T-26 out of arc and took all their defensive fire so the PzIIIs could move up and crossfire them. Well played Hauptmann Mueller!    Moreover, this battle which was almost all armour vs armour seemed to work very well with the BGPG rules, which I already appreciated as being great for infantry battles.

There are a couple of things to think about for the next scenario, like perhaps a variable ending. Also this scenario yielded a historical German result that could easily have been even more one-sided. If the last PzIII hadn't bogged or the easternmost A/C222 had a better movement roll and didn't bog down in the woods, the German would have achieved the objective of exiting 4 AFVs for 5 more VP and the score would have been 13 to 3, which seems too much of a blowout. But I'm not sure how much my tactical error contributed to the German effort (not placing the south T-26 plt near the woods out of LOS). Or with their inexperienced tank crews, single-man turrets and poor long range accuracy would they have quickly lost the slugfest anyways. So do I add another Russian unit, like maybe a 45mm A/T gun? Also I'm not sure if the awarding of victory points is balanced. Is one VP per KIA is the best? Maybe as Tim suggested it should be 2 Russian VP for each German unit KIA'd? Or 2 VP for every 3 German units KIA'd? Hmm...

Regardless, it was all good fun and stay tuned for the next scenario in the campaign “Defending Kobrin” which should be played in early November. - Gary

Welcome!

This kick-off post is to welcome all to the site! The plan is to post AARs of miniatures wargames played by our local wargaming group here in Saskatoon. Stay tuned as the AARs will begin soon!