UP844
Posts: 1662
Joined: 3/3/2016
From: Genoa, Republic of Genoa (occupied by Italy)
Status: offline
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No plan survives contact with enemy, and my one was no exception  .
Turn 1:
Group A spots a couple squads in the village. It looks quite simple: go ahead, suppress them and then close for the kill. So I will stick to the plan.
Group B starts firing the mortars to support of Group A and moves forward its MG: unfortunately, there is a Russian MMG on the other side of the stream and the crew is eliminated.
Group C faces a line of Russian squads with a 45mm ATG and starts deploying its squads.
Turn 2:
Group A comes under fire from a 76mm gun emplaced on the hill while squads attempt to cross the gap between the last wood and the village. MGs take position in the wood and start firing to suppress it and resume the advance.
Turn 3:
Groups A & B continue their suppression fire, with no results.
Group C finally breaks through the Russian line, engaging in several CC. It will have to take another route, since the planned one would lead it between the MMG and the 76mm gun. It will remain at the base of the hill, and then it will attempt to attack the gun from the rear.
In the Russian turn, a BT-5 appears, then another: the first stops in the village, the second on the hill, between the MG and the gun. Looks like Group A is pinned in place, but that's what ATR were made for and we all know BT-5 armor is tin foil, don't we?
Turn 4:
The only remarkable feat is a 4-shot fire from a Lt MTR, which breaks two squads (one of which also suffers CR) and pins their leader. Unfortunately, this does not help at all Group A, which is now under fire by both tanks and by the gun on the hill.
Turn 5:
Enter the FO! I doubt OBA can be decisive in such close terrain, but every extra FP is always welcome (provided it doesn't fall on my troops).
ATRs are hitting the BTs but they always fail to penetrate.
Conventional wisdom says "don't stack under fire", but stacking all the MGs of Group A is the only way I can deliver some firepower on the 76mm, so I place them and the B* leader in a building not visible by the tanks.
Turn 6:
After failing two access attempts, OBA is permanently lost.
Group A MG stack pin the gun crew, and Group C is now positioned just behind the gun, hidden by the ridge.
Turn 7:
Something starts moving: the ATR in the village destroys one of the tanks, the MG stack breaks the gun crew and Group C moves forward to make it run away. Unfortunately, as soon as Group C moves over the ridge, comes right in front of a second Russian line (with a B** leader, no less!) at 1-hex range. Russian Defensive Fire is not as deadly as it could have been, but so is Advancing Fire. Rather than taking Prep Fire at 1 hex, or retiring below the ridge leaving pinned squads as easy targets, two squads enter CC. They both eliminate their opponents, including the B** leader.
Turn 8:
The remaining tank is also destroyed by an ATR, the mortars have another bright moment and break two Russian squads in another building village.
Group A moves towards the first objective: there is only a conscript squad in [10,2] and two squads in the objective hex.
Group C routs the remains of the second Russian line and advances, discovering a third (!) Russian line of defense and receiving some MG and rifle fire from a house on the river bank.
Turn 9:
The whole Group A fires on the conscripts, but with no results.
Group B mortars move forward to support Group A. Unfortunately, the Russian MMG has a LOS to one of the hexes they move through, and one of the crews is eliminated. The other crew sets up its weapon so that it can fire on the objective hex.
Group C exchanges fire with the Russians: the squads in the house by the river are broken, the others are deployed in brush terrain, while Group A is higher and in woods and for once can take advantage of its longer range.
Turn 10:
After several ineffective fire phases, the conscripts in [10,2] are pinned, while the mortar breaks all the occupants of the objective hex. Time is running short, so a German squads moves adjacent to the conscripts' house, survives their defensive fire unscathed, enters CC... and is promptly eliminated.
On the hills, Group C manages to break most of the Russians in the brush patch. The sparse Russian defensive does not stop a squad that moves in the open (yes I know you never move in the open), then advances and takes the middle objective. On the other side of the crest there are several Russian units. Unless the squad is eliminated right away, I plan to withdraw beyond the ridge as soon as possible and to teach the IA something about reverse slope defense and moving in the open.
Turn 11:
In the village, the conscripts are still there, and the scenario might end anytime: this is not time for tactical finesse. Another squad charges towards the conscript's house and survives with no damage.
The remnants of Group A (three HS, two armed with LMGs, one with ATR, and a crew with the MMG) move towards the house; one Hs is broken by Russian fire.
The squad advances, enters CC... and suffers casualty reduction without inflicting any losses.
The FO leads the squad that was manning the ATR along the road, towards the first objective.
On the hill, the squad in the objective hex is broken and cannot rout away, but height advantage prevents its destruction.
A couple Russian attempts to retake the objective are stopped by Group C fire.
Turn 12:
Two HS enter the melee in the conscripts' house: the conscripts eliminate all the three German HS! In the Russian turn, they enter CC with the MMG crew and are eliminated!
On the hill, the broken squad is eliminated by Russian fire, but the Group C fire stops all the Russians before they enter the objective hex. Russians also start attacking from the South.
Turn 13:
Group A attack has been stopped by a single squad of conscripts. In this area, I just have one squad with an ATR, a broken HS with a LMG, a crew with a MMG and a Lt MTR. The Russians have two squads (one them Elite) in a house surrounded by orchards. The only possible chance to take the objective is breaking the squads with MMG and mortar fire, then advancing with the remaining squad.
Group C looks able to stop Russian attempts to retake the middle objective, but is down to three squads: advancing to the third objective will take at least two turns (which I don't think I will have), and there are still unbroken Russian units in my path which could cause additional losses.
Turns 14-16:
Nothing happens. Germans continue firing on the Russians in the first objective hex with no effect, and Russians make several unsuccessfull attempts to retake the middle objective.
The scenario ended on Turn 16 with a German Minor Victory; I will call it a Pyrrhic victory, since I lost about 75% of my force, as well as several support weapons.
German losses: 2 Squads, 7 HS, 2 crews (no leaders, no AFVs)
Russian losses: 2 Squads, 10 HS, 4 leaders, 2 crews, 2 AFVs
The game was quite challenging and I enjoyed it very much. I took very heavy losses, but the close terrain rendered the range advantage of German squads useless and lead to much more close combats than we usually see.
 Attachment (1)
< Message edited by UP844 -- 3/28/2016 12:33:51 AM >
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Printable Version
Group Tigers on the Hunt (Test Campaign)- Official Info... - 
Ready for Mission #1 - 
. I think the Russians have a bit too many leaders, however (especially for a 1941 Rifle Division). 
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