Summary: The engineering battalion of the Grossdeutschland Division must wrest control of town hexes from RKKA defenders. No armored forces (save for x3 SPW 251's). See scenario description for specifics (though played on board 24 which has a one-hex town in 1105 and a seven-hex town about a crossroads in the middle of the board).

LDR Draws:

RKKA: Cpt: 9-0-0; Lts: 8-0-0; 8-0-0; 9-0-1; 8-0-1 Heer: Maj: 9-0-1; Cpts: 9-0-1; 9-0-1; Lts: 9-1-0; 10-1-2; Sgt: 9-1-1.

So Heer had significantly better leadership (though only one really strong one as German leaders go). And the RKKA avoided any 7-0-0's, so all-in-all a reasonable draw here.

Initial Set-up: 8-0-0 LT + RIF(x2) + 45mm ATK in town 1105. 8-0-0 LT + RIF(x2) in light woods hex 0405. HMG(x2) + 76.2mm in town hex 0808 (southernmost town hex). Remaining RIFs, SMGS, ATR's hold other town hexes. The 82mm (x2) were located in heavy wood in hex 1114.

Rationales:

I placed the two RIF platoons in the light woods in case the German player (me) decided to use that limiting terrain as an assembly area for an approach to the town. Also, I thought that should the German player go due north and or west, these forces might provide a flanking counter-attack. I placed the ATK guns forwards to try to take out or retard entry/use of the SPW 251's. The mortars I debated between having them forwards on the ridge line north of the main town so that they could use the self-spot col shift; but, once they fired, they would be spotted and pray to German OBA. Hence, I felt that keeping them behind a hex of hvy woods would keep them in the game longer and balance the above advantage (as well as giving up a few hexes of range).

Victory Points Summary: (Soviets 1pt per German step loss + two per town hex controlled; Germans 1 pt per Soviet step loss + three per town hex controlled). At the end of each turn:

Turn Soviet VPs German VPs

1 16 1 (Russian 45mm gun crew fled: failed recover from DEMORLZ & spotted)

2 17 1

3 17 1

4 15 6 (Germans capture town hex 1105)

5 15 6

6 15 7

7 13 7 (Germans assault town hex 0808)

8 14 9 (Germans assault town hex 0909)

9 14 12

10 14 13

11 11 22

12 11 26

Soviet: 3 step losses inflicted + four town hexes) = 11 VPs German: 14 step losses inflicted + four town hexes) = 26 VPs. Difference is sufficient for a major German victory.

This could have gone either way given a few different key rolls in assaults in turns 8 & 9. At that point, the Germans held the upper hand as the Soviets were forced to feed more and more units into the two assault hexes and were eventually almost bled dry. Still, it was quite exciting and, I think, an excellent scenario. Again, whilst primarily a Soviet "hold on to your town hexes" against both ENGs with higher morale and better leadership (grim at best), there are some subtle set-up choices that one can make.

Game vagaries:

1. On turn 1, Soviet OBA disrupts one ENG and demoralizes another! German OBA on 1105-town was only an M, but demoralized one RIF and the 45mm gun. This craziness caused the German side of my brain to change my attack plan completely. I had hoped one company would deal with 1105 whilst the other two went for the light woods. Now, I had to commit two companies to 1105 and keep the third as a blocking/spotting force on the N/S road and hill complex in map center. Germans had this town hex by turn four and held it with the 20mm gun and a reduced ENG platoon.

2. On turn 5, German OBA disrupts both HMGs in 0808 (town) and demoralizes the 76.2 mm, but two RIF platoons OF (Germans rushed up to take advantage of the HMG's fate), demoralize two ENG platoons. Soviet OBA on the following turn rolls a '7' on those two demoralized ENGS!

3. Major assault on 0808 begins on turn 7 with 1 ENG + 2 SPW (now safe as the 76.2 mm is gone); the turn 8 is the key shifting point. Both Soviet and Germans on 24 Col, but Soviets roll a '3' and Germans a '6'. Assault also begins on 0909 (town). Curiously, the two German ENGs that were demoralized earlier take about four-five turns to get back to good order even with help from leader. Likewise, the pair of Soviet RIF and their leader, hit hard by an OBA attack earlier, likewise are stuck on morale failures. So essentially, both sides have two platoons and a leader effectively out of action. If the Soviets could recover first, they could essentially counterattack as per plan.

4. Turns 9-10 were assaults; recoveries; fleeing hexes; regroups; etc., but the Soviets were fighting an uphill battle. One HMG was DEMORLZD and out of the assault (and stubbornly would not recover) and the Germans: +1 ldr + 1 ENG +1 morale lead to a net +1 col shift after the -2 for defending in a town. Hence the Germans just worn the Soviets down. And the Germans came out on top on the rolls here also.

5. In the last few turns, the pair of German ENGS recovered and moved to take a town hex that had been left uncovered due to Soviets having to feed the two main assault hexes. The two Soviet rifle platoons likewise recovered, but with insufficient time to move to counter-attack town hex 1105, so they moved back into the main town on the last turn simply shoring up a town hex that had two DEMORLZD units in it.

I think this was a very interesting and tense scenario despite the end score. Given the vagaries of assault tables and their corresponding morale checks, this could easily have gone the other way. Perhaps keeping the two RIF platoons out in those woods (they were spotted when a German ENG/LDR moved within three hexes and hit by OBA) was a bad call. On the other hand, with them there, the German player could not afford to treat town hex 1105 as secure. As it turned out, two German ENG units also attempting recovery essentially were also providing protection duty. So it is difficult to know how this really turned out in the balance.

Also, the SPW251's made a significant difference in the assaults. Perhaps it might have been better to have placed the Soviet ATKs in town hexes that were unlikely to become spotted/targeted due to OF from RIF/HMG in the same hex (of course, those hexes had the best field of fire). In any case, I suspect that German OBA taking out those guns before they had a chance of using AT fire at the 251's was a significant factor in the German victory.