Author	treadasaurusrex (Soviet Union)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Soviet Union
Participants	Capt. Chaos
Play Date	2024-11-15
Language	English
Scenario	KRBT018

This was a 11-session play-through with the dauntless & unflappable, Capt. Chaos, leading attacking elements of the elite, German 2nd Panzer Division. I led defending elements of the 70th Guard Rifle Division, 3rd Anti-Tank Brigade and the 16th Tank Corps. Both sides drew middling leader sets, with the Germans having slightly better quality. This was a monster of a scenario with large numbers of counters on only two map boards. Casualties were heavy from the start.

We used FOW (starting on game turn 7) consolidation, smoke/illum, excess initiative, hidden units, recon by fire, extended assault and tank riders optional rules. Also utilized, was this house rule: Standardized Movement for Mechanized Units - All mechanized units may move through clear hexes at a movement cost of only 1 movement point (MP) per hex, instead of 1 1/2. Add one to this cost if moving up, across, or down slopes hexes.

The initial two sessions (game turn 1) featured the immediate commencement of direct, AT and bombardment fire between advance elements of both sides along the east-west border of Maps 41 – the Soviet-held south – and 42 – the German-held North. The German task force was deployed in 3 large clusters of units on the both flanks and in the center. The right flank German staging area seemed initially to contain the most units, but hostile fire was initiated by the Wehrmacht column in the center. First blood was drawn by the defending Russians in the center with a lucky AT shot that eliminated a dug-in SPW platoon. An initial German armored probe in the vicinity of the 1-hex village located in Hex 41-1105, discovered the first of several minefields, which quickly resulted in the elimination of a platoon of Pz-IVF2 tanks. Another pair of step losses was sustained by a charging Pz-IIIN unit that was hit by multiple armor piercing rounds. just west of the village. Toward the end of the turn the Jerries began probing on their left flank and promptly encountered another two minefields just below the small, 20-meter hill. The victory point tally now stood at: 12 for the Soviets, to 1 for the advancing German invaders. A combined FIVE combat 7-die rolls were thrown.

Our action packed, third session (game turn 2) featured the scrambling Jerries advancing into decisive range on both flanks and paying a heavy price for the real estate they gained, especially around the hamlet in Hex 41-1105. There were multiple exchanges of armor piercing, long-range DF and OBA fire along the leading edges of the Wehrmacht approach, as well as a pair of adjacent-hex firefights on the north margins of the small, 20-meter hill on the Russian right flank. The loss of 6 more German steps upped the victory point tally to: 18 for the godless Soviets, to 2 for the marauding German horde. A combined SIX combat 7-die rolls were thrown.

The fourth session (game turn 3) featured the Germans continuing to draw into decisive range in the center an on the Russian right flank hill positions. Surprisingly, only 2 Third Reich steps were lost, in spite of a considerable amount of opfire and long-range artillery strikes. Again a combined SIX combat 7-die rolls were thrown.

The fifth session (game turn 4) featured continued German movement to contact, adjacent-hex firefights and close assaults in the center and left flank, as well as very accurate OBA. A Soviet T-70 light tank platoon was eliminated by long-range 88mm armor-piercing fire opposite the Russian left flank. Also, the only Bolshevik 85mm AT gun unit was eliminated in an accurate Wehrmacht artillery strike. Steps lost this session were: 2 only German steps, and 6 Soviet steps. The updated victory point tally was now: 21 for the defending Soviets, and 6 for the onrushing Heer wave. Both sides combined for only FOUR combat 7-die rolls.

Our action-packed, sixth session (game turn 5) featured the Soviets finally moving into the better defensive positions that they should have had initially – they had been set up as close as possible to the historical footprint for this playthrough. It also featured the Germans switching to attritional tactics in order to increase Soviet step losses by way of multiple, infantry-heavy close assaults against smaller, but entrenched, Soviet garrisons across the board front. Oddly, the German right flank attack stalled in dug in positions, while the center and left flank approaches by 3-stack assault teams became invested in pinning the opposing Russians in place, thereby preventing forward artillery observation. Both sides suffered a reduction in initiative level during the 5th game turn. Unexpectedly, only a single Soviet and 3 German steps were lost this session.

The seventh session (game turn 6) featured the fiercely-contested continuation of 4 German close assaults, 3 against entrenched Soviet defenders, and one more in the embattled 1-hex village. No breakthroughs were achieved by the Germans this session. Only a single Soviet and 4 German steps were lost this low-mobility session.

Our 8th session (game turns 7-8) featured the end of the German movement to contact and continued heavy fighting in the 4 close assault hexes. Steps losses mounted more slowly than before, as there was a great deal of morale recover activity. The Soviets lost 2 additional steps, while the Germans lost 3, with no appreciable gain in real estate, and no further reduction in initiative levels.

The ninth session (game turns 9-10) featured the Germans successfully taking the 1-hex village on Map 41 by cold steel assault, driving out the remnant Russian garrison. Step losses this session were only 2 for the Germans, but the Soviets lost 5. The updated victory points were now: 35 for the Soviet, to the German total of 17, plus the village. There were still three close assaults to be resolved, but the entire Soviet crash boom field gun contingent was now debating the dialectic with Karl Marx in the infernal regions. Our tenth session (game turns 11-12) was a very grim one for the surging Wehrmacht attackers with another 11 steps lost, to only a single Bolshevik step eliminated. Jerry infantry drew into decisive range adjacent to the 1-hex village (Hex 41-1105) in hopes of pushing the battered Soviet defenders further south and up the lower slopes of the largest hill mass on Map 41. Almost simultaneously, an overeager Pz-IIIN stumbled into another minefield while maneuvering to support a combined arms attack on the adjacent, 2-hex, 20-meter hill. The following turn, a Pz-IIIJ maneuvering for position to support a developing German left flank advance, was hit & lost a step. The revised victory point tally was now: 46 for the Soviet, to the German total of 18, plus the village.

The eleventh and final session (game turns 13-14) was characterized by frustration for the Germans who fell into an additional pair if minefields and decided that it was impossible to achieve a victory, so by default the Soviets gained a victory in this brutal slugfest of a scenario. There were a total of 8 FOW-shortened game turns.

I give this one an enthusiastic rating of 4, and recommend it for both SOLO and SHARED play.