Polish Campaign part 3: Blitzkrieg

Third scenario in the 1939 Polish Campaign, and basically the title says it all! A vast array of German platoons and their armored compadres have to clear the board and wipe out as much Polish defenders as possible. The Poles on the other hand have the daunting task of keeping the Germans from surging on towards Warschau and probably more accurate, to keep the losses tally low to keep the campaign alive.

The Polish defense line was this time split in groups: the most western town was heavily defended, the road between the 2 center woods was sandbagged, more roadblocks were placed further east and a considerable contingent occupying the eastern towns as a last resort. Several AT platoons were deployed concealed deep in the woods en marshes.

German infantry engulf the board while the Panzers stay off board until the Luftwaffe cleared the potent Polish AT from the field. While the Stukas are pounding the canons, the first town gets surrounded and assaulted. Fierce Polish defenders try to make the going tough but they know that the overwhelming odds don’t look promising.

Overall, the German advance in the opening stages is not very Blitzy! The advance is slow because their tactic is sure and ruthless: pound what is ahead with artillery and send in the infantry to mop up what is left standing when dust falls. After three hours of continuous air strikes, most AT firepower is blown to smithereens and the German Panzers finally put some millage on their meters. Soon enough, they form point in the vanguard, giving vital support to the PBI.

Four hours into the battle, the Western town succumbs, killing just about all its Polish occupants. But their valiant sacrifice is not in vain, they bought invaluable time that might save other brothers from the same fate. Most roadblocks are no more than mere hurdles that never seem to stop the German onslaught and things are not exactly going peachy for the Poles. But then suddenly momentum starts to drop and the German invaders have to take a cigarette break. Some well placed MG nests prove too hard to take out and the Armored Cars that bypassed this position, overstretched, which led to their demise. So the Germans cut their losses and decided upon clearing the road as priority, leaving the Eastern towns for what they were. A last minute gamey Polish counter tactic to take some road section back by bike, failed miserably and both sides decided that dinner was served and game ended.

The Germans had it in the bag: they occupied the western town, had some influence in the lone town hex on the eastern side, controlled two thirds of the road and killed tons of Polish units! Overall, a very easy German victory (surprise, surprise) which was still pretty substantial when we started counting VP’s. Germany 67 – 30 Poland.

Campaign wise, the Germans take back the lead with a comfortable 32 VP’s. Both our characters were not very successful. On the German side, only LT König proved his worth but fell short to earn himself a shiny badge, still at 9-1-1, he is no sissy anymore. LT Jung got drawn into the town sluggathon but couldn’t hold his own. LT Nutzlos was not present.

On the Polish side, Por Lato was seen running from the battle which resulted in a reprimand, just what the doctor ordered. Por Kowalski fought ferociously defending a 75mm platoon, he got demoralized several times but only left his post when his unit got killed, kudos but no cigar! Por Lubanski, the hero of scenario 2, took a most cautious approach and was never in the thick of it, but still he managed to collect some LP’s.

This battle took us a fair amount of time to complete, not because it is a monster, but basically because both players couldn’t stay healthy for more than one week. On to part 4 and healthier times!