March on Leningrad scenario #10 is a 20 turn slug-fest between the 1st Panzer and some raw but brave Leningrad militia units.

Note: in setting up the scenario I discovered that the morale, initiative and OBA info is missing for the Germans, both their starting force and their reinforcements. A quick e-mail exchange with APL clarified that the info is:

Morale: 8/7

Initiative: 4

Off-board artillery: 3 x 16

The Soviets start out with 19 INF and 8 HMG, but they are reduced to reflect their poor quality as militia. Soviet morale is 8/5, meaning most of their forces will be rolling against a 5. They also get a bunch of artillery, some AT guns, and most importantly a unit of KV-2s. Starting on game turn 4, they roll on a table to get more KV-1s, or maybe another KV-2, driving directly off the factory floor. The Soviet player stops rolling after 3 units have entered play.

The Germans get a mixed force of INF, HMG and ENG units and some guns, mounted on halftracks and trucks, plus a decent force of 5 Pz IIIFs and 2 Pz IVEs. Starting on turn 4, he rolls for reinforcements that include 2 more Pz IIIFs and a dreaded 88 gun. The Germans also get an air spotter in a SPW 250, which ensures air strikes will hit their target.

The victory conditions require the Germans to obtain 3 of 4 objectives for a Minor Victory, and 4 of 4 for a Major. The objectives are: 1) control the town on board 4; 2) keep all road hexes free of Soviet units at end of play; 3) eliminate 12 Soviet steps; and 4) exit 20 German steps off north edge of board (tanks count double).

Objectives 1 and 3 will be easy to achieve -- the trick is deciding whether to go for all 4, or concentrate on getting 3 for a Minor.

The thing that makes the scenario interesting is the appearance of the KV tank. The Germans can easily kill off the milita units and occupy the town, but they don't have a good answer for the KV-1. It has an armor rating of 5, meaning the Pz IVE needs to roll an 11 or 12 to kill a step; the Pz IIIF needs a 12! And this is for fire within 5 hexes; beyond 5 hexes the odds drop more with the -1 modifier. The answer of course is setting up flanking shots, or luring the KVs within range of the 88 once it arrives. The KV-2 has an armor rating of 4, making it more vulnerable.

The initial turns saw the Germans sweep in and start to occupy the town. Some tanks were needed to knock out the 45 mm gun in the town, then they headed to the east to attack the guns while the INF assaulted the town itself. The KV-2 lumbered south and caused the halftracks and trucks to scatter while the German armor scrambled to set up flank shots.

As turn 7 begins, the Germans are facing a challenge. They have easily killed enough Soviet steps (thereby reducing Soviet initiative to zero), and taken the town, but now they are facing a marauding stack of 2 KV-1s. Also, their reinforcements have failed to show up for 3 straight turns, but their entry is almost automatic now.

If the KVs are not dealt with, they will threaten the town and road and leave the Germans 1 objective short of a Minor win.

So as turn 7 opens, the German armor has swung around to the west for a flank shot. There is more German armor to the east, near the gap between the two woods. Getting two initial activations will be key. With armor efficiency, that will give the Germans 8 shots at the KV, with 4 of them benefitting from the flank modifier.

I have not played this very well so far as the Soviets, perhaps being more reckless with the KVs than needed. But the prospect of these behemoths tearing into the halftracks and trucks was too much to pass up!

As turn 10 begins, it looks like the Germans will have their way. They took advantage of the fact that the KV had already activated to rush the 88 mm gun into town and unlimber it. Sure enough the Germans won initiative next turn and the 88 landed a lucky shot that eliminated an entire KV unit. The remaining KV was too slow to escape the gun's LOS, so on the next turn the 88 killed it too. Like I said earlier, I was too rash with the KVs and should have left them more in the rear, daring the Germans to come to them.

The Germans also were able to eliminate the major bombardment threat posed by the stack of the 122mm and 107 mm guns in the woods to the northwest by a combination of OBA and air strikes. This left the way open for the infantry to advance up the main road. The final KV unit rolling out of the factory -- a KV-2 with a leader, is hanging back on the northern edge of the battlefield with the 2 T-60s, in a desperate attempt to deny the Germans both the road and the exiting unit VPs. But there are enough German tanks left to swing in from the left and right to set up a devastating barrage of flanking, efficient fire. This one is probably over. It should have been closer with better Soviet play on my part.

I recommend this scenario highly to anyone who gets March on Leningrad. The puzzle of how best to use, or counter, the KVs makes it a fascinating play.

This one is a solid 5, Mike Perry at his very best.