Broken Axis 2-4: A Questionable Effort

Background: In this scenario, part of the second Târgu Fromos battle game, the Soviets have to clear a road and create a three-hex wide corridor all the way down the map. Also, in a somewhat un-Soviet condition, they cannot lose more than a dozen steps. Both sides have a healthy amount of infantry and some decent artillery to throw around. The Russians have a tall order, and historically they didn’t pull this one off.

Setup: The action takes place in board 102, which has a large heavy forest in the middle of the board, adjacent to a road running the short length of the map. This forest drives the action in the games I’ve played on this map, and a key decision for both sides is how to handle it at setup. The Romanians decide to head into the woods, and set up most of their infantry across the face of the woods, overlooking the open ground, and wait. Their artillery and AT guns take the town and cover the paths around the forest, hoping to get a crack at the T34 accompanying the Soviet infantry.

The Russians enter from the north and immediately run into trouble, losing a wagon and its 57mm gun to Romanian artillery on the very first turn. Then they run into the infantry in the woods and take a pounding, losing a few steps and taking lots of demoralizations. By turn 5 the score was 6-0 Romania.

But about that time the Soviets regained their equilibrium. The leaders rallied nearly all of the DM’d units, and they used their numbers to slowly envelop the Romanian line. The T34 sprinted around the right flank and was able to disrupt Romanian mortars and artillery. Meanwhile, the forest that had protected the Romanians early on now became a trap, as they were slowed down and were unable to disengage. The Reds started picking them off around turn 8, and by the end the Romanians mostly demoralized and starting to divide into pockets.

At the end, the Russians had their corridor, but two undemorized VAN units snuck onto the E/W road, denying the Soviets a victory condition. It all cams down to step losses. The Romanians lost 16 steps, and a recount of Russian losses showed that they had lost 11 steps—just under the wire. Minor Soviet victory.

Analysis: Broken Axis is one of my two favorites (along with Army at Dawn) and this scenario was another quick, hard-hitting battle with both sides having a chance up until the end. Great game!