Fire & Sword scenario 29

[leonard]

Fire & Sword scenario 29. Real action.
Axis reinforcements should enter on the EAST edge (among other changes).    

[plloyd1010]

Submit it as errata, and link to your post above.

[leonard]

Submit it as errata, and link to your post above.

That particular scenario has been changed too much as published. The original version had one more map in the east (more town hexes available), different set-up and reinforcement entry, and different victory conditions. If anybody is interested, I can post the original version for reference and historicity.

[dirk]

Please do so, I for one would enjoy it.

[leonard]

Here is the original version of Fire & Sword scenario 29. The published version might be OK with the second Axis reinforcement (mainly Hungarians) entering on the east edge (and not west edge).

Outflanking Székesfehérvár from the east
 
East of Székesfehérvár, Hungary, 21 December 1944. The Soviet 7th Mechanized Corps was supposed to exploit towards Mór and Várpalota, north-west of Székesfehérvár, once the rifle divisions had taken the city. However, the whole assault had been delayed by German resistance so there was a change in orders. In the morning hours, the 7th Mechanized Corps was sent in the breach opened between Lake Velence and the eastern suburbs of Székesfehérvár despite the global breakthrough had not been achieved, yet. One of the difficulties was that there was only one trafficable road running across the corps sector. Around noon, the Soviet forward detachments left their jump-off positions.

Map config : 

——————   —————54  ——————-
 53————-   ——————  50—————-
 
 
Game length :  16 turns
First turn : 1130
Other: -
Weather = temperature around -1°C to +4°C, sunny, bright sky.
 
German-Hungarian
Elements, 3 Pz Div and 1st Hussar Division. Set up first on board 53. 
6 X Gren            1 X Eng             2 X HMG          1 X Psk             6 X SPW251      6 X PzV
1 X Moebelwagen                       1 X Wespe         1 X Hummel     
 
Reinforcements: enter from the west on turn 1
3 X StuGIIIG      3 X JgPzIV/70    3 X PzV
 
Enter from the east on turn 1 or later.
6 X Inf (Hun)      2 X NHP (Hun)   1 X Pcl (Hun)             1 X 81mm (Hun)             1 X 120mm (Hun)
6 X PzIVH         2 x wagons
 
Leaders: 2 X Cpt, 4 X Lt (German), 2 X Cpt, 3 X Lt (Hun)
Morale: 8/7
Initiative: 3
Off-board artillery: 2 X 16
 
Soviet
Elements, 41st Guard Rifle Division, 63rd Mechanized Brigade & 41st Guards Tank Brigade. Set up second on board 50, at least 4 hexes away from the east edge. All units are Guards unless noted otherwise.
12 X INF           3 X SMG           3 X HMG          3 X ATR           2 X 45mm (RKKA)         2 X 82mm
1 X 120mm        1 X 76.2mm       1 X KMS (RKKA)          5 X wagon (RKKA)                   
 
Reinforcements: enter on turn 1, on the south edge of board 50.
9 X Inf  (RKKA)             2 X SMG (RKKA)          2 X HMG (RKKA)          1 X ATR (RKKA)
2 X M3 (RKKA)             3 X T34C (RKKA)          3 X T34/85 (RKKA)        1 X JS2            
1 X KV-85 (RKKA)        1 X BM13                      1 X KMS (RKKA)          
 
Enter on turn 8, on the south edge of board 50.
6 X T34/85        3 X SMG                     
                       
Leaders: 1 X Major, 3 X Cpt, 5 X Lt, 1 X Sgt (Guards), 1 X Major, 1 X Cpt, 4 X Lt, 3 X tank leader (RKKA)
Morale: 7/7
Initiative: 3
Off-board artillery: 3 X 12, 1 X 18
 
Special rules:
1.     The Axis initiative level is lowered by one for every 6 steps eliminated (AFVs count double, wagons do not count). The Soviet initiative level is lowered by one for every 5 steps eliminated (AFVs count double, wagons do not count).
2.     Visibility. See Day & dusk special rule.
3.     Muddy ground. When there is a natural tie on the die roll for initiative at the beginning of the turn (both players roll the same result before any modifiers are applied), there is Mud Event. Roll one die. On a result of 1 through 2 the event affects the Soviets; on a result of 3 to 6 the event affects German-Hungarian. The player affected then selects one of his AFV unit (not one already Mired) being not in a road or town hex. This vehicle is Mired (See Mire optional rule on page 38).
 
Victory Conditions: The Soviet player has the following objectives:
Objective 1: The Soviet player must control at least 10 town hexes.
Objective 2: The Soviet player must have exited at least 16 unit steps (AFVs count double, wagons do not count) through the north road hex of board 54.
Objective 3: The Soviet player must control all hill hexes of board 54.
 
The Soviet player wins a Minor victory if he reaches at least two objectives.
The Soviet player wins a Major Victory if he reaches 3 objectives.
The Axis player wins a Minor Victory if the Soviet reaches only 1 objective
The Axis player wins a Major Victory if the Soviet player doesn’t reach any objective.
 
Conclusion: The defenders were the gep KG of the 3 Pz Div, split up into small units and thrown into battle in a piecemeal fashion. The forward detachment of the Soviet 63rd Mechanized Brigade started from Dinnyès and attacked along the main highway to Székesfehérvár. At 1400, they captured Kisfalud but they ran into 14 German AFVs blocking the road to Pákozd, on the north-west shore of Lake Velence. Although the tanks were unable to manoeuvre as they were confined to a very small area between the lake and open moorland, the 63rd Mech Brig recaptured Pákozd, destroying 7 German AFVs in the fighting (an AT gun cmdr from 1st Mot Rifle Bat/63rd Mech Brig KOed 6 AFVs with his 45mm AT gun). Next in the line, the forward elements of the 41st Guard Tank Brigade also reached Kisfalud (At 0800, it was at Börgönd Railway station) and, then, swung towards Pt 159, 5.5 km NE of Székesfehérvár. However, it received flanking artillery and tank-gun fire from the city suburbs and was compelled to turn its front line north-westwards. Indeed, the Panthers of 3.Kie and 2. Kie of I./Pz Rgt 6 jumped off following an artillery prep fired by the II.(Sfl)/Pz Art Rgt 75 and moved forward through the vineyards against hill 182 (Csúcsos hill), east of Székesfehérvár. The assault guns of the 5.Kie arriving from right and driving through a depression provided support for them. They engaged the T34/85 and JS-2 tanks. More fighting erupted 300m west of hill 171, in the suburbs. Initially the German counterattack made good progress but, after having covered a distance of 2 km, they were forced to withdraw westwards by the flanking attack of 30 Soviet tanks from a southerly direction. Meanwhile, the Pz IV tanks of the 6. And 7. Kies (II./Pz Rgt 6) started a counterattack against Pákozd from the east, supported by elements of the Hungarian 1st Hussar Division. Although the attack by the Hussars indeed reached the village, they were counterattacked and driven back to Sukoró by the Soviets. At the end of the day, even the Soviet reports noticed the failure of the 7th Mechanized Corps to reach the assigned objectives. The German resistance and the limited opportunities for manoeuvre in the bottleneck between Lake Velence and Székesfehérvár, as well as the insufficiently decisive actions of the Soviet corps, led to a confused situation in which armor spearheads were fighting among infantry and the attack pace was far too slow.
 
When the 5. & 8. Kie of II./Pz Rgt 6 (StugIII and JgPzIV/70) moved out to attack at dawn that day they received fire within 250m of the perimeter of the town. A Panther Kie arrived from the I./Pz Rgt 6 to reinforce them. The PzIV/70 TDs of the 8. Kie launched a counterthrust to the left of the highway.
 
Behind the forward detachment, the main forces of the 41st Gds Tank Brig didn’t move out to attack until 1500 hrs.
 
On 20 Dec, elements of the Soviet 4th Gds Rifle division (2000 men) launched an attack at Dinnyés and broke through the positions manned by Flak-Abt 278 and 153 Feld-Ausbildungs div with ease. The attackers captured Kisfaludimajor and Pákozd. The Soviet troops pressed forward into the area of Pt 182 and 171, 5 km east of Székesfehérvár. A regiment-sized force of the Soviet 4th Gds Rifle Div entered Pákozd and its forward detachment advanced to the forested area (Abajka-erdö) northwest of point 242. At 1400, the Soviets that had broken into Pákozd were counterattacked from a westerly direction by the gep KG of the 23 Pz Div.

[dirk]

Thank you.

[ACav]

Fire & Sword scenario 29. Real action.
Axis reinforcements should enter on the EAST edge (among other changes).

Another nonplaytested scenario published by APL!