Heroes of the Soviet Union Playthrough

[Grumm]

I don't expect to update this regularly, but I thought I'd give a few short descriptions from my playthrough of Heroes of the Soviet Union. These games are played with the 2nd Edition ruleset that comes in the box. By my fourth game (Scenario #6, Grediakino), I had introduced a house rule regarding force-wide morale, which altered the late game results considerably (still undecided whether I like the house rule, but I will keep playtesting it). I would like to submit these as AAR's on the main website, but I am not really sure how to do it!

Game 1, Scenario #16
Red Parachutes: Grigorovka

• I played this scenario solo. This was my very first full scenario that I have ever played with the rules (I've owned the box set for 20 odd years but never given it a proper play until recently, you can read about that experience elsewhere). I used Map #4 as I didn't have Map #2 yet. In the ensuing battle, the German motorcycle troops raced ahead into the small village, taking up defensive positions before the Soviets could reach them. The T-34's roared their engines and swooped around the north and south of the village. To the north, the German 75mm PaK40 (which I had hoped to tow into the village) was forced to unlimber in the open when a company of T-34's came into sight. For the rest of the battle, three platoons of T-34's would fight a protracted gun battle with this lone ATG platoon, which caused two of the T-34 platoons to retreat demoralized and reduced. In the south, a lone T-34 platoon advanced on the Panzer IV F2 in the woodline below the village. Initially, the Panzer platoon caused the southern T-34 to recoil with damage, but the Soviet tank soon returned the favour and the Panzers were retreated deeper into the woods to lick their wounds. Meanwhile, the Soviet infantry attempted a direct assault on the German Kradschützen in the village, but it was to no avail... the Germans had simply gotten the upper hand by taking the village first, and the similar numbers of attackers and defenders decided the outcome of the assault before it had even gotten underway. The Soviet infantry ended up fleeing on foot, alongside several shocked and damaged T-34 platoons. German victory.
  

Game 2, Scenario #9
Gauntlet

• I played this scenario with my daughter. The German infantry battalion deployed around the village with heavier weapons on the hill and the southern edge of the forest, back behind the village. The Soviet cavalry made a concerted push south of the village, causing the Germans to hastily redeploy to catch the cavalry in their net. The 2cm Flak 38 gun rattled from the forest edge along with mortars and HMGs, slowing the enemy cavalry, but even with the heavy snow the Soviets slowly but surely pushed their way closer and closer to their exit on the Western map edge. The scenario ended with five Red Cavalry sneaking off the map edge, with an entire squadron (3 units) stuck by the closing German infantry. Interestingly, the scenario stipulated 5 Soviet Cavalry units escaping as a victory condition, but did not mention steps. Thus there were several reduced cavalry units that propelled the Soviets to victory when they escaped. Despite the death of one of the Soviet leaders, there was no way to stop the Cavalry once they were at the edge of the board, since even troops without leaders could legally move off the board as this was "away from" enemy units. Soviet victory.
  

Game 3, Scenario #5
Kaeter's Counterattack

• I played this scenario solo. I tried to make every use of the Germans mobility (with four trucks) and the diminished visibility in the early morning darkness to get the German infantry into position for an all out assault on the town. The Soviets had deployed infantry in the village and woods with the 45mm ATG in the village and the 76.2mm divisional gun on the road west of the village. The Germans ignored the forest entirely and flanked to the west, despite the danger of the divisional gun. A mobile combat team made up of the Panzer IV F2, the motorcycle platoon and a lorried infantry platoon assaulted the divisional gun position while the remaining German infantry pushed towards the village. A vicious battle in the village ensued, with the German infantry rather miraculously avoiding casualties or demoralization. The Soviets fed forest-based infantry into the village fight and there was a back and forth running assault for several turns. Eventually, an entire Soviet infantry company with HMG platoon and wagon-drawn 45mm ATG arrived and made their way across the snowy ground towards the village (I counted the wagon as a foot unit for the snow movement factor, reasoning that a horse is not really a motorized or mechanized thing). By the end of the battle, the Germans had been finally starting to wear down from considerable casualties and the influx of a stack of fresh Soviet infantry into the village meant that the attack was untenable. Soviet victory.