This is my first play in the Fire in the Steppe module. Scenario one, Children of Vienna, pits German forces of the 44th Infantry Division (formerly the Austrian 4th Division, ‘Hoch und Deutschmeister’) against the Soviet 87th Rifle Division. I chose to start with this scenario as I have always had a deep admiration of the Austrians in PG (Hopeless but not Serious is my favorite PG expansion). The initial reconnaissance consisted of two squadrons of cavalry entering on the first turn on the western edge. I deployed them in three stacks of two, each under the command of either a Captain or one of two Lieutenants. They advanced down the road that crosses between two wooded areas, where the Soviets had deployed their starting forces, consisting of two companies of infantry, supported by a HMG platoon and a 45mm ATG. Let me start by stating that the Soviet leaders randomly selected by the PG-HQ Impartial Leader Selection tool were abysmal. Of the 8 leaders selected, only two provided modifiers (a 10-1-1 Captain, and a 7-0-1 LT). Soviet leadership at this early period was shockingly poor. Lady luck played a huge role in this scenario as Soviet opportunity fire was ineffective to say the least. The cavalry recon, emboldened by two rounds of desultory fire from the Soviets occupying the tree line, closed to the adjacent hex in preparation for an assault. On the fourth turn, as the bulk of the German forces arrived, the cavalrymen closed with the Soviet border guards and dispersed them entirely. Each assault produced a result of a morale check, which the poorly led Soviets were unable to withstand. With the Soviets fleeing deeper into the woods, the road was clear for a rapid German advance to the target town. Lady Luck would further influence matters. The scenario begins at 0900. The Soviets roll for their reinforcements at the beginning of each turn. On a 4-6, the reinforcements would appear on the eastern edge of the map. The reinforcements would not arrive until the 1130 game turn. ELEVEN turns passed before the Soviets reinforcements would arrive. BY the time their reinforcements arrived, the Germans were fully ensconced in the town, occupying all hexes with fire stacks in place, and mortars deployed. The Soviets deployed as best they could, and bravely advanced to reclaim their town, but they attacked into a ready and prepared defense. German fire stacks ripped into the ranks of Soviets as they advanced. Opportunistic fire by the German mortars against the Soviet truck bearing the 45mm ATG resulted in them becoming demoralized and separated. Devastatingly accurate concentrated artillery fire from the dedicated 3x16 OBA shredded the Soviet formation. The Soviets were so battered and dispersed in their initial advance that the Germans gleefully shifted back to the offensive. The Germans would systematically reduce the Soviets, advancing behind the artillery wall, engaging with fire stack at 2 hex range, and then assaulting the demoralized Soviets stacks. The end of the game found the remaining Soviets, demoralized and shocked, cowering in the fields to the southeast. The German cavalry in this scenario is very weak (3-2 at full strength), but their morale (8-6), coupled with outstanding leadership, allowed them to prosecute a battle of attrition with the screening force they engaged at the start. A seesaw battle in the woods to the west finally saw the destruction of the Soviet ‘at-start’ forces, although at a cost of 7 steps of German cavalry. The butcher’s bill at the end of the battle tallied 7x steps of German cavalry (3 of which were the result of friendly artillery fire) and 1x step of German infantry (also due to friendly fire). The entire Soviet force was destroyed, save for a reduced company of infantry, a 9-0-0 Captain and a 6-0-0 Lieutenant. The Germans met 2 of 3 victory conditions, and had to settle for a minor victory despite the slaughter inflicted on the Bolshevik horde. The Soviets were able to retreat their 3x remaining platoons to positions astride the east-west road which negated a German victory condition. Another couple of turns would have seen their destruction as well. I may have to play this scenario again just to give the Soviets a chance to bring their reinforcements on earlier. Had they been able to occupy the town first, the Germans would have had a much tougher fight on their heads, as they would have had to clear the streets. I don’t think the Soviets could have held out forever, but they certainly would have given the Germans a bloody nose for their efforts, rather than the unopposed advance experienced in this scenario. I rate the scenario as a 4 based on what could have been. If we had partial values, I would have rated this a 3.5.

Author	cjsiam (Soviet Union)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Soviet Union
Participants	Dan Storm
Play Date	2018-09-08
Language	English
Scenario	FitS001

The Russian, fearing that being caught outside the town would only result in step loss, without significant delay, set up on the center map seam with the units assigned to Map 6. The AT gun, and the remaining two infantry set up outside the town to the north/south Dug-In….the HMG set up in town.

The Austrians Cavalry swept in from the northern part of the board, and started calling in the off-board artillery as soon as they could see the units fleeing back to the town, or set up in it.

The Soviets rolled for reinforcements—4-6 every turn—and got it on the first roll….and that saved them I think. They reinforcements immediately headed for the town, set up machine guns on west facing perimeter and started digging in infantry on either side of the town.

The Austrians on Turn four swept in from the west, moved along the road at full speed, and immediately started to surround the town. Most of the infantry came at the town from the west, but a battalion (6platoons) and cavalry came around the forest to approach from the north.

There were frantic attempts to thwart the Cavalry by Russians in the Woods to the north of town, to no avail—too many Austrians, not enough Russians.

The Austrian 48pts off-board was disheartening…no stack could survive long in the open, and only through great luck in the town.

As the Austrians came in the Soviet Mortars tried to slow them down to little effect….the Austrian HMG groups started hurting the Dug-in units…soon the Austrian infantry was assaulting them, and the Cavalry getting some licks in as well. The Russian Machine guns caused the Austrians to try and avoid full stacks…which might have allowed the Russians to survive a little longer.

Soon enough, all Russians out side of the town had been eliminated, and the town was a bristling hedgehog of Machine Guns, Infantry, AT Gun and mortars….Trying desperately to stay only 2 combat units in any visible hex---with the 48 artillery in the area—it was a death sentence to over-stack.

The last 6-7 turns were up close and personal firefights with the Austrians adjacent to the Russians just outside the town hexes. The Austrian commanders negating significant amounts of damage received with Morale check help, or quick recovery. Russian unit Disruption and Demoralization continued and being in the town, or being able to retreat to the center to avoid fire, were all the Russians could do to try and withstand the firepower applied.

Starting about 5 turns out from the end the Austrians started assaulting into the town…in the first assaults they occupied 4 of 7 hexes. And here the game started to swing. Rolls of No effect, or amazing recoveries kept the Austrians and Russians engaged…. The Austrians started clearing the hexes…the Russians had no where to go when being forced to Flee assault hexes on numerous occasions.

Finally, in the last Turns the Austrians could not remove the Russians…they were battered and Disrupted mostly---but they were not eliminated. The Russians made a desperate dash to get to the edge of the town with an HMG and the Major—abandoning their comrades in the center Assaulted hex. This allowed the Russians to have a unit adjacent to the east-west road---and prevent the full capture of the Town….

Resulting in a very surprising Minor Soviet Victory---which surprised us both and was not clear on how it was going to go until just about the last two turns… Some dramatic swings—great successes unexpected, and expectations dashed of major assaults or bombardments. CITIES are hard.

Very enjoyable game—I, as Russian, expected to be crushed much sooner. The town’s protection and ability to recover in the center of the town—out of sight where I could be—helped more then expected. We learned a lot about coordination and process. Town attacks are going to be an issue in the future…as Dan said “They used to call them Sieges”….I can see why.

Author	J6A (Soviet Union)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany
Participants	unknown
Play Date	2020-12-30
Language	English
Scenario	FitS001

This was a great scenario to play to teach a new player the ropes, and to get more experience with VASSAL. My opponent was Terry Simo, it was his first play except for the games needed for VASSAL Academy. The game took us 8.5 months to play via PbEM, although there were a few lulls caused by me being a bum.

The Germans basically split their force into 2 groups, sending a smaller one north of the woods, and the cavalry and the main body through the woods, trying to push back the Russia front screen. My idea with the Russians was to just use those front troops to delay the Germans, and to get some troops onto the hill to make it a more defensible spot and guard the road. The Soviet reinforcements came in relatively early, and I quickly set about fortifying the town and sending a force into the woods just north and west of the town to cause casualties and to threaten to get behind the Germans. At least, this was the plan.

Things fell apart fairly quickly for the Russians. I had no leaders with morale modifiers, so I was stuck with the 7/6 morale. The front screen gave some resistance, however they were quickly overwhelmed. I got troops onto the hill and dug them in, only to see them all Demoralize at the first opportunity and run screaming for the east edge (never recovering until they were eventually hunted down by German cavalry). The force in the woods near the town did a little better, inflicting a few casualties, and even there they didn't last long until most of them fled to the town.

The Germans put the town under siege, pounding it with 48 point artillery shots each turn, and setting up 3 hexes away to be out of range of everything except the Soviet HMGs which were only firing on the 4 column, and slowly wearing down the defenders. Meanwhile, I could not seem to roll a recovery roll to save my life. I mean, in a town a full strength guy recovers on a 7 or less!

Finally, around turn 20, the Germans started to move into town. It was at this point the Soviets realized they hadn't taught there soldiers to aim well, as I was able to cause very little damage to the Germans storming the village. Intense fighting lasted up until the final turn of the scenario, with more Soviets dying each turn from either straight casualties, fleeing melees, or compound demoralization, and finally on the last turn the Germans eliminated the last Soviet resistance in the town (a reduced HMG) to claim the victory. The Germans lost about 6 steps, the Soviets 32 or so. The poor Soviet morale and lack of competent leadership hurt them immensely, which the Germans had good morale and good leadership. Pretty typical of 1941.

A good scenario, the Russian does have more options than just sitting waiting for the town assault, and it is likely that the battle will really come down to who takes the town. The Germans just outclass the Soviets too heavily in an open field battle. With no special rules, this was also a good intro to the game for Terry. And now we've started Scenario 2!

Author	Schoenwulf (Germany)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany
Participants	Daedalus
Play Date	2021-09-22
Language	English
Scenario	FitS001

As the battle began, the Soviets set up with the HMG and two infantry platoons in the northwest woods, and four other infantry units covering the central road. The 45mm unit was left in the town. All of the German cavalry entered on the north flank except for a Lt. and two platoons moving east along the central road. The Soviets received all their reinforcements on Turn 1, and they moved to the town along the main road. All of the initial skirmishes occurred in the northwest woods, with the Soviets losing three steps early. The German reinforcements that entered on Turn 4 and tracked the two paths of the cavalry units. The Germans eventually took control of both Soviet flanks, leaving a few disheartened Soviets in the woods. After a few bombardments and close skirmishes, the Germans conducted a pincer movement assaulting the town, where the majority of the remaining Soviet units had concentrated, from both north and south. There was an additional cavalry charge from the East on the Soviet artillery in the town. The remaining Soviet units in the northwest woods recovered over time and occupied three hexes adjacent to the road at game end. Meanwhile the Germans had eliminated 27 Soviet steps to only five lost by them, so the victory rested on town control. On the last turn, the Germans had finally demoralized the Soviet units there and had an extra initiative which was used for an assault hex bombardment. Their units survived while both demoralized Soviet units were eliminated, which finally cleared the town and handed a last second minor victory to the Germans.

The Russians set up with most troops forward in the woods covering the road with the intent to delay the German troops from getting to the town. This was to allow the reinforcing Russian infantry to get into the town and attempt to hold it until the end of the game. The rest set up in the woods out side of town to slow any attempt by the cavalry to go directly for the town.

The Austrian cavalry skirted the woods to the north while the infantry marched to clear out the woods and open the road. The cavalry engaged Russian infantry n the woods out side of Ivaniv while the infantry simply rolled up the Russians along the road. By noon all the woods were clear and the Schutzen marched on Ivaniv. It took until 14:45 to clear out the town after heavy fighting. The Germans suffered some casualties but the Russians were almost wiped out.

Although this is a tough one for the Russians, it reflects well the hard time the Russians had on the first fateful day of Operation Barbarossa where they simply sent troops forward without artillery and coordination in a forlorn attempt to block the German advance

At 26 turns, it turns out (see what I did there?)you have plenty of time to employ multiple approaches to the town, through the woods and around both sides of the woods flanking the East-West road. The horse riders give you just enough increased range to make the use of three avenues of advance not only possible, but pretty easy. Add in the OBA for the Germans, and the Soviets stand very little chance. A few good die rolls made for a couple of Red high points, but in the end, the Germans easily secured a decisive win.

I gave some consideration to a defense in the woods: that is, bring on the Soviets and force an in-woods infantry battle, hoping to infiltrate units onto the road by game end. I felt this was contra-indicated by: (i) no RKKA OBA support; (ii) the victory conditions; and (iii) the superior town hex advantages vis-a-vis assault e.g. -2 col shift defending (note that this cancels the +1 LDR and +1 morale shifts); +1 to morale recovery).

Initial Set-up:

Board 06: LT 8-0-0 + 2xINF in 1005; CPT 9-0-0 + 2xINF 1110; 1xINF 0714.

Board 04: HMG in 0811; INF in 0810; 45mm in 1112.

The soviet units blocking the road on Board 06 started digging in, but the Heer cavalry was able to spot them to bring in disrupting OBA. These units moved into a woods hex. Otherwise, cavalry recons to the north and along the road. Cav assaults against the lone soviet INF takes x3 turns. Soviet reinforcements arrive on TURN 2, drawing the 9-1-1 MAJ and a 10-1-1 CPT. Stalinists fill the town over next few turns: the MAJ can sit in the center with units filling the full perimeter - the x3 HMGs oriented to cover the road approach and the south. The wagon pulls the other 45mm gun to join the on-board one.

On Turn #8, those 2x45's pull a classic 2d6 = 2 on OF.

Turn #12, last soviet unit on Board 06 eliminated. German mortars had set up to self-spot "spotted" town hexes so as to deliver 12-col bombardments (from the 16 factors). OBA was a marginal factor: the combination of -2 town shifts and the MAJ who could boost the entire town's defense made BF degredation difficult: but, still, it only took one decent hit, followed by a better DF "softening" to get that one "crack" that brought the Germans into contact.

By Turn #14, first assault against the town. By Turn #19, five separate assaults were ongoing. By Turn #21, two assaults; On Turn #23, Stalinist resistance had ended.

The RKKA defended and recovered -- there was no reason at all to take the offensive. As always with protracted unban assaults, there were turns of meh (rolls of 6-8); turns where the Russians on a lower col rolled "better," but the Germans simply had sufficient strong leaders and units that could cycle into the assaults (pull the DIS ones out, pull in fresh; recover the DIS one's and rinse/repeat. Finally, the dice would favor the Heer and once the DEM's began to flee or take compound demoralizations and the defense would crack and falter.

So not the most exciting scenario from a maneuver point-of-view, but the timing seems well done ... the Germans have time to win (obviously), but they cannot afford to dawdle. Use of the cavalry was fun: they were excellent for spotting, pursuit of fleeing units, and even a couple of CAV assaults; but, with +1 for OF and +1 vs CAV, moving around a town with 7-4 HMG's made for some scary shots. I'll have to say that the CAV rolled consistently well vs. morale checks.

I had a feeling that this might initially be a contentious battle with the only German troops being the Austrian cavalry. It was for a few turns but then he rout was on. The road through the forest needed to be taken and held in order for the infantry reinforcements to be able to make it to the town with enough time to clear it - so the cavalry went right up the road until they ran into Russian infantry and HMG platoons laying in wait in the woods around a corner. The cavalry had difficulty initially but after a couple of turns of artillery bombardments the Russian defenders were either disrupted, demoralized or reduced. They were quickly eliminated via direct fire and assaults. The German reinforcements were able to move right up the road and into positions in front of the town while the cavalry attacked and defeated Russian infantry laying in wait in the forest near the town. They were quickly dealt with as were the infantry in the town, via artillery and assault, until the sparse remnants of the Russian forces fled the town to avoid certain death. Losses were 6 steps for the Germans and 31 for the Russians - not having artillery support while being hammered themselves made this a rout.