Author |
Schoenwulf
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Method |
Solo |
Victor |
Soviet Union |
Play Date |
2016-12-01 |
Language |
English |
Scenario |
LioF005
|
On the morning of January 3, 1940, Finnish guerilla units of the P-1 Sissi Battalion attacked Soviet units of the 44th Motorized Rifle Division in an attempt to retake control of the Raate Road, a critical supply thoroughfare for the Soviets. By 0845, two motti had been formed, one on the east road between the two wooded areas, and another in the south woods; both surrounded Soviet machine gun units. The south woods were cleared by 0930, but the east road remained an issue as the battle shifted to the woods north of the road and Soviet reinforcements entered the fray. As the Sissi from the south moved to the road east of the village, they were intercepted by two T-26 platoons in a combined arms group. By noon, the road had been cleared through both AT fire and assault, and the Soviet forces in the woods to the northeast along the road that had been holding out there were finally cleared. The Finnish forces moved quickly to the village, but Soviet AT, mortar and infantry units led by both Captain Teranovitch and Kommissar Kucherov fought on until 01345, at which point the skirmish ended in a Soviet victory.
This is a challenging scenario for the Sissi, as they must clear all Soviet units from within three hexes of the east/west road to win; otherwise, it is a Soviet victory. Basically, this means that Soviet forces must be eliminated so that they are unable to slip back and get near the road. A Finnish victory was possible, but the resilience of the Soviet forces blocking the road and in the woods to the east slowed the Finnish advance. In addition, six Soviet units had dug in blocking the road west of the village, and those still needed to be cleared after the village. The final analysis is that the Finns must move quickly to destroy the numerous Soviet units, which is a tall order that calls for some die roll success. In this playthrough, the Soviet units (with a morale of 7/6) showed remarkable recovery, which called for repeated attacks and assaults, slowing the Finns. Thus, a Soviet victory was achieved despite the disparity in step losses: 3 for the Finnish (with all units still in play) versus 37 for the Soviets.
NOTE: This scenario was played using updates and corrections from the PG-HQ site contributed by plloyd1010, rerathbun, and Shad. Maps and Soviet units from Eastern Front were used, and Finnish units were from Arctic Front Deluxe. It was played with 4th Edition rules.
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