Ways to Victory Polish Steel #2 |
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(Attacker) Poland | vs | Soviet Union (Attacker) |
Formations Involved | ||
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Poland | 1st Armoured Division | |
Soviet Union | 18th Mechanized Division |
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Overall Rating, 1 vote |
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3
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Scenario Rank: --- of 940 |
Parent Game | Polish Steel |
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Historicity | Alt-History |
Date | 1948-07-02 |
Start Time | 08:00 |
Turn Count | 30 |
Visibility | Day |
Counters | 184 |
Net Morale | 1 |
Net Initiative | 1 |
Maps | 4: 10, 24, 4 |
Layout Dimensions | 112 x 43 cm 44 x 17 in |
Play Bounty | 211 |
AAR Bounty | 171 |
Total Plays | 1 |
Total AARs | 1 |
Battle Types |
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Inflict Enemy Casualties |
Road Control |
Urban Assault |
Conditions |
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Off-board Artillery |
Randomly-drawn Aircraft |
Scenario Requirements & Playability | |
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Battle of the Bulge | Maps |
Cassino '44 | Counters |
Eastern Front | Maps |
Elsenborn Ridge | Maps |
Iron Curtain | Counters |
Polish Steel | Base Game |
Road to Berlin | Counters |
Introduction |
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The successful Polish breakout from Wilhelmshaven drew immediate support from Allied air forces stationed outside Germany. Ground attack aircraft kept the Red Army busy while Polish 1st Armoured Division exploited the breach and moved south toward the regional rail and road hub at Oldenburg. It was on the roads north Oldenburg that the Polish tanks met there first serious armored opposition from the Red Army. |
Conclusion |
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Polish 1st Armoured Division was an elite division in 1945, and would still have been very effective formation when re-constituted three years later. The Polish division did not engage in any tank battles on the scale of the Eastern Front, but Stanislaw Maczek had trained his unit for all possibilities and the Poles would have been more ready for the challenge. |
AFV Rules Pertaining to this Scenario's Order of Battle |
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2 Errata Items | |
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Scen 2 |
The required aircraft counters were not included. See the AP website for downloadable replacements. (Shad
on 2010 Dec 01)
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The reduced direct fire value in Kursk: Burning Tigers is 4-4. (plloyd1010
on 2015 Jul 31)
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All Ways to Victory |
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OK, let's be honest. The Poles simply cannot lose this one. The initial rush to position will give the Soviets a 2 point lead but after that, if the Polish just sit still and use their air and artillery to punish the Soviets they will probably cause enough lost steps to win the game. But that's no fun. If the Poles, on the other hand, actually decide to fight it gets quickly worse. These are Workers and Peasants Army tanks and therefore do not have efficiency and the Centurions will eat them up. The large infantry force has a morale of 7/6 and is therefore in a deficit against full strength Poles. If the Poles do not push the attack beyond their ability to hold what they have taken they will win. Having said that, I must admit that for well beyond the point at which the outcome was known I enjoyed the play. The Poles will have a heck of a time pushing the Soviets back as they are just so darn many of them. A hit on a Soviet tank will most likely remove the tank from consideration for a long time (that darn "6" morale), but then again a hit on a Polish tank will cause a similar hiatus. As a result, although it is riskier, the Poles must look to their infantry to clear the way. Lose too much infantry and your advance halts. My Poles ran out of offensive capability at about the 22nd turn as they were taking the town on board 4. The Poles at that point had something like a 70 point lead in VPs so victory wasn't at stake. Victory, however, in the strategic sense would have required more than just wearing the Soviets down to a nub. I would have expected something more dramatic required of the Poles. The victory conditions on the Indians in Indian Unity, where there are several objectives and the level of victory depends on acheiving a number of them might be a better choice for this one. If you win as the Soviets chances are that you were able to enter the board, dig in, and avoid the Polish air force. I give it a "3" as it was fun to play, but can't go any higher as the Victory Conditions are way too skewed. As a meeting engagement it is enjoyable in any format. |
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