This is game 2 in my Operation Citadel campaign.
July 7, 1943, elements of Grossdeutschland advanced on Syrtsevo which was held by elements of 10th Motor Brigade, 1st (?) Motor Brigade, 90th Guards Rifle Division, and 112th Tank Brigade. Or at least that's what the internet told me.
I'll let the pictures tell the story -ish.
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Two Soviet SMG units, an AT unit, and a mortar unit have taken positions in and around the village. Meanwhile, the Grossdeutschland Recon battalion observes the village from the hill. |
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| Usual close up sot. The Germans are Matchbox, the armored car is 32x or one of those brands. |
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| II/PanzerGrenadier arrives opposite the Soviet tank unit. |
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| Stug battalion in the house. II/PzG leave their vehicles in order to make use of the woods for cover. |
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| Same turn (3) two Panzer IV battalions arrive on the hill South East of the village. The Tiger company arrived shortly after. |
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| A bit of a log jam on GD's right. |
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| Soviets hold on the village despite shelling and an assault by the Stug battalion. |
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| A battalion of Pz IV from 3rd Panzer Division arrives on the left to offset the loss of one of GD's Pz battalions.The Soviets are being squeezed. |
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| A collapse on the Soviet right opens the door for GD to enter the village.With remaining units in bad shape and outnumbered by the Germans, the Soviet HQ concedes the village and orders the village abandoned. |
Some Notes:
Changing the scenario so that both sides arrived piecemeal made for a much more interesting battle. I can't be sure, but I think it helped to break up the scrum I ran into in previous plays of this scenario.
The Tiger company was only given two Hit Points/Strength Points to reflect it's company size, but could only be hit on 6s, and still had saving roll.
Here's the map I created for the table - I stole the general layout of the roads from someone else on the web, and I can't find it now. If I do, i"ll update this with a link:
My grid is 6 inch squares, so the total space is 3' x 4'.
For campaign points:
- GD held the village for the win: 2 points.
- GD eliminated 60% of the Soviet force: 3 points.
- Soviets eliminated 25% of the German force: 1 point
Total in the campaign now is: GD: 9 to Soviets: 5.
I bet the Morschauser type mechanics improved the game. I just had the first of two 32 X German Mortar teams I got on eBay. Now I’m puzzling out how to base them.
ReplyDeleteFor the 32x mortars, I opted to use only two of the three crew members - one standing, one kneeling. When i used three inch bases, I put all three on there - PVA held them in place well enough (although now i just use blue tack).
DeleteI broke all of my German 32X mortars. I'm using the BMC mortars now (despite their ridiculous angle - they can be "broken" to be a little better) as they are more durable for my clumsy self.
The Soviets are in trouble! Nice action John.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maudlin Jack! I'm surprised the Germans actually won this so handily. Dice which had been hot for them during play tests of the scenario, suddenly went cold. When they finally started hitting, it was too late.
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