Fourth Battle of the Chir River (Dec 1942)

Background

On 10 December, the Fourth Panzer Army had begun its drive to relieve the Sixth Army at Stalingrad. Despite being heavily engaged along the Chir, the XLVIII Panzer Korps had the mission to link up with and support the Fourth Panzer Army. To do so, the XLVIII Panzer Korps had to cross the Don. On 15 December, the 11th Panzer Division began moving south toward Nizhna Chirskaya, just below the confluence of the Chir and the Don. On 17 December, Balck’s division was prepared to force a crossing, but the Soviets struck first.

Ignoring the thrust of the Fourth Panzer Army, the Soviets launched a massive blow against the Italian Eighth Army farther north along the Don. The Soviet drive threatened to cut off Rostov, at the mouth of the Don on the Azov Sea. Such a move would have isolated Field Marshal Ewald von Kleist’s Army Group A in the Caucasus. Manstein was forced to draw heavily from the Fourth Panzer Army to defend Rostov, and that sealed the fate of the Sixth Army in Stalingrad.

(http://www.11thpanzer.com/dsp_balck.htm)

Situation:

It is December 1942 and the German 6th Army has been surrounded at Stalingrad desperately needs relief from whatever forces are available. Units of the German XXXVIIIth Panzer corps, including the 11th Panzer Division, after being defeated at the Chir River Bridgeheads, are falling back to prepared positions near State Farm 79 to reorganize for another attempt at the breakthrough.  The Soviets are attempting to destroy the elements of the German blocking forces stopping any hope of relief of Stalingrad.

The Game

Scenario Special Rules: 

1. The game play is  edge to edge. The Germans deploy along the entire length of the table about half of the way on the table, with the Soviets marching onto their edge of the table.
2. The ground is now considered to be frozen with packed snow, normal movement for all vehicles and infantry.
3. Due to limited visibility, no air power is allowed.
4. Use a modified weather rule. The game starts in light snow, which gives all units concealment. Every turn, on a roll of 5+ the snow turns to heavy snow, which acts like night. After that any roll of 5+ turns it back to light snow, and so forth.
5. Two German players each receive 1750 points to build from Panzergrenadier based units in East Front.
6. Three Russian players each receive 1200 points to build Tank or Motostrelk based units from East Front.
7. Each German player was allowed one unit in ambush.
8. Due to the short Winter Days, the game length was only 10 turns.
9. Russians are limited to T-34, T-60 or T-70.  Russians may only have 1 T-34 for each 2 T-60/70.
10. Set up five Domination style objectives on the table (one in each of the two villages; one on a hillock in the German Center and one each at the exit points on the two roads, for a total five possible objectives).

Forces:

The Soviets consisted of Motostrelk infantry battalions, with 45mm ATG and 76mm artillery in support. One had a small T-34 Company and the other two had T-70 companies. The Russian units were rated Fearless Conscript.

The Germans consisted of dismounted Panzergrenadier Companies with mortar, infantry gun, medium ATGs and an 88mm Battery. The German units were rated as Confident Veterans.

Game Narrative:

The game depicted the subsequent actions by 11^th Panzer Division against elements of the Russian 5^th Tank Army. General Balck planned to assault the Russian Bridgeheads in mid-December in order to join the 4^th Panzer Army’s Drive towards Stalingrad, but was diverted when the Russians attacked the adjoining Italian 8^th Army’s positions. This game was a counter factual “what if” the Germans failed to take the Soviet bridgeheads and had to defend against further attacks.

The Soviet strategy was to flank the German right flank and to seize the lightly defended German center. The Soviet right flank just attempted to pin the German left.  The Germans just tried to contest all the objectives and hold on!

During the first several turns, the German right flank was able to destroy Tony’s Zis-3 battery in quick succession, but let Tony’s tanks flank his position and charge his forward line. On Turn Three, heavy snow started to fall, allowing the Frontikis to close in on the 88mm battery in the Center. As much as the Germans tried to barrage the Russian center troops back, the position fell, giving the Soviets one Objective. In subsequent turns, the Russian left flank was able to crush the German right flank and sweep around, taking a second Objective. The Germans remaining troops tried desperately to hold onto the village in the German right.

Meanwhile, after heavy artillery bombardment, The Soviet forces on the right and center assaulted the German right flank, resulting in a crazy fur ball of charge and countercharge. A company of T-70’s fell victim to a German ambush, while the other T-70’s ran into a German AT defenses.

By the end of Turn Five, the battle had reached a crescendo.  The German right company routed (giving the Soviets their third Objective), while the German left were stubbornly hanging on to two Objectives. The game ended at the end of Turn 5) when it was apparent that the Germans were not going to be able to take back any of the lost objectives. The Game Master declared the game to be a complete counter factual Russian victory. Now the Russians will be able to rupture the German defenses and possibly liberate the entire Eastern Ukraine!

– Manteuffel