General Situation – Major Russian attacks have occurred on the Central Sector of the Eastern Front. Russian breakthroughs have occurred, with their armor leading the exploitation. The result if this Russian has fragmented almost all of the defending Infantry Divisions of army Group Center. This has created a situation where individual and separated infantry regiments are attempting to hold back the Russian onslaught.
Russian Forces – Russian forces are attempting to exploit the destruction of Army Group Center by strong attacks with Tank Armies. A serious problem is the attack of the 3rd Russian Tank Army south of Minsk.
German Forces – In the area south of Minsk, the German 123rd Infantry Regiment is attempting to hold the line of the Daugava River. It is not known how many effective battle units still function with the 123rd Infantry, but it is known that the 123rd is alone in its attempt to hold the river line.
Mission – The 5th Panzer Division has been moved into the area west of the Daugava River. The division is to defend this river line by means of a mobile defense. The 123rd Infantry Regiment is attached to the 5th Panzer Division for this mission. The 5th Panzer Division will use all the elements of the 31st Panzer Regiment, 4th Panzer Infantry Regiment and 116th Panzer Artillery Regiment to accomplish the mission.
Terrain: The battlefield was intersected with a major meandering river running from edge to edge. Several roads crisscrossed the table along with a number of wooded areas on both sides of the river.
Scenario Special Rules:
- Play was side to side using a variation of the template map in the magazine.
- All units were built from the scenario OOB. Even though the scale of the units in the scenario was different (one stand/vehicle = one platoon), we decided to use the same number of stands and vehicles except to double the Russian tanks. All unit specifications were taken from the Barbarossa Book.
- Victory for the Russians: Major – if they could exit organized units off the opposite side of the board; minor – establish a beachhead over the river: German – Prevent the Russians from achieving their objectives.
- Like the previous WD based game, all the defending 123rd German IR units began hidden on the board.
- All of both sides units were pre-programmed as for where and when the reserves would appear on the board.
- To complicate the game even further, the Game Master invoked a special rule that each unit had initial orders of where they were to move or not. If you wanted to change their orders, you had to roll a successful Skill Test.
- The river crossing involved two methods. There were three intact bridges or using a bridging unit of engineers that could construct the bridge when they successfully rolled six Skill Tests.
- There was no air power in this scenario.
- The Russians received the first move.
The Game:
Russian Forces: Russian forces included elements of the Soviet 8th Tank Brigade (four 8 T-34 Tank Companies, an SMG Platoon, and recce) and 27th Motorized Infantry Brigade (three SMG armed infantry Companies with attached HMGs 45mm AT guns and several ATR stands. Also attached were elements of Corps Artillery with three 76mm towed guns and eight SU-85s. All Soviet units were rated as Confident Trained.
German Forces: A German Kampfgruppe (four Panthers, two platoons of three PZ IVHs and a company of Panzergrenadier troops, STuG-IIIs, Marder IIIs and a few artillery attached. All German units were rated Confident Veteran.
Narrative:
On Turn One, the Russian T-34 company and an infantry platoon on the far left to threaten the bridge therem with a Rota Recce platoon with their M3 White Scout Cars on the far right opposite one of the other bridges. Also deployeds SU-85s in the center as a base of fire. The German 123rd deployed in the woods in front of the Russians. All six of STuGs faced the T-34s on the left at short range and quickly destroyed three and bailed two more.
Over the next couple of turns, the Russians tried to cram an additional T-34 company with infantry next to the Rota troops, which engaged the German platoon opposite them. Both sides lost several stands in the swirling fight.
By Turn Four, the German reserves started flowing on the table. Panzergrenadiers on his right and the Panzer Company on his left. The Russians finally cleared the woods next to the bridge, but was unable to press across the bridge in the face of the Panzers. The T-34 Company finally lost its last tank, but not after taking three of the STuGs with them.
Over the next few turns, The Russians managed to crush the center German Grenadier Platoon in a wild fight with the Panzerschrecks and Panzerfausts. With the Panzer Company lying in wait across the river, The Russians started to shift his remaining forces towards the stubborn STuG nest.
The remaining Russians aggressively used the Soviet reserves to assault and wipe out the remaining German forces east of the river, and thus Soviet honor was saved. However, they took losses doing it, as some tanks fell to long range Panzer fire and others were hit by bombardments. Added to the earlier Soviet losses, about 70% of the Soviet tanks were out of action, along with 40% of the Soviet infantry. The German mobile reinforcements west of the river were untouched, so a river crossing was out of the question.
The game ended in a complete German victory.
– Manteuffel