Background
From 9-11 December, the 11th Panzer Division fought a series of running battles, successively eliminating Soviet bridgeheads across the Chir. The division continually marched at night, fighting during the day, using speed, surprise and shock actions. Balck issued only verbal orders to his regimental commanders, either by radio or face to face, and continually positioned himself at critical points of any action.
Late on 11 December, the Soviets made two more major penetrations into the sector of the XLVIII Panzer Korps. After another night march, the 11th Panzer Division attacked the flank of one of the Soviet penetrations at Lissinski. Once that threat was defeated, Balck moved his division 15 miles to the northwest and attacked the Soviet bridgehead at Nizhna Kalinovski.
(http://www.11thpanzer.com/dsp_balck.htm)
Situation: It is December 1942; the German 6th Army has been surrounded at Stalingrad and desperately needs relief from whatever forces are available. Units of the German XXXVIIIth Panzer corps, including the 11th Panzer Division, continue to counterattack Russian forces that have broken through the Chir River defenses and force elements of the Russian 5th Tank Army back.
The Game
The game depicted the subsequent actions by 11th Panzer Division against elements of the Russian 5th Tank Army. General Balck used his force of Panzergrenadiers and supporting arms to pin the front of the Russians, while using Panzer Regt 15 to attack the Russians from the rear. Victory for the Germans was to destroy the elements of the Russian blocking forces or clear the road in the Russian rear, for a major victory. The Russian objective was to hold their positions and maintain the line of communications to the rear.
Scenario Special Rules:
- Ground is frozen and snow covered, Normal movement for tracked vehicles, slow going for other vehicles. Normal movement for infantry.
- Since the ground is frozen, units can start the game in dug-in positions. However, dug in positions are only shallow fox holes, so all firepower rolls are increased by one against dug in units.
- No units can dig in during the game as the ground is frozen.
- Due to limited visibility, no air power is allowed.
- Germans are limited to a maximum of six (6) PZ IV F2s total, the remainder of German tanks are PZ IIs and III(L).
- The Germans receive 2500 points to build 11th Panzer Division based units. The Germans have an option to reserve 500 of those points as a flanking force in the Russian rear. The German player is given an additional supplemental Grenadier company (540 points) as another flanking force.
- The Russians receives 1500 points to build a Motostrelk based units, augmented by anti-tank units. Russian KV-1s and T-70s are allowed as delayed reserves.
- The game starts at dawn, so night rules are in play. Due to the short Winter Days, the game length is 10 turns.
Set Up:
Instead of one large game, we played two separate games using the above scenario rules. The game play divided into two battlefields, both mirror images of each other. The Russians deployed in and around two villages, while the Germans deployed in the center of the two tables attacking towards the outer edges. The German units were rated as Confident Veterans.
Forces:
The Germans on Table 1 consisted of a dismounted Panzergrenadier Company with AT and light gun support on board. In addition, they had a 105mm batteries off board (over the volga) supporting the Pzgr Company and another 1o5mm batter supporting the grenadier company.
The German forces on Table 2 consisted of a Gepanzert Panzer Pioneer Company, with a StufIII section and PxKwIIIL platoon in support. The PzPios were supported by an offboard 105mm Nebelwerver battery (six launchers) and one 105mm howitzer battery supporting the Grenadier Company. The German units were rated as Confident Veterans.
The Russian had identical force organizations on both tables. Each force consisted of Motostrelk infantry, with ATRs, 45mm AT guns, 76mm Artillery and 120mm mortars on board. The reserves (delayed) consisted of a seven tank KV-1 and T-70 companies in reserve. The Russian units were rated Fearless Conscript.
Game Narrative:
On Table 1, The Germans elected to use their Panzergrenadiers in a dismounted pinning attack on the Russian line, while counting on the flanks forces to envelope the Russians. Unfortunately, the Russian deployed in forward defenses on a reverse slope. This allowed them to clear all German artillery observers and then gun down any forces trying to come forward. The German pinning attack was heavily attrited in the attack losing both of his infantry platoons and supporting units. Further, the Russian reserves arrived before the German flanking units and were able to pin them down with their substantial number of tanks, then ground them down with superior firepower. The game over by Turn 7, with a total Soviet victory.
On Table 2, the Germans relied the protection of their 251 halftracks in hull down positions to poor heavy firepower into the Soviet units. This was supported by STuG IIIs and Nebelwerfer fire that was able to strip away the Soviet guns. The PZ IIIs and infantry were used to destroy the suportting soviet heavy mortars and pin the reserve KVs and T-70s from aiding the front lines. The Russians were only able to destroy a couple of the German halftracks over the course of the exchange. On Turns 5 through 7, the Germans launched a series of close assaults, obliterating the Russian front line, but losing the STuGs in the exchange. Having lost their heavier AT guns, the Russians had to maneuver the ATR stands to gain shots, sacrificing their dug-in status, which allowed the Germans to mop them up rather quickly, killing the Russian Battalion Commander on Turn 9. The Russians had basically contained the flanking German units with their tanks, but had lost the remainder of the Motostrelk Battalion from the frontal assault. The game resulted in a German victory.
In the historic battle, 11th Panzer repeatedly marched and counter marched to block and then destroy all the Russian 5th Tank Army units that attempted to expand their bridgeheads with minimal German loses.
– Manteuffel