Jon Noyes came over to my house last Sunday, and we played out east front scenario 3 from the rule book. I was the Germans and Jon was the Soviets. I detailed my troop deployments on a sketch map, and then Jon deployed his troops, followed by my troops as I had them marked on the map. My objective was to take both villages. Jon split his reinforced battalion between Step’ to the West, and Druzhovetskii to the East. I deployed my reinforced battalion almost entirely to the East to attack Druzhovetskii first, and then swing around and take Step’.
Deployments
German
Soviet
Turn 1 – The German advance on Druzhovetskii begins (white pipe cleaners denote suppressed).
Turn 2 – The assault continues
Turn 3 – Soviet defenses begin to give
Turn 4- Soviet Dirty Tricks – For some reason (FOW card) my 150mm artillery barrage fell short and hit the company preparing to assault the village, and to top it all off the battery then ran out of ammunition. Afterwards the Germans vowed that would be the last chuckle heard from the Soviet command, because…
Turn 5 – The German reinforcements arrive!
Who’s laughing now?
Turn 6-Soviet reinforcements arrive! The Soviets received a tank brigade as reinforcements. They deployed the infantry into the woods South of Druzhovetskii, and hoped to get their tanks deployed on the high ground just north of the two villages. Unfortunately the Germans got the jump on them (FOW card) and got their first. A swirling tank melee resulted.
Meanwhile to the East, the Germans regrouped to assault Druzhovetskii.
Turn 7- The tank melee is resolved. Results – Soviets: two platoons of T-34’s shaken in the rear, remaining tanks in brigade destroyed. Germans – One PzIIIn platoon out of ammo, one Tiger platoon forced back, and one Tiger platoon destroyed (by some posthumous winners of the “Hero of the Soviet Union” T-70 tankers)
To the East the final assualt on Druzhovetskii took place.
Turn 8 – The German’s consolidate their hold on Druzhovetskii, and begin to direct fire artillery into the Soviet motorized infantry battalion in the woods. Meanwhile the Tigers are recovering.
Turn 9 – The final turn. Everyone is regrouping infantry. German direct fire artillery basically destroys the Soviet motorized infantry battalion.
Results – Draw
Although the Soviets were in pretty bad shape, the German infantry was also severally depleted. It would have taken at least two more turns for the Germans to organize an attack, and then they would have had to clear the woods to the south of Druzhovetskii first before turning their attention to Step’. From what I understand the game turned out pretty historically. Jon provided all the Soviet units, and his excellent Tigers, and and I provided the remaining Germans and terrain.
