"Red Counter - Battlegroup Kursk AARs" Topic

Last night we played two side by side BGK games. Both rolled up as standard 'attack/counterattack' scenarios. We had a 6 x 8 table each set up as below…

Gary and Skip played on this table;

Ruardhi and me played on this one;

We decided on 600 point games and selected our forces.

Skip took a list built from the German Panzer List and ended up with a small force support by some timed artillery;

Facing him, Gary used the Russian Rifle Division list and went for a compact force, again backed by plenty of timed artillery;

Over on our table, Ruardhi picked a very neat list from the Panzer list too, with good all round capabilities relying on mortars instead of artillery;

I used the Russian Tank list to face him, but I went for infantry supported by mortars and assault gun with no timed artillery attacks but a single priority request.

On the 'Northern' table, Gary and Skip got into a very fast brawl, with Gary lucking out early on and scoring massive hits on Skip with Katyusha strikes. Dazed and stunned from the start, Skip found it hard to counter. Gary elected not to bring his tanks on till late, and this left Skip with two Tigers with little to do, while his armoured grenadier platoon assaulted the brickworks. The close assault didnt end well for the Germans…

Skip's offboard artillery landed on empty ground and the nail in Skip's coffin was yet another Katyusha strike followed by the arrival on Gary's tanks as a counterattack against the grenadiers attacking the brickworks. The game ended rather abruptly in a massive win for the Russians – 4br to 24br!

On the 'Southern' flank, the game was more cautious. From the start Ruardhi was hampered by poor command rolls and came on piecemeal. He was further hampered by one of his recce squads being wiped out in his first turn when they an into an ambush by some Russian scouts (who remained to be troublesome for most of the game!). His attack was disjointed and slow due to lack of commands while the my Russians came steadily on, carving a defence line among the woods.

I also left my vehicles off and that proved well founded when a German airstrike came in, luckily doing little. My Russians kept up mortar fire along the German line, and as my SU-76s batteries arrived, I waited for a good command roll to administer the 'coup-de'grace'. I was lucky enough to get a double six, and with that, my Russians went to work…

First I brought in my priority artillery, using my wire team to rustle up some 152mm howitzers. These crashed into the German infantry moving through the fields and two direct hits wiped out one unit and crippled another while several others went to ground. This was followed by both of my mortar batteries firing into the German lines causing more units to become pinned or suffer casualties, while one errant Panzer IV crew failed their morale and abandoned the tank. Then the SU-76s went to work and having out-flanked the Panzer IVs, they quickly despatched two of them putting their rounds through the side armour.

This pounding put the Germans over their break point and another Russian win was posted, an emphatic 9br to 38br… Two very convincing Russian wins. To be fair to Ruardhi, he picked a good list and suffered from some really bad dice (his command rolls were really bad) but his attack came on rather disjointed and couldnt combine for any real punch. On top of this, both Gary and I have spent sometime looking at the Russians and seeing what they can do… Certainly both our lists did well and I want to try mine again, though its light assault guns are a worry. That said, it generated alot of firepower!

So two good games, both completed in under three hours and good fun… and a very happy Russian High Command!

Great report BGK fight. Sounds like the Germans needed better dice rolls. Dice roll are my failure in most battles. Like rounding 14 hit dice to have on one score. Thanks for posting

If the dice had not blessed the Red God of War, what do you think might have been the outcome, given your increased proficiency with the Soviets?

Fantastic table, the shot of the Pz IV and ATG were very evocative.

Well I had my fair share of poor commands too, it was why we both came on piecemeal.

But while I waited and held back to build a line, my less experienced opponenet came on in dribs and drabs. I dug in and held awaiting the rest of my army while the Germans went for it as stuff came on.

That played into my hands and I was able to take stuff out bit by bit and then build up for a hammer blow. Added to SU-76 No. 07 taking out two Panzer IVs, one more was abandoned and the command Panzer IV tripped and mine and was disabled! This was all in the same turn that my arty came in!

That said I think the two lists could give each other a very close game, especially with only the SU-76s to really use for tank defence… It could have gone either way and I suspect next time my opponenet may not be so rash in his attack.

The other table between Skip and Gary, could have gone either way too… By pure luck, Gary hit the German command on turn 2 with a Katyusha strike and out of 8 dice rolled four sixes giving him four direct hits!

That ruined their day alright…

So luck was with the Russians for once!

Perhaps the rules are too dice-dependent? I'd rather see a win due to superior tactics, or a better choice of force mix than one determined by the dice.

Other, than that, a nice report and nice figures/terrain.

I saw the AAR post on the Guild and one of the players noted that he made some tactical mistakes as well as bad command rolls, but key was that he made some bad calls that cost him the game. Hard to say how much the rolls were a factor, but I get the feeling, per the note above, that the other commander committed force in "penny packets" and that was a key element in the defeat.

Most rules are dice dependant Don, few rules work without them… ;)

Luck also plays a part in real war too.

I like to think my win was due to superior tactics – Holding and building my force in a defensive position before launching an all out attack supported by my organic mortar assets and a once off off-board battery of 152mm Howitzers. That attack, due to the poor decisions of my opposite number, allowed me to flank his armour and knock them down.

Dice decide the shooting and the damage. Like most rules.

It decides how many 'orders' you give to a degree. Like some rules, I prefer that hinderance, feels more 'real' than an overall god-like command and the ability to do as one pleases.

However dice dont make you make the right tactical decisions…

It was the report itself that said the dice-rolls were what made the difference. I was just going off of that.

Of course all rules (well, maybe there are exceptions) use dice to some extent. Evidently, judging by the report, dice determined how many orders you can give and/or how many units you can activate. Is that correct?

Yes – for this size game, you roll 2d6 and add your 'Officers' to get the amount of units that may be given 'orders' in a turn.

It was how those orders are used that makes the difference.

Hmm, well 2d6 give you something of a bell curve, but extremes do happen sometimes.

Also, winning and losing are not everything -- the important thing is having fun.

BTW, your larger church looks just like one I have. Is it plastic?

Don,

Yes its a plastic HO/OO railway kit… Though missing its steeple roof due to an accident on the way to the table!

Fun was had by the bucket load… Nice toys, fun rules and good company.

Cant ask for much more than that in my view.

Yea, my church is also plastic. I bought it used at the local model RR shop. Mine has an onion-shaped dome (maroon colored) but seems to be missing a smaller dome that would have been above the main one. It's also missing a roof over the little room at the back. Oh well, damaged by Stukas or some such.

s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii15/kingpin543/unkown%20stuff/?action=view&current=church.jpg]picture"link

Yup!

Thats the same one!

I need to glue the roof back on mine…