Tonights game was another Urban Assault scenario, this time pitching my Soviets up against a German defence set at a 400 point limit. This was an interesting game that we have wanted to try for a long time as for 400 points, the Soviets can bring alot of men to a party in Battlegroup – Fall of the Reich…
Garry used a similar list to the one he used last week, opting for a core of two Volksgrenadier platoons (though he again used Fallschirmjager as he likes them…) with a Forward Headquarters, a single sniper and two off-board 80mm mortars. A small but compact force and well equipped with Panzerfausts among the squads. Facing them, I too went for a simple compact force. The core was a full Soviet Rifle Company of three platoons, with an ISU-152 battery and a battery of three 82mm mortars in support. And that was it! The Germans would be heavily outnumbered – Nearly 2 to 1 in infantry.
The Germans began with nearly over half the army on the table, all hunkered down in buildings and several units starting the game on 'Ambush'. I was lucky to get a good starting force roll and started with the assault guns, the mortars and a full platoon on the table. I chose to bring on the single platoon fully equipped with SMGs.
I managed to get the first turn and advanced, usisnt 'Urra' to bring the entire infantry platoon forward into the ruins on the edge of the small square. The assault guns remained stationary and one hosed down a German MG team with its mounted HMG causing several casualties. Finally the Soviet mortars went into action but did nothing, the targets being well protected in the buildings.
The first German turn was a bit of a wake up call for the Russians. This first platoon had walked into a rather nasty fire trap, with three well sighted German MGs able to fire on them. Although one had taken losses from the Soviet fire, the German guns tore through the Russian ranks as men fell one after the other. To add insult to injury the German sniper also picked off a man in the one squad the MGs couldnt see and pinned the men down. To add even more nastiness, the Russian platoon also found itself sitting on the one and only German Pre-Registered Target Point. 80mm mortar fire clamimed a few more men and pinned more down. By the end of the first German turn, over half the Russian SMG platoon were casualties and the entire platoon was pinned down. Not a great start!
More Russian troops now arrived and another full rifle platoon made it on to the table down the other flank and moved forward into the ruins of the city. The Soviet mortar fire managed to scatter and cause a casualty, but not much else. The two assault guns however put down blistering fire from their HMGs and managed to knock out on of the German MG Teams. That was it for the Russians and they were left with nothing else to do other than unpin their men and wait for the enemy fire…
The Germans responded with mortars first, but instead of at the shattered SMG Platoon they tried to target the Soviet onboard mortars, but failed to do much apart from pin down an infantry squad near them. The remaining two German MG Teams did little and even the sniper failed to hit. The Russians were passed a chance. With the SMG platoon free to act they threw themselves out of the ruins and across the small square under covering fire from the assault guns who managed to knock out another MG team. Finally out and enetering the German defence line, the Germans responded with plugging gaps with a nearby rifle group. As more Russians arrived they edge slowly forward along the rest of the table, moving cautiously after the gutting of the SMG platoon.
By some pure luck, one of the SMG platoons managed to avoid the German fire and steeled itself for an assault on a German held building. Holding their nerve they rushed in and in a bitter hand to hand struggle, their grenades and SMGs proving a must fro close quarters, they killed the German Rifle Group to a man, losing only one man in the process. The loss of this man caused a morale test and by sheer luck they got a 'Beyond the Call of Duty' result and promptly cut down a nearby German MG team with close range SMG fire – True Heroes of the Soviet Union. With this attack more SMG armed Russians stormed forward, obviously their blood at boiling point from the loss of so many comrades. They brought one of the German platoon commands under fire, causing losses and pinning them down, while one of the assault guns put a 152mm HE round into another German held building. Even the poor German sniper wasnt safe as the remaining assault gun put HMG fire onto his position.
In the German turn they tried in vain to stabilise the line, but the quick loss of nearly three whole units had dented the line and they were not able to stabilise it right away. A brave attempt with a Panzerfaust ended in vain as it glanced off the front of the Soviet behemoth. With the initiative now firmly in Russian hands they pushed forward once more. On both flanks they now brought German units under fire and another MG Team went down in a blaze of glory taking some Russians with them. But it was not to be the Germans day. Gunfire from the remains of the SMG platoon and the supporting fire from Assault Guns saw another German unit wiped out and the resultant chit took the Germans over their Battle Rating and they retreated from the battle – A Soviet victory!
But it was a close run thing. The Germans had taken a few chits and they were all high numbers, had they been lower things may have been different as the Russians had lost well over half their Battle Rating and with many squads just a few survivors among the SMG platoon, one good German turn could have won them the day. As always with this game you never know how close things are till afterwards, and had the Germans managed to get one more turn they may well have done enough to win.
But they didnt… Now onto Berlin!
