Back to the Front

Once again there was action on the Russian Front this weekend in Melbourne. We suffering folk in Victoria were were again locked down for the 4th time several weeks back. Our Five Day lockdown lasted for 30 odd days which put the kibosh on our bourgeoning O Group shenanigans. But the club was opened again this week and once again the Red Army attempted to throw the Wehrmacht back from the Motherland! 

This time around Michael played the Soviets and I the Germans. We tried a similar game on a Friday evening the week prior but it was a bit of an aborted effort due to a late start and time limitations. 

Somewhere on the Russian front 1943:

The Germans were deployed around the village of Smirnoff guarding a vital intersection. There was a pine forest to the German rear where their battalion headquarters and reserves were deployed . My forward deployment line was from the small hill in the foreground of the picture below, through the forward Built Up Area (BUA) & fields and on to the wooded hill in the background.

The Russian start line was just behind the banks of the stream. The stream was considered Rough Ground. Vehicles crossing, except by the culvert would become bogged if any double was rolled whilst attempting to cross.

Apparently Dr Who was in the vicinity to observe the proceedings and, no doubt, cause trouble where he was least wanted! (One of our club members, James, has several TARDIS's in different scales which often appear on various tables at random times.

The Second Company commander waits for the first sign of the Soviet advance.

The Russian attack got underway as they swiftly advanced over the river with German Sniper fire causing some consternation and making some solders seek the cover of the ground (Snipers caused 2pts of Shock on one unit).  

With the infantry came a troop of Lend Lease Stuart tanks in a reconnaissance role. Although light, these proved to be more durable than the BA10 armoured cars used previously by the Soviets.

However, as swift as the Soviet advance may have been, the Wehrmacht response was also swift as the Red infantry became the target of the German gunners. The artillery proved to be quite ineffective even though the first dice roll was promising with a roll of double 6's! Meaning : A re-roll for Divisional Artillery! (which then transpired into an ineffective medium battery stonk).

But no sooner had the dust settled from the German guns than Soviet mortars crashed in on a German platoon that had taken positions in the foremost BUA. The Krauts weathered the storm with some Shock but their Combat Patrol was sent packing.

I was intending to deploy a panzerschreck on that Combat Patrol to deal with the Stuart's heading up the road but that wouldn't be happening now. Instead the platoon in the houses tried to target them with their panzerfaust but they were out of range. 

German mortars struck again, this time targeting the tanks but had very little effect. The Soviets retaliated again with their own mortars in a tit-for-tat fight but they also brought forward a 47mm infantry gun (we subbed a 47mm AT gun) and the HE of the Stuarts to bare on the BUA. The German platoon didn't fare well and became Suppressed.

The Russians soon came under fire from a German strongpoint set up in a bombed out, but still sturdy administration building. The most solid structure on the table. A platoon with attached MMG opened up on the infantry in the wheat field causing minor shock.

Soviet mortars, infantry gun and the tanks struck again and this time the platoon in the BUA lost two sections. The third section held their ground but before the mortar smoke had even cleared Soviet infantry charged in and wiped out the platoon before the survivors could make their escape (they failed their Withdrawal dice roll).

As the fight at the farm raged  I revealed one of my ambush units: A quad 20mm AA gun. It opened up on the Russian infantry in the wheat field with little to no effect. It then targeted the Stuart platoon and peppered one section full of holes destroying it. That was far more effective!

The infantry gun was giving me grief so another of my ambush units was deployed - A StuG IV. It advanced out of its hidden position in the pine forest and laid down some HE.

The sight of the German tank prompted a Soviet retaliation with the deployment of a platoon of T34/76 tanks. They advanced up to the river bank and a long range armoured duel began. The T34's had some initial success gaining a hit on the StuG and causing some shock. 

However, the superior gun and the excellent training of my panzertruppen paid off and half of the Soviet tank platoon was soon blazing away. 

But this tank on tank battle wasn't slowing the Soviet infantry. They had taken their first objective and now consolidated to bring on the HQ of their 3rd Company.

Securing the Second Coy flank was a, infantry platoon with the quad AA gun on a wooded hill. These troops now attracted the Soviet mortar fire which, at first was not very effective.

The Stuart tanks had stalled with the quad AA gun damaging the second section but not destroying it, so the little US tanks were still a threat in the center. The Ivan infantry in the wheat field took a pounding. They were under fire from the MMG in the strong point straight ahead of them & the quad AA on their flank. But nothing would dislodge them. I was convinced that the wheat was planted over the top of previously dug trenches and the Russians were hiding in them. They were eventually suppressed after much shooting and only a failed Rally Order saw them fall back, although still in good order.

A second mortar stonk on the Second Coy forward position in the wood was more effective in destroying the quad AA and supressing the infantry platoon.

I also had a panzerschreck anti-tank section on the table that had also been firing (and missing) on the Stuart's but I pulled them back in favor of the quad AA. Now, that the gun out of the commission it was time to get these brave fellows back into action.

A Soviet infantry platoon now made a bold move by rushing forward to try and out flank the next position held by the Germans. But they came on unsupported and the rapid deployment of my reserve company up to the roadside caught them unawares. By using a Company Command Order, I was able to open fire and drive the platoon back with the help of HE from the near by StuG.   

And speaking of StuG's, I deployed my final Ambush Unit, which was another StuG, when a second platoon of T34's appeared on the road. Like the other one, this StuG was hiding in the bushes and moved forward to target the Soviet tanks. Another long range tank duel ensued over several turns and the StuG managed to cause some damage and shock. Unfortunately the Soviets got the better of this firefight and the German tank took too much damage forcing the crews to bail out and flee.

On the other side the first StuG kept up a good rate of fire and totally stalled the Soviet armour on that flank. Also, beyond the tank, one of my reserve infantry platoons charged across an open field and took on the remaining troops of the advanced platoon of Ivan's and drove them off.

    Casualties: In previous games we just put aside our dead 'uns and counted them. Michael said it would be a good idea to make a first aid post. I said I had one! So this time around I set it up and used it as an area to place my KIA units. (This is photo is from earlier in the game and by this stage, even if the commentary sounds one sided, I was on my way to my 2nd FUBAR!)

The Soviets, on the other hand didn't have the luxury of decent medical facilities, so instead Michael used my little pig sty model to house his wounded, in true, compassionate, Soviet style!

The panzerschreck team advanced again and got within range but, once again, the missed their target before pulling back to relative safety.

In the advanced Second Coy position, a Soviet infantry platoon advanced rapidly with the support of a second infantry gun. After their initial advance the platoon stalled at the foot of the rise when their company became Hesitant. My infantry in the woods above them managed to rally and caused them some trouble with some desultory shooting but didn't manage to KIA any of sections. 

The Soviets then got their act together and rallied. With supporting HE fire from the infantry gun, which again supressed the Krauts the soviet commander used a Company Command Order and charged in with a close quarters assault.

The Germans were hurled back with heavy casualties (2 KIA sections). A follow up second assault caught the surviving Germans flat footed and wiped them out (they withdrew but only managed to run 2" on 2d6). The loss of this platoon caused a second FUBAR on the German battalion command and the Soviets now had an empty flank facing them.

German mortars pounded the forward BUA time and time again with little to no result. With the only infantry to oppose them, the T34's in the center could have advanced but chose to sit still and pound the central German strong point with HE.

And soon Ivan's mortars joined in. The platoon help up well but the combination of mortars and HE suppressed the defenders and soon KIA'd one of the sections. 

With one flank gone and my position now outflanked, it was only a matter of slowly grinding the Germans down. We were out of time but I was also on my way to a 3rd FUBAR. So I would call this a Soviet victory though, not a decisive one.

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This game was a bit different. We played on a slightly larger area (6'x5') which opened things up considerably. There wasn't a lot of cover for the advancing Russians but Michael made the best of it. Long ranges on the 6' long-axis also kept some targets in the open out of range. It was definitely a slow grinding attack which wore down my troops. I had a couple of Hesitant company rolls which were not really taken advantage of. But I was also unable to take maximum advantage of a couple of Soviet Hesitant Company results.

That loss of dice from a FUBAR really makes a difference. In the second to last turn I ended up with a Hesitant Company and only 3 Orders (I rolled four 1's out of seven dice). Not a lot I could do and not many troops to do anything with. All up I think we played 16 turns which was pretty good going. Maybe a turn limit could help speed things up a bit as well as some more scenario based victory conditions other than: "3 FUBARS."

One aspect that did work very well in my favour was using a Reserve Deployment Order to bring on my reserve company quickly. With this order I brought on two infantry platoons and they moved in fast 12" for one and 14" for the other. This enabled them to counter the bold move of that Russian platoon that move up quickly in the center.

All in all: Another great game. I really like these rules and the broad sweep of a decent sized battle that they depict. 

Olive & Drab ~ U.S. Infantry Re-basing

The latest of my re-basing projects is finished. This time it's United States Infantry. These took me quite a while because I didn't really have many of them painted up for Chain of Command, so I needed to do a fair bit of painting to get them up to speed for O Group. The painted figures I had on hand amounted to a platoon with a section of assault pioneer/engineer, as well as heavy weapons. For some reason I had plenty of heavy weapons. 

Most of these miniatures are AB Figures with a few Simon's Soldiers in the mix. I also had a couple of sections of plastic Italeri/Esci that I started off with several years ago. I wasn't going to use these for the platoons but not because they're plastic (they are pretty nice figures) but because I didn't quite get the colour of their jacket right. When I did the metal figures I used a better colour (it's Vallejo but I don't know what it's called - I wrote "US Jacket" on the bottle so I wouldn't forget).

Despite how the photo's look, in the flesh the bases are quite sandy/gritty and not as green as they appear. This is because I wanted these guys to fit into the Mediterranean/Tunisian theatres more so than NW Europe. Unfortunately, my photographic skills are not very good so I pretty much have to go with what the camera gives me. (Photoshop manipulation can only go so far!)

I like the inclusion of pioneers/engineers. They have 4 bases so that a player can field them as demolition, mine clearance or add a flame thrower for an assault platoon. If you look you'll find that one of the plastic Italeri figures snuck into the the platoon.

The battalion commander demanded a close up. I like FOO base. I'm not sure if this is what these figures are actually supposed to represent but it's what I used them for.

The plastic figures I mentioned above were not left out. I used some of them to make patrol markers. As such they have a different role in a game of O Group so it doesn't really matter if they don't quite fit with the other figures. They still look okay and these bases look better than a flat featureless disc. 

So that's it for the US Infantry. As usual, I don't bother with much detail or things such as unit insignia. Whilst that sort of stuff looks good and I can only admire those folks who take the effort to include those details, I just don't see the point. When they're on the table nobody is going to take notice of such detail. For me a good all-round paint job that looks the part and reasonably decent bases are all that's needed.

P.S.

One other thing about my Americans: I don't have very many vehicles or armour to support them. My main focus has always been Commonwealth/German. Although I have both USSR and US which should both have massive amounts of war-making materiel, I pretty much have bugger all for both of them. What I have for both armies is stored all together in a single plastic box (which is only half full!).

Soviet Attack: Autumn 1943

I played another game of 'O'' Group at Croydon today against Michael S. Today's game was my new Soviet Infantry against a German panzergrenadier battalion. I played the Russians and Michael took command of Fritz. He wanted to see if the panzergrenadier battalion was worth the extra 5 points.

The table represented a Soviet State Farm on the left, two sections of Built Up Areas (BUA's) at the center intersection, high ground at the upper right corner held by the Germans with a forest  opposite. The right edge of the table is north so I was attacking along the bottom table edge from the east. The Germans had 4 entrenchments that they could place within their deployment area (the wheat fields adjacent the road, the bombed out BUA and the remaining line of the road). The wheat fields are tall and ready for harvest so they provide cover.

The Soviet preliminary bombardment was highly successful (three 1's) resulting in the loss of 1 full platoon, plus a section and one HQ order. Interdiction lasted for 2 turns.

The forces of the Soviet Motherland gained the initiative and their combat patrols and BA10 armoured cars moved forward to seek out the Hitlerite forces. "There they are Sergi, hiding in wheat fields!"

The Germans quickly deployed and tried to shoot down the Soviet patrols but came under fire themselves from the armoured cars.

Near the farm a platoon of brave Heroes of The Soviet Union deployed ready to storm the compound and liberate it. Sneaking out of the wheat a German platoon emerged and laid down a withering fire, suppressing the brave heroes.

Outside the central BUA another platoon of Heroes deployed and were hit by more intense fire from the panzergrenadiers at close range. The Soviet FOO called down a mortar barrage which did little other than cause some shock.

Tit for tat, the German called in his own mortars and supressed the Soviet platoon. Under intense small arms fire and mortar shelling, these Heroes of The Soviet Union stood their ground and managed to rally off one point of Shock.

The mortars seemed to do little so the Russian FOO called in Divisional Artillery and the big guns responded. The barrage hit two Hitlerite platoons and drove them both back with casualties. To the south a platoon of T34's moved up to help the infantry who were being shot up and suppressed. The drove the Fritz's into the farm complex to seek cover.

With the armoured cars in support but unable to rally quickly enough to take advantage of the German retreat from the first BUA, the leading platoon was once again hit by Hitlerite mortars. With great fortitude these Heroes of the Soviet Union stood their ground (they became supressed but with no casualties).

Amidst the rubble of the bombed house a panzerschreck made ready to do some dirty business.

The lead BA10 was their target and the paper thin armour was less than useless as the rocket blew the outdated vehicle to kingdom come.

With the threat of the T34's the Germans brought on their own armour in the shape of a StuG IV platoon. They immediately opened fire on the Soviet tanks and promptly missed their targets.

Around the farm the action intensified and the picture below does not look as it seems. The soviet platoon (bottom right) moved up to engage a German platoon in amongst the hay bales. But they were surprised by a platoon of grenadiers in Ambush at the corner of the adjacent field hiding in the wheat. They took withering close range fire and were immediately supressed. The only thing that saved the platoon from further damage was an accurate artillery barrage that drove back both of the German platoons.

The Game was getting more intense and I forgot to take photos:

At the farm itself, the former Heroes of the Soviet Union who were initially ordered to take the objective were shot up and failed a Rout Test which saw them run for their lives (and straight into the caring arms of the NKVD!). A T26 Flamethrower tank moved up and with a fresh platoon assaulted the farm and annihilated the Hitlerites cowering within.

At the center road the attack was bogged down. The platoon attacking the BUA had retreated following a failed Rally Roll. The situation was looking grim. However, the the Soviet Commander saw a chance:

At the edge of the forest a platoon had been deployed to hold firm for several turns. The only thing they had done was to shoot up an enemy combat patrol. Another Soviet combat patrol had also moved to the right. In the Regroup Phase the troops in the forest broke out and advanced quickly taking the northern end of the road (11" move!) whilst the 3rd platoon of the company deployed onto the combat patrol.

Casualties had been mounting for both sides and by now both had one FUBAR. I also rolled a Hesitant Company result when rolling my Command Dice. Instead of taking the Hesitant result I pulled one of the Soviet Special Rules. This took the form of "getting rid" of my problematic company commander and replacing him. This cost 2 HQ Orders and allowed me to re-roll my Command Dice. It pays to have a few commissars to keep the officers on their toes. 

I played a sneaky trick and advanced by second BA10 section and attracted the attention of the panzerschreck. This was just to divert attention and make the Germans waste an Order because the armoured car was next to useless and it's loss did not affect my command rating.

The Germans prepare to counter attack. See that patrol marker at the top of the pic below? I had a pretty good suspicion as to who they were and what they were going to do. The platoon in the pic below were the troops who sprung the ambush and were thrown back by the artillery.

Before I could take the farm by storm that suspect combat patrol became a second panzerschreck section (just as I expected) and their target was the little flame-tank. They crept through the long wheat and hit the little tank and it's next to useless armour didn't stand a chance against the 88mm rocket (-5 to my armour save!).

On a roll the anti-tank team moved up again and managed to damage a T34. A follow up shot by one of the StuG's then destroyed the section. During previous turns a long firefight with the Soviet and German armour had taken place. The StuG's couldn't hit a thing (I think it was 9 Rolls for zero hits). After a few turns one StuG section was destroyed and the remaining one eventually got a round on target.

In the center the first platoon managed to rally and came back to the fight whilst the rest of the company surged up on the flank of the central BUA's.

The Russians finally took the farm which was their first objective and immediately Consolidated and  brought on their third company. The Germans once again advanced into the wheat back to their ambush position and blasted the platoon that was still in position at the fence line. That platoon took casualties and withdrew back into cover.

The German commander tried to counter attack by bringing his reserves from the table edge. They fired into the Soviet flank to little effect. The Hitlerites were by this time on 2 FUBAR's and their command structure was struggling. 

The final drive began with an assault into the BUA. The panzergrenadiers holding out were battered and suppressed and the fresh platoon overran them easily. Hoorah! The Heroes of the Soviet Union!

Not seen in any of these photo's is a second platoon of T34's that crested a small rise and blasted the Germans in the field with HE. Along with small arms fire from one of the fresh platoons of the 3rd Company, the Fritz platoon was suppressed, took casualties and was then assaulted from the farm where it was wiped out. 

The German counter attack was completely smashed by the final Soviet artillery barrage and amounted to nothing as the platoons were driven back bloody and supressed. The Hitlerites were now only two losses away from their 3rd FUBAR and eventual defeat and I tried everything to bring it about, even to the point where I exhausted every single order I had. I just couldn't break them.

By now the Germans had lost their steam and their command was failing. Nothing was going their way and in the next Soviet initiative the infantry assaulted both of the panzerschreck sections that had been left out on their own. The loss of these troops was enough to break the German command. 

More Heroes of The Soviet Union, sweep through the wheat fields wiping out pockets of resistance. Hoorah!

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Conclusion:

It was a difficult win but in the end it was playing dirty that won the game for the Russians. The flame tank was nasty but it wasn't a guaranteed thing. I had to roll to see if I could get it and there was a 50/50 chance that I couldn't. Lucky for me that I rolled well and I did get it because I think it saved the day. But... the Eastern Front wasn't a pretty war and fighting dirty was the normal order of things.

I didn't expect the Russians to do as well as they did. The infantry isn't good at fire and movement and they suffered a lot for that and I commented that they were pretty crappy. But in the end it was the infantry in combination with the artillery that won the game. So, who knows?

Michael still wasn't convinced that the Panzergrenadiers are worth the points cost. They did a lot a  close range shooting and easily managed to supress my troops. The majority of my casualties were caused by small arms fire including the destruction of a full platoon. 

I used a Regular rated battalion. The main reason for this is because I have limited Soviet models etc, and I couldn't fill the extra two points I would have gained by having a Second Rate battalion. A Second Rate force doesn't have the ability to call in artillery as effectively as a First Rate Battalion.

My artillery was very effective however, I rolled a bunch of 6's on my first Command Roll taking me beyond the minimum 5 HQ Dice required by a 2nd Rate battalion before it is able to call in artillery. It didn't really matter but for those readers who know the rules and are wondering why my artillery was so effective... This is the reason.

Having said all of that, Michael's artillery was non-existent. He never managed to call in one single artillery barrage. All he managed were a few mortar strikes before rolling a Low Ammo result.

It was a good tough game and the Russians went beyond my expectations. Michael made more tactical mistakes than I did this time around and the dice were not on his side this day. Especially where his StuG's were concerned! The Russian ability to field cheap T34's (4 of them for 11 points) came in pretty handy and would have to be a "must have" for any game set in 1942 or beyond.