For our final batch of playtests, myself and Garry are fighting a little campaign. Things got off to a tense start tonight with my armoured spearhead running into two Soviet behemoths - a KV1 and a KV2! One is bad enough, but two is a right royal pain in the backside for my little 38ts to deal with... That said, with cuteness on their side... Who knows what may happen!
We used the basic 'attack/Counter-attack' scenario for the start of the campaign with my Panzer list forces running into the advance of a Soviet Mechanised group. I tried to follow a story with my army, infantry in Sdkfz 251s and lots of tanks, with little artillery support - indeed just a single timed barrage. I saw it as the spearhead of the division, rushing ahead out of artillery support. In reality I just wanted lots of tanks instead of having some support. A risky move that could easily cost me the game.
The opening moves were from both sides recce troops who started on table. My motorcycle patrol whizzed off to try and get up the big hill to take position in the ruin, while two Russian snipers skulked around a bit! Little happened until the main forces arrived. At which point, my recce motorcycle, happily bouncing over the grassy hill saw a KV1 appear over the crest... Discretion became the better part of valour and they spun the bike around and hightailed it out of there! Sadly they didnt get far as the tank
MG shot the bike up, but two of them got away alive with the MG34 and ran off behind the railway line... Meanwhile, German armour flooded onto the table using the 'Panzermarcsh' special rule, and seeing a KV2 lumbering down the road, it all elected to try and hide! Even a 'Breakdown' chit played on the KV1 didnt help and with a roll of '1' the tank belched out a cloud of oily black smoke but carried on. The Germans began to wish they had brought some artillery or an 88...
The Russian attack was slow and lumbering, and generally pretty ineffective. Soviet mortar support and timed barrages rained in, but did little, only managing to pin down some infantry. The tanks too did little and the infantry advanced in a solid mass with no enemy artillery to fear. As the Russian reached the T-junction by the railway crossing, the only German timed barrage hit. A good stonk from the 105mm guns blasted the KV2 sat on the junction... and when the dust cleared... it was still sat there. It would have to be up close and personal or nothing for the Germans. As the Soviet T-26 armoured sewing machines arrived, the Germans launched their mass tank attack. All the Germans tanks surged forward, led valiantly (and stupidly?) by the 'Flamingo' hoping it would spew firery death at the KV1. It didnt. The KV2 on 'Ambush' put a round into it as it crossed directly in front of it and very little remained of the poor little tank. Its first outing was not covered in glory. The remaining German tank attack scored lots of hits, but most bounced. Even managing to bounce off T-26s - no mean feat. Luckily the one success would prove much needed. The Soviet T26 commanders tank was hit and they were pinned, a second hit saw them fail morale and abandon the tank.
Now the Russians returned fire, again generally very scary, but pretty ineffective, although two 38ts were knocked-out by tidy shooting from the KV1. Not good. A tit-for-tat fight broke out between the T26s and some of the 38ts, and they 38ts slowly gained the upper hand. As things progressed the infantry fight began with first the Germans gaining the upper hand, their
MG teams cutting down khaki clad Russians, and then being paid back in kind. The advantage was with the Russians though who attacked in a mass, while the German platoon was strung out over the entire table. Not good! The Germans once more tried to crack the Soviet armour and although managing to knock out two T26 tanks and the 37mm on the platoon commanders Sdkfz 251 putting a round through the side of the KV2 to knock that out with a very lucky close range shot, still the damn KV1 shrugged off everything. Subsequent Russian shooting took out the exposed platoon commanders ride and he and his platoon
HQ survivors bailed out of the burning half-track to hide in a building.
Things began to look bleak for the Germans. With only two 38ts remaining, one of which was pinned, it didnt look good. Both sides had a stack of morale chits so it was reaching the endgame. The Germans went for broke. Using 'Tactical Co-ordination' they unpinned the 38t, but drew a chit. This was a '5' and when the German player (me) did a little count up, I found my force had one Battle Rating point left before the army broke. It was now all up to this little 38t. He advanced at full speed, crashed through the fence, and while on the move put a round into the side of the KV1. It hit with a thud and the beast lurched to a halt as smoke began to pour from the vehicle. The Soviet player (Garry) drew his chit for the vehicles loss, and it was enough to break his army. The remaining Soviet forces fled the battlefield, leaving a very shaken and very battered German force to lick their wounds...
As always, a few more pics here;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.285289951623451.1073741835.239624736189973&type=1
