 asl crossroads :
aar central — a b : breach :
Breaching Maloarkhangelsk - Time on Target
37 VC: Germans win when they exit 20 Exit VP off south edge, or at end if Russ have <5 G.O. MMC/AFVs on map. 10.5 Turns SSRs:
Russ set up first {SAN 5} anywhere [EXC hexes 8-10 on bd 16], <7 MMC on 16: 6x458, 8x447, 9x228, 9-1, 8-1, 2x7-0; 50cal, MMG, 2xLMG, 2xLtmtr, 4xATR, 2xFT, 3xDC, 12x"?"; 120 mines, 2x76L ART, 2x57LL AT, 82 MTR; 12 Trench, 8 Wire Reinforcements on turn 6, enter S of southernmost Minefield on E OR W edge: 3xSU 122, 2xT-34 M43 I had the Sovs. This scen gives them tons of stuff, and plenty of choices what to do with it. The first decision is how much to put up front. I hedged; I set a 57LL in B4, aimed to shoot at side/rear targets, and 2 447s each with 2 ATRs in cover - one on Level 1 in the 2-hex building. I was looking for easy kills vs. B IVs and 251s, without sacrificing a lot. The first minefield started in 16Q3, went into the building in P3, then to the house in 33L1, and off to 33GG4 {Dummy in 33K1!}. the second minefield started in front of the building in 33R-row, ran thru the Grain to the road around Z7, then ran off to GG5 {which was the Dummy hex}. The first belt received Mine Factor boosts only in a few, mostly random, hexes. The bulk of the OB Factors went to making the 2nd line 12 IFT across the front, plus some AT at random. I liked the 12-tactic for the double-whammy: AP mines DO attack AFV, needing a '3' to Immob., which is as good as an elim for VC! The trenches formed a line from about 33W10 to BB10 - avoiding the Woods, but adjacent. The 50cal was (poorly) located in Y10; why I didn't have it in Y9, where it would FL the minefield, beats me. The big MTR went on the roof of 33R building, and the MMG was on the ground floor. The FTs and DCs went to scattered squads and crews, respectively. They should ALL go with crews, however; the self-rally ability makes them better as AFV-hunters than squads. The 2 76Ls covered the W flank, while the 2nd 57LL sat in ambush at 33FF6. The 2 LtMtrs sat back around 11AA7. The wire was strung along the exit hexes, starting on the W edge, until they ran out; 2 were used to block the E edge around 33GG2, though. Again, this was sub-optimal; the more exit hexes hindered, the better! Germans move first {SAN 3}, entering on/after turn 1 from N edge: 5x 838, 4x 468, 9x 467, 5x 228, 10-2, 9-2, 2x 8-1, 2x 8-0; HMG(dm), 2xMMG(dm), 7xLMG, 2xLtMtr(dm), 2xFT, 5xDC; 4x PzJg Tiger(no BMG), 2x 251/2, 4x Pz IIIN, 4x Pz IIIH(B IV radio), 4x Fkl B IV This scen features the B IV, TOT version. There are 3+ pages of vehicle notes-usage rules for this puppy! The big deal is that, unlike the Goliath, this thing has a vehicle controller, but can be driven by itself (Inherent Driver option). When it goes off, the mapboard vibrates - no kidding! Basically it clears the area around it, and makes its own hex Shellholes - plus creating dispersed WP. The hang-up is that it can't be "driven" inherently towards enemy units; that's what the controller does, but with all the Grain, etc. it's easy for the B IV to get stuck. Mike brought his whole force [EXC the B IV controllers] on turn 1. As he was parading his Elefants around bd 16, I realized that, had I set up strong in front, he would have given me side/rear shots on virtually every tank in his OB! As it was, the 4 ATRs managed to kill one MTR ht before going away. The 57LL, I discovered, had a pretty poor chance to hit the B IVs (very small, moving, restricted aim), and was sitting in the path of a stack of infantry. This Gun took out 1 AFV, though, before being squished. Mike quickly discovered the danger of allowing the opponent (me) to make the secret DR required for B IV Bog determination: 6 Bogs in 8 checks. On top of that, Mike drove them side-by-side, leaving the exciting possibility of a glorious, though wasteful, chain-reaction of 500kg DCs going off if I burned one. I never managed this feat, since Mike directed his attack towards the E third of the map, where the Grain protected the B IVs. Mike, as I said, got into trouble with his B IVs right away. Only one actually managed to go off in a minefield; the others either Immobilized or had their radios disabled. After three turns, he was just getting to the first mine belt, but casualties had been severe: 28 CVP, mostly vehicles. The next three turns, the Germans crept forward, just getting to the second mine belt. The big news in these turns was the 10-2. My 82 MTR fired a shell directly on top of him, and he CAUGHT IT IN HIS TEETH! Then he ate it! A Heroic 10-3 with Sappers makes short work of mines... The Sappers and Pz IIINs formed a line on the S edge of the Grain on bd 33, working on the minefield. Then it came time for my reinforcements. This was at the tail end of our second session; Mike was making terrible progress: he hadn't cleared a single hex of the 2nd mine belt, his B IVs were all gone, and he had done only minor damage to my forces (the 2 57LLs, a 76L, a few squads). Now he had the prospect of 5 turns in which to get through the mines, cross 1 1/2 boards through Russ infantry, and 5 AFVs. I thought about what to do with my tanks for 30 minutes or more. The obvious, easy choice was to come on well back, take up positions covering the exits, and dare the Germans to pass. I chose to enter around 33GG5, use my Dummy mine hex to charge into his rear area, and cause Mike to waste a couple of turns disposing of me - thus leaving him without time to get off the S edge. Part one of this plan worked brilliantly: all five AFVs drove THROUGH an Elefant's hex and used the gap in the first mine belt to get behind the German force. By the end of the next German turn, all 5 tanks were destroyed. Mike proceeded to use the revealed Dummy hex, which turned out to be unreachable by any Russian fire, to blitzkrieg down the E edge and by turn 9 had exited all he needed. The End. Had I simply used the AFVs as a backstop, Mike very likely would have resigned after turn 6. My foolish aggressiveness with my heavy stuff freed him from a) having to poke around for the 2nd mine belt, and clear it; and b) trying to deal with powerful Guns in prepared positions. His attack along the E side in fact presented him with the least infantry, the 50cal and LtMtrs notwithstanding. His inability to effectively utilize the B IVs or the Sappers ought to have cost him the game. Of course, those B IVs are very tricky, and all too easy to mess up. But Mike didn't employ his Sappers the way they needed to be, up clearing mines. My defense in depth was slowing him down, and the choke-point of having only 1 hex available to cross the first mine belt also created delays. Lessons learned:
Tom Mueller |