Narva 17 March 1944 - WWII East Front
SMG Game - December 2015
Hello SMG!
I'd like to give a big thank you to
Joe for running his great WWII East Front scenario for us last month. For those
of you who didn't make the game here's a quick AAR with photos. There were
many twists and turns in this game, mostly due to the special event cards that Joe
had prepared and the hero factor that can occur during morale rolls.
The game was played on 21
November 2015 at 1000 hrs at the official SMG club house "Das Kreig Haus" in Fort Lauderdale. Joe
Guilbert ran a 25/28mm WWII East Front 1944 game using the Battleground WWII rules. He
has an awesome and extensive WWII 25/28mm collection!
THE GAME:
Narva, March 17 1944. The Soviet
930th Regt , the 46th Guards Heavy Tank , and 1902 Self Propelled Artillery
launch an attack near Auvere Station. Remnants of the 162nd Regt are overrun.
Can Otto Carius and his Tiger save the 61st Div HQ? The remnants of a German
infantry platoon have prepared defensive positions in order to stop the Soviet
armored advance thus attempting to protect the 61st Div HQ
troops.
The Soviet forces entered on the
left base line anywhere they desired. The Germans started the game hidden and
in prepared positions starting anywhere they desired to the right of the center
line of the table.
The Russian armored forces advance
with tank borne infantry.
The Germans nervously await the
Soviet onslaught hidden in their foxholes and hasty positions.
The Soviet commanders discuss their
strategy as their troops cautiously advance.
The Russian tanks continue to
advance, still no signs of their enemies as they leap frogged from terrain
feature to terrain feature making the most of the limited cover of this
battlefield.
The whistle of incoming shells can be
heard. The Soviet infantry on the left flank come under intense artillery fire.
Luckily for the massed Russian infantry the German gunners were off target
(poor dice rolls) and very few casualties were incurred. The next turn saw the
Russian infantry spread out to protect themselves as they continued to advance
along the same axis.
The Soviet
tanks halt and return fire attempting to suppress the FO and to reduce the
German positions on the German right flank!
The now spread out Soviet infantry
on the German’s left came under enfilade fire from an entrenched German HMG
hidden on the wooded rise. At the same time the German squad hidden inside the
ruined farm house in front of the advancing Soviet platoon opened up in
conjunction with some fairly effective off board German arty causing a lot of
casualties and moral check for 2 Soviet squads.
Enfilade
fire provided by an MG 34 position.
The center and right flank were
still quite, only the German FO was spotted and then targeted. As the Soviet
tanks neared a damaged dwelling on the German far right a squad of hidden Germans
opened up on a T34 and their tank riders. A lucky shot from a panzerfaust
ricocheted off the hard packed snow penetrating the thinner underbelly of
the Russian tank destroying it and killing the crew. The squad’s small arms
fire also took a heavy toll on the supporting infantry. During the next
turn the Russian left halted to attempt to reduce the German fighting
positions and kill the inhabitants.
Whilst the Russian right flank
halted to clear out the enemy positions an event card was pulled which brought
the Soviets some much needed air cover. Unfortunately due to the smoke, haze,
and the confusion of battle, the Soviet ground attack aircraft bombed and destroyed
a second Russian T34 with catastrophic results (a lucky die roll) which also
killed the squad of tank borne infantry.
All looked lost for the Soviets at
this point save for the progress that the leg infantry was making on the German left
flank. Several Germans became heroes due to very lucky morale rolls of a 20 on
a D20 which stiffened up that flank. The Soviets never had a chance to bring
their two Maxim HMG’s into action to support their infantry advance as the
hidden German sniper kept hitting and wounding the HMG crew members which
caused morale rolls and suppressions for the crews each time.
A hidden and emplaced German PAK 40
A/T gun opened up on the advancing armor causing minor damage and morale checks
to the Soviet forces in the center of the table. The Soviets quickly located
and eliminated the gun and crew with accurate motor and direct HE fire from the
supporting AFV’s.
After further small arms exchanges
some Soviet infantrymen also became heroes despite heavy loses. The ensuing heroes
charged each other in a deadly melee fighting over the dead bodies of the PAK
40 and HMG crews. The combined fire of the Soviet mortars, AFV’s and superior
numbers of infantry (along with better dice rolls) finally took its toll and
the German left collapses with the loss
of a PAK40 AT Gun and crew, an MG 34 gun and crew, and the entire German left
flank squad.
Close combat! The Germans and Russian heroes charge each other!
While this was occurring a Soviet
Partisan unit infiltrated through the HQ positions, sneaking by the HQ security
squad and LMG team and crept up to the open topped Marder tank destroyer. Due
to multiple poor German spotting dice rolls from the both the HQ squad and
Marder crew the Partisans snuck up to within throwing distance of the vehicle
and managed to throw Molotov cocktails into the open top, cooking the crew
and destroying the vehicle!
Partisans destroy the Marder tank destroyer with a Molotov Cocktail and Small Arms fire!
What looked like an imminent German
victory now seemed to be a Soviet success. Luckily for the Germans it was time
for the arrival of Oberleutnant Otto Carius
and his Tiger along with a German panzergrenadier squad mounted in a 251
halftrack. Oberleutnant Carius made quick work of a Soviet AFV while the Soviet
return fire was ineffective. It appeared once again that the Germans had
stopped the Soviet advance and that the Regimental HQ troops behind this last
ditch position would be saved. But wait, yet another event card was pulled and
this time it actually helped the Russians. A dog mounted A/T mine crew was
added to the Soviet arsenal and was placed with the left flank Soviet forces
that were rapidly advancing to the German rear.
Next came the deadly dance
between dog and Tiger. Back and forth they moved, each trying to out maneuver
the other. Oberleutnant Otto Carius had met his match. He easily dispatched
enemy AFV’s but he could not defeat the dog. The Soviet A/T mine dog took MG
fire from Oberleutnant Carius’ Tiger and evaporated in the resulting inferno
that erupted from the charge he carried. Unfortunately the explosion also blew
off the main sprocket wheel for the Tiger leaving it a stationary yet very
deadly immobile pillbox. With the arrival of the German reinforcements and the
destruction of several Soviet AFV’s it was deemed a draw. The Soviets had
infiltrated some infantry around the left flank but nothing significant enough
to truly threaten the Regt HQ troops without armor support. The Germans still
held the center and right of the table with overwhelming infantry forces with
hand held A/T capability which combined with Oberleutnant Carius’ Tiger bill
box of death had stalled the remaining Soviet armor advance.
A German LMG team covering the HQ position and the rear of the Marder. Due to poor dice rolls they saw nothing!
A great time was had by all. Joe ran an
excellent game of the “Battleground” WWII rules. Just when one side was seen to
be dominating the other would recover and get the upper hand. A very exciting
and fun game. I hope Joe runs another for us this year. I hear we may see
Arnhem bridge
scenario in the near future!!!!
Cheers,
Jeff Baumal
AKA Sgt. Guinness
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III
SS (Germanic) Panzer Corps XXVI Army Corps XXXXIII Army Corps
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Preview
by Yahoo
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