Flames Of War Battle Report – Grenadier Kompanie Vs.Strelkovy Battalion

Tonights opponent was Dennis at the Deeside Defenders, and with a 2,000pt game agreed, and a Grenadier Kompanie picked, I turned up wondering what I would face.  It would be Eastern Front, that was also agreed, but I had no idea what his collection consisted of, and in a paranoid fit about the possibility of it being a wave of T34’s I had kitted my grenadiers out with PaK38’s, PaK40’s, FlaK36’s and 3 StuG’s, plus 2 pionier platoons.  The opposition arrived, and revealed his force – Russian Strelkovy. “Damn”, I thought, “didn’t pick my HMG’s”.  The No Retreat mission was rolled and I, thankfully, was picked as the defender.  I set up objectives and troops, and then watched in horror as the enemy deployed.

The lead Strelkovy company consisted of 44 bases of troops.  There were riflemen, submachine gunners, pioneers, flamethrowers, scouts and anti-tank rifles.  I needed to kill off 23 bases just for the company morale check, which he would pass on a 3+ with a re-roll.  To cap it off they were backed up by a heavy tank company of 7 KV1e’s, some heavy mortars, AT guns and a second (thankfully much smaller) strelkovy company.

The Battle: 

This monster deployed, then used its scouts to infiltrate, then had first turn, swamping my first line of defence in the trees.  I was one pionier platoon down and the enemy were 2 teams down, it looked bad.  The monster swept onwards, with its minions following at a slower rate.  It crashed into my second line of the large pionier unit and my 2 HQ bases, and this, backed up by the FlaK36’s at point blank range, staved off the assault with defensive fire.  Three times the Russian horde came forward, and three times it was bounced back by the smallest of margins while heavy mortar fire and AT gun shells rained down. 

German re-enforcements arrived, and took up positions on the flank of this fight, with German mortars laying smoke to prevent the Russian mortars and AT guns from interfering.  The third wave attack was followed by the KV1e’s assault, but this fell foul of the FlaK36’s, and the StuG’s manoeuvring on the flanks.  With the German position finally stabilising the Russians had finally shot their bolt.  The monster strelkovy company was unable to advance from its woods, while the German infantry risked annihilation if it went in pursuit.  The StuG’s were intact, while 5 of the 7 KV1e’s burned, and the Russian CO conceded the field.

The deployment positions, before the Russian infiltration!

The monster takes the first wood...

Followed by its KV1e backup.

The German positions.

Smoke drifts over the battlefield as the last big assault goes in.

Post Game analysis: 

The Russian infantry company was truly something I had not seen before, and an awesome spectacle of manpower and combined infantry arms.  It formed up like a French Napoleonic column and came straight for my lines, with no subtlety intended!  I was lucky to beat it off as often as I did, and fortune that the heavy mortars didn’t damage my FlaK36’s position until the final moments when the rest of my infantry had arrived from reserve.  Dennis conceded, but a draw was more of a fair result.  If I would have had to attack there would have been only one result, and it wouldn’t have gone my way!  Oh, and this report took around 25 mins to complete, someone asked me that once ;-).

Operation Bagration: Flames of War Battle Report

Another game at Staney Community Centre with Phil from Deeside being joined by myself and John Walliss on the German side, and Red and Luke from the RGMB taking the roles of the Russians.  With a late war eastern front game the overall aim we decided previously to go for something than just a Total War game, and concocted a scenario based on part of Operation Bagration; the great Russian offensive of mid-1944 which shattered the German Army Group Centre.

Firstly some background: With the Germans reeling from the Red Armies hammer blows they fall back in dribs and drabs as best as they can, with Russian tanks hard on their heels.  The remains of the German 4^th Army, in the midst of the storm, retreated towards the bridges over the Berezina River in Belorussia with the Russians racing to cut them off.  Their one hope was the arrival of the 5^th Panzer Division, rushed into combat to try and re-establish the line and defend the capital Minsk, it has disembarked from its rail head and headed straight into the front line.

The scenario: Put simply my panzergrenadiers, starting South of the river on the Russian side, represent the 4^th Army, with Russian troops on both sides, while Johns and Phils tanks and troops are 5^th Panzer Division arriving piecemeal in the centre of the German table edge to try and rescue them and stave off the Russian assault on the river crossings.  The 5 bridges/fords are the objectives, with an additional one available for the Russians if they manage to destroy more than half of the German 4^th Army.  Over 11,000pts a side for this one so no room for blow by blow accounts, just a general ebb and flow idea.

The initially setup, Reds Russians on the bottom left, Lukes to the top left, and the river and its all-important bridges in plain sight on the right.

Lukes troops closer up, and the German 4^th Army grouped around a very advanced Nuclear power generator, which made a wonderful location for my mortar spotter.

The 4^th Army response to the Russian arrival; leg it to the river!

The 5^th Panzer response to the Russian arrival; counter attack over the river!

Not that its necessarily a good idea when this many Russians are keen to get at you.

A large platoon of Panthers appear in the central town, despite the large number of 4^th Army halftracks going the opposite way!  Their presence at least serves to give the rest of 4^th Army hope as they head for the buildings to dig in, although it also serves to give the Russian air force a target…..

The Russian Gods of War – 2 massive companies and the Katysha’s – open up, but cause little damage all game to the great frustration of their owner.

On the Russian left Luke has moved his infantry and special forces into the village to dig in, and controls one of the crossings; the ford.  His T-34/85’s begin an unproductive duel with John’s Tigers and StuG’s, with neither side causing much damage.

On the Russian right a similar story as Reds recon troops take the far right bridge, but this time they have opposition in the form of a Brumbarr platoon with more 4^th Army armoured panzergrenadiers on the way.

A colossal battle erupts between Tigers and Reds Russians in the open ground on the Russian right; SU-85’s, T-34/85’s and even IS-2’s queuing up for a bash at the German monster tanks, but unable to cause much damage.

Lukes KV8’s enter the village and attack 4^th Army, but apart from destroying the 88’s they cause little damage, and neither Luke nor Red seem keen on pressing home a strong attack with the task of gaining the bridges still before them.

The full battlefield; and of particular note is the German reinforcements now arriving at pace.  Phils exposed Tigers in the foreground now have an additional Konisgtiger and a platoon of Hertzers adding their fire, while John now has five Tigers, StuG’s, PaK40’s and artillery over open sights for his support.

And all this additional firepower came together on the right as John devastates Lukes armour in one savage round of firing.  The tanks that weren’t destroyed ran, and those than remained ‘bought it’ in the following turn, securing the bridge permanently for the Germans.

Phils Tigers go nose to nose with every Russian tank on hand on the Russian right, but still Red can’t inflict any more serious casualties on the Germans, and with additional support at hand it’s the Russians who are now in trouble.

Even their initial success at the bridge is short-lived as the Brumbarrs push them back.

The arrival of the last of the German reinforcements is definitely bad news, as Panzer IV’s stream across the bridges to support the remains of 4^th army in the centre, and Phils Tigers on the Russian right.  

Russian tank losses are now at a critical level.

However, after nearly 5 hours of gaming time was nearly upon us, and the Russians pulled off a coup.  Firstly Lukes KV8’s, fuel all spent, sneaked in behind the advancing Panzer IV’s to contest the central bridge.

Then not even the Brumbarrs heavy armour and guns could stop the advance of Reds pioneers as they pushed them from the summit of the far right bridge to hold it.  Even as this action was going on the last of the core of the 4^th Army in the village in the centre were driven from the field yielding another Russian objective point.

And then it was over.  The Russians held the far end bridges on each side, and contested two of the three central ones, and had also effectively wiped out 4^th Army.  A total result of 3-1 in the Russians favour, and a Red Army Victory.  But only just.

Analysis: 

The scenario worked well.  The time limits were kept too, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves!  Credit particularly to Phil who aggressively advanced across the river with his Tigers when he could have chosen a more boring option in staying put and shooting, it was instead Red who was tearing his hair out when his hordes of 85mm guns couldn’t damage them, even from the flanks!  Johns spectacular success on the German right decimated Lukes forces, while my 4^th Army nearly escaped destruction.  In the end the Russians had last turn and used it to good effect, snatching victory at the very end.

Flames of War Battle Report - Total Victory Scenario - Late War

A quick few pictures of a Flames of War game setup by Phil Tonkinson at the Stanney Community Centre; Ellesmere Port.  With 7,000pts a side the Germans consisted of Phil’s panzers on the left flank, John Wallis’ grenadiers in the centre, and my panzergrenadiers held the right.  For the Allies my adversary from the Ardennes game a few weeks ago; Alex, faced me with his British Para’s (Colonel John Frost and all) on the Allied left, the immortal Dennis and a combination of American armour and infantry took their centre, while the British armour and infantry of David Astbury took the Allied right, facing the panzers.

The scenario was the Total Victory scenario, setup took around an hour total, and we settled on 30 minute turns.  Myself and Dennis deployed the 6 objectives, and the Germans won the roll off for deploying and going first.

The initial deployment; Phil’s panzer company (or actually schwere panzer company – Tigers with some wirlbwind AA guns and Johns Brumbarrs), in the foreground along with the lead elements of Davids British. 

At the other end Alex’s British (very much the silver element in the bottom right) were supported by some of Dennis’ Yanks against my panzergrenadiers.

Early aggressive manoeuvring by the German left flank; the Brumbarrs driving through (over?) buildings to get at the objective, while the Tigers survive Davids attempt to slow them down through typhoon strafing, but Phils excellent AA is on form all game.

                                                                                      

Davids armour steps up to try where the typhoon failed, but comes off significantly worse.  The lack of space to manoeuvre playing into the Tigers hands/tracks.

On the German right my panzergrenadiers are just as swiftly off the mark, following the grand plan they leave one objective in the hands of the AA and some PaK40’s (out of shot), and head into the wooded area to claim the no-mans land one.  With the Tigers having given Dennis’ Shermans a bloody nose the Allies stick to their foxholes and hedgerows rather than counter attack as the German victory points lead mounts.

An offensive gambit by Dennis doesn’t pay off as the Tigers leave his tank destroyers burning, but the Germans are still wary, watching for any sign of a sting in the tail.

An all-out brawl is sparked on the right as I become swiftly bored sitting on an objective waiting for the end.  My infantry are met with a nasty crossfire from Alex’s British paras and the left side of Dennis’ dug in American infantry and AT guns.  With no tanks to face the Tigers are toothless, and the Brumbarrs also prove to be less than useful.  Some armoured car support at least has arrived.  

In the  following fight first the panzergrenadiers bounce off their enemies, then the British paras counter attacked and also bounced when Alex’s dice turned against him.  Defensive fire all round with no actual combat, and stalemate arrived for the rest of the battle.

The expected Dennis counter-stroke began to gather momentum, with M10’s (?) and recce troops joining the infantry massing for an attack on the heart of the German army; John’s grenadiers.

The combined force was able to wrestle an objective from the Germans for the first time in the game, driving John’s grenadier platoon back in the centre through the use of recce jeeps in the wooded area, and supported by infantry and tanks (out of shot to the right), although the Germans remained intact and within contesting range.

The last moments, and as Alex (tope left) prays (unsuccessfully) to his dice, and David contemplates his army list, Dennis drives home his attack in the centre.  Too little too late however, and with time getting on and no other significant attacks in progress the Allies call it a day.  Clear victory to the Germans, 12 points to 8.

The Ardenne December 1944 - FOW Battle Report

Let it be noted that on this day; Sunday the 15^th April 2012, nine gamers did, with malice and forethought, gather at the HQ of the Deeside Defenders and fight out a Flames of War scenario loosely based on the Battle for Bastogne December 1944.  Here I will take up a story based mostly in fiction.

The scenario was a ‘fantasy’ version of the famous battle, with a panzergrenadier company holed up in Bastogne, cut off by American and British paratroopers and under siege from British and American armour.   In their own turn the paras were facing the might of the panzer armies, desperate to breakthrough and lend their weight to the armoured fight.  I’d allocated 6 turns (or 5pm, whichever came first), with 30 minute limits and 9 objectives were placed.  The side with the most objectives under control by the end would be the winner.  Simple.  Honest.

I arrived before 10am, to find an additional 2 gamers ready and willing to join the happy band, making our numbers up to the famed 9.  The initially set up of the boards and the days defending forces (the paras and the panzergrenadiers) took just over half an hour, then the wait for the bulk of the Panzer armies (Laurent) took more like 45 minutes.  The players (a goodly mix of RGMB and Deeside Defenders members) were as follows:

Allies:

Luke – US Paras

Alex – British Paras

Red – British Armour

James – American Armour

Rob – More British Armour

Germans:

Dave (Blue Team) – Panzergrenadier defenders of Bastogne

Laurent – Panzer Army

Phil – Panzer Army & Konigstiger CO

Rick (me, logically) – Panzer Army

The Initial Moves:

The Paras looked scared, and well they might, with an armada of German heavy tanks steaming down towards them.  And then suddenly it all became ok again as Laurent and Phil (commanding the left pincer of the German advance – the centre had been abandoned as not German enough, and too far to reach into) launched the first assault in turn 1.  Having forded the river, the two lead platoons; 4 Tigers and 4 Panthers drove into the village of Foy, and came off significantly worse against its US Para defenders, commanded by Luke.  8 burning tanks later and the Allied players were literally shrieking with laughter.  Literally.

This was to be a reoccurring theme of the first half of the battle, and as Phil and Laurent scrambled to bring the second wave (Panzer IV’s and StuGs) into play, I pushed my own Panzer IV’s, Panthers and Tigers across the river on the right flank, only to bounce off the British Para’s (Alex, aka Colonel Frost – how I cursed his name) dug in there.  I was 2 Tigers, 4 Panthers, 5 Panzer IV’s and an armoured infantry platoon down before any form of breakthrough was made.

In Bastogne itself Dave (the panzergrenadiers) looked to have tried something clever; coming out to meet Red’s British armour on the edge of the town with his halftracks and Panthers.  Unfortunately he may have forgotten the Americans and further British armour (James and Rob) arriving on the other side of the town.  Carnage and severe German depression ensued, with Dave forced to just react to the horde of vehicles coming his way for the rest of the battle.

The initial setup – the battlefield grew slightly from the plan, and ended up as a 12 foot long and 7.5 foot wide space.  The German armour can be seen in the foreground, just in front of the river, and the para’s behind it.  The buildings on the immediate left are the village of Foy, the farm is the red building to the right, and the built up area is Bastogne at the far end of the board.

The Germans on the offensive; my panzers in the foreground, while Laurent and Phil mount the ill-fated attack on Foy.

A moment of smugness for the Allies, and the US paras in particular.

Dave launches his attack out of Bastogne, looking to blunt the British armour.

It goes horribly wrong, and the panzergrenadiers are sent reeling.

Bad to worse for Dave as Robs British Shermans (sandy coloured) and James’ American armour (top corner) arrive, and catch the Panthers in a crossfire.

As things go from bad to worse the Germans consider taking drastic action against the allied command, from left to right; Dave, Phil, Red, James, Laurent and Rob.

The Breakthrough:

At the midway point we stopped for lunch, Red went to Tesco to find his car, and the Germans talked tactics and revenge.  Victory had been significantly beyond them since turn 2 due to the inability to break through the paras early enough.  However, the rest of Laurents Panzer platoons (which had been held off table in the hope of becoming a flanking force, but couldn’t because we couldn’t take the flank objective to let them on) were now on, and doubling as quickly as possibly to re-enforce the left pincer, with a big platoon of Tigers and one of armoured panzergrenadiers coming to assist me on the right.  We decided that we should plough on, with the aim of causing as much damage as possible, and identifying the likely targets to gain objectives – an unbelievably far-fetched plan to snatch victory was concocted.  Dave was understandably despondent; the Panzers had been unable to assist his hopeless fight so far.

Back underway and the pressure finally started to tell on the American paras, with the village of Foy falling to Panzer IV’s, and the first Konigstiger shots falling amongst James’ American armour in Bastogne itself – at this point Dave looked visibly happier.  On the right my Panzer IV’s and Panthers engaged Red’s Cromwells at long range – to more positive waves from Dave, while trying to get out of assault range of Alex’s British paras who were doing a nice line in sneak-up ambushes, one which had cost me substantial parts of my army so far.  Things in Bastogne looked generally bleak for Dave however, with Robs Shermans hitting his Panthers from the rear, and Reds Cromwells doing the same to the rest of his army from the front.

The German plan of bringing on their re-enforcements by capturing Foy have gone disastrously wrong, and they call on the remainder of the panzers – desperately doubling to arrive in time to make a difference.

Some good news as my panzers on the right start to break through, but the casualties are too high.

Better news on the left, with Foy overrun by Panzer IV’s, backed up by Phil’s babies; the two Konigstigers.

Bad times for Dave, with Reds British armour pressing in from one flank, Robs Shermans already in the centre of their position, and more of James Yanks arriving at every moment from the South.  One panther is left, and some scattered infantry in the buildings, but not much more.

Last stand time for many of Daves troops.

The Latter Stages:

On the left an almost lightening attack took place, with Laurent and Phil combining with Panzer IV’s, StuG’s and Konigstigers to start to cause some serious casualties on James’ US Armour, and reaching the edge of Bastogne.  Lukes US paras were now unable to delay them further, and themselves were under pressure from an armada of Laurents Panzer III’s, carrying German paras, leaving Foy firmly in German hands.  The sheer volume of James armour on the edge of Bastogne managed to slow up the Panzers advance, and they simply didn’t have the strength to push it further.

In the centre an effort by Laurents large armoured infantry platoon to deal a stunning blow to Alex’s indomitable British paras fell flat, and cost us the armoured infantry, although at least not before killing off Colonel Frost, who had frustrated me all battle.  Laurent handed me control of the large platoon of Tigers, which I then used to push Lukes paras off the central objective by the bridge over the first river.  With only one Tiger lost it was a major coup.

Over to the right and I was also too limited in strength to make inroads against the exceptionally large British armoured force Red had built up.  My second (last!) Panther platoon was causing damage to the Cromwell horde, and raising Dave’s morale significantly in the process!  My last few Panzer IV’s were also getting in on the act, shooting up some Stuarts, and engaging in odd shenanigans around the farm where I was contesting the objective there.  Red had a moment of excitement when he thought he saw a Konigstiger flank, but his challenger missed the shot.

James’ armour, with Dave seemingly finished, turn Northwards, and, having secured two objectives, start to trade shots with Laurent and Phils now advancing Panzers.  Unfortunately that meant the two Konigstigers, and its didn’t go well.

On the German right flank my troops break into open ground and reach the farm, unfortunately Alex’s British Paras retain the strength to ambush the re-enforcing halftracks and they are lost.  

The high point of my advance, gaining the grounds of the farm and starting to cause serious damage to Reds armour on the edge of Bastogne.  Sadly the Brits retain the numbers to contest the farm objective, and I lack the numbers to do anything about it.

The high point of Phil and Laurents advance on the left; the Konigstigers reaching the edge of Bastogne. 

In the centre an assault with heavy tanks finally bears fruit; one Tiger lost when 6 ganged up on a very large US Para platoon, and pushed it back, claiming the objective and control over the central bridge after a 6 turn stalemate.

The fate of some of the last of Daves troops; outnumbered, outgunned and outflanked.

It may look like a German disaster, but the building to the right actually holds the very last of Daves army; a platoon of pioneers performing a miracle in holding an objective in the very centre of Bastogne.

End Game:

Suddenly it was over.  The 30 minute turn limit had been nicely kept too and turn 6 was reached at around 4pm.  The Allies, counting objectives and with the result in the bag didn’t press their advantage in the last turn, and it ended with the Allied troops holding 5 objectives to the Germans 3.  Dave, with the few troops he had left, had pulled off a miracle; holding an objective in the centre of an allied-dominated Bastogne, while Laurent and Phil held the village of Foy on our left, and Laurents Tigers held the bridge over the first river.  I contested the farm, but the rest of Bastogne and the bridges belonged to the Allies.

Analysis:

The scenario was always likely to be unbalanced, although I had given it plenty of thought and worked out the distances etc.  The alternative had been to go for a simple total war scenario, but a few people had voiced the preference of a character scenario, even if it was uneven. 

The first couple of turns looked as if it really had gone against a German Panzer army unable to break through the first line of the Para’s, and really highlighted their inflexibility.  Meanwhile Daves panzergrenadiers would have been better off with the main army, and an infantry-based force used to hole-up in the buildings of Bastogne.  I had real concerns it wouldn’t provide entertainment for the players, and the panzers vs paras contest was one sided despite the 2-to-1 difference in points. 

However, once the Germans got going and started getting past the Para’s and attack the Allied armour the battle started to come alive with much more interaction and fighting between the different armies.  Without the paras the German armour would have mashed the Allies, especially with the points advantage, but with the paras it was almost, sort of, balanced. 

Thanks to all the players for showing up, throwing themselves into the spirit, and putting up with my own creation of a scenario.  It was pleasing to note the lack of a nasty competitive nature which made the necessary in-game alterations to the scenario easy to make.  Particular credit to the Germans; Dave, Laurent and Phil, who kept going despite some awful setbacks in the first couple of turns.   its was good to get across to Deeside and get a mix of players from both clubs playing, hopefully do it again soon.

The last shot as the players begin the troublesome task of packing away their models, something the Germans at least have the upper hand on due to most of theirs already being dead….The same suspects manage to make an appearance, Alex, myself and Luke skilfully avoiding all known cameras.