Barbarossa to Berlin - Game 6 with BG Fall of the Reich - Roadblock on FreidhoffstraBe

The final engagement of our series of Ostfront games – game 6 in 1945 would be an Attack/Defence, with the Germans defending, naturally. The random scenario rolled was ‘End of the Rat Race’, with the Germans as the roadblock force across FreidhoffstraBe, en route to Berlin. They started dug-in behind their road block (at the farm), with panzer reinforcements due. There were just 2 objectives, one at the farmhouse, the other where the road exited the German table edge. They held both to start with.

Here's the Russian force:

Rifle Company    188    16-i    
(3 x platoons + Company HQ)    

SU-76M Battery    75    6-r    

SU-100 Battery    156    6-r    

ISU-152 Battery    145    6-r

2 x 82mm mortars    44    2-i

PRTP            10    0

2 supply trucks    16    1-i

Repair truck        12    2-i

Total            646    39 BR,    7 officers


The Russian would start in column on the road and move on from the road (or just either side of it). The first vehicles were deployed lined up one behind the other, led by  ISU-152s  (I figured these had the best chance of surviving the first ambush shots).

The first turns saw the Russian arriving in good numbers, but with so much foot-slogging infantry (a full company), it would take time to get into the thick of the action (even using Ura! rule). The initial trading of long range fire didn’t do much damage, a timed 80mm mortar strike pinned a few of my squads and the SU-100 tank killers move left to the wood, to await targets. The first of these to arrive was a King Tiger, and both traded missed shots at maximum range.

With little in the way of IDF (two on-table 82mm mortars), I as relying on my SU-76s and ISU-152s for direct suppressing HE fire for my infantry, but these soon started to run low on ammo, notably did the ISU-152s (ammo 2!). The resupply trucks, two of them, got busy, and would be heavily overworked all game, I needed three really.

The infantry moved up, under suppressing HE fire from a dug-in 105mm howitzer and 75mm infantry gun, which caused regular pinning, and I was taking counter to unpin early. First success was getting the German infantry in the farmhouse pinned down by SU-76s fire and get moving up to assault the house and wipe-out the squad in it, thus taking a objective too.

Still, the Germans had had the better of the first turns, 6 counters to just 3…

But the red horde was large, and I rolled well for command and control, so it was coming fast. The German reinforcements were desperately needed and these fed into the large house (call it the hotel) in their corner and got their MGs onto ambush fire to with. Also, a Panther rolled in, which the waiting SU-100 missed, only for return fire to hit and destroy it… damn! But no worry, a repair heavy truck was on the way to try and fix it. Taking the counter, it was an Air Attack, and it arrived, a bomb-armed IL-2 buzzed down and, immediately got driven-off in hail of 20mm flak fire, and damaged. The pilot would circle around for another run at it. When he did, the same happened (good flak gunners) and damaged it again, it was getting shot to bits… but I’d defo risk a third run though, which then managed to pin the King Tiger before the IL-2, out of bombs, headed home full of holes, before being shot-down.

The main attack, up my centre/right with 3 infantry platoons pressed on (Ura!). Around the farm and towards the farm lane. MG fire and DPs traded shots and casualties mounted for the Russians. The tank fight saw the Tiger score its first hit (it had to come) and brew-up an ISU-152, even at long range. Then the Panther scored another kill on an SU-76… I was losing that fight as my SU-100 emptied its ammo bins to score zero hits… the resupply truck head off across the field, under incoming HE fire to re-bomb it. The repair truck was also at work, but failed to fix the SU-100 three times and so gave it up as a right-off.

A third German tank had arrived from reserve, along the road it came, a mighty Panzer I (dragged from a  training depot, no doubt). It survived mortar fire to machine gun more of my infantry… obviously machine guns are never obsolete.

After all the hard fighting, my counter stack had grown rather, but the Germans were worried, the hotel was under a lot of fire (including my mortars now) and only weakly held by MG teams and the Forward HQ. The 105mm howitzer crew broke and ran under small arms fire and 75mm infantry gun was destroyed by a SU-76s HE shot that totalled the gun behind its wall. But the Il-2 leaving left the flak gun free to lower its sights and blaze away across the fields at the infantry. I lost 2 squads here to the combined MG fire and those counters put me close to breaking. How could I inflict maximum damage? Well, with infantry now facing the Panzer I and the King Tiger which had joined it (put was pinned by 152mm HE fire from the last ISU), it was tough. My SU’s were reloading and so I had little HE support. Mortar fire did wipe-out a 50mm mortar team in its foxhole, but with just 1 counter inflicted the Germans were well in the lead.

Their last turn of firing saw another infantry squad, holding the farm house, wiped out by MGs (that damned Pz I!), and that chit was it for the Russians. Broken, we’d pull back from FreidhoffstaBe and shell into next month before trying again… a solid win for the defenders, their tanks were tough and my sniping SU-100s had failed to hit even one of them (one job to do!)… the Germans were still 9 BR from breaking, so 3-4 counters on average, so a solid win.

That concludes this little sequence of Ost-front gaming, the Germans with a 4-2 result, but all had been excellent games and fun to get different models out and use them. We might do it again, but from Omaha to the Ruhr, or in the desert, from Tobruk to Tunis maybe. 

Russian moves in red, German positions blocking FriedhoffstraBe, in blue.

Russian columns deploys along the road, with tank riding first platoon.

Volkssturm dug-in across the fields, soon to be aided by the King Tiger.

105mm gun in gun-pit, effective HE pinning, notably against the Sukas. behind the stone wall, a 75mm infantry gun adds to the HE fire.

Next wave of Russian vehicles arrive, the SU-76s. Ahead, 80mm mortar shells rains in, in a timed strike.

SU-100 gets round the copse and lines up the King Tiger, hunting big game.

Call up the resupply truck, first of many re-arming jobs today.

Infantry move up to assault the farm house.

Tiger needs re-arming too... horse and wagon resupply... old school.

IL-2 arrives, hurrah! Into a storm of accurate 20mm flak though.

Two infantry platoons lead the way up and then past the farm house, heavy HE support from the ISU's, when not reloading. The burning BA-64 is terrain... part of the scenario.

Panther joins the fray, and first shot, nails the distant SU-100.

Infantry briefly pause from running across the fields, at the hedge, before making the next bound.

Repair heavy truck gets to the smoking SU-100, but the 6s needed to fix it alluded me... of course!

Two mortar teams lurk at the back as the rest of the attack presses on, with HE fire whistling overhead, in both directions.

The lead infantry platoon reach the pond, and take-out an auxiliary kreigsmarine squad dug-in by the lane. They had already pinned themselves.

SU-76s in need of more HE shells.

Unharmed Volkssturm (and pinned sniper), as the Pz I clanks up the road, proving itself still useful.