ACTION ON THE MINSK HIGHWAY, WITH BATTLEGROUP BAGRATION

This game was pre-set at 900 points per side, a meeting engagement with the exact scenario randomly rolled. It turned out to be a straight Attack/Counter-Attack game. So, we deployed our scouts, 3 each, so no advantage there, and the Germans would take the first turn. 

Here's my army list for the action –

The scenario grows as forces arrive, so the start saw some minor moving of the scouts into positions, the Russian long range patrol in woods getting their radio set-up to spot for mortars when needed, my recce HQ doing likewise from the cottage on the hill (goo spot), only with a battery of Hummels on call with their 150mm guns, serious hitting power. Meanwhile, their little half-track scooted off to claim an early objective. By the end of turn 1 we both had 2 objectives each. The first Germans arrived were foot pounding grenadiers on my right, making for the road, to secure the objective and threatened the one in the big woods ahead, currently with three well camouflaged red army scouts in it, with big binoculars. They called in teh first mortar fire and added some pinning, but as yet, no losses.

The Russian began somewhat more dramatically, speeding in three T-34s and tank riders in a top-speed drive straight at my forming lines, aimed at the hillock my recce troops were holding, it came on at full speed in ‘Crazy Ivan’ frontal charge. This provoked some ambush fire from my lurking SdKfz 250/9’s 20mm cannon, the only AT weapon I currently had to stop 3 tanks (if it even counts)!

This forced my hand, so next turn, in rolled my Panther tanks, to counter the T-34 rush, and the first radio check got through to the Hummel battery, which dropped in their first rounds, pinning 1 tank at least. The other two rushed on for the hill though. Behind, ever more Russian arrived: infantry, two SU-76s, their HQ, trucks or various type and sizes and then their big hitters, two SU-152 – oh zverboi!

The race to reinforce was on, and we both rolled well, the smaller German force was soon ‘all-in’, with two supply trucks the last to arrive and lurk at the back, awaiting need. My radio van and forward aid post also took cover behind a rearward copse, and got busy doing their thing. Up front, the fight was on, my Panthers taking aiming and missing with the first AP rounds to rip through the air today. Stopping that charge would be the focus of the first turns of combat. Meanwhile, at the road, my infantry had deployed, including their HMG-42 tripod and loader team that was soon on ambush fire and could rake along the wood line facing them. 1 Panther pulled up behind them, awaiting those SU-152s to appear… come to papa! Then, a IL-2 Sturmovik dived in on a (well) timed bombing run and hit the road junction, right on the Panther. Bombs away, one was a direct hit and kaboom, I had lost my command tank without firing a shot… a burning wreck. Damn those VVS Jabos! (and I forget to include any AA weapon, dumb!).

Firing was building up, my artillery did some good work on pinning and destroyed a truck, then killed his sniper in an (un)lucky, rolled a 1, cover save. The charging Russian tank riders had leapt down off their tanks and into the woods on the hill, where a ferocious fire-fight started, one grenadier squad and their MG team pinning them all down. Now for the tanks. One of which was hit and destroyed by my panzer ace Panther, score 1 kill for the day, he’ll need many more!  The ‘crazy ivan’ attack was stalling, and next turn, more heavy MG and 20mm cannon (250/9) fire would cut down the Russian infantry, leaving a few survivors only. The second T-34 was hit by more Panther fire and burned… crazy ivan attack over! Phew, back the rest of the fight.

The Russians were pushing into the big woods in numbers and a heavy exchange of small arms fire began, German MGs (4 of them) hammering the tree line and causing pinning, and more pinning, all heads down in there. Behind, 3 more T-34s were coming up through the trees with more tank riders on them. The SU-152 were lurking behind waiting on reserve move. To counter this (after loosing the Panther) I moved my Jagdpanzer-IV up and then onto ambush fire, when they came, they’d at least risk some AP fire. Now, it seemed the Germans were on top… the counters favoured them anyway, but all was about the change.

From his hill top vantage point the Russian HQ urgently called for fire support, and got through, using his wire team them got a ‘Front’ battery of 4 152mm guns. It open fire at the road (lots of my infantry down there) but deviate on a wild shot, by 20” woah! Miles out, except it landed right between my two panthers back by the hill. The rolls to-hit saw multiple direct hits scored and, kaboom, kaboom, both my panzers went up in smoke… one big stonk, and my armour was gone – trouble!

Still, I had my Jagdpanzer-IV (last armour), lots of panzerfausts and the Hummel fire, we’d give it go, but the enemy still had 4 tanks and 4 assault guns… I was confident I would hold or see-off his infantry, with so many MGs and that HMG, his two rifle platoons were already looking low on manpower. He’d send the armour instead… of course!

As he did, the T-34s appeared through the trees, firing HE and MGs and the pinning mounted. The SU-152s came too and my aiming Jagdpanzer hit, only to glance off! Drat… their big HE shells also missed though. The pressure was on, the fight intense, and the Russians were going for the jugular now. My panzer grenadiers had to just hang on, and keep those Hummels firing. They did, and got one T-34, but then the radios failed and the guns fell silent for a turn, not good timing. Time for heroics, of the panzerfaust-kind. Out leapt a bold grenadier to loose at a SU-152, hit, and glanced off again… then a mine strike counter also bounced off… mein gott! Beasts these things… another ‘fuast squarely hit a T-34 and wrecked in. Still, I paid for that as HE fire returned all along the road, pinning just about everything, from his SU-76s and T-34s. Along the road, and sneaky flank move came a suspicious truck, it unloaded his assault engineer squad, flamethower at the ready. I responded I used tactical co-ordination to get my HMG back up, and it hammered the wood line and turned the truck into a smoking colander. Both sides stacks of counters at raced up in heavy fighting… it was close. The counter taken for the tac co-ordination was, woop!, an Air Attack, and the Luftwaffe appeared. A bomb-armed Stuka (old school in ’44) dropped in next turn… perhaps it could turn the day?

Into the end game, as the fight along the road continued. My Jagdpazner was hit by more 152mm arty fire and KO’d… several MG teams and squads were lost to HE and MG fire, one to a hit from 152mm HE from a close range Zverboi! - painful. The road was carnage. I dished some damage out too though, another a ’faust claimed a T-34 and the hard working HMG team, still going, cut down the last of another Russian rifle squad… that gun was in danger of melting its barrel. The Russians were feeling the pain of HMG-42 fire (makes a change not to be on the end of it to be honest). The Stuka dived in, though DshK AA fire and bombed the rear hill with his HQ elements, radio truck, etc, on it. High value targets. One rifle platoon platoon HQ was directly hit and wiped out, the rest pinned down in the screaming attack. 2 more counters pulled for that, but still the Reds didn’t break. Next turn the JU-87 came back and strafed a supply truck into flaming wreck as well. But with only 4 BR left, could I survive another turn?

It looked like I may, the SU-152s were out of ammo and retreating to find more. His T-34s gone (bar 1) only the SU-76s in the wood line kept up the HE fusillade, to little effect. His infantry had not much fire power to add, beyond a few 50mm mortars lobbed over at the road. It was his engineers that settled in, moving through the central marshes to attack my (stationary) 250/1 (recce HQ’s transport), its pintle-MG fire had been keeping Russian heads down. But it didn’t move last turn (oops) and the flamethrower attack hit it. Engulfed in flame, it was wrecked… so 2 counters, 1 for the loss, 1 for the flamethrower terror. The first was… a ‘Confusion’, one Russian squad was pinned by it. The next (I might survive), a 5… god-damn it. That was it, my brave defence of the highway was over.

 It had been carnage… to both sides… both my platoons reduced to well under 50% in men, no armour left… but the Hummels were still firing. The Reds lost 5 of 6 T-34s, but the assault guns all survived, some how (the SU-152s were unstoppable today). Great game, 3.5 hours of hammering away. The Russians still had 9 BR left of 61… the Red Horde could not be turned. Maybe with 1 more turn of firing, a good Hummels strike and the Stuka strafing up another soft target (lurking radio truck I’m looking at you) I might have just forced a win… not that it matters, because it was top fun win or lose. The section of the Minsk highway is in Russian hands now.

The action –

The field, paved highway up the centre. Germans from near corner edge, Russians from far.

Red recce team, watching the German deployment.

250/1 heads the road junction objective to claim it early.

Crazy Ivan is on his way... 3 T-34s about to make to top speed charge.

First panzer grenadier platoon deploying on foot... others would tank ride in. Rush to get forwards and get set-up to defend the road.

Jabos! Sturmovik attack run...

Direct hit, command panther lost...

Crazy Ivan, through the 150mm artillery strike, 2 pressed on.

250/9 facing them from the hillock (also an objective). Pop-gun fire won't stop them.

But these guys will... Panthers, panzer ace 351, and tank riders.

The reach the hill, and the infantry dismount.

Hummels doing good work, pounding the road and getting a truck, pinning, and later getting that T-34 as well... it bottled the charge when the Panthers appeared...

The big zerboi's...

On the hunt for reckless T-34s

They almost have the hillock, but the German fight back would be swift and lethal. A bold effort early doors and very distruptive (and very Russian).

The inferno of mortar and direct HE fire on the road, much pinning.

Hummels  finishes them off... recce HQ earn their keep.

Carnage at the end of the 'crazy ivan' charge...

MG team face down the last T-34, err, where is the squad panzerfaust? (it fired and missed)

Meanwhile, in relative safety, aid post and radio van are busy. The Air Attack didn't show this time.

Panzer Ace on his way to deal with that T-34, and he did.

More armour and riding infantry moves up behind.

And suddenly, the queen of the battlefield speaks, a big 152mm stonk, two burning Panthers, and big trouble for the Germans. Boom, boom, boom!

The Russian second attack starts, armour first. Here they come!

Jagdpanzer IV aims, hits, glances off... prepare the panzerfausts...

The road under intense pressure as the SU-152s get up close and it gets messy. That squad took a direct hit and was wiped out. Thank god they only have 3 shots...

Heroics with a panzerfaust... eat this!

Assault engineers get across the road into the marsh, and then move up to toast a 250/1... end game.

 

Convoy Ambush – Belorussia '44, with Battlegroup Bagration

 It is not often we play a smaller, squad-level, Battlegroup game,and for once, this would be an infantry fight, with partisan forces ambushing a supply convoy. Ambushes are tough scenarios to recreate, because the advantages stack up to the point were the side being attacked stand little real chance, and that doesn’t really make for a fun game. Anyway, maybe Battlegroup can do it a bit better and make a game of it – this was a test to find out.

My small partisan band consisted of a small inexperienced platoon, supported by a HMG team, light mortar and anti-tank gun, with support from two on-table 82mm mortars, a parachute rifle squad and long range scout team providing spotting and comms, oh, and a sniper (bit of a star) and the 3 man HQ, that was it.

Defending their convoy’s trucks and wagons, the Germans had a security platoon (auxiliaries) and a police platoon, along with an old captured T-26 employed as a convoy guard, a 20mm flak truck (got repeatedly pinned and never got a shot off) and a few support weapons, a light mortar and a dangerous HMG team. They also had their 3 man HQ in his little car. No artillery support except two low priority requests.

We set up, the Germans along the road in the centre and around the central farm, partisans on three sides, with lots of ambush fire ready, and we were ready to go…

First up, a rude shock on now few orders you get on a D6 (+2 for partisans, +4 for convoy guards). The Russian started by dropping mortars around the road, with some pinning but no direct hits, and settled for placing some more ambush fire, to wait the German response. It came as they moved away from the road, deploying their MG teams to the front and sides whilst the security troops moved into the woods on the left and right (and didn’t pin themselves). The T-26 clattered forwards, off road, only to take a direct 82mm mortar hit and be KO’d… so much for the armour in this game.

Now, after a cagey (slow, lack of orders start, the firefight began. Germans came under heavy suppressing fire from the DshK team (with lazy loaders) and rifles, and more mortars. Pinning mounted (and one security squad panicked and pinned themselves). So far the convoy trucks hadn’t moved to escape, but the exit was covered by my AT gun on ambush fire, if they made a dash for the board edge (rounding the felled tree road block), then it would use HE to pin them, leaving them easy prey for the small arms (that was the plan). The fire developed, my para’s moved into the large woods, but faced a lot of German coming the other way. They went solid onto ambush fire to wait, but the Germans were cautious too and held back, also on ambush, stalemate, and both left it at that, waiting the other to try to move and get hosed down. Meanwhile, his light mortar team was doing good (annoying) work pinning one of my mortars, which made life back on the road a bit easier. The partisan mortars had ‘direct lay’ rule, so they could spot for themselves, and this proved handy in saving an order. By the end of turn 4, the Germans had 9 units pinned and so took 2 counters to remove it, and rolled badly too. These security troops were shakey.  

With lost of small teams, I was trying to be careful about exposing them to German MG-34 fire (his police platoon had been upgraded to have these), but they were struggling to spot. Also, his commander couldn’t get his artillery cover to respond… he was left to fight it out with what he had. Still, one partisan squad had been wiped out by MG fire and my mortar’s loader teams had absorbed damage too. The trucks on the road finally started to move out, rounding the felled tree, but the lead one got a Breakdown counter played on and was KO’d… trashing it off-road. Another truck was pinned by long range DshK fire… meanwhile, my sniper scored a kill, and pinned his HMG team (set-up in the farm’s pig pen). German reinforcements had now arrive, an ‘alarm’ squad in their truck and they deployed, spotted my light mortar team lurking by the stream (and trying to hit their truck) and shot them dead. This left only my FHQ unit to stop them, so they took up their small arms and got into a firefight, which they lost, costing me 2 counters. Ouch! Still, stopped me using tactical-co-ordination… twice using it and failing (2 counters for nothing).

I was close to my 26 BR break point (25 in fact), the next counter would likely end it. But the German’s counter stack was a bit bigger, they must be close. They had done a lot of unpinning through the turns. So it turned out, when a police squad was shot down by my partisans and sniper (2nd kill) then a security squad, pinned, was shot up by another partisan squad and ran, those 2 counters were a 4 and 5… eek! That 9 BR sent the Germans over their 30 BR by 1, unlucky. The Germans fell back, saving what they could of the convoy, but it wouldn't be getting through today. A very narrow win for the ambushers, and really good, close, game… we played for 2.5 hours and with just infantry (and 1 tank) it was blast.

My mortars had done good work, and the DshK had too, raking along the road with fire (loader team needs to but in better effort though - probably drunk!). Interesting forces, with poor infantry fighting poor infantry. I can see us playing a partisan vs security forces narrative mini-campaign… a series of games behind the front lines, with parachuted in reinforcements, raids on depots and then a German sweep to clear those partisans out. Who needs loads of tank?

6 x 4 battlefield, Germans along the central road, Russian ahead and left and right.

Having felled a tree, the partisans wait for their prey.

Here they are,  a line of trucks and wagons, the security troops deploying left and right.

The 82mm mortars with direct line of sight to the road. Loaders team ready with the bombs... hammer them!

AT gun waits behind a hillock, covering the road exit, if a truck shows itself, they getting HE to pin it. Will they risk the gauntlet? On the end, no... so it did its job without firing a shot.

Mortaring gets the T-26 as the security troops at the rear run for the trees.

Parachute infantry creep through the woods towards the farm, but halt with Germans ahead.

The convoy's lead truck breaks down, leaving only 1 to risk the AT gun... 

The reserve Alarm squad deploy and take out the partisan's light mortar and their HQ... pushing the attackers to the brink of breaking.

 

The Plains of Al Qa'lat, with Soldiers of God

This was a pick-up game, a one-off large field battle with 'Soldiers of God' rules. The terrain was randomly generated, and we got one piece, which was rocks - wow!. So a flat open plain, a few rocks, but nothing to impede either side's cavalry. The bare desert plains of Al Qa'lat.

The Crusaders had picked to 'Advance and Harry' as a battle plan, with his main strike force in the centre, Knights, Holy Order Knights and some supporting infantry (and armed monks). Their left was turocople horse archers, with foot archers and some armed peasants and a small catapult. It was largely deployed in skirmisher formation. Their right flank was men-at-arms, crossbows and a unit of dismounted knights (didn't spot them too late), a solid infantry block to hold the line here.

This would face my Saracens, having picked a left echelon attack plan. I had changed up my usual horse-archer heavy list and attack plan, using lots of skirmishers on the flanks to win the battle with archer, to go for a heavy cavalry attack from my left, four units of ghulam, led by the elite Al-Halqa guard cavalry and with single supporting unit of horse archers (that might try a sneaky flank ride). This was my strike force. The centre was a lot of infantry, nine units, ahdath levy screening out front (sacrificial), backed by better Sudanese mercenaries, mujahideen fanatics and the Al-Halqa infantry, with more cheap, poor infantry in support behind them. This would have to absorb the crusader's central attack, hopefully they had the depth to. My right flank was weak, archers and Arab tribal warriors, all skirmishing with javelins. They would hold and harass, take on those dangerous turcopoles in a missile duel. Still, I looked out-shot and out-manoeuvred, it would be tough here.

Deployment complete, my plan simple, smash in with the cavalry. Try to get his knights into the ‘swamp’ of my infantry and tie them up killing low value troops, whilst I hit hard and overrunning his right. After deployment, I slightly altered that, my Al-Halqa could easily intercept his Holy Order Knights, a mega-clash of elite heavy cavalry, which was my best chance of defeating these tough Christian fanatics. The cavalry would angle into the centre and go head to head - that would be epic. This would be the main point of attack, the other ghulam cavalry on the left would now by a diversion/holding force against his right, just stop them getting involved.

Time to go. ‘For Allah! Death to the Infidel’. Cards were dealt and the Saracens would play first.  

Both side's plans, and how it actually went, with some to-ing and fro-ing.

As the cards were played, the Crusaders made the first advances, the turcopoles charging forward at the gallop to get into range and start the archery duel. The centre also advanced. My right flank was instantly under pressure, as the turcopoles rode in, loosed and fell back – a strange reversal of usual form that (but turcopoles are very handy troops too often ignored by the crusaders). My mountain tribe infantry countered by rushing after them and unleashed a javelin volley. It had started, neither keen to get into melee, all being largely a bit rubbish at it.

This is the were the fight would be in the first turns, as my cavalry moved up and the crusaders largely stalled in the centre, lacking cards to get going. It wouldn’t be long until the fight was joined as my al-halqa cavalry closed in on the knights hospitaller.

They got the charge and battle was joined, and I swung another following ghulam unit round to come in from the flank, now the knightly order were pinned in the place, a gang-up of 3 unit against his 2 (the armed monks behind would support his knights, until, being mere levy, they panicked and broke on a 'levy panic'). Meanwhile, on my right, the incoming archery was hurting and had to rally, and expend cards to keep my archers in the fight. I couldn’t afford to go under quickly here, because the centre would need time to win their fight against the toughest opponents. On the far left, the ghulam moved up to threaten his static infantry, I wasn’t sure if I needed to charge in here, or just hold in place (out of crossbow range, obviously).

The melee between the big boys was even, I got a slight advantage, but a rally saw the hospitallers easily safe. It would require lots of work (and cards) here to force the win, or might just be a stalemate, in which case, I was in trouble.

Over the next turns, both sides inflicted some more pain, turcopoles routed an ahdath levy unit with a single volley and began peppering the Sudanese infantry behind. My archers returned fire and the after moving up, forced the horse archers to quickly withdraw back or risk being charged. The tribal infantry got another javelin volley in, but returning arrows broke one unit. I was losing on this flank.

No time to waste then, I had to get busy elsewhere. On the other far flank I decided to throw the ghulam in and they moved up and charged – what the hey, we came to fight. Things turned my way, inflicted a lot of damage on the crossbowmen and, with bad dice, the hospitallers were also in trouble. My al-hlaqa scored lots of hits and then won a challenge, slaying the order’s leader in single combat for 3 more disorder… and the hospitallers suddenly broke! Big swing, suddenly the crusader's centre was in trouble. But so was my right, as archers broke. In desperation I got a charge in with the last tribal warrior unit and they reached the turcopoles, holding them in melee would be one way of neutralising them. More archery broke my pin-cushioned Sudanese mercenaries as well, and the MV totals had plunged, with the crusaders now just in the lead, but by only 2 points.

The ghulam continued their onslaught, broke the crossbowmen, but found themselves stalled by arriving dismounted knights, who extracted revenge and broke one ghulam unit back. This was a side show, but an expensive one, because the enemy men-at-arms also broke... carnage. The centre saw his knights finally charge (after breaking another ahdath levy unit with their fearsome reputation alone), they’d been starved of the card they needed, but ran into my best infantry, the al-halqa infantry withstood it, and with a rally, held, now my numbers could be bought to bare. His knights were in deep trouble as my heavy cavalry closed on their flank as well. Next turn they would charge. My right had final buckled, my last archers fled leaving my brave tribal warriors struggling against turcopoles. In a lucky challenge (another one) they won it and the turcopoles, their leader cut down, fled as well.

The MV totals in the end phase were Saracens 1, Crusaders 2 left – so, so close. Next turn would be the last, who could do the most damage with the cards dealt?

The Saracens. The cavalry in the centre charged in, destroying his knights in a flank charge and a gory massacre, as well as mopping up some armed peasants, also caught in the flank and rolled up. The crusader centre had been wiped out, only the command stand remained. On my left I lost the last ghulam unit to the foot knights, a solid rock here that my attack had shattered on. And that was about it. Crusader's MV had been reduced from a starting 26 to -12. Saracens from a starting 29 to -4. What a fight? Both sides throwing everything at it, and its was close all the way through. Both executed their plan and had the other under severe pressure… but in the end, losing the entire centre, after the sudden collapse of the hospitallers turned it - you don’t win many battles if your centre is destroyed.

Great fun, 4.5 hours of a real blast, so many tough calls on card plays… I really enjoy that, when 1 card is useful in 3 ways and you are really on the spot. A memorable game.

Saracen cavalry strike force of ghulam and al-halqa cavalry, horse archers lurking at the back, out of shot, hoping for a gap to ride through, or a sneaky flank ride.

The turcopole horse archers close in and trade shots, as the Arab tribal infantry respond and rush up to launch javelins back.

Knights stall in front of the ahdath levy screen, but without a charge card, they use their fearsome reputation instead to break the panicking levy. Run-away!

The al-halqa cavalry close in on their target, and arch-nemesis, the holy order knights (and supporting armed monks).

 

Horse archers tried to rush through a gap (for the crusader's baggage train), but got intercept by their allied Armenian infantry, and that stalled them for the rest of the game.

Ghulam close in on the Crusader right, levelling lances and with the handy charge card to plow into those crossbowmen and break them.

The turcopoles are countered by the Arab tribes and also pinned in a melee. Behind, the archers continue to pepper the melee with arrows, bad for both sides.

Charge! The clash of the heavy weights beings in the centre.

Only the dismounted knights are left standing on the Crusader right, a empty space were my ghulam once were.

The centre, and the hospitallers have broken, the Saracen cavalry begin to roll up those left.

Still, by Allah's will, battling it out, having beaten the turcopoles, only the command stand left to kill.

The end in the centre as it is destroyed, the knights flanked by the al-halqa and massacred.
Glory to Allah today!