The Saga of Lt. Balentinov Continues ...

In 1943, the Russian army was finally coming into its own, but still lacked the overall vision and coordinated command that would enable deep operations to succeed. One such example came on Dec. 22, 1943, when the Baltic Front attacked toward the Vitebsk-Polotsk rail line. The assault captured more than a hundred populated places, killed 1,000 Germans and reached to within twenty miles of the German defense bastion of Vitebsk.

The early successes eventually cost the Soviets as they became overextended and the spearhead of the force was cut off by German Panzergrenadiers and forced into a hasty defense in the small village of Vorony in Belarus.

The Soviets occupied the village and prepared for battle heartened by the cheers of the recently liberated residents. The Hitlerites had practically destroyed Vorony and left the residents to starve. They slaughtered the pigs and burned the church!

The troops in the spearhead were recently saved from the Gulags to counteract manpower shortages and were under the command of the fine communist Lt. Balentinov. He and his troops were facing off against the Fascist pig Hauptman Carrigg.

Lt. Balentinov had at his disposal a dismounted group of Cossacks, three raw rifle platoons, a platoon of HMGs and a section of T-34s. Against these glorious defenders of the Motherland, the Hun had assembled two platoons of Panzer Grenadiers and a section of Panzer IV F2s. The Germans opted to attack with both infantry platoons, leaving the tanks off table as reinforcements. The Soviets had the Cossacks and one infantry platoon on table to start the game.

Action immediately swirled around the German's prime objective, a small farm house with a commanding view of the river ford where Russian reinforcements were believed to be gathered. The fighting was bloody and intense with the Germans launching a brutal close assault early. When the snow and smoke cleared, the German squad lay dead with a lone section of Russian soldiers still standing in the ruins. Things looked dire for the Soviets early, but on the very next turn, the German platoon could take no more and broke. The remaining German platoon moved into the gap.

Smelling victory but fearing death more, the remaining Cossacks turned tail and fled the field. Stalin's mistrust in these cowardly vagabonds is well earned! All was not lost, however, as the remaining German platoon leader could not urge his troops forward with any amount of cajoling or threats. Comfortable in the woods or in the sheltering warmth of a burning farm outbuilding, the Fascist pigs rested on their laurels while Soviet reinforcements gathered for a glorious strike! The Russian tanks finally made their way on the table and pushed forward to root the Germans out. Two more platoons of Soviet infantry rushed ahead to lay down a withering fire on the Hitlerites! Unfortunately, night fell before the Germans could be ejected from Vorony. The Soviet troops dug in to wait out the night and prepare for the German assault that was sure to come the following day. The Germans withdrew from their forward positions to regroup for a new assault. The result was a minor victory for the Soviets.

*NOTE: The art for the propaganda poster at the top of this post was taken from the International Poster Gallery website at www.internationalposter.com.

Americans vs. Germans

As this German propaganda poster purports, the German infantry really is “the Queen of Services.” An American company realized this to their sorrow trying to repulse a counterattack led by Panzergrenadiers supported by a Panzer IV.

Eric played the Germans while Lloyd played the Americans. The rules used were Poor Bloody Infantry by Rules for the Common Man.

As per the rules, the attacker and defender were determined by the recon phase, with the Germans gaining an overwhelming advantage. As a result, the Germans rolled onto the table with the full weight of their 400 points – two platoons of veteran light machine gun armed grenadiers, a platoon of average heavy machine guns and a lone average Panzer IV.

Arrayed in defense, the Americans had 190 points, thanks to starting the game dug in. The defenders put three platoons of average infantry on the table with a platoon of three M-5 light tanks and a platoon of Rangers in reserve.

The Americans chose to split their force to cover all three objectives – a lonely church, the large bridge and hill. The Germans had the church as their prime objective and deployed their flanking force close to it, while the Americans placed their heavy machine gun platoon guarding the large building.

The Grenadiers succeeded in taking the church by the third turn and never gave it up. While things looked good for the Fatherland on the flank, their troops approaching from the east ran into a trap in the forest and we're quickly wiped out to a man by an astonishingly brutal American close assault.

The assault wiped out a full platoon of the German veterans and threatened to stall the offensive.

The Panzer IV and the heavy machine guns, however, gave the remaining platoon the support they needed to take the church and, later, to take the bridge objective and secure victory.

The German counterattack was off to a strong start, but heavy losses took a toll. The Germans lost 23 veteran soldiers dead and 32 wounded or missing, most in the forest. The American toll was 27 dead and 43 wounded or missing.

As a side note, this is the first time we have played a game of PBI II where the attacker has gotten all 400 points plus the flank attack and won in three attempts. Kudos to Eric for that, although it certainly wasn't as easy as he might have thought. Had the Americans holding the bridge not succumbed to fire from the HMGs on the hill, odds are they could have pulled out a win.

All miniatures were painted by Lloyd, and I recommend you download some of these pictures and examine the detail he put on these 15mm figures, as it is outstanding. The terrain was provided by Eric Wood except for the swamp, which was made by Kevin Balentine, who wrote this report and took the pictures using an Olympus C-7070 digital camera. The poster at the beginning was taken from www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters2.htm.

Фашистское Предательство!

Our engagement pitted raw conscript elements of a Soviet battalion against elite German panzergrenadiers, in a battle in the bitter winter wastes of western Russia.

The Soviet reconnaissance was effective, spotting most of the opposing German positions while concealing the maneuvers of the Soviet forces as they moved into their attack positions.

But the Red analysis of their intelligence was incompetent, and the disposition of units from the battalion on this company frontage were haphazard. The enthusiasm of the conscripts was undiminished, though, and they aggressively launched their assault on their objectives; a woodman’s hut on a lonely, frozen track; a bridge across a wide river; and an area of marsh from which concealed units could observe several key points in the area.

The Germans had, in the combat zone, only a platoon of heavy machineguns, all deployed around the woodman’s hut, and a lone Panther tank, stationed to watch a bridge.

Кровь на снежке!

The gallant Soviets launched their attack with two platoons of infantry, a platoon of heavy machineguns, and a squadron of T-34/76 tanks.

First platoon, under Comrade Petrov, launched itself directly at the woodsman’s hut. Their courage was remarkable, as the German machineguns cut the men down like ripened wheat. In a matter of seconds, only a few of the platoon’s men remained on their feet, and while some had advanced to within meters of the Germans, none came to grips with the enemy.

Long-range fire from the Soviet machineguns managed to knock out two of the three German MG’s. A long MG and a platoon command group alone held the hut for the fascists.

The second Soviet platoon advanced to occupy a farm within striking distance of the bridge objective.

Meanwhile, the three glorious Red tanks swept across the snow-covered ground, coming within sight of the German Panther. The German tank crew, used to dealing with Russian armor, began their methodical destruction of the Soviet tank group. A first shot from the Panther damaged one T-34, as shots from the t-34’s bounced off the German’s thick armor.

A second Panther round sent another T-34 up in blazes. The third tank in the Russian force took several shots at the Panther, in rapid succession. A round struck just under the Panther’s mantlet and blew the turret off.

Славный успех для храбрейшего!

Emboldened by their tank’s success, the second Soviet platoon rushed forward and captured the bridge objective, where they were joined by the undamaged T-34.

With two of their three machineguns knocked out, and their tank support gone, the remaining German gun crew and their platoon commander fled the field. There were, for the moment, no Germans at all in the battle area.

The deafening chorus “Long live Stalin! For Stalin!” echoed over the frozen field.

Then, the German reinforcements arrived.

Three squads of panzergrenadiers stealthily crept through a marsh. Two squads opened fire on the Soviets holding the bridge objective, killing or wounding all in the squad holding it; the third raced for, and occupied, the woodsman’s hut.

The survivors of the second Soviet platoon threw themselves into desperate hand-to-hand combat with the Germans in the hut, but the Soviets were repulsed with heavy casualties.

Several squads of Soviet infantry arrived to reinforce their comrades in the assault, but by this time, the German squads in the marsh had set up a deadly crossfire with the squad holding the hut. The reinforcing squads were cut down as they charged the hut.

Finally, flesh could stand no more, and the Soviet conscripts were forced to retire. They held only one of their three objectives when the withdrawal was ordered; a lone T-34 had remained on the bridge.

The Soviet attack had failed.

Nuts and Bolts:

Rules are straight PBI 2 from RFCM/Peter Pig.

Lloyd played the Germans, Cameron the Soviets. This game was part of a larger operation; Kevin (Soviets) and Eric (Germans) fought another engagement as part of the same battalion front. Kevin will write up a battle report detailing his fight, but suffice it to say that after his battle Comrade Kevin paid a visit to the Commissar and has not been seen nor heard from since.

All figures and vehicles are Battlefront. All buildings are JR miniatures, painted by Rusty Hiser, except for one scratch-built damaged building.

Our playing mat is white felt, with the areas defined by small marks from the felt-tip pen. The roads and river are painted on the mat with fabric paint.

Bridges are scratch-built, styrene and cardboard.

Trees are bare Woodland Scenics trees based on styrene and given a dusting of snow flock.

Hills are Styrofoam cut to shape with a hacksaw, painted and flocked.

Leytenant Balentinov's farewell

Comrades,

I am writing this letter by the slim light allowed in through the slats on the side of this packed train car. I have not been given any “official” word, but I believe that I am headed east and, by the near numbing cold, toward the Siberian work camps.

Before my fingers can no longer write, I must tell about the horrors that befell me and my men as we pressed the attack against the fascists.

Everything seemed to be going so well. We had experienced troops and our deception efforts allowed us to assemble what we thought would be overwhelming force against a lightly held German outpost.

We had a platoon of engineers flanking the Germans while scouts, supported by heavy machine guns, light tanks and a heavy tank prepared to breakthrough with a brutal frontal assault.

But all of our plans came to nothing.

The Fascist invaders would not emerge from their hiding places and our brave soldiers died in droves as they rushed forward.

Soviet dead lay littered on the bridge, in the forest, in the open fields beyond the river. At separate points in the game, we grabbed our objectives, a section of forest overlooking the bridge and a river ford, and the church. But every time we rushed forward, the bark of German guns cut us down.

The last-ditch efforts of the brave engineers to clear out the Germans failed in a withering hail of machine gun fire.

As the last Soviet survivors limped off the field, a German Panther heavy tank rolled on, looking to finish off the last remnants. The only real victory for Stalin came then, as the IS-2 blew it up with its first shot.

So while the battle was a failure on all fronts, the Great Patriotic War will continue. Sadly, it seems it will continue without me.

And now, the cold has grown too bitter. I can no longer hold my contraband writing kit.

Farewell,
Leytenant Balentinov

This game was played using Peter Pig's excellent Poor Bloody Infantry II from the Rules for the Common Man line. Figures are a mixture from Old Glory, Battlefront and Essex. We play the rules as written, with the only exception being that we base our troops on the wide Flames of War bases.

My Soviets

I've been collecting and building this Soviet force for quite a while. I got the basic infantry from a friend who didn't want to be the only one with an army, believe it or not. Since then I've added two platoons of SMGs, several tanks, field guns and more. Here are some photos of my force.

The rifle platoon makes up the backbone of any good World War II force. Here is second platoon's third squad being led on by its platoon leader.

I know it is second platoon, third squad by the markings on the back of the stands.

Here is the company command stand, with leaders arguing, a spotter, a radio man and two guards.

Here are the two 76.2mm field guns that double as effective anti-tank guns. The section's reliable Stalinets tractors stand ready to rush the guns forward.

In addition to the field guns, the Russians have access to anti-tank rifles, like these PTRS 1941 14.5mm guns. Not terribly effective against the best German tanks, but useful against soft-skinned vehicles and half-tracks.

The M1910 Maxim HMGs provide excellent, high-RPM fire support for the infantry.

When necessary, our troops have the training needed to construct field fortifications and large foxholes to take cover against our fascist foes.

Backing up the infantry is one of the best tanks ever built, the T-34. Armed with a 76mm cannon, the T-34 is well-equipped for dealing with the Nazi threat.

T-60 light tanks play an important role by ferreting out the fascist dog's hiding places and harassing his flanks. These are armed with 20mm cannon and have little armor, but they can be built quickly in existing car and truck factories.

When the fascists are cornered, they can put up a vicious fight. That's why new tanks, like this IS-2 with its 122mm gun and heavy armor, are rolling off the assembly line and through the front lines, taking the fight into the black heart of the Nazi homeland.

While our brave troops move ever closer to victory, no thanks to our laggard allies, we cannot forget the sacrifice made in the name of the Mother Russia.

American Breakout

The Germans were trying to contain an American breakout just 10 miles south of Normandy at the village of Caumont. A company of veteran Panzer Grenadiers held the river while waiting for armored support in the form of a deadly StuG III. The American assault force was formed around an experienced infantry company with support from a platoon of Shermans. A lagging platoon of M8 Greyhounds were trying to catch up and get in the action also. The Americans had an excellent pre-battle recon effort that gave them a substantial manpower advantage to begin the fight.

RULES: Poor Bloody Infantry II by Peter Pig, Rules For the Common Man

US Force: First Platoon: Platoon Leader, Bazooka team, 2xHMG,
2xBAR, 4xRifle Team
Second Platoon: Platoon Leader, 3xBAR, 6xRifle
Sherman Platoon: 3xM4 Shermans
Recon Patrol: 3xM8 Greyhounds

German Force: Panzer Grenadier Platoon: Platoon Leader SMG,
6xLMG
Panzer Grenadier Platoon: Platoon Leader SMG,
6xLMG, 4xSdKfz 251
1xStuG III

The Germans chose to defend the river line, guarding three vital points in and around the town. The damaged bridge was the Americans primary objective, with the church tower and one tree hill as secondary goals. The Americans attacked with both infantry platoons and the Shermans, while the veteran German force started the fight with just one platoon of grenadiers on the table. At right the Germans guard the south side of the bridge. The Americans came in from the north.


The Americans rolled forward with the Shermans and a platoon of infantry, quickly outflanking the grenadiers but were unable to cause many casualties to the dug in Germans. On the right, the American second platoon rushed forward, claiming One Tree Hill. First platoon first squad rushed down the far left flank, claiming the church tower and giving the Americans two of the three objectives on turn 1.

In the German half of turn 1, the grenadiers guarding the left flank edged forward to begin a game-long shootout with the Americans taking One Tree Hill. They were able to wipe out a substantial number of the Americans, but never cleared the hill. On the right flank, deadly German machine gun fire took out the American rifle team advancing behind the Shermans.


On turn two, the Americans lost one rifle team on One Tree Hill to German opportunity fire, but got their revenge when their HMGs were set up on a hill overlooking the bridge and killed the grenadier's platoon leader. Lacking leadership, the Germans were able to do little on their half of the turn, but did manage to kill one American rifle team in the church yard.

It would take another turn to get a new platoon leader in place, but turn three went much like turn two. The Americans were able to rush the bridge, holding all three objectives for the first time. The US forces extricated their tanks from the bridge and swung around the right flank to pound the village with ineffective fire from their 75mm cannons. Second platoon continued to take withering fire from the grenadiers, losing one rifle stand to opportunity fire and two more during the German half of the turn. In return, the Americans did wipe out one stand of grenadiers with opportunity fire. At the end of turn three, the game clock stood at eight and the Germans wisely elected to bring on reinforcements in the form of a partial grenadier platoon of the platoon leader and four LMG stands.

On turn four, the Germans continued whittling away at the American right flank with opportunity fire, while the American second platoon finally wiped out German resistance on the left. The tanks kept blasting away at the town but were unable to root out the dug in grenadiers. On the German half of turn four, the reinforcements rushed forward and fired on the Americans in the churchyard, killing them to a man.

Turn five proved to be pivotal as second platoon was free to race through the town and take a small farm that would be used as a staging ground for the next day's assault. First platoon remained bogged down in heavy streetfighting. The Germans successfully called in artillery on their half of the turn, but they called it in too close to their own positions and lost first platoon's commander as a result. Infantry fire did kill one of the two US units holding the damaged bridge, however. The game clock rolled down to three.

In turn six, the US second platoon took another forward position and the Greyhounds showed up, too late for the action. The Germans made a last chance effort to clear the bridge of Americans. A close assault failed at the cost of one squad, but later machine gun fire succeeded in killing the last American section, a BAR team that had held the bridge since the third turn and denying the US force 8d6 of victory points.

The final result was a rather narrow 15 point US victory, with much of the margin coming from second platoons push to the German baseline. The Americans were just able to overcome the tenacious German defenders and make further Nazi defense in Caumont untenable. After what looked like a sure rout early on, the German's veteran stature and superior firepower really started to tell, giving them great staying power. The American manpower advantage enabled them to outflank the grenadiers early, but they were unable to kill dug in veterans at a pace that would have allowed them to maintain control of the three objectives.

Some highlights:
One German square firing with three APs had something like seven hits out of 22 dice.
The American HMGs fired just once during the game, but they made it count by taking out the grenadier's platoon leader.
The German artillery strike turned out to be more stupid than ballsy thanks to some hot dice from Col. Fairchild.
APs were easy to come by for a change, with the Germans regularly getting six and seven and the US having enough to blast the village with at least six or seven rounds from the Sherman's 75mm cannons. Not that they had any effect, but they got the shots off.
Motivations were tougher for the Americans to come by, and they had to sacrifice some mobility around the bridge when the platoon leader failed to get his troops up and moving.
German LMGs are just plain nasty.

Next game: Three weeks, and it's a biggie. Soviets vs. Germans in a two-map 800-point slug fest.