Axis of Attack Ukraine: Game 3

Kent and I had another midwar game tonight, pitting his Guards Strelkovy vs my armoured panzer grenadiers.

Kent fielded:
HQ + sappers & 45mm guns
2x 2platoon companies (R/MG)
4x Zis 2
4x 122s
4x 120mm mortars

I fielded:
HQ
2x armoured PG platoons
2x apak 38s (combat attached out)
3x panzer IIIL
3x Marders
3x panzerwerfers.

The battle represented the guards surrounded in Busilov. I deployed my panzer grenadiers, recon and tanks so to avoid the ambushing Zis 2. I got lucky and rolled 5s and 6s for all platoons so deployed them where I wanted them- behind the hill and in the woods.


I used my mobility to attack where I wanted, ganging up on his Zis 2s. Luckily the panzerwerfers arrived on turn 1 and soon added their large template to proceedings. However, it was a battle where both of us failed our firepowers and so swung one way then the other. It wasn't until my marders came on that I finally managed to make some headway but the last Zis 2 and 45mm guns destroyed the marders in return.


In the end I lost the marders and a panzer III (but at one stage had the other two panzers bailed) before finally taking out the last gun- it was a bit touch and go but my dice rolling was better than Kent's as he failed his fire power tests.


Having two companies defending the objectives was not going to be easy to deal with so I decided to cut them off from their reinforcements (artillery, 120mm mortars and a small platoon of a 2iC + sapper). My reinforcements head for the newly arrived 122mm artillery battery.


My other platoon is hit but the 122s and although all are under the template only two vehicles are lost.


The last zis 2 trades shots with the panzer IIIs.


After dealing with the 122s my infantry redeploy to assault the village.


My panzer IIIs and pak 38s turn to deal with the Soviet mortars.


Kent decides its time to counter attack.


The Soviets creep forward to assualt the German guns (and protecting panzer grenadier teams). He destorys all my teams but I managed to kill several of his in return and thus the company is closer to breaking- the survivors in my platoon decide to stick around.


The final assaults are launched- I lost my platoon but Kent lost his company too and was below half and so failed his morale check at the start of the enxt turn.

4-3 to the Germans


Thoughts
Kent lacked a mobile reserve tonight. I will very, very rarely field a force without at least one mobile platoon/company that can come on from reserve and get stuck in. I was able to use my half tracks pretty much as I pleased and having been on the receiving end of them on numerous occasions from Dale know exactly how frustrating that can be. With his Zis 2s and infantry dug in in the town I went after the soft platoons that came on from reserve and were unable to be supported.

In campaign terms the Germans have captured Busilov and are pushing forward, their next objective being Radomyschi and so it might be time for a city fight...

Axis of Attack Ukraine: Game 2

Having been driven off with heavy losses the Germans regrouped and found some armorued cars to add some much needed support (especially at removing GtG) and an extra panzer III at the expense of the grilles.

• HQ
• 2x armoured PGs
• 3x pak 40s + half tracks
• 2x 232 ACs
• 4x panzer IIIs (1x L, 2x N, 1x Late J)
• 3x panzerwerfers

The Soviets took one of the lists I had suggested the other night and fielded:

• HQ + sappers
• 2x 2 platoon rifle companies
• full God of War
• 8 (or my) Stuarts!

This was going to hurt but high command demanded that we succeed and blunt the Soviet juggernaut.

2nd Battle of Lisowka


Kent decided to forgo an ambush and deployed his God of War near his baseline- with the Zis 3s dug in on the hill crest and an infantry company defending the forward objective.

I decided to split my forces- sending the panzer IIIs and one platoon in half tracks after the rear objective- the other platoon and pak 40s, supported by 2x 232 ACs, towards the near one.

Turn 2 we prepare to assualt the dug in Russians.


We kill 5 but lose 3 teams and a half track to the counter assault and fall back.

The battle in this wood was to rage for many turns!

A more cautious advance on the other flank.


Half tracks and anti-tank guns cover the centre.


Several failed Soviet counter assaults are stopped dead by defensive fire- just. Both sides are whittled down. In the end my platoon is reduced to one team and breaks, while all the Soviet teams except two are destroyed before they finally break!


On the other flank an armoured assualt goes in and more Soviets die.


The Soviets counter attack but fail to kill any teams. I kill another 3-4 and the Soviets break off.


The victorious Germans spread out- there is a God of War in the vicinity after all!


A panzer III (late J) is knocked out by direct fire for a Zis 3. Kent had woeful luck with the GoW this game- it failed to unpin three times and more often than not failed to range in when it was unpinned. Even so it took several turns to knock the guns to less than half strength and even at the end of the game the last 2 122s were still hanging on.


Yet another assault goes in the panzer grenadiers are earning their pay today! The panzerwerfers have smoked the enemy gun line but the smoke was not the direction I hoped for and masked all potenail targes from my tanks- I was hoping to isolate one or two.


Kent launches another assualt on the front objective but once more is pinned- there are a lot less of them now but they won't fail their morale tests!


Still the Zis 3s hang on.


Here come the Stuarts! Can they turn the tide?


The panzer IIIs and paks whittle the Stuarts down- but they are still contesting and threatening to overwhelm my infantry.


All available reserves are rushed over to try and reinforce the objective- and stop the second strelkovy from breaking through to contest it!


Victory! We manage to get the Stuarts down to less than half strength and they fail a morale test. My infantry assualt and drive the infantry back and they fail to unpin. 5-2 to the Germans!


Aftermath
A really tough game- I hate to think how it would have gone if Kent had ambushed with the God of War or Stuarts. As it was the most decisive things was probably the God of War performing so badly, especially its failure to unpin three of four times! I am amazed at how resilient the Zis 3s are, they really took a hammering but continued to function and like most Soviets they were impossible to break.

So it looks like the Germans have broken though at Lisowka and the pincers are closing on their next objective- Brusilov.

Craig

Axis of Attack Ukraine- Game 1

MW: Armoured PG vs Guards Strelkovy

Kent came around tonight with his recently reinstated Stelkovy so we made up a list for him and started an Axis of Attack Ukraine campaign. He got to defend.

Battle 1: Attack on Lisowka (No Retreat)

	Kent's Strelk v1
	HQ	35
5x	Sappers	95
2x	45mm AT Guns	60
2x	Platoons, HMG, kom	395
2x	Platoons + Kom	375
12x	Artillery + kom	415
4x	45mm AT Guns- kom	125
		1500

Very defensive but hey he was defending. I tried to squeeze a couple of grilles into my list- just because I have the models and never get to use them.

2x	HQ	70
7x	Armoured PGs + P/K	235
7x	Armoured PGs + P/K	235
3x	Pak 40 + H/Ts	260
3x	Panzer III (2x Late J, 1x L)	325
2x	Grille	200
3x	Panzerwerfers	175
		1500

I decided to nip round the wood and outflank the Russians, only I forgot about the observer down the far end of the table!

Advance!


I lost 1x panzer to the hull down Zis 3s on the hill in the distance. The HS 129s & panzwerwerfers have killed 3 guns but not enough to stop the God of War using a double template.


Infantry debuss and advance through the woods- unfortunately the God of War ranges in on the half tracks and 2 infantry are also killed. I then fail to unpin.


The PGs half tracks don't last very long vs the ongoing bombardments!


The Russians have everything under control


We try a mounted assault (smoke template removed at this point so we can see the action) but fail to hit any teams and are forced to break off when the platoon commander dies. Both assaults under smoke bombardments fail due to Kent just managing to get enough hits to pin- he bleeds my platoon white. I get his defending infantry below half strength but they hang on.


6-1 to Kent.

Talk about once sided, I made a few major errors in this- the biggest one probably being a failure to take some recon to lift gone to ground- which Kent used to great effect; refusing to fire an letting his God of War do its stuff. I lost 4 infantry stands to the GoW and that gutted one platoon- losses that the PGs couldn't afford and after that I lost my momentum going forward. But Kent played smart and did what he needed to to win.

The smoke bombardments were a double edged sword in that the meant my infantry were harder to hit but meant my pak 40s were a bit redundant.

The grilles missed with their bunker buster vs all buildings and only managed to hit- and then kill, a single infantry stand so not a good start for them!

Lesson learned: You need recon to lift gone to ground vs Soviets!