Background
Sandomierz bridgehead, also known as Sandomierz-Baranów bridgehead (Polish: przyczółek baranowsko-sandomierski, Russian: Сандомирский плацдарм) was a pocket of resistance created by Red Army’s 1st Ukrainian Front in late July 1944 on the left bank of the Vistula River in German-occupied Poland.[1] Located around the towns of Sandomierz and Baranów, it covered roughly 40 by 70 kilometres.
The creation of the bridgehead was one of the final acts of the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive of the Red Army. In the evening of 29 July 1944 elements of the 350th Rifle Division under Major General Grigori Vekhin reached the Vistula River and crossed it near Baranów. The following day a large part of the 13th Army followed into the gap, along with 1st Guards Tank Army. By the end of the day the bridgehead was expanded to a strip of land 12 by 8 kilometres. Simultaneously, elements of the 3rd Guards Army created a new bridgehead across the Vistula near Annopol, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) downstream.
The Wehrmacht started a massive counter-attack on 1 August 1944 by a pincer movement from Mielec and Tarnobrzeg. After several days of heavy fights, the Soviet 33rd Infantry Corps and 9th Mechanized Corps pushed the Germans back and threw them out of Tarnobrzeg by 6 August.
On 11 August the Germans started yet another counter-attack, this time from Szydłów intending to cut the Soviet units from the river. However, the German offensive came to a standstill after three days, and on 14 August the Soviets started a push from the direction of Klimontów and a small bridgehead near Zawichost towards the north. The Soviet attack reached Sandomierz, but was stopped soon afterwards. By the end of the month both sides dug, unable to mount further offensive movements, and went on defence. The front stabilised until 7 January 1945, when the Vistula–Oder Offensive started.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandomierz_bridgehead
In the small town of Sandomierz near the Vistula River, 170 kilometres south of Warsaw, the Soviet Army first met the Königstiger in battle. The Soviet 6th Guards Tank Corps anticipated a German counterattack against their newly won bridgehead over the Vistula River.
Though the Soviets initially thought they were first facing Panthers, they set up an ambush to deal with the expected German attack. Their concentrated fire destroyed the first two Königstiger tanks they saw on the road from Sandomierz. A third Königstiger tank was left in tact and abandoned in the village and the German counterattack was stopped cold.
The Game
The 6th Guards Tank Corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army has set up defensive positions across the Vistula near the town of Sandomierz. The sandy soil surrounding the west bank of the river has prevented the tanks from digging in, but many have hidden amongst the hay stacks prevalent east of the town.
Information from captured German troops has revealed the arrival of a new panzer battalion. Originally identified as twenty Panzer IV and twenty Panther tanks, rumour has spread of a new German super-tank. Last night the sound of many tank engines was heard, but our scouts could not sight them due to darkness and fog.
Ill-advised tactics and soft, sandy terrain prevented the Königstiger from achieving success. Additionally, only half of the original twenty Königstiger deployed were able to reach the battlefield due to serious mechanical failures. Can you use your Königstiger tanks better than the Germans and push the Soviet 6th Guards Tank Corps back across the Vistula?
https://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=111&art_id=1360&kb_cat_id=30
We followed the scenario layout, but stretched the table to 8′ x 5″ All terrain was treated as “terrain”, so vehicles could only go Terrain Dash when moving off the roads. All fields were classified as cover, to better allow the Soviets ambush points. The game was extended to eight turns to allow for the reserves to have time to move up on the larger table.
The on board forces were mostly as indicated in the OB. No one brought any Hummels, so Lorraine Schleppers would have to do. Unfortunately, we had a shortage of Tiger IIs, so we replaced the reserve Tiger II formation with a platoon of Tiger Is and a platoon of Stug IIIs. The Soviets were played in platoons of 3 (not companies of 9), with a company command team. The King Tigers were played in platoons of two. We felt this would better reflect the morale rules in version 4 and provide the Soviets more mobility.
Set Up: The Soviets set up their T-34s in the field by the town of Sandomierz and held their T-34/85 platoon in Ambush (with the Brigade commander). The plan was to keep the T-34 companies in play to block the bridges and give time for the reserves to show up to hold the objectives. The Germans deployed their merchandised infantry forward, hoping to seize the town to anchor the attack, while getting the scouts far forward to disrupt the Soviet reserve entries. The German tanks were held back to provide long range AT fire, while awaiting the German reserves to bolster and push to the objectives.
Early Game: The Germans moved forward cautiously while engaging the T-34s. The Soviets shifted their positions to make the most of cover. However, this was the day for the Soviet air force. It swept in and managed to bail a King Tiger and destroy two more in the first few turns. This put a bit of a wrench into the German plans! The Germans moves their tanks forward slowly and took their time shooting up T-34s. The scout platoon managed to cross the river unapposed and deploy into the rear wood. This got the attention of the oncoming JS-2s, who started to engage them with (ineffective) fire).
Mid Game: The Soviets continued to receive their reserves in a steady stream. The JS-IIs decided to stop messing with the Infantry and stay on their side of the river to contest the objectives. The Germans continued to take long range shots on the growing number of T-34s with their remaining King Tigers, artillery and air power.
Late Game: The German reserves began entering the table in echelon. The Tiger Is took the left flank to engage the T-34s with imeadiate fire and slowly push through their positions. The PZ-IVs and Stug IIIs pushed up the central road to threaten both objectives and help with pushing back the T-34s. The remaining King Tigers moved to the right flank to engage the JS-IIs at long range. The Soviets continued their delay tactics and air attacks. Eventually, all the German tanks were I position for the big push. The Germans began bounding forward to sweep the T-34s, inflicting heavy losses on the Soviet tanks. As the attack started to gain steam, the last Soviet Reserves were committed to the flank (the T-34/85 company) and the ambushed poped on the opposite side (the remaining T-34/85s). The Soviets now had the medium tanks in a pincer! A heavy firefight took place and the Germans lost a tank out of every platoon. However, the cost was high, as the Germans destroyed all the T-34s and T-34/85s!. However, the Soviets still had just enough tanks on the table for their Force not to go o bad spirits and turn eight was reached. The game resulted in a historical Soviet victory!
– Manteuffel