I wanted to test two small tank scenarios for possible use in an upcoming open gaming weekend. The first scenario was the action at the Alytus Bridgehead in June 1941, in which a mixed force of Soviet tanks is attacking a German bridgehead, defended by a German tank force.
Here is the link to the scenario, written for the Battlefront WW2 rules:
http://www.fireandfury.com/scenarios/scenalytus.pdf
We adapted the scenario for Flames of War by doubling the number of teams in the German force, and doubling the number of teams in the Soviet sections, while leaving the Soviet battalion commander and three company commanders as single tanks. Both sides had a platoon of infantry and off board artillery. Both forces added up to about 2200 points in FOW Version 3, using the Barbarossa book for reference. The table was 6X4, and we left the river on the German baseline off the table as it would have no effect on the game (giving us a bit less stuff to take to the game store!).
To win the game, a side had to control the village, and also kill the enemy. The Germans had to achieve a 3:2 ratio of kill points (using the points values of the teams), and the Soviets had to achieve a 1:1 ratio of kill points. A side had to hold the village and have the requisite kill ratio to win — any other result would be a draw. The game had a 10 turn limit.
The Germans set up with their dismounted motorcycle infantry in and around the small village, with two 37mm antitank guns in the field to the German right. The Germans tanks, which were mostly Pz38-ts, with one platoon of two PzIVs and one platoon of four PzIIs, deployed to the rear, ready to respond to the Soviet advance. One battery of 105mm guns was off table. The Germans were rated Confident Veteran with the elite motorcycle platoon rated Fearless Veteran.
The Soviets deployed with their company of T-34s and BT-7s to the right, and their two companies of T-26s (led by T-28s) in the center and on the left. The Soviet Motostrelkovy platoon remained in their trucks out of sight behind the woods. Two batteries of 122mm guns were off table. The Soviets were rated Fearless Conscript, with the Motostrelk rated Fearless Trained.
The opening turns saw a general Soviet advance through the crop fields. A lucky shot at long range destroyed a PzIV. The remaining PzIV passed all of its last stand test for the remainder of the game! Soviet artillery failed to range in, and would have a very hard time ranging in all game, especially after their observer was killed.
The Soviet T-26s took all of the German return fire, and a few tanks were lost every turn. The German antitank guns were eliminated by Soviet direct fire.
By Turn 6 almost all of the T-26s and T-28s had been lost, but the T-34s were unstoppable. The T-34s cleared some space on the open flank of the village, and the Soviet infantry moved forward to assault the village. German defensive fire repelled the assault, and Soviet infantry losses were high enough to make a renewed assault unlikely to succeed.
By Turn 8, the Soviet T-26 companies were down to one tank in each. Some German platoons were rolling last stands. At that point, with only the T-34/BT-7 company still operational, the Soviet players conceded, although the game still could have resulted in a draw. So a narrow German victory!
All the players agreed that the scenario was a good one and was well balanced. Although both sides were mostly tanks, the artillery and infantry were important assets, thus we rated the scenario at an intermediate level of complexity. Very suitable for an open games day.
- TJ