Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Turnitoff saluted as the major arrived in a jeep that was definitely not made in the United States.
"Bad news Turnitoff," the major announced. "The damned Germans are going to be dropping tanks onto us by parachute."
Turnitoff blinked, "Could you repeat that Comrade Major?"
The major flourished an intelligence briefing.
"Our opponents are a parachute panzer division. How on earth do they get them onto the planes?"
"I don't think the panzers necessarily parachute..." but the major wasn't listening. Instead he was bustling from one defensive position to another.
"I want all of the antitank guns pointed at the sky and everyone keep alert for the sound of aircraft."
"Or the Germans laughing," muttered Turnitoff but the major didn't hear him. He was too busy arguing with the commander of an IS2 tank whose gun barrel remained stubbornly horizontal. Turnitoff turned and almost walked over the regimental commissar who was smiling the sort of smile that made you wish he would stop smiling.
"Are you going to obey the major's orders Comrade Lieutenant?" asked the commissar in such a friendly tone that ice trickled down Turnitoff's back.
"I, well, um that is I think it would be wise, or at least not unwise if we didn't entirely discount the possibility that the Germans might just drive their tanks at us." The commissar pulled out a notebook.
"Deliberately disregarding a direct order," said the commissar making a note.
Defeated Turnitoff said, "What would you have written if I had obeyed the order."
"Conspiring with a class traitor to undermine the war effort," replied the commissar cheerfully.
"Is there any way I can get out of this?"
"Oh yes, if you die in action I guarantee a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union decoration."
"And the major?"
"Oh he's definitely going to die in action."
In a pathetic and transparent attempt to avoid defeat at my hands my usual opponent Dave Wilson has fled overseas using a holiday as the flimsiest of excuses. Before he did so we played one final game and when I flipped through a scenario list this is the one that came up. Here I shall play the Soviets uncharacteristically on the defensive in March 1945 as they get attacked by a monument to a bloated drug addict's vanity. To win the parachute panzertroops of the Hermann Goering must control all four buildings on board 38 and also exit 11VP off the board. My doughty Soviet troops are tasked to stop them.
I have quite the impressive force to do the stopping it must be said. Infantry consists of eight squads, six elite and two smg squads with a pair of not completely hopeless leaders, three light machine guns, a medium machine gun and an antitank rifle (it's 1945 for God's sake). Also present is a 45mm antitank gun. Six concealment counters and five foxholes add a small measure of protection. Armoured support is provided by a T34/85 and an IS2 tank. Lest this seem insufficient on turn 4 a pair of SU100 tank destroyers trundle on accompanied by a pair of smg squads as escort.
Dave, commanding the Hermann Goering has 12.5 squads of infantry, four elite and eight and a half first line equipped with four light and two medium machine guns oh yes, and a panzerschreck. They are led by three officers including a none too shabby 9-1. Dave's armoured support is mildly terrifying, three late model Panthers with a PzIVJ making up the numbers and no doubt feeling slightly inadequate.
Below is my set up. The T34 goes up on the hill to guard the German entrance area. The IS2 does the same from ground level at the bottom of the board. The 45mm goes in a convenient clump of trees hopefully positioned for side or rear shots as Dave's panzers roar past in search of the exit. You may notice a couple of odd things about my set up such as why are there so many troops on the hill and what is that large concealed unit doing behind the hill? The answer is; "stupidity". I didn't read the entrance requirements closely and didn't realise that the German entry area is quite restricted. I had nightmare visions of being flanked by Panthers while infantry swept up the hill to overwhelm my hapless T-34. Fortunately I wasn't a complete moron (opinion is divided on this point) and the large concealed unit is in fact a dummy. Still it did mean I was a little skimpy on troops down in the village, you know the victory locations. At least the mmg was there with my best leader.
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| Honest to god I need a keeper sometimes |
Realising that he had to take his lumps early Dave rolled his panzers on in a compact wedge hoping the presence of nearby trees would protect them from my tank on the hill. This worked for one turn while his infantry infiltrated through the trees. A sizeable force of infantry also entered towards the south no doubt headed for my IS2.
The German first turn ended without too much harm done by anyone except for a German half squad in the south who got a little eager and was broken. I did have a squad down with my IS2 to protect it from onrushing infantry and I congratulated myself on my good sense. Aside from that my T34 naturally discovered it had no APCR but was drooling over the possibility of side shots on the menacing Panthers.
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| German turn 1, the Panthers are coming |
In my first turn I took that good sense I was congratulating myself on and threw it out the window. The squad/lmg combo I had protecting my IS2 was sitting in some trees and I decided it was time for it to move to the foxhole I had preprepared. Of course this meant exposing it to a shot from the German troops looming up but with eight morale and a number of hindrances I thought the risk worth taking. I was wrong, so very very wrong. The squad broke and suddenly my IS2 was alone in the world with a pack of battle crazed fallschirmjager ready to fall on it in the next turn. Perhaps sensing that its time was running out the IS2 punched a hole through the front of a Panther and set it ablaze. First armoured blood to me.
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| There is a disturbing amount of infantry eyeing off my IS2 but one Panther will roar no more. |
As previously stated the Germans just have to take their lumps early and push through the killing zone. Push they did, my T34 nailed a second Panther but down in the south my gallant IS2 breathed its last as it was swarmed by German infantry. I did my best to protect it at long range with my mmg team in the village and did manage to break a couple of units but the IS2 went down in a flurry of arms and legs and the whoosh of a panzerfaust. I have no idea if panzerfausts go "whoosh" but it seems like an appropriate noise for them to make.
In the centre of the board Dave's infantry pushed towards the village, now able to be supported by a mass of infantry pushing up from the now tank deprived south. For my part I started moving some of my ill placed infantry out of their foxholes on the hill and sent them a little nervously in the direction of the village. Dave's surviving Panther swung around to engage my T34 presenting its near impenetrable frontal armour in doing so.
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| Two Panthers down but the writing is on the wall for my T34 |
Focus now shifted to the infantry battle as Dave pushed his troops forward. Somehow my T34 survived the turn and it and the 45mm managed to break a couple of his squads in the centre. In the south Dave's troops seized their first building from a heroic dummy stack which managed to fake out the attackers for two turns. There are a large number of Germans in the south just waiting to be rallied by the 9-1 but for the moment I'm holding firm.
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| The Germans push forward |
Another bad turn for the armour followed as Dave's remaining Panther finally took out my T34 which had been cheerfully carving up German infantry left, right and centre. Revenge was gained by my 45mm which destroyed the Panzer IV which Dave had brought up to support his infantry. With the Panther temporarily the lone queen of the battlefield Dave pressed forward with his infantry of which he seemed to have a disturbing amount despite his losses so far.
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| I've even taken some prisoners, bad times are coming though |
With freshly rallied troops Dave launched his first assault on the village breaking my mmg team and pushing into another building. The close combat was complicated by the German prisoners running in circles trying to avoid being killed by both sides. The surviving Panther rolled forward more to menace than harm. It was fearsome but next turn I would have a pair of my own beasts arriving to face off against it.
Turn four ended with my situation looking a lot better than it actually was. I still held all three building hexes in the village and my SU100s had arrived to bolster the defence (actually to prevent an exit). In truth there wasn't a single unbroken Soviet unit left in the village and with my usual armoured skill I had rolled one SU100 directly into the line of sight of Dave's remaining Panther. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish my tactics from an explicit attempt at suicide.
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| One SU100 is not long for this world |
Dave's fifth turn started with the Panther killing the SU100 and then mopping up the rest of the village. He had the victory locations and now just needed to exit the 11VP required for the win. My reinforcing smg squads did manage to pin or break some of his troops as they headed for the exit but still things looked gloomy. Dave had a game winner in the Panther, roll that off and the relevant victory points were pretty much assured.
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| End of Soviet turn 5 |
Turn six rolled around and Dave made his move. The Panther started up and headed for the exit. Up on the hill my remaining SU100 waited for it. There wasn't time for finesse Dave barrelled directly towards the board edge and as he did so my SU100 put a round into its side which reduced it to plasma. That was the game winning shot. Dave could, and did, exit enough infantry to garner the necessary exit victory points but in doing so left the village vulnerable to a counter attack. I only had to recapture one building and capture it I did for a not entirely deserved victory at the last.
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| Endgame, a Soviet squad is poised to recapture a building in the advance phase and there is nought the Germans can do about it. |
Many thanks to Dave for the game which went right down to the wire. Despite set up mistakes and general idiocy I managed to pull out a victory at the last and, more importantly, send Dave off on holidays with his shoulders bowed with defeat.
"We did it," muttered Lieutenant Turnitoff staring around at the recaptured village in disbelief.
"Indeed we did comrade," replied the commissar suddenly appearing at Turnitoff's elbow. Turnitoff did his best not to scream but wasn't entirely successful. "A triumph of Bolshevik fighting spirit over the fascist dogs."
"Yeah, triumph," replied Turnitoff nervously. "Ah, where's the major?"
"He died fighting like a hero."
"Really, I didn't see him in the action."
"He was killed by a sniper," replied the commissar. "Took a bullet right through the back of the head, chance in a million."
"So," said Turnitoff hesitantly, "are we good?"
The commissar gave a smile best described as "carnivorous".
"I would really like you to think so."
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