Tempting as it was to select the mighty KV2 at 10 points it was just too expensive. Instead I went for the 'Wrath of the Gods' pre-game barrage, a BA-6 armored car, a MMG, a sniper and a 5 cm mortar. Dave had 5 support points so I was hoping he wouldn't have picked a tank as I'd not gone for much AT ability.
The battlefield looked suitably Russian though the buildings seemed to have been inspired somewhat by dark ages Saxon technology:
After the patrol phase the Russians had jump-off points in the centre wood and the gully/ rocky ground on the left. The Germans jump-off's were spread across the table.
I thought I would try to make the best use of 'Wrath of the Gods' which makes it hard for the Germans to deploy by rushing my forces forward in a very Soviet way. This worked well for the Soviets and the centre German jump-off point was quickly shut down:
The Germans only managed to deploy one squad on their left behind the hill. In response the Soviets open fire on them with their 5 cm mortar:
Deciding to go all-in with the plan to rush forward a second Soviet squad makes a dash for the German deployment point on the left. Would they get there before the German's could deploy or would they be cut down in the open?
In an attempt to mitigate any potential deployment by the Germans a Maxim MMG and the BA-6 Armoured Car go on over watch so at least they can shoot back if the Germans do deploy:
The infantry sprint forwards, now is the crucial time:
No Germans appear and the squad is almost there:
On the right the last Russian squad has been moving forwards as well to take on the Germans behind the hill:
Having closed down the second German jump off point the Russian left flank and centre now have no targets really:
On the right the Russians prepare to charge over the hill:
The Russian squad which took the centre German jump off point has been occupying the attention of the Germans on the hill and has taken some casualties:
With a loud 'Huzzah!' the Russians fix bayonets and rush over the hill:
Despite being outnumbered the Germans fight back and force the Russians back over the hill. The German squad is badly damaged though:
The Germans have finally managed to deploy more of their force with the arrival of a PzIII which immediately moves to engage the Russian infantry in the village. With little AT ability this is bad news for the Russians but perhaps the BA-6 can save the day:
With impressive accuracy the BA-6 hits the PzIII several times, damaging it's gun sight and forcing it to retreat:
The left flank Russians move up through the trees to support the centre:
The Germans have deployed another squad and their senior leader. The survivors of the Russian attack on the hill pull themselves together, yell 'Huzzah!' again and return to the attack. The Germans are waiting for them this time though so get a shot off before the Russians hit reducing their numbers further. In the combat the Russians are wiped out while the Germans lose another man and the junior leader is wounded:
German morale has almost broken but the Russians have also taken a hit with the wiped out squad. While the infantry attacked over the hill again the BA-6 raced along the road and started to pour fire into the remaining German infantry:
The German senior leader goes down and the resulting 'bad things happen' roll breaks the German morale:
This was a good first outing for the Russians. The 'Wrath of the Gods' encouraged me to take far more risks than I usually would rushing the infantry forwards and trying to get into the Germans before they could deploy much against me. The BA-6 also did well, driving off the tougher looking PzIII and then racing round to finish off the survivors from the damaged German squad.
Of course with better dice for the Germans when they were attempting to deploy it could have all gone horribly wrong but with only a 1/3 chance of successfully deploying under the barrage compared to the usual 1/2 it seemed a risk worth taking.
On to Berlin!
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