Crossfire: Small Threat to the Flank

Saturday afternoon Carl and I played Steven Thomas’ Small Threat to the Flank scenario. 

https://balagan.info/small-threat-to-the-flank-a-crossfire-scenario#more-7376 

It was a small threat indeed, and a slightly larger one to the front. June 1941 and a Soviet company is trying to hold out till nightfall against 4 German platoons. The Germans break when 11 squads (tanks counting 2 each) are knocked out. The Soviets break at 9 squads. The table is shown below.

Carl decided to take the Soviets. He deployed two hidden platoons, his left flank platoon deployed in the open. I deployed as shown below. Due to a mistaken idea about the power of heavy artillery, I eschewed deploying infantry on the rough hill, instead setting up a column of platoons on my left. You may wonder what I was thinking. So do I.

An early attempt to flank the enemy on my right came to naught, under tank, 82mm mortar and infantry fire.

By my fourth initiative I sent two platoons on my left onto that hill I could have deployed on. Most were pinned by Soviet fire, some suppressed. Yellow markers indicate pinned squads, red markers denote suppressed. One of my platoons, though pinned, fired crossfires, aided by their attached HMG. As my artillery generally failed to accomplish much, this platoon began to work over the Soviets opposite. From time to time I would rally suppressed squads but had trouble rallying pinned ones.  Sudden burst of hits by German artillery and my killer platoon put paid to the Soviet platoon in the woods south of the large hill. I discovered later that they had deployed in an area out side their deployment zone. It didn’t help them since they were wiped out, all save the platoon commander.

 

As the sun grew low in the sky, I suddenly remembered smokescreens. The heavy artillery and the 75mm were out of ammo, so I began laying smokescreens with the 50mm mortar. Then attempts to unpin infantry often failed. I guess the troops were loath to advance after seeing the mess their CO was making. My Pz III (yes, it was a Pz IV, I don’t have that many tank models) tried a couple shots at the T 26. The first two missed by a mile. I returned to trying to get my infantry platoon on their feet. After that failed, I took a shot with the Pz III again. Direct hit, through the thin front armor and the T 26 blew up.

By now my 50mm mortar was out of ammo, so no more smoke screens. There weren’t that many Soviets left to contest an advance, but everyone was pinned or worse. When the tank tried to go forward, it bogged.

In the picture below, there is one more Soviet squad hidden behind the house at the top of the photo. Not that many, but they still have a HMG (which had knocked out mine). And my foot soldiers could not get up and advance.

An overhead shot of my left flank and center at game end.

Carl’s Soviets achieved their goal. Bad German CO, no doughnut. (Actually, Carl brought some doughnuts before the game.) My dice, which run either hot or cold were distinctly cold most of the game and refused to haul my chestnuts out of the fire. Once, when Soviet artillery managed not to get a single hit, Carl remarked that his gunners were following the German example. Next time I’ll sacrifice some small animals to the dice gods. Maybe even a big one. And use smokescreens earlier in the game.