Two Huts and a Pigpen Fight #1

 All, 

"There the are, dug in like ticks, just two huts and a pigpen, that's what we're dying for," stated Captain Stransky flatly.  "Yes, Sir, all for der Fuhrer," replied Sergeant Steiner, sarcastically.  "Yes, Sergeant.  Off to do our duty then, perhaps die gloriously for the Reich," smiled the Captain.  "Prepare the men for the attack."  "Jawhol, mein Captain," replied Steiner.

It's somewhere on the Eastern Front, 1944.  Steiner has kept his word, showing Captain Stransky "...where the Iron Crosses grow."  Since being kicked out of the Crimea, Stransky has become a respected officer and Steiner, now promoted to Sergeant, has become his trusted enlisted advisor.  Once again Soviet thrusts have developed a salient and now the Germans are counterattacking to straighten the line.

The title "Two Huts and a Pigpen" comes from some very interesting conversations I had with some very interesting individuals back in the late 90s; in this case we were discussing what the typical infantryman's experience (whether Soviet or German) was on the Eastern Front during WWII, and the point these guys were making to me was that we wargamers have a different view than the average contemporary grunt.  We love to think about armored forces and mechanized thrusts, but your average soldier on either side probably never even saw a tank in combat; he likely saw plenty of horses delivering him chow and ammunition, maybe he road in a truck that brought him to the front after arriving at a replacement depot or some such, although it's just as likely that he had actually arrived via rail and walked from the depot to the front, but your average soldier on the Eastern Front was foot mobile and his support came from machine guns, mortars, field guns, and artillery, not tanks, halftracks, armored cars, or self-propelled guns.  And for him, these weren't massive engagements between Army Groups to determine the outcome of the war, it was groups of riflemen and submachine gunners closing with the enemy in the mud, in and around two huts and a pigpen.

So, given that concept, I wanted to play some small, fast games.  I can't promise I'll stay completely away from AFVs, but it's largely going to be infantry-only fights, maybe a vehicle or two on the attacking side, supporting the infantry.  I wanted to go back to my 5Core Company Command roots, playing furious fights on a small table; back to the 'pizza-box gaming,' where there's basically no, or very little, pre-battle maneuver, the two sides are starting the game in contact and basically all weapons are able to range the table.

Overview, north is left, German baseline at bottom (west), attacking towards the Soviet baseline at top (east).  Two huts and a pigpen (top right), a trenchline (top left), a hardball road, scattered stands of trees, and a lot of farmland.

The opposing forces, Germans on left, Soviets on right.  

I rolled up the forces and, believe it or not, they basically came up dead even.

The Germans have a CO (Stransky) and a 2iC (Steiner; the second command team being present to demonstrate their quality advantage), two rifle platoons of three rifle squads each, an MG-42 team, an 80mm mortar team, and 75mm Infantry Gun.

The Reds have a CO, two Rifle Platoons of three Rifle Squads each, two Maxim machine gun teams, and a 76mm Infantry Gun.

So the Germans have two command teams but the Soviets have equal numbers and ar dug in, this should be interesting...

Overview, now with troops placed in their starting positions.

The Germans left: Stransky is with the IG (bottom right), while the MG-42 team is set up in a cornfield across the road.

And the right: the 80mm mortar team is set up behind a cornfield (far right), then you've to 1st Platoon on the far right and 2nd Platoon on their left.  Steiner is tucked in with 1st Platoon.

The Soviet right, where the defenders are occupying a trench.  They've got three Rifle Squads and a Maxim MG team in the trench.

And the Soviet left: there is a Rifle Squad in the right-hand hut and the other Maxim MG Team in the left-hand hut, with the Red CO in the pumpkin patch behind them.  The other two Rifle Squads are dug-in at far left, one behind the other, and the 76mm IG is dug-in at bottom left.

And we're off!  The German attack kicks off with their MG-42 team firing at the huts, to no effect.

As the IG (bottom right) lobs a 75mm HE round at the enemy trenchline (top left).

But the round is short...

So the 80mm mortar team goes to work.

And they drop one right in on the Commies, putting a Rifle Squad 'men down,' suppressing another, and suppressing the Maxim MG team in the trench.

On the far right, 1st Platoon opens fire at dug-in enemy infantry.

Pinning a squad.

As some of 1st Platoon (bottom right) and some of 2nd Platoon (bottom left) fire on the huts.

The Soviet Rifle Squad in the right-hand hut is suppressed and the enemy CO is pinned!

The enemy Infantry Gun (bottom right) returns fire...

Suppressing one of 2nd Platoon's squads.

As the Maxim in the hut also opens fire on the German Rifle Platoons.

The sole Soviet unit in the trench that's still in the fight (the others are 'men down' or suppressed), a Rifle Squad (bottom left), fires on the German Infantry Gun (top right).

And manages to suppress it!

The Soviet CO self-rallies and is back in the fight.

**I'm playing that whenever the leaders (Soviet CO, Stransky, Steiner) self-rally or rally a friendly in base contact they get to roll 2D6 and pick the better score.  This DOES NOT apply to units that are 'men down.'

The Soviet gun (bottom right) keeps pumping HE into the German infantry (top left).

All of 2nd Platoon is now suppressed.

The German MG team (bottom left) returns fire on the Soviet gun.

Pinning the crew.

And the Soviet MG team in the huts (bottom right) returns fire, to no effect.

The German MG-42 team slaps in a fresh belt and tears back into the Reds in the village.

Suppressing the Maxim in the ville (top left) and pinning a nearby Rifle Squad (bottom right)!

Captain Stransky goes to work: he quickly rallies the suppressed IG crew.

Then dashes right and rallies one of 2nd Platoon's squads.

Steiner joins them, rallying the other two 2nd Platoon squads, so that the entire platoon is back in the fight.

Both German Rifle Platoons surge forward (left and top center), as Stransky and Steiner (bottom right) look on.

That aggravating Soviet Rifle Squad in the trench (bottom left, the only one currently in the fight) spots 2nd Platoon moving up into a cornfield (top right) and opens fire. 

Suppressing one of the German squads!

In the ville, the Soviet CO rallies his Rifle Squad.

Then dashes left and rallies his MG team.

The MG team, now back in the fight, quickly turns the gun on the 2nd Platoon squads in the cornfield and rips off a series of long bursts.

The suppressed squad is knocked out and the other squad is suppressed!

The German IG (bottom right) zeros in on the hut and returns fire.

Pinning the Maxim MG team.

But the Soviet IG (bottom right) fires on 1st Platoon, huddling behind a flimsy wooden wall surrounding the nearby field (top left).

One German Rifle Squad is 'men down' and another is suppressed.

Stransky moves up and rallies the suppressed 2nd Platoon squad in the cornfield.

As Steiner moves up on the right to assist 1st Platoon.

The Rifle Squad that was suppressed is successfully rallied, but the Rifle Squad that was 'men down' is now out of the fight.

The German mortar team (bottom right) switches targets and fires on the Soviet Infantry Gun (top left).

And knock it out!

As the German gun (bottom right) fires on the ville (top left).

The Maxim team and CO are suppressed, and the Rifle Squad in the other hut is pinned.

Things are taking a turn for the better for ze Chermans.

1st Platoon moves up on the right, getting ready for the assault.

But that @#$%ing Soviet Rifle Squad in the trench (bottom left), still the only one in the fight because his comrades are either still 'men down' or suppressed, spots 1st Platoon's movement (top right) and opens fire.

And manages, once again, to suppress a German unit, unbelievable!

Then there's a lull in the action, things get unnaturally quiet, and the Soviet commander knows exactly what to do!

*In game terms, the Soviets rolled a 'Scurry,' where there's no shooting but everyone can move or rally.  The issue here is, if any Soviets move then any German units that could see the movement get to move also, without drawing any reaction fire.  But the Reds don't need to move, they need to rally their units as most of their troops are either suppressed or 'men down.'  So the enemy will get a shot at righting themselves and the Germans don't get to do anything but sit there and wonder what's going on...

I'm not complaining about the rules, I love them, this is a feature, not a bug, I'm just pissed about my bad luck, I had just moved 1st Platoon into position to close assault some of those suppressed units into oblivion...

In the ville, the Soviet CO, Maxim team, and Rifle Squad all attempt to self rally.

The CO and Rifle Squad are good, the MG team only manages to get 'up' to pinned.

On the left, the Soviet Rifle Squads attempt to self rally.

The rear Rifle Squad is good but the forward squad stays pinned.

Over in the trenchline, the MG team and suppressed Rifle Squad attempt to self rally (units that are 'men down' cannot self rally, they must have a friendly unit come into base contact and attempt to rally them, and the only squad able to do that is those damn sharpshooters at top left, and they don't want to move right now because if they do it will provide all German units with LOS to them the ability to make a 'free' move).

The Rifle Squad and MG team succeed, back in the fight.

But then the Germans roll up a 'regular' activation, but with a Random Event: "A Hero Emerges," so I get to place a Hero with a random squad and he'll benefit them in terms of morale and close combat.

Man, I had to look all over the place trying to find a singly-based 15mm soldier, and couldn't, so I had to use this guy, who is painted but not based at all.  I used to have a ton of singly-based 15mm troops, back when I used them for skirmish games, but now that I skirmish in 28mm I got rid of them (either re-based or sold).  This is our Hero.

I roll randomly...

And he gets placed with the suppressed squad from 2nd Platoon, how fortuitous.  Since he's a Hero and all I let them roll (2D6!) to try and self rally...

And he rolls Snake-eyes, so they aren't 'clean,' they only manage to get 'up' to pinned...

That was a clue, if I was paying attention, a harbinger of things to come...

The German IG (bottom right) goes to work, pounding the village.

The Maxim MG Team in the village is suppressed.

But the freshly rallied Maxim team in the trench (bottom right) returns fire...

Pinning the crew!

Over on the right, Steiner moves up and rallies the Hero's squad.

As the 80mm mortar team (bottom right) fires on the Soviet trenchline (top left).

The same Soviet squads that were hit before are hit again, in the exact same way: one 'men down,' the other suppressed, but those damned sharpshooters (bottom center) are untouched, as is the MG team (just off camera to top left).

In the center, Stransky directs a Rifle Squad from 2nd Platoon to fire on the huts.

Pinning the enemy Rifle Squad there.

It's as good as it's going to get for the German attackers, it's go time!

Steiner looks on (bottom center left) as three German rifle squads (center and right from 1st Platoon, left from 2nd Platoon) dash forward.

Small arms fire breaks out on the far left, where the non-pinned or suppressed Soviet Rifle Squad (bottom right) spots the "Hero's Squad) dashing out into the street (top center left), on its way to close assault the suppressed Maxim team in the left-hand hut...

And the Hero's Squad is kaput!

No matter, one of the 1st Platoon squads closes with the suppressed Soviet machine gun team...

Red is Soviet, black is German.  The German attackers is +1 for initiating the assault, the Soviets are -2 for being Suppressed, yet somehow...

The German Rifle Squad goes down in a blaze of glory...

On the far right, the last remaining squad from 1st Platoon rushes the pinned Soviet Rifle Squad...

Surely you jest...

And this German squad ALSO goes down in a blaze of glory...

Steiner (bottom center) looks on in utter disbelief, unable to process what he just witnessed, an entire Rifle Platoon's worth of Landser wiped out in a matter of seconds...

Stransky, Steiner, and their last remaining rifle squad fall back.

German casualties: five rifle squads and their 'Hero.'

Soviet casualties, just their 76mm infantry gun, taken out by the mortar team...

Holy Guacamole, that was a blast!!!!!!  I love that style of gaming, fast and furious, built up to a climax, and it was decisive.  Sure I lost, but I don't mind that happening... every now and again.  That was a load of fun and I can't wait to play the next one.  I plan on playing a few, and if it all works the way I think/hope it will, I'll do up a company roster and campaign plan on get to some serious, long term work.  I love everything about how that worked, it felt great to be playing some 5Core Company Command again, with appropriate-sized forces and table, it was really fun. 

The game had a great ebb-and flow, felt right.  The Germans, with their slight qualitative advantage, were slowly getting the upper hand, then a lull in the fight allowed the Reds to get a bunch of guys back in action, but the Germans, ever the professionals, kept up the pressure.  They reached their jump-off points and didn't falter, but the stoic defenders didn't flinch and ejected the Fascist vipers from their village, urrah!

I'm already breaking my rules about 'Two Huts and a Pigpen;' I get my ass kicked and it's time to bing up the armored support! ;)  Once out of the danger area, Stransky and Steiner put their heads together and devised a new plan.  The requested armored support and planned on heading back in, straightaway.  I left the table exactly the same, but it just hit me as I'm typing this that I screwed up; this is supposed to be 1944, but when I set the forces for the next fight I went with early war stuff.  I pulled away the German MG team and Infantry Gun and replaced them with two Stug IIICs (short 75mm guns), then I replaced the Soviet Field Gun with an 82mm mortar, and replaced a couple Rifle Squads with Anti-Tank Rifle teams.  Sorry, I was thinking about some of the really fun early war games I had playing Close Combat on the computer, and nothing beat playing as the Russkies, trying to take out Pz IIs, IIIs, 38ts, and short-barreled Stugs with ATRs ;)  Anyway, I'll play it out the way I've got it, it's already set up, and these are just test games...

Regarding time, I went upstairs, lost a little time as I had to clean some stuff up to make space (there's a 28mm modern game set up on a 3' x 3' section of the table right behind this one), find my QRS, dig out the troops (they had been put up as my last/next scheduled games are 28mm), dig around some more to find certain troops (the infantry guns for both sides weren't in the boxes they were supposed to be), get the terrain on the table, play the game, pull the troops/markers off, and get the next game ready, whole thing took two hours.

Hope you liked it, more to come.

V/R,
Jack