All,
Drive on Minsk
30 June 1941
1730 Local Time
Following the Adjutant's failed assault, KG Klink held fast for several hours as Stukas and artillery pounded the Soviet positions and LtCol Schultz gathered, briefed, and prepped Captain Tausch and his 2nd Grenadiere Company for the assault.
Overview, north is up, looking at the battlefield recently redecorated by the Luftwaffe and artillery. The remains of the Soviet-held village are visible in the northwest (top left), while the Germans will enter from the swampy area in the southeast (bottom right).
The opposing forces, with Germans on left and Soviets on right.
The German force consists of:
Battlefield Commander:
XO:
LtCol Schultz (IAB, WB (2), IC2)
Poland, France, Barbarossa, Battlefield 2nd In Command:
2nd Grenadiere Company Commander: Captain Tausch (IAB, IC1 and IC2)
Poland, France, Greece, Barbarossa,
2nd Rifle Plt PC: Sergeant 1st Class Behrendt (IAB, TKB (1), IC1 and IC2)
Poland, France, Greece, Barbarossa, 1st Squad: Sgt Steinkamp (IAB)Poland, France, Greece, Barbarossa, 2nd Squad: Cpl RauFrance, Greece, Barbarossa 3rd Squad: Cpl TorstenBarbarossa 3rd Rifle Plt PC: 2nd Lt Haas (IAB, IC2)
Poland, Greece, Barbarossa1st Squad: SSgt Wilhelm (IAB, IC2)
Poland, France, Greece, Barbarossa, 2nd Squad: Sgt Lutz (IAB, WB (1))Poland, France, Greece, Barbarossa, 3rd Squad: Cpl SondlandGreece, Barbarossa
MG Team:
Sgt CoulverFrance, Greece, Barbarossa Mortar Team:
Cpl NansGreece, Barbarossa Infantry Gun Crew:
Sgt Kallmeyer (IAB) Poland, France, Greece, Barbarossa, The Soviets suffered a few casualties in Captain Ginter's assault, and more casualties from the German artillery bombardment and airstrikes, but the delay in KG Klink's second attack also allowed the local Red Army commanders to gather more forces and push them into the defense. The Soviet force consists of:
-Commander
-Komisar
-six rifle squads
-two Maxim machine gun teams
-82mm mortar team
Overview, now with troops. The Soviets concentrated in the village (top left), with several units spread to the south in the west (far left), while the Germans have moved their rifle platoons across the road to the edge of the fields, while their heavy weapons remain in cover near the swamp (bottom right).
The German left, where LtCol Schultz is with the infantry gun and mortar team (bottom right), with Sergeant Behrendt's 2nd Platoon hunkered down ahead of them, awaiting the order to cross the line of departure.
While on the German right, Captain Tausch is in the rear with the MG team (bottom right), with Lt Haas' 3rd Platoon in front of them.
The Soviets, huddled amongst the ruins of the village. There are four rifle squads, an MG team, the mortar team, and the Komisar.
While the Soviet right has their commander, two rifle squads, and the other MG team.
It might seem strange that the Soviet commander is over here and the Komisar in the ville, but in game terms they're the same capability.
The battle begins with the roar of Sgt Kallmeyer's 75mm infantry gun (bottom right) firing on the Soviet village (top left)...
And it's right on the money, panicking a rifle squad (white bead at far right), suppressing the MG team (red bead in the house), and pinning the Komisar and another rifle squad (yellow beads at left and bottom right)!
The Red MG team on the right flank (bottom left) fires on the infantry gun (in the trees at top right).
The fire is ineffective and the German mortar team opens fire.
But the rounds fall long, not upsetting anyone's day.
As 3rd Platoon gets moving on the right.
Soviet rifle squads in the northwest (bottom left and bottom center) spot 3rd Platoon (top right) moving up through the fields and open fire.
3rd Platoon safely makes it up to the next field, past the bodies of some comrades from the failed first attack.
The German MG team (bottom right) returns fire on the enemy rifle squads (top left) that fired on 3rd Platoon (right center top, with 2nd Platoon at bottom left).
Suppressing one of the enemy squads (red bead at bottom right, the squad with yellow bead was pinned earlier by the infantry gun).
The Commie MG team on the far right (bottom left) continues firing on the German heavy weapons (top right).
The fire doesn't effect the German heavy weapons, but it does manage to panic one of the 2nd Platoon rifle squads still hunkering down at their startline.
Another Soviet rifle squad (bottom left) fires on 3rd Platoon (top right).
Pinning one of their squads.
More Soviet rifle squads (bottom right and center) open fire, but don't hit anything.
Then the Red mortar team goes to work.
Suppressing the German mortar team.
As the Komisar, MG team, and rifle squad at bottom right all self rally.
And they all succeed! Now they just need someone to move up into base contact with the panicked rifle squad at top right and see if they can get them back in the fight.
Further right, a suppressed Soviet rifle squad self rallies.
Over on the German right, Lt Haas rallies his pinned rifle squad.
And LtCol Schultz rallies the mortar team.
And they begin dropping 80mm mortar rounds on the village.
Which suppresses a rifle squad on the left end of the village.
The German infantry gun (bottom right) fires on the village...
And Sgt Kallymeyer's crew is hot again, panicking the MG team, suppressing the Komisar, and pinning the mortar team! The infantry gun crew is doing its job, everything it can to shoot in the infantry.
And the MG team (bottom right) fires on the Red Army infantry on the right end of the village (top left).
Sergeant 1st Class Behrendt sprints left to rally his panicked rifle squad...
But they are out of the fight...
As Sgt Behrendt (bottom left) looks on, another of his squads (bottom right) fires on the Soviet MG team on the right flank (top left), to no effect.
Members of 3rd Platoon on the German right (bottom right) fire on the Red infantry at the right end of town (top left), and miss.
With all the rest of the German fire proving (almost) completely ineffective, Sgt Kallmeyer turns his 75mm gun (bottom right) on the Soviet troops on the far left (top left) and sends some HE their way.
Pinning the Soviet MG, Commander, and a rifle squad!
German infantry from 2nd Platoon (bottom right) continue firing on their left, to no effect.
Sgt Kallmeyer turns his gun (bottom right) back to the north and resumes firing on the village (top left).
And again rocks their world, panicking the Komisar and suppressing the mortar team!
If it seems like a lot of shooting and not much movement, it's because of some crazy dice rolling for activation: the Soviets rolled a 'Firefight,' so all the Commies got to shoot then all the Germans got to shoot. Then the Germans rolled a 'Firefight,' so we did it again. Then the Soviets rolled ANOTHER firefight, so we did it one more time. So no one gets to move, but everyone that is not suppressed or panicked gets to shoot, and anyone that's pinned or suppressed and didn't shoot may attempt to rally.
The German MG team (bottom right) keeps raking the right-end of the village (top left).
Suppressing two enemy rifle squads.
On the German right, 3rd Platoon (bottom right) fires up there, too (top left).
Pinning a Red rifle squad on the enemy right flank.
The Soviets on their right flank attempt to rally themselves back into the fight...
And it DOES NOT go well for the Commies! Only the rifle squad at top left was successful, while the MG team (bottom right) stayed pinned and the commander and the other rifle squad actually became suppressed (red beads at center)!
The Soviets in the village try the same, and it also does not go well...
One of the suppressed rifle squads fails and runs away, fleeing the fight!
The mortar team fails and falls back, still suppressed (bottom left, from center). The Komisar and MG team are panicked and helpless until a friendly unit moves into base contact with them.
Two rifle squads on the right are good to go.
Down the Soviet right flank, the MG team there (bottom right) continues firing on the German heavy weapons (top right).
Suppressing the mortar team (bottom left) and the MG team (top right)!
Soviet riflemen in the village (bottom center left) fire on the German heavy weapons (top right) as well, to no effect.
On the Soviet right, their Commander and a nearby rifle squad attempt to self rally.
And they're both back in the fight.
As does the Soviet mortar team.
And they're back in the fight.
Once again, LtCol Schultz (bottom left) and Captain Tausch (top right) set about ralling the heavy weapons, and they're both successful.
The German MG team (bottom right) sends a fourth or fifth belt of 7.92mm rounds at the enemy riflemen on the edge of the village (top left).
Suppressing one of the Red Army rifle squads and pinning the other.
Sgt Kallmeyer again turns his 75mm gun (bottom right) on the Soviet MG team on the left flank (top left)...
Suppressing the MG team and pinning their Commander!
As 3rd Platoon, on the German right, fires on the some Red infantry (top left).
Suppressing them!
The German mortar team (bottom right) fires...
And, once again, its 80mm HE rounds fall wide of the mark (these two rifle squads were suppressed/pinned by the MG team earlier).
They shift fire and try again...
And now they've panicked the Soviet mortar team!
All this shooting with no movement is killing both sides; the Germans can't move up while the Reds are pinned/suppressed/panicked, and while the Soviets keep getting to rally themselves, without being able to move they can't help their increasing number of panicked units.
On the German left, Sgt Behrendt leads 2nd Platoon forward on the German left.
While on the right, 3rd Platoon advances, with their Company Commander, Captain Tausch, following in trace (right, just below the cornfield).
Soviet infantry on the right flank (bottom center) fire on 3rd Platoon (top right).
Pinning a rifle squad.
As the German 2nd Platoon moves on them (just off camera to top right), the entire Soviet right flank force (Commander, MG team, and wo rifle squads) manages to self rally back into the fight.
Further north, two more Soviet rifle squads successfully rally.
They move east, one to check the panicked Komisar (far left), the other to check a panicked rifle squad (far right, with the panicked MG team at center).
The Komisar is good to go but the rifle squad remains panicked.
The Komisar dashes into the ruined house to check the MG team.
And they're good.
Damn, all that hard work to pin, suppress, and panic all those Soviet units undone just as the German rifle platoons finally get moving...
The Soviet troops on the right flank begin falling back on the village (just off camera to top left).
As Sgt Behrendt's 2nd Platoon moves up (center, from right), the moving Soviets visible at top left.
And Lt Haas' 3rd Platoon moves up on the German right.
The German infantry gun and mortar team pound the village.
The MG team is knocked out and the Komisar is panicked again (center), the rifle squad that rallied the Komisar is panicked (far left), and the rifle squad that tried to rally the panicked rifle squad is suppressed (far right)!
In retrospect, this was the death blow...
As the German MG team (bottom right) fires on the left end of the village (top left).
Pining a Russkie rifle squad.
Captain Tausch joins 3rd Platoon on the far right and pushes them up to the edge of the village!
Once again, Soviet infantry on their right flank (far left) take 3rd Platoon (top right) under fire.
Pinning Captain Tausch's command team!
The Soviet Commander, on their right, self rallies.
As one of his rifle squads (bottom left) fires on 2nd Platoon (top right).
Pinning a squad.
At the front (south) edge of the village, the suppressed Soviet rifle squad attempts to self rally.
But they fail and fall back, suppressed (bottom right, from top left)!
Lt Haas leads 3rd Platoon into the village, which is filled with dazed and shell-shocked Soviet troops who, once they finally realize what has happened to them, slowly raise their arms in surrender.
The Soviets on the right flank, seeing they were about to be enveloped, beat feet out of the area, ending the fight.
The opposing forces casualties/final dispositions. Doesn't make sense yet, but I shall explain.
These were the only units actually knocked out during this fight, a single German rifle squad and a single Soviet machine gun team.
The German casualty was Sgt Steinkamp, leader of 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon. He was only lightly wounded, so the veteran of Poland, France, and Greece earns his first Wound Badge and will miss the next two weeks of duty, returning 15 July 1941. He is temporarily replaced by Corporal Gottlob.
And then, in the village, these are the units that surrendered: the Komisar, the mortar team, and two rifle squads.
And these are the guys that escaped to the west, going to go hole up in a swamp somewhere then harass German lines of communication for the next two years before being liberated by their own Army and called traitors...
So... I'm not sure what to say here. As I finish typing I feel like that was probably pretty boring for you guys; a bunch of shooting without hardly any casualties, very little maneuver, and once the Germans finally break into the village the Reds surrender, a bit of a milk run. All I can say is that it didn't feel like that at all while playing, that there was a tremendous amount of tension, and not really sure what was going to happen right until the very end.
Colonel Klink thanks his trusty Executive Officer, LtCol Schultz, and the 2nd Grenadiere Company Commander, Captain Tausch, for their exemplary service. KG Klink turns the village to a battalion of Landser and re-mounts its vehicles as the panzers resume rolling east.
More to come!
V/R,
Jack
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