Barbarossa - The Introductionary Battle- AAR

 

A Rough Map of our game on Saturday, July 17th at the Source.    

• SVT 1 - Soviet Assault Platoon
• SVT 2 - Soviet Rifle Platoon
• SVT 3 - Soviet Rifle Platoon and HMG
• SVT 4 - Soviet Assault Platoon
• Ger 1 - German Infantry Platoon and HMG
• Ger 2 - German Infantry Platoon and ATG
• Ger 3 - German Engineers and Panzer II
• Ger 4 - German Infantry Platoon

The German Plan was to move the 1st two German Infantry Platoons to the left gap and reinforce with the Engineers while the 3rd German Infantry Platoon was aimed at small village controlled by SVT3

Brad and Jack

After running the play test two weeks prior I decided to scale back the scenario.   There were practical reasons for this; including I hadn't a single German painted.   There was also a play issue about having too many figures in each players control  while learning the game.    To be honest I was not expecting it to go well at all and on Wednesday prior I was extremely concerned.

With eight new players, each controlling about 40 figures I think the game played far better than I had expected.  

Rolf, Odin, Jim, Steve, and Marty

German TO&E

Ger 1

• Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
• Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• HMG (HMG, HMG)
• Forward Observer

First Fire.  The Soviets LMG takes on some
German Infantry on the Soviet Left.

Ger 2 

• Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
• Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• 50mm Mortar
• ATG (ATG, ATG)

Ger 3

• Engineers (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|Rifle, SMG|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Flame Thrower|Rifle, LMG)
  
• Engineers (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|Rifle, SMG|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Flame Thrower|Rifle, LMG)
• Trucks (Truck, Turck)
• Panzer II (Panzer II, Panzer II, Panzer II)

Ger 4

• Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
• Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• 50mm Mortar

SVT 1

• 
  Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
  
• Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG)
• Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG)
• Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG, LMG)
• HMG (HMG)

SVT 2

• Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
• Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG, LMG)

SVT 3

• Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, Rifle|Rifle, LMG)
• Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG, LMG)
• HMG (HMG)
• 
  

SVT 4

• Command (Lieutenant, Messenger, Messenger, Sniper)
• Squad 1 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG)
• Squad 2 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG)
• Squad 3 (Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, SMG|SMG, SMG|SMG, LMG, LMG)

For those paying attention, my first screw up.   I grabbed two Soviet Assault Platoons and 1 Rifle Platoon rather than the other way around 1 Assault Platoon and 2 Rifle Platoons.  Its not too out of the ordinary for the Soviets at the time, many of the new battalions and divisions were given PPD-40 SMG or the new PPSH-41 SMG depending on your source.  However for Game Balance...

My Second Screw up, my printer ran out of toner and I didn't print up the Command Cards.  SO players were reading the back of the figures and my notes to determine what they had. 

My third mistake, not enough pictures. 

 Actual movement map.

A few comments

• Ger 1 got bogged down in the terrain.
• Ger 2 got to the wood line and found Soviets, after a brutal exchange the Germans pushed the Soviets out of the Woods
• Ger 3 got bogged down getting around the stream, including getting a truck stuck in the Russian Mud.
• Ger 4 marched out, got 1 squad destroyed, pushed a few Soviets out of the woods and created there little fort in the clump of trees and started digging in.
• SVT 1 - Marched into the woods, and rolled badly on some morale rolls (all three squads failed right before the Germans engaged in melee) and were pushed out.  
• SVT 2 - Thinks they saw something during the game, but the magic eight ball says probably not.
• SVT 3 - Attempted to shoot Ger 4 out of the woods for no effect.
• SVT 4 - Hey these PPD-40 don't have any range, I better move.  

Things that we got wrong in the Rules

• Being in Light woods is not both Light Cover and a Hinderance while shooting.  It is a hinderance for spotting.  Go figure.
• Heavy Support Weapons cannot move "At the Double" nor "Cautiously".

Things I am not happy with

• Observation Rules.  
• Players moving their figures as a clumped mob.
• Observation Rules
• Jim is not happy with the AVF Combat Rules
• Observation Rules
• The Quick Reference Sheets are incomplete
• Observation Rules

The Quick Reference Sheets are incomplete.   There are at least four tables that should be on there that are not.   It is frustrating for players to not know what they are looking for.

Clumped Mob of figures.   It just drive me nuts, I realize it is from playing all those Horse and Musket games, but man what Artillery would do.

Jim doesn't like the combat rules for Armored Fighting Vehicles, calls it cumbersome.   I got to be honest this is not a Tank game, so I am not sure it matters that you have to roll, to hit, determine where you hit, determine penetration, and determine effect.   There is really not much way of simplifying without making it super boring.   

Observation Rules.   To be covered in a separate post.

Kursk to Barbarossa? Creating a Project

At 3:15 AM on Sunday morning June 22, 1941 the Axis forces lead by the German Army began the invasion of the Soviet Union.   The enormity of this invasion can be measured in one stat, eighty percent of the all the Axis Military forces were committed to battle in one fell swoop.  

The numbers are staggering.  The Axis forces committed 166 Divisions, 3.8 Million men, 3,400 armored fighting vehicles, and 2,700 aircraft.  The Soviet Union countered with 220 Divisions, 2.8 million men, 11,000 armored fighting vehicles, and 7,100 aircraft.    

Over the five months of combat during Operation Barbarossa (June 22 - December 5) the Axis forces suffered over 1 million casualties, including 186,000 Killed in Action, 660,000 wounded, 40,000 Missing in Action.   2,735 Armored fighting vehicles destroyed, 2,870 aircraft lost.  

The numbers for the Soviet Union were even higher.   567,000 Killed in Action, 1.3 million wounded or injured, 2.8 million Missing in Action, 21,000 Armored Fighting Vehicles destroyed, and 11,000 aircraft lost.     

This summer marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa. I was reminded of this late last week.  After some discussion and some personal reflection it was decided to pivot our project to Operation Barbarossa.  

This change is not without issues.   Currently I have 0 German armored fighting vehicles for this era of WWII.  No Panzer II and Panzer III's that I own are from later in the war.   On the Soviet side I do own 3 T-26 Light Tanks 6 KV-1 Heavy Tanks.   

That changed with an order to Old Glory Miniatures over the weekend.   

On the Soviet side I have 3 platoons of painted infantry (2 SMG, 1 Rifle) plus 2 companies worth of assets (Anti-Tank, Anti-Tank Rifle, Mortar and Heavy Machine Gun) ready.   I have 3 platoons of infantry on the painting table (1 SMG and 2 Rifle), 1 company of T-26 Light Tanks and 1 company of KV-1 Heavy tanks.  

On the Axis Side I have 1 squadron of German Cavalry, 2 platoons of German Infantry and 1 company worth of German Tanks, once my order from Old Glory is received.