All,
DISREGARD, THIS DOES NOT COUNT AS AN OFFICIAL KG KLINK GAME
Drive to Minsk
0600 local time
22 June 1941
Well, here we are, finally, and it's taken me far too long to get here! I was shocked to discover that it's been three and a half years since Kampfgruppe Klink closed out its campaign in Greece (and that I kicked of Colonel Klink's misadventures all the way back in December of 2014). Time flies...
But it's time to go, WWII on the Eastern Front. A heavyweight clash between two tyrants, two of the worst regimes in the history of the world, that could only end with the complete and utter destruction of one of them. A war without mercy, whose destruction and death has never been matched. Though we all know they exist, I will not show, game, or even discuss any atrocities; there will be no partisan actions nor death squads nor any other nonsense, I'm simply going to stick to conventional force on force clashes, focused on following a group of soldiers and, in this case, seeing who survives. I can see myself playing out the rest of WWII for KG Klink right here on th Eastern Front, but I can also imagine myself getting sick of the plain, brutal, relentlessness of the slaughter at some point and so maybe diverting KG Klink back somewhere else, maybe Italy, Normandy, Holland, or the Ardennes, depending on time frame. No matter how long I do or do not stay with KG Klink on the East Front, I will be careful to keep them from getting completely wiped out, either through attrition or battles of encirclement/annihilation, so don't be surprised/upset when KG Klink gets replacements when there were no replacements to be had in real life, or gets suddenly pulled out of the line to rest and re-fit right before it would be cut off and destroyed (i.e., fighting in Stalingrad but pulled out right before the Soviet Operation Uranus sealed the German 6th Army's fate).
In any case, here we are. Colonel Klink was awarded the Knight's Cross for his (and his troops') performance in Greece, though he still wasn't promoted (some believe he's being passed over due to his wife having Jewish ancestry). The kampfgruppe was quickly pulled out of the line and returned to Germany, where it rested, re-fit, re-organized, received replacements, and trained them before boarding trains and heading east. Regarding reorganization, the kampfgruppe is now structured as follows:
-Command element (CO, XO, OpsO, Adjutant, and various staff personnel)
-Panzer Company (four platoons of five tanks each, one platoon of Pz IIs, one of Pz IVs, and two of Pz IIIs)
-Grenadiere Company (motorized, with four rifle platoons of four rifle squads, a command squad, an anti-tank rifle, and a 5.0cm mortar, each, and a weapons platoon of four MGs and four 8.0cm mortars)
-Motorcycle Company (motorized, with four rifle platoons of four rifle squads, a command squad, an anti-tank rifle, and a 5.0cm mortar, each, and a weapons platoon of four MGs and four 8.0cm mortars)
-Reconnaissance Company (with an armored car platoon [Sdkfz 222], a heavy armored car platoon [Sdkfz 231], an armored reconnaissance platoon [Sdkfz 250] with a command squad and four recon squads, and an armored engineer platoon [Sdkfz 251] with a command squad and four pioneer squads)
-Schwere Company (with an infantry gun platoon [7.5cm guns], an anti-tank gun platoon [PaK-38], a light AA platoon [2.0cm guns], a heavy AA platoon [8.8cm guns], an assault gun platoon [Stug IIID], and a panzerjaeger platoon [PzJgr I])
-Various and sundry support elements/personnel (artillery, supply, military police, mess, communications, etc...) which probably won't be seen directly on the table but can be used as fodder when the line units are eaten up
So, let's get to it. Initial reconnaissance has been conducted and the assault units have moved up to the start lines; arty is not firing because it's been packed up, ready to move up in order to be able to support the follow on attacks, with supporting fires planned to be delivered by fixed wing assets. But where are they? Colonel Klink anxiously glances at his watch for the fifteenth time in the last five minutes; the Stukas should have arrived fifteen minutes ago, and it's nearly time to begin the attack!
Overview, north is up, with rolling terrain broken up by a few small hills, a few scattered buildings and a small village, various uncultivated fields, clumps of trees, and stands of sunflowers, bisected by the River Bug (running north/south), and serviced by two hardball roads (running east/west). The hills are Hill 135 (left center), Hill 115 (bottom center), Hill 122.7 (right center), and Hill 122.6 (far right). The river is crossable by a bridge in the south (right center bottom) and a ford in the north (right center top).
Regarding terrain, the fur mat is from The Wargaming Company, the rivers are from... I can't remember but it doesn't matter because they went out of business (but Joe Legan has them and maybe he'll show up and remind me). The fields are from Terran4Games, the roads are from Fat Frank, the trees and bushes are from Crescent Root, the sunflowers (corn) are from somewhere on Ebay that I can't find anymore (would love to get some more), the hills are from Battlefront/GaleForce 9, the bridge and resin buildings are from the now-defunct JR Miniatures, and the wood houses are from some guy on Ebay (sincerely sorry I don't remember who, but it was about ten years ago).
I'm playing these games solo in 15mm, mostly Battlefront models, but with some Peter Pig, Zvezda, Forged in Battle, and Old Glory/Command Decision mixed in. I'm using my old standby, 5Core Company Command to play these out.
The opposing forces, which, by 5Core Company Command standards, are massive, with Germans on the left and Soviets on the right. The Germans are attacking with an understrength rifle company (two platoons, some MGs and mortars, with a third rifle platoon in reserve), reinforced by some Stugs and armored cars, whilst the Soviets are defending with a reinforced rifle company (three full rifle platoons supported by lots of MGs, anti-tank rifles, anti-tank guns, mortars, and field guns). Colonel Klink himself, as well as the Grenadier Company commander, Major Freitag, are on hand to lead the initial attack.
The German OOB for this fight:
CO: Colonel Klink, holder of the Knight's Cross, veteran of Poland, France, and Greece
XO: Major Freitag, holder of the Iron Cross First Class, veteran of Poland, France, and Greece
1st Rifle Platoon,* commanded by Lt Ost, holder of the Iron Cross 2nd Class, veteran of Poland, France, and Greece
1st Squad, 1st Platoon, led by SSgt Imhofe, holder of the Iron Cross 2nd Class, veteran of Poland, France, and Greece
2nd Squad, 1st Platoon, led by SSgt Lemkuhl, veteran of Poland, France, and Greece
3rd Squad, 1st Platoon, led by Sgt Vigerte, veteran of France and Greece
4th Squad, 1st Platoon, led by Cpl Neumeyer, seeing his first action of the war
2nd Rifle Platoon,* commanded by Lt Haas, holder of the Iron Cross 2nd Class, veteran of Poland and Greece
1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, led by SSgt Nader, veteran of Poland, France, and Greece
2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, led by Sgt Steinkamp, veteran of Poland, France, and Greece
3rd Squad, 2nd Platoon, led by Cpl Orel, veteran of France and Greece
4th Squad, 2nd Platoon, led by Cpl Tobias, seeing his first action of the war
Weapons Platoon, commanded by Lt Wolf, seeing his first action of the war
MG Team 1, led by Cpl Bonisch, seeing his first action of the war
MG Team 2, led by Cpl Gotze, seeing his first action of the war
Mortar Team 1, led by Cpl Schieffen, veteran of Greece
Mortar Team 2, led by Cpl Romeike, seeing his first action of the war
Armored Car 1, commanded by Sgt Fasbender, veteran of France and Greece
Armrored Car 2, commanded by Cpl Moen, veteran of Greece
Stug 1, commanded by SSgt Kulle, veteran of France and Greece
Stug 2, commanded by Cpl Kroner, veteran of Greece
Sergeant First Class Mader's 3rd Rifle Platoon* is standing by, as reserve for this attack. Hopefully they won't be needed...
*each Rifle Platoon also has a 50mm mortar and anti-tank rifle with an unnamed leader.
The Soviet force consists of the following:
-Commanding Officer
-3 x Rifle Platoon (Platoon Commander and 4 x Rifle Squad, each)
-Machine Gun Platoon (Platoon Commander and 4 x Maxim guns)
-Mortar Platoon (2 x 82mm mortar)
-Anti-Tank Rifle Platoon (4 x PTRD 14.5mm ATR)
-Anti-Tank Gun Platoon (3 x 45mm gun)
-Field Gun Platoon (2 x 76mm howitzer)
Overview, now with troops. The Germans are on their start line (far left), getting ready to cross the Line of Departure, still waiting on the Stukas to arrive. The German plan is pretty simple: MG1 will go in the house at top left, get MG2 up on Hill 135 (center left), 1st Platoon will move up in the shadow of Hill 135 then decide whether to go high, low, or sit tight and support by fire as 2nd Platoon moves up on either side of the bottom road, intent on getting across the bridge (right center bottom), while an armored car and Stug move up each road. The 3rd Rifle Platoon is off table, standing by should the assault force get into trouble. The Soviet plan is pretty simple as well, with a rifle platoon up at the ford and a rifle platoon down in the village near the bridge, both supported by MGs and field guns, while their two hills are bristling with MGs and anti-tank guns, with their mortars between. The only questionable deployment is that of the 3rd Rifle Platoon; all morning long reports have been coming in that the war has started. The local Soviet commander has gotten antsy so he has sent a rifle platoon across the river to act as pickets, without really providing them any instructions as to what to do or how to get back across the river once the shooting starts...
The German start line, with Lt Wolf and Cpl Bonisch's MG team at top left, an armored car and Stug, then 1st Platoon (left) with 2nd Platoon below them, split on either side of the road, where the other armored car and Stug are waiting for the order to move out.
The Soviet defenses, very formidable.
In retrospect, I made the table a little too long (my favorite 5Core Company Command games don't tend to start with a whole lot of pre-battle maneuver/long approach march, they tend to start pretty much where the shooting begins) AND yet I still managed to cram the table full of too much gear for my 'sweet spot' in 5Core Company Command games (history has shown my best games have had about 30 units on the table; here I've got a whopping 57!!!). I shall remedy this...
Another admin note: I'm going to try cutting back on how I write my battle reports, they simply take too much time. Already, just to the point you are reading right now, I've already spent two hours loading the photos and typing out the background, OOBs, and describing the terrain and scheme of maneuver. So I'm going to try to back off from giving you a blow-by blow account of the fight, and just sort of focus on the higher level issues, albeit with 'zooming in' on some of what I believe to be the key details.
A look at the Soviet right, where you can see pickets across the river, and then the formidable defenses, with plenty of infantry, MGs, mortars, field guns, anti-tank guns, and anti-tank rifles, mostly dug in.
Ditto on the Soviet left.
And with that, let's get it on!
Germans push ahead.
Red ATG goes to work.
Not a good time for ze Chermans as an Sdkfz 222 and a Panzer III are brewed up.
And then Soviet arty begins to fall...
Germans swarm the hills near the river.
Getting a bit of help from the Luftwaffe.
Which pounds the densely packed Soviet defenders.
Yeah, they're hurting under all those bombs.
German recon pushes ahead and a firefight breaks out near the southern bridge.
But the 20mm rapid fire cannon makes quick work of the Reds hiding in the cornfield.
And here come more Stukas.
Bombs rain down on the Commies again, like fish in a barrel.
The Colonel rallies troops (bottom right) and pushes them towards the bridge (top center).
Soviet troops on the east bank engage the invaders.
A Stug burns...
Those Commies are going to have to learn that cornfields are just concealment, not cover, as this MG-34 quickly proves.
German 8.0cm mortars go to work.
Pounding the farm on the opposite bank.
The Germans reinforce the center.
Leading to a Scout Car pushing the bridge.
The Soviet defenders, quite thinned out after two bombing raids, do what they can to halt the German advance in the south.
A Red anti-tank rifle team (bottom left) fires on the Sdkfz 222 on the bridge.
The Scout Car is immobilized and the crew bales!
German mortars pound the northern crossing.
The Soviet defenders re-group.
As their mortars pound the Germans in the south (top center).
The Reds continue doggedly rallying and re-occupying positions they were forced out of on the east side of the river.
Colonel Klink moves atop the center hill to get a better look at the battlefield, as his lead assault elements continue to be pummeled by Red mortars (bottom right).
German infantry begin cautiously pushing across the bridge, covered by a smokescreen (far right).
The Reds push troops left to counter the German advance onto the bridge.
The first Landser are across (far right), as Major Freitag quickly pushes more up onto the bridge.
A fierce melee breaks out at the nearby farm!
The Commies have stood their ground, eliminating three rifle squads (right) and sending the German platoon commander scurrying for cover (far left), panicked!
Colonel Klink calls in reserves (bottom left).
The Soviets consolidated their positions.
While in the south, the Reds chase own the fugitive German platoon commander...
And put him out of the fight!
But Major Freitag immediately responds, personally leading a fresh platoon into the attack at the farm!
The Soviets are defeated (bottom left) and the Germans push north, capturing the Soviet commander (top right)...
Which is enough to send the remaining defenders fleeing for the hills!
I hope you enjoyed it. I actually had a blast, it just took about five hours, which is not acceptable when you're trying to play out a campaign with two dozen fights!
More on the way.
V/R,
Jack
No comments:
Post a Comment