[FoW] Breakthrough: Stalingrad (Tankovy vs PzGr) Engl.+kuvia

[Second Stringer]

September 1942
Rynok, the northern suburb of Stalingrad

Mortar battery forward observers Wilhelm and Hans were hiding in the second story of abandoned two story apartment building in the suburb of Rynok. The day was warm, but there was the first hint of fall in the wind. Wilhelm scanned carefully the terrain outside the town with his binoculars. Hans was listening to his portable radio deep in his thoughts. Wilhelm saw movement in the woods in the south around the Ulitsa Geroyev Tuly road. He alerted his partner.
”Hans! Contact the battery! I see movement.”
Radio operator quickly adjusted his headset and set the right channel.
”Yes, there are tanks there. Ivan must be up to something. Light tanks… and some medium ones. Ten, no - at least fifteen.. No there’s more – several companies! Approaching rapidly! Alarm the company HQ! We are under serious attack!”

Mission: Breakthrough
Points: 1500
Soviet mixed tankovy bataljon attacks vs. German panzergrenadier company defending.

Forces: (As per East Front- book)

Soviet mixed tankovy bataljon:
99th tank brigade

Combat companies:
7 x T-70
10 x T-34
2 x KV-1e, 1 x KV-2

Corps support:
full strelkovy company, hmg, komissar, 3 x light mortar

Note: the bataljon commander Podpolkovnik Gryazukh took over the KV-2 (”because he’s the biggest shot”). The KV company (2xKV-1e) & strelkovy company were placed in reserve.

German panzergrenadier company:
16th Panzer ”Windhund” division
Commanded by slightly weak-nerved hauptmann Vahlkampf.

HQ:
Company hq + 2 x panzerknacker 55
Sniper 50

Combat platoons:
1. PzGrenadier platoon (3 sq. + panzerknacker command) 195
2. PzGrenadier platoon (3 sq. + panzerknacker command) 195
3. PzGrenadier platoon (3 sq. + panzerknacker command) 195
Heavy platoon (mortar section only) 75

Weapons platoons:
A-T platoon (2 x 7,5cm PaK40) 150

Divisional support:
Motorized artillery battery (4 x 10,5cm leFH18) 245
Assault gun platoon (2 x StuG IIIG) 340

Germans decided not to place any units in reserve.

Battlefield:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... 5Kopio.jpg
Looking from Rynok southwards, towards Spartakovka and the Dzerzhinsky tractor works. In the eastern edge flows the mighty Volga river. (Nicely added there digitally…)
Units have gray or red circles around their deployment to make the distinquishing easier.
Soviet thrusts and incoming flank attack are marked with red arrows.
Some of the streets in Rynok have street names marked.

Ruined buildings and shellholes were agreed to be bulletproof cover. Ruins are area terrain that can be seen into, but not through. We agreed that in roofless buildings infantry could move normally (no stopping before entering).

Close in - the Soviet spearhead:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3342.jpg
Soviet light tankovy and medium tankovy companies rumbling forward with their battalion commander in KV-2.

Close in – the german positions in the church hill:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3341.jpg
German panzergrenadier company (+ 2iC and 10,5cm artillery battery observer) dug in around the church.

Fire in the sky:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3348.jpg
German defenders reacted rapidly and brought down an artillery strike at the advancing soviets. However, just one T-34 received a direct hit.

”Sie kommen!”
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3350.jpg
The fast T-70 light tanks raced down the Ulitsa Akademika Bardina. In their foxholes the german panzergrenadiers waited gripping their grenade bundles. They were gone to the ground and concealed, so all the firing did not cause losses. However, the hell was about to break loose…

Tank assault:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3353.jpg
The T-70’s drove aggressively straight at the panzergrenadiers, all guns blazing. For a moment, a deadly hide-and-seek game ensued among the rubble, as the light tanks and infantrymen tried to get advantage over each other. One T-70 was destroyed, two more bogged down – but it was the infantry whose nerve broke first. Panzergrenadiers pulled back with losses.

Payback:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3355.jpg
The T-70’s had ventured too far forward. The guns of german 10,5cm battery had lowered their barrels and fired to soviet tanks over open sights. Two light tanks blew up. One more was destroyed by 7,5cm at-gun. The remaining T-70’s began to trade shots with the german artillery battery – but when two more tanks were destroyed, the last remaining T-70 retreated and took cover behind ruined building.

Securing the crossroads:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3349.jpg
Meanwhile, a panzergrenadier platoon joined by hauptmann Vahlkampf had moved out to secure the objectives. There had been some urgent radio messages from the battalion, that the soviets could be trying to do some kind of a flanking manouver along the Skuchaya Mechetka gully west from their sector.

Leviathans of Skuchaya Mechetka gully:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3356.jpg
The fears of hauptmann Vahlkampf proved true.
Kapitan Smirnov of heavy tank company grinned. It had been a pain to get the KV’s through the gully. But neither had the germans expected, that they would try! And now they were in german rear. As the heavy tanks moved around the corner, Smirnov saw shapes of german assault guns in distance. He spoke to intercom: ”Driver – use sledgehammer to take out the gear and stop the tank. Loader – load the main gun with armor piercing. Gunner – prepare to fire when I have come down and have closed the hatch.”
The crews were inexperienced, and the shots failed to knock out the german assault guns. But they certainly got something to think about.
What was worse from the german point of view, the KV’s controlled the Ulitsa Geroyev Tuly objective.

”Feuer!”
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3358.jpg
Inside his StuG, lieutenant Klimke gave orders to his crew and to the other assault gun of his platoon to shift fire from T-34’s to KV’s. From experience he knew that only an extremely lucky shot would penetrate the armor of those monsters. But there was no other choice than to try! ”Feuer!”
The 7,5cm armour piercing rounds struck the heavy tanks – and ricocheted away with showers of sparks! The sound was like striking church bell with sledgehammer…
In the ruins the panzergrenadiers sneaked nearer to Ulitsa Geroyev Tuly objective. Now the strategic road junction was not anymore clearly in soviet control.

Going to church:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3367.jpg
In the other side of the church hill, the medium soviet tanks pushed forward. Podpolkovnik Gryazukh gave an order to three tanks in his left: ”Enemy infantry, entrenched in the hill. Prepare to overrun…”

Overrun:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3369.jpg
With terrible crash the T-34’s smashed through the fence into the church yard. For a moment the german panzergrenadiers tried to resist – but the soviet tankers were seeing red! They squashed the infantrymen mercilessly under their tracks and gunned down those that tried to flee.

King of the hill:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3371.jpg
The surviving german infantrymen eventually stopped at the other side of the hill. Looking back, they saw the soviet tanks prowling menacingly at the church yard.

”Feuer! Feuer! Feuer!”
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3378.jpg
Sweating inside their tanks, the german tankers were fighting a battle against a much more numerous foe. Loaders shoved shells in as fast as they could. T-34’s exploded under impacts.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, lieutenant Klimke saw movement in the ruins behind the KV’s. The vision looked surreal, like the ruins themselves were moving.
Then he realized – it’s just that they are covered by enemy soldiers in brown uniforms. Awfully lot of enemy soldiers…

Red storm rising:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3372.jpg
The rest of the soviet reserves had arrived. Infiltrating through the Skuchaya Mechetka gully, they were now striking the germans from flank! With a mighty roar, they charged! Uraaah..!

Human wave:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3380.jpg
The human wave surged along the Yasnomorskaya Ulitsa towards the panzergrenadiers, that were waiting hidden in ruins. The germans held their fire, confident that the volume of their fire would throw back the assault.

The final assault:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3384.jpg
While focusing to the infantry horde, the panzergrenadiers had missed to spot the soviet KV-2 command tank that had moved to a firing range from other direction. When the german infantrymen heard the boom of the large calibre gun, it was too late… with a lucky shot, the 152mm high-explosive bunker-busting shell hit the building just in the best possible point. All the panzergrenadier teams were hit. Not all were destroyed, but they were very thoroughly pinned.
And then the charge of soviet infantry struck home.

Objectives in soviet hands:
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3387.jpg
In the short but brutal melee the ruins were cleared of german defenders. The company commander, hauptmann Vahlkampf by some miracle survived, and promptly fled from the field of battle. No medals for him today. That was enough for the remaining germans. They began hastily to pull back. There was no possibility to take back the objectives.

Podpolkovnik Gryazukh opened the hatch of his KV-2 command tank. The gunner was peeking from the hatch next to his. They saw that the germans were retreating. He reached to his hip pocket and pulled out a vodka flask, taking a sip and offering it to the grinning gunner. ”For victory, eh, Sergei?” Gunner sipped it and handed it back to Gryazukh. ”Yes, comrade podpolkovnik. But I can’t wait then we drink to victory in Berlin!”

Result: Soviet victory

[Zekta]

Loistava matsi ja loistavasti kirjoitettu. Lisää tätä...me wants!

Mistäs tuo maasto on kotoisin? Eniten vaikutuin pienistä propagandajulisteista talojen seinissä :)

[Second Stringer]

Pelipöytä on vastustajan, joten en osaa aivan kaikesta maastosta sanoa mistä ovat kotoisin.

Vaurioituneet talot kirkko mukaanlukien ovat musket miniaturesin taloja.
http://www.musketminiatures.com/
Katottomat rauniot (joissa on vain savupiippuja ja seinänpätkiä) on rakennettu itse aihioista, joiden valmistajaa en nyt kyllä pysty muistamaan... Propagandajulisteet on käsittaakseni ihan haettu google-kuvahaulla, kopioitu wordiin, pienennetty 15mm mittakaavaan ja tulostettu. :) Tuovat kyllä kummasti tunnelmaa! :)

[Humie]

Loistava maasto, loistavat figut ja loistava raportti (tunnelma + esitystapa). Lisää näitä.

Noi tiiliseinärauniot vois kyllä kiinnostaa. Arvostan jos jaksat selvittää valmistajan.

[smaxx]

Mieletön peliraportti ! Ja mahtavat maastot ja nappulat. Ei parempaa inspiraation lähdettä voisi saada pistää omatkin flames nappulat iskuunsa ja maastoa kasaan. Tämä raportti iski kuin miljoona volttia.