[FoW] Kuuterselkä 1944, cauldron (englantia, kuvia)

[Second Stringer]

Situation: Cauldron
Forces: Soviet udarny strelkovy battalion attacks finnish jalkaväki company
Points: 1750
Date: 14th June 1944 (late-war)
Place: Village of Metsäkulma, along the VT-line near Kuuterselkä, Karelian isthmus, Finland


Intro:
Soviet summer offensive had started five days ago, at 9th June. The offensive was beyond the scale of anything so far seen in the finnish front. The finnish main defence line had been penetrated at Valkeasaari at the first day. Fighting a desperate delaying action, mangled finnish divisions retreated to next defensive line – Vammelsuu-Taipale (VT) line. VT-line was basically just a line in the map with few fortifications…

The 2nd battalion of finnish infantry regiment 53 is holding one of the small strongpoints along the VT-line. Fighting has became very fluid and confused – there’s soviets all around them. Finns have orders to hold on and deny the critical crossroads from the advancing soviets. Some reinforcements have been promised to be on their way…


Forces:

Finnish

Jalkaväkikomppania
Confident veteran
Jalkaväkirykmentti 53, II pataljoona (Infantry regiment 53, 2nd battalion). Infantry regiment 53 was mustered from men around the city of Oulu. The company is led by iron-willed kapteeni Korkiamäki.

HQ:
Kapteeni Ahti Korkiamäki, CiC
Yliluutnantti Taisto Juhantalo, 2iC
+ 2x pzrfaust teams
+ sniper Ensio Isoniitty

COMBAT:
I jalkaväki plt (full) + pzrfaust command team
II jalkaväki plt (full) + pzrfaust command team
III jalkaväki plt (full) + pzrfaust command team

WEAPONS:
jalkaväki MG plt (full)
jalkaväki MG plt (full)
jalkaväki Mortar plt (3 sections)

REGIMENTAL SUPPORT:
jalkaväki Tank-hunter plt (full) + pzrfaust command team
jalkaväki heavy mortar plt (3 sections)

DIVISIONAL SUPPORT:
Sturmi plt led by luutnantti Klaus Sinkkonen

total 1750 pts


Soviet

Udarny strelkovy bataljon
Fearless trained
Leningrad front, XXX Guards rifle corps, 45th Guards rifle division, 129th Guards rifle regiment. The 45th Guards rifle division had earned the honorific title ”Krasnoselskaya” after distinguishing itself at the battle of Kresnoye Selo south of Leningrad during previous winter.
Battalion is led by brave podpolkovnik Zhiguljovsk with major Rodnik as his second-in-command.

HQ:
Battalion hq = 35
+ Sapper platoon = 95
+ Anti-tank platoon (2 x 45mm atg) = 45

Combat companies:
Udarny strelkovy platoon 1 = 250
- 2 x rifle/mg platoon, smg platoon, komissar

Udarny strelkovy platoon 2 = 250
- 2 x rifle/mg platoon, smg platoon, komissar

Udarny mortar company = 135
- 6 x 82mm mtr, observer

Weapons companies:
Shock submachine-gun company = 265
- 3 x smg platoon, komissar

Divisional support:
Guards heavy tank company = 485
- 3 x IS-2 + anti-aircraft machine-guns

Shock artillery battery = 185
- 2 x 122mm obr 1938 howitzer platoons, observer

TOTAL: 1745

Cheers! http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3731.jpg
The game was played at 6th of december, at the independence day of Finland. There was only one proper way to start the battle. To Finland!
:)

The battlefield: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... 2Kopio.jpg
The battlefield as seen from east. Soviet reserves enter from south, finnish from north.
Objectives are marked with yellow circles. Finns deploy in cauldron, marked with grey. Soviet troops starting on-board are marked with red.
Finns on board:
3 x jalkaväki platoon (with hq panzerfausts and 2 x attached hmg teams each) + heavy mortar platoon. One of the jalkaväki platoons is held in immediate ambush.
Soviets on-board:
Shock smg company, shock artillery battery, guards heavy tank company.
The ”waves” refer to the course of action.

Set-up – soviet smg company: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3734.jpg
Shock smg company had got dangerously close to finnish lines behind the woods. They’re accompanied by battalion commander Zhiguljovsk and battalion commissar Khozin.

Set-up – finns around crossroads objective: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3735.jpg
Finnish troops dug in around the strategic crossroads in the village of metsäkulma.

Set-up – finns around command post objective: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3736.jpg
Finns in positions around the command post.

Set-up – soviet tanks: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3737.jpg
Soviet guards heavy tank company closing the village from south-east.

Set-up – soviet artillery: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3749.jpg
Soviet shock artillery battery in the firing positions in the north-eastern corner of the battlefield. This was a dangerous position for the artillery as finnish reserves would arrive from the north.

Hunters stalking prey: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3739.jpg
The final jalkaväki platoon reinforced with the hq panzerfausts deployed from immediate ambush near the IS-2’s. With typical finnish bravado, they began to close the heavy tanks…

Surprise assault: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3741.jpg
In the other side of Metsäkulma village, the shock smg company sneaked through the woods to get within assault range of finnish defenders. Sharp artillery strike forced the defender’s heads down. With mighty ”uraaa!” the first assult wave at Metsäkulma charged. Defensive fire cut down some, but not enogh to stop the assault.

Assult end: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3744.jpg
The assault succeeded at eliminating the foremost defenders. The finns had no intention to fight a prolonged melee, and broke off from the close combat. Breakthrough assault would have carried the soviets in the contact with an unpinned jalkaväki platoon with heavy machine guns, so they decided to consolidate in concealing terrain. They would face terrible amount of anti-infantry firepower…

IS-2’s roll forward: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3745.jpg
In the south-eastern side of Metsäkulma, the IS-2 company manouvered forward. Behind the woods was the strategic crossroads they had orders to secure.
In his command tank captain Belozyorov ordered the tanks to advance as the second assault wave to Metsäkulma.

IS-2’s on the crossroads: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3748.jpg
The IS-2’s aggressive advance surprised the finns and the tank company reached the crossroads and contested the objective.

Smg company destroyed: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3746.jpg
The depleted smg company was facing the brunt of jalkaväki company’s firepower. Their position was bad and casualties were mounting fast… With desperation they began to dig in, but that was no use. Steady fire destroyed the remnants of the smg company and both the battalion commander and battalion commissar were amongst the fallen.

Assaulting the tanks: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3751.jpg
With the destruction of the first soviet assault, the finns were determined also to drive back the second. Jalkaväki platoon with panzerfausts moved closer. The assault was driven back by accurate defensive fire from the tanks.
With finnish infantrymen swarming all around them, the future of IS-2’s promised to be full of action…

Soviet reinforcements: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3755.jpg
The first soviet reinforcements arrived! Battalion’s first udarny strelkovy company led by kapitan Savin entered the battlefield from south. They would form the spearhead of the third assault wave to Metsäkulma.

Assaulting tanks again: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3760.jpg
The fire from the IS-2’s was inflicting casualties to the village’s defenders… Though the first assault at IS-2 tanks at crossroads was pinned, the jalkaväki platoon rallied and decided to attack again! They moved in the positions and assaulted. Also this time the assault was pinned with casualties. However, in the finns were now so close to tanks that next turn thay could assault from cover without having to endure the defensive fire.

Sturmis arrive: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3759.jpg
Finnish reinforcements also arrived at the battlefield! A platoon of Sturmi assault guns moved towards the artillery battery sensing that it would be an easy prey to the surprise attack. The guns have been firing at Metsäkulma non-stop, and luutnantti Sinkkonen decided that they must be silenced.

More soviet reinforcements: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3762.jpg
More troops were pouring in Metsäkulma sector. Soviets reinforced the attack with second udarny strelkovy company, led by kapitan Budylin.

Burning tanks: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3766.jpg
Finally the repeated assault by finnish infantry were paying off. The panzerfaust teams crawled forward in cover and launched their weapons at point-blank range. Two of the monstrous tanks were turned in blazing wrecks in seconds! The last one fought back with the ferocity of cornered beast and managed to destroy the panzerfaust team assaultin it. The finns broke from the fight and retreated back to woods…
Inside the tank kapitan Belozyorov saw that his crew was badly shaken by the destruction of the company’s other tanks but there was no question to retreat!

Sturmis assaulting artillery: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3776.jpg
In the corner of the battlefield the Sturmis were chewing up the soviet artillery battery. The battery went down – but also the sturmis were too far from the action to affect the outcome of the battle any more.

Send in the next wave! http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3768.jpg
The first company had advanced through the woods to the assult range from Metsäkulma. The defenders were still pinned from earlier fire. This assault would be a very dangerous one – the assaulting udarny company was intact with sapper reinforcements and the close terrain hampered the finnish defensive fire.

Guards forward! http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3771.jpg
The assault struck like storm to finnish defenders! Jalkaväki platoon assaulting the IS-2’s was brushed aside. Kapitan Savin urged his men forward. They lauched a breakthrough assault at the heart of the village. Finns tried to resist – but there was simply too many soviet guardsmen coming at them.

Metsäkulma taken: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3774.jpg
The first company ploughed through Metsäkulma. Submachineguns, grenades and sharpened entrenching tools did short work of the defenders. The few surviving defending jalkaväki infantrymen broke and fled. The assault had decided the course of the battle.

The end: http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3775.jpg
The finns had no more manpower to push back the soviets. Finnish reserves had arrived earlier, but they were too little and too late. It was turn 6 and soviets held both objectives.

Result: Soviet victory

Aftermath:
Soviet attack had breached the VT-line. Not only in Metsäkulma, but also in other places. Finns would continue to retreat, fighting a desperate delaying action… And the soviet guards will press forward! Next stop Tali-Ihantala!
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... G_3779.jpg

[Humie]

Katoin raportin jo FOW:n foorumilta ja jälleen on hyvää settiä. Kiitos.

Ainoat moitteet täyty antaa tosta Marskinmaljasta. Sen kuuluu olla piripintaan vedetty niin että vodka kupruaa reunojen päälle. Näin Marski katsoi vapisivatko jännittyneiden esikuntaupseereiden kädet.

[Second Stringer]

Joo, olet kyllä ihan oikeassa tuosta Marskinmaljasta. :) Piripintaanhan sen kuuluu oikeasti olla.

Juteltiin itse asiassa lasien täyttämisestä piripintaan vastustajan kanssa. Tultiin kuitenkin siihen tulokseen, että meidän otteemme tuskin on yhtä tyynen vakaa kuin Mannerheimin esikuntaupseerien - ja sitten olisi ollut hyvää ainetta pitkin rinnuksia. ;)

[Teemu]

Oli kyllä hieno tappelu! Ensimmäinen raportti jonka jaksoin lukea läpi.