Last night after putting the kids to bed, I took Brian's advice, retreated to the gaming bunker with my tablet, laptop, and a six sided die and put the Ponyri campaign into motion on the map in order to see how it played. (wife sees me - "now you need a tablet, laptop, and dice? for what?? I thought you just gamed with miniatures!!"
I learned some things and would like to share the outcome thus far but first, here is a play by play of the first 4 turns! Grab a cup of coffee or strong tea and settle in for this roller coaster of a campaign!
Turn 1 Jumping Off
The Germans have the initiative guaranteed until turn 4 and got to lay their 2 x attack arrows first, attacking the "Tank Hill" and "Buzuluk" sectors. The Soviets pick a target that will become a serious thorn in the Germans' side, Ochki, which is a German jumping off point and also important for ensuring tactical flexibility and supply for the Germans.
The Germans are allowed to commit up to x 2 Firestorm troop units to help decide the outcome and the Soviets may only commit up to x 1 Firestorm unit and until turn 4 those units are mostly assets which would be organic to a Soviet rifle Division or Corps.
All attacks are successful. The map is updated in PowerPoint and we're ready to start turn 2. Of note, the Soviets in Kleninskoye have been cut off and will need to make a supply roll if they want to do something.
Turn 2 Bold Advances
Note that the Soviets place their arrow towards the German "rear area" of Arkhangelskoye and naturally the Germans press on towards Ponyri. The Germans are enjoying their superiority for the time being with committing 2 x FS troops per battle to the Soviets' 1, as well as placing the Attack arrows first with guaranteed initiative. This is dramatically helping the Germans in their drive.
All attacks on turn 2 are successful. The Germans commit Nebelwerfer Corps Artillery and aircraft against Hill 242.2 while the Soviets commit additional infantry assets. Against Hill 253.1, the Germans commit heavy tube artillery and Ferdinands against while the Soviets commit tube field artillery from Division.
The Germans are getting smart and shepherding their resources for crucial battles while could prove fatal if lost, now. The Germans hold their Tigers for the Soviet attack, which naturally comes against the German rear area in Arkhangelskoye. The Tigers gain a +4 in the battle roll and all the Soviets can put in the field is a tank company of +2 at the moment. UNbelievably the Tigers are bested by tricky Soviet maneuvering and good dice rolling and the Soviets capture a German rear area!
No one has lost a Firestorm unit yet.
Turn 3 High Noon
Turn 3 is a very important turn with high drama as the Germans quit messing around in the rear areas of their divisions and commit 2 FS resources to the Maslovo battle. They also seek to cut off Soviet forces which have broken out into Arkhangelskoye by seizing Ochki. It's a good move, but one that the Germans do NOT have the time for as they are under the gun to seize Ponyri and the surrounding objectives!
The German Corps commander commits Nebs and Stukas against the Corps' main D+1 target - Shirokoye Bulotev and the Soviets commit additional infantry assets which are wiped out under the pressure. We have lost the first FS troops of the campaign! The Drive on Shirokoye Bulotev is successful and the Germans are right where they're suppose to be on Turn 3. The Soviets step up their support to hold on to Ochki and commit IL-2 dive bombers! The Germans commit the heavy Ferdinands and 150mm artillery! The Germans seize Ochka back and have also manage to kill the IL-2 unit!
In the northern sector, the Soviets are STOPPED cold at Maslovo as well with the commitment of Tiger tanks and more PanzerGrenadiers to the fight there.
Coming up, however, the Soviets may now place 2 x attack arrows, in addition to committing 2 x Firestorm units to battle. While the Soviets have only been able to commit infantry and fire support resources so far, they now have access to heavy armor courtesy of the 57th Tank Corps!
Turn 4 The Turning Tide!
Incredible drama and excitement now with the addition of an initiative roll and the additional resources which the Soviets now have and as you can see from the map, they have embarked on an ambitious counterattack with 2 goals on turn 4 - open a route to supply Arkhangelskoye and re-take Shirokoye Bulotev.
This is will put some real hurt on the Germans and throw off their timetable dramatically. The Germans need to seize Ponyri this turn in order to be set up to assault "1 May" sector the following turn.
Observations: Originally, the plan was to reduce the number of attack arrows the Germans could place starting on turn 4, but I'm thinking that's a bad idea if the game is to have equal chances of winning. Looking at the number of victory points, it's literally impossible for the Germans to capture more than the Soviets. Additionally, I'm thinking total victory points might be a bad idea as well as it favors the Soviets too much. Handicapping the Germans' firestorm troops is hard enough.
The Germans keep the initiative this turn and place their attack arrow against Ponyri Station, committing heavy Tiger tanks into the attack. The Soviets counter with KV-1 heavies of their own from the 57th Tank Corps! The Soviets storm in with everything but the kitchen sink into Shirokoye Bulotev committing Katyusha Rockets and heavy artillery. The Germans are running out of good options and defend Ochki with Corps level AT gun units.
The Soviets successfully seize Shirokoye Bulotev and, worse for Fritz, they tie the German attacks in Ponyri! Thrown out at the gates of the town!
More drama as the battle for Ochki goes the Germans' way and the Soviets are repulsed! The Germans keep Ochki but fail to seize Ponryi on turn 4. Additionally, the AT gun unit committed by Corps HQs is wiped out in the Ochki fight.
Situation at the end of Turn 4
Pretty grim so far considering the Germans have 3 turns and can only attack 3 times. The Soviets can now attack 6 times by the end of the game, which is why I'm considering allowing the Germans to place 2 x attack arrows until the end. This gives them a fighting chance and they're still handicapped by restricting their firestorm committments after turn 3, and rolling for initiative after turn 3.
So while the German Corps was able to stabilize the line, he's still far behind his goals and the Soviets earned a vital buffer between the forward edge of the battle area and the 3 x Ponyri objectives (Ponyri Station, 1 May, and Hill 253.3).
I am really liking the drama and the excitement so far and I cannot wait to refine the rules a bit more and play with the team. I'm hoping the guys like this as much as I do.
A very interesting play through ..... there is some heavy punching kit in there. Looking forward to reading how it handles with the group. My Battlegroup rules came through the post today,😊
ReplyDeleteCheers, Norm! Hoping you like Battlegroup! It's one of my favorite WWII rules to play. If you'd like to play a battle from the Ponyri campaign let me know ;)
DeleteMy intention was to include all the cool stuff that was present in the Ponyri battles. Heavy artillery, airpower, big tanks were all there in force but even still the infantry are crucial to taking and holding ground! I love it!
Reads fantastically well, and a lot of drama in there.
ReplyDeleteSome great development potential in the ebb and flow of battle on the map.
It was very exciting, Darren. A game in itself and i love how the engagements on the map can be fought on the table, or not using various wargame rules.
DeleteGlad you liked it, Paul. We will be kicking off the campaign this weekend!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting with objectives taken and lost frequently. What are the repercussions of the two Soviet-held area our of supply?
ReplyDeletePlaying a series of linked battles has long been a goal of mine, Jonathan! In terms of supply, there is a table we will roll on and this will impact the fighting ability of the troops in the "kessel" if you will. The may fight poorly. There is also a forlorn hope possiblity that they fight much harder due to their dire straights.
DeleteAlso, the out of supply sectors can not use firestorm troops. They must fight on their own.