Tuesday Night CROSSFIRE: Assault on Hill 80

More Crossfire "practice" albeit with more units on Tuesday evening when I sat down for a company-on-company game of Crossfire featuring a German "regular" company attack against a Soviet held farmstead and hill.  

Original copy of the rules.  Note the German columns on the left behind the wheatfield.  THe hill in the top-center of the pic is the German objective.  Overcoming the Soviet fields of fire would be a challenge.

Ukraine - 1941.  This outstanding engagement featured a 3 platoon German company with a heavy weapons platoon, fighting against an understrength Soviet "green" or conscript company of 2 platoons with heavy weapons distributed amongst the platoons.  Every platoon had a +1 Platoon Leader and both companies had a +2 Company Command Stand.

German Hauptmann and a small retinue of runners and NCOs.  Don't worry - you'll see plenty of his Soviet counterpart later in the battle!

The Germans are going to the left as the terrain offers a bit more of a covered approach and the Germans won't have to go into the teeth of the defense.  For this battle I'm experimenting with the use of the Company Commander elements, as well as the use of a heavy weapons platoon, commanded by the Company Commander.  In Crossfire, Company Commanders and set up "Crossfires" with HMGs, so 2 x HMGs in a round of fire is going to be nasty for whomever is on the receiving end!

For this game I'm also trying out the use of artillery, and the Germans have 12 x 105mm fire missions, which turned out to be extremely useful for their 4 smoke bases they can lay down.

German platoons getting into position to assault the small hill and flank the Soviet defense line

Moving through the woods to assault!

The German 1st and 2nd Platoons move into the woods on the left and the 2 x Soviet Squads posted to guard the flank immediately open fire with both missing and going NO FIRE!  The Germans drop smoke across the font and immediately move one of their HMG stands along with the Company Commander up.

Smoke drops to their front.

The Germans have to flank the frontline trace so they drop smoke in such a way that the fewest Soviet stands have line of sight to the woods they're jumping off in.

Big picture.  Note the German platoons in the woods, the smoke, and the German platoon in the wheatfield.  The Soviets are aligned across the front still but the Soviet commander is going to do something about that!

As the Germans move up to cross a linear danger area, they take fire and are pinned.  

big picture - the Germans want to assault the small hill but are waiting for the right moment when the enemy is suppressed.

The fight expands across the Soviet trace as Germans open fire against the Soviets in front of the house and attract the attention of a Soviet HMG...

Soviets in the cabbage patch - an HMG and a squad

The Germans fail to suppress any Russians, and the Soviets return fire with a "firegroup" using the HMG and the squad in teh cabbage patch.  3 x 6's!  A kill and a German squad goes down.  Soviets seize the initiative.

THat's a kill in Crossfire

One of the platoons is led by the Commissar

The Soviets filter their left platoon around behind the frontline trace to guard the hill as it's obvious the thrust is coming against their right.  The Russians take a covered and concealed route through the orchard behind the house overwatching Hill 80.  The Germans are able to clear the small hill with fire and occupy it, their Hauptmann pushes the smoke screen further back to allow to flank and assault the cabbage patch!  The Germans focus more fire on the cabbage patch and dispatch the HMG section there.  More back and forths in the firefight eventually goes the Germans' way and sensing the moment is right - they assault, beating the suppressed Soviet rifle squad there.  The Soviet overwatch squad behind the cabbage patch pins their supporting squad coming up and the assault element and Platoon Leader go in without the second squad.  The Green, Suppressed Soviets are at a huge disadvantage in this combat and lose the fight.  Taking the cabbage patch assures complete freedom of movement on the German left.

Bringing down the cabbage patch.  the hill to the left has another German platoon waiting to assault

The smoke clears at the beginning of the German initiative and they're aghast to see an entire Soviet platoon in the open crossing the gully between the cornfield and Hill 80!  The Germans already have the Heavy Weapons platoon and an infantry platoon atop the small hill.  They open fire.

Kill after kill and this turkey shoot sees almost the complete destruction of a Soviet platoon caught in the open.  It's one of the most dramatic turns of the battle.

Meanwhile in an act of desperation, the Soviets assault the cabbage patch with another squad from the second platoon.  

Soviet reserve squad assaulting the cabbage patch!  It becomes suppressed on the way in by the German squads.

The German squad on the right then becomes suppressed when they go to assault the Suppressed Soviet squad!  The assault is called off!  THe Soviets fail in rallying the Suppressed Squad and the Germans assault again, knocking it out.  

Germans preparing to assault Hill 80 from the Orchard behind the house

Assaulting Hill 80!

HIgh Drama as the Germans assault Hill 80 and are knocked out by the Soviet COmpany Command Stand!  Tough SOBs!

German squad was suppressed in the open trying to assault the Soviet Company Commander.  They'd be knocked out by the same squad in another round of fire.

launching another assault at the hill!

Hill 80 cleared.

This battle was tremendous fun and really demonstrated the versatility of the Crossfire Rules for me.  You have to be thoughtful about your strategy, and you have to read and use the terrain like your military counterparts.  I also appreciate that the entire infantry portion of the game can be played with a single QRS.

I love that Crossfire produces some moments of high drama and considerable tension and I've taken pictures of where some of those extraordinary events took place during the Battle for Hill 80.  THis was a bigger battle than my previous Crossfire Practice and I plan on playing more including battles with armor, and some battles within built up areas.  It's going to be fun!

The Cabbage Patch - where the Germans launched a bayonet assault, and where the Soviets launched a desperate counterattack of their own!

The orchard.  The Germans pushed through these woods and launched their first assault against Hill 80 and were repulsed with heavy casualties by the Soviet Company Command Stand.

The clearing where the German squad was taken out by the COmpany Command team

Heavy Weapons Platoon - the MVPs of the battle for the German side.