Tips from the Frontline

[RNL Tiger]

Situation after Stalin occupies the road

The Allied armour is not doing very well at the moment and lady luck has favoured the Axis from the burning tank to the retreating Hetzer and finally the Panzer IV being hit ineffectually with HE. I had a little bit of luck with the area-fire gun damaging one of the Panzers but what I need is a new plan of attack. Given that the Panzers are holding the village and will no doubt watch the road very carefully I have one of three choices:
1) Mass the armour along the road and hope to win the shootout
2) Redeploy the Stalin tanks to the left flank and try to keyhole some of the Panzers
3) Mass the armour on the right and try to breakthrough to the village

I do not like the odds of a straight shootout from either the road in the centre or on the right flank as I have a numerically inferior force. So I need to try and find a plan that uses the strength of the Stalin, which is in its long range fighting with its strong armour and massive gun. Again there are a few key options with the 2xT34s: I could keep them with the Stalin tanks for extra firepower or bring them around to the right to keep the Axis guessing and looking in both directions. Of course, while there is a benefit to having the Axis tanks watching both directions and so reducing their firepower in any one direction; the downside is that the Allied armour force is also split and could then easily get out-numbered and beaten in detail. Finally, I could keep the 2xT34s in support of the infantry on the right and only threaten the possibility of them attacking the Panzers.

OK – decided; the plan has been formed. I will keep the Stalin tanks on the left flank and the SU-76M will support the infantry and T34s will attack from the right flank. Whilst I do not intend to use them to attack the Panzers head-on, their presence on the flank should keep the Panzers looking both to the left AND right and therefore splitting their firepower and I may be able to keyhole individual tanks. As per the original plan I will take the outside flag first and so I plan to redeploy my infantry at “3” to “4” and use two platoons to take the flag, with the SU-76M in support. Hopefully, they should be able to overwhelm a single defending platoon. Of course, before that can start the group of panzers behind the centre flag need to be dislodged or distracted otherwise they will simply cut the infantry attack to ribbons. So the movement of the Stalin tanks on the left flank is intended to both threaten individual tanks and also to force the defense to reposition and as that happens the T34s will emerge from the right. The last element to the plan will be to send the sharpshooter on the left flank to take out the small 20mm Flak gun that attacked my Stalin on the road.

Well it may not be a good plan but it is a plan! So, a certain amount of manoeuvring is needed in limited cover and the Stalin tanks in particular need to probe the defense and hopefully pick off a few tanks at distance.