Dog Fight - Ostkreig Tournament Round 1

[Dog Soldier]

Russian turn 5.
14:00 PM July 9, 1941
Normal Conditions
Visibility 4km.

Victory points after the Russian turn five.

Victory points look good so far. Expensive Axis armor and engineers are being traded for Russian infantry. That will all change quickly if the Germans breach my lines. Russian infantry will have a hard time evading capture and destruction this first game day. I will position my units as well as I can to prevent such losses, but they are in inevitable.


The battle intensifies. German armor expands the breach on the northern side of the city. They are still driving the direction I think they would. I continue to attack with artillery, attempting to rubble a hex to slow the Germans. This does not work. I saw an engineer move into the hex with only one mine left during the German turn. It should take two turns for his infantry to cross through this gap in the mines and deploy. I hope I can get some rubble next turn to slow them.
On turn four, I moved a brave recon battalion in the clear to stop the German 10th PD advance. I calculated that the Germans would use their artillery and air strikes against the front line units. The recon unit took a few loses from the frustrated panzers direct fire. The panzers ran out of MP when they discovered the recon unit. They only got one shot each. It appears the panzers are breaking down into companies before assaulting. This should drive up their fatigue even more as a trade off for this flexibility.
My recon unit did not disrupt. That will make it easy to move into the forest hex to the south and make a stand to delay the 10th PD once more. Another recon unit will retreat into the village east of Mogilev to establish another blocking position. I know these units will be lost eventually, but delay is more precious now than Russian troops. Such is the thinking of a Russian commander in 1941. Slow the Axis at all costs until orders can be given from higher HQ. This is what the fixed unit status represents.

If I am wrong about that, then it is just pure nastiness from Foul and RickyB who made the changes to this scenario. ;) :whis:

von Nev is doing a good job of preventing excess Russian units from being released. My sole engineer unit in the city is still fixed. I think they will have very little chances of reaching the bridges south of Mogilev and destroying one of them.

I shuffle units in the south against 10th mot. I want try and slow any crossing for two turns when it comes. I spend my infantry fire there against the engineers only. Hope that continues to slow the bridges being built. The Axis has four engineers now engaged in bridge building. I am rolling the dice he does not get a bridge in turn six.
Only two more turns and I gain freedom of movement for the rest of thirteenth army that have not been engaged.

All other units are entrenching where they are in case the Axis storm arrives before they can move out of the way.

Dog Soldier