Dog Fight - Ostkreig Tournament Round 1

[Dog Soldier]

Russian Epilogue

An excellent game was played by von Nev for the Germans. While you may argue the southern approach is the most difficult due to terrain, enough of the Russian Army is in the north to slow a German assault there until help arrives. Von Nev did an excellent job of keeping his forces together where he could reinforce any success each attack axis would encounter.

This scenario is like a game of chicken for the Russian commander. The Russians have to wait for their units to release. During this time, watch the German deployments carefully. You will have precious few turns when your army becomes mobile, foot mobile that is, to determine where the German main thrust will be centered. Until the Axis forces are committed fully to an attack axis, the Russians can not necessarily concentrate their forces. If the Axis wait to long to commit to a concentrated effort, then they will simply run out of time. An attrition strategy for the Axis will not work either. They must pick a place to concentrate early on the morning of the second day of battle. Any later and they risk running out of time.

A smart Russian commander must always keep some fresh units up until the end. The positioning of these reserves is vital. The Russians can not shift easily a long distance, so make sure you position your reserves in the most likely place where the Germans are going. The guessing game for both sides is what makes this scenario enjoyable. Remember this is long scenario. Do not try and commit all your infantry to the front lines. Defense in depth is the name of the game here. Try to set up strong points with a large stack of good order infantry to channel the German drive. Sure, the Axis can mow right through the best Russian stacks, but at a cost of time, casualties and fatigue. Alternatively, look for an opportunity to counter attack weaker Axis units holding “quiet” sectors. If your troops can not get to where the main action is, try and destroy some of the German units left behind the main drive. You may be able to force the Axis player to send help weakening the main thrust. Or you might get a break in his line and be able to rollup and destroy some units. German units are worth more VP than Russian ones so you may be able to do much damage and keep the VP totals in check.

Preserve as much of your Russian artillery as you can. The big guns are what eventually wear down the powerful German 10th Panzer and Motorized divisions. The Axis will come after any guns they can catch with everything they can. The Russian artillery in a priority target for the Germans when spotted.

A final note. The Russian 172nd division is an excellent force in the Russian 13th Army. It is in an exposed position defending Mogilev at start. Most Axis attacks will follow the pattern of von Nev's opening moves, just to take this Rifle Division out of play while fixed and grab the VP hex in Mogliev. Do not worry too much about this. This scenario of Smolensk 41 demonstrates the paralysis of the Russian command by fixing most all the Russian troops for the first seven turns. Just try and be ready for where the Germans go next morning. That movement will set the stage for the rest of the game. If the Germans forgo an attack on Mogilev, the Russian commander is faced with a choice.
• Abandon the city and the 100 VP hex and move this division into a position for the end of the second day’s fighting or move into reserve for the third day.
• The other choice is to sit tight, reinforce the Mogilev bridgehead and when the time is right, strike the Axis rear and destroy his bridges over the Dnepr. Very risky, but a big move if the opportunity is there.

I hope now some of the blitz members who have been following this AAR will post their comments on the game played, volunteer their own strategies, or just comment on the scenario in general. This scenario is now what I would consider a gem!

Dog Soldier