Playtesting the **Morning of fire for I / Panzer Rgt. 26 (DAR)

[Crossroads]

Turn 7
Nothing much to report. The intelligence has advised me a significant enemy force is still being ordered to remain fixed in their positions. I will hopefully have enough time to have my defense organised.



North Katyusha strike now planned to rid the forest of enemy arty!

Middle At Kapitanovka, stalemate as the opposing forces retain from firing. At Tishovka, an ATR platoon sneaks forward to have a view to the road leading to Tishovka, while the first reinforcements from west arrive.

Nine T-34s arrive to outskirts of the city. Come next turn they could actually deploy while having enough APs for one shot each!

West A T-34 platoon and the accompanying tank rider platoon set to guard the southern flank of the reinforcements

South No enemy movement anywhere. Maybe they are not there afterall?

Next turn
Slow progress towards the middle sector to continue. It will take ages to have any infantry there, however...

No signs of the enemy. At least a few more tanks available for the defenders now.

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Turn 8

The situation at the end of turn 8:



North
The status window reports the whole enemy 105mm battery evaporated to thin Ukrainian air after having received my friendly Katyusha salvo!

Middle sector
Tishovka
The ATR platoon deployed just in time to spot an enemy column trying to outflank my defense on the hill!

After considering the LOS issues I decide to move in to welcome them.

The two SU-85s platoons in the hill move forward and fire once each. Two T-34 platoons joins in from the town itself! The remains of two Panthers are left smoking, others having retreated out of sight.

I do not have a complete view to enemy and hope there will not be an armoured battalion of fascist aggressors hiding behind the hill!

My assault guns that moved are out of APs, but the T-34 and SU-85 platoons sitting tightly in the IP on top of the hill are available to protect them.

Kapitanovka
All silent before storm?

West
Having moved my southern reinforcement column forward I decide to switch the T-34 platoon together with their tank riders into a lone T-34.

Then, it hits me! 3 tank SPs are transporting 6 infantry SPs!

Of course !!! The change of rules as how the troops are transported !!! :mad:

West and North
Angry orders are being barked out, men rush into their tanks, diesel fumes shoot out as a tank platoon after another blasts out through the mud to meet the slowly moving truck columns!

Two enormous traffic jams develop as my tanks meet the truck columns! Infantry busy jumping out from their trucks, trucks moved to road side, tanks parked all over the place with no APs left for anyone to protect themselves!

I have also abandoned my ambush positions by the road east of Kapitanovka forest… I have been very careful protecting my flanks, but should enemy armour be available to spot my columns they would have an absolute feast among themselves...

It is a risk I decide to take… I do believe I have made sure the enemy is nowhere near my columns... Nervy times indeed waiting for enemy next turn to arrive... :hissy:

Next turn
A devilishly clever hint by the scenario designer to remind the trucks are not the only name in the game? Those better than me surely have realised the possibility for large scale tank infantry, but no, not me. I needed someone poke me into eye with them!

Suddenly, the race is on.

Enemy is at the gates, but for the first time there is hope among the Russians the reinforcements could just make it on time if not to stop the enemy from advancing into cities but at least for an immediate counter attack!

I absolutely need to stall the enemy from advancing into towns of Tishovka and Kapitanovka...

At this stage I am no longer that worried about Pisarovka in east, as surely the enemy will not spread his forces into all three victory locations.