Gertsovka The Cornerstone

[Dog Soldier]

Russian Turn Five
19:00 4 July 1943, Normal Conditions, Day, Visibility 3Km (12 Hexes)
Germans move up under cover of smoke to engage the Russians in the bunkers protecting the entrance to the village a point blank range. All three engineer platoons move to clear mines at the cut in the railroad embankment. The defense concentrates its fire on these engineers.

Dog Soldier

This image shows the German stacks left to right. Two on the left are in the smoke. This smoke placement does not help. In PzB smoke has to be placed between opposing units to block LOS. Smoke in a unit's hex does not cause a detriment to fire leaving a hex or entering the hex. We play testers had to learn this by expending the digital lives of our volunteer digital soldiers. Like real life, there was no manual at the time.

Notice the two German platoons in the scattered buildings on the right are also in a minefield without engineer support. They have dropped a morale level due to isolation. Not the end of the world to place your troops in a minefield for a turn. Just be be sure you have an exit strategy (movement or assault) to leave the minefield the next turn gaining an advantage from exposing your troops. The loss of a step in morale ('B' now) will cause these units to take a little higher casualties from incoming fire than in their base quality state of 'A'. This simulates how despite their excellent training, leadership, and expertise as hardened veterans, there is little room to maneuver or hide from incoming fire in a minefield.


Notice that with the action becoming intimate, German casualties nearly doubled this turn. The Russians lose Pvt Anton Maslak to a stray German artillery round. His harmonica was found later in his pocket. His music will be missed in the evenings by his comrades.