From the Front - Bunker Assault!

[Dog Soldier]

Turn Two
After the Soviet turn, several more defending units are revealed as they engage the attacking Germans. Some were revealed in the Russian turn. Others were revealed when they defensive fired on German units. Below is an image of the Russian defense at the beginning of the German second turn.

figure 5 The highlighted units are disrupted.

Here are some descriptions of the Soviet defensive positions. All units are in good order except as noted. All locations are intact bunker positions.

In the front line are locations 1-3.
Location one is two Soviet Guards riflemen units and an ATG unit. One of the riflemen units is disrupted.
Location two has a Soviet Guards riflemen unit, and anti-tank rifle (ATR) unit and an ATG unit. The riflemen unit is disrupted.
Location three has the same mix of units as location two. All units in location three are in good order.

In the secondary line are locations A-D.
Locations A and B are single units of Soviet Guards riflemen.
Location C is a Soviet Guards riflemen unit and an anti-tank gun (ATG) unit. The riflemen unit is disrupted.
Location D is a Soviet Guards riflemen unit and an MG unit.


figure 6

Above in figure 6 is the result after the German second turn.
Most of the German armor has fired on the Soviet bunkers. Engineers breached the anti-tank ditch in several places. The SS panzer grenadiers assault and take the first bunker, a 25 point victory location. By not isolating the fortification, the defenders retreat into the open and are subsequently destroyed by artillery and direct fire from supporting German infantry. They will not get a chance to join their comrades in the other bunkers. Note the smoke used to block some LOS from the Hill to the east. These smoke rounds were laid after all other artillery fires but before any direct fire or assaults. The purpose was to mask the area of attack from the Soviet over watching units on the high ground. With unlimited defensive fire, there is great risk of both anti-tank and anti-personnel fire while the Germans are exposed in front of the Soviet line. Lightly armored vehicles such as Marders and self-propelled AA units are easy prey for the Soviet 45mm ATG’s.
Air strikes are set for next turn to soften up the defenders in the next set of bunkers to be taken.

Clockwise from the top of the image (figure 6) these are the Soviet defenders of each of the four hexes with air strikes showing on top.

figure 7

figure 8

figure 9

figure 10

German StuGs have penetrated the defense along with the infantry. This armor is positioned close to all three of the next Soviet bunkers to be taken to create a breach in the Soviet fortified line. Panzer Grenadier infantry have occupied the one bunker taken this turn (25 victory point location). Additional infantry including heavy weapons units have moved forward to be ready to both assault the bunker in the center of the second line of defense and to fire on enemy units that may try to reinforce the threatened sector. Additional infantry south of the anti-tank ditch are positioned to also fire on Russian reinforcements if they try to move to the center bunker and the second 25 victory point location bunker.
Using the captured bunkers as staging areas for the next assault is a key consideration once in the defensive line. Stacking up to the 250 man limit should be utilized as there is much less chance of losses to small arms or artillery and usually the next target bunker is only two hexes away. At two hex range an infantry unit can move the one hex adjacent and then assault the next enemy position, minimizing its exposure to fire.
Engineers have moved over the anti-tank ditch to clear more mines on the other side. Other engineers have breached the anti-tank ditch to allow the passage of the vehicles (StuGs) supporting the advance.

Here is a better view of the breaches made in the anti-tank ditch.

figure 11

In the center of the German formation assaulting the fortified line is an anti-aircraft (AA) unit providing protection for the entire group. This unit had a devastating AA value of 25/4. (25 firepower/4 hex range)


Figure 14

Note the size of the AA unit’s coverage range. A light blue line marking four hexes in every direction. (Arrows added for emphasis.)
Soviet planes coming to attack the force breaching the fortified defense line will face flak from this unit along with anti-aircraft fire from any units in the hex the planes attack.

Note how the penetration is confined to a small area with plenty of units nearby to lend defensive supporting fire in the next Soviet turn.

The units in all the German hexes are broken down from their company sizes so they do not block any other unit from firing in the Soviet turn. Keeping below the 50% (125 men equivalents) stacking maximum maximizes LOS and defensive fire opportunities, while reducing casualties from Soviet direct fire and artillery in the Soviet turn. There will not be any excessive German losses from crowding the hexes they occupy.

Nest up... Breakthrough!

Dog Soldier