1st Ukraine Front - Insiders look at a Play Test

[Strela]

i All,

I thought I would share with you an AAR of one of our playtests for Korsun '44.

We are currently working on version 3 of the _Alt scenarios and have found further research that has adjusted the Soviet setup on the left flank of the pocket.

In initial playtests of version 2 we had found that 5th Mech Corp and 5th Guard Tank Corp were breaking through the German line, but usually quicker and futher south than the historical breakthrough. This had the impact that 198th and possibly 34th Infantry Division were being pocketed, something that did not happen historically and with dire implications for the German counterattack led by III Panzer Korp.

So we have a conundrum : Soviet forces led a full blooded assault in the south which was hung up for a full day and ultimately moved 233rd Tank Brigade to supprt 27th Army in the north where the ultimate breakthrough was made. German forces have to hold against all of 40th Army, 5th MC & 5th GTC for 1+ days and then be able to pull back without being totally overrun. In addition ideally not to much of 198th and 34th Infantry should end up in the pocket.

This AAR will take the reader through the latest version of the 1st Ukraine scenario to illustrate how some of these challenges have been handled and how closely the historical outcome is achieved.



Here is how the startup looks:





The overall plan will look like this and is essentially the historical plan. To breakthrough German defences, take the bridges at Lisyanki and push through Zvenigorodka to meet the 2nd Ukraine Front spearheads :






The details for 27th Army sector is as follows :






In the German 198th Infantry sector, the Soviets will be trying to hit the seam between 88th and 198th Infantry. 198th is in a quandry here do they fight or flight. Historically, it was briefly surrounded and had to fight its way out to the south :





For 40th Army sector, the Germans will be under the most pressure with both 5th Mech Corp and 5th Guards tank Corp being released during the day and trying to batter through the German defences :





First turn to follow....

[Strela]

The German defenses are a little like a coconut - hard on the outside but nice and soft on the inside. The Soviets need a sledgehammer to get through and it has just the tool in 6th Guards Tank Army.

Lets see how close to the historical result we can get. Another thing to be tested in the AAR is the victory points, are they set at the right level?

So to the Soviet first turn. The initial attacks were carried out in heavy fog, so visibility is set at 1 and no air is available. The Russian player has to move forward into the mines and obstacles to spot the Germans for his artillery.

As the Germans are all in bunkers (this is lower case -20 +5) not full bunkers, they can only be hit by artillery or tank fire. Infantry will either have to assault fresh forces or wait till the artillery etc disrupt a German unit.

The 40th Army has significant artillery support but no armor, but will have 5th Mech Corp available to support it from 10AM, as well as some 6th GTA units.

The 27th Army has 2 SU-76 regiments available to help shoot the infantry into the bunkers. They are necessary as 27th Army only has the divisions organic artillery and a few mortars. Only a few rocket units are available and they are not great against bunkers.






40th Army has fired all their artillery and got lucky and disrupted a battalion of the 198th Infantry. As the infantry has already moved to contact, there is no opportunity to assault. As the German battalion only lost 1 man, there is a very reasonable chance that it will rally in the subsequent German turn.






27th Army has got VERY lucky and managed to disrupt two companies of the 88th Infantry. With the SU-76's nearby an immediate assault is launched only with the vehicles. This is a very risky move as the SU's only have a value of 2 in assault and will be penalised for no infantry. They get lucky and the infantry subsequently follow the SU's into the hex. In 6 playthroughs this is the first time an assault has succeded on Turn 1. With only a thin company screen in this sector, the Germans have to really balance fight with flight.


German Turn 1.  The Germans essentially have to sit and take it for awhile. 34th and 198th Infantry Divisions will be fixed until 10AM. Obviously, anyone adjacent is released, but staying in the bunkers is by far the safest place. With the weight of Russian Rocket Artillery, units caught in the open are shredded in short order.

As if being assaulted out in the Russian turn was bad enough not one of the 3 disrupted German units rally. This means that the afflicted unit needs to be reinforced with a fresh unit or has to sit there and take the inevitable assault.

Only artillery will fire as any direct fire will bring the risk of return Artillery fire. This could disrupt further units in the bunker line making them vunerable to Soviet assaults in the subsequent turn.





There are a number of key positions on the road to Vinograd - this is one of them. Its a perfect place to run a Tank or Mech Corp through.The Soviets have already heavily shelled this position, but so far it is standing tight.





Unfortunately this is how it looks up in 88th Infantry's sector. A bunker lost to the left of Baran'ye Pole and a disrupted company in the bunker adjacent. This is looking very ominous for Germany. With no units rallying, Turn 2 could see a much thinner defensive line here.




At the end of the turn Soviet casualties are as you would expect from walking into minefields and being hit with everya artillery piece available. The bulk of the German casualties came from the assault up in the 88th Infantry sector.



Turn 2 to follow....

[Strela]

Onward and upward!

The Soviets are keen to press their advantage in Turn 2.






With a disrupted battalion in front of the 359th Rifle Division, the 1194th Infantry regiment launches an immediate assault. Though successful the price is high. 1194th will have to stop and regroup for at least the next turn...






In the North the bad just got worse for the Germans. The initial assault by the 337th Rifle Division pushed the disrupted company out of the forward bunker. Advancing forward, artillery spotters called in fire and managed to disrupt both companies holding the support bunkers in the 2nd line. Assaults by both the 180th Rifle Division and 713th SU Regt quickly cleared these fortifications. It was not without cost, 2 SU's were lost in their unsupported attack. But it was worth the cost. The Germans had been cleared completely out of the bunker line, 4 companys were disrupted and their was an inviting gap in the line. Artillery did not manage to disrupt any other Germans in bunkers this turn, but with the 5th Mech Corp being released next turn, the armor will be an additional tool...


German Turn 2

The 88th Infantry is bordering on catastrophe - to lose the bunker line within 2 turns is unprecedented. Fortunately German mettle comes to the fore and all four disrupted German companys rally. The I/I/GR308 battalion of the 198th Infantry continues to be in disarray - after losing 1 man....:rolleyes:







There is a yawning gap just west of Baran'ye Pole. With the bunkers gone, the trench line is the next fall back. The 88th will slide its left flank back and abandon a bunker. The recovered companies will then take one step back so that the Soviets have to move forward to engage. The problem is that there is not even an entrenchment further back - something will have to be done.







Luck though swings the Germany's way. An artillery strike from 150mm Heavy Infantry Gun disrupts the forward SU76 Regt. Siezing the moment the recombined I/GR248 charges forward retaking the bunker and destroying an SU to boot. With  the bunker reoccupied things look slightly less dramatic.







German final protective fire is working. The 359th Rifle Division has come to a standstill after its initial success and the 170th Rifle Division is struggling to get to the crossroads before Motylevka.







Casualties begin to mount for both sides and the adventurous use of the SU's is becoming apparent.

Turn 3 to follow.

[Mr Grumpy]

Excellent diagrams and a very interesting situation with luck playing its part as always, it should be added that the BUNKER recaptured by the Germans will now be weaker as just a bunker, however one hole was plugged !

Keep them comming.........

[Strela]

Actually Foul, all the bunkers are lower case in the setup. We found this the best balance between preserving the Germans and allowing the Russians to breakthrough. So they are all (-20, +5). There are a few exceptions - the 75th Infantry Division is in full bunkers (as we don't want the Soviets going that way) and in the 34th Infantry Division sector the regimental HQ's (3) are in full size bunkers as a final 3rd line defence. One other thing I didn't mention so far in the AAR is that usually it is the HW companies that are manning the second line and that is usually the retreat path for any unit disrupted in the forward bunker.

[Dog Soldier]

Strela,

In the 88th ID section on turn one, (final screen shot in post #2), there are "?" appearing in the Russian rear area. I believe these are the locations of the Russian artillery being revealed by the counter battery optional rule. This a required OR for the _alt series scenarios.

Is this working to your satisfaction? You mention the attack takes place in heavy fog. Should artillery positions be spotted up to four km behind the front lines with visibility at only one km? I have had a nagging feeling this lack of a tie in with the turn visibility conditions was a flaw in the CB OR.

Just curious on your thoughts about this subject. How would a WW2 artillery position be so accurately discovered? Can anyone explain if this is realistic? It is not so much a problem with the _alt scenarios as it is with using the counter battery optional rule, IMHO.

Dog Soldier

[Strela]

Hi Dog Soldier, Personally, I like the counter battery rule. I think that you have to look at this slightly more abstractly. Usually units are in place for a period of time or are actively patrolling etc. The Germans may have mapped these positions on prior days, had local informants or other ways of gleaing intelligence. (such as sound location) With each hex being a kilometre and the watering down of the attack strength I think the CB rule does a good job of reflecting this.

That said, in this particular game, not one shot has been made at opposing artillery in either the 27th or 40th Army sector. There have been much more tangible targets available as evidenced by the screen shot showing the impact of the Russian final protective fire.

[Dog Soldier]

Strela,
Thank you for your insights.

Dog Soldier

[Strela]

In turn 3, not one Russian unit rallies up. With the disruptions meted out last turn by the German artillery the 40th Army has come to a virtual standstill. To further exacerbate the situation the artillery supporting the army fails to disrupt any of the German defenders, so the infantry are bogged down in no man's land.

5th Mech Corp as well as 6th Guards Tank Army support units are released. The armor will be critical to help disrupt the German infantry in their bunkers by using their direct fire. The Sherman regiments should be particularly effective here.





The armor moves up along the Russian front line south of the Vinograd road in the general direction of Pavlovka. Hopefully they will assist with clearing the bunkers next turn.





In the 27th Army sector, a German infantry company is pummeled by rocket artillery in the open.







The results are devastating in 3 shots, 31 men are lost and the company disrupts.








An assault by the adjacent SU Regt pushes the company back and a bunker is isolated.





In the German Turn 3, it is all quiet in the 34th Infantry Division sector though the appearance of armor is disturbing.


In the 88th Infantry sector, the Russian artillery is again devastating and 3 units (2 Inf companies and an infantry gun battery) are disrupted.






5/II/GR 246 moves forward to extricate the isolated units, but the gun battery is left in place as it is too slow to leave its positions. This next turn it is necessary for 1/I/GR 248 to hold on as any step back would again allow the Russians  to move towards forming a gap in the lines. The price of this delaying action is expected to be heavy....






Turn 4 to follow.

[JDR Dragoon]

Should artillery positions be spotted up to four km behind the front lines with visibility at only one km? I have had a nagging feeling this lack of a tie in with the turn visibility conditions was a flaw in the CB OR.

In WW2 enemy artillery is detected through triangulation of sound and flash and the measuring of the impact area of the shell (which will tell you something about the angle it had when it impacted the ground). You generally didn´t spot enemy artillery for CB fires through direct observation except perhaps through spotter planes.