DAR - The Cauldron Of Fire

[Cole]

Turn 33 Russian last turn

Hill 253.5 Little do the combatants know but the German high command is close to calling off the advance on the north side of the Kursk bulge. If the Germans can hold on to the VP hexes this turn then they will fight on and probably take the town and hill demoralizing the Russians. Reinforcements badly needed to check the German advance in the south will now have to be sent to reinforce the Ponyri sector.

Col. Pushkarevich of the 886th Guards Rifle Regiment understands the gravity of the situation. His forces have been pushed out of all their defensive positions in the center of the hill and there is no where to retreat as the nearest possible defensive line and cover is almost 2 km to the south. There's nothing to it but to counterattack. Fortunately Divisional and Army Headquarters understood the gravity of the situation and Pushkarevich is granted the vast majority of artillery assets this turn. During the last turn Pushkarevich called in over 50 artillery strikes on his own positions as he knew his troops would not be able to hold on to the ground. His hope was that these strikes would prevent the advancing German troops from ever organizing against a counter attack.

All sorts of artillery batteries from 76 mm to 203 mm guns pounded the one hex. Most strikes just churned up earth that had already been churned up and only added to the smoke and noise but most importantly the German infantry was disrupted and 1 SP lost and there were even two disable results on the armor.



Col. Pushkarevich personally leads the assault and they retake the hex!

The Russian losses have been so bad that even if they retake the vp hex in North Ponyri they will still need about 9 points to avoid a minor loss. Maj. Afinogenov commands the 884th infantry and was responsible for the far right sector of the Russian line. Once Division HQ determined that the 884th would not try to retake the vp hex in the river valley to the north the 884th was ordered west to help the battle on the hill. Afinogenov volunteers to lead the remnants of his troops in a close assault to clear out the panzers just west of the recaptured vp hex.



The assault not only clears the hex but they overrun the German tanks. No problem now with a minor loss if the Russians retake the remaining vp hex. Problem now is taking that hex!

[Cole]

Turn 33 last throw of the dice

In Ponyri German artillery was able to clear all infantry from the two hexes guarding the approach to the VP hex. An easy overrun of the panzers guarding the highway and a brave T-34, commanded by our friend Sasha volunteered to enter the smoke and reconnoiter the VP hex. Instead of staying in the Shirokoe Bilota area all the Russian tanks that had recently been repulsed in the west had rushed back south to the highway in order to join the final battle in Ponyri.
The VP hex was stacked with units but besides at least one Ferdinand (that fortunately didn't spot the T-34 in the smoke) the only undistrupted infantry unit was an Engineer.

Figuring that the engineer and Ferdinand might be depleted in strength points the Russians sent in all the armor possible...



After days of enduring heavy Russian artillery and a hard fought battle in Ponyri the Germans fled before the Russian tanks.

I couldn't help myself and with the other remaining tanks tried to kill as many Ferdinands as possible but after the close assault above the game was tied.

Great game by Larry. I do think he picked the best German strategy to win this game and that is to try and rush forward as fast as possible. As will be seen below I think a mistake on the German side was over garrisoning the German right flank. My counter attack with the Russian tanks might have helped draw in German reserves desperately needed elsewhere. The counter attack was not a total loss as a lot of Russian armor escaped and using their mobility (especially the T-34's) were able to rush back and play a role in the final battle.

I am almost done interviewing Earl and the next post will be a Q & A session with him.

Screen shot below of the final disposition of forces on the Russian left. There's a 500 VP hex under the text box Ponyri I. The German units in the far west side of the map are guarding a VP hex off screen in the NW corner.



Ponyri below. In the end it was strong German forces from the State Farm clashing with Russian forces being reinforced from the west. I think if the Germans had 5 more turns they would of taken Hill 253.5 with no problem and might of had a chance to take the N. Ponyri vp hex. There just isn't enough Russian infantry left on the hill to last much longer. Ponryi might be won by the Russians due to the artillery. As it was German high command has called off the assault and Ponyri has lived up to it's historical reputation as the "Stalingrad Of Kursk" The VP hex changed hands 9 times during this game.

[Larry Reese]

Twas a great game. Epic, in fact. Would love to play again as I went into this one totally blind and there are things I'd have done differently.

LR

[Cole]

Q & A

Thanks Larry. I feel the same way. I'm really surprised that the outcome was in doubt until the end. I definitely didn't try to make this one exciting or try to make it mirror the historical outcome. If I could of stopped your Germans at Shirokoe Bilota I would of.

Here is a question and answer session I held with Earl via e-mail held during the last moves of the game:

COLE: How long did it take for you to create this scenario?

EARL: Not sure.........I did this one last for the north front and it was really just an experiment to see the arty work....probaBly took a few months.

COLE: Roughly how long did it take to finish your Kursk series?

Probably 2 or 3 years all told...........had to use a lot of imagination based on books I had read and discussions with other designers etc.

COLE: You mentioned the excellent Battle of Kursk by David Glantz and Jonathan House as a great source for information on the battle. Do you have any other recommendations for scenario designers?

EARL: I also use Kursk a statistical analysis by Zetterling......has a great chronological write up for each sector and is quite in depth as to the number and types of weapons etc.

COLE: You are currently working on the West Front with the Chronicles of V Panzer Army series and I know you are deeply involved in conducting extensive testing for both the 1st and 2nd Chronicles scenarios. Are you thinking of new projects?

EARL: I have written one based on operation Nordwind which was taken from the book by the same name (When the Odds Were Even)..........haven't had time to test it nor have I had any feedback from any other players..guess it has not been played......very tough fight.

COLE: As the Russian player I would of preferred that the Russian OOB contained more infantry and bring it closer to the historical OOB. I understand that in the front lines you have substituted regiment 3 regiments when historically 2 infantry divisions held the same ground. I would also have preferred that some of the VP hexes be located further away from the starting positions. That being said I think you have done an amazing job of balancing this game and the final back and forth battle in our game occurred in North Ponyri at the end of the scenario just as the Germans halted historically after being checked in Ponyri.

EARL: I chose to leave Russian infantry lower than historical simply to keep it interesting for the German player.........I used the same formula in Hills of Olkhovatkha......when playing a campaign I give the Russians everything and it usually convinces even the diehard German players that Kursk was never a German victory nor had any chance of being one.

COLE: This scenario be viewed as one between Russian artillery versus the German heavy tanks. I believe Larry has picked the best strategy for the German player, i.e. rush in fast before the heavy Russian artillery can take a toll. My thought to "balance it out" would be that if two guys are looking to enjoy a game then the more experience player chooses the Russian side. An experienced German player versus a Russian novice is a recipe for a quick loss. All things being equal maybe the Russian player can get a 500 VP handicap. Either the vp hex by Shirokoe Bilota or the one exposed on the east side could go. If the Germans want those VP hexes there's no way the Russians can hold them and definitely no way to get them back. I do like where the VP hexes on Hill 253.5, and along the Ponryi front are located.

EARL: Again, as I have stated before I only wrote this for myself to see all that Russian arty.........I was pleasantly surprised when players actually liked playing it. The advent of EA actually makes the scenario even better ........just proves the old adage that it is easier to be lucky rather than good.

COLE: I would like to thank you for all the time and effort to produce all these excellent scenarios.

EARL: Just happened to be lucky.......they all just jumped out at me as I read books and articles on the EF..........always have been interested by the Bulge and years ago I found some great maps on the the entire battle.......again the V Pz army just seemed to be the most entertaining..........unfortunately I have moved a few times and can't locate the maps.....I suspect they are in the clutches of one of my wargaming friends somewhere (Editor's note: Dude return his maps!) ............I will admit though it is nice to see people actually playing my designs and even enjoying them once in a while.

Two questions from KRAZY KAT:

KRAZY KAT: I would be interested to learn what he has himself learned while creating large scale scenarios. What are his rule of thumbs, if he could name
any?

EARL: A scenario just seems to jump out at me.........I like bigger scenarios so it is a bit easier for me to write them......I try to make the victory levels so that if the attacking player reaches at least what was done historically they can achieve a draw or minor victory.........mostly just go with what feels right.........hardest things (and they always have to be considered) to overcome are the game engine and players tendencies to do gamey things. My main rule of thumb is slim down anything not absolutely required in the OOB............when doing campaigns I will tend to leave every unit in as things will get eliminated as the game goes on.

KRAZY KAT: I would be interested how Earl feels the scenarios remain playable despite of large number of units in play, are there certain units he strips from OOBs when assigning e.g. Divisions to play?

EARL: I tend to take out all HQs to regimental level at the highest. Takes a little work in the OOB as each company has to have a parent HQ to trace supply to....hence all battalion companies have to be raised one level and renamed..........division and corps battalions are simply broken down into companies and will trace supply to the division or corps HQ........I really hate large scenarios with a plethora of battalion type HQs. I also will eliminate a lot of the small arty units...mortar sections and infantry guns etc.....they tend to bog down the replay and most players don't really miss them.......I never use any arty HQs of any level anymore......they do absolutely nothing but are always included in arty battalions and regiments etc.

[Crossroads]

Thanks guys! Classic!

- Petri