Free for Fall - LW 1750pts - Eastern Front - Battle Report - German GPgs vs Russian Armour

Paul and I met up on Friday night for another FoW game, this time back to LateWar, as we both had some new stuff we had recently completed and wanted to try out. In my case my Hummels, and in Paul's case, his T34/85's...

 I set up a battlefield depicting something hopefully Eastern Front in appearance, ready for the game.

I had taken my German GPg force:

HQ - CO w/ PF, 2iC w/ PK + AT PZSK team
2 x Full GPg, with Cmd PF and 3.7cm Cmd halftrack upgrade
Heavy Pltn - 2 x HMGs
Motorcycle Recce - Cmd + 2 teams
2 x SPAA armoured 3.7cm
3 x Panther
3 x Hummels

I combat attached one HMG to each GPg pltn.

Paul took a Russian Tankovy
some thing like;
HQ - 2 x T34/85 + Dedov
6 x T34/85
6 x T34/85
4 x SU122
2 x 'medium size' strelkovy SMG pltns
1 x 6 tube mortar pltn (no observer)
1 x 3 team scout pltn.

 We played a typical 1750pts, and rolled off Free for All as the mission, which I then won the roll off for who chose side and deployed first. I chose a side where I could hide my Hummels behind a suitable hill... Deployment complete below...

My CO and 2iC are reinforcing my right side infantry facing the immanent threat of Paul's Tanks which I am sure are about to ATD in my face!

I got first turn but couldn't fire a bombardment, and had no targets for my tanks, and only shifted my recce motorcycles over to add a few more bodies to try and defend the right side objective.

As anticipated Paul immediately ATD-ed his main T34 +HQ tanks down my right flank, and pushed forward with his SU's though one bogged in the woods...

... and explored forwards in the centre with 2nd T34/85 platoon just to keep the Panthers interested...

One SU took a chance pot shot at one of the scouts needing a 6 to hit, and rolled a six killing the scout with its breakthrough gun... first blood!

In my turn, I looked on the packed mass of T34s with some pleasure and trepidation and ranged in my Hummels, finding I could get 5 tanks under the template at the rear of Paul's formation, not realising I had just got the CO, 2iC and Dedov... I needed a 4 to range in and got it on the first roll. I then need 3's to hit the 5 tanks, and managed to hit 4 of them. Paul then managed to save two of them rolling 2 5+'s, but failed the other two, and my Hummels FP of 2+ destroyed those two tanks, sadly none were the important ones...

My panthers let rip at the centre T34s and brewed one up that had sneaked close to the cornfield...

Seeing all Paul's armour was busy on his left flank I decided to attack towards the other flank where only his SMGs sat hiding in a large corn field, and moved forward with my grenadiers and SPAA...

In Paul's next turn he pressed on with his T34 attack down the flank, and brought up his SU122s also. ..However my infantry held tight in the face of all Paul's shooting...

The centre T34s pulled back out of sight of the panthers behind the hill...

When Paul had made this move I wondered if he had made an error, as he had just parked two tanks in range of both my CO's PF and the AT PZSK team... (the two lower most tanks in picture below). Thinking I had a chance to knock out 3 tanks in one turn and possibly cause a morale check I laid on the fire and again zeroed in the Hummels, knocking out the T34 (next to Paul's knees below). Thinking I now had a decent chance to kill and/or assault/capture the bottom two tanks with my infantry AT weapons I let fire. The PZSK hit twice, but Paul's managed two 5+ saves ! And then the CO missed with his PF shot! Bugger!!! If I had simply bailed those two tanks they would have been captured easily in the assault! It wasn't to be... and this seemed to be where the tide turned against me...

I pressed on with my exploratory thrust towards Paul's SMG infantry but had to close (within 6") before I could see them to shoot... My Panthers sat tight. I wanted to turn them to face the threat to my right, but was wary of revealing flank shots from the centre T34s if they emerged from behind their hill...

Paul shifted laterally in front of my position...

... and then let rip with his SU122, with volley fire, having got his scouts in the building to lift GTG.... a whole pile of shots needing 5+'s and then a reroll of misses... and I get no infantry save against the breakthrough gun, plus its FP2+... It wasn't pretty ... 4 dead German infantry teams! Damn! If I had known what those blasted 122s were capable of, I would have been dropping the Hummels fire on them instead of the T34s...

In my turn, a little desperate now I am forced to start moving over the panthers and manage to knock out a T34, but my Hummels fail to range in, needing 4's to hit the SU122's...

I am ready to start putting some hurt on the Russian infantry. I had also called up my halftracks to lend weight of fire, but annoyingly they can't fire on the turn they are called up...

In the face of my Panthers Paul pulls back his remaining T34s, but the 122's fire again and obliterate my infantry... They fail a Morale check and I don't want to risk losing my CO to save two teams so let them depart... At this point I feel it's all over, Paul just has to roll forward and sit on the objective...

Also Paul's centre T34's ATD over to defend their cornfield-hugging comrades... Quickly realising I can't stand up to this armour, I swiftly retreat, ATD-ing the half tracks back behind my wood and the infantry head for the small cornfield...

I start advancing my panthers to try and get some shots on the 122's but only bail one out, and again fail to range in my hummels... my scouts have moved up to protect the panthers and hope to get into woods to their left by rail line.

I try and launch an assault with my panther in wood to Paul's mortar teams in the cornfield but it bogs down, and the others are too far away to reach... So the Panthers fire again at the SU but they still only bail it. I am holding this flank still thanks to the panthers, as Paul has pulled everything back away from them...

Paul now decided its time to go for the throat on the other flank, as my panthers sadly can't be in two places at once, and my hummel spotter seems to be holding his binoculars round the wrong way...

Paul manoeuvres a little on the right still, possibly trying to sucker the panthers up closer in hopes of then being able to swing round past them down the rail line... he does manage a one off shot with a mortar team that moved to edge of cornfield, to get a six to hit my CO, which he does. I then promptly fail my infantry save and Paul's gets his 3+ FP test, and his 4+ Warrior kill, and my CO is toast. Ah well, when it's not your night... still at least I have my 2iC still who in V3 can take company morale tests.

Paul now brings the hurt and starts advancing on my infantry MGing 2 teams. He also advances and assaults with his infantry but they are shot back in defensive fire needing five 4s from 7 dice, which I manage, but though beaten back Paul passes all 5 infantry saves... Still at least I am still alive!

In my turn I manage to get forward with my scouts and with the panthers who MG some of the mortar teams, they assault the last mortar teams elements and kill them. I finally kill a platoon and get a Point!

On the other flank its still not looking too good though, but there is two tanks in the open and all I need is a 3 to range in with the hummels... I roll three 1's consecutively... at this point the artillery template if flung across the room! Paul murmers I should really have thrown the offending dice! He has a point...

Paul starts advancing his tanks down the rail line, but they still have a fair distance to go and the three panthers are still active...

Paul continues to pressure, the other flank with his T34s and infantry advance... but, time really is running out on this game, we started at about 7pm and its now 11.15pm... that's about 4 hours of game time and we haven't exactly been playing especially slow...well more than the typical 2.5hrs allowed for tournament play at this points level... and besides if Paul doesn't get home soon he'll turn into a Pumpkin!

So there we leave it...

Final positions above and below pics...

Final score 1 point each, I think, we both lost one platoon. A hard fought game to come away with 1 point. If we had played on Paul would eventually have captured the left hand objective though it may have taken a few more turns... but at some point you have to call it for time, and we had played our damnedest!

I was happy to come away with a point, after my initial good start, with my hummels, they failed to hit anything again after the second turn... My artillery template, now having found its wings, has put in for a transfer to the Luftwaffe!