Sunday 17 October 2021

2nd Battle in 1943 campaign ladder.




Their victory in the first game allows the Soviets to attack again, from zone 2 into zone 3 (see Resource Section below for a campaign description).


This zone is pivotal to the long term success of the campaign as it is the central zone on the ladder (5 zones) and the odd number guarantees the player controlling this zone a victory at the end of the campaign, due to their being 1 VP per zone controlled.

However, the randomly selected forces give the Soviets much concern, as they have not drawn particularly well as the attacker.

Please use the ‘read more’ tab for the rest of this post.


Zone 3 use scenario 23 (Defence in Depth) from the Neil Thomas One How Wargames book. It is a thought provoking scenario not least due to the terrain restrictions. The scenario itself is based upon an insurgent element being in defence and there are special rules to deal with them, but I will just be treating them as Volksgrenadiers, with a +2 to their movement dice (using the 'O' Group rules).

Further, the attackers (Soviet) are not allowed to enter woods, which will impact play because it will deny them avenues of cover for their attack or access to the central bridge.

The waterway can only be crossed by bridge and there are three of them …. but, one is covered by the woods, which the Soviets can’t enter, another is ‘guarded’ by a town and the third (on the left) is in open ground.

Since the victory points are based purely on the attackers getting three units off the table, the open ground looks a good route …. but, to the rear there is a hill that has open views to the bridge and the Germans have mortar support, plus a Panzer IVg section, a vehicle more capable than the light T-70 that the Soviet’s will be sending forwards.

Prior to setting this up, I am not confident of a victory for the attacker. This battle has good potential to cause a campaign reversal.



Above - the table from the Soviet perspective. Their randomly selected force gives them generous artillery support at the cost of boots on the ground. They only need to take a couple of losses and they won’t have enough units to exit the table and the little T-70 is bound to be of prime interest to the Panzer IV as easy pickings!

The table will be particularly sparse of units as the ‘O’ Group rules have 81mm mortars and above represented by off table fire. 

The Soviet order of battle therefore is 1 x rifle unit, 1 x Rifle + MMG unit, 1 x SMG unit, 1 x T-70 light tank unit, 2 x 82mm mortar platoons (off table) and the free pre-game artillery barrage.

The Germans have 2 x Volksgrenadier units, a Panzer IVg unit and 1 x 81mm mortar platoon (off table). 

The Panzer IV section is hull down on the hill
with good views.


I am already in a dilemma. Should the Soviets cover the open ground and make for the hill under the gaze of the panzers or should they fight through the town and inflict heavy losses on the German infantry as they clear a way through? I decide to take the hill route and hope that my opening artillery deals a blow to the Panzers. 

2nd Volksgrenadier Platoon defend the wood.


On with the game - In each of the these battles, the attacker always gets a free bonus pre-game medium artillery stonk and the battalion decides it is the exposed hill that should be targeted. This matters! The Germans have placed their Panzer IV unit in hull down positions on the hill and the wrecking or otherwise of this unit has the potential to influence the game.

1st Volksgrenadier Platoon defend the town and road


The opening artillery strike hits the hill. Seriously bad dice rolls leave the Panzer IV unit unharmed!

Opening moves - The Soviet SMG platoon attack the Volksgrenadiers in the woods. The other two infantry platoons make for the bridge. The T-70 stays in reserve (off table).

Calling in the off board mortars is expensive (2 orders initially), but the Soviets decide to call in both of their 81mm mortar platoons (4 orders) to plaster the hill. The Panzer IV platoon suffer 2 shock and decide to reverse out of view while they try to rally that off.

The Panzer platoon are having difficulty in re-ordering and their absence on the ridge encourages the Soviet infantry sections to press on and the T-70 is also sent forward.

The firefight at the woods between the 2nd Volksgrenadier platoon and the SMG platoon is fierce, but has bogged down. Eventually it looks like the Volksgrenadiers have had enough and they go suppressed. They should really have been given a ‘response withdrawal order’ to the SMG fire, but I missed the moment!

With the Soviets making good time advancing towards the hill and the Panzers appearing to have abandoned their position, 1st Volksgrenadiers at the town are ordered to make towards the hill at best speed.

 

Mid game - 1st Volksgrenadier Platoon catch the flank of Soviet infantry moving up the hill at the same time that the Panzer IV section returns to a hull down position on the hill and opens fire. The lead Soviet infantry platoon is quickly suppressed.

Then an interesting moment (and highlighting a bit of the system). The T-70 takes a ‘Move and Fire’ order and slides past the side of the hill, so that it can take a flank shot against the Panzer IV. The Panzer IV spends a Reaction Order to opportunity fire at the moving T-70, it takes a test to see if it can fire NOW, it fails and so must wait until the T-70 completes its movement and fire and if it is still able to, it will then get to automatically fire.

The T-70 outflanks the Panzer section
to try and get a flank shot.



The T-70 moves and at the end of the move, takes a flank shot at the Panzer IV (breath is held while the dice are rolled) ….. they fail to hit. The Panzer IV is now able to take its shot as the T-70 have completed their action. It is a hit, which becomes a straight Knock Out result!

The Soviets now have a problem, to win, they need to exit 3 units, they only have 3 units remaining on the board and this includes the SMG platoon, still stuck in an ongoing firefight at the woods. They will need to disengage and race for the bridge.

Fortunately for them, the Volksgrenadier platoon that they are facing are suppressed and the Soviets get the initiative, so will move first.

End game - The infantry platoon on the hill send tank hunters forward to sort out the Panzer IV, which is forced to retreat (random distance) and this takes it off the table! The way is now clear and the race is on.

Both German platoons make into the middle of the table to intercept the Soviet advance. They bring down off board mortar fire and maul the two platoons now on the hill, suppressing the lead platoon, which will need to rally before they can advance again.

“That mortar attack was a jolly jape, we should do it again” shouted Lieutenant Schmidt and he spent the required order to call in more mortar fire, but this time the accuracy was way off and the mortar bombs fell amongst the remnants of both Schmidt’s platoons!

We have reached turn 13 (out of a 15 turn scenario) and each of the three Soviet platoons are able go out of sight and run down the reverse of the hill to leave the table. The Volksgrenadiers are in a mess and unable to intervene any further. The game ends with a Soviet victory.

 

Conclusions - Well that ending was a real surprise, I had been fully prepared for a failed attack. With the Soviets having their mortars off board to work with the ‘O’ Group system, they really didn’t have much resilience to get three platoons off the board. This is a very small scenario for ‘O’ Group and I had considered using Rapid Fire instead, so that the mortars could stay on the table and be put into the mix for ‘three units leaving the table’.

However, the ‘O’ Group worked very well at a level it was not designed for. I like that battalion mortars need two orders to strike a new target, but subsequent fires at the same target only cost one order. Because I have reduced the command dice for these small campaign games, there were plenty of occasions in which neither side could afford the orders to bring their mortars in, which adds nicely to the decision points in the game.

The Volksgrenadiers seemed to need an inordinate amount of order support to keep rallying off their plentiful shock caused by the SMG platoon. They should have withdrawn earlier because in the scenario, the Soviets are not allowed to enter the woods, so the SMG would not have been able to follow them or access that convenient central bridge.

Once again, another clever, well thought out Neil Thomas scenario.

The Soviet win means that battle number 3 will see Soviet controlled zone 3 attack into German controlled zone 2, generating scenario 22 (Ambush) from the Neil Thomas One Hour book.

The Germans will have to fight hard to defeat the attack if they want a chance to counter-attack and regain the pivotal zone 3 space.

Will the Soviets manage to get something better that the T-70’s in their next fight? Will the Germans manage to get some Panzer grenadiers for some heavier firepower in defence?

There is a link below to the previous scenario, which also explains the admin behind the ladder campaign. 

Resource Section

The post that covers the introduction to this campaign, explaining the mechanics and covering the first battle. LINK

http://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2021/10/a-short-campaign-ohw-meets-o-group.html

My sister site, COMMANDERS, a place that highlights current projects and favourite game systems. LINK

https://commanders.simdif.com

32 comments:

  1. Well that was a turn up for the books mate. Didn’t fancy the Russkis chances at all. I’ve seen some poor reviews of Neil Thomas’s book on line but a number of you cognoscenti types seem to get some use out of it. Might have to think about getting a copy. Like the ladder campaign too. Top stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks JB,The rules part of One Hour Wargames are useful to some and controversial to others, as they are very trimmed down, but as an exercise in examining rules philosophy they are interesting, but it is the 30 scenarios that come with the book that most gamers seem to think are worth the entry price.

    They have between 4 and 6 units per side, played on a 3' x 3' space and reminiscent of Grant Teaser type games.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow - another wonderful victory for our glorious Soviet allies Norm - even more welcome as it was so unexpected! Of course, in the next scenario, you will probably roll up a whole lot of good stuff for them, like T34's etc - and the watch them lose!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Keith, I am finding that the anticipation of rolling for the next force elements is a really good part of the campaign. I have just been looking over the next scenario (scenario 22 - ambush) and it is unusually in that a weaker force is attacking a stronger one.

    It is an ambush from woods and on the face of it seems more appropriate for an ancients game, but I have randomly drawn the scenarios, so I will roll with it. They have come up trumps so far.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great report Norm, very enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Martin, I am getting on fine with the ‘O’ Group rules and there is what feel to me at least, a natural flow to play, which can’t always be conveyed in an AAR.

      Delete
  6. An intriguing scenario Norm and one that I thought would be too tough for the Soviets. Interesting that they cannot enter the woods, so that really leaves only two routes for the attack, which maybe helps the defenders more? Either way, a lovely game and great to look at too:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Steve, my regard for the OHW rules for interesting throw down games is increasing all of the time. The thing with the woods should have allowed the German platoon to back out of there and within a turn find themselves in the middle of the table, while the ‘would-be’ attackers need to go off and find a bridge that takes them to a flank rather than the centre. All very intriguing.

      Delete
  7. well done, Norm! I think the victories against superior forces are always sweeter :)

    I've played a NT OHW scenario (take the high ground, I think) using Rapid Fire Reloaded and it was good combination. havent played "O Group" yet but I have a mind to after reading your post.

    question- for your campaign scenarios, are those scenarios randomly selected or did you pick those scenarios specifically? I may try this solo with RFR.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Steve, the games seem to be working well at the moment. I did choose the scenario for zone 3 (middle of the ladder) and the other 4 were randomly drawn from the 29 remaining scenarios.

    Whatever comes with those 4, I will just have to take on the chin, but I think my choice for zone 3 could have been better made, perhaps choosing something that might be a bit more of a grinding attritional action to better reflect the importance of this particular zone and the fact that it needs to be hard fought for and to offer good competition.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Excellent read, Norm. With such a low unit count, I wager outcomes will be quite variable in repeated playings. Having only four BMUs to start, I am surprised that the Soviets managed to exit three of the four for victory.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks Jonathan, I thought exactly the same at the start of play and didn’t expect to get a lot of fun out of the scenario, but it turned out to be very entertaining. Interestingly, I think it is those systems that use 2D6 that can average out to mid range results, that best suit these low number games as 1D6 and especially 1D10 are much more prone to wild swings of fortune.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good looking contest Norm and all with moderate forces. I don’t own the book but am thinking about it now 👍

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Worth the price for the scenario compilation alone.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Matt, I see the book as being in two halves, an examination of minimalism in rules and 30 good throw down small scenarios in the spirit of the Grant Teaser type actions.

      Delete
  12. A cracking read with a surprise ending, I must try that scenario out with RFR or BG at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks Phil, A surprising amount of good play out of such a small scenario, I am planning on re-running it with RFR (2005 version of RF landed on my mat a few days ago, so I am busy reading :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Excellent Norm. Your terrain layout gets better and better.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks Lee, I’m hopefully putting the same game out later today in 1/72 (the T-70 just made), just to see what the visual difference is and what the impact is on the ‘O’ group rules, which use different measurements for 20mm.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gripping AAR Norm! The Soviets really pulled a fast one there! Looking forward to the next skirmish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mike, T-34’s in the next one :-)

      Delete
  17. Surprising outcome,given what the Soviets had to play with, uour last post got me going through the scenarios in my copy of OHW, we'd happily tried the rules out and moved elsewhere, I don't think I was really aware of the scenarios in the book, so thanks for that!
    Best Iain

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Ian, in some respects, I now wish that I head read all of the scenarios before setting up the ladder and perhaps had a more appropriate scenario for the pivotal zone 3 game and even fixed the other 4 rather than randomly choosing. However it has probably delivered me scenarios that I have not played before and taken some control away from me, which is always good!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Soviet Steamroller! Will nothing stop them?! 😀
    Nice write up. Germans better get their act together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stu, The next scenario might, 4 attackers against 6 defenders! of course that is deliberate because the attackers have set an ambush and the defenders cannot move for 3 turns during which time their flank is exposed.

      Delete
  20. What a great 'little' game. Thoroughly enjoyed your report! I'm always partial to Soviet armies on the tabletop..so good result!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks John, The rules do deliver a nice bit of nuance, more than I could convey here,because I was trying to be brief and cover highlights and main events, so the game was a lot of fun and playable in a shortish single session.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hello Norm,

    Really enjoyed this and the last writeup. Small campaigns like this are really great. And the fact 'O' Group is delivering with the smaller forces is a great too. Pulling it all together (the rules, the min-campaign, the OHW scenarios) and it just working must be a good feeling (as well as a fun time gaming it).

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Shaun, yes it is slick and working well. Hope you enjoy your copy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have been distracted on other projects so have not even finished reading it :-(

      Delete
  24. Hi Norm,

    I'm only just catching up with this campaign. Well done, it looks really good. I like the ladder approach here. Also pleased that O Group works on small scale games. One for my Xmas list!

    Cheers

    Jay

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Jay, as an aside, I am also doing a ladder campaign for the Napoleonic 20 series (boardgame). The same idea, just link several / battles to a theme and go. I think you will enjoy the ‘O’ group read, as much for how the author goes about the representation of battle at that level and the mechanics used to get there, as anything else.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment