The Push For Przemysl Bridge - Part Four

Having momentarily managed to push back the Russian Cavalry, the Wehrmacht Infantry unit had both enough time to treat some of their casualties with a “Medic” and the courage to then “Move And Fire” and push the Soviet Horse formation back eastwards even further.

THE GERMAN DEPLOYMENT LINE… FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: PANZER MARK III MEDIUM TANKS, PANZER MARK IB LIGHT TANKS, HEER, WAFFEN-SS, HEER AND PANZER MARK I LIGHT TANKS.

Unfortunately for Field Marshal von Rundstedt the Waffen-SS and the Panzer Mark III tanks were not doing so well; whilst watching the Russians deploy more Conscripts onto the battlefield (who promptly started marching west towards the central objective), these German forces came under fire from T-70 tanks and the Soviet Medium Mortar support unit (who had deployed a “Spotter”) and started to fall back themselves.

Realising that the T-70 Light tanks were close to spearheading a Soviet breakthrough through the centre of the battlefield, and emboldened by the deployment of Panzer Mark II tanks slightly to their north, the Waffen-SS threw themselves back into the fight using their “Doctrine & Training” and took full advantage of being the “Nazi Party’s Bully Boys” (which gives ‘any Waffen-SS unit shooting/assaulting a +1 dice modifier to represent them being well-equipped and highly motivated’). Despite the presence of an officer, the Russian Light Tanks completely broke under such a withering hail of bullets and the German’s had ‘clawed back’ a victory point under their scenario objectives (i.e. 1 VP per enemy unit destroyed).

THE RUSSIAN CAVALRY AND T-70 TANKS TAKE A BATTERING DUE TO THE “NAZI PARTY BULLY BOYS” AND THEIR “DOCTRINE & TRAINING”. BUT A “SURPRISE CHARGE” FROM THE SOVIET HORSEMEN CATCHES SOME HEER WITH ‘THEIR PANZERS DOWN’.

As the German Medium Mortar support team scored two hits upon the Russian T-26 tanks, it was clear to Marshal Budenny that the Wehrmacht were now keen to quickly eradicate the other Soviet armour formation off of the battlefield. Equally as worrying though was the sudden push of German Heer towards the central hill. There was nothing else for it, and despite their casualties and snorting horses, the Soviet Cavalry once again galloped forwards with a “Surprise Charge”. Unfortunately the Wehrmacht Infantry unit was simply too ‘fresh’ and having withstood the initial impact of the horsemen, the Heer gunned down the Russian riders to a man.

Clearly though the Russians were not going to easily allow the German Army to capture the central objective, so gunning their gasoline-fuelled six-cylinder Maybach HL 62 TRM engines, the northern unit of Panzer Mark II tanks rushed eastwards towards the farthest objective from the German lines. Careful to use the rough terrain in order to ‘protect’ their right flank from the Russian Cavalry (as only Infantry and tracked vehicles can cross rough terrain) the Light Tanks quickly came within firing range of the Russian Regulars encamped on the hill. But before they could fire on the Soviet infantry formation, the Panzer crews found themselves the victims of “FUBAR-Panic” and swiftly withdrew their armoured vehicles all the way back to the German deployment line.

All attention therefore once again fell on the central objective; a tiny hill partially surrounded by some mountains. Risking all, the German’s rushed forwards a badly beaten formation of Panzer I tanks, and momentarily took the hill.  However, the Russian Conscripts had finally reached the key strategic objective themselves and despite being ‘green’ broke the already fragile German Light Tank formation. With the hill in their control, the Soviets now needed only to expel any German forces from the adjoining terrain and wait for imminent nightfall… Marshal Budenny therefore ordered his Major to accompany a unit of Russian Regulars to support the Conscripts and hold the hill.

Unsurprisingly the Wehrmacht were never going to allow this to take place without a fight, and brought forward their Medium Tank unit in order for their 3.7 cm Kampfwagenkanone to be in range of any unit positioned on top of the central hill. Once accompanied by a unit of Heer of the Panzer Mark III tanks pushed east towards the Soviet Conscripts and unsurprisingly ejected the Russians from the hill.

PERFORMING AN “AMBUSH”, THE GERMAN PANZER MARK III MEDIUM TANKS CAPTURE THE CENTRAL OBJECTIVE, PUSHING BACK THE SOVIET CONSCRIPTS. THE FAR LEFT BLOB WITH ARMOURED CAR IS THE RUSSIAN MAJOR AND HIS RUSSIAN REGULARS.

Realising that the battle was lost should the German Army hold the hill; the Russian Major spurred on his Regulars and actually assaulted the German Medium tanks at close quarters. Inspired by their Commanding Officer’s communist bravado the Soviet soldiers forced the German Panzers to reverse off of the hill, but a unit of Wehrmacht Heer immediately replaced them. An intense firefight then took place with both Infantry formations suffering heavy casualties, but as the daylight started to fail the Germans still held the hill.  

Gambling there was still just enough time to take the battlefield’s key strategic objective, and then rid the surrounding terrain of any German units, the Major and his Russian Regulars fired again and again at the Heer holding the hill, and finally the Wehrmacht infantry unit broke. With the central objective now ripe for the taking, but still vulnerable to counter-attack from the German Panzer Mark III tanks, the Russian Medium Mortar team bombarded the Medium tanks and penetrated their homogeneous steel armour. As soon as the dust had settled the Russian Major, on the orders of an accompanying (“NKVD”) Commissar, charged his Regulars into the disorientated German tanks, amazingly breaking the medium armour formation.

Permanently discarding a “Panzerkampfwagen Mark I Order“ so as to bring a unit of German Light Tanks onto the battlefield from his reinforcements (i.e. previously broken units that have been given time to reform off table), Field Marshal von Rundstedt immediately dispatched them, along with an Oberleutnant, towards the central objective. Fortunately the Russian Regulars were able to utilise “Opening Fire” before the armoured fighting vehicles crashed into them, and having been weakened by the Soviet fire, the German light tanks quickly broke once they engaged the Russian Infantry in close quarter fighting.