Fronte Russo Scenario 45
The Fall of Tcheboratevsky
By Ottavio Ricchi
with developer’s commentary from Doug McNair

The next in the series of bonus Fronte Russo scenarios from Ottavio Ricchi takes place on the sixth day of the Soviet offensive across the River Don. In it, battered Italian infantry supported by elite cavalry and a few Germans try to hold the Italian fallback strongpoint at Tcheboratevsky against an attack by 38th Regiment, 14th Guards Rifle Division. The Soviets had been repelled on the previous day and are now attempting to infiltrate Italian lines before dawn so they can punch through to the town of Tcheboratevsky and beyond. Both sides score victory points for killing enemy steps and for controlling hill and town hexes at the end of play. The Soviets also get VPs for exiting units off the south edge, while the Italians score VPs for keeping the Soviets from exiting at least 20 steps off the south edge by the end of play.

The Italians have nearly equal numbers to the Soviets and are in a strong defensive position, with lots of hill and town terrain plus entrenchments. But the Soviets have artillery superiority and higher average morale than the Italians, and no Italian or German unit can move until at least one Soviet unit has been spotted in the dark by an Axis unit or leader. Many Italian units are also subject to the East Front Panic rule (see Fronte Russo special rules section). So to win, the Italians will need to use their high-morale mobile reserves – the CAV and SCIA units of Novara Regiment - to harass the flanks of the Soviet advance and provide spot defense against Soviet breakthroughs. If they can slow the Soviets enough to prevent 20 Soviet steps from exiting the south edge, they’ll get a huge VP bump and likely win. On the other hand, the Soviets will need to prepare their attack carefully, moving as far south as they can in the dark before allowing any Italians to spot them. They’ll want to send some of their units southwest to try and cut some of the Blackshirts off from the rest of the Axis defenders, and then send the rest of their units in a concentrated human wave against a weak spot in Italian lines. They’ll need to push through and grab as many hill hexes in the center of the board as possible before Italian cavalry arrives from the south. The Red Army may then need to stop and dig in on the hills while their artillery pounds the cavalry, and once they’ve disrupted a decent amount of cavalry they can resume their march south to take the towns and get enough units off the south edge to win.

-- Doug McNair

Fronte Russo Scenario 45
The Fall of Tcheboratevsky
25 August 1942

The Tcheboratesvsky strong point was much more vulnerable than Jagodny. It was out on the edge of the Italian army’s deployment and defended by about 1000 men, only a fraction of whom were reliable (the by-now depleted Blackshirt brigade). The Italians had successfully repulsed Soviet attacks on the 24th of August, but CSIR command remained concerned enough about the position that they ordered Novara Cavalry Regiment to move to the sector that night as a reserve. The Soviets attacked again before sunrise, just as Novara was arriving. The Guards had the task of taking the strongpoint, and after an intense artillery barrage the guardsmen went in.

Note: This scenario uses maps and pieces from Eastern Front and Road to Berlin, and pieces from Edelweiss: Expanded and Red Warriors. Only use Soviet Guards leaders from Red Warriors.

Game Length: 30 Turns
First Turn: 0230
Other: Treat the town hexes on Boards 4 and 21 as road hexes. River is minor. The larger town on Board 20 is Tcheboratevsky.

The Italian player sets up first and can place a total of 10 entrenchment counters in hexes where units set up. All units that don’t set up in town, woods or entrenchment hexes may begin Dug In:

Italian Units
2nd Group, Voloire Artillery
In any road hexes on Board 8:
2 x 75/27 Voloire

Leader: 1 x TEN

Remnants, 2nd Battalion, 54th Regiment, Sforzesca Division
Set up within three hexes of the hill on Board 8:
2 x INF
1 x INF (reduced)
1 x HMG
2 x 45mm

Leaders: 1 x TEN COL, 1 x TEN

Remnants, 1st and 3rd Battalions, 54th Regiment, Sforzesca Division
Set up within three hexes of the hill on Board 4:
4 x INF
2 x INF (reduced)
2 x HMG
1 x HMG (reduced)

Leader: 1 x TEN

Set up on Board 20, within 1 hex of 1102:
2 x 81mm
2 x Truck (German)

Leader: 1 x TEN

Elements, 17th Artillery Regiment, Sforzesca Division
Set up in hexes of the larger town on Board 20:
2 x INF (reduced)
1 x HMG (reduced)

Set up within two hexes of hex 1005 on Board 20:
2 x HMG (reduced)
2 x INF (reduced)
1 x 20mm
3 x 75/32
2 x 100mm
5 x Truck (German)

Leaders: 1 x CAP, 1 x TEN; 1 x SERG

63rd Battaglione, Legione Tagliamento
Set up in any hill or road hexes on Board 21:
3 x INF (Blackshirt)
3 x INF (Blackshirt, reduced)
1 x HMG (Blackshirt)
1 x HMG (Blackshirt, reduced)

Leaders: 1 x MAG, 1 x CAP, 1 x TEN

79th Battaglione, Legione Tagliamento and 79th Battaglione, Armi d’Accompagnamento
Set up on Board 5, anywhere on or south of the road:
3 x INF (Blackshirt)
2 x INF (Blackshirt, reduced)
1 x HMG (Blackshirt)
1 x HMG (Blackshirt, reduced)
2 x 47mm
2 x 81mm

Leaders: 1 x MAG, 1 x CAP, 2 x TEN

Novara Cavalry Regiment
Set up on Board 20, within three hexes of hex 0810:
6 x SCIA
1 x 47mm
1 x Truck (German)

Set up on Board 20, in any woods hexes west of the river:
4 x CAV

Set up on Board 15, anywhere on or south of the road:
5 x CAV

Leaders: 1 x COL, 2 x CAP, 2 x TEN (all are cavalry leaders)

German Units
Elements, 79th Infantry Division
Set up on Board 15, in or adjacent to any woods hexes. All units and leaders are German:
3 x RAD
1 x HMG
1 x 50 mm
2 x SPW 251

Leaders: 1 x CAPT, 1 x LT

Initiative: 3
Morale: Germans, Artillery, SCIA and CAV: 8/7, Blackshirts: 8/6; all others 7/5
Off-board Artillery: none

38th Regiment, 14th Guards
Rifle Division
Enter anywhere on the north edge. All units and leaders are Guards (except for trucks and wagons):
27 x INF
9 x HMG
6 x SMG
2 x ENG
6 x 82mm
2 x 120mm
3 x ATR
3 x 45mm
3 x 76.2mm
3 x Truck
3 x Wagon

Leaders: 1 x MAJ, 3 x CAP, 7 x LT, 1 x KOM
Initiative: 5
Morale: 8/6
Off-board Artillery: 4 x 10, 2 x 16, 1 x 20

Special Rules
1. Italian initiative decreases by one for every 5 steps lost.
2. Soviet initiative decreases by one for every 8 steps lost.
3. The East Front Panic Rule applies to all Italian INF units (except for Blackshirts).
4. SCIA units have a movement allowance of 3 since there is no snow to ski on.
5. Visibility increases over time as follows:
Turns Visibility
1-8 1 hex
9-10 2 hexes
11 4 hexes
12 6 hexes
13 8 hexes
14 10 hexes
15 onward 12 hexes

6. No Italian/German unit or leader can move until at least one Soviet unit has been spotted by any Italian/German unit or leader. After that, all Italian/German units and leaders can move normally, except that none of the German units that set up on Board 15 can leave Board 15 until any Soviet combat unit has reached the southern east-west road. Afterwards the Germans have no movement restrictions. All Italian/German units can fire normally at all times.

Victory Conditions
Players score victory points as follows:
Soviet
1. One VP for each Italian or German step eliminated (trucks don’t count).
2. One VP for each Soviet step that exits the south edge by the end of play (trucks and wagons don’t count).
3. Two VPs for each hill hex under Soviet control at the end of play.
4. Four VPs for each town hex under Soviet control at the end of play.

Italian
1. One VP for each Soviet step eliminated (trucks and wagons don’t count).
2. One VP for each hill hex under Italian/German control at the end of play.
3. Two VPs for each town hex under Italian/German control at the end of play.
4. Twenty VPs if the Soviets fail to exit at least 20 steps off the south edge by the end of play (trucks and wagons don’t count).

A player who scores at least 16 more VPs than his or her opponent scores a Major Victory, and a player who scores five to 15 more VPs than his or her opponent scores a Minor Victory. Any other result is a draw.

Conclusion
The Blackshirts holding the left and center offered stiff resistance as usual, but 54th Infantry Regiment gave ground on the right flank and eventually broke and routed. The Guards moved south toward Tcheboratevsky (nearly capturing several Italian artillery units and Sforzesca Division’s headquarters), and as dawn broke the Blackshirts realized they were being surrounded and broke contact. No help came from the adjacent units of the 79th German Infantry Division, even though a Soviet breakthrough in this sector would have endangered their position. Novara Regiment, supported by Voloire artillery, was the last obstacle between the Guards and their final target for the day: a road in good condition that headed southward. Novara fought a brave delaying action, and later Savoia Regiment moved into a covering position on Novara’s right. That was enough to halt the Soviet advance, for the moment. The final Soviet breakthrough attempt in the sector would be made two days later.

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