Fronte Russo Scenario 47
A Costly Counterattack
By Ottavio Ricchi
with developer’s commentary from Doug McNair

The last in our series of bonus scenarios for Fronte Russo depicts one of the last offensive actions of CSIR in the Soviet Union. CSIR’s elite cavalry did an excellent job of stopping the Soviet advance past the River Don, but Italian dreams of pushing the Soviets back to the Don were simply out of touch with reality. The battle-hardened Soviet Guards were not the untried and outnumbered Red Army troops of 1941, and poor coordination with German divisions in the area doomed any CSIR counterattack to failure. This scenario depicts a CSIR battalion’s efforts to retake a group of hills ceded to the Soviets the previous week. The Italians outnumber and outclass the Soviet defenders at the start of play, but two thirds through the game the Soviets start getting reinforcements. The Italians need to move aggressively and grab all the hills they can as early as possible so that when the Soviet Guards reinforcements enter the board they’ll have to dig the Italians out from the hills. If the Italians are caught out in the open when the Guards reinforcements arrive they’ll have to withdraw.

-- Doug McNair

Fronte Russo Scenario 47
A Costly Counterattack
1 September 1942

Having halted the Soviet offensive, General Giovanni Messe conceived a counteroffensive intended to push the Red Army back to the River Don. The Soviets had started digging in along their new lines so timely action was required, and the arrival of Tridentina Alpini Division at the front gave Messe the reinforcements he needed to launch his plan. On September 1st two reinforced battalions (Vestone on the left side and Val Chiesa on the right) jumped forward. But their attack was poorly planned, with Val Chiesa’s objective being a nearby village while Vestone’s targets were a number of hills quite far away. Soon Vestone found itself advancing alone.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Eastern Front and pieces from Red Warriors and Desert Rats.

Game Length: 24 turns
First Turn: 0715
Other: Ignore all road hexes and the bridge. Place Hill markers in hex 1204 on Board 3 and in hex 0409 on Board 8. All printed hill hexes plus the two hexes with hill markers are hill hexes. Treat all town hexes as fields and all river hexes as gullies.

TVestone Battalion, 6th Regiment, Tridentina Alpini Division (reinforced)
Enter anywhere on the south edge:
9 x INF
2 x HMG
1 x GUAS
2 x L6/40
2 x 81mm

Leaders: 1 x MAG, 3 x CAP, 4 x TEN,
1 x SGT, 2 x Tank Leader
Morale: 8/7
Initiative: 4
Off-board Artillery: 4 x 8

All Soviet units set up first, and units and leaders that don’t set up in woods hexes may begin Dug In.

Elements, 38th Regiment,
35th Guards Division
All units and leaders are Guards.
Set up on Board 3, anywhere north of the gully:
2 x INF
1 x HMG

Set up on the hill on Board 4:
2 x INF
1 x HMG

Set up in the field on Board 4:
2 x 81mm

Leaders: 1 x CAPT, 2 x LT

Elements, 610th Regiment, 203rd Infantry Division, RKKA
All units and leaders are RKKA
Set up hidden (16.6), anywhere on Board 8:
1 x HMG
1 x 45mm
2 x ATR

Leaders: 1 x LT, 1 x SGT

Set up in or adjacent to any hill hexes on Board 2:
4 x INF
2 x 76.2mm

Leaders: 1 x CAPT, 1 x LT, 1 x KOM

Reinforcements
The Soviet player rolls two dice at the start of each turn beginning with Turn 15. Add one to the result on Turn 16, two on Turn 17, etc. On the first modified result of 9 or greater the following enter anywhere on the north edge that turn (stop rolling after they enter):
3 x INF (RKKA)
1 x HMG (RKKA)

Leaders: 1 x CAPT, 1 x LT (both RKKA)

The Soviet player rolls another two dice at the start of each turn beginning with Turn 15. Add one to the result on Turn 16, two on Turn 17, etc. On the first modified result of 11 or more the following enter anywhere on the east edge of Board 8 that turn (stop rolling after they enter):
6 x INF (Guards)
2 x HMG (Guards)

Leaders: 1x MAJ, 1 x LT (all Guards)

Morale: Guards 8/6, RKKA 7/6
Initiative: 2
Off-board Artillery: 3 x 12

Special Rules
1. Italian initiative level is lowered by one for every four steps eliminated.
2. The Soviet initiative level is lowered by one for every three steps eliminated.

Victory Conditions
Players score victory points as follows:
Italian

• One VP for each Soviet step eliminated.
• Three VPs for each hill hex on Board 3 and/or 8 under Italian control at the end of play.

Soviet

• One VP for each Italian step eliminated (tanks count double).
• One VP for each hill hex on Board 3 and/or 8 under Soviet control at the end of play.

A player who scores three to six more VPs than his or her opponent scores a Minor Victory, and a player who scores seven or more VPs than his or her opponent scores a Major Victory. Any other result is a draw.

Conclusion
Vestone Battalion attacked aggressively, even though the light tanks sent with them had trouble in the roadless terrain. They conquered all their objectives, but at a high cost. General Messe was about to order a general offensive when he learned that the planned flanking attack by 22nd Panzer Division, which had been previously confirmed by a German liaison officer, had not yet occurred. This explained the increasing Soviet resistance met by the Alpini from the front and (more dangerously) from the right flank. Sadly, Messe had to order a retreat back to initial positions, and Vestone Battalion retired in good order.

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