Tactics in 'Iron Curtain'
Scenario Two: SPEARHEAD, Part 2
By Doug McNair
August 2007

War or peace in Europe hangs in the balance in today’s episode of my Iron Curtain Scenario 2 replay. As the first hour of play ended, the American smokescreen had parted to reveal an infantry company escorting two truck units north along the west edge of Board 21. Soviet 9th Guards Tank Division has held its fire until now on orders from headquarters, but if the American supply trucks keep advancing toward Berlin in full view of the Soviets, the Red Army will eventually have no choice but to enforce Berlin Blockade.

The game continues.

Turn 5: 0700 Hours

The Soviets roll a 6 + 4 (for eight American steps advancing on Board 21 in Soviet LOS) = 10, which is not the 12 necessary for units to be released for combat. Ninth Guards HQ continues to believe this is a diversion, or an American ploy to draw the Soviets out of their defensive positions and then attack with more units hidden to the south. The Americans beat the Soviets on initiative by one activation. The trucks and infantry keep moving north along the west edge, and the Soviets in the woods just east of the Americans reposition themselves to track American movements.

The advancing supply column has outdistanced the American mortars, so American offboard artillery starts firing smoke around them. With the central town on Board 21 having been bypassed, a T34/85 tank unit moves north and offroad to destroy any trucks that break past the plane of the western woods should the order to fire arrive. The smokescreen keeps lengthening, and the Soviet roadblock units finish digging in.

The American mortars load onto APCs and move northeast toward the supply column. Three American truck units move eastward along the south board edge, and then after the Americans finish firing smoke both sides pass and activations for the turn end. The American player then makes smoke-scatter rolls, and all but one smoke marker dissipates completely, leaving the supply column exposed for another +4 mod to the Soviet provocation roll.

Turn 6: 0715

The Soviets roll a 9 + 4 = 13 and the grumbling in the ranks rises to a level that cannot be ignored. Capitalist poison cannot be allowed back into the liberated city of Berlin, so HQ orders the Guards to repel the American incursion. But a few Soviet riflemen give the game away by firing early, and the Americans beat the Soviets on initiative by one activation.

The American infantry guarding the trucks charges southwest toward the Soviet JS3 tanks unit at the south edge of the woods, keeping out of the LOS of the Soviet halftracks to the north. The lead platoon does not do well, with the Soviets rolling a 3 on the 22 column for an X result (1 American step loss) and demoralizing the remaining American step. But the second platoon does better, passing morale checks caused by fire from JS3s and by long-range HMG fire from the central town.

That forces the JS2s just to the north to fire as well (they were hoping to wait and annihilate the trucks), and they roll an 11 on the 22 column, inflicting another X result (1 American step loss) and demoralizing the other INF step. The third INF platoon comes in with its lieutenant, and they make it through more opportunity fire from the JS2s and the HMGs in town, so the American infantry threat against the JS3s remains. The trucks could also activate since they were next to the lieutenant, but they’re actually better off not moving since all the tanks that could fire at them in their current hex have already fired at the infantry.

The Soviets have bigger fish to fry than the trucks right now (Soviet reserves can take care of them if they keep moving north), and T44 tanks in the woods east of the road on Board 21 open fire, hoping to smoke the M26 tanks near the pond to the south and then start picking off nearby halftracks. All full strength, American and Soviet tanks in Iron Curtain have armor efficiency and get two AT shots per activation, but the T44 rolls a modified 5 and a 9, missing the M26 twice. The Americans wait to return fire because their line of infantry and APCs just south of the T44 is going to catch hell from Soviet tanks if it stays put for long. The Americans can’t fire smoke fast enough to protect the whole line, so the line goes on the attack.

Three M3 halftrack units plus an INF open fire on the hex the T44s just fired out of, but they only disrupt the Soviet sergeant there. Then the remaining INF and HMGs advance with six APCs units in the lead, and the Soviet tanks in the central town open-up with opportunity fire. The T34/85s roll horribly and miss twice, but the JS3s mow-down two M3 units (2 American step losses). The remaining M3 stays put to avoid destruction while the M39s and an American HMG unit fire on the woods again. Their fire demoralizes both the Soviet Sergeant and the HMG unit with him. That leaves nothing but a Soviet M3 unit defending the woods, and it plus other Soviet halftracks firing from the road fail to hurt the two American INF units that advance adjacent to the woods.

Soviet mortar fire is ineffective, but two Soviet M3 units take two SMG platoons south through town and unload them just west of the American infantry that rushed the eastern woods. An M26 tank platoon out in the open east of the road on Board 18 fires twice and misses, and Soviet offboard artillery just disrupts the lieutenant with the American INF near the eastern woods. Then three M26 units in the woods south of the hill destroy both steps of T44 tanks at the roadblock (counts as 4 Soviet step losses since tanks count double). The Soviet lieutenant in the hex rolls a 4 – 2 (for two step losses) = 2 for leader casualties and dies! That leaves the roadblock with no leader. The American mortars move north into the eastern woods and unload.

There are no Soviet tanks with LOS to the M26s that just revealed themselves by killing the T44s, so Soviet offboard artillery takes another shot at the stack of American INF near the eastern woods. The fire disrupts the only good-order INF left there, so there will be no assault on the adjacent JS3s next turn. Then two M4/76s in the central woods on Board 18 smoke three Soviet halftracks (two on the road and one in the eastern patch of woods on Board 21, for three Soviet step losses), while the remaining M4/76 plus an M39 APC unit moves-through long-range Soviet tank fire to reach the town at the north edge of Board 18.

Then three fast M24 tanks make a dash across the clearing toward the hill on Board 21 — and don’t fare so well. Long-range opportunity fire from Soviet tanks only has an AT strength of 2 vs. the M24s’ armor of 3, but the Soviets roll two 12s in succession and kill two M24 steps (counts as four American step losses), disrupting one unit and demoralizing the other. The Americans learn an abrupt lesson that speed is no match for overwhelming firepower.

The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll. The Americans never get a chance to lay more smoke around the trucks, and their assault on the hill (for which the M24 charge was meant as the vanguard) doesn’t happen. The smoke marker by the trucks drifts northeast, and now the JS3s in the woods on Board 6 have LOS to them. But the demoralized HMG unit with the T44s in the eastern woods on Board 21 never got a chance to recover, so the American assault there is about to go in against an unprotected tank unit.

The score is now Soviets 8, Americans 17 (they scored a lot for killing those T44s).

Turn 7: 0730 Hours

American initiative drops due to step losses, so both sides are now Initiative 3. The Soviets win initiative by one activation, and the T44s in the eastern woods blast the adjacent American infantry point-blank while the leader and HMG with the tanks try to recover from being demoralized. The tank fire just disrupts one of the INFs, and while the Soviet sergeant recovers to disrupted status the HMG fails and flees north.

That lets the remaining good-order American INF go in for the assault along with the lieutenant. Both sides only roll on the 9 column of the Assault Table, and neither side takes damage or fails morale checks. The American INF then rolls to try and use its short-range AT weaponry against the T44s, but it rolls a 1 and fails.

The Soviet tanks in the western woods on Board 21 activate, promptly smoke the trucks and kill the Sergeant with them (two American step losses), and then fire on the stack of American infantry that charged the woods. Amazingly, not even the point-blank fire has any effect, so the Americans still have a chance. The stack tries to recover morale, and their leader fails but the disrupted INF succeeds. The two demoralized, reduced-strength INF both fail and flee southwest toward American lines.

The tanks in the central town start smoking the exposed American halftracks before the Americans can lay a smokescreen ahead of them. T34/85s kill three M3 units (3 American step losses) but fail to kill a better-armored M39 unit. The JS3 unit in town holds fire so it can deal with any American tanks that dare advance, but two Soviet SMG units move southwest from the town to reinforce the hill while two M3 halftracks move west to join the tanks in the woods.

The Americans can’t afford to lose any more tanks or halftracks if they’re going to take the hill and the southern woods on Board 21, so their mortars lay a smoke marker to block Soviet LOS to the remaining M39s near the eastern woods, and another just south of hill. Then the Americans charge the hill, using the smokescreen to avoid fire from the Soviet tank and HMG units on the hilltop.

Soviet offboard artillery fire is ineffective, and the Americans charge the eastern patch of woods in preparation for reinforcing the assault there. Soviet APC and offboard artillery fire fails to bother them, and then an M26 tank unit in the central woods on Board 18 kills one step of T44s in the assault hex and disrupts the other (counts as two Soviet step losses).

The other M26 unit moves north to the town at the north edge of Board 18. The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll after the Americans lay more smoke markers but before any American tanks can advance behind the smokescreen. As for the smokescreen itself, three markers dissipate but the one the Americans laid just south of the hilltop stays. That’s actually a curse for the Americans, because it’ll keep them from firing on the Soviets on the hilltop.

The score is now Soviets: 13, Americans 21.

Turn 8: 0745 Hours

American initiative drops to 2, but so does Soviet initiative. The Americans win initiative by one activation, and they pile into the southeastern woods, assaulting and killing the last T44 step and the Sergeant with it (counts as 2 Soviet step losses). One American INF step is disrupted for its trouble. The disrupted INF outside the woods recovers, and with nothing but a demoralized Soviet HMG in the woods they effectively belong to the Americans.

JS-3s and M3s in the eastern woods blast the one undemoralized American INF point-blank, but they roll a lousy 7 and Americans pass the morale check. The M3 two hexes away plus the KMS in the adjacent hex have not better luck, but then two JS-2 tank platoons break out of the woods and move three hexes southwest to run-down the fleeing, demoralized American INF and to gain flanking fire positions on any American advance up the hill.

American mortars lay smoke in two hexes directly in front of the central town to screen American tank and APC movements. With the American smokescreen south of the hill having prevented the T44s on the hilltop from killing northbound American tanks, the Soviets pull the T44s off the hill and northward so they don’t get pinned-down in an American infantry assault.

American APCs take advantage of the new smokescreen in front of the central town to move into the eastern patch of woods on Board 21, and the Soviets try to draw fire from the tanks in the town hex at the north edge of Board 18 by pulling the lone INF unit back from the roadblock there. The tanks in the town don’t take the bait (they’d be revealing themselves and risking devastating return fire from Soviet tanks to the north), but three M4/76 tank units in the forest to the southwest do fire because they’re outside Soviet AT fire range and no Soviet tanks have LOS to them right now. The second opportunity fire shot scores an X result (1 Soviet step loss) and demoralizes the other Soviet INF step.

Then the Americans go to work on taking the hill. The Soviets still have plenty of firepower on the summit even without the T44s, so the American INF and HMG units at the base of the hill pile into their APCs and advance one hex up the slope. Going any farther would put them within spotting range of Soviet tanks on the other side of the hill, so they stop and prepare to assault next turn. But the Soviet SMG, HMG and APC units pull back one hex to the north, staying on the hill but putting the woods between them and the Americans. If the Americans want to take the hill they’ll have to move within spotting range of the Soviet tanks north of the hill. So, the Americans respond by sending their M26s to the hill from the woods to the south, hoping to reach the woods on the hilltop behind a smokescreen and then start a duel with the Soviet tanks from a well-protected position.

Soviet offboard artillery fire just demoralizes a captain in the eastern woods, and then the disrupted American lieutenant and his good-order INF by the western woods move one hex southwest to get adjacent to the two JS-2 platoons chasing the demoralized American INFs northwest of the hill. Soviet offboard artillery hits them but is ineffective, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll. All three Smoke markers stay on the board but drift. The score is now Soviets 13, Americans 25.

So, 45 minutes into the war, the initial American infiltration attempt has been all but obliterated, and American tanks and halftracks have taken a beating from long-range Soviet tank fire. But American infantry has advanced to take the southeastern woods on Board 21 and the southern face of the hill. And if the lone good-order American INF unit from the supply probe can assault and pin down the Soviet T34/85 tanks northwest of the hill, the Americans will have no trouble topping the hill behind a smokescreen and then have their infantry charging down the north slope with tanks and APCs providing fire support from the hilltop.

But American APCs are extremely vulnerable to Soviet tank fire, so the American tanks will have to do a number on their Soviet counterparts to keep the American infantry from losing much of its fire support as they move north. That will require some very skillful maneuvering and use of smoke cover by the American tankers.

Can they do it? Tune in next time and find out!

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