Tactics in ‘Red Warriors’
Scenario #4: Across the Vazuza
Part 4: 1130 – 1230 (Finale)
By Doug McNair
October 2006

The Soviet drive on Vaselki reaches its climax in today’s episode of “Across the Vazuza” from Red Warriors.

With German infantry crushing their western flank, the Soviets have got to take the bridge and drive into Vaselki soon. Otherwise, German reinforcements from the west will secure the town and stop the Red Warriors at the river. The T34/76a tanks spearheading the Soviet drive on the bridge have outrun their infantry screen, and are now in danger from repositioned German infantry and AT guns in the eastern woods. If Soviet artillery can knock out the bridge defenders and the German AT guns, the central Soviet thrust should make it across the bridge and into town before the Germans. If not, they may be fleeing the battlefield before long.

The first day of Operation Mars ends as follows. . . .

1130 Hours

The Soviets win initiative by two activations, so the captain just east of the trench assault moves south to a spotting position on the German 75mm AT gun in the eastern woods. He’s got a morale of 10 so the Germans hold their opportunity fire (they really want to assault the Soviet tanks anyway), and then the Soviet artillery park opens up. Their mortars and 76.2mm guns hit the AT gun on the 30 column, rolling a 3 and destroying it with an X result!

With the threat to their tanks gone, the BM-13 rocket launchers shift fire to the bridge, but are ineffective. One of them also runs out of ammunition, so Soviet onboard artillery is significantly reduced in strength. But with the 75mm AT gun dead without firing a shot, the Soviet field artillery has much to celebrate.

The infantry that accompanied the dead AT gun doesn’t wait around for more artillery — it assaults the adjacent T34/76a tank platoon that headed southeast to engage the AT gun. The assault demoralizes the Soviet tanks, with no ill effect to the Germans. Then the remaining T34/76a tanks blast the bridge defenders at point-blank range. They roll a 12, scoring 2 step losses on German INF platoons there and leaving the bridge guarded by just one demoralized half-strength INF unit and a disrupted lieutenant.

The Germans once again hit the major commanding the Soviet infantry thrust with their offboard artillery. Both the major and the INF unit in his hex become demoralized, leaving the units in the area leaderless.

The Soviets have got to free up some more leaders and troops for the drive on the bridge, so the Russians in the trenches once again assault the demoralized German units there. Once again, there is no damage on either side. Then the one good-order leader in the German attack on the Soviet west flank orders his units to assault the retreating KV-1s and charge the brave Soviet captain trying to hold the flank together. Opportunity fire from the captain’s accompanying INF unit is ineffective, but the assault does nothing and the assaulting German INF unit gets demoralized.

Soviet offboard artillery hits the sergeant and his ENG platoon just west of the bridge and scores an X result, doing a step loss to the ENG. But both it and the sergeant make their morale checks, so they advance to the bridge. Then the Soviet units in the assault hex on the western flank try to recover as their HMG counterassaults the demoralized Germans assaulting them. The Germans take a step loss and both KV-1s recover. The German 50mm AT gun to the south misses the just-recovered KV1s, and the remaining Soviet OBA just disrupts a wagon.

The Germans in the hex north of the trenches assault the demoralized Soviets there and do a step loss to an INF unit, demoralizing the Soviet lieutenant there in the process. The Soviet INF unit that took the trenches on the east edge of the big woods on Board 9 fails to harm the adjacent German HMG and 75mm infantry gun, and when the Soviet lieutenant and his INF unit try to move south toward the Germans they’re disrupted by HMG fire. German mortar fire from the town is ineffective, and then the T-60 light tanks head south through the eastern woods toward the road. The brave Soviet captain on the western flank manages to rally one of his units but another flees east. The disrupted Germans near him don’t fare quite so well, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll after one German HMG reloads on its wagon and starts heading east toward the town again. Massive numbers of demoralized units still haven’t had a chance to recover, including the Soviet major leading the now-stagnant central Soviet thrust.

1145 Hours

The Germans took a pounding last turn and have now lost 13 steps while the Soviets have lost 10. German initiative drops to 1 while Soviet initiative stays at 3. The Soviets win initative by 3 activations. Fire from the artillery park is ineffective, but point-blank T34/76a fire on the bridge eliminates another German INF unit. Then the Soviet captain southeast of the trenches gets his units moving west to try and restart the drive on the bridge.

The Germans send in a massive assault on the remnants of the Soviet western flank. A lieutenant and two fresh INF platoons assault the KV-1s and their accompanying HMG platoon, while another INF platoon assaults the brave captain and his units. But the flank-guards meet the attack with deadly fire, inflicting three step losses on the assaulting Germans while taking none themselves. However, both KV-1s and the HMG platoon in their hex fail their morale checks, with one tank and the HMG demoralized and the other KV-1 disrupted. But the surviving Germans are all good-order, so the Captain’s tanks are now in grave danger of annihilation.

Soviet offboard artillery on the Germans assaulting the T34/76s near the eastern woods is ineffective, and the Germans wipe out the tanks. The Soviet trench assault on the demoralized Germans once again does no damage to either side (High Command starts wondering if everyone is just taking a nap down there), but the Germans in the hex just to the north destroy two more steps of demoralized Soviet INF and make their lieutenant desert.

The Soviet central thrust is thinning out fast, and to make matters worse, its commanding major fails his recovery roll and flees north. German offboard artillery starts hitting the troops he just abandoned. They hold, and the T-60 light tanks crash south through the woods to get to the road west. But the remaining German offboard artillery disrupts two Soviet INF units rallying around the only leader left with the main thrust.

The brave captain on the Soviet west flank counterassaults the Germans in his hex. The half-strength German INF unit becomes demoralized, and the Soviets are unfazed. German mortar fire is ineffective, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll after some failed Soviet recoveries and a few successful German ones.

1200 Hours

The captain has wreaked massive damage on the Germans, as have the T34/76s blasting the bridge defenders while the infantry tries to get its act together. The Germans have now taken 17 step losses, dropping their initiative to 0 and giving the Soviets the first of their four objectives. But the Soviets are now feeling pain quite acutely as well. They’ve also taken 17 step losses and lost a leader, so their initiative is down to 1.

The Soviets win initiative, and the sole captain leading the central Soviet thrust sends his troops south to join the tanks next to the bridge. Opportunity fire from the all-but-gone bridge guards is ineffective, and so is fire from the German infantry to the east that destroyed the T34/76a platoon. Then the infantry assault on the KV-1s on the Soviet western flank gets an additional platoon, and it does three step losses to the KV-1s and one to the HMG there, leaving just a demoralized HMG and a disrupted KV-1 in the hex. One German platoon gets disrupted in return.

The T34/76a tanks only disrupt a German lieutenant at the bridge, and German offboard artillery demoralizes two more Soviet INF platoons near the bridge. The Soviets in the trenches FINALLY wake up and destroy the German 37mm gun and wagon there, but the demoralized HMG is not affected. German offboard artillery then kills one step of Soviet HMGs near the bridge, disrupting the rest of the unit as well.

The Soviet captain on the west flank assaults and destroys the last German INF step in his hex. More German offboard artillery is ineffective, and then the Soviet artillery park opens fire, disrupting the last combat unit in the bridge hex plus the lieutenant who wiped out the Soviet tanks near the woods to the east. German mortar fire from the town disrupts two more Soviet infantry next to the trenches, and Soviet offboard artillery wipes out a wagon loaded with German HMG troops, plus a German 20mm AA gun in the same hex. That cuts in half the German units on their way to reinforce the town, so the closest-in wagon heads for the town at a gallop.

The Soviet T-60 light tanks charge west on the road out of the woods and right up behind the other tanks and infantry ready to assault the bridge next turn. The leaderless Germans in the assault north of the trenches finish off the last Soviet INF step there, and then hunker down and wait for a German leader to show up. Soviets start recovering, including a long-disrupted leader who can start leading troops out of the northeastern woods toward the bridge. The Germans bring up more troops to try and finish off the Soviet western flank, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll.

1215 Hours

The Germans keep on dying, having taken 22 step losses, but still the bridge holds. The Soviets have taken 25 step losses and have lost one leader, so both sides now have an initiative of 0. But the Soviets get a lucky roll and win by two activations, so the bridge assault goes forward. All the tanks by the bridge activate first. The T60-s start by firing on the bridge hex, but they only demoralize a lieutenant there. Then the T34-76s go in, but neither they nor the weak counterassault has any effect. So, Soviet offboard artillery hits the assault hex, demoralizing the last leader and unit there. They’ll be ripe for the picking by the incoming infantry next Soviet action phase.

So, German offboard artillery hits the captain leading the bridge assault . . . and scores an X result, demoralizing his last good-order unit in the hex. But he’s OK, so he sends the one good-order infantry unit next to the assault hex in while he tries to rally his other troops. Two units flee north, and the bridge assault does no damage.

The bridge is still just barely holding, so the Germans decide to finish off the Soviet west flank before pulling back toward the town. A lieutenant and two INF platoons move in to assault the Soviet captain. Channeling the Red God of War, the captain rolls a 6, but so does the German lieutenant. A Soviet INF platoon is wiped out and the HMG platoon becomes demoralized, but the captain keeps his head, disrupts the German lieutenant, does one step loss to a German INF unit and demoralizes the other one. All his troops are running away, but at least he’s still in better shape than the other guy.

The Soviets in the trench go back to sleep, and the Germans complete the destruction of the Soviet western flank by killing the last KV-1, leaving only a leaderless, demoralized HMG step. The Soviet artillery park demoralizes one of the German units north of the trenches, and the German 50mm AT gun in the central woods loads and limbers so it can move east and start shooting at the Soviet tanks east of the bridge. Soviet offboard artillery is ineffective, and the first German reinforcements reach the town.

The Soviet lieutenant in the woods to the northeast starts moving south with his troops, but the lead platoon is disrupted by opportunity fire from the dug-in Germans north of the trenches. The brave captain extricates himself from the assault by following his fleeing HMG platoon to the east bank of the river (it’s unaffected by weak German Free Shots). German mortar fire demoralizes another Soviet INF unit near the bridge, the Soviet major keeps fleeing north, and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll.

1230 Hours

The Germans win initiative and the major who just moved into town activates. He moves the 75mm infantry gun and his HMG platoon to the east end of town to block incoming Soviet tanks, and then has the mortars fire on the captain leading the Soviet infantry. The mortar fire is ineffective, and the Soviet tanks and infantry in the bridge hex finally wipe out the bridge guards and both their leaders. But there are three Soviet units in the bridge hex, so the T-60s can’t cross the river till they get off it, and to top it off German offboard artillery demoralizes the Soviet infantry on the bridge.

That leaves a slow HMG unit as the only good-order non-tank unit anywhere near the bridge, so if anybody’s going to assault the town soon, it will have to be tanks with no infantry screen. That’s not good. The Soviets get a –2 column shift when attacking the town, and the Germans get a +3 for higher morale, leaders and assaulting tanks in a town with no escorting infantry. The Soviet tanks would have a huge numerical advantage, but the Germans would likely kill or demoralize so many of them that it’s just not worth it.

So, the Soviets pull back from the bridge, and the tanks head south through the gap between the woods on Boards 3 and 9. Twelve tank steps exit the south board edge, which doubles to 24 (each tank step counts double), and with infantry filtering south through the big eastern woods, the Soviets make their objective of exiting at least 25 steps off the south edge. They also made their objective of killing at least 16 German steps, but they lost more than 20 steps and the Germans kept the town. The Soviets win a minor victory.

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