Heavy Tank Tactics in 'Road to Berlin'
By Doug McNair
May 2006

One of the main attractions of our Panzer Grenadier: Road to Berlin game is that it lets both players use the most powerful tanks created by the Soviets and the Germans during World War II. The Soviet JS-2 and the German Tiger II are both doomsday machines, with armor that makes them invulnerable to all but the most powerful enemy anti-tank units, and firepower that lets them wreak massive destruction at long range.

But they are also slow. This becomes a major concern for heavy tanks attempting to attack a defender who also has heavy tanks, long-range anti-tank guns or AT-capable air support. And if the defending units have a longer AT fire range than the attacking heavy tanks, then the attacking player must be extremely careful to not be too aggressive and let his heavy tanks get bogged-down in the open where they can be hit again and again at long range. Indeed, the heavy tank which can take the first long-range shot is usually the one that wins. So, an attacker with heavy tanks may have to keep them hidden and let his other units draw the enemy out, firing his heavy tanks only when they have a good first shot at the enemy heavy tanks.

Game Summary

The Clash of Giants scenario from Road to Berlin provides an excellent illustration of the strengths and weaknesses of heavy tanks. In it, Hitler orders his last armored reserves to attack into Hungary in March 1945. The attack was utterly useless (Budapest had fallen in February) and served to do nothing but illustrate Hitler's increasing detachment from reality, but it does give players an excellent opportunity to use large numbers of JS-2s and Tiger IIs against each other.

The scenario is played on four maps setup vertically, with two setup north of the others in a tall, thin rectangle. The Germans must enter the west board edge and either try to exit 24 units off the east edge and destroy 20 Soviet steps (Major Victory), or take control of the northern or southern east-west road and destroy 15 Soviet steps (Minor Victory). The Soviet player sets up first, and gets a Minor Victory for simply destroying 15 German steps, and a Major Victory for destroying 20 German steps and keeping control of at least one hex of both east west roads.

The JS-2 requires careful tactical thought for optimum use.

Setup

The Soviet player decides the strongest way to position his forces is in two defensive lines on each road. He places six infantry, heavy machine gun and submachine gun platoons in roadblock positions on each of the four boards. He has only a few leaders who give morale bonuses, so he spreads them out among the roadblocks to give maximum morale assistance (Soviet morale is only 7 compared to the German morale of 8). He places four heavy tanks and his light AT guns on the flanks, and the remaining heavy tank plus his heavy AT guns and mortars in the center, protected by more infantry. All his units start dug-in. He will rely on long-range anti-tank fire to take out the Tigers while his road units hold back the infantry advance. He also hopes that his promised air support (including tank-busting aircraft) will show up soon.

The German player decides to attack down the southern road, since there is more forest cover there to protect his tanks from long-range AT fire. He will have his Grenadier units enter the board riding tanks (using the Tank Rider rule from the Road to Berlin scenario book), then have them dismount and assist the tanks attacking the western Soviet line on the southern road. The German APCs will take the German mortars and HMGs to a position north of the road where they can screen the German flank from attacks by Soviet units coming south.

Turn 1 (0630 Hours)

Soviet air support doesn't show up yet. German starting initiative is 5, while Soviet starting initiative is 2. The Germans win the initiative roll 10 to 5, getting two activations before the Soviets can act.

On the first activation, all German units activate in a tightly-bunched group offboard, and enter the west edge on the southern road. The faster Panzer IVs and Vs take the lead, with the Tiger IIs on the road behind them and every tank transporting a grenadier unit. The lead PzV unit rounds the northern bend of the woods near the west board edge, and the Soviet line opens up with opportunity fire. They roll a 3 on the 16 column, scoring an X result. This does one step loss to the grenadier unit riding the tank. The grenadier makes its morale check, but the German captain with it does not and leaps off (he's disrupted). The tank and grenadier keep moving east, and the reduced-strength grenadier finally dismounts and enters the woods near the Soviet line.

More tanks come around the bend, and a grenadier and another captain get demoralized and dismount. The tanks mass at the front of the German road advance, while grenadiers dismount and move north of the road to a position even with the lead German tanks. The lead tanks are now within range of the JS-2 in the Soviet center to the north, but they halt their advance early to keep the woods between them and the two JS-2s on the southern Soviet flank.

On their second activation, the Germans put all their offboard artillery into the Soviet line. They roll a 4 on the 21 column, and everyone but the Soviet captain commanding the line makes their morale check. The captain, however, is demoralized.

The Soviets start by firing their centrally-positioned JS-2 and heavy 85mm AA gun at long range at the point of the German tank advance. Both units miss, and are now spotted (they are in a woods hex). The Germans have activated all their units and offboard artillery, so the Soviets complete their activations. Soviet offboard artillery does one step loss to a grenadier unit at the front of the German advance, but both grenadiers in the hex make their morale check. The Soviet units on the roadblock line fire, but the Captain with them fails to recover from demoralization and flees south to the town hex where the JS-2s are. The JS-2s can’t move far enough to get into a good firing position on the Germans, so they stay put and will hope to take out Tigers with opportunity fire once they move out past the woods to the north. All Soviet units on the northern road leave their positions and move south to intercept the German advance.

At the end of the turn, the Germans have taken two step losses and the Soviets have taken none.

0645

The Soviets roll a 6, and their air support arrives! They can draw one aircraft counter this turn and every turn thereafter. The first counter drawn is an IL-2 with a firepower of 20. The Germans win the initiative by 7 to 3, getting two activations first. The German tanks at the point of the advance all activate. The first shot from a Tiger II gets a step loss on the JS-2 in the Soviet center (northeast of the German advance), demoralizing it as well. That’s two Soviet step losses (tank steps count double). The PzV with the Tiger II doesn’t fire, but moves offroad to the southeast, and ends up in a position outflanking the Soviet line from the north. The rest of the tanks open fire on the north flank of the Soviet line, but the Soviets are dug in and don't break.

The Soviet 85mm AA gun with the now-demoralized JS-2 opens fire on the PzV which just moved to outflank the Soviet line. Its firepower is 7 compared to the PzV's armor of 6 (+1 to the AT fire roll). It rolls an 11 + 1 = 12, and destroys the panzer unit completely! That counts as four German step losses! But then the JS-2 with the AA gun fails to recover from demoralization and flees eastward.

German offboard artillery demoralizes the 25mm AA gun on the north end of the Soviet line. Soviet offboard artillery then gets another step loss on the grenadiers north of the road. More grenadiers move eastward offroad to outflank the Soviet line from the north, and opportunity fire from the line is ineffective. Soviet mortar fire from the center hits the just-moved Grenadiers and does another step loss to them, disrupting their leader in the process. The Germans then advance more tanks down the road toward the Soviet line, sending their APCs northeast with their HMGs and mortars to counter the Soviet advance from the north. Soviet fire from the line disrupts a reduced-strength grenadier on the road near them, but the Soviet 25mm AA gun's crew fails to recover from demoralization and abandons it (the unit is eliminated).

The Germans have now taken nine step losses from devastating long-range antitank, mortar and artillery fire. The Soviets have only taken three step losses, so the Germans must be careful or the Soviets will fulfill the conditions for a Minor Victory soon, and the Germans will be forced to go for a mass charge off the east board edge in hopes of a Major Victory.

A Tiger II burns while the People exult.

0700

Initiative is now Germans 4, Soviets 2. The Germans win initiative and get one activation first, and the Tiger IIs break from behind the woods and move southeast to confront the JS-2s on the south Soviet flank. The JS-2s open up with opportunity fire and destroy one Tiger II step, demoralizing the other step of the unit. That counts as three more step losses (Tiger steps count triple). The panzers on the road also activate and fire on the 85mm AA gun and its accompanying infantry unit, scoring a step loss on the infantry and disrupting it, but failing to do anything to the AA gun. The AA gun returns fire but does not damage the panzers.

Grenadiers and HMGs from the back of the German advance head northeast to counter the southward Soviet advance, while the APCs retreat to cover to avoid destruction by long-range JS-2 fire. Soviet offboard artillery disrupts a grenadier north of the road taking up position to block the Soviet advance, and demoralizes another one. German offboard artillery disrupts the last leader on the Soviet line. Soviet infantry at the extreme south flank then move northward to reinforce the line, leaving their AT gun behind.

The Germans have now taken 12 step losses, while the Soviets have taken four.

0715

German initiative is now 3, while Soviet initiative is 2. The Germans win the initiative roll 9 to 5, giving them 2 activations. This is extremely lucky for them, as it lets the Tiger IIs fire on the JS-2s on the south Soviet flank first. The first Tiger II destroys an entire JS-2 unit and does a step loss to the other, demoralizing it (it has Armor Efficiency so it can fire twice) and also killing the captain who fled there from the line and had just recovered morale! The second Tiger II destroys the demoralized JS-2 step. That's eight Soviet step losses! The panzers then fire and disrupt the 85mm AA gun to the northeast. The other Tiger IIs advance eastward, and the demoralized Tiger II recovers morale! On the second German activation, all German offboard artillery hits the north end of the Soviet line, and demoralizes the leader and an HMG unit there. All of a sudden, the Soviet line has lost its tank support and is much, much weaker . . .

Soviets rush in from the north and south to reinforce the line and block the Germans from bypassing it from the north. German Grenadiers move southeast to block the Soviet advance from the north, but Soviet mortar fire demoralizes the lead German unit. German mortar fire gets an M2 on the now leaderless units of the Soviet line, but the units there all make their morale check. Long-range German tank and HMG fire then demoralizes one unit and disrupts the two Soviet leaders leading the southward advance, leaving two Soviet units strung out and leaderless ahead of them. The German lieutenant in the rear with the APCs then takes them south and around the woods to mount an attack on the south flank of the Soviet line. The last remaining JS-2s then move south, but stay just outside of Tiger II range.

Both sides have now taken 12 step losses.

0730

German initiative is now 3, while Soviet initiative is zero. The Germans win initiative by one activation, but the Soviets draw an IL-2-37 aircraft with massive tank-busting capability. A German lieutenant and a grenadier start by assaulting the weakened north end of the Soviet line. They demoralize all the Soviets there, including the leader. The JS-2s moving south then open up on the nearest German tank (a Panzer V) but they both miss it. The Tigers fire at long range and disrupt a Soviet Lieutenant, an HMG and two Infantry units in the southward Soviet advance. Soviet offboard artillery then fires and demoralizes a grenadier opposing the Soviet advance. German offboard artillery replies and demoralizes a Soviet unit in the line.

The Soviet aircraft then attacks, disrupts a Captain and destroys an entire PzV unit north of the road. That's four more German step losses! German mortar fire then demoralizes a Soviet unit north of the road. German long-range HMG fire does one step loss to a Soviet HMG heading south, and Soviet mortar fire disrupts a grenadier blocking the southward Soviet advance.

The Soviet 76.2mm artillery in the woods on the board east of the German advance has kept quiet until now, waiting for German tanks to get within range before firing and revealing its location. The point of the German tank advance is now in range, so they open up and one of them rolls a 12, destroying an entire PzIVH unit (four more German step losses). Soviets rush from the south to reinforce the line, and the German APCs rush out from around the woods to counter them. The 45mm AT gun left behind on the Soviet south flank misses them as they charge out. Then all the demoralized units on the north flank of the Soviet line fail to recover and leave the assault hex, taking more step losses from German "free shots" on the way out. But then long-range 85mm AA fire from the Soviet center demoralizes a German HMG and lieutenant north of the road.

The Germans have now taken 20 step losses, and the Soviets have taken 13.

The IL-2-37 tank-buster. Really Powerful Airplane of the Proletariat.

0745

German initiative is now 1, while Soviet initiative is 0. The Germans win the initiative roll by 1. The Soviets draw the same tank-buster aircraft again.

The Germans assault the next Soviet line hex to the south (the road hex), demoralizing all Soviet units there. Then the JS-2s to the north fire and do one step loss to a PzV at the point of the German eastward advance, demoralizing the other step. That's two more German step losses. Two Tiger IIs move north to engage the JS-2s, and German offboard artillery hits the two 76.2mm guns that killed the PzIVH last turn, rolling a 12 on the 42 column and killing them both! The Soviets try to counterassault on the line with their newly-arrived reinforcements, but get a bloody nose, taking a step loss in the process.

At this point, the Germans have a good shot at clearing the forward Soviet line and moving east down the road, but since they've taken over 20 step losses they can only win a Major Victory by killing the remaining JS-2s (for 20+ step losses) and then exiting 24 steps off the east edge. The Tiger IIs will have no trouble killing the JS-2s now that they're in range, thus eliminating the last major mobile threat to them except the Soviet aircraft. But their already slow advance will be further slowed by more Soviet lines thrown up ahead of them, and even if the Germans do exit 24 steps, they won't have enough units left to guard the road behind them, so the Soviets will be able to take control of both roads and force a draw. The German player isn't interested in fighting a slow slog just to get a draw, so he cedes the game to the Soviet player.

The People are victorious.

Click here to join the fun!