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| Schweres MG 42 from their vantage point on the hill. |
At the Battlefront HQ gaming club last week I played another game with my Feldherrnhalle Panzergrenadierkompanie, this time against a Soviet Peredovoye Otryad (Forward Detachment). I'd never faced a Russian army before (ironic as the FFH division only fought on the Ostfront), so it was a nice change of pace.
My list was the same as previous, though now I've used it a few times I'm thinking of tweaking it a little to make it more efficient by adding an extra PaK to the Nebelwerfer platoon and switching out two sMG teams for Von Saucken.
Anyway, on with the lists, courtesy of EasyArmy.com.
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Mission
This time the mission would be No Retreat, which again was a nice surprise as I've not tried my hand at it before. I would be defending as I'm using an infantry company against the mechanised Peredovoye Otryad. The Peredovoye Otryad actually have the 'always attacks' special rule but this wouldn't come into play this time.
Deployment
For the purposes of describing the action, the edge of the table with the river will be referred to as the western edge, with the Soviets advancing from the East (as was usually the case!).
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| The table at the start of Soviet turn 1 showing the freshly deployed forces. |
Half of my platoons would arrive from reserve, so I decided to keep the Sd.Kfz 10/5 Platoon, Panzerspäh Platoon, a platoon of Panzergrenadiers and the Schwere Platoon in reserve. This left me with a Panther Platoon, Panzergrenadier Platoon, 21cm Nebelwerfer 42 Platoon and PaK 40 Platoon to keep on the table.
I opted to deploy the PaKs from ambush, as the scariest prospect for me was the thought of an armoured breakthrough penetrating my lines and being unable to deal with it. The ability to deploy the PaKs anywhere on my half of the table at just the right moment should help alleviate this. The Nebelwerfers were deployed behind the river on the western edge of the board, with the Panzergrenadiers skirting the hedge and woods towards the centre of my half (with two sMG 42 teams on the hill covering my left flank). The Panthers were placed towards the centre in concealment, ensuring they had line of sight down both road approaches and across the fields.
My opponent deployed the Motostrelkovy Company in the centre in the wheat field, the T-34/85 Gvardeyskiy Tankovy Company on his left flank, the Motorised Mortar Company on the hill on his right flank and the ISU-122 Guards Heavy Assault Gun Company in the centre in front of the Motostrelkovy.
As for independent teams, my Nebelwerfer observer occupied the woods in front of my central Panzergrenadier Platoon, and the Schwere Platoon observer occupied the rock formation in the south-west corner of the board. The 2iC was placed in the woods by the road, hoping to put a Panzerfaust in anything that got too close. The 1iC sat in the woods opposite in range of the Panthers and Panzergrenadiers in case they required a re-roll to morale tests.
My opponent placed his 1iC and 2iC at the far end of the long road that runs north-west south-east.
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| The Motostrelkovy Company advances towards the enemy. |
Soviet Turn 1
The game starts with the Il-2 Sturmovik flying in and lining up for a bombing run on the centre of my lines, targeting a Panther. It hits the Panther and Panzergrenadier Platoon, pinning the latter but otherwise not causing any damage. The T-34/85 Company head directly west towards the road, similarly the ISU-122 Company advance. The mortar observers can't see anything so advance westwards towards the wood. The mortars can however draw line of sight to the Panther skirting the wood, and launch a bombardment. They range in but fail to cause any casualties.
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| Il-2 Sturmovik lining up for an attack run on the Panther in the centre of my lines. |
Feldherrnhalle Turn 1
My reserves roll is successful, and an Sd.Kfz 10/5 Platoon advance up the road at the double. The Panzergrenadiers unpin, and one of the Panthers tries to fire at the company command T-34/85, but is out of range. The Nebelwerfers fire on the Motostrelkovy Company, pinning them, killing one SMG team, the company command team, and Commissar!
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| The Motostrelkovy Company command team and Commissar are killed by Nebelwerfer fire, while the rest of the company is pinned. |
Soviet Turn 2
No air support arrives this turn. The Motostrelkovy Company unpins but is unable to advance as it is missing their leadership element. The T-34/85 Company cross the hedges and advance down the road, though one bogs down crossing the hedgerow. The T-34/85s open fire on the lone Panther in the wood line, scoring two hits and knocking it out! The ISU-122 Company advance but do not fire on the Panthers as they would need a seven to hit. The Mortar Company observer advances again and takes up position in the wood line with an excellent view of the Panzergrenadiers and Panthers.
Feldherrnhalle Turn 2
Reserves turn up again, this time in the form of a Panzerspäh Platoon, who double-time up the road and occupy the same positions as the Sd.Kfz 10/5 Platoon, while the latter spread out further, with one managing to bog down attempting to enter the woods. The remaining Panthers open fire on the ISU-122 Company and score two kills! Their Heavy Breakthrough Guns are rather scary as they would be able to make short work of my infantry, so I was glad to be able to reduce their effectiveness early on.
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| Two burning ISU-122s lie in the centre of the Soviet advance. |
Soviet Turn 3
No Il-2 Sturmovik turned up this turn. Again, the T-34 platoon advance down the road and opened fire on the 2iC and Panzergrenadier Platoon but did not cause any casualties. The Soviet 1iC and 2iC advance down the road to get into a position where they can get the Motostrelkovy Company moving again next turn. The ISU-122 Company lost their commander last turn so are unable to advance. The Mortar Company observer guides the mortars down on the central position, killing a Panzergrenadier MG team.
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| The T-34/85 Company charge down the road towards a wrecked Panther. |
Feldherrnhalle Turn 3
Again reserves arrive, this time in the form of the two 8 cm mortars of the Schwere Platoon, who take up positions on the board edge next to the Nebelwerfers. The PaK 40 platoon I had been saving for just this opportunity. They deploy from ambush in the woods on the south flank at the edge of the woods, with perfect vision of the side armour of the T-34/85 platoon. They open fire and knock out three! The 2iC opens up with his Panzerfaust and knocks out a fourth, but they pass their morale check. The Nebelwerfers bombard the Motostrelkovy Company again, causing two casualties and pinning them. The Panthers fire on the Motostrelkovy but fail to cause any casualties.
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| The aftermath of the PaK 40 and Panzerfaust ambush. |
Soviet Turn 4
The Il-2 Sturmovik makes an attack run on the Nebelwerfer Platoon, pinning them but failing to cause any casualties thanks to a very lucky saving throw! The Motostrelkovy unpin and resume their advance, supported by the 1iC and 2iC. The Mortars open fire on the Panthers again but fail to range in.
Feldherrnhalle Turn 4
The second Panzergrenadier Platoon arrive this turn and advance up the road towards the front. An Sd.Kfz 10/5 takes up position on the front of the wood line with an Sd.Kfz 250/9, hoping to bring their 2cm cannon to bear on the enemy. The Nebelwerfers and 8 cm GW 34 Platoons both range in on the Motostrelkovy and cause five more casualties. The Panthers fire on the Motostrelkovy again and fail to cause any casualties.
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| The second Panzergrenadier Platoon advances towards the front line. |
Soviet Turn 5
The Motostrelkovy unpin again and take up the advance behind the wood, but will be unable to stay out of sight. The Mortars fire on my central positions, killing an MG team from the Panzergrenadier Platoon (and pinning them), as well as bailing an Sd.Kfz 10/5.
Feldherrnhalle Turn 5
The Sd.Kfz 10/5 unbails, and the two platoons of halftracks advance take up positions where they can fire on the Motostrelkovy. The Panzergrenadiers advance again. One of the Panthers manages to draw line of sight to the remaining ISU-122, and despite needing a six to hit, manages to knock it out! The Nebelwerfers fail to range in, as do the Mortars. One Sd.Kfz 10/5 and an Sd.Kfzx 250/9 are in range and puts some fire on the Soviets, killing another SMG team.
Soviet Turn 6
Again, the Motostrelkovy advance towards my lines, but at this point there is little that they will be able to do to affect the outcome of the battle, victory is in my grasp as long as I can keep up the relentless fire on the infantry.
Feldherrnhalle Turn 6
It was at this point I realised that there was only one unit in my half of the board, the observer team for the Soviet Mortar Company. If I could kill him, then I could win next turn. The only unit in range was my 2iC, who bravely leaped across the road gave him a slap with an Klappspaten then promptly consolidated back to his previous position! Meanwhile, the remaining halftracks, Panthers, Nebelwerfers, Mortars and even a sMG 42 team opened up on the Motostrelkovy, killing eight teams and pinning them again.
Soviet Turn 7
What remains of the Motostrelkovy unpin and resume their advance with the 1iC and 2iC leading from the rear.
Feldherrnhalle Turn 7
There are no attacking teams in my half of the table so I win!
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| The table at the end of the battle. |
Verdict
My first proper victory! It was a pleasure to play against my opponent's Soviets, he had some bad luck with some important dice rolls and conversely I got lucky on a few but overall I really enjoyed it! It was nice to finally get to use my entire army for a change, usually units get left in reserve. It was especially surprising to see a lot of 2cm cannon fire coming from the Panzerspäh and Sd.Kfz 10/5 platoons, they were very nasty against the infantry.
Lessons
- Sd.Kfz 10/5 have a 24" bubble they can use to deter air, spread them out more to cover a larger area.
- Don't forget that tanks can benefit from Gone to Ground.
- I really need to buy some more tokens to help keep track of the status of units in game, so this is top of my shopping list.
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