BERLIN: RED VENGEANCE

30th AM

Legion attacking as the Russians

Initial Thoughts

            With a number of buy points I expect JP to try to bolster his defences, as well as getting some long-distance hitting power in the form of 128mm OBA. If I am lucky he will buy more AFV, if not then he will get more infantry.

            I need to gain territory this game and I want to push across the Marschall or secure the Moltke Bridge this game, though I am willing to drop both these objectives just to kill more of his men.

The Map

1S Foxholes:    D7, E7, L20, M3, O20, S21, T18, U14, V13
Shellholes:        T13, T14, T15, U15, V14
Rubbled Stone Locations:           U9 (building), Z18 (2), DD14
Fortified Building locations:        E8, N8, Y6, Z9 (0/1), CC13
Wire:                 D7, K10, EE18, EE20-22, EE24
Roadblock:      J10/K10
BO Wrecks:     F8, H15, I9, N15, O15, W10, AA18, EE16, EE18, II16

The Marschall Bridge has been Partially Destroyed and is now only able to hold 10 ton
 
Abandoned Weapons
U12:     PSK
Y17:        HMG(g), LMG(r)
EE18:     LMG(r)

Weather
            Moderate conditions with No Wind. The sky is Overcast.

CVP Scores
SS:            CVP gained: 162 total    [SS ELR is -1]
Russian:  CVP gained: 131 total    [Russian ELR is -2]

SS Remnants

AFV:         2x PzKw VIB, JgPz V (MA Disabled), 9-1AL
Guns:       2x 20L FlaKvring AA,  88L AA
SW:          3x HMG, 4x MMG, 6x LMG
2x PSK, 50mm Mtr, FT
Ldr:           9-1, 2x 8-1, 7-0
MMC:       9x 658, 3x 447
                  338, 348, 236
                  2x 228

Russian Plans

Russian OOB

         I lost a 7-0 to his wound in the Refit Phase

Force Remnants
AFV:         T-34/85,  2x GAZ Truck, 8-1AL (Stun +1)
Guns:       2x 152mm ART, 76L ART, 82mm Mtr
SW:          4x 50 Cal, 4x HMG, 3x MMG, 9x LMG
50mm MTR, DC, PSK(g)
Ldr:          10-2, 5x 8-1, 7-0    [7-0 battle hardened from 6+1 in refit phase]
MMC:       3x 628(e), 6x 628, 6x 458, 3x 527, 2x 426
                 237
                 13x 228   
 
Isolated Units

Marschall Bridge Set-up Zone (FF18)
            527, LMG, LMG(g)
            EE18:     IAG-6 – immobilised

Middle Set-up Zone (N8)
            458, 447, 328, 2x LMG, FT    

Kronprinzen Fields Set-up Zone (X15)
            458

The Random Modifier gave me +0 CPP = 30 CPP

Russians declare an attack.
Attack Chits Remaining: 3 (SS:2)

            I bought up big on the infantry, obviously I have lost a lot of men and need to replace those losses, but I also need quite a few men to push through the area that is now open to me on the Eastern side of the board. The Moabits are there because I shall need some HIP-busters to move ahead of the rest of my units.

SS Setup

            There were few surprises here, he set up in the Marshal Bridge area with a number of unit poised to reclaim the territory I took last game. He did a smart move and set up with his kill stacks in the Reichstag and Kroll Opera house both being in the cellars; this was to protect them from the OBA and Katyusha Rockets I bought – unfortunately for him they were just going to be held back until later in the game! His setup around the Moltke Bridge was essentially dummies, though he defended Himmler’s house with a nifty foxhole in the centre and a whole SS Rifle Platoon.

The Game

             Sigh… This was a horror game for me.
– Not in terms of losses; I didn’t lose that many men.
– Not in terms of territory; I gained important territory.
             The game was a horror because of lost opportunities.

            My dice for this game were terrible. MCs were not passed (what’s new you ask) and even worse than that, my up-till-now infallible deathstars could not get ROF even when they did manage to hit the enemy – thus there were some breaks but few times when I went on to score the vital CRs and KIAs. My OBA (pre-registered on the Kroll Opera) red-chitted without a single round being fired. I had 12 SAN chances and not a single one of those actually converted!

            On the other hand JP managed to keep his DRs red-hot. He passed MC after MC and rolled those vital 3’s and 5’s (not 4’s which was my SAN) whenever it came down to the line.

            As JP pointed out late in the 4th turn, my dice were so bad that his units, who had skulked at every opportunity up till now were actually moving into exposed positions because he no longer feared my MGs.

            Funnily enough, it was these lost opportunities that might have saved me. if you read CG12 then you will note that the Russians need to qualify for the -2 DRM play balance to be able to enter from the East side of the map-board.The LVP at the end of the game will show you how close I came to actually messing that up. I thought I had done the maths, but the major modifications to the board due to rubbling (see the AAR for details) messed up my calculations and as a result I would have been unable to open up the Eastern edge!

EAST BANK – The Marschall Bridge Attack

            Very little happened over here, I could not do much to stop his forces close in and attack the men I had over on the North Bank; once he stripped their concealment they broke easily. He moved slowly to the attack and this meant that I had time to Rout one of them away (he made it to the Eastern board edge where he will join the masses coming on-board next game) while the other ended up broken in place on the top floor of HH18.

            I lost one of my 152mm ART over here when an OBA CH rubbled the fortified CC13.

Kronprinzen and Reichstag Area

            I had no intentions of attacking the Reichstag this turn, I knew he would be starting to stack it full of units, and JP did not disappoint me. At first glance it looked empty, but this was because he had a number of units HIP in here. His usual Reichstag MG stack started in the cellars in an attempt to escape the expected Katyusha attack… when that didn’t come he moved out. JP also brought in a number of reinforcements to the Reichstag.

            Things were getting grim for me over in the Moltke area and this was in part due to the masses of FP he was starting to bring down on me from X20(2). He had also moved a King Tiger to AA17 and this guy was getting Aqr on my MG stacks, something that I could no longer allow.

            It was Turn 3, my dice were atrocious, my OBA had red-chitted out and my men and stacks were suffering from the SS who were not only lucky but were also getting bolder by the turn.
             Out of desperation I decided to use the Katyusha I had pre-registered on X18 (a broken 228 who had escaped one of his AA Guns allowed me the attack) and in the only piece of good luck I had for the game it errored right on the biggest mass of his units! The end result was the elimination of the King Tiger and his 9-1 AL, as well as the rubbling of Z20 and Y17 (the cellar remains but the HMG in here was eliminated). A Flame started in BB19 which ended up consuming the building and thus giving me a better LOS to the East side of the Reichstag. I was also able to knock out his OBA due to a cut field phone line – it has already fired and was thus pretty-much wasted. A number of units were broken here, including the units in the deadly MG nest which gave me a chance to rush some units across Moltke Strasse for the ill-fated attack on Himmler’s House. Unfortunately the fanatic bonus of the Reichstag means that broken units don’t stay broken for long.

The Reichstag takes a battering.

A few other notes:
            I was able to finally knock out one of his 20L FlaKvring AA’s when I CH the Gun and crew, the KIA result taking both out. This was a great result as this gun with its 20FP IFT attack can be a rather deadly surprise due to its Gun HIP.

            I was able to deal with almost any unit he had outside of a buildings. He lost the crews and squads who were manning various MGs in the rubble, they never had a chance. But whenever I had a target in a building I could not hit them, and even if I did they passed the MCs with monotonous regularity – it was horrible.

            JP finally bought a Gestapo section, a smart move as they act like commissars; these guys, along with the SS +1 broken ML and the Reichstag fanaticism bonus means rally for even a DM unit on anything but a 12!

            JP bought some 75 ART that game and set them up in the rubble facing the open ground in front of the Reichstag. JP bought them because he is desperately short of SMOKE options, but as usual for him he missed with his SMOKE rolls with both of these guys. Still, I like this move, the 75 Guns give him a few more HIP options for fire, and if things get desperate he can Fortify a Reichstag hex and bring them inside. Unlike the Russian ART these guys have limited AT capability.

The Moltke Area Attack 

          I set the majority of my forces here, they were to rush across Alsen Strasse and continue the claiming of the Diplomatic Quarter (buildings O8 & O10). The road crossing was no trouble and the few units he had in the buildings here proved to be dummies. However, as has proved to be the case in this CG, the initial gains might be great but that is where they stopped. JP pulled back (as he should’ve) and set his defence up in Himmler’s House (K11).

The defended court-yard of Himmler’s House

            I managed to cross the road with a few Moabits as well as a 447 and 2x 626, DC, FT, 2x LMG during the lull while the Katyusha were falling on the Reichstag. Against them were 3x 658 with PSK, FT and LMG. JP had set up a nice little position here with a foxhole allowing him to get the adjacent shots against attacking units while being safe from any possible MG stack shots from the South Bank. He did not, however, count on me get as many units across the road as I did and thus I was able to spread out my attacks enough to allow for a FT shot at the L13 foxhole – for once it worked and both units were broken. A single 658 stood between me and control of this vital building – something I knew I could not do because I needed to keep my LVP low enough to lose this game and thus open the Eastern side of the board! As it turned out this 658 decided to CC me with H to H, and in keeping with the luck of this game he managed to kill my 628 with no loss to himself! *Bah*

            The game ended here. I managed to take the buildings adjacent to Himmler’s House (I13 & G14) whilst keeping some of Himmler’s House itself (level 0 in K11 and level 1 in K12, K11 and L12).

Control Zones at CGS end

Brown – Russian
Blue – SS
Purple – No-Man’s Land

VP Score
SS:            CVP gained: 18 (180 total)    [SS ELR is -2]
Russian:  CVP gained: 41 (172 total)    [Russian ELR is -2]

LVP
SS:            349 + 14 = 363
Russian:   309 + 50 = 359

The SS have the most LVP

SS VICTORY

AFTERMATH

            The CVP tally is deceptive. Almost all my losses were infantry, over half the SS loses were AFV or crews. JP lost a King Tiger, an MA-disabled JgPz V, a 20L AA FlaKvring and a 9-1 AL – which are significant losses – but I still need to kill more infantry than I did.

Force Remnants – Russian

Guns:       152mm ART, 76L ART
SW:          4x 50 Cal, 6x HMG, 5x MMG, 11x LMG
50mm MTR, 4x DC, FT, PSK(g)
Ldr:          2x 10-2, 2x 9-2, 2x 9-1, 2x 8-1   [9-1 battle hardened from 8-1 in Refit Phase]
MMC:       2x 628(e), 7x 628, 5x 458, 3x 527
                 226
11x 228, 5x 127
OBA:        80mm + Pre-reg hex
 
Separate Set-up Zones

Reichstag Ufer (MM15)
         628, LMG    [628 battle hardens from 527 in Refit Phase]

Marschall Set-up Zone (HH18 (1)) – Isolated
         458, LMG    

Himmler’s House Set-up Zone (K11)
         628(e), 328, 337, 127, FT, DC, LMG

Schliefer Ufer Set-up Zone (I13, G14))
         458, LMG    [458 battle hardens from 447 in Refit Phase]

             Well, for the first time in a long time I have done well with my Refit Phase rolls, I have had 2 units Battle Harden and also bumped a ML with one of my -1 leaders. I got back 2 of the DC that I had used that game. What is most important is that I still have a strong enough core force with which to launch a separate attack to wherever my Schwerepunkt for the next game is to be

Force Remnants – SS

AFV:         PzKw VI B
Guns:       20L FlaKvring AA, 2x 75 LeFK ART, 88L AA
SW:          5x HMG, 5x MMG, 6x LMG
2x PSK, 2x 50mm MTR, FT
Ldr:          9-2, 3x 8-1, 7-0, 2x 7+1 (Gestapo)
MMC:       9x 658, 6x 447, 436
               338, 237
5x 228

            I feel that I am keeping his men at manageable levels, I am taking terrible losses, but he is not able to increase his troops numbers by much even when he had a lot of CPP (as he did for this game). If, at the end of the game where he had the highest base CPP available to him, he ends up with only 3 more squads than he started with, then I am not doing too bad! On top of that are his materiel losses; the Tiger and 20L AA were painful hits on his forces.

CONCLUSION

            I think JP has made a big mistake this game!
            In not understanding the structure of the CGS win rules he has held onto a building that is tactically very important (Himmler’s House has excellent fire options against the Reichstag as well as controlling the entry zones from the West and North West) but strategically he has lost a lot more by allowing me to enter from the East as per the CG12 Entry Zones rule. The German commander should try to engineer a Russian win so that they do not get this entry area opened.
            In my post-game discussions with JP he feels that this is not a big problem for him. I disagree, my base CPP is 50 for the next game, that is a LOT of men. I am not sure he will be able to hold them all off, especially as he knows I have OBA for free (80mm OBA + pre-reg not used in this game) and 2 more Katyusha up my sleeve – he is going to have to disperse his Reichstag units if he doesn’t want it to be a craps shoot for survival.

            Having said that, JPs defence of Himmler’s house was textbook stuff. It utilised the terrain and the extra broken ML of the SS to perfection. I was terribly disappointed with the H-to-H CC rolls, but that is ASL. I took the Kronprinzen Bridge in a similar fashion a few games back, so no complaints there; it was gutsy play that paid off.

            I am exceptionally pleased with the killing of the King Tiger and his Armour Leader, as well as the destruction of one of his 20L AA. I think the 20L AA have been under-utilised this CG, even though they are pretty much guaranteed to get knocked out by the Russian MG positions they do still get that initial HIP 20FP shot. Most of the time JP has used them against units in Stone buildings to no effect.

            I want to also point out that any Russian player MUST look closely at the most excellent HW platoons. The Guards platoon (10CPP) allows you 36FP; 28FP of that with an ROF of 3. The lesser HW platoon (8CPP) gives 28FP; 20FP of that with 3 ROF. This is a devastating buy, especially when you consider there is no chance of depletion. This game, to maximise my MG stack FP I blew some Breaches in the Rowhouse’s walls in my favoured positions (AA11/BB12, BB12/BB13 and BB13/CC13 – all level 1); this will allow me to escape the Area Fire shots he has been taking with his 88L Guns and yet still keep my ability to shoot from level 1. It will also allow me to Fire Group. To add a special twist to this I used the German DC that I captured last game – better I use them than him, don’t you think?