RED BARRICADES
CG III – THE BARRIKADY
Game-by-Game Map Control
This is written mostly from the German’s perspective.
The top of the Map is North
17th of October
Turn-by-Turn Overview
Turn 1:
My Forces enter on-board and start to gobble up territory. We try to expand the Perimeter and our Control Zones. Action is light due to the cautious German advance and the patchy Russian defence
Turn 2:
Air Support arrives as just a single Stuka. This is an expensive disappointment. My men start to make it clear that they have 2 main objectives: the Chemist’s Shop and Railway Offices, but due to the obvious fact that I have made some in-roads into the Shipping Depot I start to attack towards here with some force too. Russian defence is still light though they have Kindled the Garages.
Turn 3:
I bring on my SPW 251/1 with Passengers but am unable to push towards the Chemist’s Shop due to his opposition and my OBA SMOKE. I start picking off units here and there as well as focussing on getting a foothold in the Northern Manufacturing Plant. The Russians start revealing hidden forces for CC attacks and all across the line their defence stiffens while the Germans finally lose some men. The Germans are steadily expanding their territory.
Turn 4:
The battle rages up and down the line with fearsome intensity. Both sides see luck swinging like a pendulum but still the Soviets manage to hold on to their precious Factories and the Chemist’s Shop while the Germans gain ground most everywhere else. The losses pile up this turn as Russian OBA and Ambushes claim a number of Squads. On the other hand the German Panzers and overall firepower is too much to stand up to – units that do most often pay the ultimate price. There is a feeling now that if it goes on for much longer at this pace then the Russians face the danger of a territorial collapse, they are also in danger of having their broken units picked off by the Attackers.
Turn 5:
As the Russian lines start to cave-in in multiple locations the Germans round up and dispatch a huge amount of their broken enemy. This task is greatly helped by the Soviets soldiers incredibly poor aim, they miss with almost every single shot while the Germans finally pass a decent number of Morale checks. Three factories now have German troops inside them (Northern Foundry Hall, Gun Construction Building and the Northern Manufacturing Hall) whilst the Chemist’s shop has all but fallen too. The Russians counter-attack sending men behind the attackers lines but they are too few and risk being isolated and eliminated; at least they are able to kill some more Panzers and the important Panzer commanders.
Turn 6:
Still the Germans push and on make great gains in the factories despite some infiltrating Russians. Any Russian caught without support is almost immediately gobbled up as their casualties mount (2.5 Companies of losses thus far) and the Germans continue to expand their perimeter. With little resistance now the invaders have the chance to flow through the Russian’s lines and there is almost nothing the defenders can do to stop them. The Soviets have again caused some significant German casualties (2x 467 alone eliminated through 2x OBA CH) but at a terrible cost to themselves.
Turn 7:
The collapse of the Russian lines is almost complete and while the clock has doomed them it is now only the clock that can save them. Units get isolated and eradicated as the invaders manage to secure 2½ factories in their relentless onslaught. When finally the battle ends and both sides pull back lick their wounds it is obvious that the initial German assault has been nothing short of spectacular.
End of game map showing Blazes for the next game.
The Butcher’s Bill – 17th October
German Losses
1x 237, 1x 238, 1x 247, 6x 467, 9x 548 (16.5 MMC lost)
2x 7-0, 127 crew w. 8-1 AL
8-1 succumbed to wounds
4x SPW 251/1 (w. Crew)
Pz IIIH (w. Crew & 9-1 AL)
Pz IIIL (w. Crew)
Pz IIIL (w/o Crew)
Post Game
5x 467 Harden to 468.
9-2 Hardens to 10-2
Russian Losses
10x 426, 12x 527, 17x 447 (39 MMC lost)
8-1, 2x 9-1, 9-2, 9-0 Commissar
8-0 succumbed to wounds
2x 228 Crew
2x 47LL AT,2x HMG, 2x MMG, LMG, 50mm MTR
Post Game
426 hardens to 447.
9-0 hardens to 10-0
German CVP Gained: 96
Russian CVP Gained: 75
Stone Locations Controlled by the Germans: 107 (15 Locations destroyed)
CG Date won by Germans
18th of October
Turn-by-Turn Overview
Turn 1:
The fight for the Factories starts off poorly with some Deploying units triggering a Booby-Trap. In fact the Germans suffer a fair few casualties through poor luck while the Fanatic Russians manage to escape situations where the overwhelming German Firepower should have caused mass devastation. Still, the Attackers push on slowly and steadily seemingly, they are more interested in firing at the enemy than rushing to take ground.
Turn 2:
Terrible luck continues to dog the Germans as the Russians are able to make some late gains to cover their initial casualties. The attackers continue to take large swathes of the factories, but the battle on the flanks of these factories have slowed down due to equally matched numbers of men. Rain starts to fall but this will only affect the numerous Blazes as most men are so close to each other that the rain hardly matters.
Turn 3:
The Nazis again start the turn off with some shocking luck, but then it turns around as the DC-Breaches trick ensures that the Russians can no longer hold the Southern Foundry Hall. The Gun Construction Building is also given up under the relentless assault of the well-led German troops. In fact, for the first time this CG Date, the Germans have an effective attack rolling forward while the Russians are really only doing all they can to try and slot together some sort of defence.
Turn 4:
We both suffer some poor luck with great shot opportunities but it probably hurts the Germans more as they had some magnificent chances with overwhelming FP. The assault has done very well, claiming more territory and tidying up the lines also. Finally the Russians have had the CC turn against them in a big way which is certain to cost them the Garages. This was an expensive Turn for the Russians as they lost half a Company of men all up!
Turn 5:
The Germans are really wondering who has been sabotaging their weapon’s sights as again they are cursed with some unbelievable lost chances – if they had shot straight 50% of the time then this battle would be over by now. Unfortunately these concerns weigh on the men’s minds and their morale suffers equally badly. The Russians are still forced to pull back, but the timely activation of some Reserve units will probably stop the Gun Tube Hall from falling. All across the lines the German attempt to cross the big central road, and they are mostly unsuccessful, but a sniper helped open the door a little near The Garages and this might be the chance we have been waiting for!
Turn 6:
Suddenly the Russians are falling back all over the place as the Germans are able to make good on their tactical gains. A small force secures the Commissar’s House while other strike teams cross the complex’s central road and grab more terrain. The Russians are brave but finally the German MGs are fired with some accuracy. The lone Panzer IIIH had suffered problem after problem in the dense terrain and for the 4th time today it ended up Bogged; this time for good through Immobilisation. As the firing slowed and then stopped the German troops wearily rested and made plans to guard their newly-won territory.
The biggest factories have fallen and some of the other factories are now untenable as defensive positions.
The Butcher’s Bill – 18th October
German Losses
247, 8x 467 (8.5 MMC lost)
1x 7-0
2x 8-1 succumbed to wounds
LMG, 2x DC
Post Game
2x 467 hardens to 2x 468
8-1 hardens to 9-1
PzIIIH Immobilised
Russian Losses
228 Crew, 1x 227, 1x 237, 13x 426, 2x 527, 7x 447 (23 MMC lost)
2x MMG, 2x LMG, 3x ATR, 50mm MTR
Post Game
527 hardens to 628
9-1 hardens to 9-2
SAN -1
45LL AT
German CVP Gained: 50
Russian CVP Gained: 22
Stone Locations Controlled by the Germans: +82 (+26 Locations destroyed / Gutted)
CG Date won by Germans
19th of October
Turn-by-Turn Overview
Turn 1:
The Germans launch another furious attack, this time using their Strum Coy to overwhelm the Factory defenders with the support of Rocket OBA. All along the line the Russians take a beating as another Rifle Coy enters near the railway embankment and also jumps into the fray. The Soviet defenders take very heavy casualties and their line is in disarray, but they are also trying to infiltrate units into the German’s backlines via the sewers.
Turn 2:
After wiping out any Russians in sight the Germans are forced to leave their safe jump-off points and head out into the open. Predictably this leads to casualties as the Defenders have setup with this in mind. Most of the casualties suffered by the Germans are on the West flank, which is one of the least defended areas on the map; this is thanks to a marksman-quality crew on a sole MMG. There is a Heavy Wind blowing in form the River and it is fanning fires in various factories; the terrain is going to be dramatically altered by this evening thanks to the massive Blazes that will soon cover much of the central district. The last reinforcing Rifle Coy enters the battle in the hope of pressing the Western attack down as far as the Bread Factory!
Turn 3:
The Germans are again forced to attempt to cross open ground in the West to make their objectives and again the Russians benefit from some lucky shots against unusually dispirited attackers, but the Russians are themselves being worn down by the massive firepower of the many Nazi MG nests. Most of the battle has degenerated into a slug-fest as strong MG stacks punish movement in the Open while strong infantry stacks face each other down; challenging the other to take the DR risk. However, the Russians trying to stand and fight or even counter-attack in some places (the Commissar’s House) have taken quite some losses and the feeling all along the line is that it is stretched to breaking point. Could this next turn see the necessary break-through for the Attackers?
Turn 4:
Things turn mightily as the over-stretched Defenders see their legendary luck turn against them. The Germans’ MGs seem to run out of targets before they run out of shots and the attackers have a managed to break-though on both flanks. It is only in the area of the Central Manufacturing halls that the Russians can hold on and fight back, but even this area suffers a blow when their main Commander (10-3) is wounded; could this be the fall of the Gun Hall?
Turn 5:
At last the furious Russian defence has crumbled and the Attackers surge across the Railway Embankment and down towards the Bread Factory. The stalemate in front of the Commissar’s house is nearly broken, though the Russian Artillery seems to be still finding shells despite their shortage which is stopping the Germans from getting off of the Shore. In the Factory area the loss of the 10-3 is a disaster which leads to the Gun Hall being almost completely overrun, the Blaze in the Central Manufacturing Halls is stopping the Germans from gaining that ground, though it will be almost impossible for the Russians to defend it next game anyway.
We have intercepted signal that indicate the Russian Commander is considering shooting himself and surrendering the battlefield to save his men from further loss.
With massive chunks being taken in the West and with more time for the Germans to continue their assault virtually unopposed the Russians decide to surrender as they only have patches of a coherent defence left.
The Butcher’s Bill – 19th October
German Losses
1x 238, 7x 467 , 4x 548 (11.5 MMC lost)
DC, 1x LMG
Post Game: 4x 467 Harden to 468. 9-1 harden to 9-2
2x PzIIIH are re-mobilised
Russian Losses
2x 228 Crew, 1x 226, 1x 237, 5x 426, 16x 447, 3x 458, 1x 628 (26 MMC lost)
7-0, 8-1, 2x 9-0 commissar, 9-1, 9-2, 10-3
2x MMG, 5x LMG, 2x ATR
German CVP Gained: 74
Russian CVP Gained: 23
Stone Locations Controlled by the Germans: +111 (+72 Locations destroyed / Gutted)
CG Date won by Germans
The Russians have Surrendered. The Germans win the CG