7 DAYS AT KURSK (2) – Hunting the hunters

 SITUATION REPORT

Morning of 5^th July 1943. The Russian outpost lines have been cleared by the preliminary attacks and the 2^nd SS Division’s attention now turns to the main defence position anchored on the Village of Beresoff (Beresov) with the 3^rd Battalion of the 3^rd SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment leading.  Due to the poor going on the approaches the Tiger Company and Sturmgeschutze battalion assigned to support the Grenadiers have not arrived to support the attack.

In the vicinity were M3 Stuarts of the 230^th Tank Regiment deployed in a security role.

The German attack started at 0330 hours. To prepare the way, the village was subjected to an Artillery preparation. This was then followed by an attack by Stukas.

As the dust began to settle, the leading companies launched their assault.  Soviet defensive artillery fire intensified and a unit of M3 Stuarts carrying soviet Infantry launched a counterattack towards the flank of the battalion companies.  The lead German company, seeing this, then launched its own desperate counterattack with a platoon of grenadiers.

Scenario Type: Platoon

THE BATTLE

Play the game on a 4 x 2 table.

The Soviet security unit is defending and is deployed on table in the top left corner no more than 12” from the edges, facing towards the bottom right corner.  The soviet Infantry platoon must begin mounted on the Stuarts as tank riders. 

After the defenders are placed, the Germans are deployed up to 9” from the Northern Table edge, up to half of the table width. The German player is the attacker and takes first turn.

 VICTORY CONDITIONS

The soviet unit must exit the Eastern table edge with 50% of its Strength or force the Germans to retire.

The Germans must prevent the exit.

Special Rules (Optional)

Due to the confused fighting the Soviet units do not benefit from the Stal, Stal, Stal Special rules.

The German infantry sections have the assault troops special rule.

Remove the 5BR Counters

 

FORCES

GERMAN FORCES (elements of 10th Company)   Separate Panzer Grenadier Platoon Command Squad (with AT Grenades)   Panzer Grenadier Platoon (All German squads have AT Grenades) (All MG Teams have the MG42 Upgrade)   Total Battle Rating: 19 Officers 2

RUSSIAN FORCES   Armoured Security Patrol 4 M3 Stuart Tanks   Soviet Rifle Platoon (as Tank Riders)     Total Battle Rating: 13 Officers: 1

 

BG Kursk - Hill 220.5

Hill 220.5

Second phase of the LSSAH attack on 5 July from Hill 228.6 across the road to Hill 220.5 and Hill 217.1

Platoon Sized game - Uses "High Ground" scenario

Forces involved:

German Attackers - LSSAH
(Forces taken from the Panzer and Panzer Grenadier lists to create the LSSAH forces involved)

3 Officers - 37 BR

Assault Pioneer Platoon (flamethrowers and sweepers)
Grenadier Platoon
StuG III Squadron
2 x Tiger I (+ Tiger Ace)
2 x Supply trucks
Arty Op on foot
Off table 105mm Battery
Off table 80mm Mortar Battery

Soviets Defenders - 52d Rifle Division

4 Officers - 29 BR
Rifle Company
4 x 45mm AT Guns
3 x ATR Hideouts
2 x Dug-In T34s
Minefields x 2
Wire x 2
AT Ditch x 2
Trench system/Foxholes for all infantry
Arty Op
Off table 80mm Mortar Battery
Off table Zis-3 Battery

7 Days at Kursk - Day One - Game 1

LSSAH Sector Game 1
This is snapshot of the terrain in the immediate vicinity of the starting actions on the first day. Hill 228.6 is on the left hand side and 220.5 is slightly North East.

This pitches the elements of 8.Komp/II.Rgt-2 against elements of the lead battalion of 151 Rifle Regiment.

German Platoon (1 Officer)  Points=182   13 BR       
Grenadier Platoon                 100 Pts     11-r BR
- Platoon HQ (6 men)
- Squad 1 5 men + 3 man MG42 team  +4 Pts
- Squad 2 5 men + 3 man MG42 team  +4 Pts

- Squad 3 5 men + 3 man MG42 team  +4 Pts

- Combat Medic                      8 Pts     0-r BR
- MG42 Team (3 men)                18 Pts     1-r BR
- Medium Mortar Team               24 Pts     1-r BR

- Foxholes for 20 men              20 Pts       0 BR

Soviet Company (4 Officers) Points=188  16 BR
Rifle Company                     188 Pts     16-i BR

Company HQ (4 Men)

- Platoon HQ (3 men)
- Squad 1 8 men
- Squad 2 8 men
- Squad 3 8 men
- Squad 4 8 men

- Platoon HQ (3 men)
- Squad 1 8 men
- Squad 2 8 men
- Squad 3 8 men
- Squad 4 8 men
                
- Platoon HQ (3 men)
- Squad 1 8 men
- Squad 2 8 men
- Squad 3 8 men
- Squad 4 8 men

WW2 - BG Kursk - 7 Days at Kursk - Day One

I am not one to chase the perfect list and have always tended to try and follow "reasonable" historical structures.  So I have thought about doing the same for BG Kursk.  These are my interpretations for specific games on the Southern Pincer for a series of games covering 5 - 12 July 1943 which I have called the 7 days at Kursk.  The ideas of the games is that it lets me field specific forces which in turn drives the painting progress :)

Day One - 5 July.

In the morning you have:

• 8.Komp/II, Rgt -2/LSSAH capturing Hill 228.6 and then being subject to a counter attack by units of 151 Rifle Regiment. 
• Once the counter attack had been dealt with, LSSAH then prepared to launch its attack on Hill 220.5. This was an attack with dismounted Grenadiers supported by Tigers and Sturmgeschutz;  then, onto the second belt with the Panzergruppe being brought forward with an intermediate action involving the Tiger company against 230th Tank Regiment counter-attack
• DR attacking Beresoff/Beresov and then the second belt with dismounted Grenadiers and no armour support which includes facing a counter attack by Soviet armour in front of Beresoff/Beresov.
• T attacking Gremuchi with dismounted Grenadiers supported by Tigers and Sturmgeschutz with the Panzergruppe being brought up very quickly to continue the attack

As a taster this is a small snapshot of the terrain in the region taken from Google Earth with the Kursk historical maps overlay

My initial idea was to break each of the engagements down into constituent parts but as BG Kursk is a game and not a simulation, pieces of it don't quite fit the game system.  So I have decided to bathtub up each Divisions actions into one game per day (3 Divisions, 7 Days = 21 games) and play some more generic type games.

So the new sequence will see LSSAH and T having a mix of forces while DR will be mainly an infantry and artillery fight up. In all cases the Soviet defenders will see a strong infantry contingent supported by armour and artillery.

WWII - BG Kursk - 5 July - DR Attack (Part 1)

The attack in the DR section was led by Rgt.Deutschland commanded by SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Harmel.  

III./Rgt. Deutschland (SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Wisliceny) and II./Rgt. Deutschland (SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Bissinger) were to lead the attack with attachments from 16./Komp/Rgt.Deutschland.  I./Rgt. Deutschland (SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Weidinger) was in reserve.  Due to the poor going in the area the support provided by the Tiger company and the Sturmgeschutzabteilung didn't materialise so the attack is only supported by Regimental assets.

Nipe indicates that the Russians were deployed in an arc around 3 sides of the town of Jachnotow (Iakhontov).  Glantz & House show the position as being a platoon sized forward outpost and not the main defensive line. Nipe goes on to state that the main position in the village was ringed by Minefields and a deep tank ditch.

From the map you can see Iakhontov almost in the centre of the map south west of Beresov and the road that takes you upto the main cross road.

The accounts do seem to indicate that there were forward positions but not how far out they were.  

The first stage of the attack into the village sees 3./Kompanie SS-Pioniere-Bataillon (SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Arnold) clearing paths for the assault teams into the village under heavy mortar and artillery fire.  Once they have cleared the paths they then start breaching the ditch and the assault battalions pass through.

The Assault battalion attacks the forward bunkers and then advance deeper into the village under increasing fire. At 0230hrs SS-Sturmbahnfuhrer Wisliceny reports by radio that the village was in german hands.  45 minutes later the division's artillery begins shelling the russian main defences at Beresoff (Berezov).  

Lucas (p.104) has a line that by 0300 III./Rgt Deutschland has become involved in bitter fighting after moving off.  The objectives of this subsequent attack were the line of trenches in front of yet another tank ditch and then the village of Beresov (Berezov, Beresoff).

So this scenario will end when the SS battalions have reached their intended jump off positions for the main attack.

WWII - BG Kursk - Scenario 1 (Preliminary Moves - Part 1)

BACKGROUND
The SS Panzer Korps operations during Operation Citadel occurred later than their Army counterparts.  The German operational art involved preliminary attacks as part of any operation to dislocate the defender and place the attacking forces on a strong footing.

The Plan for the preliminary attacks was for a night assault on the Soviet outpost line.  Starting at 2300hrs the German assault units drawn from II./SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt 2 with attached Pioneer units began infiltrating towards the soviet outpost line.

GENERAL IDEA For this scenario I am looking at the operations of this single battalion from the LAH.  A similar attack by III./SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt 1 found abandoned positions and they then occupied the positions until first light. So will be trying out some ideas for the II./SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt 2 attack.

What do I know about the II./SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt 2 attack then?

The objective was the outpost on Hill 228.6.  George Nipes 'Blood, Steel & Myth; Page 56' describes the objective as  "The hill was located adjacent to a main road that extended seven kilometers north to the town of Bykowka (Bykov)".  Glantz and House 'The Battle of Kursk' has a good map (Map 5) which shows the village of Bykov (Bykowka) and measuring back the 7km would put the hill approximately where 2Bty/1008ATR strongpoint is, however forward of that is another hill which is where I think 228.6 is and even further forward is a platoon forward post but no defensive positions are shown on where I thought 228.6 was in the immediate vicinity.  I may be mistaken but it appears that the scale ruler at the bottom isn't correct.  The distance between this attack on the one on Jachontow (Iakhontov) is about 1km but the rule seems to put this a huge distance apart.  if I use the mile ruler and measure it puts 228.6 where I think it is.  I have since downloaded the Kursk Map for Google earth and using the measuring tool does indeed show that the Glantz map scale of Page 5 is wrong.  The soviet map overlays are from 1942 and use 2km grid squares and you can now see the area in its glorious colour.

Nipe's account states that 8./II.SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt 2 is the first company into the position which is then reinforced by the rest of the battalion before being counter attacked by up to two companies of Soviet infantry who assembled in an Anti-Tank ditch.  Other accounts state it was 9.Komp which is what Karck commanded when he won the Knights Cross in August 43.

I wouldn't think that an AT Ditch would be well forward as it would be easy to breach if it wasn't covered by fire. So sort of tempted to think this is on the main defensive line in the 151 Guards Rifle Regiment area and is the one in front of Hill 220.5.  If so then it makes the game a little bit more of a contest at Company level .  Neither side are going to have any armour involved in it at this early stage.

More to follow..as usual and when i remember that I am working on WWII and not another project ;)

WWII - BG Kursk - Scenario Work - Intro

I like playing games that have meaning, in that I mean it isn't just 1500 pts a side but a reason for the engagement and also that sometimes things just aren't fair :)

BG Kursk is no different and I want to be able to try out some different ideas

I have thought about my model collection as well and while it isn't a driver to use the models I have painted it certainly helps, so I am looking at writing up the engagements that involved the LAH and DR.

The  opening of the offensive has some events that may translate to the gaming table as well as providing some flavour for some of our more standard games.  As we keep going off and playing other things it is useful sometimes to have some smaller games which just concentrate on one element of the rules at a time to refresh elements of the rules without having to work out orders of battle and objectives etc, it is nice if someone has done that work for you.