Battle of Kholm

Thursday night brought the face-off between the beleagured forces of the Wermacht and the attacking forces of Soviet forces as Hitler's 'Stand and Fight' order takes effect.

A rag-tag collection of German forces have gathered in the village of Kholm which straddles a main road - making it a strategic target for both sides. The road has been cut by Russian forces - cutting Kholm off from its main supply route.  The Germans have just 2 units of supply available (out of supply means they fight less effectively) which means they can only shoot at full effectiveness twice.  They would have to rely on airdrops to keep supplies coming.

Ian and Jon took the Germans, Russ, Mark and Frank took the Russians.

German forces dug in facing both ways. 

The Germans dug in both inside and outside the village - including the vehicle redoubt..a circle of damaged and broken vehicles.

Weather was rolled for - and the next hour would see Misty weather.  No Russian air attacks but no German supply drops either. Visibility would also be reduced on the ground.

The Russians moved on - our winter rules mean each battalion rolls for variable movement and this kicked in straight away.  Some units crawled on while others sprang forward, which could affect the concept of coordinated attacks.

Mark's forces leap forward

  Under the cover of mist, the Russians moved through the trees and into the open - but could not be seen (nor could the dug-in Germans).  Mark had made much of the offensive power of the quad AA the Russians had.  Unfortunately before it could get into range it became the only unit the Germans could see.  They called in a mortar stonk onto it and it got obliterated.

Here comes Frank's attack

On the other side of town, Frank's troops came on.  Using the cover of trees, mist and anything else they could hide behind, they crept forward to get into range.

Mark's forces get closer

Mark meanwhile was soon within range (his tanks being seen before his infantry) and the Germans opened up (but not using their supplies and so less effectively than normal).  But as their troops were dug in, they were more likely to win any shooting battle - especially as the Germans were concentrated.

The German off-table artillery had 6 shots each.  Ian had 3 x 105mm to call in, Jon 1 x 150mm.  Ian started calling in the 105's and Mark started taking casualties.

The slow advance

Frank in the meantime was getting closer but fell foul of some poor movement rolls and so progress was slowed.  He did however use the cover of a cliff-lined hill to keep his troops relatively safe.

Fighting breaks out on Mark's side

Over on Mark's side, firing erupted on both sides.  Although Mark managed to put some suppressions on the Germans, he started taking casualties himself. He decided to move his tanks forward but was finding his own on-table artillery pretty ineffective against the Germans he could see.

Frank closes up

On the other side, Frank crept ever closer and started trading shots with the Germans.  Jon too was unwilling to use supplies and so was inflicting suppressions rather than kills.  His 150mm though was called in to great effect...

Russians get their first suppression on Frank's side

Frank started trading shots and managed to suppress the closest German unit - dug in on the cliff-ridged hill.  His troops were swinging round to attack the closest village sector.

Mark getting the worst of it

Mark meanwhile was coming second in a two-horse race as he traded shots with a dug-in enemy.  His troops were getting spanked and getting virtually no hits back themselves.  The gaps in his line were growing bigger...

Mark charges in

To address this, he decided close combat was the way to go and threw his left wing into the vehicle redoubt.  This did not go well.  German firing - then fighting dug in - followed by the worst dice rolling in gaming history saw his troops battered and mainly dead.

Frank's more cautious approach

Frank continued his stately procession - getting into position to attack his closest village sector.  The mist covered his approach from the side but his frontal attack came under sustained German fire.

Russ shows Mark how he should roll dice

Mark was bemoaning his dice rolls - so Russ rolled a few to demonstrate what he could have had!

The aftermath..where are the Russian troops

At the vehicle redoubt, Mark lost most of his infantry had died to a man - effectively ending any action on his left wing.  In return, Ian lost his first infantry unit... Ian had committed their first supply unit in this action...so only one was left.  They needed a supply lift quick!

Weather was rolled for and it got worse.  Heavy fog meant no supplies for the Germans, no bombing for the Russians and visibility cut to virtually nothing.

Good grief!

To add to his troubles, Mark managed to then lose his other wing - including his tanks - to a failed morale roll.  The German situation was looking good!  It was all down to Frank and Russ (whose Ski Battalion had not yet been committed)

As Russ commented - "Never mind off-table artillery.  We should keep Mark off-table!"

Frank closes in

Frank managed to kill the German unit on the hill and in a cracking display of firepower, managed (through the fog) to get his Quad AA into range (Jon tried three times to call in his 150mm onto it and failed 3 times).  It killed one dug-in unit and Frank's troops managed to kill the rest in front of the village sector.  A massed infantry attack beckoned.

Ian's troops (as they were free to do so) opened up on Frank's troops across the frozen river and combined with Jon's shooting managed to suppress a few of Frank's units.

A massed charge ensued and the hand to hand battle went to and fro.  Jon used the last supply unit but at the end Frank's suppressed unit defied the odds and managed to take the village sector (at the cost of nearly the whole battalion).  But he made the morale roll and stayed in the fight!

Frank takes the village sector - at horrendous cost.

Frank rushed in additional troops to told the sector.

Weather was rolled for again.  The fog lifted...and the mist rolled back in.  No supplies and no bombing again!

Russ finally makes an appearance and kills the Germans on the hill

If you've wondered what happened to Russ, his ski battalion finally appeared.  Swishing virtually unseen through the trees and covered by the mist, they were eshelonging (is that a word?) across to support Frank's success.  Jon wanted to fall back some troops into the village but could not risk moving the troops dug in in front of the ski troops as they'd be massacred.  So he took some off the hill but the variable roll meant their movement was limited.  As a result they were left in the open on the hill.  Russ pounced (his ski troops can move unrestrictedly) and the close combat saw three German units polished off.

If only the ski troops had been in the battle earlier!  As it was, the clock was ticking down.  Ian started funneling some troops from his side of the river and provided supporting fire as well.  His support was shot up as it crossed the bridge but his fire kept Frank pinned down.

We called it as time was up.  The Germans had clearly won - they held most of the village sectors and were nowhere near routing while the Russians were looking good on the south side of the river but losing most of the troops to the north meant that victory was beyond the Russian grasp.

The guys reckoned this was a scenario we could play again and again.  The variable movement and weather rolls had a significant effect on the outcome and the Russians especially saw where mistakes were made and could be rectified in a future battle.

It also gave a good indication as to how these factors would affect an operational battle.

Good fun had all round.