Gotterdamerung, the fall of Berlin.

general Hoth · Gotterdamerung, the fall of Berlin.

Gotterdamerung, the Fall of Berlin.

Koningplatz, Berlin, 30 April 1945, 6 P.M.

With most of the city now under its control but with savage fighting still going on within the "Z defence sector" (the governement central buildings area under the command of SS general Mohnke), the soviet 3rd shock army was now ordered by Stalin himself to take the ultimate prize, the Reichstag and then raise the red army banner on top of it for May Day celebrations. Apparently the soviets did not realise that Hitler was actually hidden in his bunker a few hundred yards further South.

What remained of the once mighty german army defended the Reichstag, mainly foreign SS volunteers from the SS Nordland and Charlemagne divisions who knew that captivity would mean certain death, remnants from 9th parachute division and two volkstrum battalions made of very young or very old soldiers armed with panzerfausts. Mohnke knew the final assault would come and appointed SS Krukenberg the leader of the Nordland to take command of the defence.

For the germans victory was out the question but vital time could be gained for negociations.

For the soviets, the ultimate prize was in reach...

Maps (from EF) and special set up informations:

placed vertically:
West- map15 (upside down)- map11- East.
half hexes are in play for this scenario.

Replace all forest, mountain and pond hexes by city/ tiles.
Ignore road hexes.

The Reichstag building:
Is made of the following 8 hexes on map11:
A36A
A44A*
A52A*
A37A*
A45A
A53A*
A61A
A69A*
Entrance/exit to this massive building can only be made through the hexes with a *.
Tanks cannot enter the Reichstag.
All the hexes shaded in grey (even partially) around the building are ruins that do not block LOS but provide cover for infantry.

The line up:

Soviet 150 infantry division, 3rd Shock Army:
set up anywhere on map 15 (not on shared hexes)
tanks and vehicles set up West of the river.

veteran NCO x2
mosin nagant x8
ppsh 41 x6
dp 27 x2
maxim mg x2
flamethrower x2 (use the US unit)
fanatical sniper
red army observer x2
82mm mortar x2
hero of the soviet union
katyuska x2
guards T34
IS2 x2
sturmovnik x2
red army banners x2 (use match sticks as i did or small soviet flags)

the banners start held by the NCOs. If the NCO gets killed or disrupted any other unit in the same hex can pick up the flag!

Z defence sector, SS Nordland division:
Set up on the Reichstag or on any other "grey" hex.

ss leader x2
ss panzergrenadier x6
volkstrum x2
panzerschreck x2
panzerfaust x3
sandbagged mg x2
mg 42
expert sniper x2
disciplined spotter
81mm mortar
88 gun with gunshield x3

Schwere panzer abteilung 503 (led by goerg Diers):
enters on turn one through any east edge hex of the map.

King tiger (number 314)
sdkfz 251
ss stormtrooper

Victory conditions:

at the end of turn 8:
Ultimate soviet victory: Hex A53A is under control with a unit holding a red banner. Stalin's wish.
Soviet victory: at least 5 hexes of the Reichstag are under control.
German victory: the soviet fails to achieve any of the above, time has been bought for general Krebs to negociate.

Sources:
Tony le Tessier: the battle of Berlin 1945, J cape ltd
Peter Antill, Berlin 45, osprey
Batailles et blindés, hors série n1

general Hoth

Pictures and comments soon; Cool

As it is my 37th birthday this week end, this is my special treat. Wink

Bean965

LOVE this concept.

Happy birthday!

Sharpe

Happy birthday, notre general!

TorontoBizz

Happy Birthday!

general Hoth

I forgot someone:

Thank you to Iniju for lending me his (colorized) picture of the red flag over the Reichstag. Cool

Have fun playing this one.

Diamondback

Happy b-day, dude.

Nice scenario!

RAEVSKI

very nice

general Hoth

I'm happy you like it! Very Happy

As promised a few pictures (from different games though): http://s668.photobucket.com/albums/vv48/generalhoth/Berlin%2045/

The set up pics will help you to figure out the whole scene.

Enjoy! Cool

Jameson

Happy Birthday!

MrKen

Hey General, Happy Birthday! Nice way to celebrate a birthday. Maybe I will try this, if I could remember my Birthday. lol

general Hoth

Thanks to Boersma for pointing out that i forgot to add the 2 sturmovniks to the soviet line up. Cool

Edited.

Also, i find it funny that we have a google add at the moment that asks about the real fate of Hitler. Good timing. Cool

general Hoth

A few battle tips to help you out playing this scenario.

I'll start with the soviets who (as was the case then) have overwhelming forces.
The infantry is numerous but most units are "commandant dependent" which means that if your NCO are killed bringing the red banners to the rooftop of the Reichstag will be a slow affair. Make sure your PPSH are stacked with your NCOs.
The planes wont be able to do much against the king tiger but can take out guns or infantry strongpoints. beware most germans units have strong anti infantry stats at short/ medium range.
Your tanks are strong and powerfull but not that good against the german infantry. Plus they will have to come out in the open at the start of the scenario.
Your artillery is probably your best asset with the spotter/ mortar combo plus two rocket launcher units. Both should have devastating effects on the german defences.
As always have a good look at the map and select your entries to the reichstag beforehand.

The germans:
Most of the infantry is very strong with 5/5 defence units dominating the line up. Placement is crucial as you wont be able to move 2 of your mgs during the game. Bear in mind that rocket salvos will fall upon you! You also have a lot of panzerfausts units that should probably aid the tiger and try to silence the rocket launchers if possible. Keep some infantry in reserve until the salvos are fired and then secure the entrances to the Reichstag. Easier said than done.
You have two snipers that could prove handy coupled with the 88s to keep enemy tanks/rocket launchers at bay.
Then you have your Nordland reinforcements coming in on turn one. Three options are worth considering: the left flank to slow the infantry advance there; the right flank (my favourite) which curiously seems to open the game as you can get interesting shots both against tanks and infantry; or bring the reserves to bolster the Reichstag defences.

Let's see what you can come up with.

Nightbomber

Look at hands of the officer supporting the flag bearer. He has two watches! He must have had just robbed a German civilian, which was not uncommon those days. He must have a bike smewhere there as well...
When those liberators came into my country in 1944, they were commonly known for their calling "Davaj Czasy!", that means "Gimme your watch!"

And: Happy Birthday!

Steel_Panther

Wow, he does have 2 watches...btw,

welcome

to the forumini

Lt_V

Nice observation Nightbomber and welcome

PS Bon Fete General Hoth happy birthday

general Hoth

Nightbomber

Thank you guys, I'm in fact a newbie to A&A Minis, although I play other wargames a lot! I have just bought some starters and figures on Ebay and found the system quite atrractive, so I'll give it a try with my gaming buddy.
Hope to meet you here often.
All the best to all of you!

general Hoth

Bump!

Get some Berlin action. Cool

Snippersly

Gen Hoth,

Our group finally got to play this one last night. We had a good time overall and the Germans were able to stem the red tide. The first turn we had a couple of lucky rolls and the Germans destroyed one and disrupted the other Sturmovik. In the same turn we also managed to kill both of the Forward Observers which bought some time. From there we excahnged lng range fire with no effect. Once the Russians closed in, the SS Panzergrens cut a swath through the Mosin Nagants. The Russians however responded with a pair of rocket salvoes which even up the odds quickly. The NCO's now in range to spot destroyed alot of the German Infantry.

Left with only a couple of Sandbag machine guns, the Germans and the now forward deployed Stormtrooper caught both of the NCOs and killed them outright. The Russian Hero spawned but was also killed by an SS Panzergren and was unable to pull off his Matrix style moves and was DRT! Dead Right There.

The Battle waged on and the Germans were almost completely destroyed, but by Turn 8, the Russians didnt have enough moves left available to get the flags into the Reichstag. The closest they got was to the door. They were adjacent to two Reichstag hexes but lacked control of the objective, allowing the Germans time to negotiate with the British for Surrender!! Stalin was denied his celebration!!

The Tanks were not really a huge factor however. The KT killed the T34 and Disrupted one of the IS2s. The other IS2 spent its time running from the Panzerfausts and Schreks using its MG to little effect.

It was a good scenario, but here are a couple suggestions. First, the Germans should be allowed to deploy anywhere on their map side. I think the Germans would ahve layered their defenses rather than focus just on the one building. We could ahve used the 88s to better effect had they been able to spread out. Also, why three 88s? Two is alot, but three? I think two 88s and then use the rest of the points to get more Volkstrumm Infantry, since that was mostly who was left to fight during the invasion.

Other than that, Grea work! Keep em coming!

general Hoth

Hello Snips.

I'm glad you enjoyed this scenario. Cool

Designing it was a bit of a personnal affair to me as i had always wanted to do something about the fall of Berlin. When i was living in london (opposite the imperial war museum) i did a lot of research on this battle and designed a wargame about it. It took me about two years. When i started approaching professional designers (from moments in history- a US company with german designers) they published their very own Battle for Berlin! So you guess i'm happy this scenario is picking up some interest. I've already had feedback from several american gaming groups.

To answer your question, i've really tried to stay as historical as possible. the germans really were cornered in the reichstag hence their deployment (i did playtest with a more open set up).

It's true the tanks do not add much to the heavy infantry fights but, again Diers' King tiger was there too outnumbered as he was by the IS2s.

Finaly i did include 3 88s for 2 reasons: the first being a famous picture of the Reichstag with destroyed 88s in the foreground, and the second (after playtests)for fear that the soviet player would send his planes on suicide attacks against them. Even if his does the german would still have one left.

thanks for the feedback!

Sharpe

We played this one Sunday and really enjoyed ourselves. The Russian artillery completely dominated. I think the 88's might need some more protection because they disappeared early on.

Thanks very much.

general Hoth

Steel_Panther

Sharpe

Improving their cover might also help.

general Hoth

general Hoth