general Hoth
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Lightning Meets Rock...Lvov 41Lightning meets rock...Lvov 41
Von Rundstedt's Army Group South had for mission the conquest of the Ukraine aiming for the ancient city of Kiev, and then beyond as the german planners of Operation Barbarossa (Von Paulus being the main brain) already knew that to win the war they would need the caucasian oil fields. Compared to the other Army Groups, Army Group South faced the bulk of the soviet forces and had just one Panzergruppe.
In the lead, Von Kleist's 1st Panzergruppe was to take Lvov situated on former Polish soil and then rush on to Kiev. Because of confused leadership the soviets were taken either off guard or left without clear orders for days. Acting on his won initiative general Vlassov, the commander of 6th Army decided to send his Lvov-based reserves (4th Mechanised Corps and 3rd cavalry division) into a counter attack just north of Lvov to gain time and organise a timely withdrawal towards Kiev. Amongst his reserves were 38th tank regiment with about 20 mighty T35s.
General Hube's 16th Panzer division's tanks were in for a nasty surprise...
Maps:
From Eastern Front:
West-Map 16 (number in the upper right corner)-Map 14 (number in the upper right corner)-East
Replace the whole batch of brush hexes on map 14 starting with hex D22A with city hexes (7 hexes)
Then do the same with the batch starting with hex D54A (6 hexes)
These city hexes are the outskirts of Lvov.
Place Victory hexes on D22A et D54A and then on map 16 on the two mountain hexes for a total of 4 victory hexes.
Ignore the shellholes.
Replace the 3 remaining brush hexes by clear terrain.
Roll for initiative.
16th Panzer Division:
enters on turn 1 through any western hex (half hexes are in play)
elite panzer IV x2
panzer III ausf F x3 (no smoke SA)
panzer II ausf c
bmw r75 x3
kubelwagen x2
opel blitz truck x3
SS leader
pak 38
mauser x6
stuka 87B
3rd Cavalry division plus elements 38th Tank regiment:
enter on turn one on any eastern hex of the map
T35 x2
BT 7 x2
T26 x2
BA 1OM x2
Zis truck x3
cavalry men (polish card) x8
commissar
maxim mg
ptrd anti tank rifle
mosin x3
Victory conditions:
at the end of turn 8:
The german scores one point for each of the hexes D22A and D54A. He has broken in towards Lvov.
The soviet scores one point for each of the mountain hexes on map 16. He breaks the german line of supply.
The winner is the player scoring most points.
In case both players have the same number of points, it's a draw. 
Note: In this scenario trucks count as infantry for stacking purposes.
Sources:
Barbarossa- george bernage (Heimdal)
Absolute war- Chris Bellamy (PAN)
Les divisions blindées de la Wehrmacht- chris bishop (EDL)
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general Hoth
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The map with 3D elements.
More photobucket pictures soon.
Enjoy!
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general Hoth
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This is a really interesting scenario as both sides have to attack to gain victory points (the germans the city hexes and the soviets the mountain hexes) and at the SAME time defend the very same hexes the other side is aiming for.
From playtests, just defending will usually only bring a draw or a defeat. 
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Bean965
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Very nice! I guess I'll tape 2 of those Japanese amphibious tanks end-to-end to proxy for the 2nd T-35!
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Planetary Eulogy
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Just for your future benefit... Unexpected heavy tanks would have made for a nasty surprise for German forces, but, unless those tanks were crewed by lingerie models in "Catholic School Girl" outfits and fuzzy hand cuffs, it probably wouldn't qualify as a naughty surprise.
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general Hoth
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| Planetary Eulogy wrote: | | Just for your future benefit... Unexpected heavy tanks would have made for a nasty surprise for German forces, but, unless those tanks were crewed by lingerie models in "Catholic School Girl" outfits and fuzzy hand cuffs, it probably wouldn't qualify as a naughty surprise. |
And worst: the soviets didnt have any fuel for those! Most were used as static defence units while the rest of the regiment was sent to Moscow where it never saw service.
The battle of Lvov is the only known battle were the T35s saw action. No one witnessed them in moscow.
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general Hoth
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| Bean965 wrote: | | Very nice! I guess I'll tape 2 of those Japanese amphibious tanks end-to-end to proxy for the 2nd T-35! |
thanks Bean! 
you could also proxie with a KV1.
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general Hoth
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I've had a replay this afternoon.
The germans were forced on the defensive early on (damned cavalry) despite destroying a T35 on turn 2 (damned BMWs) and then counter attacked even managing to out flank the soviets. But there was no dislodging the last few soviet units.
As happened before during playtests the stuka was shot down by a T35. This tank has amazing stats!
By turn 7 the soviets had a 1 point advantage that the germans managed to recapture.
tough battle.
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general Hoth
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I saw Senjak today. We had a chat about which scenario we will be playing wednesday. It was Manila or Lvov.
Lvov was chosen.
Pics of the battle soon.
If we got time Tannhauser as the main course.
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Bean965
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| general Hoth wrote: | | Bean965 wrote: | | Very nice! I guess I'll tape 2 of those Japanese amphibious tanks end-to-end to proxy for the 2nd T-35! |
thanks Bean!
you could also proxie with a KV1. |
I have a T35 from v1 - is that what yours are, or did WOTC make a v2 T35?
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general Hoth
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V1s, that's what i use.
I ordered one from miniatures market then pulled one from a booster!
A great tank with great stats.
it's only a pity it saw little action. so if you are a "historical" player like i am it's hard to field.
Give the scenario a go if you can.
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boersma8
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Is the Stuka meant to be a type G? AFAIK this one didn't see action until Kursk?!
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general Hoth
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Oh dear i completely overlooked this! 
PMed a good friend who should fix this, hopefully in time before my game against Senjak tomorrow night.
Thanks Boersma.
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general Hoth
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I found it!
We'll try the scenario tomorrow using the card from the sharpedia.
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general Hoth
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Set up completed! Ready to go.
We'll use the early war stuka (thank you Sharpe) and the edited line up.
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general Hoth
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Pictures from last night's game against Senjak.
He played 16th Panzer division and i the 3rd cavalry.
A few turns in the soviets had no more hope of scoring points so set up a strong defensive position around the victory hexes.
The germans then rushed along the soviet's right flank but couldn't dislodge the defenders.
While from my left came the BMWs supported by the panzer I.
Obviously the main german effort was on the other side!
A narrow victory was missed here as i had some great dice rolls the last two turns.
The early war stuka proved effectice, Senjak used bombs and sirens on the same turn against a T35!
It was a nice battle!
We had a long talk afterwards about play balance and kind of agreed that the soviets could do with an extra BT7.
Edited.
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boersma8
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| general Hoth wrote: | I found it!
We'll try the scenario tomorrow using the card from the sharpedia. |
Sure wouldn't mind if the " real thing" was an exact copy of this card. Afraid however WoTC won't do as good a job...Hope I'm wrong....
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Senjak
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| general Hoth wrote: |
We had a long talk afterwards about play balance and kind of agreed that the soviets could do with an extra BT7.
Edited. |
Yes and another talk about the vehicule rule:
"Get your f*** trucks out of that hex so I can take the point with my panzer !"
And yes it was a nice battle, specially when I wiped out the last T 35 
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general Hoth
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| Senjak wrote: | | general Hoth wrote: |
We had a long talk afterwards about play balance and kind of agreed that the soviets could do with an extra BT7.
Edited. |
Yes and another talk about the vehicule rule:
"Get your f*** trucks out of that hex so I can take the point with my panzer !"
And yes it was a nice battle, specially when I wiped out the last T 35 |
Oops; True, i forgot about this!
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general Hoth
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| general Hoth wrote: | | Senjak wrote: | | general Hoth wrote: |
We had a long talk afterwards about play balance and kind of agreed that the soviets could do with an extra BT7.
Edited. |
Yes and another talk about the vehicule rule:
"Get your f*** trucks out of that hex so I can take the point with my panzer !"
And yes it was a nice battle, specially when I wiped out the last T 35 |
Oops; True, i forgot about this! |
Ok re- edited Senjak:
The rule goes like this: in this scenario trucks count as infantry for stacking purposes.
that should finally balance the scenario nicely.
PS: Nice pic Sharpe. I also edited the Stuka model now.
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Sharpe
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AAR
We played two games of this in the afternoon. I played one-on-one with another guy while four others played teams.
In my game, we both played conservatively and wound up in a draw. I was about to gain the upper hand when my opponent blocked my armored cars's AGGRESSION with his trucks. I had not noticed your rule change before that and it wasn't sportsmanlike to bring it up at the time. It certainly helped me that he didn't get any successes on the bomb attack.
My only suggestion would be to remove CRACK SHOT vs vehicles from the Elite PzIV's.
Actually, for the trucks, make them count as vehicles for their side, but not for the opponent's stacking.
Thank you very much for your hard work. It was a very tense scenario with a lot of mobile pieces that really made us think.
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general Hoth
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| Sharpe wrote: | AAR
We played two games of this in the afternoon. I played one-on-one with another guy while four others played teams.
In my game, we both played conservatively and wound up in a draw. I was about to gain the upper hand when my opponent blocked my armored cars's AGGRESSION with his trucks. I had not noticed your rule change before that and it wasn't sportsmanlike to bring it up at the time. It certainly helped me that he didn't get any successes on the bomb attack.
My only suggestion would be to remove CRACK SHOT vs vehicles from the Elite PzIV's.
Actually, for the trucks, make them count as vehicles for their side, but not for the opponent's stacking.
Thank you very much for your hard work. It was a very tense scenario with a lot of mobile pieces that really made us think. |
I'm glad you enjoyed Lvov 41.
It's true, as Senjak pointed out that the trucks are a bit "in the way". I'll edit tonight.
Regarding crack shot, i like it as it gives the german an edge and makes the panzer IV's priority targets for the soviet player.
A question Sharpe, Do you recon it's ok for the stuka to play both sirens and bombs on the same turn? Senjak did just that when we played the scenario. I said OK as the sharpedia card didnt mention the contrary.
Also i agree, this scenario makes your brain work hard. Lots of fast units with multiple options.
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Steel_Panther
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| general Hoth wrote: | | A question Sharpe, Do you recon it's ok for the stuka to play both sirens and bombs on the same turn? Senjak did just that when we played the scenario. I said OK as the sharpedia card didnt mention the contrary. |
I was playing as well, and we used it this way. (Took out a T-35!!! ). We asked Sharpe first as well.
AAR for our game (2v2 format):
Our trucks wernt a problem, but the Elite Panzer's where for the russians. Once the first T35 was killed by the Stuka, most of our units charged the objective (defended by a smoking wreck of a T35 and a T26. Our home objectives where covered by a few Pz 3s, some bikes and 2 Kars.
The Russian deployment was interesting, as they put nearly everything on one side, but never pushed up with it. We, on the other hand, had planned on pusing the opposite side, and wound up doing just that. (Though we had planned on sprinting bikes to the other objective near the end) Once the cavalry got close, they charged our hill and had it taken over, untill some killer dice rolling and plety of shots, had them taken down.
Game ended turn 6 with the Germans holding the hill and one City.
Very nice scenario, though the Elite Panzers where a MAJOR problem for the Russians. Took out (combined) 1 or 2 Cavalry, a BA-10, a T-35 (with the help of a Pz 3) and a T26 (with the help of a Pz 3)
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Sharpe
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| general Hoth wrote: |
I'm glad you enjoyed Lvov 41.
It's true, as Senjak pointed out that the trucks are a bit "in the way". I'll edit tonight.
Regarding crack shot, i like it as it gives the german an edge and makes the panzer IV's priority targets for the soviet player.
A question Sharpe, Do you recon it's ok for the stuka to play both sirens and bombs on the same turn? Senjak did just that when we played the scenario. I said OK as the sharpedia card didnt mention the contrary.
Also i agree, this scenario makes your brain work hard. Lots of fast units with multiple options. |
Stuka can do bombs and sirens at the same time, IMO, but feel free to modify it as you wish.
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general Hoth
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| Steel_Panther wrote: | | general Hoth wrote: | | A question Sharpe, Do you recon it's ok for the stuka to play both sirens and bombs on the same turn? Senjak did just that when we played the scenario. I said OK as the sharpedia card didnt mention the contrary. |
I was playing as well, and we used it this way. (Took out a T-35!!! ). We asked Sharpe first as well.
AAR for our game (2v2 format):
Our trucks wernt a problem, but the Elite Panzer's where for the russians. Once the first T35 was killed by the Stuka, most of our units charged the objective (defended by a smoking wreck of a T35 and a T26. Our home objectives where covered by a few Pz 3s, some bikes and 2 Kars.
The Russian deployment was interesting, as they put nearly everything on one side, but never pushed up with it. We, on the other hand, had planned on pusing the opposite side, and wound up doing just that. (Though we had planned on sprinting bikes to the other objective near the end) Once the cavalry got close, they charged our hill and had it taken over, untill some killer dice rolling and plety of shots, had them taken down.
Game ended turn 6 with the Germans holding the hill and one City.
Very nice scenario, though the Elite Panzers where a MAJOR problem for the Russians. Took out (combined) 1 or 2 Cavalry, a BA-10, a T-35 (with the help of a Pz 3) and a T26 (with the help of a Pz 3) |
Thanks a lot for the AAR Steel.
Looks like you had a very different deployment from what i have seen so far.
Its' true that the crack shot ability is awesome.
As for the stuka, Senjak failed to kill one of mine but the sirens had the crew hiding for cover!
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general Hoth
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| Sharpe wrote: | | general Hoth wrote: |
I'm glad you enjoyed Lvov 41.
It's true, as Senjak pointed out that the trucks are a bit "in the way". I'll edit tonight.
Regarding crack shot, i like it as it gives the german an edge and makes the panzer IV's priority targets for the soviet player.
A question Sharpe, Do you recon it's ok for the stuka to play both sirens and bombs on the same turn? Senjak did just that when we played the scenario. I said OK as the sharpedia card didnt mention the contrary.
Also i agree, this scenario makes your brain work hard. Lots of fast units with multiple options. |
Stuka can do bombs and sirens at the same time, IMO, but feel free to modify it as you wish. |
Like we played it. It's an interesting option too.
Great card Sharpe.
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Sharpe
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Thank you, mon general. If my contribution is only a small fraction of what you are to fine dining, I shall be happy.
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general Hoth
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| Sharpe wrote: | | Thank you, mon general. If my contribution is only a small fraction of what you are to fine dining, I shall be happy. |
I'll have a look into my sharpedia (this time i recorded the whole thing onto my laptop!!) as i think your mg34 will come handy too very soon.
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boersma8
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Played this one yesterday. We had fun, but a few points of constructve criticism:
* It seems whichever side decides to launch an attack first is at a serious disadvantage, because whatever you do, you'll have to cross open terrain whereas the defenders will probably be situated in cover. Sitting tight waiting for the other side to make their move is rather boring ( we didn't play that way obviously, but still...)
* The Russians definitely seem to have the edge in this scenario. At the very least we didn't feel they needed an extra BT 7 and they have a seemingly endless supply of Cossack cavalrymen.
* We didn't really feel the need for the vehicle rule.
* In the scenario title, I suppose Lightning refers to the Germans and Rock to the Soviets. However, the scenario plays out more or less the other way around: The Germans are rather slow and the Soviets have some very mobile units! (especially the BT7s and the cavalry. The German infantry are almost immobile once they have dismounted from their transports. Again, we really felt the Soviets have the upper hand in this one, especially if the Germans attack first.
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general Hoth
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Thanks for the feedback Boersma.
This a bit of an oddball scenario as i've never seen twice the same outcome. Sometimes the germans had the upper hand sometimes it was the soviets.
One thing that i've noticed though: if the germans have the upper hand they always struggle to dislodge the last soviets usually ending up in a draw. Whereas if the german assault fails the soviets usually win quickly afterwards.
Regarding the vehicle rules, i had noticed during playtests that the trucks hampered the german panzers movement in the city hexes during the last turns of the scenario. Senjak who i played against last, asked me to add the rule too. So i did. Feel free to play without.
The extra BT7 was added later in playtests to beef up the soviets due to the fact that the cavalry usually takes a hard beating in the first few turns.
Finally the title of the scenario "lightning meets rock" is the name of a chapter where Lvov is covered in the book "absolute war" by chris bellamy.
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