general Hoth
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SS Panzer Division Wiking- Part II: Breakout: CherkassyFebruary 1944, a few monthes later...
After retreating behind the river Dniepr, closely followed by the Soviets, the Wiking division's mighty regiments of Westland and Germania were joined by the volunteers of the SS brigade Wallonie led by the infamous belgian, Leon Degrelle. Meanwhile in mid January 1944, 5th guard tank army and 6th tank army in a massive pincer movement quickly surrounded the German XI th Army corps (7 infantry divisions plus the SS Wiking, about 54 000 men) commanded by general of artillery Stemmerman. The situation became desperate despite the efforts of the IIIrd panzer corps to break the 4 kilometers deep ring around the defenders. Hitler authorized the breakout on February 16th, which would be led, on the left flank, by the "political volunteers" from the Wiking and Wallonie units.
Under heavy rain the attack springed off from the village of Starosele with the men of Westland supported by the division's last tanks in the lead. Supprised by this desperate night attack the Soviet lines collapsed until the approaches of Lissjanka where on both flanks T34's and AT guns opened fire into the retreating collumns of frozen Landsers. Leon Degrelle shouted to his troops: "This is our last chance to breakthrough!"...
maps:
West map7 (upside down)- map5 (upside down) East
special rules:
Soviets ignore the commandant dependant SA
Soviets set up up to 5 hexes away from their side as do the germans.
Soviets set up on map7
Germans set up on map5
this scenario uses the maps from the expanded rules book.
i used the book: SS Wiking (éditions Fayard) by jean Mabire as a source
SS Panzer Division Wiking:
ss leader
ss panzer IV F2 x2
stug III x2
mg 42
ss panzergrenadier x7
pak 40
sdkfz 251
panzerfaust x3
from turn 4 onwards, the german player can enter the following units (piecemeal if he wishes) through the eastern road hex:
sdkfz 251
ss leader
ss panzergrenadier
panzerfaust
opel truck x4
stug III x2
grizzled veteran
5th Guards Tank Army:
cossack captain
sniper
82 mortar x2
zis AT gun x2
maxin MG
ppsh x4
dp 27 x2
AT rifle x2
observer
sturmovnik
on turn 2 the following units enter the map anywhere along the side of the map (except alongthe german set up area):
T34 76 x5
cossack cavalry x4
partisans x4
cossack captain
(infantry can start mounted)
Victory Conditions::
at the end of turn 8:
german decisive vivtory: the german player holds 2 hexes of the village hexes on map7 and manages to bring a truckload of wounded into the village.
german victory: the german player holds two village hexes.
soviet victory: the german holds one village hex.
soviet decisive victory: the german player cant breakout...
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lotharlutjens
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Another glimpse at the desperate situation of the men of the Wiking, and another interesting scenario General Hoth. Although I won't be playing it with AAM I will copy the scenario and play it with an old Avalon Hill system. Please continue with your mini-campaign.( It isn't simple but I find it much more satisfying )(The Avalon Hill game I mean)
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SturmVogel
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Hello again! You might think I have love with StuG III G (I do  ) but since it's a 1944 scenario is it StuG III D or G. BTW thanks for your scenarios.
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general Hoth
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additional infohello. i thought of you when finnishing this scenario as i used the model G. Nevertheless you can try (as i did) both options. The model G gives a clear advantage to the german thanks to the upgraded gunnery of the machine. On the pictures i saw from Cherkassy it looks to me to be G models. On the night of the breakout the Wiking only had about half a dozen of panzer IVs left plus about 12 stugs. None of the machines made it to the german lines. 
game wise, last game we played the russian still fielded 3 T34's (two damaged) while the Wiking had only one stug and one panzer IV (both disrupted and damaged) on the battlefield.
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Grenzewolf
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| general Hoth wrote: | | On the night of the breakout the Wiking only had about half a dozen of panzer IVs left plus about 12 stugs. None of the machines made it to the german lines. |
German lines or did you mean Soviet lines?
In our game of SS Panzer Division Wiking- Part II: Breakout: Cherkassy I played the Soviets and my partner played Germans. He lead with his chin by hurling the Wiking Armor in early to the city, ahead of the infantry support. Initialy he had some success by knocking down the Sturmovik and terminating and disrupting the AT guns. However, the arrival of the T-34's/Partisan riders and Cavalry caused a total route due to the SS Panzergrenadier inability to properly support.
My partner says the Germans are doomed because of his inability to anticipate the entrance locations of the counter attack force. Personaly I think he was far to aggressive and used poor fire and manuever. I intend on proving this when I play the Krauts next.
BTW normaly in attack defense scenarios the Defender (ie Soviets) would set up first. This takes into concideration recon elements probing the line. Certainly in this scenario that would be true for a planned break-out. There is no mention of intial set up so we rolled. Is this correct? (Regardless the Soviets set up first)
Also I assumed from your signature this was designed using the original rules. How about the new cards?
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general Hoth
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oops...
keep in mind this is an ambush scenario, so germans set up first and have the initiative on turn one.
out of the 54.000 troops only 20.000 made it to the IIIrd panzer corps lines (spearheaded by the 1st panzer division) without any heavy equipment. The last Wiking tanks were destroyed before reaching safety but made the breakthrough possible.
I am finnishing the book by Mabire about the SS LAH. Nice scenario material in the pipeline...
Rules wise, you are correct grezenwolf, i always play with the standard rules. I find them really cool and simple (as opposed to my favorite game ever squad leader). I also like the new stat cards but havent printed them yet.
you know what, i play so much this game that i know exactly what the units are capable of disregarding the costs of units. plus i love historical situations just like your new scenario.
good work soldier!
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general Hoth
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'morning soldiers!
since this scenario won the un-con contest i thought i'll explain how it came about and give a few (tested) battle tips.
the whole idea came from first hand accounts in the book "ss Wiking"
the weather was heavy snow which i did not put in the special rules simply because it slowed the pace of the game.
the german attack was expected by the soviets but as the surrounding troops were mainly made of motorized units the soviets just couldnt keep a straight line. game wize it translates by little infantry on the soviet side. having dropped 3 para brigades a month earlier the soviets could count on scattered paras (there's no soviet paratrooper unit in this system, maybe in december?...) and a lot of partisans as read in the book. in the game they show up with the t34's alongside the cossack cavalry which during the real breakthrough terrorized the fleeing germans. they are the real threat to the SS troopers.
the soviet player has to manage carefully his infantry, he has little appart from his mortars, mg and sniper to stop the flow of panzergrenadiers with their 5/5 defence. that is until turn 2. The sturmovnik will come handy to slow down the wiking units.
use of the coming tanks is crucial for a soviet win. there's two options:
either the german rushes his tanks forward to clear the wooded area on map 7 to cover the grenadiers' advance, this means the soviet has a chance to take on the german tanks from the rear before helping stop his infantry or (as was the main option) the wiking tanks take a firing position until turn 2 to break the soviet tank attack. anyway you are sure to see a tremending turn 3!
either way as happened in 44 the german will suffer a great deal to get the wounded through. keep in mind that the units that made it did so without ANY heavy equipment, leaving all the wounded behind.
the victory conditions translate this.
equipement wise, the germans were down to their last AFV's but had plenty of trucks and horse carriages (another idea for EF'set) while the russian could count on lots of t34s. in the book there's no other mention of other type of tanks but the presence of paras and cossack units. the soviets also had a lot of pak units which i decided to represent by the AT guns and AT rifle (watch those trucks!)
most games the russian tanks came from the north while the cavalry came from the south to dislodge german support units (mg and pak )hidden in the southern woods.
by turn 4 i advise the german to enter only the fighting elements of his reinforcements until such time when it will be safe for the trucks to reach the village. (easier said than done).
finaly, i have never witnessed a massive german victory as the trucks always ended up in flames before the village. if you do manage, good work, let me know
for those of you who have enjoyed this wiking series, i'm working on the last one the battle of Kovel (hopefully i'll get it done by next week once i have found a good play-balance). it's a 3 map scenario using the maps 1 and 3 of which you'll have to have a double of. it's great fun as this time the wiking has finaly received its brand new panthers...and the soviets get an upgrade with T34-85!
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Grenzewolf
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I scored this Scenario pretty high in the replayability catagory. I myself played the Russians for Victory in the first game and had a very narrow German defeat due to a phenomenal Last two round rally in the second. Both times I had different opponents and both wish to play it again with either the same force or switch to the opposing side.
Any scenario you can walk away with a butt woopin and still want more is solid in my book.
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general Hoth
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Thank you.
It's a nice scenario, i'm happy that gamers are enjoying it.
i just cant wait for the next expansion and maps!!
are we gonna get the german assault engineers ?(stalingrad-style)
More scenarios ahead!
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Sharpe
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general Hoth
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awesome
i'll have to try this one out...
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general Hoth
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I was having a look through our scenario library and thought this one could be interesting to re-play.
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NoMoreHexes
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General Hoth, I would like to play this scenario and add a couple of things after reading this:
"General Konev, now realizing that the Germans were escaping, was enraged and then resolved to keep his promise to Stalin not to let any “Hitlerites” or “Fascists” escape unichtozhenie (total annihilation). Soviet intelligence, however, at this stage vastly overestimated the armored strength of III Panzerkorps, and Konev therefore proceeded in force. At this time the 20th Tank Corps brought its brigade of the new Joseph Stalin-II’s to the Korsun battlefield."
and:
"That so many reached the German lines at Lysyanka was due in great measure to the exertions of III Panzerkorps as it drove in relief of Group Stemmermann. The cutting edge was provided by Heavy Armored Regiment Bäke (Schweres Panzer Regiment Bäke), named for its commander Lt.Col. Dr. Franz Bäke (a dentist in civilian life). The unit was equipped with Tigers and Panthers and an engineer battalion with specialist bridging skills."
Do you have some recommendations on how to incorporate these additional units?
Thanks!
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general Hoth
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| NoMoreHexes wrote: | General Hoth, I would like to play this scenario and add a couple of things after reading this:
"General Konev, now realizing that the Germans were escaping, was enraged and then resolved to keep his promise to Stalin not to let any “Hitlerites” or “Fascists” escape unichtozhenie (total annihilation). Soviet intelligence, however, at this stage vastly overestimated the armored strength of III Panzerkorps, and Konev therefore proceeded in force. At this time the 20th Tank Corps brought its brigade of the new Joseph Stalin-II’s to the Korsun battlefield."
and:
"That so many reached the German lines at Lysyanka was due in great measure to the exertions of III Panzerkorps as it drove in relief of Group Stemmermann. The cutting edge was provided by Heavy Armored Regiment Bäke (Schweres Panzer Regiment Bäke), named for its commander Lt.Col. Dr. Franz Bäke (a dentist in civilian life). The unit was equipped with Tigers and Panthers and an engineer battalion with specialist bridging skills."
Do you have some recommendations on how to incorporate these additional units?
Thanks! |
Having spent some time on different other wargmes recently (see wargames general) I was planning to play this scenario this week to get back into AAM proper. 
I'll let you know what can be done. Or have you got ideas already?
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general Hoth
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Set up completed and ready to go.
I've added a few units (tiger, IS2, panther, soviet 76 AT gun, SS wallonie units from the sharpedia) and used 3D elements for the first time.
I'll see if the scenario still works that way.
A Wiking strongpoint in expectation of the soviet reinforcements.
The "welcoming" Soviet party.
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NoMoreHexes
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Oh it will work with 3D and it's looking good so far. Keep going General!
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boersma8
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A shame we still have to use lush green maps for a battle that took place in winter...WoTC, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves! 
As for that company they're in business with; rather than creating more maps or overlay hex tiles, they issue nation-specific hit-markers??????? 
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general Hoth
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| boersma8 wrote: | A shame we still have to use lush green maps for a battle that took place in winter...WoTC, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves!
As for that company they're in business with; rather than creating more maps or overlay hex tiles, they issue nation-specific hit-markers??????? |
agreed!
Still i'm excited about Early War. i hope gale force will support the release with serious stuff!
So when we'll meet in january we'll have plenty to play with;
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