Rattenkrieg: Infantry Aces Stalingrad
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Rattenkrieg: Infantry Aces Stalingrad 1 Introduction: The recent release of Casino from Battle Front's Flames of War has got me thinking a lot about my favorite battle in all of WW2. STALINGRAD. I love this battle. I have watch Enemy at the Gates a hundred times, I have read Anthony Beavers book Stalingrad a hundred times, have printed every wiki article on the battle for light work reading and spent endless nights on end staring at the maps in Osprey books while my wife tried to sleep. At one point I put on a Stalingad campaign using the Blitzkreig Commander II Rules, which can be found in the AARs section of my blog. In fact Stalingrad got my blog started. We fought our way through the city and into the German counter offensive until it puttered out as all Campaigns do. I built a ton of terrain for the series of games including a grain silo and the G.U.M. Department store from scratch. We had epic house to house and block to block fights using BKC II. A new Stalingrad campaign will give me a reason to use the buildings again and replay my WW2 passion: STALINGRAD! Any way after getting my recent copy of Wargames Illustrated and reading the infantry aces sneak peeks and mini campaign sneak peak, I started to get the Stalingrad itch again. I also recently bought a Mosin Nagant which doesn't help either. For anyone who reads the FoW forums regularly, or sees any of my WW2 comments on other forums and blogs knows I have thought for a long time that Battle Front should have more Midwar briefings, specifically a Stalingrad briefing. I even wanted to try a Firestorm Stalingrad campaign once, but the amount of work need to do it was immense, plus I heard there are some Spaniards that did it already. Then came the Cassino Briefing. The rules in Cassino allow you to fight a quick escalation campaign based on infantry forces. Stalingrad would be perfect for it. I pulled this map from the Battlefront website and added what I felt were three historical routs with key areas that the Germans attacked during the battle. It also helped that Battlefront already have the objectives labeled. 2 STALINGRAD CAMPAIGN MAP 3 Route One (Red) Minina Suburbs -> Rail Station No. 1-> Grain Elevator The German attack on the city of Stalingrad itself began on September 14th, 1942. This attack was a two prong attack in which the Germans attempted to employ the Blitzkrieg tactics of encircling their enemy. One of these attacks was made by the 4th Panzer Army through the Minina and Yelshanka Suburbs in an attempt to capture Rail Station No. 1 and the fames Grain Elevator, which would become a symbol for the city. The soviet defenders held out for days, until being over ran. The Germans were surprised to only find 45 Russians with a hand full of AT Rifles and Maxims defending the elevator. Turn One Minina and Yelshanka Suburbs The Suburbs of Stalingrad where located south of the Tsarist River which separated the northern and south halves of the city. The Germans attack on the suburbs began on September 14th 1942. The 4th Panzer Armies assault on the south of the city was led by the 24th Panzer, 94th Infantry, 29th Motorized and 14th Panzer Divisions. The 24th and 94th attacked through the Minina and the 29th and 14th through the Yelshanka with the goal of reaching the Volga and then turn north in an attempt to isolate the 62nd army and cut them off from the 64th. Opposing them was the Soviet 64th army which included the 35th Guards Division, 42nd Rifle Divisions and eventually the 92nd Naval Brigade. German victory was swift as the raced to the banks of Volga. Ideas for playing the Suburbs The suburbs should be played on a 3 x 3 board consisting of mostly rubble and destroyed buildings. Turn Two Stalingrad Rail Station No. 1 After a swift conquest of the suburbs the Germans turned their attention to the all important Stalingrad Rail station No. 1. The station was also located south of the Tsaritsa River not far from where it joined the Volga. If the Germans captured the rail station it would eliminate one of the main supply lines to soviet defenders. The station was defended by the 13th Guards Division. The German assault on the station by the 71st Infantry and 295th Infantry last several days and control of the stations changed hands more than 19 times. On September 19th the Germans committed a third Division to the attack, the 79th Infantry division, and the Soviet defenders collapsed under the pressure of the assault. Ideas for playing the Rail Station The rail station should be played on a 3x3 board that has several rail lines cutting through burnt-out buildings and rubble. 4 Turn Three the Grain Elevator In the south of Stalingrad stood and enormous grain silo. After successfully capturing the Suburbs the German 94th Infantry, 14th Panzer and 24th Panzer Division found these selves caught in a bitter struggle for control of the elevator with the Russian 35th Guards Division and 92nd Naval Battalion. The assault began on September 18th and lasted until September 26th. The fight was intense and the Germans ended up resorting to lighting the grain supply on fire at one point, a decision that Paulus surely regret when the Germans were trapped and low on food months later, but the soviet defenders just kept fight. Soviet Antitank rifles where able to knock out tanks by hitting their thin top armor. Eventually the soviet ran out of ammo and the survivor where able to sneak away from the elevator. The Germans were surprised to only find and handful of dead Russians and it was reported that less than fifty men defended during the fighting. Ideas for playing the Grain Elevator: This battle should be played on a 3x4 board and a massive grain elevator should dominate the Soviet deployment zone. The area around the elevator should be mostly rubble with buildings around the board edges. Soviets always defend when fighting for the grain elevator. Elevation: Any soviet antitank rifle team on the top floor of the elevator hits the top armor of any German vehicle it is shooting. 5 Route Two (White) Mamayev Krugen -> City Center: Pavlov's House ->Red October Factory When the Germans lunched their attack on the city on September 14th, 1942. The 6th Army's LI Corp assaulted the city center while the 4th Panzer Army assaulted the southern part of the city. This would result in a bloody struggle for the Mamayev Krugen, the City Center and ultimately the Red October Factory. Turn One: Mamayev Krugen The Mamayev Krugen was originally a Tartar burial mound that dominated area. At the start of the battle the Krugen was the site of Chuikov's command post. On the first two days of fighting the German 295th infantry division assaulted the Krugen and the Soviets were forced to evacuate the hill. On September 18th Chuikov launched a counter assault with the 13th Guards and 113th Rifle Division in an attempt to re take the Krugen. Soviet troops managed to reach the top, but were unable to wrestle control of the Krugen from the Germans. Eventually the Soviets were forced to relinquish control of the hill to the Germans. On September 27th Chuikov ordered the 285th Serbian and 95th Rifles to retake the Krugen. On September 28th they would retake the Krugen from the Germans, but this victory was short lived as the German counter attack forced the Soviets to retreat. This position allowed the Germans a commanding view of the city and the Volga Ideas for playing the Mamayev Krugen Fighting for the Mamayev Krugen should be played on a 3'x3' table with a large hill in the middle and rubble and buildings on the Soviet board edge. Turn Two: City Center- Pavlov's House After the desperate struggle for the Krugen the German assaulted into the city center. It was here in the apartments of Stalingrad that one of the most heroic moments in Soviet history occurred, the Battle for Pavlov's House. Pavlov's House was a fortified apartment block that was on the banks of the Volga overlooking the main city square. In early September Sgt. Yaakov Pavlov found himself leading 25 lightly armed soviet soldiers and made it his mission to not allow the Germans to take the apartment block they occupied. The Soviet defenders fortified the apartment with four layers of barbwire and mines fields. Pavlov and his men held out against all odds and withstood daily attacks by German infantry and Armor. On 25 November 1942 Pavlov's men held out until their where relieved by Soviet reinforcements. Ideas for playing the City Center- Pavlov's House The suburbs should be played on a 3 x 3 board consisting of mostly rubble and destroyed buildings with a large city square located in the middle of the board. 6 Turn Three: Red October Factory The Red October Factory was a large steel factory located along the banks of the Volga. On September 27th, the German assault on the city came close to capturing the Red October Factory. The following day the 39th Guards and 193rd Rifle Division where deployed in and around the factory. The factory was mostly quiet for the next few weeks as the Germans launched assaults on the Tractor and Barrikody Factories to the north. On October 23rd, Paulus attacked the Red October Factory with fresh troops from the 79th Infantry Division.