Polotsk 1944

Operational Combat Series Polotsk 1944 Battle of Polotsk, June 1944 When Baltic Gap begins, Polotsk marks the end-point of Army Group North’s solid defensive line — Army Group Center, to the south of the Western Dvina River — has essentially been vaporized by Operation Bagration. Polotsk is vital to the Soviet westward advance because those railroads will be needed to supply the deep operation. Defending here is the reinforced German 1st Corps; in game terms the units shown along the edges of this page. The Panther Line of fortifications enhance the natural strength of the woods and bogs in this area, and overall this is horrible tank country. The 1944 infantry division is rated a 16-4-3 (combat, action rating, movement), and each has four steps of staying power. Action Rating is in many ways the critical one, in that this rating modifies the combat roll and surprise chance. Although the infantry division is weaker than it was in 1941, it still has that fine AR and staying power since in my analysis the Wehrmacht infantry retained its traditional edge over its Red Army counterparts during this campaign. The game allows the German infantry divisions to spin-off 4-4-3 breakdown regiments to help defend more ground, and one of those is also shown. A 7-2-2 Security division is also here. Supporting this defense is the corps artillery, with 18 barrage factors and a 3- hex range, a pair of 4-4-6 Stug battalions, and a battalion of Nashorns (that little yellow oval means these exotic tank destroyers can’t be rebuilt). The artillery will be used to barrage Soviet assault units; the tanks will be needed to cut open escape routes for trapped units. Attacking Polotsk are 6th Guards Army and elements of 4th Shock Army. The sequencing is fairly interesting, as the Soviets will want to have ample reserves to exploit any gains made during the combat phase. It will begin with air barrages and movement into attack positions. No “hip shoot” barrages are allowed for the Soviets, but there are enough bombers to hit a couple of stacks pretty hard from the air. This will be followed in the sequence by the German Reaction Phase, which may include some air battles and German airstrikes, as well as the reinforcement of threatened hexes by the modest ground forces that set-up in Reserve Mode. Then the real fun starts: massive artillery barrages and ground attacks, at the conclusion of which there will (hopefully) be one or two holes in the Panther Line. The Soviet Exploit Phase will see reserves released to continue the attack with a combination of overruns and regular attacks. As you can see, the Red Army is not a faceless horde in this game. That non- rebuildable 5-5-3 Assault Bde to the right is one of four in the game, and these represent all sorts of “funnies” designed to burn, smoke, and blast the enemy out of its fortified positions. Your eyes will also be drawn to those huge artillery units, and rest assured that there is enough supply to actually fire them in this game (we have some special “Arty Ammo” markers that can be saved until the time is right for an artillery offensive). Last but certainly not least is that 8-4-3 with the gray stripe: that’s the “Jewish Division” of Lithuanian origin, and it’s rated an “assault division” even though way understrength by this stage of the fighting. (Note there are also a couple of “Latvian” and “Estonian” rifle divisions in the Soviet mix.) What you might also see is a Red Army that’s a bit more fragile and weaker than you might expect. Back in 1942 (in Case Blue) we didn’t have any rifle divisions as weak as those 8-2-2’s, and that’s the garden variety here because of the general manpower shortage. It’s also a little shocking to still see an AR1 rifle division, but as the Soviets liberated territory they would hand out uniforms and rifles to anyone who looked the part of a soldier (on-the-job training). It’s not all bad, of course, as evidenced by those hard-hitting 14’s and 12’s. But keep in mind that this is an elite Guards Army: the rank-and-file rifle divisions rarely have a strength above 8 or an AR higher than 2. With just two tank brigades and a pair of SU- 152 battalions in the area, the Soviets don’t have a substantial edge in tanks (1st Tank Corps and assorted independent tank formations support 43rd Army south of the Western Dvina on Turn 1, so make no mistake about who has an overall edge). What we don’t see in this battle are any panzer divisions or tank corps. These formations are fairly balanced in terms of combat power, with the Soviets being higher combat factors but the Germans having better average AR. Factor in all the independent brigades and battalions, though, and the Red Army has a substantial edge. But what we found in testing is that the Germans are able to lop the head off a reckless Soviet advance — and Uncle Joe’s in a hurry so it’s likewise true that the victory conditions compel an aggressive use of all that Soviet muscle. I designed it to be fun to play either side, and feel that I’ve succeeded. Germany Soviet Scenario First Player on Turn 1: Soviet First Turn: 29 Jun 44 Last Turn: 5 Jul 44 Game Length: 3 Weather: Always normal on first turn. Soviet Information Reserve Markers: 4 Supply Start: 20 Soviet Reinforcement Supply Start: 4 per turn German Information Reserve Markers: 4 Supply Start: 8 German Reinforcement Supply Start: 2 per turn .

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