This little solo battle was used to test the current state of play with my revision of the 1973 WRG WW2 rules. It is, of course, entirely fictional. However, for inspiration it uses the north-easterly advance of the Germans towards Warsaw in early September 1939, in particular the well-known Battle of Mokra where an armoured train helped to hold up an attacking Panzer Division for a day or so.
The structure of the scenario came from the Bolt Action rule book, being scenario 1, 'Envelopment'. This fitted nicely into a narrative of Panzer units hurrying forward trying to bypass Polish units, only to find a determined defence in place backed up by an armoured train. The Bolt Action book only gives basic set-up zones and table proportions, so I had to fill in the terrain detail myself:
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| The table was 4' x 4', using 15mm figures and models. |
The Poles could deploy anywhere south of the line A - B. The Germans started off-table, and moved on from the northern base edge in move 1. The WRG rules use a 1 to 1 scale, with one vehicle model representing one actual vehicle, and infantry based as 'elements' or 'groups', four to a base. In fact, very similar to Flames of War. Forces were:
3 x sections each: 2 rifle groups, 1 rifle/lmg group.
Tank platoon: 3 x R-35 tanks.
Light Tank platoon: 3 x TKS tankettes
Mortar section: 2 x 8cm mortars (off table). Mortar observer.
Armoured Train: train no.51, Pierwszy Marszalek.
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| The set-up. The green markers show the target points for the German preparatory bombardment. |
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| A couple of moves in. By some miracle (well, a throw of 11 with 2D6) the Poles have conjured up an airstrike. |
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| The CO of the Polish R-35 platoon was responsible for picking off a Pz.IV. |
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| Move 4 and a Stuka appears. Scratch 2 R-35s! At top right the German heavy tank platoon has 3 tanks out of 4 knocked out |
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| One of the Pz.38T platoons advances with some infantry support. |
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| On cresting a small rise, 2 more German tanks are knocked out by the guns of the armoured train. |
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| Move 5 and more close air support arrives for the Germans - an HS-123 strike. More importantly for the Germans, their left-flanking tank platoon has exited the table to the rear of the train. |
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| Game over. The Polish centre is holding but the train is badly shot up, and the Poles have been by-passed. |
Excellent. I had those rules as a 10yr old boy playing with Heroics and Ros tanks and infantry. Masses of Tiger I's obviously as any 10yr old who was brought up on Battle comics would want :)
ReplyDeleteAn interesting scenario that I might try to convert to either France '40 or Russia '41, as I don't have any Polish forces (actually don't have an armored train either, but I have an idea for that). I'm definitely interested to see how the WRG conversion effort goes! I'm curious if you think the game would have been any different if you allowed the Poles to set up further north - e.g. southern half of the table, or even as far north as the northern-most farm - and thus have a little more defense in depth?
ReplyDeleteGood to see your Poland '39 stuff on the table again Keith. Nice to see your mods are going well. I could never settle with the Battlegroup rules, in the end preferring Bolt Action II which to my mind give just as good a game. I ditch the points and understrength sections, going with more historical OOB.
ReplyDeleteAs for finding time to game, despite being retired, it is harder than one would have thought!
As for moving the line A-B further north, I think this would make Polish victory more likely, as the Poles could have a second line which could counter any penetrations of the first line, and also engage the Germans more closely as soon as they entered the table. This would perhaps upset the balance of the scenario. But that's not to say it wouldn't be worth trying.
ReplyDeleteExcellent looking game. Love the figures and vehicles and, especially, the armoured train!
ReplyDeleteRegards, James
I have a copy myself of the rules lurking on a shelf somewhere. I've decided to go the other way with my homebrew rules and do company level with a focus on fireteams and very few vehicles. Its the great thing about WWII all scales can work well.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in how you go about re-writing the rules. Do you write for yourself or so someone else could pick them up and use them? I've been trying to re-write a set of rules - Contemptible Little Armies - which are a mess but have the basis of a decent game.
ReplyDeleteThese days mostly the latter. It helps my thought processes to write things out thoroughly so another person could understand what was required. It also helps clarify my ideas and helps me to remember exactly what I intended to change and/or clarify, and how.
ReplyDelete