The History Channel presents "Teeny Weeny Military Blunders"

[Cap'n Fantastic]

Hey there --

I'm still playtesting Rob O's campaign rules (version .97) and am currently working on my 4th battle using a Russian platoon of lend-lease Shermans. Actually sticking with these guys now that I have the mechanics of the system figured out and having fun. So I thought I'd include a slightly different AAR on Lt. Meretskov and his fellow tankers.

This was the first episode in a History Channel series titled "Teeny Weeny Military Blunders." Bill Curtis hosted. And nope, I didn't include an overhead shot of the map because it was too darn wide and skinny to fit within a single frame. The 4th battle (now underway) is on a map which fits nicely in a screenshot so that one will better serve to put things into context.

To put things in perspective, Meretskov and his men started at experience 15, and are now all in the low 20s. Most of their kills have come in the form of infantry and light AFVs as the AI has still to purchase that many real AT threats. The current fight at least has some legitimate tanks.

Anyway, here it comes.

[Cap'n Fantastic]

June, 1943 (900 pt ME against what turned out to be low quality German troops)

Only days prior to Operation Zitadelle, both German and Soviet armored units were kept busy scouting the peripheries of the Kursk salient, seeking information on enemy troop dispositions in preparation for OKH's belated summer offensive. Such reconnaissance efforts resulted in countless bloody skirmishes as troops from both sides unwittingly stumbled into firefights which served no discernable purpose except confirm that massive troops buildups were indeed underway.

One such encounter occurred during the early morning hours of June 14, as elements of the 27th Guards Tank Division (a company of motorized rifle infantry supported by a platoon of lend lease Shermans) entered the anonymous hamlet of Borschtville as part of a reconnaissance in force. Unbeknownst to their commander, that tiny farming community had been designated as headquarters for the 64th Panzergrenadier Division's training and replacement battalion. Commanded by Hapt. Paul Witzig, a decorated veteran who had lost his left eye in the failed winter drive on Moscow, the battalion served as a depository for seasoned troops returning from field hospitals and pink-cheeked youngsters fresh from the Fatherland.

Bisected by a wide dirt road running North to South, Borschtville was bordered by rolling hills to the east and scattered woodland to the west. The Russian infantry had no difficulty in approaching the town unseen as the modest slopes leading to the first ramshackle huts concealed their movement. With their support weapons situated along neighboring high ground, the first platoons of riflemen were soon concealed within a half dozen farmhouses and storefronts, their guns trained on an approaching column of lustily singing Wehrmacht infantry.

Witzig can perhaps be excused for his carelessness. Borschtville was several kilometers behind German lines. A supposedly safe haven for the embittered officer and his men - slated to spend the following weeks in intense field training. His grenadiers were, in fact, familiarizing themselves with some of the division's support halftracks and armored cars. Yet except for a lone Panzer IVG en route to its regimental workshop these men of the 64th were almost totally lacking in armored support. Its hodge podge collection of vehicles stood little chance against Lt. Alexi Meretskov and his platoon of three M4A2 Shermans, especially with sharp eyed Russian soldiers serving as advance eyes for their hidden tanks. Within seconds, the only German panzer to take the field was a shattered wreck, its turret pierced by two shots from Ser. Galanin's 75mm cannon. Its demise was closely followed by both halftracks. And while a light armored car (PSW 222) had time to fire a few panicked shots from its 20mm gun, Galanin would soon earn another ring for his gun barrel when the German vehicle exploded like a clockwork toy.

A wiser commander would have ordered a withdrawal. Witzig's troops, most of them raw recruits, would be forced to cross large patches of open ground to close with the enemy. Terrain covered by a trio of medium tanks and the combined fires of more than 100 Russian riflemen. Those patches of "dead ground" which offered cover from Soviet rifles were exposed to Guards mortar and machinegun fire. Yet the German officer, perhaps obsessed with winning revenge for lost comrades, refused to acknowledge defeat and sent his men to the slaughter. Soon the slow chatter of Maxim machineguns and 82mm mortar fire directed from the Soviet rear suppressed the approaching grenadiers and allowed the entrenched Guards infantry to engage squad after squad in piecemeal fashion. After this failed frontal assault Witzig threw the remainder of his grenadiers into a desperate flanking maneuver along the Guards' right, using a narrow lane of sunken ground bracketed by a pair of hills to hide their movement. Unfortunately for Witzig, one of the Russian platoons had already redeployed and established a kill sack which resulted in 67 German casualties in exchange for one wounded riflemen.

The only Soviet fatalities came at the end of the lop-sided encounter, during C platoon's move to better secure the company's left flank. Caught in the open, a handful of men were sent tumbling to the ground as intense rifle fire erupted from a nearby tree line. Return fire from the Guardsmen and Galanin's tank, however, soon sent the Germans reeling, sounding the death knoll for Witzig's hopes of remaining on the battlefield.

With half of his command more than an hour away, and nearly two-thirds of his current force sprawled in pools of blood, the German commander ordered a long overdue retreat at 0640. A half hour of fighting had seen the 64th suffer 131 casualties, including 31 men killed in action. Russian losses were placed at two dead, four wounded.

Battle One Results
98-2 Total Victory (against "green" German troops)
German losses = 131 casualties (31 KIA), Panzer IVG, 222 AC, 251/7, 251/1. 72 men OK.
Russian losses = 6 casualties (2 KIA). 178 men OK.
300 of 500 Flag points held by Russians
0 of 500 Flag points held by Germans

Core Force Kills
Lt. Meretskov credited with 1 HT, 19 infantry.
Ser. Efremov credited with 1 HT, 8 infantry.
Ser. Galanin credited with 1 AC, 1 Panzer IVG, 8 infantry.

Original Russian TO&E
· Rifle Company (42B)
· Three Onboard 82mm mortars
· One Stuart light tank
· One Platoon (3) Sherman medium tanks

Screenshots provided below...

[Cap'n Fantastic]

These shots show Galanin killing a Panzer IVG and PSW 222. The detailed armor hit on the AC was turned off to try and represent a real "combat" photo.

[Cap'n Fantastic]

The following shots show:
A Guards 42B rifle squad advancing towards a Borschtville "light structure" under the watchful eye of Lt. Meretskov's Sherman.

German grenadiers receiving mortar fire along the VL directly in front of the village's western edge.

Russian foot soldiers eying the results of that kill sack mentioned in the AAR.

My AAR screen.

Rob's getting the spreadsheet in a bit. Needless to say, the favor results kicked tail.