AP145 The Swedish Voluntary Corps

[ScottRomanowski]

March 1940, Finland, extreme winter. Russians attacking Swedish.

My opponent sets up defending the woods line, with smaller forces around the 44F8 woods and the L10 woods. I expect the later to drop back to counter my reinforcements. I see a lot of Open Ground to cover and Deep Snow to slow me down; my Turn 1 units are the only ones that do not have skis. The skis also make it hard to count my opponents counters; all his stacks look intimidating even though I know a lot of those counters are skis.

My plan is to use the 8-1, MMG and two squads as a firebase on the right, the middle will be a multi-hex blob FG moving forward, while I use a Human Wave on the left to close faster and draw fire from the middle units as they move.

Not a shot is fired in turn 1a as I move mostly out of LOS. Winter Camouflage lets me advance into OG concealed.

In turn 1b the Swedish skulks in the west, and shifts west, as I expected. I strip ? from 44F8 in the DFPh.

Red arrows: MPh, blue arrows: APh.

In turn 2a my 8-1, 47, MMG/447 in 44A4 double breaks the squad in 44F9. I launch an eight-squad HW in the west, with LOS to 44L10. 10K1 fires its LMG only to place a FL, but rolls 11 to malfunction instead. Later the squad breaks a 447. We both rout our units back to leaders (green arrows), the 9-1 in my opponent's case. I hope to be able to rally my unit by turn 3a for another Human Wave.

(Only the advances shown; there was too much movement to show.) There's still a lot of OG to cross and a third of the scenario is gone!

In 2b my opponent tries to give my force a "bloody nose" by firing a squad from 44L10 but has no effect with a 4FP+0; the return 30FP+1 from a seven-hex FG CRs and breaks it. My opponent makes the mistake of routing it to 10M2, giving me an easy target if I have another HW.


Continued...

 

[ScottRomanowski]

I get lucky in turn 3a and rally the broken squad in 44L5, giving me another eight-squad Human Wave. I hope to take advantage of my opponent not advancing several units back to the woods line.

The broken HS in 10M2 receives two squads of the HW, but it doesn't draw fire. I lose a squad in 10M4 trying to rush L3. I had assumed it would break, but still prevent L3 from firing on my HW units to the south. Instead I receive a 1KIA. I push agressively in the center, and got lucky with only one pinned squad while breaking a 238 and 548 in 10G1 and F1. In the west I fired on the broken HS in 10M2 from L1, eliminating it and freeing my two squads there to join the FG on L3. I broke the leader but only pinned the squad. So I advance forward, willing to trade two broken squads (spray fire) for a chance to break the 548 there.

My big win was getting a 9-0, 447 and a DC into 10H4 to hopefully stress my opponent's defense. I'm surprised that I got a squad into the eastern woods in only three turns.

I haven't found the HIP MMC yet. My opponent deployed one squad, and I found both HS, so I don't have to worry about a HS HIP in somplace like C6 or B3 that would AM and advance on turn 5 to be concealed in the victory area. It's probably a squad near the victory area. It's probably not in 10G4 as my opponent would have revealed it in CCPh3a to prevent H4's ? gain.

 

[ScottRomanowski]

The Swedish pull back in turn 3b, except for the 548 and broken leader in the west. It breaks one squad in the PFPh but breaks itself from my 30FP+2 return shot. It surrenders and my squad routs back to the 7-0. In the woods I think my opponent tried to draw fire from my H4 stack, but I held fire lest he move and advance ADJACENT. The scenario's half over and I'm still facing six squads in the woods (one broken, one HIP). I won't get any more HW because any units with LOS to enemy units will also be ADJACENT.

 

[ScottRomanowski]

@hoxson1 noticed that I pulled the wrong overlay, Wd3 instead of Wd5. The building in the west should have been replaced by woods!

 

[Old Noob]

Oops.

 

[ScottRomanowski]

My opponent and I decided to A.2 it.

 

[Actionjick]

@hoxson1 noticed that I pulled the wrong overlay, Wd3 instead of Wd5. The building in the west should have been replaced by woods!
View attachment 18556

Nice catch on his part. That's why putting these out for others to see is so important. As this demonstrates the player can learn from the observer. Nicely done by all!!

 

[Actionjick]

My opponent and I decided to A.2 it.

That's what it is there for.

 

[ScottRomanowski]

I lose a HS trying to rally due to Extreme Winter. I push next to his southern defenses, only to have a 447 ELR to a 237 in 10E1. I break one of the 238s in the south, then advance mixed stacks of concealed and unconcealed units next to my opponent's concealed stacks. My units in 10H4, H3, H2, I4, G1 gain concealment. I expect my opponent to skulk, which will give me 1.5 Game Turns.

 

[Eagle4ty]

Looks like a double envelopment brewing and some rough times for the Swedes.

 

[bendizoid]

The Sweds need to protect their right flank from those ski troops, at least 1 1/2 squads with some crossfire.

 

[ScottRomanowski]

That's why I planned and used Human Waves. If I could give my opponent something to worry about in the southwest, he wouldn't be able to adequately oppose my ski troops in the NW. I thought his HIP units might be guarding that flank, but they weren't, so they must be around the VC area.

 

[ScottRomanowski]

In PFPh4b my opponent makes a disastrous attack with a Thrown DC from 10F3 to G4. It only pins my 447 and unconceals my DC/9-0, but he rolled a 2 on the attack on his own Location for a K/4. There's the 9-1, a 548 and a broken HS there. RS selects the broken HS and squad, and then everything breaks. After that, he skulks his other units. I eliminated the surviving, broken HS in F3, and scout for HIP by fire. I didn't find anything, and I luckily decided not to use my MGs because I rolled two 10s.

 

[ScottRomanowski]

I push forward, AMing concealed squads next to the defenders, and bump-scouting concealed defenders. I discover the HIP DC/8-1, LMG/548 when I try to move to E3. As you all know, finding your opponent's HIP units comes with a huge feeling of relief, even though in the DFPh the squad's fire and thrown DC break all three squads in F2, at the trivial cost of a pinned Swedish 8-1. I KIA a 548 with my DC, and break a 237. In CC I eliminate a 238, leaving two unbroken squads (one concealed), 1.5 broken squads, an 8-1 and a broken 9-1 in two hexes.
I gave up trying to rally the conscript HS and moved my 7-0 to rally the conscript squad in 44H10. He was well-positioned as two broken conscript squads routed back there. He rallied the non-DM one, and Fate CRed a second.

My opponent thinks that he pulled back into the woods too soon, and he should have taken more shots as I approached. I agree; that would have prevented my turn 3a leap forward.

 

[ScottRomanowski]

In turn 5b a desperate defender Prep Fired their trapped unit. Unfortunately bad dice only broke one 447 and pinned another, while his sniper eliminated a broken conscript HS. I had feared spray fire and low rolls. The ensuing DFPh encircled and broke all defending units, ending the game.