I have just finished my first modern campaigns game. I played NGP 85 as NATO against the AI in the combined maps scenario. Overall, I thought it did a fair job of simulating a WW III scenario between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. I only played halfway through the 161 turns because the Warsaw Pact forces, except for the 3rd PVA, were pretty much non-existent by turn 82, and probably before then. I used FOW, but not explicit supply. The game brought back memories of my tour of duty in the 2nd ACR from '85 to '87. Fortunately I have fond memories of peacetime and not violent memories of wartime.
Final stats:
Warsaw Pact Major Defeat -34328 points.
NATO Losses:
28272 men
83 guns
3011 vehicles
106 air losses
Warsaw Pact Losses:
150977 men
2653 guns
10497 vehicles
22 air losses
Narrative:
Northern Sector (Schleswig Holstein and the road to Denmark):
Initially, the 6th Panzer Division is the only force holding the line between Hamburg and Luebeck. Between entrenched infantry and well placed mines, I had no problem holding the bridges in Luebeck with the 17th Brigade. The 16th Brigade's situation was a different story though. I lost most of the Brigade trying to hold the line between Luebeck and Hamburg until reinforcements arrived. I would have reinforced with the 18th Brigade, but I gave them the priority of destroying the amphibous assault by the 76th up by Schoenwalde. By the time the 18th had the 76th stopped, the 16th had already been overrun with elements of the 2nd Guards Tank Army streaming north past them towards Denmark. Fortunately, about this time, the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Armored and the 4th Mech (NL) Division were coming into place. I placed some bridges around the west flank of Hamburg and ran the 4th Mech up towards Newmunster and the leading edge of the 2nd Guards Tank Army. Fortunately, the 4th caught them, and as the 2nd Guards was stopped, I was finally able to bring in the 18th Brigade from the east and dispatch the lead division of the 2nd (the 94th?). I brought the 3rd of the 2nd Armored around the south side of Hamburg and started filling in the gaps left by the now half strength 16th. Afterwards, I started reforming my line and slowly moved my troops back towards the border with East Germany, stopping and digging in when I met the first elements of the 2nd PVA Polish Army later on. The brunt of the 2nd PVA attack never occurred though. I don't know what happened to them.
I Korps Sector (Hamburg south to Braunschweig):
It was in the I Korps sector that the Warsaw Pact 20th Guards and 3rd Shock Armies made their furthest advances into West Germany before I was able to stop them. The I Korps, along with the 2nd (UK) Armored, was stretched very thin at the beginning of hostilities. The 1st Panzer was initially spread out in several places and I was never able to consolidate them before losing about half the division in various screen and delay actions. As the remnants of the 1st Panzer slowed down the 20th Guards, I was able to bring in some engineers and blow all the bridges around Hannover and along the river running north towards Bremen, so their sacrifice was not in vain. The 3rd Panzer Division, with their 9th Lehr Brigade, initially saw very little action. I spread them out along the bridges of the canal just east of Luneburg and had them dig in. Just when I thought they would not see any action, the fury of the red army slammed them. I eventually started pulling them back so that I would not lose them like I was losing the 1st Panzer. Luneburg was the second most heavily destroyed city after the battle, behind Bamberg. The 3rd Panzer bought enough time and did enough damage so that when I brought in reinforcements, (The 7th Panzer, the 1st Mech (NL) and the 5th Mech (NL)) the 7th Panzer and the Netherland troops were able to slowly finish off the now weakened warsaw pact troops. I pulled the 3rd all the way back to Bucholz and had them rest up for a while. When they were reconsituted and recharged I sent them south, behind the front lines towards Hannover to catch the lead elements of the 20th Guards Army, who were by that time massing along the river north of Hannover just waiting for engineers to come up from the rear. The 3rd Panzer, especially the 9th Lehr, easily dispatched the divisions north of Hannover and began restoring the defensive line in that area and even began leading the sweep back east as the game ended. The 11th Panzer saw mixed action. I had them secure the major intersections north of Celle and recon the forests. A couple of times, they saw heavy action and even had to deal with an occassional tank battalion slipping past their front lines and engaging their HQ and artillery units. The 2nd (UK) Armored served well. They too were spread very thin at the beginning. I had the 2nd hold various choke points in the swamps south of Celle. At first, there were oftentimes just one company of tanks attempting to hold and delay entire Warsaw Pact divisions. Consequently the losses were high, but the 2nd held on, and even though they were not able to stop the Warsaw Pact forces streaming past them to the South, they never gave up Celle and the south flank of the 11th Panzer.
Central Sector (Braunchweig south to Kassel) (BAOR, III Korps and I (BE) Korps):
I blew the bridges on the Weser river as soon as possible. This bought me enough time to bring in the 4th (UK) Armored and the 1st (BE) Korps into the huge gap between Hannover and Kassel. Once I had the 4th assembled along the Weser around Hemeln, I crossed the river and started pushing east. The 4th saw heavy engagements, but their artillery, combined with BAOR assets helped them to push all the way east of Hannover where they finally linked up with elements of the 9th Lehr Brigade. Along the 4th's south flank I placed the 1st (BE) Korps. 1st (BE) Korps heaviest engagement was a classic pincer move south along the Weser river while the 5th Panzer moved up from the south and the 4th Panzer caught the lead of several divisions of the 1st Guards Tank Army as they were crossing the Weser river. Afterwards, the 1st (BE) Korps moved east along with the 4th and eventually ended up between the north flank of the Harz Mountains and Hildesheim. III Korps, absent the 12th Panzer Division, advanced east from the Kassel region across the Harz Mountains. The heaviest engagement seen by the III Korps was the pincer move described above with 1st (BE) Korps.
11th ACR and V Corps:
As expected, the 11th ACR saw heavy action in Fulda and Bad Hersfeld. Fortunately, they held the line at both cities until the 3rd Armored Division relieved them. Despite taking heavy casualties, their only permanent loss was the helicopter recon platoon. Several things helped them to hold the line. First, I kept one troop in reserve at all times. When one unit holding the bridges was nearly broken, I would pull it out and rotate in a less fatigued unit. Second, I made extensive use of the artillery mines, with two rows of mines in front of each crossing. Third, I focused all my firepower to disrupting the units rather than finishing off weaker ones so that the divisions could not get organized enough to cross the bridges. I also kept rotating my helicopters in and out to keep abreast of what was happening behing the Soviet front lines, hence the loss of the scout platoon. As the 3rd Armored moved in to relieve the 11th and destroy the 1st Guards Tank Army, the 11th ACR moved into a movement to contact mission in front of V Corps. By this time I had managed to move the 8th Infantry Division into place along the 3rd Armored's north flank to link up with III Korps to the north. As the 3rd and 8th finished off the 1st Guards Tank Army, the 11th ACR kept moving east and then southeast. Eventually, the 11th ACR had contact with the 3rd PVA Polish Army streaming in towards Bamberg and Coburg. The 11th held the north flank of the 3rd PVA until I could bring in the 3rd Armored for a decisive engagement with about two thirds of the 3rd PVA. As for the 12th Panzer, some of their elements were initially located south of the 11th ACR while the rest of their Korps was north of the 11th. So I attached them to V Corps early on and had them hold the line northeast of Bad Kissingen. At first, their sector was earily quiet, but they did eventually see some action and I moved them east along the 3rd Armored's south flank until I decided to send the 3rd Armored south to fight the 3rd PVA. The 12th ended up holding the line between Coburg north to Suhl as the 3rd Armored pivoted on their north flank and passed south in front of them.
The Southern Sector (The 3rd Infantry Division, the 2nd ACR and the rubble that used to be Bamberg):
As hostilities began, the southern sector was very quiet and I had ample time to road march the 3rd Infantry over to Bamberg and Schweinfurt. As the 3rd DDR Army began moving into the sector, I had no problem handling their T-55's and BMP's with the 2nd ACR's M-1's and Bradleys. The 3rd Infantry division also seemed to own the day, quickly dispatching wave after wave of BMP's and soviet armor. However, the 3rd Infantry, and especially the Second Squadron of the 2nd ACR, began to suffer from the huge guns and artillery the soviets had brought in from the rear. Because of the violence in Bamberg, I eventually sent the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry south from Schweinfurt, (where they had been in reserve for the 3rd Inf.) to reinforce the 2nd ACR. As Bamberg became rubble, the second squadron of the 2nd ACR had to retreat east towards Hollfeld. The 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry tried to hold the city, but they too eventually had to retreat. As they crossed the river west of Bamberg, they blew the bridges to save some time. As the 3rd DDR Army swarmed into Bamberg, reinforcements in the form of the 1st and 3rd squadrons of the 2nd ACR arrived. I quickly moved them towards the inferno that was Bamberg. During this time the rest of the 3rd Infantry had secured the area north of Bamberg between Schweinfurt and Coburg. As time passed, and the 3rd DDR began placing a bridge across the river west of Bamberg, the 3rd Infantry and the 2nd ACR converged on the town from all directions. After several days of brutal battle, there was nothing left of the 3rd DDR Army. As the 3rd Infantry and the 2nd ACR finished off the 3rd DDR, the lead divisions of the 3rd PVA began to arrive east of Bamberg. Their older tanks were no match for the M-1's and the 3rd Infantry and the 2nd ACR were forcing them back east in a drive to link up with the 3rd Armored Division when I finished the game.
Final stats:
Warsaw Pact Major Defeat -34328 points.
NATO Losses:
28272 men
83 guns
3011 vehicles
106 air losses
Warsaw Pact Losses:
150977 men
2653 guns
10497 vehicles
22 air losses
Narrative:
Northern Sector (Schleswig Holstein and the road to Denmark):
Initially, the 6th Panzer Division is the only force holding the line between Hamburg and Luebeck. Between entrenched infantry and well placed mines, I had no problem holding the bridges in Luebeck with the 17th Brigade. The 16th Brigade's situation was a different story though. I lost most of the Brigade trying to hold the line between Luebeck and Hamburg until reinforcements arrived. I would have reinforced with the 18th Brigade, but I gave them the priority of destroying the amphibous assault by the 76th up by Schoenwalde. By the time the 18th had the 76th stopped, the 16th had already been overrun with elements of the 2nd Guards Tank Army streaming north past them towards Denmark. Fortunately, about this time, the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Armored and the 4th Mech (NL) Division were coming into place. I placed some bridges around the west flank of Hamburg and ran the 4th Mech up towards Newmunster and the leading edge of the 2nd Guards Tank Army. Fortunately, the 4th caught them, and as the 2nd Guards was stopped, I was finally able to bring in the 18th Brigade from the east and dispatch the lead division of the 2nd (the 94th?). I brought the 3rd of the 2nd Armored around the south side of Hamburg and started filling in the gaps left by the now half strength 16th. Afterwards, I started reforming my line and slowly moved my troops back towards the border with East Germany, stopping and digging in when I met the first elements of the 2nd PVA Polish Army later on. The brunt of the 2nd PVA attack never occurred though. I don't know what happened to them.
I Korps Sector (Hamburg south to Braunschweig):
It was in the I Korps sector that the Warsaw Pact 20th Guards and 3rd Shock Armies made their furthest advances into West Germany before I was able to stop them. The I Korps, along with the 2nd (UK) Armored, was stretched very thin at the beginning of hostilities. The 1st Panzer was initially spread out in several places and I was never able to consolidate them before losing about half the division in various screen and delay actions. As the remnants of the 1st Panzer slowed down the 20th Guards, I was able to bring in some engineers and blow all the bridges around Hannover and along the river running north towards Bremen, so their sacrifice was not in vain. The 3rd Panzer Division, with their 9th Lehr Brigade, initially saw very little action. I spread them out along the bridges of the canal just east of Luneburg and had them dig in. Just when I thought they would not see any action, the fury of the red army slammed them. I eventually started pulling them back so that I would not lose them like I was losing the 1st Panzer. Luneburg was the second most heavily destroyed city after the battle, behind Bamberg. The 3rd Panzer bought enough time and did enough damage so that when I brought in reinforcements, (The 7th Panzer, the 1st Mech (NL) and the 5th Mech (NL)) the 7th Panzer and the Netherland troops were able to slowly finish off the now weakened warsaw pact troops. I pulled the 3rd all the way back to Bucholz and had them rest up for a while. When they were reconsituted and recharged I sent them south, behind the front lines towards Hannover to catch the lead elements of the 20th Guards Army, who were by that time massing along the river north of Hannover just waiting for engineers to come up from the rear. The 3rd Panzer, especially the 9th Lehr, easily dispatched the divisions north of Hannover and began restoring the defensive line in that area and even began leading the sweep back east as the game ended. The 11th Panzer saw mixed action. I had them secure the major intersections north of Celle and recon the forests. A couple of times, they saw heavy action and even had to deal with an occassional tank battalion slipping past their front lines and engaging their HQ and artillery units. The 2nd (UK) Armored served well. They too were spread very thin at the beginning. I had the 2nd hold various choke points in the swamps south of Celle. At first, there were oftentimes just one company of tanks attempting to hold and delay entire Warsaw Pact divisions. Consequently the losses were high, but the 2nd held on, and even though they were not able to stop the Warsaw Pact forces streaming past them to the South, they never gave up Celle and the south flank of the 11th Panzer.
Central Sector (Braunchweig south to Kassel) (BAOR, III Korps and I (BE) Korps):
I blew the bridges on the Weser river as soon as possible. This bought me enough time to bring in the 4th (UK) Armored and the 1st (BE) Korps into the huge gap between Hannover and Kassel. Once I had the 4th assembled along the Weser around Hemeln, I crossed the river and started pushing east. The 4th saw heavy engagements, but their artillery, combined with BAOR assets helped them to push all the way east of Hannover where they finally linked up with elements of the 9th Lehr Brigade. Along the 4th's south flank I placed the 1st (BE) Korps. 1st (BE) Korps heaviest engagement was a classic pincer move south along the Weser river while the 5th Panzer moved up from the south and the 4th Panzer caught the lead of several divisions of the 1st Guards Tank Army as they were crossing the Weser river. Afterwards, the 1st (BE) Korps moved east along with the 4th and eventually ended up between the north flank of the Harz Mountains and Hildesheim. III Korps, absent the 12th Panzer Division, advanced east from the Kassel region across the Harz Mountains. The heaviest engagement seen by the III Korps was the pincer move described above with 1st (BE) Korps.
11th ACR and V Corps:
As expected, the 11th ACR saw heavy action in Fulda and Bad Hersfeld. Fortunately, they held the line at both cities until the 3rd Armored Division relieved them. Despite taking heavy casualties, their only permanent loss was the helicopter recon platoon. Several things helped them to hold the line. First, I kept one troop in reserve at all times. When one unit holding the bridges was nearly broken, I would pull it out and rotate in a less fatigued unit. Second, I made extensive use of the artillery mines, with two rows of mines in front of each crossing. Third, I focused all my firepower to disrupting the units rather than finishing off weaker ones so that the divisions could not get organized enough to cross the bridges. I also kept rotating my helicopters in and out to keep abreast of what was happening behing the Soviet front lines, hence the loss of the scout platoon. As the 3rd Armored moved in to relieve the 11th and destroy the 1st Guards Tank Army, the 11th ACR moved into a movement to contact mission in front of V Corps. By this time I had managed to move the 8th Infantry Division into place along the 3rd Armored's north flank to link up with III Korps to the north. As the 3rd and 8th finished off the 1st Guards Tank Army, the 11th ACR kept moving east and then southeast. Eventually, the 11th ACR had contact with the 3rd PVA Polish Army streaming in towards Bamberg and Coburg. The 11th held the north flank of the 3rd PVA until I could bring in the 3rd Armored for a decisive engagement with about two thirds of the 3rd PVA. As for the 12th Panzer, some of their elements were initially located south of the 11th ACR while the rest of their Korps was north of the 11th. So I attached them to V Corps early on and had them hold the line northeast of Bad Kissingen. At first, their sector was earily quiet, but they did eventually see some action and I moved them east along the 3rd Armored's south flank until I decided to send the 3rd Armored south to fight the 3rd PVA. The 12th ended up holding the line between Coburg north to Suhl as the 3rd Armored pivoted on their north flank and passed south in front of them.
The Southern Sector (The 3rd Infantry Division, the 2nd ACR and the rubble that used to be Bamberg):
As hostilities began, the southern sector was very quiet and I had ample time to road march the 3rd Infantry over to Bamberg and Schweinfurt. As the 3rd DDR Army began moving into the sector, I had no problem handling their T-55's and BMP's with the 2nd ACR's M-1's and Bradleys. The 3rd Infantry division also seemed to own the day, quickly dispatching wave after wave of BMP's and soviet armor. However, the 3rd Infantry, and especially the Second Squadron of the 2nd ACR, began to suffer from the huge guns and artillery the soviets had brought in from the rear. Because of the violence in Bamberg, I eventually sent the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry south from Schweinfurt, (where they had been in reserve for the 3rd Inf.) to reinforce the 2nd ACR. As Bamberg became rubble, the second squadron of the 2nd ACR had to retreat east towards Hollfeld. The 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry tried to hold the city, but they too eventually had to retreat. As they crossed the river west of Bamberg, they blew the bridges to save some time. As the 3rd DDR Army swarmed into Bamberg, reinforcements in the form of the 1st and 3rd squadrons of the 2nd ACR arrived. I quickly moved them towards the inferno that was Bamberg. During this time the rest of the 3rd Infantry had secured the area north of Bamberg between Schweinfurt and Coburg. As time passed, and the 3rd DDR began placing a bridge across the river west of Bamberg, the 3rd Infantry and the 2nd ACR converged on the town from all directions. After several days of brutal battle, there was nothing left of the 3rd DDR Army. As the 3rd Infantry and the 2nd ACR finished off the 3rd DDR, the lead divisions of the 3rd PVA began to arrive east of Bamberg. Their older tanks were no match for the M-1's and the 3rd Infantry and the 2nd ACR were forcing them back east in a drive to link up with the 3rd Armored Division when I finished the game.
