September 1941, Finns assault

[Puukkoo]

We're at Karelia and we're advancing towards Petroskoi, the capital of Russian Karelia. "The neighbour" has bolted some troops on our way, but I think he has to do that work again at some other place. "The neighbor" is slow to learn some respect.

Our boys, led by Col Unhola, 60th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, 6th Corps.

122mm Battery
76.2mm Battery
2x Engineer Sections
1x Jaeger Platoon
1x Infantry Company (full strenght)
1x Motorized AT-Gun Company with two 37mm AT-Guns.
1x Mortar Platoon
1x Sissi Platoon (3 elite squads)
1x Erp4 Patrol (2 squads)
Scout Patrols

(Force value 1800 points)

The map has five victory hex locations. My focus shall be at the right edge of the map. I'll make a breakthrough there and reach for the rear area hexes, which are supposedly manned with fewer units. (Not sure but usually they are).

The infiltrators will just wreak some havoc and cut road from enemy counterattack. The Jaeger Platoon will stay as a reserve.

[Puukkoo]

Turn 4

It's raining, visibility is 9 so we can take some advantage of it.

First casualties.

Scout patrols spearhead my force. One man stepped on a mine and another scout was hit by Russian small arms fire. "You guessed wrong, neighbor, we were not attacking that place. It's you who has to come out of there and not us."

The target is so small that I may just pass it by.

[Puukkoo]

Turn 7

Scouts reach first victory hexes right under enemy eyes.

My engineers make a great job in clearing all those mines. Still I lose one of my troopers to them. We get shelled by enemy light mortar. It doesn't hit even close.

Enemy line of defense is just ahead of us. We stop here and the engineers are still busy clearing those mines. Infantry platoons prepare to charge at the enemy positions with some help from mortars.

Still not a single shot from our guys. The enemy has been more active.

Scout patrols advance deeper into enemy zone. Sgt Tuomioja's Sissi squad infiltrates at the northern edge of the map.

[Puukkoo]

Turn 10

Still pretty quiet.

Jaegers spot enemy infantry dug in. Platoon leader 2nd Lt. Häkkinen calls for mortar support and prepares to drive neighbour into bushes.

The Infantry company charges into Russian's positions but the neighbour manages to drop out two of our guys, himself losing 5 and is running towards the Urals.

Troops list indicates that all my special forces will succesfully infiltrate their destined targets. That's good news. Tuomioja's squad advances towards victory hexes and has not yet confronted anything.

Scout patrols reach for another victory hexes. Engineers are still busy clearing the mines. The Infantry Company is struggling in difficult terrain. The enemy has clearly not saved a penny in purchasing the mines!

[Puukkoo]

Turn 14

Sissi troops catch enemy HQ troops but they run away. Clever guys there.

Enemy 122mm howitzers hits our troops. Most of the shots land behind my main forces, but at least one Satchel Charge man becomes casualty.

Jaegers have both luck and misfortune. Sgt Raikkonen's squad steps onto mine and get ambushed by enemy infantry. Five men lost there. Another Jaeger squad follows our immediate artillery barrage and throws two enemy squads out of their positions. Little consolation to us.

Infantry Company has to deal with two enemy Maxims and one Russian as the sole survivor of his squad starts fanatic resistance and manages to hit one of our boys. Maxims take four out of our men and the fanatic one. The fanatic gets silenced but the machine guns are harder ones.

Two more scouts get caught by mines. War is hell.

[Puukkoo]

Turn 17

We'll never make the final hexes, but most of them anyway.

Enemy HQ troops turn up and Sissi troops slaughter them.

Scouts encounter 37mm AA Guns. I'll prepare to creep up on them but first I'll smash them with some 122mm hozitzers. The ErP4 Patrols shall destroy the guns while the rest of the Sissi Platoon head for the enemy light mortars.

Infantry Company deals good enough with the enemy Maxim Machine guns. Another enemy Infantry Squad disperses. We lose one guy in firefight.

Jaegers spot enemy self-propelled 57mm AT guns. I have left my AT-Guns too far to catch these big ones, but I give a try.

It seems that the last turns will be the toughest ones.

[Puukkoo]

DRAWGODDAMIT!!!

A couple of more turns and we would have showed the enemy some proper dimensions. It seems that it was our turn to learn something.

I did get a point victory, but still it is a humiliating draw.

I managed to destroy both of these SP-Guns and both 37mm AA-Guns and one light mortar and fended off all enemy attempts to retake the victory hexes (mostly with Sgt Rosberg's Jaeger squad - the heroes of this scenario with four kills including one AFV).

Scoring
Finns 1985
Soviets 695

Casualties
Finn 27 men
Soviets 96 men, 3 artillery, 2 AFV's.

A couple more turns and somewhat better history in here. All right, I just have to accept this result too.