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Indeed they're putting pressure on my hidden AT guns in the South. They received a small surprise. A Flammenpanzer II burst through the side of a wooden house and anhillated the calavry squad that had just attacked the AT gun.

While listening to the screams of their comrades, the T-34 crews fail to notice the rumbling of of the advancing Tiger. The lead T-34 notices a flash to their right flank, and a huge explosion behind them marks the death of their wingman.

In the center, a crew puts up a brave fight against an SS squad, but dies under MG and rifle-grenade fire.

Nothing happens in the North, as the bridge there is destroyed and crossing is no longer possible.

And in the enemy's rear, we are unable to raise our SF squad...

Very interesting game. I love Gem vs Rus games.

In the city centre, a T34 advances on the SS inf unit...causing casualties with main gun and machine gun.

We try to rally our troops in the south, who were under fire but with no success, a routed T34 tries to put some distance between itself and the advancing Tiger...

The 76mm AA gun crew try to put paid to the Quad AA HT that had decimated its crew.. firing two shots...but they were more in panic than with any great conviction...they may be their last...

At last our artillery find their range...and 122mm shells fall on the Quad AA, Tiger and engineers holed up in a building...no damage is seen to be done to the vehicles but several direct hits on the house must have depleted the infantry there...

And now, the hunters become the hunted…

The Soviet tanks and SMG squads that were pushing up rapidly from the South had a surprise in store for them. Two T-34’s supporting the advance of SMG squads through the streets had their guns trained straight ahead firing on SS squads fighting house to house.

An SS MG42 team had been improving their position in a wooden hut on a hilltop in the city’s center. They watched the Soviet tanks roll forward with their SMG escorts, and recon teams. As soon as the Soviet tanks rolled to a stop, they contacted the TF commander. The MG42 erupted from their hidden position, raking the closest T-34. The infantry aboard dismounted in chaos as two of their squad were killed. The hatches on the tank slammed shut. The SS MG crew radioed success, and moments later, the German noose tightened.

Amidst the confusion, the observant TC of the buttoned T-34 spotted the Tiger cresting the hill to their North, shouting at his gunner. Their turret spun and the gunner fired. Unfortunately their round fell short, spraying dirt in the air before the Tiger. The German gunner was not as anxious, but the momentum and change in elevation made stabilizing his sights impossible, and his shots missed the nearest tank. To his flank however, a STuG crested the hill. This time, the second T-34 spotted the movement and fired, striking the STuG, and stunning it’s crew. But the brave German TC continued shouting orders, rallying his crew, and their next shot struck the Southernmost T-34 in the side and it went up in a ball of flame. Another STuG in hiding was called up to dispatch the remaining T-34. But en-route, was fired upon by another hidden T-34 to the West. They pivoted, and fired. One shot was all that was needed at that distance. The Soviet crew bailed out of their burning tank.

A crew laid a smoke canister on the road to obscure an AT gun they suspected was still sighted down the long street. With the smoke covering their crossing, a Flammenpanzer II sped forward stopping 80m from the buttoned T-34 and retreating SMG squad. With a roar, both flame throwers fired, covering the T-34 and it exploded, killing the entire crew. The SMG squad ran from the flames straight at the German tank in a panic and it fired its machine gun at them, killing three more.

A SkdFz 251/10 sped forward of the advancing armor to flush out and destroy a Soviet recon team.

To the Northeast, we suffer a small setback as an SS squad creeps through the fog and haze only to find a waiting SO engineer squad, and they’re forced to retreat.

In the South, 122mm shells hammered a squad hidden in a house there, but the fragments bounced harmlessly off of the Tiger’s thick skin. It rolled forward and blasted a formerly unnoticed Soviet cavalry squad, forcing them to retreat. The SkdFz 7/1 crew held it’s ground and eliminated the remaining crew of the 76mm AA gun. Another infantry squad in the area assisted, only to discover a second 76mm gun! The STuGs in reserve rolled Southward and engaged the remaining gun. Its transport was destroyed (a GAZ-AA truck), and a few of the gun's crew were killed.

The Tiger team in the far South continues to rattle the Soviet forces there, killing off more members of an SMG squad.

We will now show these slovenly boors what a well-trained force can do…

The battle goes badly... reports from all sectors of enemy advancing...but it is our defenders who are suffering the casualties...

In the north our engineers finally dispose of the SS unit near the river bank...but are hit by sniper fire.. pinning them down.

In the centre we cannot rally our troops..they have an unfortunate reaction to incoming fire and rush the enemy instead of falling back where they can be rallied by our commanders.

Our forces seem incapable of inflicting any significant losses on the enemy and this does not bode well for future operations.

We are unable to do anything about the push through our lines to the south of the city...our forces either freezing or firing in panic.
Three T34's try to take on a Tiger at close quarters...less than 500m range. One lies destroyed, the other two at the mercy of enemy forces... they report only hitting the Tiger once...and that just bounced off...what hope do we have.. we cannot have a 3 to 1 advantage all the time and even when we do.. the Tiger is still there.....other commanders will have to be contacted if we survive this engagement to discover how to eliminate this dangerous cat..!!

We are crashing forward like a slow, metal wave. Three more T-34's are destroyed (South, and two in the center).

Two more rubber rafts are spotted and dispatched in the North by a vigilent Schwimwagon and SkdFz 251/10. Bodies are seen floating down-river. In the Northern center, a sniper kills another member of a 12.7mm HMG crew.

Calavry squad is eliminated. One 76mm AA gun is hit by a Flammenpanzer, and another has 7 of its crew killed in the center South. A Dshk HMG is spotted and pinned as well. SMG squads killed with gunfire or flamethrowers.The SO 122mm fire continues to harass us in the area as we press onward.

And our rockets fall once again, paving our way into the center VHs.

Lo and behold! A Tiger finished off its prey in the center and spots 4 more T-34/41s en-route to their position. Both the Tiger and his STuG wingmen engage but miss, and are missed by return fire. A SkdFz 251/10 to the North is alerted on the radio and fires its 37mm at the left flank of the column. A lucky shot knocks bodies off the trail vehicle as it's hatches slam shut.

High Command has insisted we break through imediately, and our troops redouble their efforts.

Our forces continue to attempt to resist the enemy advance...although in the main halfheartedly...

Our main success was the destruction of Stug in the city centre by 2 T34's and the elimination of an enemy patrol in the same area.

In the south we cannot claim any successes..the enemy flame tank despite taking some small arms hits wasnt knocked out by the infantry squad less than 50m away...3 times they tried to assault it...only to find that nothing seemed to happen except they became heavily supressed..but each time they rallied. These squads have NO AT capability at all.. not even a Molotov between them..!!!:eek:
As such the Flame tank exacted an easily taken revenge on them .. wiping out half the squad.
We cannot rally the rest of out troops...it seems like the losses we have taken in tanks will soon be matched by similar levels of infantry casualties...

Artillery fire managed to pound a Tiger in the south...at least 4 or five hits in the area.. but not even a scratch on the beast to show for it.
We are having trouble contacting out FO and so accurate artillery strikes that would be so useful now on the advancing forces are off target or cannot be contacted...a sorry state of affairs all round..

Robin

Story of turn 13: The KV-1 quiets its critics this turn.

In the North, very little action. In the center, a STuG is hit by an unspotted 76mm AT gun, but luckily it ricochets off, allowing the STuG to dash behind a structure. The fog of war prevents our forces up-river from the Soviet-held crossing unable to assess their defenses.

In the center, an amazing battle rages. An SS squad attempts to scout the streets from a building just North of the SO position, but they’re spotted. An OT-34 opens up, killing two of the squad in the building and they retreat into the building next door. (but not before spotting another T-34 in position slightly West). A SP Rocket-launcher rolls forward and direct-fires a flame rocket into the building housing the SMG squad, and they’re engulfed.

Then, to the South, another SS Squad emerges from the smoke only to be engaged by an SMG squad in a building across the square, killing two of their number, but the SS hold their ground. Their Half-track rolls forward in support and bathes the building in AA MG fire, pinning the SO defenders. A SP 150mm IG pulls up to their rear and blasts two huge holes in the building, killing two SO troops in return. Then the Tigers pounced. To the rear of the SS squad, a Tiger rolled from the fog and the OT-34 to the North didn’t even notice. The first two shots somehow missed (81%), but the third struck home, destroying the flame tank entirely. With SO armor in overwatch now destroyed, the SS squad eliminated a nearby vehicle crew and Dshk HMG.

With the Soviet defenses crumbling, the building the original SS squad had just vacated explodes outwards as a Tiger smashed through it. The speed of the advance catches the SO tank crew off-guard. Before they can spin their turret around, the Tiger fires its 88mm, and another T-34 is destroyed.

A STuG rolls past the Southern Tiger and blasts the fleeing SO SMG squad, and they flee into the streets, where they meet their end.

Buoyed by their success, a Schwimwagon advances into the SO-held VHs just below the Tiger, and is immediately destroyed by a hidden KV-1. The MG crew it was carrying is stunned as it’s thrown from the wreckage. Another Schwimwagon attempts to roll past the rear of the KV-1 and is destroyed as well. Then a STuG lurches forward, only to be one-shotted as well by the last SO holdout. A few more GE infantry units attempt to attack the dug-in tank, and fail. Thinking the KV-1’s crew cannot possibly load and fire again this quickly, another STuG rolls forward and is obliterated by the KV-1.

The advance in the Center is halted, and the German Commander calls in more heavy fire support.

To the far South, a Tiger aligns its sights with the rear of a T-34 and strikes home with its first shot.

Just north of the now burning T-34, a Flammenpanzer eliminates two more SO SMG squads, and an SS squad takes out more SO troops. STuGs mop up more Soviet crew and infantry, to include another 12.7mm HMG.

As Stalin’s troops rush to shore up their collapsing front, the scream of rockets again fills the air, and the Soviet positions are blasted again.

Excellent turn on both sides.

In an effort to capitalise on our meagre successes, we try to bolster some of those brave defenders who have survived the enemy onslaught.

In the centre, withering enemy fire makes it all but impossible to rally our troops.

On the northern outskirts of the city, a MC recon is sent out to assess enemy positions. They come out from behind a building only to be raked with close range fire from a StuG less than 50m away. Needless to say they take casualties and the roar of the motorbikes is silenced.

A T34 to the south of the city catches a glimpse of an enemy observer and fires rounds towards them, joined shortly afterwards by an AC. They duck down under cover, we do not know if they have lost radio contact with there artillery.
In the south, despite a frantic search of the area for that dreaded flametank, our attempts have not turned up anything. No doubt it will be back soon.....

Our communist foes do not lie down when they sense defeat. Instead, they continue to fire!

In the North, no action, but in the center, again a whirlwind. An SS MMG squad is shot to pieces by a hidden SO SMG squad, but rallies and ends up finishing them off. Skdfz 251/10 rolls in and provides suppressive fire after a STuG in a building takes out the OT-34 in overwatch. Another STuG, slightly South misinterprets a radio command and dashes forward with a recon squad riding shotgun, right into the path of a waiting T-34, and is destroyed. The same T-34 then OP-fires a Tiger closing in on it and registers a kill!

Slightly further South yet, more SO SMG and Engineer units are found, by an unlucky Schwimwagon with a sniper aboard. The Molotov arcs through the air and lands inside the car, killing all aboard. But a 150mm SiG finishes them off. The KV-1 is finally done in, by none other than the Flammenpanzer II. Right as it explodes, a hail of Soviet rockets begins to fall. To the far South, the Red Hoard suffers numerous infantry losses, but manages to ambush a SkdFz 7/1, blowing it to bits. Tigers are prowling the streets angrily for revenge. In total, 7 SO SMG squads, 2 Engineer squads, a Molotov AT squad, and crew are killed in the swirling melee. Another T-34 in the center has it’s track shot off by a German AT Rifle team hiding in the wreckage of a Schwimwagon. Immobile, the T-34 suffers two hits from a STuG and a hornet’s nest of fire from a closing SS squad, but remains intact for now.

76mm AT guns still hold off our forces at crucial junctions.

Far in the enemy’s rear, another Schwimwagon infiltrates and destroys an AT Rifle team guarding a somehow intact wooden bridge.

Somewhere lurk 4 more T-34s. The battle for the center promises to be a bloody one…

Gooooooo............Vathailos

**bows**

Thanks Viking! I'll need all the luck I can get. Red D's a good opponent, with a few moves up his sleeve. He mixes his armor and infantry quite well.

This one could go either way at this point...

EDIT:

I do have to say that this map, terrain-wise, is one of the most enjoyable I've played.

We have a real river (depth -3) running through the Northern part of the map, several bridges crossing it (or were ). There is wooded terrain on either side, and in the South. There's urban terrain in the center. And we've even got 20-height hexes hills!

Great for terrain fans!!! Thanks RD

Our rocket bombardment has failed to stem the tide of the onrushing assault.

In the city centre, we dispose of the crew of the Tiger, ensuring that cat will never roar again.
An infantry squad leave the safety of their building to try to disable another Tiger less than 100m away. Despite the tank being buttoned up, the crew are alert enough to spot the advancing Soviet squad. The 88 opens up...the squad is cut to pieces by the blast, the remnants are then raked by merciless MG fire.

One of the enemy's dreaded Flametanks is occupying the centre VH's, the nearby infantry are unable todo anything about it. A T34 tries to manouvre into position...takes 2 shots at it as well as covering it with MG fire...once again. NONE of the shots hit..

A BA10 AC decides that as most of the units in the area are so suppressed it will scoot around the VH area in the centre, regaining those lost to enemy occupation..I fear it is a lost cause..as the enemty is far more capable of rallying its troops than we are...

In the south we are lucky to find any units we can control, they are either running away or have been eliminated. Tanks are scarce now and cannot be sacrificed . Our infantry do manage to eliminate en enemy FO and a HMG though

Aside

Time and time again this battle, the SS troops have proven their worth. They rally after rocket bombardments, and after being blasted point-blank by SO AFVs.

I’m actually playing the Soviets in another game where my troops won’t rally. Knowing their historical tendencies however, I typically only buy conscripts and guards (which are amazing) when I’m playing them (unless infiltrators are allowed). Another thing about them is their gunners typically tend to be less accurate than the Germans. Dwayne just killed an IS-2 with a Hetzer on his turn where my IS couldn’t hit on the OP-fire. I know how you feel. If you want to see true “super-troops”, play a scenario as the Japanese. Even their regular infantry squads can fight to the last man. When they’re shot at, they’re not pinned! They’re incredible. If I’m playing GE, flamethrower engineers are my favorite in low-vis, SS in higher vis situations. Soviets I’ve already talked about, US? Rangers of course . I find that no matter what country, low-value recon/suppression troops mixed with expensive defend/assault troops are the best way to go. I don’t think you can beat MC troops for recon assets.

As we’re reaching our final opportunity to grab ground, I’m rolling slowly forward toward the VHs in the South with my infantry leading. They spot your units and the flame tanks flush them out. One thing you could do is set your range greater on your SMG squads, at least that way they’d pin more of my SS and Engineers and my armor would have to roll on unaided.

That said, in the North, an already mauled SS squad stumbles on yet another T-34, and are shot up in the process. But with the tank’s attention forward, a STuG crashes through the building behind it and shoots it in the rear. It explodes, and our follow-on forces eliminate its crew and another SMG squad that was its security to the South. We receive OP-fire from a large AT gun in the highway call yet more artillery down on it before advancing.

We learn a valuable lesson in the enemy’s rear as a recon element jumped too soon. They dashed over a VH there, and sped to engage a quad-MG AA truck. The Recon squad misses, and it cut to ribbons by MG fire. The Schimwagon that was carrying them speeds off before the AA MG can train on it. Only to round the corner and find out that Katyushas can OP-fire as well!! They miss, but dramatically reduce the movement available to the Schwim. It’s end may be near…

To the South, our SS and Engineers bound house to house, supported by Flammenpanzers and Tigers, rooting out the remaining SO infantry. A flame tank is raked by 12.7mm fire from hidden MGs. We’ll have to find and at a minimum suppress these… Tigers roll forward.

Two turns left, and we’re not in control of one whole segment of VHs, and the enemy still has all his “home” VHs as well.

We trying to contact any remaining units...some are managing to call in.. but all are either barely holding on or falling back...we can only assume those not responding have either been overrun or are fighting their last...

We have again had to be vigilant in the rear areas of our position...more special forces have been spotted...we have engaged them once again.. but they are much closer to the area we have been designated to hold...few assets are left to prevent the enemy advancing on us...

In the far north, we flushed out an enemy motorised patrol. The patrol was eliminated, but the Schwimmwagen sped off. A truck carrying engineers was sent to track them down. They found them skulking down a dirt road, evidently they had been slowed down by a Katyusha firing at about 300m or so.. they must have been so startled by the deafing blast of two rockets landing nearby they must have missed a gear as they tried to escape.. this made them easier to find. They have now been eliminated too.

As the enemy Stugs roll toward the southern VH area, we have tried to slow the enemy down. A T34 burst through the side of a wooden building, dropping off SMG squad who assault the Stug with a Molotovs...they fail, but also engage the accompanying infantry scattering them. The T34 finally has the satisfaction of destroying the Stug

A desperate attempt to regain the central area ended in failure as the T34 was destroyed by nearby infantry.

A Mot Rifle Sqd tries to assault the nearby Tiger, they move through the wood up to the lumbering giant. But once again.. they fail, but infantry travelling with them take casualties. The Tiger needs no second invitation and blasts the attackers....thats one more squad that wont be radioing in when we withdraw shortly.

A BA10 in the rear area stumbles across a german HT carrying infantry on its way to fight its way to our main VH area. The AC fires at the infantry.. then has to withdraw as ammo is low...

Our artillery targets the central area...if we cannot hold it.. then the enemy will have a lot of rubble to clear.. we shall not let them take this city intact...!!!:mad:

Now all we can do is wait to see what the enemy does before we withdraw...It has been a very hard fight.. those troops who survive and make it back to our lines shall surely learn major lessons from this.. and bolstered by their experience will fight better in hte next battle...this fight will be a long one.. but there is only one way this will end.. they will be thrown out of our Motherland...

Robin

As we try to force the SO defenders out of the key terrain, they (as expected) continue their tenacious defense.

To the North, we dislodge more infantry units, scattering them with cannon and machinegun fire. They have however slowed our advance and time is critical now. An SS squad is engaged by a 76mm AT gun as they creep down the street. They are pinned, and a Tiger rolls forward to spot the gun. The tank is almost on top of the gun before it can be spotted through the smoke, and it’s MG fire alerts the SS to it’s position. They suppress the gun and destroy it, but a SO Truck hauling the gun speeds off at the sight of the Tiger. A SkdFz 251/10 catches the truck at an intersection, and after several shots, destroys it. The Northern portion of the city is eerily silent.

In the middle of the city, we hold almost all of the key terrain, but SO SMG squads are spotted darting in and out of buildings to our West, and woods to our East. Two squads are caught in the open or flushed out of buildings. They will fight no more, but the terrain is far from securely held.

To the South, the enemy still holds position. We roll forward with Tigers and STuGs, and our infantry creeps forward in their wake. We spot SO SMG squads and even crews in houses all along our route. The flame tanks effectively ferret them out of hiding. Our forces advance cautiously there, succeeding against the infantry, but the process is far too slow for command’s liking. One STuG advances rapidly with SS riding shotgun, to the position where a SO AT gun was spotted. Hoping the mortar fire had kept their heads down, they rolled almost to its last known position, and small arms fire erupts from the house immediately before it. The SS are raked from the STuG. When it returns fire against the SMG squad, the hidden AT gun takes a shot at the STuG, barely missing. In an instant, the vehicle commander discharges the smoke canisters as they break contact. “Suppressed? I think not!”

Yet another T-34 is spotted in the remnants of a wooden shack as it fires on a speeding STuG. Thankfully, the shot flies wide.

Our last Special Operations squad in the rear retreats from heavy fire from an armored car, and the squad leader successfully calms his troops, they hurry up the road to the hilltop and meet another SO truck barreling down the road toward them. The machinegunner drops immediately and engages the oncoming truck, and it explodes as it’s raked with bullets.

Our few remaining elements of our recon screen shoot Westward along the river, where they surprisingly encounter no resistance…

What has the enemy got in store for us?

Our dominance in the North is no longer in doubt, but we pay a high price in the South.

In the South, the Soviets have a 76mm IG left, 5 SMG squads (one of which ambushes and kills a Tiger!). A Flammenpanzer makes a mad dash and grabs one of the 4 VHs in the most Southern cluster. But our infantry is riddled by fire from SMG squads and HMGs alike. Three more T-34's are found! And one finds an unlucky STuG. We destroy one of theirs in turn, but don't have the time to bring the Tigers from the North to bear.

We killed 3 more infantry units in our push in the South. In the enemy's rear, he loses his home VHs to an attack by a SF squad, HT, and recon squad in a schwimwagon. A SP AA quad-MG fires upon us as we approach, but misses. We miss the remnants of a SMG squad on the last intact bridge with MG fire.

In the center, we solidified our position, ambushing the last T-34 there, and another SMG squad meets a brutal end courtesy of a flame tank there. We even found remnants of another one with a recon patrol securing the last hex there. They are flushed out and eliminated.

The SO Infantry snatched a crushing victory from my grasp, with their ambushes (not the least expensive of which was the Tiger).

Final score:

8200 GE
3700 SO

Marginal Victory GE

An EXCELLENT game, but CPT Pixel's having a bad influence on Red

Turns out, some ammo trucks were re-named to mundane transport trucks *grumbles*

We've agreed in the future to "subterfuge" only if both sides agree on the following pretext:

One player unilaterally reducing the "true-ID" ability of his opponent (every SPWAW unit has that as the default setting in the game) is not proper. If you don't tell your opponent that you may be doing this, all your units still ID the enemy at 100%, whereas the enemy no longer has that infallibility.

Looking forward to the next round with Red D, a quality player on the rise!