Forgotten Battles - Komarow 1914

[StuccoFresco]

The battle of Komarow represents a meeting engagement between Russians and Austrians in Galicia, and I decide to take command of the Russian forces trying to exact a decisive victory out of a difficult and unpredictable scenario.


TURN 1-4
All my units are out of supplies, and it seems I have no supply sources available. Is this WAD or due to a bad porting from the TOAW 3 version? Well, anyway I decide to pull back behind rivers and wait for the Austrians.


TURN 5
The enemy is approaching, but also not. A lot of cavalry pushing ahead, and infantry sort of following but also shuffling around. I push back a couple of cavalry units.


TURN 6
The Austrians are advancing in a linear fashion against Tarnoghora with 8 Infantry Regiments and a Cavalry one. They have amassed themselves in the town, thightly packed: very convenient for my artillery, that gives them a beating. The XXV Korps will try to withstand their assaults while its reserve tries a flanking attack from the west.

More Austrian units have taken Ilowiec and are advancing against Grabowiec, where the XIX Korps is waiting. My lines are a bit stretched out there.

Further East, the Dragomirov Group has fought back the attempt of Gruppe Wittmann to cross the river at Werbkovice. Weak enemy units have taken Hrubieszow, but the V Korps isn't worried.

XVII Korps guards the eastern flank and I'm wondering if a flank attack against the enemy that is amassing south of Werbkovice can be attempted. There is however an enemy infantry force around Dolhobyczow, so I have to see what are their intentions first.

Other units of Dragomirov Group have taken Sokal, but enemy infantry is advancing so they pulled back.





TURN 7
The bulk of the Austrian troops has reached my lines. They are numerous. And of course in the decisive moment they get two turns in a row, so they manage to break through the gaps in my lines beating back my cavalry, albeit suffering sensible losses.

In my turn I have to scramble to close said gaps with my reserves. There is a huge enemy breakthrough south of Wojslawice, and at the enemy has smashed through my lines at Wojslawice and threatens to open a direct route to Chelm. Cavalry elements of the Don Cossacks are sent to try and slow down the enemy.

An enemy advance SE of Surchow is beaten back, as is the one SW of Teratyl. I also launch a counterattack west of Grabowiec, trying to threaten the flank of enemy 6th Korps.

In a swift counterattack, I isolate Gruppe Nagy near Hrubieszow, and try to eliminate it. Despite suffering devastating losses, the enemy doesn't surrender and hopes for salvation.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 8
The Austrians have achieved a total breakout at Wojslawice. Fortunately, reserves has arrived north of Chelm, so I can try to plug the hole. I'm also trying to break thorugh the flanks of the 6th and 16th Austrian Korps that are pushing through the gap, mainly by executing a counterattack NW of Grabowiec that could potentially bring the town back in my hands.

The remains of Gruppe Nagy has been rescued by an Austrian counterattack, but I will now shift my offensive to the NW of Hrubieszow. The Austrian 17th Korps have suffered numerous losses so I will try to exploit its weakness.

Austrian 14th Corps is trying to take Budiatuchi and has pushed forward an infantry regiment over the river. This however makes it vulnerable to a counterattack and potentially an encirclement.

In the west, I counterattack again the enemy spearhead south of Surchow, pushing it back behind the river.

The counterattacks are effective: many Austrian units are badly mauled and forced to retreat. There is however no major progress toward any encirclement, so no decisive victory anywhere yet. I'm advancing through what seems to be a veritable gap between Austrian 6th and 14th Korps south of Teratyl toward Werbkovice.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 9
Austrian forces attack repeatedly at Tarnoghora and Grabowiec, trying to dislodge my units, but suffer heavy losses and fail. There is however a succesfull Austrian attack that drives back one of my Reserve Regiments SW of Tarnoghora. Also, the breakthrough at Wojslawice is getting bigger as more Austrian units march through it.

I decide to keep up the pace of my counteroffensive, trying to beat back as much enemy units I can. My units keep advancing through the Teratyl-Werbkovice gap, pushing back and decimating the couple Austrian regiments there; the offensive almost reaches Grabowiec, in the rear of the enemy breakthrough at Wojslavice. Units of the XVII Korps retake Krilow, while the V Korps is engaging enemy 14th Korps all over the front and slowly pushing it back.

Elements of the Dragomirov Group destroys Austrian 44.SchD HQ.

[StuccoFresco]

TURNS 10 and 11
The enemy has tried to retake the initiative, but the breakout at Wojslavice has been contained, and my offensives has forced him on the defensive. Cavalry and infantry reinforcements have arrived from the south, and take Belz and Uhnow. Three infantry regiment are attacking toward Sokal, where a single Austrian regiment tries to defend the town.

Enemy 14th and 17th Korps doesn't seem able to advance any further, and they are facing several counterattacks.




TURN 12
An Austrian regiment has been encircled and forced to surrender near Krilow, and now the Budiatichi front is broken: the austrians have only an handful of regiments around.

Grabowiec is retaken by the XIX Korps, isolating the Austrian troops in the Wojslavice area.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 13
The enemy tries desperately to open a passage for its surrounded troops at Wojslavice to retreat through, but fails. Along the front, several attempts are made to recover the situation, but too little, too late. The battle is over: the Russian Empire has won. Every Austrian formation has been badly mauled, and the troops isolated at Wojslavice will be forced to surrender. This will very probably lead to a Russian breakthrough in this region.



END OF SCENARIO
It's an interesting scenario. There aren't too many units around, there is a clear distintion between formations, and the map is big enough to make maneuvers and significant choices about unit disposition and the vector of offensives. I like this: I don't like moving hundreds of units every turn, or worse doing it in a small map where I can't move an inch because every hex is packed with enemy or friendly units.

Unfortunately, there is some issue with supplies: there aren't any. Both sides are always out of supplies, probably because the supply hexes are "walled off" to avoid enemy conquest, that (I presume) would prevent reinforcements' arrival.

The scenario is also a bit short: 12 turns aren't much and while they are sufficient to win with a Significant Victory (136/250), it could be a bit longer. 15 turns, maybe.

[rhinobones]

Komarow was one of several scenarios authored by Pavel in the mid 2000’s. As an Eastern European his interest was in WWI battles and he loved to experiment with modifying map graphics. I haven’t seen his name on this forum for quite some time, so I am not sure he is still active. Years ago we had substantial communications and his work inspired many of us to experiment with early versions of TOAW.


Komarow, amongst many other TOW 3 scenarios, was ported from 3 to IV with little attention paid to the play mechanics between the versions. I think the need to fine tune is what current TOAW IV players inherit.

As is, from your AAR, it seems that you enjoyed the scenario as is. I’ve played it from the other side and had an equaling enjoyable scenario. Suggest that you try all of Pavel’s scenarios.

Regards, RhinoBones

PS – As I recall the name is Pavel. If anyone knows better, please post a correction.
PSS – Enjoyed your AAR. More please.

[StuccoFresco]

Yes, they are enjoyable indeed: the unit and map scale allows the player to make effective maneuvers and choose the "kind" of battle he wants to play. There is a considerable thought put in the reinforcements' system, that makes possibile to play the battle very differently just by choosing different Theater Options. There is a sensible difference in quality between the two sides, but not too much, so as the Russian player you have to be careful but you don't have to massively outnumber the enemy 5 to 1 to win a minor fight like in WW2 scenarios.

I have some minor doubts about some of the details: a small defence bonus should be awarded in town hexes, and units seems really slow to fortify their hexes.

I've played Lodz, too, I'll post an AAR in the next few days.


I'll probably mod the WW1 scenarios to make supply points active, and thus allowing proper management of the supply system. That will, probably, lead to different strategies and outcome since distance from supply sources and encirclements will take a toll on whoever moves his units too recklessly.