BKC II - Prelude To Kursk

Scenario 6 of the series, Fighting the Great Patriotic War one battle at a time, written by Andrew Rolph and published by Miniature Wargames with Battlegames.

Rules used are Blitzkrieg Commander II by Specialist Military Publishing.

Most figures and models are Pendraken.

The initial layout.

Background
It’s May 1943 on the Eastern Front and both Hitler and Stalin wanted to continue offensives around Kursk. Stalin had been persuaded to absorb the initial German attacks and use the rebuilt Tank and Mechanised Corps in counter-attacks once the Germans had been ground to a halt against the Soviet defences.

In this battle, the Germans are trying to straighten out the front line by penetrating a small salient.

Layout
The initial layout. The table is 6' x 4'.
The game is 14-16 turns long.

The Soviets are defending from the east (far end) and can deploy up to 2/3 across the table - I.E. up to a line just beyond the small hill this side of the farm.
The Germans are attacking from the west (this end).

Objectives
Victory points are available for units remaining in good order at the end of the game. See scenario for details.


OOBs
NOTE : The OOBs for the Germans published in the magazine are incorrect. The full corrected version is in the download version referred to below.
Details for all the battles are in the downloads mentioned in my previous Post - Blitzkrieg Commander II revival.
For this battle the free download is available here.

Germans:
Panzer Battalion
1st battalion GD Grenadier Regt (includes half-tracks and some AFVs)
2nd battalion GD Grenadier Regt
Grenadier Regt HQ (represented by CO and supports in BKC)
2nd battalion GD Fusilier Regt
3rd battalion GD Fusilier Regt
Fusilier Regt HQ (represented by supports in BKC)
Off-table Artillery with 6 turns of ammo, and 3 Forward Observers

Soviets:
1/4th Mech Battalion
2/4th Mech Battalion
3/4th Mech Battalion
4th Mech Brigade HQ (represented by CO and supports in BKC)
Light Assault Gun Regiment
Heavy Assault Gun Regiment
Off-table Artillery with pre-registered targets and limited missions


Deployment
The Germans are attacking from the west (this end). One battalion may use a flank attack up to half way along the north or south side.
I deployed the three Soviet battalions defending the farm area, the wooded area and hill alongside, with the third further back covering breakthroughs.

The Game
The Germans throw the might of their Panzer battalion against the defenses on the hill to the south (right of the picture below). The 2nd battalion GD Grenadier Regt move alongside in support.
The two Fusilier battalions move up to threaten the farm.

The main German attack is against the hill to the south

BKC II - To The Next River

Scenario 5 of the series, Fighting the Great Patriotic War one battle at a time, written by Andrew Rolph and published by Miniature Wargames with Battlegames.

Rules used are Blitzkrieg Commander II by Specialist Military Publishing.

Most figures and models are Pendraken.

Background
It’s early in 1943 on the Eastern Front and, in their counter-offensive, the Soviets are becoming adept at river crossings. They would try to end the current offensive with a bridgehead over the next river so the the next stage of the offensive would start from a bridgehead instead of with a river crossing.

The Germans learnt to counterattack immediately, with whatever they had to hand, to eliminate such bridgeheads.

Layout
The initial layout. I used a table 6' x 4'.
The game is 14-16 turns long.
The river is fordable at the marshy areas.
The Germans are defending the river.
The Soviets are attacking from the east (this end).

Objectives
The main objective for each side is to have units in good order on both sides of the river at the end of the game.
Failing this there are victory points available for holding the town and remaining units in good order.


OOBs
Details are in the downloads mentioned in my previous Post - Blitzkrieg Commander II revival.

Germans:
Flak Battalion (includes an 88)
1/10th Security Battalion
45th Regt HQ kamfgruppe (mainly engineers)
81st Sturm battalion (StuGs)
1/12th Infantry
1/67th PzJaeger battalion (Marder IIIs)

Soviets:
11th Tank Brigade
59th Tank Brigade
Mechanised Rifles of 11th Tank Brigade
Mechanised Rifles of 59th Tank Brigade
99th Motorcycle Btn (with light tank support)
Light Assault Gun Btn (SU76s)
Two IL-2 Stormovik sorties

Deployment
The Soviets are attacking from the east (this end).
The Germans are initially just defending the bridge with a Flak Battalion with reinforcements rushing in.
As I was playing solo I only rolled for the arrival position of the German reinforcements when they were due to turn up.

The Game
The Soviets start well with the 11th Tank Brigade with infantry support heading for the marshy area to the south of the bridge (left in this picture). The 59th Tank Brigade with infantry support head north to threaten the town and bridge, making use of the hills as cover.
The 99th m/c Btn head straight forwards to see if they can rush the bridge.

The Soviets move off as planned.