Bolt Action - Game Report 21

Double Envelopment – Little Saturn Offensive Phase II Feb 1943

Introduction

Game 5, the final game. This time I was back to the desert-ish board for a game against Doug and his Germans.

Situation

Operation Little Saturn has made rapid progress to recover territory lost to the Germans in 1942. The 1075th Rifle Regiment last mission significantly contributed to the recovery of Krasnador from the remnants of the 1st Panzer Army retreating the Black Sea Coast. The next phase of the operation is to seize key objectives that would lead to the encirclement and destruction of the remnants of 1Pz Army and prevent their evacuation from the Black Sea Coast.

Enemy Forces

Army scouts had reported that there were German Brandenburger special forces seen arriving at a temporary airfield near the coats. Army level intelligence has seen to dismiss this sighting as an error and places no credibility to it. There remains however some light armoured and recon forces in the immediate area of 1075th Rifle Regiment’s area of operations.

Friendly Forces

Captain Vasya Rimkov 4th Coy, 1075 Rifle Regt remains in command.. He retained Senior Lieutenant Alexey Nofkirov’s platoon, with three sections made up from conscripts with no battle experience. 4th Coy was supported by an early model of the T34-85 with a tank rider squad, a scout car for recon, a ZIS-3, a sniper team, three tank hunter teams, and a battalion mortar for support. The Artillery Battalion provided an observer. Division has a Scout Squad under his command for the operation.

Mission

4th Coy is to seize the key objectives to allow 46th Rifle Corps to encircle and destroy the remnants of 1st Panzer Army.

Execution

Captain Rimkov’s plan was to focus on attacking the left flank objectives. He would support this with the Scout Squad from the centre, and with an artillery strike. He would protect his depth objectives with his infantry squads.

Battle Report

The Scout Squad successfully infiltrated and then moved to seize the building. The presence of enemy armour was a concern.

The sniper engaged the German sniper and destroyed it, after which he turned his attention to the artillery. The artillery officer prepared to bring an artillery strike down on the artillery position. Although the strike deviated wildly, the weight of the Soviet artillery strike was sufficient to destroy a recon team on their motorcycles and to continue to suppress the German artillery piece.

The Scout Squad were forced to evacuate the building because of the weight of fire. They were hotly pursued by the German armour. Eventually the German firepower overwhelmed them and they were destroyed in front of the doorway.

On the right flank the infantry seized the high ground and engaged in a fire fight with the German infantry. The tank hunters tried to move forward to engage the enemy armour, unsuccessfully. The infantry on the hill would eventually be dispersed because of the German Machine Gun fire.

The T34 moved to support the right flank, its MGs were useful forcing the German’s back.

The T34 continued to advance, and engage the Germans on the right flank. However, the German armour intervened and managed a rear shot against the T34 which destroyed it.

Unfortunately the reports of Brandenbugers was not overstated, and proved to be a real threat. They intervened towards the end of the battle in the depth of our position and seized both the left and right objectives. The Tank rider squad with its SMGs tried to counter attack as did the artillery observer but it was al too late.

Outcome

A close fought victory to the Germans. An object lesson in how troops with the “Outflanking” capability, the Brandenburgers like my Scout Squad, are very useful to secure depth objectives.