German tactics failed inside the confines of Stalingrad as the Russians were able to dig in and fight from every building. The confines of the city stifled manoeuvre, and German superiority in artillery, air power, and armor were rendered ineffective as the infantry of both sides intermingled while fighting for each block of the city. This was Rattenkrieg – the war of the rats.
Attacker: German (94th Infantry Division)
Defender: Russian (62nd Army/Ad Hoc "Shock Group")
6 turns
Players: 2 OBA: None Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:11.0 D:13.0
AFVs: A:0 D:0
Guns: A:0 D:0
Misc Rules:
German 5-4-8s have +2 Smoke Exponent; make smoke on dr of 4 or less.
Map Board(s):
z
Overlays:
NONE
Errata (source)
Players wanting to play this game/Request a match:
My third time with this scenario, against my third different opponent. And, pardon the cliche, the third time was the charm.
Eric set up with most of his force deployed in the buildings running along the N6-P4 road. Although that provided me with several targets to mass fire on for my first turn prep, he was able to put enough interlocking fields of fire down that it ruled out moving into the street on the first turn. By his own admission, his one mistake was putting four squads and an LMG on the western half (his left) but with no leader to rally them. And my 4-6-7 with LMG and 9-1 leader set up in the I4 building pretty much bisected the battlefield and cut those guys off.
I set up three assault teams: left, right, and center. On the right, (western end) I quickly got across the road and drove his broken squads out of the first VC building. This is where he really missed having a leader there. However, my attack teams in the center and left were stymied. It seemed like in every fire phase I would either roll too high, or I would roll low, and he would roll lower. He posted his MMG with a 4-4-7 and 8-1 leader in J5 which really bogged down my center attack. Despite throwing a blizzard of bullets at those guys, I could not budge them. I am not exaggerating when I say they survived 5 consecutive MCs without so much as a pin. In desperation, I even tried to burn him out with a long range FT shot, only to have it flame out on the first shot.
By turn four, I was starting to worry I would run out of time to grab the other two VC buildings and would have to start throwing bodies into the street regardless of how many GO squads he had, But suddenly in one fire phase all the dice went my way, and combined with some well-placed smoke, almost everything he had on that side was broken or pinned. To add salt to the wound, Eric kept rolling high on his reinforcements, and they didn't come into the game until turn five. By then I was firmly entrenched in all three VC buildings, and they had to advance into a buzzsaw just to get on the board.
A fun game, and Eric put up a good fight. I think if he could have gotten his reinforcements in a couple turns earlier it would have been tough for the Germans to pull it out.
2022-05-25
(D) Anders Björnberg
vs
David K
Russian win
Ended with a German surrender in turn 6 after it was impossible to take more than one building. The star of the battle was one sole Russian unit with a LMG in the middle in H6 that managed to brake several units and hold back the German demolition charges.
2022-04-13
(A) Jack Wilson
vs
Ken Walsh
Russian win
Played this as the Germans. Ken used the suggested set up from the Bonsai Mag article. It essentially puts almost the whole Russian OB on the front line to contest first turn street crossing by the Germans. No doubt it gives the Germans pause before venturing out from the safety of their own stone buildings. The downside (IMO) is that with the Germans setting up second, they can set up killer FGs on selected units with the first prep fire.
I attacked heavy on my left (eastern end) hoping to capture the two VC buildings on that side early. Although it was touch and go, I managed to secure them both by T4. However, on my far right (western end) four conscript squads and a 7-0 leader withstood attack after attack from 4 MMC and a LMG. And just when I started to finally make some progress, his reinforcements arrived to shore up the defense of the last VC building. The game came down to two Melees one of which I won, the other ended in Melee on the last turn, keeping me from gaining control of the last VC building.
If coming down to a last turn CC, in the last hex, of the last VC building is the definition of play balance, then this scenario is well balanced. An interesting storyline developed when we realized the surviving conscript squad that held the last hex, had held that hex from turn one and survived multiple FG attacks, including a PBF from hefty FG.
Enjoyable game and recommended if you want an opportunity to experience urban tactics and using toys like DC and FTs.
2022-04-08
(A) Jack Wilson
vs
Dale Wetzelberger
Russian win
Had the privilege to play this great SK1 infantry scenario with none other than Dale Wetzelberger whose 9-2 leader counter in the original SL we all remember. Although he is primarily a full ASL player, he agreed to "step down" to SK for me. As can be seen by the ratings, this is a is very well-balanced scenario. The Germans have the usual cool urban warfare toys, plus their 5-4-8 elite squads can lay smoke on a 4 or less dr. The Russians have the usual cannon-fodder conscripts backed by enough 1st line squads and MGs to make life in OG precarious for the German. Add to that the "shock" platoon led by a 9-2 leader that can enter as early as turn two, and the German player faces a real challenge.
Dale was the Russians and skillfully set up to avoid any serious first turn Prep fire, while at the same time keeping enough LOS in play to make crossing the road dangerous. In retrospect, my attack plan was so-so. I hit hard on both flanks, taking the far western building fairly early and the far eastern building shortly thereafter. But Dale adroitly fell back and built a defense around the largest building in the center. Even still, I had a glimmer of hope until his reinforcements arrived on turn 3 just in time to turn the tide in the center. I managed to get a foothold in the third building by the last turn but was too bled out to do much with it. As usual in any scenario, I made a few mistakes in tactics, but the biggest was not setting up a MG nest in the I4 building which would have hindered his movement from west to east. Overall, all it was close game. Dale is a great guy and gave me a couple helpful tips. Fun scenario well worth a replay.
2022-03-31
(A) Itinerant Hobbyist
vs
Self
Russian win
This was awesome. It came down to one last roll in a Russian/German Melee. Russians won the roll. it was a 2-1 Russia roll and a 1-4 roll for the Germans, CXed.
