Sowchos 79 ETO (id:#60420)
(Turning the Tide ID: U28)   [next]   [previous]
Prior Publication: SL 16
See Also: Sowchos 79 (Crossus Ironsaurus 16) by
Designer: Adapted by Jim Stahler
Starter kit scenario?:    Deluxe scenario?:
 
Balance:
GermanRussian
55.555555555556%

Overview:

Following the encirclement of 6th Army at Stalingrad, the Germans launched a relief effort from their bridgehead at Nizhna Chirskaya, 25 miles from the nearest troops of Sixth Army at Marinowka. The Chir River was to provide the left flank for the operation, and consequently, had to be held. Attempting to foil the German relief effort, the Russian 5th Tank Army attacked across the Chir and forced it's way past the left flank of the defending 336th Infantry Division, and on to Sowchos 79, a collective farm deep in the German rear. General Balck's 11th "Ghost" Panzer Division, just arriving in the area for Rostov to take part in the Stalingrad relief, was detoured to attack Sowchos 79 and restore the situation.
Attacker: German (Panzergrenadier-Regiment 110/Panzer-Regiment 15/Panzergrenadier-Regiment 111)
Defender: Russian (Motorized Infantry Battalion/Motorized Infantry Brigade/1st Armored Corps)  
10 turns
    Players: 2     OBA: German     Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:18.0 D:29.0
AFVs: A:18
Marder II
PzKpfw IVF2 x 6
PzKpfw IIIL x 3
PSW 233
SPW 251/9
SPW 251/1 x 6
Opel Blitz x 2

AFVs: D:17
T-34 M41 x 6
KV-1 M41 x 2
KV-1 M42 x 2
KV-1E x 3
T-34 M43 x 4
ZIS-5 x 3
GAZ-MM x 6

Guns: A:2
7.5cm PaK 40
7.62cm PaK 36r
D:1
57mm PTP obr. 43
PTRD-41 ATR x 3

Victory Conditions:

Exit VP: Building Control VC: Area Control VC:
Unit Based VC: LOS Style VC: CVP Cap:
Misc Rules: EC: Wet
Overlays: NONE
Errata (source)
Players wanting to play this game/Request a match:

Scenario info

Last Played:
DateReporterOpponentBal.ResultTimeComments
2025-03-08(D) Jeff B vs Scott Sherer Russian win19.25 hrsAnyone I talked to who played SL back in the day seemed to have fond memories of this one, and since it was very little changed since those times it should play more or less the same. I was very skeptical of the Russians' chances however, having to set up without concealment with a strong German force ready to assault them. The truck reinforcements just felt like pipe dreams, what with the German armor ready to hunt them down and the distance they'd have to cover. So my toughest decision was do I set up strongly upfront to oppose the Germans, or do I set up "reverse slope" and try and cling to concealment until my tanks arrived. I chose the latter. I was relieved when Scott opted to loop around the northern end of town behind the hill and hedges, as opposed to the more straight-on frontal assault I would've enacted. In the far north I lost a truck and a squad, but my gun was able to extract itself and set up shop behind the hedgerow. Turn 2 saw two more trucks fall, but not before unloading their passengers, and they served a purpose of clogging up the road. Scott managed to sneak a couple tanks and a HT away before my gun beaded in on a crucial spot of the 4-I road causing him to divert the others. Meanwhile I tried sneaking as many guys up into the hills as I could, though it was obvious he was just going to drive his reinforcements straight to the front. Bad luck struck him when my sniper recalled his Marder. My guys in V3 held tougher than I would've expected, and then even generated a hero when they tried to extract themselves. Not sure when his radio broke down, as it was carried by a concealed unit, but I know it was early, and I know it was lost for good at the top of Turn 3. The Germans lost two squads in their initial assault of the town, though they did manage to sneak one squad over to grab R3. I lost one more truck but, between these wrecks and my gun guarding the road, his going was slowed, with only the above-named three vehicles and the AC making it to the edge of town before my substantial armor reinforcements. Turn 4 saw him lose the AC to an ATR when it tried to crest the hill, and we had our first of many flaming tanks when one of my T-34s was fried entering town. The tanks sent in on this first wave must have been rejects, because a MA and CMG both broke. My gun overheated and broke in trying to lay fire up on the hill, but he had done a great job of delay. My hero fell on Turn 5, but not before valiantly holding the Germans at bay for a good turn or two, but the MA on my T-34 was repaired. I was very pleasantly surprised to see my latest round of reinforcements had radios, so they moved in the protect the hill and roads, while my first batch moved up to protect the buildings. Turn 6 was a wild one, and all sorts of German equipment malfunctioned: 2 MAs, a CMG and, not least of all, their other radio. Three tanks went down that turn (2 German/1 Russian), and the Russians declared NQ when a large band of Germans was eliminated with a rogue Russian tank cutting off rout paths. The Germans were still at nine buildings, but the Russians were already starting to counterattack. Meanwhile their truck reinforcements were making their presence known in the western woods, burning up a guarding HT. Turn 7 saw more mass destruction: three HTs, two Panzers, the radio, 2 KV-1s, a truck, and a smattering of infantry. There was almost an uninterrupted line of burning wrecks on the north side from one end of town to the other. This would've been an absolute counter clutter nightmare in real life; it was hard enough to keep track of where everything was on VASL! Turn 8 saw even more devastation for the Germans, with another Panzer, HT, AT gun, LMG, 8-1, and three squads lost, while the Russians lost two squads. Of greater importance the Germans were knocked down to seven buildings, and the writing (which had been on the wall for some time) was clearly visible at this point. The Germans played one more half turn to see how many more Ruskies they could take down (a HS), but when they lost their stellar 9-2 AL there was no more wind in their sails. I really wasn't looking forward to playing as the Russians in this one, but I'm glad I gave it a chance as it played much more excitingly than I would've imagined. Both German radios breaking before they could even call in one mission really hurt. All-in-all a fun experience.
2024-10-10(A) John Garlic vs Chad Cummins Russian winExcellent scenario. Initial German ambush poorly executed and delayed German entry into village. Good OBA strikes, but unable to overcome the hordes of supporting Russian tanks. Great time!

ASLOK 2024
2020-05-19(A) B-E Karlsson vs Russian Russian win
2019-11-21(A) patrick palma vs Jack Boyle Russian win
2018-07-17(A) Shane Pask vs Russian winThis scenario prompted me to buy Turning the Tide. I tried to convert my old SL scenario myself and botched it. Cannot blame everything on the conversion - my tactics also sucked.
Gave up on turn 5 with the streets full of Russian tanks and no Germans even close to town.
View all or balance report
ActionDate
buser333 Added a playing2025-03-09 20:46:30
jgarlic79@gmail.com Added a playing2024-11-28 20:32:13
aokigaryou Linked the scenario to ROAR2024-09-22 08:09:11
Hutch Modified the misc. rules2024-09-14 19:39:23
Hutch Modified the unit counts2024-09-14 19:32:19
FileDescriptionUserViews
(!germ-soviet.png)Imagehoxson11066
(snow battle russ germ.png)Imagehoxson11086
(U28.png)Map Imagehipsu1321
(sowchos_winter redone.png)Map Imagehoxson11052
DescriptionUploaded by
TitleAuthorDate

Quick Map View

Location

Images

 
Statistics:
Avg Rating: 6.64Votes: 14
Views: 6207
To-Play list count: 2
Estimated Play time: 26 hours
Recorded Games: 13
Archive recorded plays:
German6
Russian7
Drawn:0

ROAR Data: (as of today)
Sowchos 79 [Confirmed]
[A] German 19
[D] Russian 13
All Rights Reserved. (c)2022 Dave Ramsey.