Reconnaissance Company HQ - 4pts
2x MP40 SMG team
2x Sd Kfz 250 (MG)
Heinz Auert Command Card - 4pts
Reconnaissance Platoon - 14 pts
7x MG42 team
7x Sd Kfz 250 (MG) half-track
Armoured Panzergrenadier Platoon - 20pts
7x MG42 team
4x Sd Kfz 251 (MG) half-track
Panzerfaust
3x
Pioneer platoon Command Card - 1pts
Puma Scout Troop - 4pts
2x Puma (5cm)
Puma Scout Troop - 4pts
2x Puma (5cm)
Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm) Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm)
Reconnaissance 8cm Mortar Section - 5pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (8cm)
Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (7.5cm)
Armoured 7.5cm Gun Platoon - 6pts
4x Sd Kfz 251 (7.5cm)
Formation Support:
Panther SS Tank Panther - 26pts
3x Panther (7.5cm)
When collecting a list, the first things I look for is an interesting Warrior Command Card which offers something that can’t be quantified by statistics; a game-effect that requires the player to out-think their opponent in order for the effect to work, rather than a simple quantifiable effect such as a re-roll.
To this end I find Heinz Auert is the perfect example as its value is subjective, is dependent on conditions beyond my control, and gives me additional influence in Battle Plans (thus mission selection) Deployment, and first turn. This card has a range of influence somewhere between having huge potential or none. It costs 4 point that may do nothing, depending on the player.
Heinz Auert Command Card:
“Show this card to your opponent before Deployment.
If the Formation Commander of this Reconnaissance Company is Deployed on table, you may discard this card to roll a die immediately after Deployment. On a score of 3+, this player has the first turn, but the rules for a Meeting Engagement (page 104 of the rulebook) apply to all Teams in this Force not in this Formation. Teams in this Force cannot be Dug In or Gone to Ground at the end of their first turn.”
So even if I must play as the Defender, I have a 66% chance of stealing the first turn on scenarios where the Attacker gets the first turn. And for scenarios where first turn is a dice-off, I get to roll the 3+ before the dice-off. Attackers must predicate their deployment on this likelihood thus changing the game in a way that is not easily quantified by points and any time your opponent is reacting to your moves you gain something. What you gain is up to your imagination and the battles conditions. I love it.
This list wants scenarios where both the Attacker and Defender must defend objectives because of its crazy mobility. It has excellent Reserves in the form Panthers and one of the mobile infantry platoons. It can form three decent individual battlegroups to pressure three different objectives and still defend a fourth objective. It has three Spearheads which is great on some scenarios to put quick and decisive pressure on multiple fronts, in addition to snagging prime terrain during deployment. It’s versatility is unmatched by most other lists.
In addition it offers:
8x AT5 shots
20x AT9 shots
6x AT14 shots
Lots of MG
1x smoke
Pioneers to destroy minefields or defend. I love the idea of my pioneers rushing across the table in their 251’s, Blitzing out on a 3+ next turn And moving into the mines. Next turn they auto destroy the mines as long as they don’t stay pinned.
But what I’m concerned about are it’s weaknesses and am hoping the community can help me see them.
So what are it’s weaknesses?
D-Day German Recon Company’s 116 Panzer Division
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Straight Leg
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 8:31 pm
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
D-Day German Recon Company’s 116 Panzer Division
Last edited by Straight Leg on Sun Jan 17, 2021 8:58 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: D-Day German Recon Company: 116.Panzer-Division
The biggest weakness is the mindset and play style needed to run this list. That is not a weakness to you.
The next one is Morale and the potential for running away. But I am sure you have that weakness mitigated and you have it covered as well.
Against a well played defensive list with interlocking fields of fire you have the potential of not having enough to get past the bulletproof cover. But that is a very inconsequential weakness.
The next one is Morale and the potential for running away. But I am sure you have that weakness mitigated and you have it covered as well.
Against a well played defensive list with interlocking fields of fire you have the potential of not having enough to get past the bulletproof cover. But that is a very inconsequential weakness.
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Straight Leg
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 8:31 pm
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Re: D-Day German Recon Company: 116.Panzer-Division
Regarding defensive lists I would almost always choose the Defend Battle Plan.
This eliminates Bridgehead, No Retreat, and Rearguard from their arsenal, unless they choose to attack, in which case I’m glad to add some mines and an ambushing unit to my side in any of those missions. Those infantry might have some difficulty going through my interlocking fields of fire with more than a few MG’s, some meager Arty, smoke, and mobile gun platforms hunting enemy Guns, slowing down enemy units from dashing, and drawing attention away. And the Defender gets to pick sides. Win or lose, it should be a great fight but with this list I can afford to Defend against infantry, denying them their best missions. And still go first.
Defend vs Defend is a likely outcome and it’s a dice-off to select Attacker. I’d hope to get Free For All, Encounter, or Dust Up as the Attacker or Defender and get the 3+ roll for first then, and failing that have a dice-off. With 4 objectives on the table, and delayed reserves for all, I still have 7 units plus HQ in Formation on the table and can pressure all over. I love Counterattack as the Defender and will harass the hell out of some infantry moving across the board. And my Recon Platoon coming on Reserves will be dumping 28 MG shots into their advance, and that’s IF my Spearheading Pioneers don’t get in front of the objective first. And Dig In on a 2+. And Arty or Guns they have won’t be that far from my Scouts all bunched up back there in the corner.
Of course, all of this makes assumptions about what kind of list you meant and I am biasing my assumptions on the American Paratrooper and ARP lists I own and my Soviet Assault Sappers. Playing as Germans is still new to me and do not have them figured out but I’ve played against Germans a great deal.
Infantry dependent lists could have a hard time especially on those scenarios where I pick the side, maybe get some mines, and usually go first. It’s the MSU tank lists that I worry about the most. Maybe especially IS-85 spam, unless I get scenarios with 3 or 4 objectives and can force them into Reserves.
This eliminates Bridgehead, No Retreat, and Rearguard from their arsenal, unless they choose to attack, in which case I’m glad to add some mines and an ambushing unit to my side in any of those missions. Those infantry might have some difficulty going through my interlocking fields of fire with more than a few MG’s, some meager Arty, smoke, and mobile gun platforms hunting enemy Guns, slowing down enemy units from dashing, and drawing attention away. And the Defender gets to pick sides. Win or lose, it should be a great fight but with this list I can afford to Defend against infantry, denying them their best missions. And still go first.
Defend vs Defend is a likely outcome and it’s a dice-off to select Attacker. I’d hope to get Free For All, Encounter, or Dust Up as the Attacker or Defender and get the 3+ roll for first then, and failing that have a dice-off. With 4 objectives on the table, and delayed reserves for all, I still have 7 units plus HQ in Formation on the table and can pressure all over. I love Counterattack as the Defender and will harass the hell out of some infantry moving across the board. And my Recon Platoon coming on Reserves will be dumping 28 MG shots into their advance, and that’s IF my Spearheading Pioneers don’t get in front of the objective first. And Dig In on a 2+. And Arty or Guns they have won’t be that far from my Scouts all bunched up back there in the corner.
Of course, all of this makes assumptions about what kind of list you meant and I am biasing my assumptions on the American Paratrooper and ARP lists I own and my Soviet Assault Sappers. Playing as Germans is still new to me and do not have them figured out but I’ve played against Germans a great deal.
Infantry dependent lists could have a hard time especially on those scenarios where I pick the side, maybe get some mines, and usually go first. It’s the MSU tank lists that I worry about the most. Maybe especially IS-85 spam, unless I get scenarios with 3 or 4 objectives and can force them into Reserves.
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Straight Leg
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 8:31 pm
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Re: D-Day German Recon Company: 116.Panzer-Division
Most recent game was against a British Rifle Company playing Dust Up. Ended up the Defender and getting stuck with a deployment zone with a river wye making a breakout with 4+ cross transports difficult. Several marshlands in my zone were also problematic.
This is the scenario where deployments are opposing table corners so my Spearheads allowed me to virtually surround my opponent and use the alternating deployment to feint which objective my main thrust would target. Two British Rifle platoons were deployed to defend against the feint, counter attack, then overwhelm the flank and use the road straight to my own objective. The Brits other objective was on the other side of the river in a Bocage arrangement that heavily favored defending infantry. My delayed reserves were the Panthers and Pioneers. His where another Rifle platoon, Universal Carriers and mortars.
I failed the 3+ roll to snag first turn, then failed the dice-off for first turn. So much for Heinz Auert.
He pushed hard with both infantry straight at the flank where my reserves would come on and towards the center. I could never hold off their approach so I opted to delay and try not to get my 250 gun tanks and mortars assaulted too soon. The worst threat this early was his 25pdr’s so I blitzed up an escarpment my Spearhead gave me access to and unloaded the 7.5cm shots into them, destroying 2! (Since it was a Meeting Engagement, the 25pdr’s couldn’t bombard first turn). Despite the damage, I was going to be overwhelmed so I kept my Recon Platoon in a defensive position near the objective on the road and Failed to dig in. Meanwhile I failed to cross the river with my Pumas, failed my Blitz with the 234’s, and generally did nothing worthwhile to advance on the Bocage objective where his defenses where only two MG platoons. Incidentally, the objective was near where his Rifle platoon reserves could come on if needed.
Turn two saw his AOP arrive and promptly range in on my Recon platoon hanging out around the objective. The 25pdr’s hit four infantry and six transports! But had to re-roll and ended bailing two transports (one of which failed its remount for 6 consecutive turns). My lucky first turn kept my defenders from being mauled but they failed to rally and would be subject to a Repeat Bombardment. Then it got worse. The Rifle platoon entered some building about 12” from his objective and waited for the support to show up while the second Rifle platoon was sweeping the flank. It was looking bad with respect to positioning while I lost a mortar, some 7.5cm platforms and a Puma unit. I fell back into defensive positions to protect the flank and was marveling how my feint was turning into a route against me and how bad 5+ moral checks are. I did manage to get my other Pumas across the river this turn and the 234’s advanced towards my real objective.
Turn 3 did not see the Brits get any reserves and this proved pivotal. Not only that but my MG’s and mortars pinned both Rifle platoons and they both failed to rally. The 25pdr’s killed a few of my defending infantry with Repeat Bombardment but otherwise I survived relatively unscathed. Then it was my turn.
My reserve roll brought in my Armored Panzergrenadiers (with the pioneer card) and I decided to get risky and assault the pinned down Rifle platoon. Bad call. I lost 4 teams, got pinnned, and fell back. However, I now had a blocker to keep this Rifle platoon from linking up with their sister platoon and overwhelming my flank. For the rest of the game, my platoon held off the Rifles and allowed me to concentrate on the lonely unsupported and over-extended Rifle platoon, eventually breaking them.
Next turn I got the Panthers and started my push. At this stage, I had everything on the table except both Puma units while the British sadly failed reserve rolls. It was 90 points vs 40ish and I poured everything except my pioneers at lightning speed into my primary objective. Despite getting his last Rifle platoon on the table and objective right before my arrival, I attacked with the Recon Platoon, 234’s, and Armored 7.5 Gun Platoon and easily overwhelmed the defenses. Win for the Germans.
AAR:
1- Having big mobile reserve units come on immediately changed the momentum of my desperate defense. I attribute the win primarily to the auspicious timing and the raw power of the reserve unit. Conversely, the Brit reserves where small units and they made little difference comparatively.
2- Spearheads allowed me to access game-changing terrain and neuter the biggest threats before they could act. If my Pumas near the river had not both failed their 4+ cross, I could have deployed on the far side of the river and swamped my primary objective really fast. Having two Spearheads gave me additional deployment area that completely changed how the battle unfolded.
3- The speed of this list was overwhelming. My units were always where they needed to be due to the transports, mobile guns, and Stormtrooper. I used that rule successfully about a dozen times, keeping my RoF and scooting back to cover. Huge.
4- ALL those 7.5cm gun platforms Proved effective for hunting enemy guns. I dumped 10 shots my first turn into his 25pdr’s and used their secondary MG’s to keep pinning his infantry down, totally stalling what was looking to be a route against me, just long enough to apply my powerful reserves.
5- 5+ Motivation is bad. Both Pumas suffer from this, as well as the 234’s. I lost both Pumas units the turn right after losing only one tank each. I did not support any of the with my HQ and probably usually wouldn’t. However, most my list is Confident and that doesn’t really bother me.
6- There are so many threats that I think it can seem overwhelming. One big strength of this list is feinting an attack and quickly moving to the real objective.
Overall, I continue use to be impressed with the D-Day Recon Company and find it one of the most rewarding lists I’ve played. It’s strengths are subtle, somewhat concealable, and adaptive.
This is the scenario where deployments are opposing table corners so my Spearheads allowed me to virtually surround my opponent and use the alternating deployment to feint which objective my main thrust would target. Two British Rifle platoons were deployed to defend against the feint, counter attack, then overwhelm the flank and use the road straight to my own objective. The Brits other objective was on the other side of the river in a Bocage arrangement that heavily favored defending infantry. My delayed reserves were the Panthers and Pioneers. His where another Rifle platoon, Universal Carriers and mortars.
I failed the 3+ roll to snag first turn, then failed the dice-off for first turn. So much for Heinz Auert.
He pushed hard with both infantry straight at the flank where my reserves would come on and towards the center. I could never hold off their approach so I opted to delay and try not to get my 250 gun tanks and mortars assaulted too soon. The worst threat this early was his 25pdr’s so I blitzed up an escarpment my Spearhead gave me access to and unloaded the 7.5cm shots into them, destroying 2! (Since it was a Meeting Engagement, the 25pdr’s couldn’t bombard first turn). Despite the damage, I was going to be overwhelmed so I kept my Recon Platoon in a defensive position near the objective on the road and Failed to dig in. Meanwhile I failed to cross the river with my Pumas, failed my Blitz with the 234’s, and generally did nothing worthwhile to advance on the Bocage objective where his defenses where only two MG platoons. Incidentally, the objective was near where his Rifle platoon reserves could come on if needed.
Turn two saw his AOP arrive and promptly range in on my Recon platoon hanging out around the objective. The 25pdr’s hit four infantry and six transports! But had to re-roll and ended bailing two transports (one of which failed its remount for 6 consecutive turns). My lucky first turn kept my defenders from being mauled but they failed to rally and would be subject to a Repeat Bombardment. Then it got worse. The Rifle platoon entered some building about 12” from his objective and waited for the support to show up while the second Rifle platoon was sweeping the flank. It was looking bad with respect to positioning while I lost a mortar, some 7.5cm platforms and a Puma unit. I fell back into defensive positions to protect the flank and was marveling how my feint was turning into a route against me and how bad 5+ moral checks are. I did manage to get my other Pumas across the river this turn and the 234’s advanced towards my real objective.
Turn 3 did not see the Brits get any reserves and this proved pivotal. Not only that but my MG’s and mortars pinned both Rifle platoons and they both failed to rally. The 25pdr’s killed a few of my defending infantry with Repeat Bombardment but otherwise I survived relatively unscathed. Then it was my turn.
My reserve roll brought in my Armored Panzergrenadiers (with the pioneer card) and I decided to get risky and assault the pinned down Rifle platoon. Bad call. I lost 4 teams, got pinnned, and fell back. However, I now had a blocker to keep this Rifle platoon from linking up with their sister platoon and overwhelming my flank. For the rest of the game, my platoon held off the Rifles and allowed me to concentrate on the lonely unsupported and over-extended Rifle platoon, eventually breaking them.
Next turn I got the Panthers and started my push. At this stage, I had everything on the table except both Puma units while the British sadly failed reserve rolls. It was 90 points vs 40ish and I poured everything except my pioneers at lightning speed into my primary objective. Despite getting his last Rifle platoon on the table and objective right before my arrival, I attacked with the Recon Platoon, 234’s, and Armored 7.5 Gun Platoon and easily overwhelmed the defenses. Win for the Germans.
AAR:
1- Having big mobile reserve units come on immediately changed the momentum of my desperate defense. I attribute the win primarily to the auspicious timing and the raw power of the reserve unit. Conversely, the Brit reserves where small units and they made little difference comparatively.
2- Spearheads allowed me to access game-changing terrain and neuter the biggest threats before they could act. If my Pumas near the river had not both failed their 4+ cross, I could have deployed on the far side of the river and swamped my primary objective really fast. Having two Spearheads gave me additional deployment area that completely changed how the battle unfolded.
3- The speed of this list was overwhelming. My units were always where they needed to be due to the transports, mobile guns, and Stormtrooper. I used that rule successfully about a dozen times, keeping my RoF and scooting back to cover. Huge.
4- ALL those 7.5cm gun platforms Proved effective for hunting enemy guns. I dumped 10 shots my first turn into his 25pdr’s and used their secondary MG’s to keep pinning his infantry down, totally stalling what was looking to be a route against me, just long enough to apply my powerful reserves.
5- 5+ Motivation is bad. Both Pumas suffer from this, as well as the 234’s. I lost both Pumas units the turn right after losing only one tank each. I did not support any of the with my HQ and probably usually wouldn’t. However, most my list is Confident and that doesn’t really bother me.
6- There are so many threats that I think it can seem overwhelming. One big strength of this list is feinting an attack and quickly moving to the real objective.
Overall, I continue use to be impressed with the D-Day Recon Company and find it one of the most rewarding lists I’ve played. It’s strengths are subtle, somewhat concealable, and adaptive.
Re: D-Day German Recon Company: 116.Panzer-Division
Glad it worked out.
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Straight Leg
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 8:31 pm
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
German Reconnaissance Formation
Since D-Day: German dropped, the innocuous Reconnaissance Company had undergone several iterations and gained access to new and interesting support. I enjoy the Reconnaissance Formation above all others because of the half-tracks, Scout rule, and loads of small units sowing disorder and confusion. The fact that it is actually really, really good plays a part too and I have generally maintained the original list above, less sometimes a single Puma troop and/or the Armored 7.5cm Gun Platoon to try out new stuff.
Bagration: German
This book added mandatory panzerfausts to the line-dogs, demanding an extra 2 compulsory points to the base list with panzerfausts added to the HQ. Having never stopped an armored assault with a single faust, it is fair to say I wasn't thrilled about adding fausts to the compulsory Recon Platoon which suddenly forced a decision on what to drop to get those 4 points, Heinze Auert or Pumas, just to get the minimum needed to maybe stop an armored assault with the line infantry. Ugh.
Then, the decrease from three panzerschreks to one for the excellent D-Day armored panzergrenadiers served to dilute the concentration of AT which is necessary to form a credible threat against ambitious armor, sow doubt in the Allied advance, and inevidably delay an offensive armor push. This second change served to eliminate my aspirations to branch from the D-Day iteration, except to try a fun and mostly competent SS version. But dang, it gets expensive for that Fearless rating and core stuff has to go on the chopping block.
While Bagration added the Light Scout Troops as options, this didn't really add or subtract from what I want out of the Recon Company and so became a solid meh.
Conclusion: Bagration offered no compelling reason to adjust the units I prefer to form my Core in a Reconnaissance formation.
Bulge: German
Right up front, I gotta say I love the changes to the Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe. So it's a Command Card, no biggie.
The second panzerfaust added to the Recon Platoon is nothing less than perfect, even for 17 points. They can continue to make infantry assaults impractical with stupid amounts of MG fire, provide fantastic movement options, reasonably concern many armor units considering an assault, and many other great things. They are truly and magnificently versatile. For a price.
The HQ costs 6 points now and, while that is tough on this list, can add meaningful deterrence when supporting the line-dogs against an armored assault. Honestly, I wish their panzerfausts were optional but I can live with it.
The Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe does lose access to Armored Panzergrenadiers, but that loss is greatly mitigated by the double panzerfausts and I'll pretend some of their firepower simply ported to the HQ and not think about it too much. If I could, I'd still run Armored Panzerpioneers (maybe with Stukas) but sadly it is not to be.
The loss of the Light Scout Troop is a non-issue since we still get the Pumas and the core formation is otherwise intact. Except now we get access to Tanks in formation!
This is a game-changer, albeit slightly less than perfect. The Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe simply must deploy higher-end Anti Tank weapons to mitigate the weakness of having swarms of low AT platforms. The original list achieved this using SS Panthers in Support and it worked reasonably well. Now we can deploy those assets in formation using either Panzer IV/70's or Panther (Late) tanks.
Full disclosure: I'm one of those unicorns who love the Panther. I will freely admit that the point cost of the D-Day/Bagration Panther makes no sense when compared to the Tiger and would never insult your intelligence to suggest they are nearly equal. They are not. However, the Panther stats are fine, the model looks excellent, and I painted up 10 of the plastics for a Panzer Lehr Division. So I want to use them, even at the risk of being dismissed as a unicorn.
The Panther (Late) however is comparable, even if not exactly, and somewhat less than, equal. The fact that it happens to be available in the Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe core formation is quite spectacular, in my biased unicorny kinda thinking. It's fast, maneuverable over terrain, has great armor and a great gun, and is Veteran with Stormtrooper. In other words, it's a perfect fit for the Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe playstyle and fixes two of its weaknesses: (1) High-end AT and (2) Reserves.
With twice as many panzerfausts on the infantry, fast and mobile AT14 platforms in formation, swarms of side-armor AT assets, Scouts flooding out of the woodwork, embarrassing amounts of MG's, and Smoke bombardments, the Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe finally checks all of the boxes needed to confidently run a worthy combined arms list that can reasonably handle Heavy Armor (rock), Infantry (paper), and Medium Swarm (scissors).
Conclusion:
It is almost perfect. Almost because there are better options than the in-formation Panther (Late).
New List:
The first test isn't going to be with these little kitties. Nope.
I intend to interchange a couple of Tiger II's for the Panthers to see which one I like more.
The Tiger II's cost the exact same, are virtually invulnerable to the front, satisfy the big Reserve roll, can kill almost anything, and will have their flanks protected by the Swarm. Planes will be a concern but I can live with that.
And despite my admiration for the new Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe, I will at first be testing the Tiger II's in my current D-Day Reconnaissance Company because I still think it is better because the Armored Panzerpioneers provide so much deterrence that is is just gross.
D-Day Reconnaissance Company
Reconnaissance Company HQ - 4pts
2x MP40 SMG team
2x Sd Kfz 250 (MG)
Reconnaissance Platoon - 14 pts
7x MG42 team
7x Sd Kfz 250 (MG) half-track
Armoured Panzergrenadier Platoon - 20pts
7x MG42 team with Panzerfaust
4x Sd Kfz 251 (MG) half-track
3x Panzerschreck
Pioneer platoon Command Card - 1pts
Puma Scout Troop - 4pts
2x Puma (5cm)
Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm) Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm)
Reconnaissance 8cm Mortar Section - 5pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (8cm)
Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (7.5cm)
Formation Support:
3x Wespe Artillery Battery - 9pts
2x Tiger II Tank Company - 36pts
1x Sd Kfz 250 OP - 1pts
I've mostly kept the Core formation but had to drop a Puma Scout Troop, the 7.5cm Gun Platoon, and most sadly Heinze Auert.
While I dislike using the Wespe simply because they are not available in Plastic, the inclusion of the Tiger II's isn't exactly historical so I made compromises on the account I just wanted to make a good list.
Its first test will be against a Soviet IS-2 Heavy Tank Formation. Trial by fire.
IS-2 Guards Heavy Tank Regiment HQ
1x IS-2 (122mm) 7pts
IS-2 Guards Heavy Tank Company
3x IS-2 (122mm) 22pts
IS-85 Guards Heavy Tank CompanyLS15524
3x IS-85 (85mm) 24pts
Engineer-sapper Company
8x PPSh SMG team with Smoke Pots and Panzerfausts 11pts
Support:
BA-64 Armoured Car Platoon
3x BA-64 (MG) 2pts
ISU-152 Heavy SP Battery
5x ISU-152 (152mm) 36pts
MG's
Reconnaissance by Combat Command Card 2pts
Bagration: German
This book added mandatory panzerfausts to the line-dogs, demanding an extra 2 compulsory points to the base list with panzerfausts added to the HQ. Having never stopped an armored assault with a single faust, it is fair to say I wasn't thrilled about adding fausts to the compulsory Recon Platoon which suddenly forced a decision on what to drop to get those 4 points, Heinze Auert or Pumas, just to get the minimum needed to maybe stop an armored assault with the line infantry. Ugh.
Then, the decrease from three panzerschreks to one for the excellent D-Day armored panzergrenadiers served to dilute the concentration of AT which is necessary to form a credible threat against ambitious armor, sow doubt in the Allied advance, and inevidably delay an offensive armor push. This second change served to eliminate my aspirations to branch from the D-Day iteration, except to try a fun and mostly competent SS version. But dang, it gets expensive for that Fearless rating and core stuff has to go on the chopping block.
While Bagration added the Light Scout Troops as options, this didn't really add or subtract from what I want out of the Recon Company and so became a solid meh.
Conclusion: Bagration offered no compelling reason to adjust the units I prefer to form my Core in a Reconnaissance formation.
Bulge: German
Right up front, I gotta say I love the changes to the Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe. So it's a Command Card, no biggie.
The second panzerfaust added to the Recon Platoon is nothing less than perfect, even for 17 points. They can continue to make infantry assaults impractical with stupid amounts of MG fire, provide fantastic movement options, reasonably concern many armor units considering an assault, and many other great things. They are truly and magnificently versatile. For a price.
The HQ costs 6 points now and, while that is tough on this list, can add meaningful deterrence when supporting the line-dogs against an armored assault. Honestly, I wish their panzerfausts were optional but I can live with it.
The Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe does lose access to Armored Panzergrenadiers, but that loss is greatly mitigated by the double panzerfausts and I'll pretend some of their firepower simply ported to the HQ and not think about it too much. If I could, I'd still run Armored Panzerpioneers (maybe with Stukas) but sadly it is not to be.
The loss of the Light Scout Troop is a non-issue since we still get the Pumas and the core formation is otherwise intact. Except now we get access to Tanks in formation!
This is a game-changer, albeit slightly less than perfect. The Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe simply must deploy higher-end Anti Tank weapons to mitigate the weakness of having swarms of low AT platforms. The original list achieved this using SS Panthers in Support and it worked reasonably well. Now we can deploy those assets in formation using either Panzer IV/70's or Panther (Late) tanks.
Full disclosure: I'm one of those unicorns who love the Panther. I will freely admit that the point cost of the D-Day/Bagration Panther makes no sense when compared to the Tiger and would never insult your intelligence to suggest they are nearly equal. They are not. However, the Panther stats are fine, the model looks excellent, and I painted up 10 of the plastics for a Panzer Lehr Division. So I want to use them, even at the risk of being dismissed as a unicorn.
The Panther (Late) however is comparable, even if not exactly, and somewhat less than, equal. The fact that it happens to be available in the Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe core formation is quite spectacular, in my biased unicorny kinda thinking. It's fast, maneuverable over terrain, has great armor and a great gun, and is Veteran with Stormtrooper. In other words, it's a perfect fit for the Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe playstyle and fixes two of its weaknesses: (1) High-end AT and (2) Reserves.
With twice as many panzerfausts on the infantry, fast and mobile AT14 platforms in formation, swarms of side-armor AT assets, Scouts flooding out of the woodwork, embarrassing amounts of MG's, and Smoke bombardments, the Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe finally checks all of the boxes needed to confidently run a worthy combined arms list that can reasonably handle Heavy Armor (rock), Infantry (paper), and Medium Swarm (scissors).
Conclusion:
It is almost perfect. Almost because there are better options than the in-formation Panther (Late).
New List:
The first test isn't going to be with these little kitties. Nope.
I intend to interchange a couple of Tiger II's for the Panthers to see which one I like more.
The Tiger II's cost the exact same, are virtually invulnerable to the front, satisfy the big Reserve roll, can kill almost anything, and will have their flanks protected by the Swarm. Planes will be a concern but I can live with that.
And despite my admiration for the new Reconnaissance Kampfgruppe, I will at first be testing the Tiger II's in my current D-Day Reconnaissance Company because I still think it is better because the Armored Panzerpioneers provide so much deterrence that is is just gross.
D-Day Reconnaissance Company
Reconnaissance Company HQ - 4pts
2x MP40 SMG team
2x Sd Kfz 250 (MG)
Reconnaissance Platoon - 14 pts
7x MG42 team
7x Sd Kfz 250 (MG) half-track
Armoured Panzergrenadier Platoon - 20pts
7x MG42 team with Panzerfaust
4x Sd Kfz 251 (MG) half-track
3x Panzerschreck
Pioneer platoon Command Card - 1pts
Puma Scout Troop - 4pts
2x Puma (5cm)
Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm) Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm)
Reconnaissance 8cm Mortar Section - 5pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (8cm)
Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (7.5cm)
Formation Support:
3x Wespe Artillery Battery - 9pts
2x Tiger II Tank Company - 36pts
1x Sd Kfz 250 OP - 1pts
I've mostly kept the Core formation but had to drop a Puma Scout Troop, the 7.5cm Gun Platoon, and most sadly Heinze Auert.
While I dislike using the Wespe simply because they are not available in Plastic, the inclusion of the Tiger II's isn't exactly historical so I made compromises on the account I just wanted to make a good list.
Its first test will be against a Soviet IS-2 Heavy Tank Formation. Trial by fire.
IS-2 Guards Heavy Tank Regiment HQ
1x IS-2 (122mm) 7pts
IS-2 Guards Heavy Tank Company
3x IS-2 (122mm) 22pts
IS-85 Guards Heavy Tank CompanyLS15524
3x IS-85 (85mm) 24pts
Engineer-sapper Company
8x PPSh SMG team with Smoke Pots and Panzerfausts 11pts
Support:
BA-64 Armoured Car Platoon
3x BA-64 (MG) 2pts
ISU-152 Heavy SP Battery
5x ISU-152 (152mm) 36pts
MG's
Reconnaissance by Combat Command Card 2pts
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Straight Leg
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 8:31 pm
- Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Re: D-Day German Recon Company’s 116 Panzer Division
The Lists
Soviets
IS-2 Guards Heavy Tank Regiment HQ
1x IS-2 (122mm) 7pts
IS-2 Guards Heavy Tank Company
3x IS-2 (122mm) 22pts
IS-85 Guards Heavy Tank Company
3x IS-85 (85mm) 24pts
Engineer-sapper Company
8x PPSh SMG team with Smoke Pots and Panzerfausts 11pts
Support:
BA-64 Armoured Car Platoon
3x BA-64 (MG) 2pts
ISU-152 Heavy SP Battery
5x ISU-152 (152mm) 36pts
MG's
Reconnaissance by Combat Command Card 2pts
Germans
Reconnaissance Company HQ - 6pts
2x MP40 SMG team w/ panzerfausts
2x Sd Kfz 250 (MG)
Reconnaissance Platoon - 17 pts
7x MG42 team w/ panzerfausts
7x Sd Kfz 250 (MG) half-track
Reconnaissance Platoon - 17 pts
7x MG42 team w/ panzerfausts
7x Sd Kfz 250 (MG) half-track
Puma Scout Troop - 4pts
2x Puma (5cm)
Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm) Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm)
Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (7.5cm)
Reconnaissance 8cm Mortar Section - 5pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (8cm)
Formation Support:
8.8cm Heavy AA Platoon - 8pts
4x 8.8cm AA gun
Command Card Kampfgruppe von Swoboda Luftwaffe 8.8cm FlaK
2x Tiger II Tank Company - 36pts
Reserves are the King Tigers and the Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon at 42 points.
Analysis
The Soviet Heavy Armor list presents a German Reconnaissance Company with a difficult question, namely "how to win" against what you can't kill. Against heavy armor lists, this Recon Force needs to, at minimum, buy some time for the big cats to join the fray or, more ideally, kill some stuff before getting assaulted and depending on panzerfausts. AT9 is not going to cut it alone in general and more specifically there is not enough of it in this force to make a big enough impact before it's too late. It became apparent that the Germans simply needed more high-end AT than just two Tiger II's but needed to maintain an Artillery capability for balance. Command Card Kampfgruppe von Swoboda Luftwaffe 8.8cm FlaK finally returns the Bombardment to these 8.8cm guns and, while less than ideal statistically, gives the dual purpose capability essential for this Recon Force. Between using the 7.5cm gun tanks to harass, smoke to block LoS, and now the AT14 8.8cm guns to threaten kills, this list has just enough elements to maybe hold off a catastrophic assault before the Kings show them what it means to be king. Points being what they are, it will have to do.
Another helpful aspect of winning is forcing the Heavy Tank Force to defend objectives. Being agile and fast, this Recon Force enjoys scenarios that threaten a Heavy Tank Force getting outmaneuvered and snatching an objective of their own. To that end, selecting the Battle Plan Maneuver is great because it is a solid bet that a Heavy Tank Force will bid Attack. While it is not certain, not bidding Attack is a huge gamble for them, as they risk finding themselves defending with Reserves and the Recon Force can opt to bid Attack and force the Heavy Tank Force to defend objectives.
The scenarios Breakthrough, Counterattack, Escape, Fighting Withdrawal, Gauntlet, and Spearpoint are the available missions in Attack vs Maneuver.
The first five all have Defender objectives only but each presents good opportunities against Heavy Armor.
Breakthrough, Counterattack, Escape, and Gauntlet can easily give the Defender side armor shots and/or delay the Attacker till the Kings show up and the infantry digs in on the objective. With Ambush in all Scenarios but Gauntlet, a hasty Attacker takes a huge risk, though even in Gauntlet, rushing past your 8.8cm guns is a recipe for disaster. Smoke will give your fast infantry the protection they need to get on the objectives.
Fighting Withdrawal gives the Recon Force minefields, which can be a huge problem for a Heavy Tank Force. Ambush helps too with an enormous Deployment Zone and the Kings will dominate the battlefield starting on the first turn. With cheap units to withdraw, this is a great scenario against a Heavy Tank Force.
Only Spearpoint requires the Attacker to defend objectives and they must either go through or around the Defenders deployment zone to secure an objective while potentially presenting juicy side armor. Either that or plow through your Ambush into your deployment zone while defending two objectives, all before the Kings arrive in Scattered Delayed Reserves.
The Table
As these lists were fundamentally different in their bias regarding playstyle, terrain preference, and scenario preference, we endeavored to mitigate this bias through the board design.
A town square surrounded by a corner shop, two-story buildings, a municipal building, and a church occupied most of the near-right quadrant, with a cobblestone road entering the near table edge and another stretching along the long edge length and ending in a sparse farming community in the adjacent quadrant. Along this length of the road, craters and destroyed buildings pocked the landscape offering some cover while suggesting the town as a hotly contested focus. Indeed it housed a Soviet official's estate and as such held both symbolic and strategic value to both sides. This quadrant biased infantry as most all approaches threatened unsupported tanks with an ambush while offering bloody house-to-house infantry fighting.
In the near-left quadrant, a few farming houses remained wholly intact and surrounded by fenced fields occupied by the crossroads where the rural roads turned north, wandering off into the distance past the opposite table edge. An escarpment behind the farms offered a favorable overview of the table center, the road's approach observing the opposite far-left edge, and importantly the near-right quadrant building's obscuring the town square. However, the farms blocked the escarpment's LoS to most of the near-left quadrant, leaving a critical vulnerability for defense. With generally good overwatch and plenty of concealment, this quadrant equally biased tanks, infantry, and static guns.
The rural road leading from the farmlands directly to the far-left quadrant was obscured on the right by treelines, allowing excellent infiltration across the table without long-range threats from the right side. It sported two hills, one observing the farms and corresponding fields but blocked by the treeline. The other hill was beautifully placed to observe almost the entire table and only obscured by the treeline and town square buildings. A few sparse patches of shattered woods allowed short-terrain concealment but these were negated by the hills overwatch. With little difficult terrain, long stretches of LoS, and the two hills to offer hull-down concealment, this quadrant heavily biased tanks and guns while offering infantry little to no protection.
The far-right quadrant boasted another escarpment with excellent LoS across the streams and pond occupying this space. Stone walls surrounding the church in the near-right quadrant slightly encroached into this otherwise empty quadrant while the concealment offered by the sparse shattered woods would prove meaningless to anything holding the escarpment. A bridge offered unrestricted access across the difficult stream and an impassible pond separating the far left and right quadrants while a large area of shattered woods gave concealment to anything not on the high ground. This quadrant held a generally neutral bias with wide open spaces, high ground, difficult terrain, and concealing short terrain.
Overall this table offered quadrants with a tank bias, an infantry bias, and a general balance in the other two, lending to a great opportunity for each force to leverage their strengths and exploit weaknesses in the opposing force.
The Scenario
Predictably, the Soviets bid Attack and the Germans bid Maneuver. The dice rolled a 2 and so we played Counterattack.
This table was seemingly a no-brainer for defending a Counterattack mission. The German infantry could occupy the buildings surrounding the town square and drop an Objective right in the center, forcing the Soviets to approach where the infantry could not only Ambush but ambush from concealing terrain within 4" of their tanks. Nice.
However, the Soviet list possessed three important factors: (1) Reconnasaince by Combat allows the ISU-152's a Turn 1 Repeat Bombardment anywhere on the table. That's a re-roll misses, re-roll saves, 2+ Firepower template. The Germans are already missing Heinz Auert and the game hasn't even started yet! (2) ISU-152 direct fire is Brutal Auto Fire Power while the IS-2's are Brutal with a 2+ FP! German infantry hiding in buildings won't last long against that. (3) The town square is overwatched by two escarpments, offering great LoS to the town buildings from two opposing table quarters.
Nevertheless, the Germans opted to Defend the town square table quarter and plopped an objective right in the center. Without LoS into the square, the ISU-152 bombardment could be ranged in at the beginning of the game but if not done at that time, it would be unlikely to get LoS until the game was essentially over with a Soviet victory.
The Soviets carefully considered their Attack vector as both adjacent table quarters offered excellent LoS to the town square buildings and all approaches, just not past them into the square. The far-right quarter, while closest, did possess some difficult terrain that was moderately risky to move through and had an impassible pond. The near-left quarter enjoyed favorable freedom of movement and LoS for tanks, but sported that rural road that the German Reserves could use to outflank the Soviet's attack. Both would require the Soviet force to traverse either into the town square or around the town square to secure the objective on the opposite table quarter, risking flank shots from the square and from the impending King Tigers. Deciding to Attack from the near-left quadrant, the Soviets placed their Objective just under the opposing quadrant escarpment, far enough back where German infantry must cross open ground to contest and leave the relative protection of the church and surrounding stone walls.
German Deployment
German Reserves consisted of the King Tigers and the Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon at 42pts.
A Recon Infantry Platoon formed the Ambush.
The plan was to use the 8.8cm dug-in guns to delay any heavy tanks approaching directly from the left quarter into the town square. There wasn't really an ideal place to deploy otherwise and so they formed the forward defense with the infantry behind them in the buildings. While these guns could delay the tanks, they were highly vulnerable to the Soviet Assault Engineers assaulting from the buildings along to left-right cobblestone road, therefore the Pumas and Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm) Gun Platoon deployed to harass and delay the infantry. The HQ deployed into their vehicles in the town square, ready to occupy the church tower to call in artillery fire over most of the table while the mortars also deployed in the square spread out and ranged in to smoke LoS to the 88's. It was supposed to be a good plan.
Soviet Deployement
The BA-64 Armoured Cars infiltrated roughly towards the center of table, thus securing favorable attack vectors for a rush to the opposing quadrant. The IS-2, IS-85's and HQ exploited this expanded deployment zone to get in front of some difficult terrain, while the assault engineers occupied some craters surrounding a destroyed building and the building itself. This Spearhead alone cut an entire turn off the Soviet's rush to their objective. The ISU-152 posted on the escarpment overlooking the town square and opted to place their ranged-in marker on top of 5 out of 7 infantry teams and one of the 88's. Dang. This clearly was a good plan.
Turn 1
The Soviet HQ and two IS platoons rushed across towards the bridge to the opposite far-right quadrant, throwing all precaution to the wind. With only AT9 to worry about, they gambled that the Germans would have other problems to prioritize as they rushed the Engineers into rubble closer to the 88's. The lovely ISU-152 dropped a Repeat Bombardment on the aiming point and devastated their targets: after the smoke cleared the 88 under the template evaporated, as did 4 out of 5 infantry under that template, and both units were pinned. I love that combo.
The Germans were in a bind. Staying under the template was suicide so the infantry fled the buildings to their half-tracks, into the square, out from underneath its devastating power and LoS. There was no choice but to Ambush the second infantry platoon and occupy the church and surrounding yard protected by a stone wall while advancing closer to the Attacker's objective by the escarpment as the Soviets would be there on turn 3. The HQ occupied the church tower and the mortars dropped smoke to screen the 88's who then had no targets and remained Gone to Ground. The two scouting platoons positioned against the Assault Engineers and pinned them with concentrated machine gun fire, killing two teams. Not realizing the war was on, the King Tiger crews brewed some tea and imagined the look on the Soviet's faces when they eventually see the German's new behemoths.
Turn 2
The Soviets HQ again rushed their force towards the bridge, this time skirting around some devasted woods for concealment against imaginary foes. With nothing to impede their advance, and with no targets in sight beyond a few infantry moving about around the church, Stalin was surely smiling and blessing their gambit. Although enemy tanks were reported near the area they just rushed past, neither sign nor sounds threatened their exposed rear. In the center, the Engineers, keeping their heads down, opened up on the German recon platoons with PTRDs but with most shots going wide or bouncing off the thick front armor. It soon became evident that a shoot-out with these beasts would end in failure and would only delay their mission to assault the dug-in 88's. Without any targets, the ISU-152's advanced off their overwatch and towards the position of the 88's. Just ahead, the ominous shapes of two guns materialized through the smoke and the commander instantly order fire, only to miss through the haze and confusion of the smoke screen. The BA-64's rushed the cross-country terrain, working their way towards the town center.
Desperately the German commander called for Reserves as laughter emanated from the radio. It soon became clear that the Reserves were so engrossed in their levity that they failed to notice the hot-mic broadcasting their good humor. At least someone was having a good day. Cursing out loud, the commander ordered his fresh infantry platoon to dig-in and hold position, unsure where and how the Soviets would attempt to seize their Objective. They would either bunch up on one side of the escarpment for a concentrated attack or split their forces with one platoon moving around each side of the terrain for a pincher attack on his sole defending platoon. An effective counter for one tactic would leave his force catastrophically vulnerable to an attack of the other tactic, but waiting was nearly as bad as it would allow the Soviets to secure the uncontested objective next turn thus forcing his infantry in the hazardous position of trying to dislodge heavy tanks. He had no choice but to wait. The badly mauled second infantry platoon could not risk occupying those forward buildings again as the power of the ISU-152 main guns would quickly reduce his last meaningful infantry blocking force from the ISU's seizing the town square. But at least not all things were bad: the recon platoons kept the pressure on the Assault Engineers, slowly reducing their numbers by another two teams, including the PTRDs. The commander ranged in the mortars on the Engineers, scoring the pin if nothing else. As the smokescreen cleared, the 88's, while remaining pinned from the initial bombardment, still managed to destroy a single ISU and bailed another. They needed to delay them just a little bit longer . . .
Turn 3
The Germans were playing cagey and had not committed to a defense, no doubt surprised by the speed and aggression of the heavy tanks. It would be the Soviets who seized the initiative for the glory of the Motherland! With no enemy tanks in sight, the Soviet commander ordered the lead IS-85 platoon across the bridge and past the near side of the escarpment. However, a failed Follow Me left them just short of securing the Objective and bottle-necking the IS-2 on the bridge. The Engineers, through sheer force of will, advanced headlong through machine gun fire and finally reached the buildings near the 88s. Next turn they could assault the guns but would be vulnerable to a counterassault from the recon. . . The ISUs, having failed to remount their distraught team member, failed a Blitz but opened fire nonetheless at the 88s, destroying nothing and leaving three guns intact but still pinned. The BA-64s advanced up the cobblestone roads, finally gaining LoS into the town square, exchanged fruitless gunfire with the wounded enemy infantry platoon transports.
As the sun approached noon the German commander surveyed their precarious position. It looked bad but it was far from over. The delaying tactics blocking the town center were working almost perfectly, helped in no small part by the misfortune of the Soviet's luck. It was still anyone's game but the ISU's were faltering without infantry support to clear the 88's. With the nearby scout platoons, even fanatical assault engineers would require extraordinary bravery to get past the defensive fire. The BA-64 were not a threat to the infantry defending the town square in their half-tracks and he would not be baited into committing much energy towards them beyond the transports machine guns. The IS tanks bunched up on the bridge were the only immediate threat as the commander called again for Reserves. . . to no avail. Still, the escarpment and the position of the Soviet heavy tanks presented a dilemma that was unsolvable without the King Tigers in support. On one hand, the Soviets could not win the game until starting on turn 6. On the other, advancing the infantry outside of their dug-in positions behind the stone wall would be a slaughter against 7 heavy tanks and offer the Soviet force up to three assault attempts. Any victory would effectively end the game as it would leave the Germans without the ability to defend both the town square and the Soviet Objective. The Germans decided it was better to wait, even though the Soviets would seize the objective next turn and be free to plan how they would consolidate their position and hold their infantry in their protected position. Meanwhile, the recon switched from machine guns to main guns and blasted away at the Assault Engineers, killing one more team and reducing the platoon to only three teams. The mortars moved to engage the BA-64s with MG fire and managed to destroy a single armored card between them and the infantry transports. Continuing to cower in their dug-in positions, the 88's blasted three shots at short range into the ISUs, destroying another and bailing one more, leaving them with only a single fully functional tank.
Turn 4
Sensing victory, the Soviet commander ordered the IS-85 forward while blasting away at the dug-in infantry, scoring no hits. Behind them, the IS-2's moved around the escarpment to effect a pincer attack next turn and allow both platoons to assault. The commander moved on top of the escarpment to lend his leadership for the impending decisive attack. The Engineers bravely assaulted an 88 but couldn't get through the Defensive Fire from the recon platoons, losing a stand in the process and falling back in poor spirits. The ISU's managed both remounts and, deciding not to risk a Blitz this turn, destroyed another 88. One Shoot-and-Scoot later, they were nearly point blank with the last two 88s and not wanting to risk Defensive Fire in an assault. The BA's fought valiantly with MG fire but were little more than an annoyance.
Sensing that something was wrong, the King Tigers turned off their festive music, finally decided to investigate to eerie radio silence, and make contact with their commander. Cresting the hill they found the town engulfed in the flames of war and their comrades besieged by the Motherland's premier tanks on two fronts. Quickly assessing the danger they opened up on the IS-85s, immediately destroying two of the behemoths securing the Objective with an earth-wrenching force. Relieved, the German commander decided to continue holding his infantry back and let the Kings soften the forces holding the Objective. The 88's, sensing mortal peril, rallied heroically pumping 4 shots into the three remaining ISUs and scoring one more kill and a bail. As the sun waxed past noon the German commander surveyed the battlefield, his confidence rising. The shoot-out at the town center would eventually go his way, the recon platoons had effectively contained the Assault Engineers, the 88's blunted the unsupported attack by the ISU's, and now the King Tigers were engaging the Soviet heavy tanks with impunity, while his fully intact recon infantry waited nearby to seize the objective once the enemy was sufficiently weakened.
Turn 5
The Soviet commander knew he was in trouble. Ignoring the German Recon platoons with his tanks had allowed them to contain his Assault Engineers and prevent their essential support to eliminate the 88s. What should have been an easy victory turned into despair as the bailed ISU failed to remount, though thankfully the Assault Engineers rallied and the last ISU wasn't ready to quit yet. He couldn't help but second guess if his plan to aggressivly threaten the far-right Objective left his assault on the town square understrength. But there was still a chance! Calculating that the dreaded King Tigers were too far away to contest any Objectives, all that was needed was to push the German recon infantry back into the church with an IS-2 assault while himself and the last IS-85 secured the Objective. This could work! Unfortunately, God never loved Stalin, and, realizing this, the last IS-85 fled like a coward. With dwindling hope the IS-2s opened a horrific barrage of machine gun fire into the dug-in infantry pinning them in place, then following up with an assault. Panzerfausts ripped into the advancing armor, managing to bail one but ultimately failing to stop the assault. Unable to face the prospect of being crushed under tread, the infantry fled back into the church, even as the commander ordered them to hold their position, while the IS-2 consolidated back towards the objective to block anyone from contesting it next turn, and ending up squarely in the hungry sights of the King Tigers . . . On the other flank, the few remaining Assault Engineers pumped all their SMG's into the last two 88's pinning them down while the ISUs 152mm main gun blasted through another 88, leaving only one in defense!
With only seeing themselves standing between the enormous ISU-152 and the town square, the 88 gun crew finally fled the field. All that remained now to defend the town square was the tattered remains of the Recon Infantry armed with panzefausts, the two Recon Gun platoons, and the Recon Mortars. Playing for time, the recon gun platoons heroically blocked the only access to the town square that the ISU's could take, as the Mortars moved to set up a secondary blocking force. Together it would take the ISU's at least another 3 turns to secure the town square, and that's before getting through the tattered infantry who would also block. Fully assessed, it was clear that this vector was closed and the Attackers had run out of steam for a victory at this location. With only one Objective at risk, the German commander rallied his infantry who advanced within assault range of the two IS-2s contesting the Objective and the one bailed IS-2. Sadly, panzerfausts failed to cause any damage. Taking their time to pick their targets, the King Tigers on the hill blasted 4 shots into the contesting IS-2s, again destroying two tanks, leaving only the Soviet HQ IS-2 to contest. With a final assault ordered on the bailed IS-2, the Germans contested the Soviet Objective with a near full-strength Recon Infantry Platoon facing off against the Soviet HQ, thus preventing the Soviet Victory on turn 6.
Turn 6
Sensing certain defeat, the Soviet commander quit the field.
We didn't roll for any moral tests at the start of this turn.
German Losses:
8.8cm Heavy AA Platoon
Soviet Losses:
IS-2 Heavy Tank Platoon (Destroyed by King Tigers and finished off with an infantry assault)
IS-85 Heavy Tank Platoon (Destroyed by King Tigers and a failed Last Stand)
BA-64 Recon Platoon (Destroyed by MG fire and failed Last Stand)
AAR
Honestly, that could easily have gone to the Soviets.
Soviet Objective: Despite the King Tigers sleeping the entire first half of the game, once they arrived they got really lucky and singlehandedly turned the tide of the game. Due to positioning, the Soviets had no answer for them as they had dedicated everything to their attack gambit which almost worked spectacularly. With no other things considered, the failure of that Turn 3 Follow Me order ended in a bottleneck, spoiled an otherwise amazing advance on the Soviet Objective, and decisively delayed their positioning to contest the Objective early, which was essential to the entire gambit. The German Recon Infantry intended to jump on this objective early and dig in but a failed Blitz changed the calculus coupled with the insane Spearhead and subsequent Soviet advance. However, it was as risky as it was ambitious due to not leaving anything to threaten the King Tigers once they came on board. It was an "all eggs in the same basket" gambit that ultimately failed and was likely the riskier of several other attack options, such as merely threatening the Soviet Objective while overpowering the German Objective in the town square.
German Objective: The Germans played this one wrong on Deployment and should never have deployed the sole defending infantry platoon in buildings against ISU-152s, notwithstanding that there were five tanks PLUS the Reconnassaince by Force Command Card. That is a fairly insane combo. That said, the Soviets should have dropped that template over three of the 88's. Odds were good to get two of them and it's all downhill from there considering their 5+ Moral, 3+ To Hit, re-roll 4+ Saves. That's a Lesson Learned. As it turned out, a game of dice gives you unexpected results and these 8 points were able to delay the advance, but really only because the Assault Engineers let themselves get distracted for a turn playing with the Armored Recon platoons, which were used solely to suppress the Engineers and delay them from assaulting the 88's. The Mortars didn't kill much but their smokescreen was decisive in delaying the Soviets for a turn and goosing the odds in the favor of the 88s for a turn. They served their primary function admirably.
One important aspect to this game was the buildings blocking LoS to much of the German Infantry. A more open board would have presented different challenges as, on one hand, the longer-range German guns would have been more effective with less limited LoS but once within range, the Soviet Guns had Brutal and amazing Fire Power against the essential elements of the Reconnaissance Company.
Soviets
IS-2 Guards Heavy Tank Regiment HQ
1x IS-2 (122mm) 7pts
IS-2 Guards Heavy Tank Company
3x IS-2 (122mm) 22pts
IS-85 Guards Heavy Tank Company
3x IS-85 (85mm) 24pts
Engineer-sapper Company
8x PPSh SMG team with Smoke Pots and Panzerfausts 11pts
Support:
BA-64 Armoured Car Platoon
3x BA-64 (MG) 2pts
ISU-152 Heavy SP Battery
5x ISU-152 (152mm) 36pts
MG's
Reconnaissance by Combat Command Card 2pts
Germans
Reconnaissance Company HQ - 6pts
2x MP40 SMG team w/ panzerfausts
2x Sd Kfz 250 (MG)
Reconnaissance Platoon - 17 pts
7x MG42 team w/ panzerfausts
7x Sd Kfz 250 (MG) half-track
Reconnaissance Platoon - 17 pts
7x MG42 team w/ panzerfausts
7x Sd Kfz 250 (MG) half-track
Puma Scout Troop - 4pts
2x Puma (5cm)
Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm) Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm)
Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon - 6pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (7.5cm)
Reconnaissance 8cm Mortar Section - 5pts
3x Sd Kfz 250 (8cm)
Formation Support:
8.8cm Heavy AA Platoon - 8pts
4x 8.8cm AA gun
Command Card Kampfgruppe von Swoboda Luftwaffe 8.8cm FlaK
2x Tiger II Tank Company - 36pts
Reserves are the King Tigers and the Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon at 42 points.
Analysis
The Soviet Heavy Armor list presents a German Reconnaissance Company with a difficult question, namely "how to win" against what you can't kill. Against heavy armor lists, this Recon Force needs to, at minimum, buy some time for the big cats to join the fray or, more ideally, kill some stuff before getting assaulted and depending on panzerfausts. AT9 is not going to cut it alone in general and more specifically there is not enough of it in this force to make a big enough impact before it's too late. It became apparent that the Germans simply needed more high-end AT than just two Tiger II's but needed to maintain an Artillery capability for balance. Command Card Kampfgruppe von Swoboda Luftwaffe 8.8cm FlaK finally returns the Bombardment to these 8.8cm guns and, while less than ideal statistically, gives the dual purpose capability essential for this Recon Force. Between using the 7.5cm gun tanks to harass, smoke to block LoS, and now the AT14 8.8cm guns to threaten kills, this list has just enough elements to maybe hold off a catastrophic assault before the Kings show them what it means to be king. Points being what they are, it will have to do.
Another helpful aspect of winning is forcing the Heavy Tank Force to defend objectives. Being agile and fast, this Recon Force enjoys scenarios that threaten a Heavy Tank Force getting outmaneuvered and snatching an objective of their own. To that end, selecting the Battle Plan Maneuver is great because it is a solid bet that a Heavy Tank Force will bid Attack. While it is not certain, not bidding Attack is a huge gamble for them, as they risk finding themselves defending with Reserves and the Recon Force can opt to bid Attack and force the Heavy Tank Force to defend objectives.
The scenarios Breakthrough, Counterattack, Escape, Fighting Withdrawal, Gauntlet, and Spearpoint are the available missions in Attack vs Maneuver.
The first five all have Defender objectives only but each presents good opportunities against Heavy Armor.
Breakthrough, Counterattack, Escape, and Gauntlet can easily give the Defender side armor shots and/or delay the Attacker till the Kings show up and the infantry digs in on the objective. With Ambush in all Scenarios but Gauntlet, a hasty Attacker takes a huge risk, though even in Gauntlet, rushing past your 8.8cm guns is a recipe for disaster. Smoke will give your fast infantry the protection they need to get on the objectives.
Fighting Withdrawal gives the Recon Force minefields, which can be a huge problem for a Heavy Tank Force. Ambush helps too with an enormous Deployment Zone and the Kings will dominate the battlefield starting on the first turn. With cheap units to withdraw, this is a great scenario against a Heavy Tank Force.
Only Spearpoint requires the Attacker to defend objectives and they must either go through or around the Defenders deployment zone to secure an objective while potentially presenting juicy side armor. Either that or plow through your Ambush into your deployment zone while defending two objectives, all before the Kings arrive in Scattered Delayed Reserves.
The Table
As these lists were fundamentally different in their bias regarding playstyle, terrain preference, and scenario preference, we endeavored to mitigate this bias through the board design.
A town square surrounded by a corner shop, two-story buildings, a municipal building, and a church occupied most of the near-right quadrant, with a cobblestone road entering the near table edge and another stretching along the long edge length and ending in a sparse farming community in the adjacent quadrant. Along this length of the road, craters and destroyed buildings pocked the landscape offering some cover while suggesting the town as a hotly contested focus. Indeed it housed a Soviet official's estate and as such held both symbolic and strategic value to both sides. This quadrant biased infantry as most all approaches threatened unsupported tanks with an ambush while offering bloody house-to-house infantry fighting.
In the near-left quadrant, a few farming houses remained wholly intact and surrounded by fenced fields occupied by the crossroads where the rural roads turned north, wandering off into the distance past the opposite table edge. An escarpment behind the farms offered a favorable overview of the table center, the road's approach observing the opposite far-left edge, and importantly the near-right quadrant building's obscuring the town square. However, the farms blocked the escarpment's LoS to most of the near-left quadrant, leaving a critical vulnerability for defense. With generally good overwatch and plenty of concealment, this quadrant equally biased tanks, infantry, and static guns.
The rural road leading from the farmlands directly to the far-left quadrant was obscured on the right by treelines, allowing excellent infiltration across the table without long-range threats from the right side. It sported two hills, one observing the farms and corresponding fields but blocked by the treeline. The other hill was beautifully placed to observe almost the entire table and only obscured by the treeline and town square buildings. A few sparse patches of shattered woods allowed short-terrain concealment but these were negated by the hills overwatch. With little difficult terrain, long stretches of LoS, and the two hills to offer hull-down concealment, this quadrant heavily biased tanks and guns while offering infantry little to no protection.
The far-right quadrant boasted another escarpment with excellent LoS across the streams and pond occupying this space. Stone walls surrounding the church in the near-right quadrant slightly encroached into this otherwise empty quadrant while the concealment offered by the sparse shattered woods would prove meaningless to anything holding the escarpment. A bridge offered unrestricted access across the difficult stream and an impassible pond separating the far left and right quadrants while a large area of shattered woods gave concealment to anything not on the high ground. This quadrant held a generally neutral bias with wide open spaces, high ground, difficult terrain, and concealing short terrain.
Overall this table offered quadrants with a tank bias, an infantry bias, and a general balance in the other two, lending to a great opportunity for each force to leverage their strengths and exploit weaknesses in the opposing force.
The Scenario
Predictably, the Soviets bid Attack and the Germans bid Maneuver. The dice rolled a 2 and so we played Counterattack.
This table was seemingly a no-brainer for defending a Counterattack mission. The German infantry could occupy the buildings surrounding the town square and drop an Objective right in the center, forcing the Soviets to approach where the infantry could not only Ambush but ambush from concealing terrain within 4" of their tanks. Nice.
However, the Soviet list possessed three important factors: (1) Reconnasaince by Combat allows the ISU-152's a Turn 1 Repeat Bombardment anywhere on the table. That's a re-roll misses, re-roll saves, 2+ Firepower template. The Germans are already missing Heinz Auert and the game hasn't even started yet! (2) ISU-152 direct fire is Brutal Auto Fire Power while the IS-2's are Brutal with a 2+ FP! German infantry hiding in buildings won't last long against that. (3) The town square is overwatched by two escarpments, offering great LoS to the town buildings from two opposing table quarters.
Nevertheless, the Germans opted to Defend the town square table quarter and plopped an objective right in the center. Without LoS into the square, the ISU-152 bombardment could be ranged in at the beginning of the game but if not done at that time, it would be unlikely to get LoS until the game was essentially over with a Soviet victory.
The Soviets carefully considered their Attack vector as both adjacent table quarters offered excellent LoS to the town square buildings and all approaches, just not past them into the square. The far-right quarter, while closest, did possess some difficult terrain that was moderately risky to move through and had an impassible pond. The near-left quarter enjoyed favorable freedom of movement and LoS for tanks, but sported that rural road that the German Reserves could use to outflank the Soviet's attack. Both would require the Soviet force to traverse either into the town square or around the town square to secure the objective on the opposite table quarter, risking flank shots from the square and from the impending King Tigers. Deciding to Attack from the near-left quadrant, the Soviets placed their Objective just under the opposing quadrant escarpment, far enough back where German infantry must cross open ground to contest and leave the relative protection of the church and surrounding stone walls.
German Deployment
German Reserves consisted of the King Tigers and the Reconnaissance 7.5cm Gun Platoon at 42pts.
A Recon Infantry Platoon formed the Ambush.
The plan was to use the 8.8cm dug-in guns to delay any heavy tanks approaching directly from the left quarter into the town square. There wasn't really an ideal place to deploy otherwise and so they formed the forward defense with the infantry behind them in the buildings. While these guns could delay the tanks, they were highly vulnerable to the Soviet Assault Engineers assaulting from the buildings along to left-right cobblestone road, therefore the Pumas and Sd Kfz 234 (7.5cm) Gun Platoon deployed to harass and delay the infantry. The HQ deployed into their vehicles in the town square, ready to occupy the church tower to call in artillery fire over most of the table while the mortars also deployed in the square spread out and ranged in to smoke LoS to the 88's. It was supposed to be a good plan.
Soviet Deployement
The BA-64 Armoured Cars infiltrated roughly towards the center of table, thus securing favorable attack vectors for a rush to the opposing quadrant. The IS-2, IS-85's and HQ exploited this expanded deployment zone to get in front of some difficult terrain, while the assault engineers occupied some craters surrounding a destroyed building and the building itself. This Spearhead alone cut an entire turn off the Soviet's rush to their objective. The ISU-152 posted on the escarpment overlooking the town square and opted to place their ranged-in marker on top of 5 out of 7 infantry teams and one of the 88's. Dang. This clearly was a good plan.
Turn 1
The Soviet HQ and two IS platoons rushed across towards the bridge to the opposite far-right quadrant, throwing all precaution to the wind. With only AT9 to worry about, they gambled that the Germans would have other problems to prioritize as they rushed the Engineers into rubble closer to the 88's. The lovely ISU-152 dropped a Repeat Bombardment on the aiming point and devastated their targets: after the smoke cleared the 88 under the template evaporated, as did 4 out of 5 infantry under that template, and both units were pinned. I love that combo.
The Germans were in a bind. Staying under the template was suicide so the infantry fled the buildings to their half-tracks, into the square, out from underneath its devastating power and LoS. There was no choice but to Ambush the second infantry platoon and occupy the church and surrounding yard protected by a stone wall while advancing closer to the Attacker's objective by the escarpment as the Soviets would be there on turn 3. The HQ occupied the church tower and the mortars dropped smoke to screen the 88's who then had no targets and remained Gone to Ground. The two scouting platoons positioned against the Assault Engineers and pinned them with concentrated machine gun fire, killing two teams. Not realizing the war was on, the King Tiger crews brewed some tea and imagined the look on the Soviet's faces when they eventually see the German's new behemoths.
Turn 2
The Soviets HQ again rushed their force towards the bridge, this time skirting around some devasted woods for concealment against imaginary foes. With nothing to impede their advance, and with no targets in sight beyond a few infantry moving about around the church, Stalin was surely smiling and blessing their gambit. Although enemy tanks were reported near the area they just rushed past, neither sign nor sounds threatened their exposed rear. In the center, the Engineers, keeping their heads down, opened up on the German recon platoons with PTRDs but with most shots going wide or bouncing off the thick front armor. It soon became evident that a shoot-out with these beasts would end in failure and would only delay their mission to assault the dug-in 88's. Without any targets, the ISU-152's advanced off their overwatch and towards the position of the 88's. Just ahead, the ominous shapes of two guns materialized through the smoke and the commander instantly order fire, only to miss through the haze and confusion of the smoke screen. The BA-64's rushed the cross-country terrain, working their way towards the town center.
Desperately the German commander called for Reserves as laughter emanated from the radio. It soon became clear that the Reserves were so engrossed in their levity that they failed to notice the hot-mic broadcasting their good humor. At least someone was having a good day. Cursing out loud, the commander ordered his fresh infantry platoon to dig-in and hold position, unsure where and how the Soviets would attempt to seize their Objective. They would either bunch up on one side of the escarpment for a concentrated attack or split their forces with one platoon moving around each side of the terrain for a pincher attack on his sole defending platoon. An effective counter for one tactic would leave his force catastrophically vulnerable to an attack of the other tactic, but waiting was nearly as bad as it would allow the Soviets to secure the uncontested objective next turn thus forcing his infantry in the hazardous position of trying to dislodge heavy tanks. He had no choice but to wait. The badly mauled second infantry platoon could not risk occupying those forward buildings again as the power of the ISU-152 main guns would quickly reduce his last meaningful infantry blocking force from the ISU's seizing the town square. But at least not all things were bad: the recon platoons kept the pressure on the Assault Engineers, slowly reducing their numbers by another two teams, including the PTRDs. The commander ranged in the mortars on the Engineers, scoring the pin if nothing else. As the smokescreen cleared, the 88's, while remaining pinned from the initial bombardment, still managed to destroy a single ISU and bailed another. They needed to delay them just a little bit longer . . .
Turn 3
The Germans were playing cagey and had not committed to a defense, no doubt surprised by the speed and aggression of the heavy tanks. It would be the Soviets who seized the initiative for the glory of the Motherland! With no enemy tanks in sight, the Soviet commander ordered the lead IS-85 platoon across the bridge and past the near side of the escarpment. However, a failed Follow Me left them just short of securing the Objective and bottle-necking the IS-2 on the bridge. The Engineers, through sheer force of will, advanced headlong through machine gun fire and finally reached the buildings near the 88s. Next turn they could assault the guns but would be vulnerable to a counterassault from the recon. . . The ISUs, having failed to remount their distraught team member, failed a Blitz but opened fire nonetheless at the 88s, destroying nothing and leaving three guns intact but still pinned. The BA-64s advanced up the cobblestone roads, finally gaining LoS into the town square, exchanged fruitless gunfire with the wounded enemy infantry platoon transports.
As the sun approached noon the German commander surveyed their precarious position. It looked bad but it was far from over. The delaying tactics blocking the town center were working almost perfectly, helped in no small part by the misfortune of the Soviet's luck. It was still anyone's game but the ISU's were faltering without infantry support to clear the 88's. With the nearby scout platoons, even fanatical assault engineers would require extraordinary bravery to get past the defensive fire. The BA-64 were not a threat to the infantry defending the town square in their half-tracks and he would not be baited into committing much energy towards them beyond the transports machine guns. The IS tanks bunched up on the bridge were the only immediate threat as the commander called again for Reserves. . . to no avail. Still, the escarpment and the position of the Soviet heavy tanks presented a dilemma that was unsolvable without the King Tigers in support. On one hand, the Soviets could not win the game until starting on turn 6. On the other, advancing the infantry outside of their dug-in positions behind the stone wall would be a slaughter against 7 heavy tanks and offer the Soviet force up to three assault attempts. Any victory would effectively end the game as it would leave the Germans without the ability to defend both the town square and the Soviet Objective. The Germans decided it was better to wait, even though the Soviets would seize the objective next turn and be free to plan how they would consolidate their position and hold their infantry in their protected position. Meanwhile, the recon switched from machine guns to main guns and blasted away at the Assault Engineers, killing one more team and reducing the platoon to only three teams. The mortars moved to engage the BA-64s with MG fire and managed to destroy a single armored card between them and the infantry transports. Continuing to cower in their dug-in positions, the 88's blasted three shots at short range into the ISUs, destroying another and bailing one more, leaving them with only a single fully functional tank.
Turn 4
Sensing victory, the Soviet commander ordered the IS-85 forward while blasting away at the dug-in infantry, scoring no hits. Behind them, the IS-2's moved around the escarpment to effect a pincer attack next turn and allow both platoons to assault. The commander moved on top of the escarpment to lend his leadership for the impending decisive attack. The Engineers bravely assaulted an 88 but couldn't get through the Defensive Fire from the recon platoons, losing a stand in the process and falling back in poor spirits. The ISU's managed both remounts and, deciding not to risk a Blitz this turn, destroyed another 88. One Shoot-and-Scoot later, they were nearly point blank with the last two 88s and not wanting to risk Defensive Fire in an assault. The BA's fought valiantly with MG fire but were little more than an annoyance.
Sensing that something was wrong, the King Tigers turned off their festive music, finally decided to investigate to eerie radio silence, and make contact with their commander. Cresting the hill they found the town engulfed in the flames of war and their comrades besieged by the Motherland's premier tanks on two fronts. Quickly assessing the danger they opened up on the IS-85s, immediately destroying two of the behemoths securing the Objective with an earth-wrenching force. Relieved, the German commander decided to continue holding his infantry back and let the Kings soften the forces holding the Objective. The 88's, sensing mortal peril, rallied heroically pumping 4 shots into the three remaining ISUs and scoring one more kill and a bail. As the sun waxed past noon the German commander surveyed the battlefield, his confidence rising. The shoot-out at the town center would eventually go his way, the recon platoons had effectively contained the Assault Engineers, the 88's blunted the unsupported attack by the ISU's, and now the King Tigers were engaging the Soviet heavy tanks with impunity, while his fully intact recon infantry waited nearby to seize the objective once the enemy was sufficiently weakened.
Turn 5
The Soviet commander knew he was in trouble. Ignoring the German Recon platoons with his tanks had allowed them to contain his Assault Engineers and prevent their essential support to eliminate the 88s. What should have been an easy victory turned into despair as the bailed ISU failed to remount, though thankfully the Assault Engineers rallied and the last ISU wasn't ready to quit yet. He couldn't help but second guess if his plan to aggressivly threaten the far-right Objective left his assault on the town square understrength. But there was still a chance! Calculating that the dreaded King Tigers were too far away to contest any Objectives, all that was needed was to push the German recon infantry back into the church with an IS-2 assault while himself and the last IS-85 secured the Objective. This could work! Unfortunately, God never loved Stalin, and, realizing this, the last IS-85 fled like a coward. With dwindling hope the IS-2s opened a horrific barrage of machine gun fire into the dug-in infantry pinning them in place, then following up with an assault. Panzerfausts ripped into the advancing armor, managing to bail one but ultimately failing to stop the assault. Unable to face the prospect of being crushed under tread, the infantry fled back into the church, even as the commander ordered them to hold their position, while the IS-2 consolidated back towards the objective to block anyone from contesting it next turn, and ending up squarely in the hungry sights of the King Tigers . . . On the other flank, the few remaining Assault Engineers pumped all their SMG's into the last two 88's pinning them down while the ISUs 152mm main gun blasted through another 88, leaving only one in defense!
With only seeing themselves standing between the enormous ISU-152 and the town square, the 88 gun crew finally fled the field. All that remained now to defend the town square was the tattered remains of the Recon Infantry armed with panzefausts, the two Recon Gun platoons, and the Recon Mortars. Playing for time, the recon gun platoons heroically blocked the only access to the town square that the ISU's could take, as the Mortars moved to set up a secondary blocking force. Together it would take the ISU's at least another 3 turns to secure the town square, and that's before getting through the tattered infantry who would also block. Fully assessed, it was clear that this vector was closed and the Attackers had run out of steam for a victory at this location. With only one Objective at risk, the German commander rallied his infantry who advanced within assault range of the two IS-2s contesting the Objective and the one bailed IS-2. Sadly, panzerfausts failed to cause any damage. Taking their time to pick their targets, the King Tigers on the hill blasted 4 shots into the contesting IS-2s, again destroying two tanks, leaving only the Soviet HQ IS-2 to contest. With a final assault ordered on the bailed IS-2, the Germans contested the Soviet Objective with a near full-strength Recon Infantry Platoon facing off against the Soviet HQ, thus preventing the Soviet Victory on turn 6.
Turn 6
Sensing certain defeat, the Soviet commander quit the field.
We didn't roll for any moral tests at the start of this turn.
German Losses:
8.8cm Heavy AA Platoon
Soviet Losses:
IS-2 Heavy Tank Platoon (Destroyed by King Tigers and finished off with an infantry assault)
IS-85 Heavy Tank Platoon (Destroyed by King Tigers and a failed Last Stand)
BA-64 Recon Platoon (Destroyed by MG fire and failed Last Stand)
AAR
Honestly, that could easily have gone to the Soviets.
Soviet Objective: Despite the King Tigers sleeping the entire first half of the game, once they arrived they got really lucky and singlehandedly turned the tide of the game. Due to positioning, the Soviets had no answer for them as they had dedicated everything to their attack gambit which almost worked spectacularly. With no other things considered, the failure of that Turn 3 Follow Me order ended in a bottleneck, spoiled an otherwise amazing advance on the Soviet Objective, and decisively delayed their positioning to contest the Objective early, which was essential to the entire gambit. The German Recon Infantry intended to jump on this objective early and dig in but a failed Blitz changed the calculus coupled with the insane Spearhead and subsequent Soviet advance. However, it was as risky as it was ambitious due to not leaving anything to threaten the King Tigers once they came on board. It was an "all eggs in the same basket" gambit that ultimately failed and was likely the riskier of several other attack options, such as merely threatening the Soviet Objective while overpowering the German Objective in the town square.
German Objective: The Germans played this one wrong on Deployment and should never have deployed the sole defending infantry platoon in buildings against ISU-152s, notwithstanding that there were five tanks PLUS the Reconnassaince by Force Command Card. That is a fairly insane combo. That said, the Soviets should have dropped that template over three of the 88's. Odds were good to get two of them and it's all downhill from there considering their 5+ Moral, 3+ To Hit, re-roll 4+ Saves. That's a Lesson Learned. As it turned out, a game of dice gives you unexpected results and these 8 points were able to delay the advance, but really only because the Assault Engineers let themselves get distracted for a turn playing with the Armored Recon platoons, which were used solely to suppress the Engineers and delay them from assaulting the 88's. The Mortars didn't kill much but their smokescreen was decisive in delaying the Soviets for a turn and goosing the odds in the favor of the 88s for a turn. They served their primary function admirably.
One important aspect to this game was the buildings blocking LoS to much of the German Infantry. A more open board would have presented different challenges as, on one hand, the longer-range German guns would have been more effective with less limited LoS but once within range, the Soviet Guns had Brutal and amazing Fire Power against the essential elements of the Reconnaissance Company.