Street Fighting

By NDNG_Dane and Mitch Reed

Today, our resident Historian Dane takes a look at Street Fighting on the Eastern Front of WWII, and Mitch ties the real-life tactics into the new Flames of War (FOW) Eastern Front books.

During the summer of 1942, the German 4th Panzer Army and the 6th Army were given the task of capturing Stalingrad. These veteran soldiers were to learn a whole new level of urban fighting. The initial German offensive and invasion of Stalingrad started with 270,000 German military personnel, 500 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces and 1,600 aircraft. The Soviet defenders included 187,000 military personnel, 400 tanks, 2,200 artillery pieces and 300 aircraft.

Interestingly, Field Marshall Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist stated that capturing Stalingrad was not the primary objective. The Germans only wanted to capture the city, to allow the Germans to create a bottleneck between Don and Volga rivers, blocking the Soviet forces from flanking the Germans from the east.

The German military used combined-arms teams of Armor, Infantry, Engineers, Artillery and Close Air Support Aircraft to defeat the enemy in what was known as “Blitzkrieg”, or, Lightning War. The Germans spearheaded their attack with a concentration of armoured formations to break through the Soviet defences. This tactic had worked for the German military thus far and had resulted in the capture of vast Soviet prisoners and a huge amount of land.

Mitch:This combined arms approach is woven into the game at its core. Most lists and especially German lists have a good variety of types of forces you can take. Players who excel at the game understand the different capabilities of their units and use them to achieve victory on the table.

The Soviets had been falling back into the depths of the heartland, trading troops and acreage for time. Time to produce Tanks, Artillery and Aircraft…and also time to learn. The Soviets developed a counter-blitzkrieg tactic known as “hugging the Germans”. In an effort to defeat or at least minimize, the Germans’ weapons systems stand-off capability, the Soviets kept their front-line formations as physically close as possible to the German forces, often just the distance of the next house or across the street, in order to ensure that German supporting Artillery and Close Air Support could not target the Soviet forces without endangering their own German forces.

German Urban Fighting Tactics

As a common practice, German tactics involved assigning 3-4 tanks to each infantry company. The Infantry Company would clear house by house and block by block calling upon the tanks as mobile artillery pieces. In many instances the tank crews would simply drive into the buildings, collapsing the building into a pile of rubble.

As the Germans honed their urban fighting techniques, they reintroduced the Sturm Keil, or “Storm Wedges”, that they used successfully in WWI. These assault formations were comprised of specially trained Engineers and Infantrymen armed with MP40s, an MG34 machine-gun, a light mortar and flame-throwers. These storm groups were very effective at clearing bunkers, cellars and sewers.

Mitch: The 295th Infantry division in Iron Cross is a perfect example of the makeup of a unit designed to fight in an urban environment. In this list you can take either a Grenadier or an Assault Platoon. The latter has SMGs, flamethrowers and hits on a 2+ in assault. The attached infantry guns give you the same support as mobile artillery pieces mentioned above as well. This unit is perfectly re-crated for you to have a realistic city fight.

Soviet Urban Fighting Tactics

The Soviets nicknamed Stalingrad “The Street Fighting Academy”.

The Soviets ordered their front lines troops to stay within 50 meters of the enemy to reduce the use of German artillery and air support. The Soviets also used defence-in-depth. Formation commanders were instructed to build multiple defensive lines. In instances where actual distances were short, Soviet soldiers were to build multiple positions even within a building, to fall back to.

Soviets would build a series of connecting strong points within the city, with concentrations of Infantry and artillery, thus giving providing defence in depth. The front line strongpoints and obstacles were to “break apart” German formations and channel the weaker German units into “kill sacks”. Obstacles of various types were used to partition off squares and streets, thus making German manoeuvre more difficult.

Mitch: Despite the defensive doctrine mentioned above the Soviets still had to venture out of their positions and engage the enemy. Enemy at the Gates has bunch of Rifle battalions that can do this job, however none as good as the Storm Group in the Hero Rifle Battalion. Armed with SMGs, these teams hit on a 2+ in Assault. They also have good firepower with two HMG teams which are internal to the unit. Throw in the two flamethrower teams for a few more points and you have a great unit for city fighting. If these guys do not thrill you, the SMG Company and the Penal Company would be great substitutes.

Urban Tactics in Execution

In “normal” battlefield conditions both sides tried to avoid open streets and squares as they were exposed to enemy fire, but when attacking, the Germans were forced into these areas as they provided the best avenues for advance. In the channels between the strongpoints, the advancing Panzers encountered landmines, then an anti-tank defensive line (dug in tanks and anti-tank guns). In addition, the Soviets kept reserves in particularly significant and/or strong buildings.

Mitch: The rules that go with the four new missions include this open space. The books mention the use of Boulevards as way to mitigate this open terrain in-between structures.

In urban fighting, the buildings of a strongpoint were adapted to allow 360? around defence, and the unit inside the strongpoint was expected to fight in isolation for several days. Strong stone or brick buildings were preferred, with the favourite being burnt out stone buildings; they were preferred because the Germans could not burn them out again. The gaps between strongpoints were barricaded and covered by fire. Trenches and sewers linked the strongpoints to other buildings. The defending Soviet infantry were provided with extra grenades, incendiaries, machine-gun ammunition and anti-tank rifles.

Mitch: The additional rules (or clarification of existing rules) that cover urban fighting. Line of site into and out of a building is covered in detail so players can clearly understand them. In all, these new rules really gives the player a feel of a city fight, which was quick and very deadly. Think of waves of infantry on a 2’x3’ table, how can it not be bloody.

Depending on the size, Strongpoints might also be equipped with mortars, individual artillery pieces, flamethrowers and heavy machine guns. In the forward strongpoints, the Soviets positioned Artillery observers. Soviet artillery was, however, massed on the Eastern shore of the Volga and typically did not shell front-line positions but did fire on German lines of communications and unit assembly areas as they were forming up for an attack.

Mitch:The “Across the Volga” rule is back! This rule puts your artillery to the side and lets you bombard anywhere in the table (the rule does not mention range) while artillery on the table cannot fire bombardments of any kind. This rule is optional but I do not know why a player wouldn’t take it since it protects the batteries and because both sides have Brutal guns that can directly support the infantry.

The “Academy” taught proper techniques for defence within a building. If the building was multi-story, troops in the basement and lower floors would direct fire along the street at ground level. Troops in upper floors or the attic fired onto the roof of vehicles, into neighbouring buildings, or at distant targets. Infantry would be posted throughout the building. If the defenders faced German tanks, the men would move to the cellar and upper floors where the tank guns could not reach them.

Mitch: In the past I have often been confused by conducting assaults in buildings. Throw in buildings with multiple stories and rooms and I was lost. Fear not; both books spell out how assaults work in these large structures. The pictures given as examples should eliminate any ambiguity and enhance your enjoyment of the game.

Heavy machines guns would generally be in lower floors. Individual artillery pieces and tanks were usually posted in a “counter-attack detachment”, outside the building or strongpoint. Most Soviet tanks ended up as immobile firing points buried in rubble. The factories had an extensive underground network of sewers, communications tunnels and water-supply systems.

Mitch: While history tells us that tanks did fight in the city, however why would you take a tank formation into a city fight? STuGs and flame tanks are good support options when taken in moderation. Both books have great infantry formation for the urban battle, I would leverage them in the city.

Assaults were often conducted without a preliminary bombardment, the element of surprise being considered paramount. In one instance, a unit of the Soviet 45th Rifle Division disassembled a 122mm howitzer from a counter-attack detachment, infiltrated it into the Red October factory, reassembled it in darkness, and then blasted a breach into the area controlled by the Germans at daybreak. Similarly, a unit from the 39th Guards Rifle Division used 203mm guns in the direct fire mode at a range of 200 meters inside the Red October factory, to destroy German fortifications within the building.

Mitch: I touched on this above with the comments on the “Across the Volga” rules. As I stated there, both sides would benefit from taking a small two gun detachment of either 15cm or 122mm guns to eliminate suborn pockets of resistance who are hunkering down in a building.

Life Expectancy

Worse than “terrible” was a common “joke” by soldiers on both sides. Any new soldier who was sent to Stalingrad had a life expectancy of 1 day. Generals fared little better, they had a life expectancy of 3 days.

Eventually, both the Soviets and the Germans started running out of ammunition, food, water and medical supplies. Trapped soldiers started defending themselves by fixing wire nets on all windows so that the grenades could not enter into the building they were defending. The enemy went on “fishing trips”, throwing grappling hooks into the window netting to pull the screening out, to be followed rapidly by grenades.

Mitch: Each faction in these books can take units that hit on a 2+ in assault that brings this bloody reality right to your table.

Missions and Reality

One particular strongpoint noted in the Battle of Stalingrad is “Pavlov’s House”, named after Soviet Sergeant Yakov Pavlov. It was a 4-story building, overlooking a 300-meter section of the river bank. German maps from the battle specify this area as a “Festung” or Fortress. Sergeant Pavlov had the remnants of a small Infantry platoon and fortified his platoon in the house. The windows on the ground floors were defended using machine guns. Sergeant Pavlov and his men defended the building for two months straight without any reinforcements.

One particular historical account, written by a surviving platoon member, states that at least once a day, if not multiple times, a member of Sergeant Pavlov’s platoon had to run out of the building to kick down the wall of corpses that formed after firefights with German soldiers. They had to do this for two reasons. First, to ensure that the Germans could not use the corpses as cover, and Second, to clear their own fields of fire.

Mitch:Anyone who played the first version of Squad Leader will recall the first few scenarios that depict the brutal fight in the ruins of Stalingrad. The new missions in these books covers the same ground as Squad Leader did, however now you get to use your lead soldiers. The Soviet book has a mission that recreates the fight for “Pavlov’s House” and Cross of Iron bring you back to that SL scenario by having you re-fight the conflict in Stalingrad’s tractor factor. To get all four scenarios you need to get both books, so if an urban fight is your thing you should add both books to your collection.

By September 1942, a brutal hand-to-hand battle was being waged inside Stalingrad. As they fought from house to house and street to street, the Germans found that all of the tactical advantages they had possessed in fighting across the steppes were lost in the close confines of the city. Many times, the soldiers used knives and bayonets to kill each other in hand-to-hand fighting. Tanks and the mechanized strategy of Blitzkrieg counted for nothing in an urban warfare. Because of the close proximity of the large city, the manoeuvrability of tank was impossible and not effective. Obversely, a sniper was more effective than a tank.

Snipers

Urban and built-up areas favored the employment of snipers. For the Soviets, one of the most popular snipers was Vasily Zaytsev. A farmer’s son from the Ural Mountains, Vasily Zaytsev preferred weapon of choice was a 20mm anti-tank rifle with a Mosin-Nagant scope attached. Vasily Zaytsev preferred technique was to shoot Germans hiding behind brick walls, by shooting his 20mm anti-tank rounds through the wall. Vasily Zaytsev had 225 confirmed kills. Vasily Zaytsev. Survived the war, he died on 15 December 1991 at the age of 76

For the Germans, the most popular was Matthäus Hetzenauer, who was Austrian. Assigned to the 3rd Mountain Division, he was credited with 345 confirmed kills. His longest confirmed kill is reported at 1,100 meters/1,203 yards. Matthäus Hetzenauer was a recipient of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. Matthäus survived the war and died in 2004.

Mitch: Snipers are a new twist in these books. Forget the old sniper rules, these are most certainly the new Version 4 rendition and unlike the V3 sniper, these snipers will be on your list. They are now not as “gimmicky” as they were before, and now play a real role in how you employ your force. They can be put into ambush regardless of mission, they are hard to kill and with a 4+ firepower they can now really kill things. If you are making a list for a city fight, you must have these teams on your list.

The stick and the carrot

To ensure each member of the Soviet military was giving their all, the military wing of the communist party, the NKVD, was tasked with “maintaining discipline” in Stalingrad. The NKVD carried out 13,500 executions during the battle. The list of possible infringements, described as “extraordinary events,” is extensive. Some heinous crimes meriting death included:

• Retreating without orders
• Self-inflicted wounds
• Corruption
• Desertion
• Attempting to surrender
• Failing to shoot at any comrades trying to desert or surrender
• Being in command of any troops which had deserted or surrendered

One lieutenant captured shortly before the battle in August managed to escape his German captors. Upon reporting for duty again in the Soviet sector, he was arrested, treated as a deserter and shot.

Even a Soviet soldier who discharged himself from a field hospital to return to his unit could be condemned as a deserter. One man was convicted of a self-inflicted wound, and was convicted because he had tried to “hide his crime by applying a bandage”!

Mitch: NKVD? Where can I hide? Those who get the Command Cards for Enemy at the Gates can field a NKVD list which is a Rifle Battalion with some neat twists.

I feel that the new books from BattleFront hold up very well in rules execution, to what occured during the actual campaign. These releases give you a great representation of the forces who fought over the city in a very brutal battle.

What players should really think about is the rules and missions that cover urban warfare. This section of the two books gives casual gamers the tools to play a different iteration of Flames of War that is sticks close to history without compromising the core of the game.

Please note that these scenarios are not really made for the tournament scene, however even the dedicated tournament player should take time out to try out these great missions and see what they can learn and apply to their toolbox.