Panzer Aces 6mm Batrep with Hell Hath No Fury

[bigjackmac]

All,

So, this is it, the first battle report from our new campaign, "Panzer Aces."  The campaign will be played out using 6mm forces, and we will follow two brothers leading a tank platoon with the fictional 52nd Panzer Division, from Barbarossa in June 1941 to the bitter end in May 1945, all on the eastern front.  The platoon will start in Pz IIIFs (short 50mm guns), then graduate to long 50mm guns (Pz IIIJ, March 1942), to Pz IVG (December 1943), Pz IVH (June 1943), and end with the Panther (November 1944).  They will face an array of Soviet vehicles, guns, and troops, from the little T-60s all the way through the JS-2s.

Hans (the elder brother and platoon commander), a Sergeant and commander of the Tank 201, and Franz Mueller (the younger brother), a Corporal and commander of Tank 203, are from a small village in Bavaria.  They joined in the inter-war years, both in the infantry but volunteering for the blossoming Panzer Corps when the opportunity arose.  They were members of the 4th Panzer Division during the blitzkrieg through Poland and then France, performing well.  This led to their promotions, and when, following the fall of France, the formation of the 52nd Panzer Division was being formed, they both volunteered as it secured spots for them to become tank commanders.  Their platoon is comprised of four tanks split into two sections of two tanks, one led by Hans in 01 and one led by Franz in 03.  Tank 202 is led by Corporal Heine and Tank 204 is led by Corporal Schultze.

After much training and preparation, today is the day of invasion, 22 June 1941.  German forces, massed on the frontier in Poland opposite the Soviet lines, moved forward in the pre-dawn darkness, and then a ferocious artillery barrage was unleashed.  As the barrage pounded Soviet forward positions and the sun crested the horizon, airplanes of the Luftwaffe filled the skies, destroying Soviet aircraft on the ground and further pounding the Red Army.  Wehrmacht infantry poured through the Soviet front line, largely a walk through but with pockets of intense fighting.

The company commander called his platoon commanders together at approximately 1100; in two hours we march on the Soviets.  The infantry have opened holes in the lines and now the panzers will strike.  Our guidance is to pour through the holes created by the infantry, do not get bogged down!  We will push, moving to encircle the Soviet formations, and then we will continue to push, cutting them off and destroying their rear echelon elements, we must keep them off balance.  We will move forward through here (tapping map), advance along this axis (tapping map), advancing on this bridge (tapping map).  The Soviets will try to throw up new defensive lines, but these must be smashed on the run, the bridge must be taken (slapping the map with his swagger stick)!

**This is the first scenario from the Hell Hath No Fury book, "Dawn Patrol," while the bridge will be the next fight.


Overview of map, left is north, west is bottom.  The Panzer Platoon is at bottom center right, while the three poker chips are blinds (or 'PEFs' in NUTS!/Hell Hath No Fury speak).  The road is for decoration only, not conferring any movement bonus, while there are two hills and numerous woods that block line of sight.  The Panzer order of march is: Hans in 201, Heine in 202, Franz in 203, and Schultze in 204.


First contact is the German tank platoon speeding up the road, spotting two Soviet trucks towing 45mm anti-tank guns over to their right.  To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2016/07/panzer-aces-6mm-batrep-with-hell-hath.html

We had a great time, the boy is already asking me when we can play again, and we look forward to getting another fight in this coming weekend.  I plan on playing about eight engagements per 'stage' of the war, so eight for early Barbarossa, eight for the autumn/winter push on Moscow, eight for spring/fall of 1942, eight for the relief of Stalingrad, eight for the spring of '43 and Kursk, eight for the defensive battles that winter, eight for Bagration/summer '44, eight for the breakout fights of that winter, and eight for the end, which will probably go through Hungary and end in Czeckoslakia, though I'm also toying with going on a different route and getting trapped in the Baltics.  I will not be doing Berlin.

V/R,
Jack

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice one Jack

[nikharwood]

Always a good sign when the offspring ask when you can play again

[Norm]

It will be fun watching the two sides getting their new equipment as the war progresses.

[bigjackmac]

Thanks guys.

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

 

Cheers - Phil

[bigjackmac]

All,

The Wehrmacht is pushing east relentlessly, its men snatching sleep an hour or two at a time.  It's 0930 on June 24, 1941, the third day of the invasion.  The brothers Mueller have led their platoon onward at speed; following the initial fight on D-Day, they haven't had any real contact.  The few Soviets they've seen were either dead (from airstrikes), doggedly retreating, or surrendering, and the platoon paid them no mind, pushing forward towards the bridge serving as the objective for the initial thrust.  All four Panzer IIIs are in good fighting order, crews looking for a fight.  Good thing, as aerial reconnaissance has reported a strong Soviet presence near the bridge.

Once again this fight is in 6mm Microarmor from GHQ, using Two-Hour Wargames' "Hell Hath No Fury" rules, which I have modified to add in infantry, anti-tank guns, trucks, and armored cars.


Overview of map, north is left.  The Panzer Platoon is at bottom left (northwest), while the bridge is at top center (east).  There are two poker chips (top right and center) representing Potential Enemy Forces (PEFs), and the bridge is also, for all intents and purposes, a third PEF.  As a quick aside, I've gotten questions regarding my PEF table, so I've included it in this blog post.

To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2016/07/wwii-microarmor-panzer-aces-batrep-2.html

Well, I don't want to hand out any spoilers, but it was a bit rough...  The boy is not happy and is looking for revenge, as am I, so stay tuned as we'll be playing another this coming weekend.  I also got in fights number 7 and 8 for the Royal Marines in Afghanistan, I'll be posting them as soon as I can.

V/R,
Jack

[paulr]

Interesting report Jack, with those added ATGs definitely a Kobayashi Maru scenario 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Ouch!

[Techno]

 

Cheers - Phil

[Ithoriel]

Nice AAR and some good pics too (I'd expect no less from you Jack!).

Looking forward to the next one.

[bigjackmac]

Yeah, it went about how I figured it would...

V/R,
Jack

[O Dinas Powys]

Yeah, it went about how I figured it would...

V/R,
Jack

At least you didn't loose both the main characters on the first day of the campaign 

[bigjackmac]

Yeah, just their tanks... 

And hey, it was the SECOND day of the campaign! 

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

The platoon has received three shiny new Panzer Mk IIIs and manpower to make good it's losses, and it has rejoined the active ranks after almost a month working in the recovery, maintenance, and supply sections.  It's 1430 on July 20, 1941, and the brothers Mueller are leading their tanks eastward.  Several 'pocket' battles have already  occurred, and the 52nd Panzer Division is at the vanguard of bagging yet another sizable Soviet force.  Soviet infantry are without transportation due to near-constant pounding by the Luftwaffe; being immobile there is little hope they might escape the developing pocket.  And Soviet armor is low on fuel, ammunition, and spare parts, but its remaining forces are pushing north and south in a rush to get outside the closing German pincers.

The platoon:
201: Sgt Mueller in a new tank with a new loader.
202: Cpl Heine, who survived last battle by running away, leads the only original tank and crew.
203: Cpl Mueller has a new tank and new loader.
204: This is a new tank and entirely new crew, led by Cpl Wetzel.


Overview of map, north is left.  The platoon is at bottom left (northwest) and must exit at least two of its vehicles via the road through the village at top center (east).  It's a hardball road surrounded by crop fields, a few stands of trees, and two decent-sized hills in the top left (northeast). 

To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2016/08/wwii-microarmor-panzer-aces-batrep-3.html

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this written up; I actually have a Hakuna-Matata air battle and a Hakuna-Matata ground battle to write up.  I've had a lot going on lately with work, some work travel, and then swimming with the wife and kids pretty much every evening I'm home.  In any case, I'm working on the write-ups, and will be playing more games this weekend.

V/R,
Jack