Hello all!

The subject of our first campaign we played as a pair was the Soviet Union’s 1944 offensive into Belorussia to attack the German  Army Group Center. For this campaign we used the Battlegroup rules published by the Plastic Soldier Company. This period in particular was picked because it allowed both Steve and myself to use some more interesting late war tanks and formations that would not have been present earlier in the war. For structure, we each took 250pts out of the Bagration campaign book, incrementing upwards by another 250pts each battle. Between games the core of our armies stayed the same, only adding new formations or organizing squads into platoons, platoons into companies, and so on. This kept a strain of continuity between games to simulate the troops pouring in to hold the front in Steven’s case, and across the Pripyat Marshes to attack in mine. A map tied the campaign together, dictating the first victory case of either force being pushed all the way off their board edge. Failing that, the campaign was a best of six games meaning a theoretical maximum of 1500pts. As you shall read, it did not come to that.

The campaign began on a typical warm Belorussian day, as an unsuspecting German panzergrenadier unit encountered a soviet SU-76 battery and accompanying infantry at the outskirts of a small hamlet. 

Soviet recon elements approached the farmhouse from a low hill while the lead SU-76, and accompanying infantry crossed the fields on the left side of the table. Opposite, two sdkfzs trundled forward and towards the center objective. The battle soon descended into two fights, the Panzer III and SU-76s dueling on the outskirts to provide fire supremacy over the objective, and a bloody slog on the outskirts of the hamlet to try and gain the advantage to push for the center objective.

The duel ended with a crash as one SU-76 landed a long distance shot and humbled the German hunter. Inside the hamlet, the hum of MG-34s was interrupted only by bursts from PPShs. At the battle’s crescendo, the Soviet platoon commander was cut down, but the red army tide could not be quelled and they captured the field. Game 1 to the Soviets. 

By game two, the Germans have fallen back to a farmhouse complex and thrown up a hasty roadblock to halt the Soviet advance. At 500 points, the Soviet force was joined by a platoon of T-34/85s, a T-70, as well as trucks and support for the infantry. Opposing them the Germans upgraded to a platoon of Pz IIIs, and were joined by recon vehicles.

Soviet scouts entered the table and began to approach the roadblock but immediately came under fire from Steven’s well placed puma at the roadblock. Stymied, the Soviet armor began to push up the right side of the table towards the German occupied farm complex.

Well placed German vehicles punished the Soviet advance, but ultimately infantry and armor managed to push their way to the outskirts at the cost of a T-34/85.

Here, the battle truly kicked off, with the second pair of T-34s punishing the German vehicles and being punished in turn by panzerfausts from the farmhouses. Similarly the Soviet force charging forward from the wheat fields met a withering hail of disciplined German fire, stopping them in their tracks. Despite the large Soviet force moving in from behind, the sight of reinforcing German tanks was too much, and the Soviets fell back giving the Germans game two. 

Game three kicks off with the German counter-attack down one of the roads from which Soviet ground forces are pouring into the front. For his counter attack, Steve has rallied his first big cats, a Panther and panzer ace Tiger. Additionally, sappers have been dispatched from a Pionier-Sturm-Bataillon to assist the assault on the Soviet defensive line. Conversely, the Soviets have fallen back to an artillery position where three batteries of Zis-3 guns await the German advance, as well as an additional T-34/85. The scenario allocated a random amount of Soviet defenders from the list, with a slim chance for reinforcements. The board is defined by the small village beside a river where Soviets have chosen to hold the line. A bridge and ford and essential for crossing the river for both sides.

As predicted, the bridge and ford defined the combat. On the top of the table, the advancing Tiger took some long shots at the defending T-34s, but struggled to advance under withering artillery fire, and was ultimately dispatched by a lucky T-34. At the bridge, Panzer IIIs are taken out by a hail of direct fire from artillery pieces. A lucky group of infantry made the mad dash for the objective across the bridge, but were confronted by an advancing T-34/85.

Though the German attack was valiant, the Soviets immediately turned all fire on the brave Germans, preventing the salient from remaining and ultimately breaking their morale. Game three Soviets.

In conclusion, the first half of the campaign turned into a bloody push and pull. On the horizon however Soviet forces are massing for another push into the heart of the German lines. You’ll have to check out our next post to see the conclusion of the campaign (and even some of the terrain get painted). Thanks for tuning into our first gameplay post, we’re still figuring out how we want to format and present our rules, battle reports and campaigns. Thank you for your patience, and we’d love to hear from you! Get out there, roll dice, and crash and burn!

Thanks, Noah and Steven

This article was written by Noah and proofread by Steven