Firestorm: Stripes

Location: E of Stadtallendorf, E of Marburg-an-der-Lahn, north Germany
Mission: Gauntlet (quick mission)
Points: 34 points

West German Leopard 1 Kompanie: Leopard 1 Company HQ, 2 Zugs of 3 Leopard 1, 1 Zug of 3 infantry and 2 Milans in 3 Marders, 2 Gepards.
Polish T-55AM Tank Company: T-55 Battalion HQ, 3 companies of 4 T-55s.
Polish BWP-1 Motor-Rifle Battalion: HQ rifle team in BMP-1, 3 companies / platoons, each of 4 AK-47s and 3 RPG-7s in 4 BMP-1s, 3 Spandrel wheeled ATGM.

This game followed on from our previous battle (https://firestormstripes.warconsole.com/battles/daneaxe-vs-major-matthew-1522882637). Later that night, the counter-offensive against the Polish salient at Marburg gathers pace...

As the tank bulldozed through another hedge, shaking Oberleutnant Kleiss yet again, he wondered if he should have allowed Rudi a slug of schnapps. The crew had a good day’s work behind them – their company had mopped up the end of a Polish attack near Homberg – but it was approaching midnight, and the offensive was just beginning. 44th Panzer battalion’s Leopard 1s were at the front of 2nd Panzergrenadier’s spearhead north, aiming to bypass the town of Stadtallendorf and then swing west, cutting off the Poles in Marburg. Allied reinforcements were behind them – some said Amis fresh from REFORGER, or perhaps the French. They had made decent progress, despite starting after nightfall, but the Soviets weren’t stupid, and were bound to have units resting up around here. Sure enough, as they approached their objective – the road junction of the B454 (bypassing the town) and the Niederheinische strasse heading to the stadtzentrum – his Luchs scouts warned of enemy armour.

Kleiss ordered his company to seize the road junction as quickly as possible, detaching one panzer zug to outflank the Soviets. The Polish force advanced quickly and efficiently (bar a couple of failed bogging checks), and their BWP-1 carriers had reached the rear of the hamlet in turn two. The relatively slow speed of movement at night, plus the difficulty in picking out a target, meant that there was no Soviet fire.

The West German force moved in around the objective, the Luchs and Marders forming a gun line supported by the Gepards, while the panzergrenadiers dismounted and took up positions in the houses. A wall of 20mm cannon fire hit the advancing BWP carriers, plus a couple of Panzerfaust-44 hits. Two BWPs brewed up, while an entire platoon withdrew after being hit repeatedly. Although Kleiss could clearly see two advancing platoons of T-55s, his Leopard zug seemed to be having trouble with their infra-red systems. Further afield, his second panzer zug continued to move around the Polish flank.

The Poles’ infantry dismounted and ran into the hail of bullets to contest the objective. Soviet shooting was limited and had no discernible effect beyond damaging the paintwork on a Leopard. In return, the West German task force continued their systematic fire plan, MG fire chewing up several more infantry teams, and breaking the depleted platoon – watching two sections burn up in their carriers had evidently been too much. The Leopards opened fire, destroying one T-55 and baling two more. The ‘diversion’ Leopard zug, its quarry having abandoned the chase, turned and baled out another pair of T-55s. Repeatedly hit, the platoon disengaged.

The Polish commander, realising that the Wessies appeared secure on the crossroads, ordered concentrated fire at the position. BWPs and T-55s used their main guns on the German-occupied bungalows, but failed to cause any casualties. Concerned over casualties and uncertain of the size of the enemy force, he ordered a retreat into the darkness.

************************************

Kleiss shook the flask of schnapps in the faint hope that a drop remained. Brigade was delighted by his company’s achievement, and the Oberst had confirmed his promotion to Hauptman. Shortly after the Poles had broken off, 41st Panzergrenadier battalion had continued the advance, leaving 44th bn to rearm and ward off any further counter-attacks. Heavier tanks were now following down the road. This was clearly a major operation. An officer jumped down from one of the passing carriers.

“Bon soir, monsieur. You have done well here, I think. But we have much yet to do before your country is free.” The Frenchman offered a small bottle with a sly look. “One should beware the cold on such a night, eh?”

Kleiss sipped the cognac appreciatively. “Danke, kamarad”. Perhaps there was hope in this war after all…

I confess we lost track of the turns in this game. The shooting started in the West German turn 2 (the second part of the turn, since the defender goes first in Gauntlet), and we belatedly realised that the Wessies had spent their turn 3 holding the objective, which prompted Matthew to focus his firepower on killing dug-in infantry (which didn't work) instead of vehicles (which might have). More prosaically, we ran out of time – nice as father-son gaming is, we are both answerable to a higher Command and we received unquestionable orders about restoring the kitchen to its proper use.

Night fighting really changed the game for us both. Not being able to see (24” at most) reduced the shooting considerably, while the extra +1 to hit modifier was a further spanner in the works, particularly for the Soviets. With a low rate of fire, hitting on a 5+ (6 for concealed teams) meant the risk of drawing return fire outweighed the benefits of shooting. For both of us, our tanks’ infra-red systems were subject to the vagaries of the dice, and we both ended up with targets we wanted to shoot but couldn’t see. Reading the small print of the unit cards, having thermal imaging on my Luchs, Marders, Gepards and infantry proved a treat, taking away that pesky +1 to hit. I’m keen to try further night fighting games with my West Germans – the problems it causes seem to be more of a hindrance to the enemy, and an elite force like the Bundeswehr needs all the advantages it can get.

The advice on countering the BMP horde focuses on using the West German light vehicles, and the Luchs, Marders and Gepard lived up to their reputation. The 20mm cannon’s 5+ firepower (coupled with the Soviets’ decent Remount stat for multiple bails) wasn’t perfect, but I had plenty of dice to roll. The Gepards on the other hand were nothing short of fantastic. I have four, and I can see a pair being a staple in every company.

Matthew had banked on his infantry reaching the objective first and then holding it. The slower speed at night meant they lost the race. I got lucky and was able to force one platoon’s carriers to withdraw before they could disembark their infantry. Concentrated MG fire took out another platoon (helped by a failed Morale check) and I was making inroads into the third. If we had continued, I think I had enough firepower to break the third platoon, with my Leopards occupying the Soviet tanks and BMPs.