Simple Arc of Fire Air Support Rules

The following air support rules came to me whilst I was out walking the dog the other day. I think they'll be helpful when running the kind of larger Arc of Fire game we tend to play at Crisis Point.

Random Air Support

Each player starts the game with an Air Support card that they can play on any unit that is subject to a random event, before the die roll has been made to determine the nature of the random event. Once the card is played it is used and cannot be played again.

The unit on which the card is played is subject to an air attack and must make a Tac roll. The result of this Tac roll is as follows:

Example: 

Andy, Bruce and Catherine are playing a game using the alternative activation system where each unit rolls a D6 at the start of the turn to determine its Activation Number.

The first card drawn is the Black Joker. This is followed by Black 1. Only Andy has a unit with an Activation Number of 1 so he activates that unit.

Next the Red Joker is drawn.  Because the Black Joker has already been drawn this turn there will be a random event and it will affect the unit whose card comes up next. The next card drawn is Red 3 - all units with an Activation Number of 3 may activate (including, because it’s a red card, wounded figures). All three players have a unit with Activation Number 3 so we quickly dice-off to see which unit is affected. It turns out to be Bruce’s squad of Andreivian Turk militia crossing a stream.

Before the Random Event can be rolled for, Catherine (running an Italian NATO detachment) declares an air attack on the Turks. 

Bruce’s Turks are Tac 7 so he needs to roll a D10 and get 7 or more to succeed with his Tac roll. He rolls a 4 and fails. Each figure in the Andreivian Turk squad must make an immediate Morale Roll. 

Later in the game the NATO headquarters unit is the subject of a random event and Bruce decides to get his own back. He plays his own Air Support card on Catherine's HQ.

The NATO HQ is Tac 5 and with a roll of 10 it seems that either they are very well camouflaged or the local NATO air defences are on high alert. Catherine's second Tac roll is an 8 so it seems it's the latter. The Andreivian Turk aircraft is shot down and the game continues with the NATO HQ taking its turn.

That's it then; an attempt at a set of air support rules that will give us an excuse to get the nice aircraft models onto the table without too much risk of an unlucky die roll completely unbalancing the scenario.

Obviously variations are possible. If one side has overwhelming air superiority, they'll be the only ones with Air Support cards. If a force has plentiful AA-capable elements we might allow them an increased chance of a shoot-down result.

Please let me know what you think. 

Sharp Practice Markers

I've been inspired by Mark Bretherton's blog The Tactical Painter, where he's produced a wonderful set of markers for use in his 20mm scale Chain of Command campaigns. I decided to create something similar for Sharp Practice giving thought to some of the changes that can happen during a game, particularly those things that require us to keep track of past events. 

One example would be "Spitting Feathers". This is a possible "Movement Random Event" that causes units to move more slowly until they can find a source of drinkable water.

I used a rectangular MDF base to create this micro diorama that should remind us to reduce the affected unit's movement when it next activates:

The wine bottle is made from a piece of cocktail stick turned to the right shape with sandpaper using my Dremel as a makeshift lathe. 

On the rear of the base is a written reminder:

Another random event is "Fouled Barrels". A similar base, a spare carbine from the Warlord WSS Cavalry set, and jammed ramrod made from a piece of Peco track-fixing pin from my model railway days, gives me this:

Again there's a brief note of the effect written on the reverse.

Also in the movement random events is one where the unit discovers that the ground in front of it is worse than it thought. I've done three variants on this one for use in differing settings:

Some older markers that I've had for a while are these banks of smoke. They can persist as a result of a firing random event or under some circumstances when breech-loading rifles are in use. These have become increasingly necessary as I've started using Union cavalry with repeating carbines.

These are made on larger bases, sized to cover the frontage of a line infantry Group, made from cardboard textured with my usual gloop. Teddybear stuffing material is glued on and them dirtied with black and dark brown paint.

Finally, not random event-linked but very definitely stolen from Mark are these "Wounded Leader" markers.

The bases are discs of MDF, not actually bases but left-overs from some long-forgotten building project. The bloodied bandages are from strips of pocket tissue soaked in Modpodge. Placed next to a Leader, they will remind us that his Command Initiative has been reduced.
 

Vapnartak 2025

Jamie, Andy and I went up to York on our annual Vapnartak pilgrimage on Sunday. As usual it was a chance to catch up with friends and to get some it's-my-birthday-next-week purchases.

My impression is that trade stands increasingly dominate the scene at the racecourse. Demo and participation games being exiled to some pretty cramped spaces upstairs. However, what games there were were pretty good.

The guys from Sally 4th had an excellent Midshipman Hornblower Versus the Pirates game. 

This was played using Pulp Alley; a wonderful game that I really ought to get back on the table some time soon.

Ken Reilly and the Leeds club, as usual, had a massive game; this time an Italian Wars bash.

A group called The Brompton Bankers presented Alloway Creek, an AWI scenario. The terrain was basic but effective with the road and river sections being printed on mousemat material.

John Savage and the Harrogate crew put on a wintry Midgard battle between Romans and Celts. This was surrounded by players and on-lookers all day and I was only able to capture one overhead shot.

In between chatting to several of the Lardy community around the table (great to see Charley W back on his feet after he's been so ill) I was struck by how effective John's terrain is whilst remaining practical. I think a key factor is that all of the terrain pieces are well integrated into the theme. Using and reusing the same winter printed base cloth John adds appropriate terrain pieces that work together to create a seamless whole. Even though the units are on verdant bases, the whole effect is chilly.

East Leeds Military Society put on the Battle of Tabaruzaka, 1877, a Satsuma Rebellion battle using the Black Powder rules. An interesting choice of period.

Another game that caught my eye was Somewhere in the Western Roman Empire, 376AD. This was by a group called Westow Academy and used the Art de la Guerre ancients rules. I get the impression that these rules have become quite popular with the kind of players who previously would have been playing DBM and similar. Not a set I'm familiar but the toys were lovely.

Vapnartak is always a great chance to catch up with wargaming friends from across the North. Andy C is another friend who's been poorly recently and it was great to see him and Simon G from the Elton club near Chester. I'm hopeful of persuading both of them to come to Crisis Point this year.

I always make a point of saying Hi to Annie of Bad Squiddo Games as we share a birthday that's always shortly after Vapnartak. Occasionally we grab a selfie.

And finally, the shopping. With my birthday just around the corner I tend to splurge a bit.

One of the retailers (Gripping Beast?) had a table with some books at sale prices. I picked up these five for just £20. My ACW library is building nicely.

A pack of six Perry Russian peasants armed with assorted captured weapons looked like it might be useful for the Livonia campaign. The Warbases water cart will go with the cart horse I have awaiting painting - great for pretty much any Sharp Practice force.

AB Miniatures provided crews for my 20mm Soviet M1938 howitzer and 57mm AT gun. These are generally expensive by high quality figures. I'm a little disappointed by problems with flash and mould alignment on a few of the castings in the 122mm crew set.

Finally I encountered a new (to me) manufacturer; Templar Wargames. They make 20mm modern figures. At present the range seems to cover British Marines/Paras, Islamic insurgents, and African irregulars. On a suck-it-and-see basis I picked up an Islamist medium mortar team and a pack of African types. I'd meant to pick up guys with AK-47s but by mistake I got a pack of eight with RPG-7s. The figures are quite small in stature but I think I can use at least some of them in Andreivia.

All in all I very much enjoyed the trip to York and thanks are due to Andy for picking up the tab on our usual call into Tadcaster for beer and pizza on the way home. My shout next time!

1812 Rescue Mission

I managed to occupy the kitchen table this morning and play through, solo, the Sharp Practice scenario I designed recently. 

It's June 1812 and the "French" corps commanded by Marshal Macdonald has crossed into the Russian province of Livonia. The corps is made up largely of German and Polish troops who, now freed from restrictions on foraging in friendly villages, hope to fill their empty bellies. 

Leutnant von Hitwunde leads a small force of Prussian infantry to search a village near the army's line of march. He is aware that Captain Früschli, a rather foppish Bavarian officer attached to the General Staff, has ridden on ahead intending to use the church tower as a vantage point. He plans to sketch the countryside over which the army must march.

As his column, slowed by a waggon to carry off gathered supplies, draws near to the village, von Hitwunde spots a small patrol of Russian dragoons riding toward the village. Given the angle of their approach, they will be invisible to Früschli because of a large tree beside the church tower...

The battlefield - the Prussians enter on the road
bottom right. The Russian Deployment Point is just visible
behind the trees on the right edge of the table.

Turn 1 went just about as poorly as it could for the Prussians. The Russian dragoons' card came up first only to be immediately followed by the Tiffin card. The dragoons were deployed nine inches onto the table with the small woods on their left.

Turn 2 saw card Blue 2 come up first. This represented the Prussian NCO. I decided that the Prussians would send him off with one Group of infantry to wade across the stream and advance on the village in a right hook. As things would turn out, this would be completely ineffective. Having run up to the stream (picking up a point of Shock) they would spend the next six turns rolling appalling movement dice and struggling to cross the stream!

Also on turn 2 the Russians continue to canter towards the door of the church. 

I treated the single Bavarian standing guard as a one-man infantry unit. Activating on a Flag card after Tiffin, he stepped into the open and fired his musket at the approaching cavalry. He was obviously panicked and the ball flew wide.

Turn 3 saw Lt von Hitwunde arrive and lead his men in column along the road towards the bridge.

After an early Tiffin card, I decided the Russians would want to take out the sentry before he managed a lucky shot. I used a Flag to activate them and they charged the still-reloading Bavarian.

Faced by charging impact cavalry and with an unloaded musket, the Bavarian was cut down without inflicting any casualties on the Russians.

Turn 4 saw one Flag card each and then Tiffin. The Russians used theirs to dismount at the church door. This gave me the chance to use some dismounted dragoon figures I built out of left-over parts from the Perry Allied Cavalry box...

... and von Hitwunde's men continued their march along the road.

Turn 5 began with a Random Event that saw the Prussian column, with spring in their step, surge forward onto the bridge...

... with the accompanying waggon now lagging behind.

Needing to catch the Russians before they disappeared into the church, Von Hitwunde decided to act. Spending three Flags to move out of sequence he urged his men forward. Rolling a 6 on a single move die, the front of the column rounded the end of the riverside woods and loosed a volley into the dragoons killing one of them and inflicting three points of Shock.

At this point, finally, the card for Captain Früschli, the Bavarian officer came up. I decided he would attempt to progress his sketch of the countryside. One roll of snake-eyes later, he was two-twentieths of the way through his Task!

On a Flag after Tiffin, the dragoons retreated into the church.

Turn 6 was brief; a Russian Flag and then Tiffin. I decided the Russians could use the Flag to barricade the door as long as they didn't roll snake-eyes. This they avoided, slamming home the bolt with a satisfying clang.

On Turn 7 things began to go wrong for the Russians. Their Leader, serzhant Majevskii's card came up first and he rallied off two points of Shock in preparation for an assault up the staircase to try and kill or capture Früschli. 

Unfortunately, the next thing that happened was a Random Event. As the last activation was the Russians completing the task of locking the door, the rules suggested that this had failed. There must have been rot in the wood where the screws held the bolt in place. With an ominous creak, the door slowly swung open!

After that the Tiffin card came up. The Prussians used a Flag to reload.

Turn 8 began with von Hitwunde's card. He launched the men into a charge but they were unable to reach the door before the Russians finally got it barred. Elsewhere Feldwebel Klopp's men finally got across the stream, far too late to make a contribution to the action.

Turn 9 saw the action reach its climax. The Prussians assaulted the church. I resolved this as a round of Fisticuffs with the Prussians deemed to be assaulting a major obstacle and the Russians to be defending a high/wide one. 

The results were decisive; for the loss of one man, the Prussians inflicted three casualties including knocking out Majevskii and inflicting a second point of Shock. Added to the two additional points of Shock received for "losing by two" this was enough to rout the Russians. The two survivors fell back 15", I assume having broken through the east window of the church.

The game was great fun; I really enjoyed how the narrative pretty much wrote itself. It's good to know that von Hitwunde survived and can take his place in the campaign proper when Richard P and I finally get round to playing it. Perhaps the captured dragoon sergeant will play some role in our first game?

Battlezones for TacWWII

So here's another post on converting scenarios to play with the TacWWII rules. This time I'm adapting one from Battlezones - Scenarios for Ultra-Modern Period by the late Bruce Rea-Taylor. I lent my copy to someone years ago but fortunately I was able to find a pdf copy on line.

This scenario book was designed for the Challenger II rules, which operate at one-model-equals-one-vehicle level, so the forces will be a little small for TacWWII. We may need to scale them up in some cases.

I'm going to have a go at converting the first scenario in the book, Tel Al Fal - The Road To Jerusalem, 6th June 1967. This Six Day War action has Israeli forces encountering a Jordanian tank battalion on the Ramallah-Jerusalem road.

First up we need to consider the map. The Challenger ground scale is half that of TacWWII (1cm = 20m rather than 1cm = 40m) so we need to halve dimensions; Bruce's 8'x6' table becomes a 4'x3' for TacWWII.

Each contour is supposed to be half a vehicle high but we have no single contour hills here so normal hills or ridge lines will work. I've suggested with brown lines where I think ridge-lines could go if you don't have suitably shaped hills.

The woods are keyed as "Open orchard/olive grove" and a look at Google Maps shows that although the area is now far more built-up, the olive trees are quite widely spaced. They'll be Open Woods in Tac. The fields are lined with low stone walls.

The Israeli forces consist of a tank battalion with some attached paratroops. The full order of battle is given but we need to remember that one model here represents one real-world tank. So long as the number of vehicles per platoon isn't too divergent between the opposing sides we should be OK to just say, "One platoon equals one TacWWII element".

In this case, the Battalion HQ could be an M3 or a Sherman. I'd be inclined to go with the latter given its superior survivability in battle.

The organisation of the para company is given separately:

We can ignore the company HQ; it's deemed to be included in our overall company strength. I would include a Jeep platoon with RCLs even though it represents only two real-world vehicles. It adds interest to the game and won't make a huge difference to scenario balance. The rest of the formation can be converted over on a one-platoon-equals-one-element basis. This gives us overall:

82nd Tank Battalion

• Bn HQ                  1x Sherman Mk50
• A Coy                   3x Sherman Mk50
• B Coy                   3x Sherman Mk50
• C Coy                   3x Sherman M1 
• Para Coy               3x SMG platoon, 1x 81mm mortar, 4x M3, 1x Jeep+RCL  

Rules for SMG-armed infantry are given in version 1.6 of TacWWII. Basically, treat them as High Firepower infantry at 5cm range and Low Firepower infantry at longer ranges. Each SMG platoon will be treated as having bazooka.

The Jordanian force is similar in size:

This is an interesting case in that the battalion HQ is technically too small even to register as an element in TacWWII terms. If I was building this unit for Cold War Commander I'd have an HQ base with a Saracen and a quad AAMG model. 

If we are to represent the battalion HQ on the table we could just give them a Saracen model. This would be vulnerable and would add nothing to the formation's firepower. However, TacWWII doesn't actually require the presence of a battalion HQ element - there are no command radii or suchlike to measure from a headquarters model. As such I'm inclined to just ignore the single Saracen. 

The Jordanian infantry company looks like this:

Again we can fold this HQ into the overall strength of its company. Light mortars and LMGS are assumed to be reflected in the firepower rating of the rifle platoons. The two sustained-fire machineguns are a challenge. You know what? I'm going to fold them into the rifle platoons too, rating them as high firepower. That just leaves to two Landrovers and the two AA machine-guns. With no aircraft in the scenario I'll ignore the guns and represent the Landies as a single model just like we did with the Israeli Jeeps.

So the Jordanian force is:

2nd Battalion, 60th Armoured Brigade

• A Coy                   4x M47
• B Coy                   4x M47
• Inf Coy                 3x Rifle platoon, 3x Saracen, 1x 3" mortar, 1x Truck, 1x LR+RCL

Overall, then, we have a nice little scenario that will play comfortably on a smallish table and should provide for a leisurely evening's solo or face-to-face gaming.

A Scenario for Livonia

I thought it might be instructive to have a go at writing a scenario using the principles I outlined in my recent piece on Designing Historical Scenarios (DHS). I'm beginning this post with nothing written and with no more than a rough basis in mind. Let's start with...

The Theme

Clearly part of the theme here is, "Can I write a scenario that exemplifies the DHS approach?" We'll also have a geographic theme - I want to do something using my small 1812 Livonia collection (models aimed at wargaming Macdonald's march on Riga at the start of Napoleon's invasion of Russia). Finally there's also a rules-focussed theme in that I'm interested to see if I can create a scenario using a force on one side that's far too small for a conventional Sharp Practice game.

A few of Macdonald's reluctant Prussian troops

Game Constraints

The Livonian collection is intended for a series of Sharp Practice games that Richard Phillips and I plan to play at some point in the future. They have seen action previously in my participation game A Spy in the Suburbs but at present I only have the French-allied side here in Sheffield. This consists of:

• Four Groups of eight Prussian line infantry,
• One Group of six "third rankers" - skirmishers,
• Two Prussian NCOs and one infantry officer,
• One Group of eight Prussian dragoons with an NCO Leader,
• A Bavarian mounted officer and another on foot accompanied by an NCO and drummer (I picked up a cheap Bavarian command sprue at some point),
• A wounded French hussar on foot (the original "Spy in the Suburbs"), and
• A Westphalian artillery piece and crew.

My collection of opposing Russians is truly insignificant. Using figures left over after making the Prussian dragoons, I have enough parts left to create five Russian dragoons. Presumably one of them will serve as Leader to the half Group formed by the remaining four. This is way too few for a conventional Sharp Practice game but let's see what we can come up with!

In addition, I have a couple of other miniatures; a lady with two pistols and a civilian clearly modelled on Richard Sharpe's sworn enemy Major Ducos.

In terms of terrain, I have a large quantity representing the burned-out suburbs of Riga but I'm inclined to make this scenario a solo prequel the planned campaign with Richard and at the start Riga is as yet untouched by fire. That being the case the appropriate terrain I could use includes a Russian village house and a small church. The latter was intended for use in North America but Livonia having a large German population, I reckon it could pass as Lutheran. Oh, and maybe the wooden barn I've used in ACW scenarios might pass muster? Obviously generic terrain items such as rivers, fields and trees are available as is a potentially useful horse and cart.

Flavour

I've found this book particularly helpful in getting a feel for Eastern Europe during the Napoleonic era:

Jakob Walter was a German who served, with no great enthusiasm, in the armies of Napoleon in three campaigns between 1806 and 1813. Unfortunately, my "Narrative Snippets" from the book were made before I computerised the process and, at present, I can't lay my hands on the notebook that contains them. From memory, though, we might include:

• small parties of men, formerly ill or wounded, are sent off to find and rejoin the parent units that left them behind,
• a regiment escorting the army's pay wagons,
• a bleaching meadow (an unusual terrain feature) alongside a river, or
• an unwilling Jewish guide provides directions to a nearby village.

The dominant narrative theme, though, is the soldiers' constant hunger due to the lack of organised supply. As soon as the army crossed the Russian border, it was free from restrictions on looting the possessions of friendly civilians. Foraging parties of various sizes, some authorised and some not, fanned out from the line of march.

Let's begin, then, with our Prussian infantry on a foraging expedition to a Livonian hamlet. My generic cart will come in handy here and I have a Prussian infantryman converted as a horse-holder who can serve as driver.

Clearly half a Group of Russian cavalry is no match for a company of musketeers so we need a task for them that relies on their speed and manoeuverability. Maybe snatching a valuable target before the Prussians arrive?

This is where our few Bavarians come into their own. Maybe a Bavarian officer is known (by both sides) to be observing the country ahead from the church tower? We could give him a Task (we'll think about the Task Value later when we come to balance the scenario) to complete a sketch of the key features before he can withdraw. Unfortunately a tall tree blocks his view in one direction so he can't see a Russian cavalry patrol drawing near. 

We can afford to give the Bavarian officer a horse, swapping in my dismounted and mounted officer models as required, the sight variations in their uniforms being ignored. I can use one of the "empty horses" I painted for What A Cowboy if we ignore the lack of suitable saddle cloth and the like.

Our scenario, then, becomes a Russian patrol attempting to snatch a Bavarian "spy" and the Prussian foraging party's commander realising the risk and moving to prevent it. The table might look something like this:

The Prussians enter at A, the Russian cavalry at B. The Bavarian officer is in the church tower while his horse, possibly with a soldier to guard it, is near the entrance at C. The tree is tall enough to block the officer's view of the approaching Russians.

Obviously the rest of the table shouldn't be a featureless plain. We can add copses, hedges and maybe a small stream to add visual and perhaps tactical interest.

The Game and the Rules

Obviously this isn't a scenario that would give a Russian player much to do but for a solo game the progress of the Russians provides some time pressure on the player, who'll mainly be running the Prussians.

Now ideally we'd work out the numbers such that we get a tense finish with everything coming down to the wire but we have so many moving parts here it's not easy to see how we balance them. How long might each of the following take?

• The observing officer completing his sketch,
• The Russian dragoons reaching the church, attacking it and possibly capturing the officer,
• The Prussians arriving and driving off the Russians.

With rules that have units moving fixed distances and moving every turn, it would be a simple matter to  work out where we need to position the Prussian and Russian forces to ensure a tight finish. Frankly, though, we'd also end up with a pretty uninteresting game!

Long approach marches aren't going to add much to the game so why don't we aim for the following?

• The observing officer should, on average, complete his sketch on the fourth turn, let's say a Task Value of 20.
• The Russians should reach the church on the second turn with a small chance of doing so one turn later, we'll put B about 24" from the church
• The Prussians should be able to each the church no earlier than the fourth turn so the distance from A to the church is 36".

If you're familiar with the Sharp Practice command and control mechanisms you'll know that in fact these timings are hopelessly subject to the whims of the card draw but the aim is to provide a narrative kick-off at the start of the campaign so let's see what happens!

At this point we need to consider how the game might pan out and whether there's danger of an uninteresting static firefight. What if the Prussians just march up to a point halfway between A and C, form a line and blast away (or threaten to do so if the Russians dare to come round that side of the church)? I think we'll tweak the map to block off, or at least delay, that option.

A stream now runs between the Prussians and the village. They can cross it with some delay anywhere or without delay at the bridge. Scrubby trees line the stream south of the bridge blocking line of sight to the village at ground level but not to the top of the church tower or the tall tree next to it.

Now the Prussians arriving at A will be able to see the Russians at B but will soon lose them behind another copse. The player has tactical options. Should they continue on the road from A to C hoping to get there quickly before forming a fighting formation? Or should they move towards B, wade across the stream, and swing round awards the church in a right hook? Or maybe split the force and try both?

Forces

I could in theory field a Prussian force with four line infantry Groups and one of skirmishers but I think a key plank of the scenario is that the Prussians should be a little less responsive so I'm going to run the game with just the line guys - two Groups under the CO (Level II) accompanied by a wagon and a single Group under an NCO (Level I). 

Our Russian cavalry are, as we know, half a Group (from the Riga Dragoons as it happens) and we'll put them under the command of a Level II NCO.

I'll try to set this up next time the kitchen table's available and I'll let you know how it goes.

Battle of Mokre, August 1944

On Saturday, Phil and Andy came over to Stately Counterpane Manor to play the latest of my TacWWII adaptations of Bob Mackenzie's Great Patriotic War scenarios. The Battle of Mokre is a brigade-sized action during the August 1944 fighting in southern Poland.

The battlefield (at TacWWII's 1cm = 40m ground scale) is just 4 feet by 2.5 feet so the game fit very comfortably on the kitchen table.

The terrain is, I think, largely self-evident in the picture above with the possible exceptions that the pale linear features are ridge lines blocking line of sight (mostly - in some case there is line of sight across a ridge line from one that is deemed to be higher) and the beige-coloured rectangles bottom right are flooded meadows.

Our German player (Phil) began with a battalion (I/64 Panzergrenadier Regiment) holding Jablonice and an armoured battlegroup (KG Collin) advancing either side of the major ridge to the right of Mokre. 

Andy, as the Soviet commander, had 52nd Guards Tank Brigade in and around Mokre, 53rd Brigade on the left-hand side of the table below the woods, and 289th Rifle Regiment coming on behind them. Additional Soviet forces would arrive as determined by a die roll each turn. 

Contrary to what the designations above might suggest, in reality none of these Soviet formations was above what most armies would consider peacetime battalion strength. For example, here's 53rd Guards Tank Brigade advancing towards Jablonice:

There's the Brigade HQ, a platoon of T-34s with tank riders, and a platoon of IS-2s. They are approaching some outlying elements of I/64 Panzergrenadier Regiment:

Kampfgruppe Collin was forced by the scenario to deploy astride the ridgeline near Mokre. This would leave half of their tank platoons in a position where they could be fired upon by the ambushing 52nd Guards Tank Brigade. Phil decided to put his under-strength Panzer IV battalion in the "shop window".

Unfortunately for Andy the component units of 62nd Guards Tank Brigade were not properly alert as the Panzers passed in front of them. Only one of their company-sized battalions managed to spot the enemy and fire at the first opportunity. Although one Panzer IV platoon was knocked out, Phil elected not to return fire. This avoided keeping the transiting Panzers hidden from the sleepy Soviet tank gunners throughout the first turn.

The action had previously begun with the arrival of a flight of Il-2 Sturmovik. Andy's Bf-109s were able to intercept them and shoot them down. Subsequently, a flight of La-5FN fighters showed up. They engaged some SdKfz 251s but to no effect.

On the second game turn the Soviets again received the maximum in air support while the Luftwaffe was conspicuous by its absence. One of KG Collin's Panzergrenadier platoons was put out of action.

A light SU Regiment with SU-85s appeared alongside 52nd Tank Brigade. Although they didn't contribute any effective hits, their arrival seemed to wake up the nearby tankers. The German Panzer IV battalion was wiped out but the Kampfgruppe's overall morale held despite the losses.

One turn three 51st Tank Brigade arrived through Kurozweki...

... whilst their compatriots of the 52nd and 53rd Brigades engaged the enemy armour. 

The centre of the board saw an increasingly complex melée between converging armoured units. By the end of game turn 6 KG Collin had been broken and 52nd Tank Brigade was reduced to the strength of two platoons, albeit one of them was a powerful IS-2 unit. 

By the seventh turn of the game the Soviets had received all of their expected reinforcements. Perhaps key were the headquarters units of two off-table artillery regiments. With these manoeuvered into position, the Soviets would be able at leisure to bombard Jablonice. 

With our available time used up, the opinion was that the eventual result would be a victory to the Soviets but a pretty Pyrrhic one; certainly not the easy triumph they achieved in history.

My thanks are due to Andy and Phil for an enjoyable battle, hard-fought in the best spirit. We need to build on our increasing experience with TacWWII and get some more games in soon.