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'Warsaw Brigade Counter-Attack', Poles vs Germans, 1939

by Keith Flint, December 2006

The Scenario

The Germans must defend 2 objectives. They can deploy anywhere in their half of the table.

Poles use mobile deployment, and may use flank deployment in first two thirds of the table. Each objective must be captured separately with 3 infantry units and 1 command unit.

Game length 8 turns. The side in control of both objectives at the end of the game wins. If both sides have one objective each it is a draw. If one side is broken before the end of the game, that side automatically loses.

Polish Warsaw Motorised Brigade

  12th Light Tank Company
    CO, 2 Vickers E 47mm, 1 Vickers E mg, 1 TKS 20mm
  1st Mounted Rifles
    HQ, 8 infantry units, 2 mg units, 1 8cm mortar unit with Lazik, 1 TKS MG (recce)
  1st Foot Rifles
    HQ, 8 infantry units, 2 mg units, 1 75mm field gun unit with tow, 1 TKS mg (recce)
  2nd Motorised Artillery Battalion
    FAO, 1 75mm artillery unit, 1 100mm artillery unit, 4 assets
  24th Reconnaissance Flight and 55th Independent Bomber Flight
    2 Karas units, 1 asset each

1180 points, Breakpoint 14

German Infantry Battalion, 8th Infantry Division

  2 Infantry Companies
    CO, 4 infantry units, 1 mg unit, 1 37mm ATG unit, 1 75mm IG unit
  2 Infantry Companies
    HQ, 4 infantry units, 1 mg unit, 1 37mm ATG unit

Points 595, Breakpoint 7, Ambush units 3

The Battle

The terrain was flat and open, with the 2 objectives (a village and wooded hill) equally spaced across the table in the German half connected by a road.

Daringly (or stupidly) the Poles elected to deploy the 1st Foot Rifles on the right flank in the middle third of the table. A series of surprisingly low command rolls got them onto the table straight away and in 4 turns they had taken the village which was the right flank objective.

In the centre the CO made good progress with his light tanks under command and got involved in stiff firefight with opposing infantry and anti-tank guns, getting 2 of his Vickers KO'd but destroying the opposing paks at the same time with the help of some artillery support.

The 1st Mounted Rifles made slower progress on the left flank (attacking the wood which was the left flank objective), and hadn't really engaged properly by the end of turn 4. The Karas units attacked the wood in support but could only manage to keep a few heads down.

However, by the end of turn 4 the efforts of the Foot Rifles and the Light Tank Coy had reduced the Germans to their breakpoint, who promptly threw a 10 and therefore lost the game.

The Poles had been pretty lucky to win so quickly - a more usual series of events would have seen the flanking regiment fail to come on for 3 or 4 moves! In this respect the attachment of TKS 'platoons' using the recce rule to boost CVs was very valuable. On the down side, the Polish player was so excited to have air support he forgot totally about his artillery assets!

The Germans had not had a great deal to do except stand and fight it out. They felt the lack of any artillery support. I did, however, use an 'ambush' rule similar to that included in the FOW rule set, and this added some uncertainty to the proceedings.

     
 
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