Prokhorovka at Gateway 2012 Battle Report

Greg and I ran the Kursk: Drive on Prokhorovka scenario at our local gaming convention this past weekend.  It really is a huge scenario and even with an early ending, it took us at least 9 hours to play it through.  When we play, the game goes much more quickly, but newer players always play a bit more slowly than experienced ones.

The Field of Battle : WW2 (FOBWW2) rules aren't that complicated, but it did take a few of the players a bit of time to get the hang of them.  

The battle started off very badly for the attacking Germans.  An early end to the first two turns meant that on the morning of 11 July 1943, the Germans had not yet seized any of their first turn objectives and even Hill 241.6 was still in Soviet hands. 

German starting positions.  Hill 241.6 is just ahead in front of the 1st SS Panzer Regiment.
Prokhorovka is on the distant horizon.  

Soviet defenders dug in around Hill 241.6 prepared to endure the onslaught.
26th Tank Brigade on the hill.  99th Tank Brigade in the village.
11th Motorized Battalion in the village behind them.

3/285th Rifle Battalion guards the Oktiabrski State Farm.
A brigade from the 9th Guards Airborne Division is dug in
around them.

On the morning of 11 July 1943, the Germans threw their forces into the attack.  Both panzer grenadier regiments moved up the right flank and became embroiled in a vicious fire fight around the town of Storozhevoe.  Meanwhile the panzer regiment advanced up the left flank, encountering heavy minefields as they went.

Heavy fighting on the German right flank around the town.

German panzer regiment approaches the farm complex.

The Soviet players were very happy with their progress so far, so they decided to order one of the airborne brigades to move out of its defensive positions and move into the woods surrounding Storozhevoe on the German left flank.  These airborne troops would make it much more difficult fr the German panzer grenadiers to capture the town.  The 58th Motorized Rifle Brigade was tasked with filling the gap left by the airborne troops.

Unfortunately, the 58th MRB suffered heavy casualties soon after it entered combat.  It wasn't able to dig in and the German armored forces chewed up the lightly-equipped Soviet infantry.  The brigade broke and ran.

The KV-1's of the Soviet 57th Heavy Tank Regiment were destroyed by the Panzer IV's of the 1st SS Pz Regiment and soon the Soviets were left without any armor support on the table.  The Soviets began to wish they had left the airborne regiment back in its defensive positions.

Soviet infantry and heavy tank reinforcements entering from the
left as they attempt to stiffen the defences.

Where are the defenders for this side of the battlefield?!?!
They are in the woods off camera to the left.

After vicious fighting and several unsuccessful attempts to close assault Storozhevoe, the German panzer grenadiers finally managed to blast the Soviets out of the town.  Even the airborne troops in the woods had suffered heavy casualties, and with the flip of a Soviet Morale card, both units defending the area failed their morale tests and surrendered.  The Germans entered the ruined town and then prepared to swing further along the right flank toward Prokhorovka, the final objective.

Luckily, a few cards earlier, we had ordered an infantry battalion to move back into Prokhorovka and help defend it.  Otherwise, the objective would have been completely unprotected.

Iamski.  A critical town to anchor the Soviet left flank.
The German panzergrenadier battalions shot the bejeezus out
of the Soviet defenders,. They died to the last man.

Prokhorovka defended by one lone Soviet infantry battalion.
The white stuff i supposed to be rubble, but I think next time,
I'll make it a little darker.

As the night turn arrived, we took a break and I set up the massive reinforcements the Soviets would receive during the night.  These armored units represented the main strength of the 5th Guards Tank Army.  I just needed to pull a Move card for them to arrive in Prokhorovka and pound the Germans.

The Soviet 18th Tank Corps waits off table to rescue the day.

Soviet 29th Tank Corps waits next to it.  They're ready to do some damage.,

The night ended quickly and we started off the 12 July AM turn with a massive artillery bombardment of the Germans.  This bombardment took 9 strength points off of the German forces and left them with only 6 morale points to finish the battle.  The Soviet players felt pretty confident they could claim those morale points when their large reserves entered the table.  

The Germans won the initiative and moved closer to Prokhorovka, dishing out heavy casualties to the few Soviet infantry units remaining on the table.  The 1st SS Panzer Regiment was stopped in front of the Brick Factory by grim infantrymen and attached AT guns.  The 2nd Panzer Grenadier Regiment began rapidly pushing up the right flank and was nearing the defenders of Prokhorovka.  Would 3 infantry companies be able to hold them off?

......

Apparently not.  When the Soviets took their turn with initiative, they were unable to get a Move card to bring their reserves onto the table.  Even worse, they pulled a Morale card and failed every morale check on the table.  The defenders of Prokhorovka saw the panzer grenadiers coming and headed for the rear.

With 5 more cards to flip, the Soviets flipped through their deck, looking for that precious Move card.  With 2 cards to go, they pulled a Lull card!!!  The Germans seized the initiative and had one chance to play a card.  Greg flipped a card and it was the one card the Germans needed: Move 1 Command.  There was much high-fiving, screaming and cursing.

One of the German panzer grenadier battalions rolled an Even Triple Move roll, raced into Prokhorovka and occupied all 4 town sections.  Game over.  The next Soviet card in the deck?  You guessed it.  The Move card........

So it was an exciting finish.  Greg almost called the game after the disastrous start for the Germans, but the Germans played a great middle game and inflicted some tremendous casualties on the Soviet infantry.  I doubt the Germans would have survived the Soviet counterattack, but the Soviets just couldn't hold on long enough to find out.

Prokhorovka is a giant scenario and as I studied the battle, it turned out to be much larger than I thought it would be.  For my future plans, I intend to design a few smaller scenarios based around the Soviet operations at Kharkov in 1942.  These scenarios should be considerably smaller than Prokhorovka.  I'm also painting up some winter boards so I can run games that recreate Operation Mars and the Korsun Pocket.

I've also decided to just use 1 stand units for FOBWW2.  The 2 stand units look better, but the footprint of the units is smaller when there is only 1 stand and it allows more room for maneuver  Also, players became confused when told the unit has 2 stands, but 3 strength points.  It will also allow me to repaint some of my existing armor units as winter units.

Kursk: Drive on Prokhorovka Scenario and OOB

I've had some requests for the scenario and order of battle for my Prokhorovka scenario, so I thought I'd post it here. You can also download a pdf of the scenario HERE, but you'll have to join the Piquet Yahoo group to get it. 

I'll offer a warning that this scenario will evolve as we playtest it.  It also requires a lot of miniatures to play it.

A good starter scenario is to just try the 10 July PM turn:

Victory Points are awarded to the Germans for the following objectives: Andreevka 3 VP, Hill 241.6 6 VP, Storozhevoe 4 VP.  At the end of the turn, subtract the German morale point losses from the total VP's.  If the end result is not negative and the Germans have captured at least one objective, the Germans win. 

Prokhorovka Playtest Turn1

This will be an ongoing record of my first playtest of my Prokhorovka (Kursk) scenario.  This is Turn 1, the PM turn of July 10, 1943.  The Germans would like to accomplish a few objectives in this turn:

• In the center, seize Hill 241.6 from the 26th Tank Brigade by the end of the turn (nightfall).
• Clear the 99th Tank Brigade out of the first two villages along the Psel River valley on the left table edge.
• If possible, seize the town of Storovhezoe on the right flank. 

In Field of Battle World War 2 (FOBWW2), each side flips cards from a card deck to determine what their units are able to do during the turn.  Each turn is divided into initiatives and the number of cards per initiative is determined each time by the difference between opposed initiative dice (D12 for the Germans and D10 for the Soviets).  A turn ends when the initiative dice are tied or either players runs out of cards in his deck.

There are a variety of cards which can make up the deck.  Better armies have better cards in their decks.  I took photographs after a few cards were flipped already.

(ABOVE)  After a brief exchange of direct fire, both German commands rolled a "1" on a D12 on a Move card resulting in no movement for anyone!  Minefields, maybe? Finally, the Germans flipped the "Move 1 Command" card and advanced a battalion from the 1st SS PG Regiment toward Hill 241.6

(ABOVE)  The panzer grenadiers then used the Tactical Advantage card to increase their firepower and suppressed the entrenched Soviet anti-tank guns.

(ABOVE) Close-up on the grenadiers moving over the railroad embankment (Use your imagination, dammit!) with supporting armor.

(ABOVE) Another Move card finally allowed the Germans to roll well enough to make a general advance in the center.  The division's recon battalion moved against Storozhevoe on the right while a battalion of panzer grenadiers marched forward to clear the first Psel River village.

(ABOVE) Concentrated fire from the grenadiers managed to suppress the tanks and Soviet infantry defending the village.

(ABOVE) The Germans managed to kill most of the Soviet infantry in the 26th Tank Brigade defending Hill 241.6 and this used up all of the brigade's morale points.  When the Soviets flipped a Morale card, the brigade passed its first Morale check, but when this second Morale card was flipped by the Soviets, the brigade failed and routed (picked up). Much to the Germans' dismay, the defiant 99th Tank Brigade troops defending the village of Andreevka along the Psel line passed their Morale and grimly settled into the rubble (BELOW).

(ABOVE) The grenadiers get closer to the Psel villages and German artillery begins to pound the stubborn Soviet defenders.

(ABOVE) On the right flank, German panzer grenadiers infiltrated through the woods and began to flank Storozhevoe.  When the Germans flipped the Close Assault card, the German armored cars and recon troops poured fire into the town.  A company of recon troops and a company of panzer grenadiers assaulted the town and become involved in a vicious hand-to-hand fight with the Soviet motorized infantry.  The Soviets lost a full company of infantry, but the hardy Slavs drove the Germans reeling back out of the town.

(ABOVE) The Germans advanced onto Hill 241.6 and began to to tighten the cordon around Andreevka village.  After a sharp firefight, the defenders were finally liquidated and the Germans moved on to attack the next village in the Psel chain: Mikhailovka.

 

(BELOW) And then the Soviet defenders posted there began to enjoy the attention of the German artillery.

The Germans rolled great for their next Move cards and managed to advance well past Hill 241.6 in the center and down into the valley beyond it.  The Soviets did manage to drop some very effective artillery fire on one of the dismounted panzer grenadier companies and forced the infantry to fall back and take cover (BELOW).

(ABOVE) as the artillery fell and after the artillery hammered the exposed Germans (BELOW).

At this time, the PM Turn ended and the Night turn began.  The Germans made excellent progress at the cost of only 7 morale points.

 

 

(ABOVE) German progress on the right flank.  The recon battalion has been stymied by the Soviet infantry defending Storozhevoe.  In the center (BELOW), the German grenadiers and tanks have made excellent progress, but the Soviet 99th Tank Brigade is still stubbornly hanging on to Mikhailovka village along the Psel River on the left flank.  

The 1st SS Panzer Grenadier Division has slightly exceeded its historical progress at this point in time.  

On the left flank, the Psel River villages were hard for the Germans to clear in the real battle.  Also, in this scenario, if Totenkopf Division has difficulty advancing on the left of the wargame table, the Germans will have to garrison those villages to prevent them from being re-occupied by reinforcing Russians.

In the center, the Germans have made good progress, but they now face the dug-in 9th Guards Airborne Division, AT batteries, minefields, an anti-tank ditch and supporting heavy armor across the valley . 

On the right flank, the Germans are outside of Storozhevoe which matches their historical progress.

LAH 1st SS Division Morale Points Left:   41/48

There's a lot of game left.

(BELOW)  The Soviets still have the T-34 companies of the 169th Tank Brigade safely in reserve behind the Storozhevoe woods.  What should we do with them?  Make a night attack and attempt to butcher the German recon battalion or save them to threaten the right flank of the German panzer regiment as it advances along the railroad embankment?

Next post will be the July 10, 1943 Night turn.  During playtest breaks, I'll be painting Marders, Stugs, and more Panzer IV's for the Germans.  I'm also going to add tank commanders for the tank command stands, tank riders to spice up the plastic T-34's, and better terrain to represent the railroad embankment and some of the towns.

Drive to Prokhorovka : Kursk Project Part 2

(ABOVE) Guards Airborne Division positions around Prokhorovka.

This post will provide some progress pictures of the painting I've been doing to fill out the 1st SS LAH Panzergrenadier Division's OOB for our Kursk project.

We ordered 10mm tanks and infantry from Pithead Miniatures.  I drilled out holes with a hand drill and glued plastic broom strands into the tops of the hulls for radio antennas.  Below are pictures of the German infantry and Panzer IV's in progress.  I primed them black and then glued the dirt ballast onto the bases.  I've learned through hard experience to glue the dirt on before I paint any of the details onto the miniatures. 

 (BELOW) 15 poses of infantry in the German infantry pack!  Pretty impressive.

I then did a heavy drybrush on the tanks with Vallejo  German Cam Orange and on the infantry with Vallejo German WW2 Green.  It's always best to test these colors ahead of time, because colors that work well for 28mm might not look as good for 10mm figures.

 I then washed the figures with my standard ink wash, dark brown Wonder Wash, that I get from the Warstore.

 (BELOW) After the ink wash, another dry brush with the base color on the tanks.

 (BELOW) Here are the German infantry with some of the details painted.

 My next step after painting the faces and equipment was giving the infantry a good wash with my Wonder Wash.  This gives the infantry a bit of depth, but it does darken the first dry brush.  The wash also covered any areas that might have been missed by the primer.

I then went back and highlighted the uniforms with the Vallejo German WW2 Green again.  This draws out the sharp colors of the base paint that were dulled by the wash.  If it doesn't highlight the details enough, mix it with a little white to lighten the highlight color.  Once the painting is done, I brush watered -down white glue on all the base areas where the dirt ballast didn't stick perfectly and where the figures don't match smoothly with the bases.  Dip in static grass and basing is done.  Nice and easy.

(BELOW) Here are the Panzer IV's after their final basing. and a dull cote varnish.

(BELOW)  I gave them a bit of dusting with some dirt and smoke pigments on their engines and the lower part of the side-skirts.I thought it might give the side-skirts a muddy look.  Do you think it looks good?  I might have gone a little overboard with it.  The final stage will be when I place decals on the tanks.

(BELOW) 2nd SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment and the infantry from the division's recon battalion.  I'll give them one more spray of Testors' dull cote to take the gloss from the ink wash off before they're done.  I think the infantry really came out great!  Excellent miniatures.  I finished them up in about 4 hours of painting:

Vallejo German Camo Orange: German tank base color
Vallejo German WW2 Green:  German uniforms and tank camo stripes
Vallejo Saddle Brown: Alternate tank camo stripe
Ceramcoat Charcoal: German helmets
P3 Paints Khardic Flesh: skin
Equipment: Vallejo Russian Uniform (gas cannisters, ammo cans), P3 Gun Corps Brown (rifle butts), P3 Bootstrap Leather (canteens, ammo pouches)