Today, I'm excited to share a battle report from a game I previously enjoyed. This report focuses on the fight for the village of Malinova in Latvia during 1944, a clash described in Otto Carius's memoirs. Since my last experience with this skirmish, I've gained a deeper understanding of what happened, so I decided to play it again and make the scenario more historically accurate. We used the Battlegroup rules again, but this time we incorporated the Bagration supplement.
UMPIRING: Bartek Żynda
1. Forces.
1 x T-34/85 (Senior Officer)
1 x T-34/85 (Officer)
1 x T-34/85 (Officer)2 x T-34/85
1 x T-34/85 (Officer)
2 x T-34/85
1 x T-34/85 (Officer)2 x T-34/85
48th Guard Heavy Tank Regiment
1st Platoon
1 x IS-2 (Officer)2 x IS-2
REINFORCEMENTS:
(turn 6)
1 x T-34/85 (Officer)2 x T-34/85
1 x StuG III (Officer)2 x StuG III
1 x StuG III (Officer)2 x StuG III
1 x Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger (Senior Officer - turn 5)
1 x Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger (Otto Carius - Panzer Ace, Officer)1 x Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger (Albert Kerscher - Panzer Ace, Officer)
1 x Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger (Officer)1 x Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger
1 x Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger (Officer)1 x Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger
2. The game.
This month marks my blog's 15th anniversary. The actual date is September 21st, but I decided to celebrate the occasion a bit early. The best way to do that was to replay a game I once played against Campbell. Back then, I commanded the Germans and was overwhelmed by Soviet tanks. Now, I'm sharing the second instalment of that game with you. You can find a link to the first instalment at the end of this report.
The village of Malinova lies along a critical route between Daugavpils and Pskov, serving as a defensive line protecting Riga, a city of strategic importance for both sides. In July, the Soviet 5th Tank Corps tried to create a rift in the 16th Army, aiming to capture Daugavpils and then advance toward Riga. Otto Carius's tanks engaged the corps' spearhead, the 41st Tank Brigade, there.
An important detail I initially overlooked regarding the Soviet tanks was that this unit had just received new T-34/85 models. Previously, they had operated M3 Lees and lacked adequate training on the new vehicles. In fact, many of the crews were fresh 19-year-old recruits with no training whatsoever. To reflect this disadvantage, I assigned a -1 penalty to hits for every Soviet tank. Additionally, some crew members were outside their tanks when the attack commenced; only the sentries stationed in front of the village were at their posts, while the rest of the crew was dismounted. I used some tank crew figures I painted long ago but never actually used. Since the tanks' first action involved the crews climbing inside, I treated this as part of the movement phase.
The game began with the StuGs of the 912th Brigade, led by Andy. Lately, Andy has been struggling with his dice rolls, consistently rolling low numbers. Unfortunately, this time was no different; he had very few available orders, which made it challenging to activate all his vehicles. Despite these difficulties, a few of his shots hit their targets, setting several T-34s ablaze.
Michael, commanding the Soviet tanks in the village, had to act quickly. His crews swiftly returned to their vehicles and opened fire on the German StuGs, successfully destroying one of the enemy tanks. Meanwhile, at the other end of the village, two Tiger tanks appeared. A platoon led by two tank aces, Carius and Kerscher, had just launched its attack, and Jimmy was commanding it.
A close-range battle broke out; the German tanks swiftly destroyed several Soviet tanks. However, the Soviets retaliated in the following turn, taking out both German tanks. Otto Carius was wounded a few days earlier than he was in actual history. It seemed the Germans would fail once again, as the Soviets on the western flank began eliminating the StuGs one by one.
Soon, Andy was forced to withdraw his last remaining vehicle, and his game—like Jimmy's—ended. Then Alasdair joined the battle with his fresh Tigers. Michael fought bravely, even destroying several German tanks, with the IS tanks and their 122mm guns leading the charge. However, a major issue emerged: the Soviets were running low on ammunition. As a result, the Soviet tanks had to seek cover while the Germans began a slow advance.
That was when my 2nd Battalion platoon entered the battle. I launched a charge with three T-34/85 tanks against Alasdair's Tigers, but it ended in spectacular failure. My tanks likely couldn't hit the broad side of a barn at close range, but Alasdair picked them off one by one with deadly precision. The battle was over; out of ammunition, the Soviets were forced to withdraw.
In this battle, the Soviet Union lost 11 T-34 tanks, while the Germans lost 5 StuG IIIs and 4 Tigers. It was a costly German victory.
Finally, you can view the battlefield from an aerial perspective—an element that will likely appear regularly from now on.
3. Links.
SESWC:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/631841809210352
PREVIOUS GAME:
https://asienieboje.blogspot.com/2015/01/malinova-1944.html
FLICKR:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720335655487
SONG ABOUT THE GAME:
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