I am sitting in my halftrack in the town of Stargard in Pommern, commanding a scratch panzer company of Panzer IVs, Panthers, and StuGIIIs. The Bolshevik hordes are getting close. The T-34s have halted and their wolf riders have dismounted and are advancing. Also moving up are deadly Su- 100 assault guns.
Third Panzer Division infantry are waiting in ambush in the woods. My four PAK-40 75mm AT guns are in good positions for side shots. The real killers, my two Nashorns, are set for long range shots.
On my right flank is another scratch unit like mine facing Amswalde; and there is a third company holding Pyritz further south. We had captured all three towns in a counterattack. Then our reinforcements arrived-three tank platoons. By the luck of the draw, my company received four Tiger Is. Panzerknacker teams with Panzerfausts and Panzerschrecks are supplementing the one engineer squad in Stargard. Booby traps and close range crossfires will chop the Bolshevik infantry and any armor that enters the town.
We have received no indirect fire support; our one flight of FW- 190s did manage to destroy three tanks and assault guns. Russian air activity has been fairly light on our flank. By a stroke of luck, the Red Air Force struck the area between my company and the one in Amswalde where we had some FLAK 18/36s. The Reds lost all four of their aircraft, but managed to kill my quad 20mm halftrack. I had been planning to use it against their oncoming infantry.
This battle was hard fought. Stargard was held at one point by Leon Degrelle's Walloon Legion. The Soviet Army had been frightened by a heavy German attack, and they shifted shock armies to counterattack in Pomerania. The Germans were badly outnumbered. When I received four Tiger Is as reinforcements, the Russians received twenty-one T-34/85s. In the phrase we learned at the Armor School, it was "Fire first fast!"
This battle took place in January and February of this year at Mike Creek's in Fountain Valley, California. There were three Russian players [Larry Squire, Mike Creek, and John McManis] and three Germans [myself, Joe Kovar, and Calvin "Machine Gun" Ong]. The table was set up to a design by Larry with forests, rivers, the three villages, and one bridge in Stargard. This bridge became a vital element when it was accidentally hit and dropped by fire from one of the German tanks.
As nearly as possible, our rules are set up for a one-to-one ratio of troops. If your panzer grenadier platoon is authorized thirty-five troops in three sections and an HQ, then that is what you get. The same holds true for vehicles. This tends to make the board somewhat crowded and, after several turns of fire, impassable due to dead vehicles. The game mirrored U.S. military thought, which predicts that a major air/land battle will be highly destructive of troops and that the FEBA [Forward Edge of the Battle Area] will be marked with a line of burning tanks.
The battles fought resembled the reality described by Leon Degrelle in Campaign in Russia. The lightly armed German infantry, meagerly supported by armor and artillery, battling the Soviets, but being forced back by the weight of the oncoming Russians. The Germans were short of everything except targets. By the end of the game, a coherent defense was not really possible. The town of Stargard. was almost overrun again. German infantry had fought well, but had been attritted to the point where a squad was doing a platoon's job. My four Tiger-Is had barely become engaged due to the Russians' heavy use of smoke, which obscured targets.
On the last turn, my dice rolls went south. I was not hitting the long range shots, and my short range shots were not penetrating the enemy armor. Most unfortunately, my adversary, the very capable Larry Squire, found that his gunners were now hitting their mark. In this one round, he destroyed the bulk of my anti-armor capability-seven tanks and anti-tank guns.
One point that is mentioned whenever I've taken a tactics class is coordination between units. If you make a road the unit boundary, for example, make sure somebody is responsible for the road! The two sides in our game coordinated well. Joe and I split along the open ground and woods. He took the woods and I covered the open ground. Between us, we managed to slow down the SU- 100s and T-34s. To the south, Joe and Calvin did the same.
The Russians suffered from overcrowding. Several tank battalions had to be shifted to the flanks to make room. The terrain constricted the Russian forces, forcing them to skirt a large patch of woods in the center of the table. This forest forced the central German player to split his troops, maintaining a small reserve in the village captured from the Russians.
On the northern flank of the German line, the commander had to shift his forces across the river twice. This slowed his response time. Even though the river was fordable, it required three turns to cross due to getting down, then up the banks. The early loss of that bridge was a sore point that caused problems later in the game!
On the southern flank, the fighting produced a mass of destroyed Russian tanks. The dense jungle of twisted, burning wrecks did not permit the follow-on Russian armor close with their adversaries. The Russian infantry did manage to infiltrate through the hulks in small numbers. The German infantry engaged them and managed to hang on to the hard won town of Pyritz.
In the center, the struggle for Arnswalde was brutal. It was shelled, and the Germans advanced. The Russians had a second line of troops to the rear, concealed by the forest. These kept up a steady fire on the Germans.
By the end of the game, our scratch battalion had been destroyed. However, we still held two of the towns completely, and occupied half of Stargard. Had we fought another two or three turns, our northern flank would have been turned, and the Russian hordes would have started rolling up our rear area defenses. The remnants of my northern company would have had to retreat southwest to try to establish a defensive to protect Amswalde and Pyritz.
It is often difficult to simulate Clausewitz's "fog of war" when we tower above the table like Mars. However, occasionally in the heat of little battle, something will fail to register on the mind. So it was with great trepidation that the squad of engineers in Stargard launched their Goliath down the road at the oncoming Russian tanks. Three turns later it stopped under the lead T-34. The Russian commander had failed to notice this threat! The squad leader flipped the firing switch. Click, The Goliath failed to detonate! Just to show that there is more than one way to skin a tank, a PAK-40 75mm crew aimed at the tank and fired, low, detonating the Goliath, the T-34, and a good section of the road.
The game took January and February Sundays about five to six hours a day. The six players enjoyed it immensely. It was especially interesting to watch the battle of superior numbers versus a dug-in, stubborn defense. The course of the fighting went pretty much as Degrelle described it in his book. Given the numbers involved, it could not have done otherwise.
An Eastern Front Wargame: Feb. 1945
The air was thick with anxiety as the Soviet 2nd Shock Army's tanks rolled by several German Divisions (in name only). The Soviets were driving frantically towards the Oder River near the major town of Kustrin. They were hoping to capture a bridge and secure the west side of the river before any major German counter-measures could take place. The German commanders breathed much easier when they realized that only a thin infantry screen was facing the north in defensive positions while the Soviet tanks kept moving towards the west. The Germans now saw an opportunity to cut into the rear of the Soviet front. Soviet Intelligence reports indicated that the Germans had no more armor to speak of and that their infantry in the northern sector were already thinned out, so as to not hamper the Soviet movement towards the west. The Soviet command was certain that their thin screen of tired infantry would be strong enough to deal with any German local counter-attack. Needless to say, the information on German intentions was wrong --- again!
The Soviet 112th Rifle Division was given the task of holding three villages in a long arc stretching from the west running east in the Pommeranian district. This weak division could only use light units- however, they were backed up by the 108th Independent Tank Regiment (red~ced to a battalion due to recent losses). This armored formation which was to act as the immediate reserve in case of any German activity. Facing the German front from west to east were the three villages of Pyritz, Amswalde and Stargaard. These were merely choke points in order to allow sufficient time for the Soviets to hold up any German attack until the 108th Tank Regiment could be deployed to any trouble spots.
After the Soviet rifle companies settled in it was evident that the Germans were planning on something, with the noises of heavy vehicle traffic (including tanks) during the night. The Soviet commander who was in charge of the middle village (Amswalde) wasn't going to wait and find out what the Germans were up to. He decided to launch a limited attack into the hills just north of his village (Hill 104). This move inadvertantly started a series of battles now known as the Battle for Stargaard.
The Soviet units didn't get very far, as soon as they approached the base of Hill 104 they were met with a hail of fire from several well dug in German infantry units. The loss of these small Soviet units wasn't important-, but, what was very important was that the word got back to the Soviet commander. He knew that the Germans were in the middle of preparations to launch an attacks to take back the village of Amswalde. it took several turns for the Germans to eleminate this threat-, but, the damage was already done. The German attack was now no longer a surprise. In fact, the Germans had to take extra time in getting started because they had to clean up what remained of the Soviet intruders.
What the Soviets were unaware of was that several elements of the German 79th Infantry Division were given the task of holding a series of hills just north of the three villages- while other elements from the 3rd Panzer, the 9th and the 10th SS Panzer divisions were getting ready to make a full scale attack to retake the villages from the Soviets. The Germans needed these villages so that they can use them as jumping off points to attack the Soviets in the rear before the major Soviet armored units were diverted into this sector.
When the Germans launched their attacks, they met extremely stiff resistance from all three villages. German concentrated artillery fire was brought in on the village of Amswalde with a devastating effect. Not only were the Soviet units hit, the village was nearly half-destroyed in the process. This made better defense positions for the remaining Soviet defenders and a much more difficult task for the Germans retaking the village. A smoke barrage would have been better off, since the Germans could approach more closely and get into the village without having to attack through shell holes and rubble.
The attack on the other two villages (Pyritz and Stargaard) were already under way. However, the attacks on these villages made better progress since the roads and buildings were not destroyed due to shell holes and rubble. During the initial stages of attacking Stargaard a strange thing happened which would cause some problems for the Germans later in the battle. This village straddled both sides of a small but fordable river. Stargaard had the only bridge which crossed this river. The German attackers in their eagerness to capture this village hit the stone bridge with tank fire and destroyed it. This was very unfortunate for the Germans since this was the only lateral bridge in order to move their forces quickly from the center (Amswalde) to the German left flank. Now all movement had to cross this river, which slowed movement down drastically. This was to become a very important factor later on in the battle.
After extremely bitter fighting, Stargaard finally fell. What was left of the Soviet defenders wasn't worth reforming. The town of Pyritze; however, was being contested to the bitter end. German infantry would move in on one building and the Soviets would counter-attack and take the same building back. The very last building in this village changed hands four times before the Germans could claim that the village was finally secured. The village of Amswalde (or what was left of it) was finally taken by the Germans. Since these villages were finally in German hands several re-enforcements were now arriving in order to have the Germans continue their attack. (Note: The Germans were able to receive an additional tank platoon for every village that was fully occupied, a chart was set up to determine what kind of armor was to be received by having the German commander roll a six sided die).
In the meantime, the 108th Independent Tank Regiment counter-attacked on the Soviet left flank towards the village of Pyritz. The commander of this armored unit did not have the experience of using so many tanks in a confined area before and ended up crowding his tanks into one solid front lined up bumper to bumper. The German artillery was once again up to the task and in a couple of shoots were able to damage or destroy half of the attacking tanks. (in fact, one 150mm round from a Hummel destroyed two tanks!) This caused the Soviet tanks to get totally disorganized and disrupted, and were eventually destroyed piecemeal when a platoon of Tiger 11 heavy tanks arrived on the scene and executed one T-34/85 after another. After a few turns of this, the 108th Independent Tank Regiment ceased to exist as an affective fighting unit. What few T-34/85's and SU-100's were left went into defensive positions around the destroyed hulks of this once proud fighting unit.
While this was going on, the first major Soviet re-inforcements finally arrived. The 28th Independent Heavy Tank Regiment showed up with 25 Stalin 11 heavy tanks. They arrived just east of the 108th Independent Tank Regiment (or what little remained of it). The resultant battle forced the Tiger 11's onto the defensive since the 122mm gun of the Stalin tanks were powerful enough to destroy most tanks in the German inventory including the vaunted Tiger 11. Using very skillful defensive tactics, the Tiger II's were slowly whittling down the Stalins. (The Germans did lose one Tiger II and one other was tracked but repaired later).
While this battle was going on a German ground attack aircraft (HS-129 tank buster) showed up and had managed to get 5 Stalins lined up in one pass. The results were very disappointing, since only one Stalin was actually destroyed. Apparantly the pilot was so excited about having so many targets in front of him that his firing was erradic --- to say the least! The commander of the Stalin unit decided to spread his tanks out a little better as a result.
The Stalins did not close in, since there was no infantry with them. They stayed out at long range (along with a couple of 100mm towed anti-tank guns hidden in the forest). With their combined shooting, a JadgTiger was destroyed and the Panthers were kept in their defensive positions since the high velocity 75's had great difficulty in punching the thick hides of the Stalin II's especially from the front
On the Soviet right flank (Stargaard) the 1st Guards Tank Corps leading recon elements had now arrived. These were T-34/76 medium tanks with SMG tank riders. They rushed forward and had managed to get about half-way up to the village of Stargaard when they were pinned down by the German infantry, engineers and anti-tank guns. Truck-borne troops had to be brought forward en masse under the protection of a company of T-34/85's in order to deal with the German infantry and engineers. By using the T-34's to cover the infantry assaults the Soviets were slowly taking back the village of Stargaard. First, they set up tanks in over-watch and then massed the infantry into the trees just south of Stargaard. When any German infantry was spotted the combined fire from SMG troops and stationary T-34's were too much and the German infantry teams were quickly eliminated. The Germans fell back into the village itself where it was much more difficult to get at them.
There was one incident that needs to be told in more detail which shows how funny things happen even during crucial and desparate battles. A T-34/85 was sitting on the main road leading to the village of Stargaard over-watching some Soviet infantry assaulting the first buildings. On the road ahead of this tank was a Soviet 3/4-ton truck (left when the Germans took the village). The truck was blocking the road between the first two buildings. When the Soviet infantry had moved up to push the truck out of the way it blew up removing several Soviet infantry stands! It seems that the German engineers had booby- trapped this vehicle with two mines! After this had happened, the German engineers had another trick up their sleeve. The Germans had moved up a small Goliath (a remote controlled tracked bomb) up the road towards the stopped T-34/85.
Since attention was diverted to other sectors of the battlefield, the Soviets did not see this little crawling monster moving slowly towards the T-34. In the meantime, a Soviet sniper climbed on board the T-34 and had started shooting at German light machine gunners with good results. When the Goliath finally ended up under the T-34 the Germans knew that there was going to be one less tank to worry about. The German engineer hit the trigger on the Goliath and then "click"---nothing happened --- there was no explosion! Since the way was now clear for the T-34 to entire the village, the last PaK 40 anti-tank gun in the village had to fire and stop this tank. When the gun fired it also missed! Then there was a huge explosion. The T-34 disappeared, along with the sniper that was using it for cover. All that was left was a hulk turned on its side next to a huge crater in the road. What had happened was that when the PaK 40 fired it did miss the T-34-1 but, the round hit the Goliath instead, since the Goliath was under the T-34/85 the resultant explosion tore the T-34/85 apart!
On the other side of the village of Stargaard (across the river) the Soviet recce troops were making good headway along the side of the village and was in the process of occupying the first buildings. Motorized Soviet infantry was moving quickly on the extreme right flank almost in position to by-pass Stargaard. The timely arrival of several Tiger I's prevented the Germans from having this front fold altogether. With the use of smoke from several Soviet 82mm mortars and concentrated fire from several tanks and assault guns, the village was about to be flanked from the right at the same time other infantry was assaulting up the road. The timely arrival of a platoon of Tiger I's prevented a general collapse on this flank.
In the center (Amswalde) the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Corps arrived with many T-34/85 medium tanks and SU-100 tank destroyers. This force arrived just east of the forest and just west of the River. There were so many Soviet tanks in this area that they were jockeying for firing postions to get at the Germans. Slowly, but surely, theSoviets were starting to see cracks in the German defense, Many Panzer IV's and StuG III's had been destroyed along with a few Panthers. The Germans then tried to move in Tiger I's with a couple JagdPanthers in defending what was left of Amswalde; however, these armored vehicles were also being shot to pieces. The Soviets were taking a tremendous pounding-, however, the Germans could not replace their lost vehicles while the Soviets just moved up another wave. Elements of the Soviet 5th Guards screened off the village of Amswalde in the center and then moved the remainder of their force towards Stargaard running next to a forest. Several T-34's were knocked out, but the use of the smoke generators on the T-34/85's reduced the visibility so bad that there was little loss afterwards. There was a Tiger I on the road in the forest that had managed to knock several Soviet tanks, however, one T-34/85 came up that road and tracked the Tiger I. The Tiger I destroyed the T-34/85; however, the hulk blocked all further shots from the German heavy tank.
The Germans were being attacked by three tank and infantry formations instead of just the one! The recce unit from the 1st Guards Tank Corps was on the far right flank-, the main tank companies from the 1st Guards with assault infantry from the south-, and now the 5th Guards Tanks coming in from the southwest!
On the extreme Soviet right flank (Pyritz) the German Tiger II's still operating in this area were pretty much out of the fight. They couldn't transfer across the battlefield since they would be exposing their thinner sides to the remaining Stalin II's and 100mm towed anti-tank guns. The Tiger II's long guns and thick armor were sorely missed during the Stargaard battles. The Panthers that were in defensive positions between Pyritz and Amswalde were slowly being hacked to plieces because the Stalin II heavy tanks were not closing. Their mission was to cover that part of the battlefield with their fire at long range from stationary positions. These heavy tanks were systematically shooting any armored vehicle within their long range. When the Panthers tried to move to new locations they would be fired at by the Stalins and forced back into their defensive positions. With the Soviet left flank somewhat quiet, the Soviet center was cordoned off by fire. The only activity in the center was that Soviet infantry was battling it out with German infantry in the forest just south of Amswalde.
The Soviet right-center and right flanks were the main punch. The Germans would not
transfer any of the heavy armor from the Pyritz or the Aroswalde sectors as long as the
Soviets kept them engaged. With so many Soviet taniDuring the battle the German Luftwaffe made its appearance with a couple of tank
busters and covering fighters. These were eventually dealt with between Soviet ground
fire and their own fighters. The Soviets also attacked with four Stormavik ground attack
aircraft with little results and losing all four aircraft in the process.
Also, during the battle the German artillery was making itself felt. Many times Soviet tanks and infantry were on the receiving end of some very good shoots. The Soviets decided to take all their artillery and use it against the German guns. At first there was little results, however, on one turn of fire, the Germans ended up losing all but one Hummel, and most of the horse-drawn 105's. The Wespes were very elusive and the Soviets could not quite get at them during the whole game. The German artillery commander of the Wespes should be very proud of his handling of these six self-propelled guns. When the Soviets started ranging in, the Wespes moved to new firing positions. This did slow up the German artillery, however, this German battery was still firing away when the battle finally ended!
Then it finally finally happened. In the last turn of the game the Germans in the Stargaard area fired nine different varieties of anti-tank weapons (Mark Vs, Panthers, PaK40's, StuG Ill's, and a Nashorn. The Germans fired and destroyed several Soviet tanks but these were immediately replaced by the upcoming wave of more Soviet tanks. However, when the Soviets returned fire (there were over 30 tanks and tank destroyers in position to fire at the Germans in their defensive positions) the German defense line all but disappeared. When the smoke had cleared only one PaK 40 and one Mark IV remained undamaged. There was no way now for the Germans to stop the Soviet tanks from entering the rear defense area from Stargaard. They could come in behind the Tiger I's operating on the other side of the river and at the same time turn west and come in behind what German armor that was operating behind the village of Amswalde. The Tiger I's facing the Soviet recce unit were blocked by smoke and were only yards away from the leading T-34's and SMG infantry close at hand. It was at this moment the game was called to a halt, with the Germans admitting a Soviet victory.
The Soviet battle plan did work, but, at tremendous cost. The Germans had managed to knock out three and sometimes four tanks for each one they lost. What cost the Germans was that they had lost the ability to move their tanks from one threatened sector to the other. They could have used smoke from their artillery batteries to block the Stalin's long range fire in order to transfer their
Panthers and Tiger II's to Stargaard. Also, at Amswalde and Stargaard the Germans were running out of infantry which had a marked affect as the Soviets retook Stargaard. If the Germans could have moved their tanks behind a line of smoke, they could have also been able to transfer some of their needed infantry. The Soviets just kept feeding in their tanks in the most successful area and had managed to extricate a costly victory.
Mike Creek of the Panzer Leader Wargamers was kind enough to allow this battle to take place at his place of residence. The battleboard was 7-ft x 16-ft and was provided by Mike Creek at his residence in Fountain Valley, California. The Soviet Team consisted of Larry Squire (team leader), Randy Birnbaum, Mike Creek, Paul Heiser, and John McManis. The German team consisted of Joe Kovar (team leader), Jim French, William Joseph, and Calvin Ong. The rules used for this wargame are a homegrown system from the Panzer Leader Wargamers. The vehicles used were from Crusader Models, Paul Heiser Models, ROCO Mini-tanks and imported vehicles from Russia and Europe. The infantry was 1/76th and 1/72nd scale Airfix, ESCI/ERTL, and various manufacturers of lead miniatures mounted on stands. All the aircraft models were supplied by Mike Creek of Panzer Leader Wargamers. The battle took seven sittings which lasted over a two month period.
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© Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum
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