Hello. This is a fast game played with the ruleset I Aint Been Shot, Mum! The figures are Battlefront. We would have liked to use a white terrain as it was all snow but the game was decided, prepared and ready in a morning and the organizer's wife didn't have a spare white sheet to lend us (ahem... unfortunately she was in the house so we could not "borrow" one).
Krasny Bor is a town in the Leningrad sector. During February 1943, the Soviets launched the Polar Star offensive pointed to liberate Leningrad from the siege. The operation was launched against this sector defended by the German 50 corps commanded by General Kleffel. 50 Corps consisted mainly of the Spanish Volunteers of the Blue Division (mainly fascists), four SS companies (Flanders and Lithuanian), 4th SS Police division and several infantrykampfgruppen.
The Soviets launched a mayor bombardment with 800 cannons against the Spanish position that lasted for 2 hours, this bombardment caused heavy losses. After the bombardment the Soviets attacked in waves but the Spaniard resisted the attack and held most of the front line having taken 4,000 losses, the Soviets suffered between 11,000 and 14,000 losses and the offensive was stopped. This scenario is taken from one of the TFL Specials: the Spaniards suffer first a heavy bombardment (the Soviet player does not know how much losses the bombardment made).
The Spanish position is a bunker where two 75mm AT Cannons are placed and several scattered squads placed behind an elevated road that provides some protection, the total of Spanish troops are about a company strong.
The Soviets attack in waves with five infantry companies and two T34 groups of three tanks each (there can be up to three companies at the same time in the board, infantry and/or tanks), each turn the Soviets roll a die and check which reinforcements they get, infantry or tanks. They can also withdraw freely any company they think has sustained enough losses (which is out of combat for the rest of the game). The Spaniards wins if they hold until all Soviet infantry companies have appeared and there's at least one with 50% losses (counting wounds and dead). The Soviets win by killing all defenders.
The Game
The Spaniards suffer the bombardment which causes high losses, about 20% of troops are lost and other 10% suffer wounds (which in IABSM is like disorganization). Fortunately the officers are OK and the MGs pass the bombardment unhurt. Then in the distance the Soviets start moving.
The Spaniards identify immediately the enemies advancing and start firing with all available weapons while the officers reorganize the wounds suffered by the bombardment. The Soviets run for the bunker while losses start mounting.
The first Soviet company reaches the bunker but in such a depleted state that the Soviet player decides to withdraw them but they have served their purpose: the second company coming just in the back of the first clashes in the bunker while a third company appears.
The second company clashes into the defenders which fight hand to hand helped by the Spanish captains that have ran to the bunker to provide support in the onslaught. Casualties begins to mount on both sides when the Soviet player decides to withdraw the second company while the third one continue the killing, a fourth one has entered and is already advancing.
In this moment the Spanish player start making several critical mistakes, he abandons the high road and sends his squads to the bunker, caught in the open they suffer heavy casualties by the fourth soviet company. Also, the Spanish have been firing with all platoons as soon as their cards turned over, causing limited losses when he should have waited and fire when the Soviets moved causing much heavier casualties.
There's no need to bring the last Soviet company on as the Spaniards are mopped up by the third company that has taken the bunker completely. Unfortunately I made few photos as I was the referee and was much worried with the game and forgot to take out the camera. I'm including also a photo of the Platoon cards we use for the game (I created these, I liked it from Battlefront WWII and are a very useful way to record the platoons, squads and officers status). Hope you like it. The game was a very simple one but very funny, we liked specially the feeling of the Soviet waves.
Palafox
