For this game we went back to using the IABSM rules from the TooFatLardies: a set of rules that come with with army lists for all the participants in World War 2.
As always, we played on a randomly generated table: which each player putting down whatever scenery he happens to have available.
The game's objectives: the Germans must break through the Soviet frontline and get as many units off the table to the Russian rear; the Soviets must prevent the Germans from escaping.
The photo below shows how the table ended up looking.
Each army deployed the same number of units. All the German units deployed either on table or under Blinds, the Soviets had a combination of Blinds and hidden Blinds.
The German Deployment
Soviets under hidden Blinds
Well, most of them!
The Game
Not much happened on the first turn, except that the Germans probed forward cautiously, but from the second turn onwards, Soviet artillery began to make its presence felt...even if some German units were missed by "millimetres".
Both sides then clashed on the Soviet right, where they had placed barbed wire, and fierce fighting broke out:
Whilst on the other flank, the Germans arrived at the wire undetected.
Although the Soviets desperately defended their right flank, eventually they were overwhelmed by an avalanche of German troops:
Although once through the wire, the Germans begin to have a hard time moving forward.
And a good Soviet smoke screen allows them to reform their troops without the Germans knowing what they are doing.
A Soviet Maxim soon appear on the left flank, slowing the advance of the Germans.
Despite this, the Germans are starting to get their troops off the battlefield. Starting with the lightest and fastest.
The rest of their units, however, were engaged in fights that had them bogged down around the trenches.
At the end of the game, once the agreed number of turns were over, a quick count up revealed that the result was technically a draw, as the Germans managed to get only a couple of light units off the board and the Soviets hadn't suffered too many casualties as they slowed down the final advance of the Bosche, who were losing more and more troops.
A great game that both sides enjoyed.
Burt Minorrot
PS: Don't tell the Germans, but they would have won if they'd just got one more unit off the board!