Ivanovskoye 20th July 1941

v2.0 - complete re-write

Ivanovskoye was a small village about 5km north of the town of Poretsye. Poretsye and its twin bridges over the Luga River had been captured by the Kampfgruppe Raus of the 6. Panzer Division on 11th July as they thrust towards Leningrad in the north. Kampfgruppe Raus then advanced through the forest to Ivanovskoye to capture the village and the important road that passed through it. This left the Kampfgruppe defending a 5km finger of land reaching in to Russian lines. The kampfgruppe was many km in front of the main body of German forces so effectively isolated. It was so far forward it was out of effective Luftwaffe support range

The Russians were determined to pinch off the penetration. To this end two Militia Divisions (called Proletarian Divisions by the Germans) recently formed in Leningrad were moved to the front to attack the Germans. The Militia divisions were manned by volunteers and had a high proportion of Communist and Konsomol party members, what they lacked in training and heavy weapons they made up for with guts and enthusiasm. Accompanying the communists were a few new KV tanks which were almost invulnerable to most of the Germans AT weapons.

The first counter attack was on the 15th July, the inexperienced Russian infantry were mown down by the Panzer Grenadiers and the KV's were shot up by 88's and K18's. There were desultory attacks for a few days after and the isolated Germans began to run out of ammunition. The next big attack was on the 20th July. The militia were reinforced by more KV tanks fresh from the factory and driven by factory workers. The Germans had been under attack for 5 days and were rationing ammunition. This was the Soviet's last chance of victory as the bulk of the German army had pretty much caught up with Kampfgruppe Raus

The scenario is best played with a single German player and a pair of Russian players. If you have more than three players then play with a German team and two Russian teams. Each Russian team takes the forces coming either the 1st or 2nd Militia Divisions. To make the game more interesting for the Russian players in addition to trying to kill fascists they are also trying to cause more casualties than the other Russian team.

 Order of Battle and Map

German Deployment

All German units are deployed in the areas delineated by the pink hashed lines, excepting 6Kp 114 SR & Stab 4 SR

Stab 4 Schützen Regt is deployed at the intersection indicated

6Kp 114 SR is the German reserve and deployed off table. The German player can have it enter along road F any turn he desires, however there is a penalty for doing so (see below)

All German non vehicle units start in foxholes (-2 cover)

Soviet Deployment

Soviet Militia Infantry units APPEAR on table within the woods. They appear at 2" from the nearest German stand or within 2" of the woods edge. The units of the 1st Militia Division appears to the west of road XW and north of the Luga River (GX). Most of the 2nd Militia Division appears to the west of road XW and north of the Luga River (EX). The Recce Battalion of the 2nd Militia division MUST and one other battalion MAY appear south of the Luga (EX). These units appear in the section of wood FEZ.

When they appear the Soviets are assumed to have made a BMA move, so if they were given Hasty advance orders thy may move another BMA that turn

The KV's in the Militia divisions appear in a similar manner to the infantry but must be deployed on a green dashed trail that is linked to a friendly table edge; OR they may appear the open on a friendly table edge (points D & AB)

One battalion per Militia division may be designated as a reserve, this must appear  on table on turn 8 at the latest

Other battalions, the recce company and the tanks must be deployed at least one per turn, with the exception of any turn of the player's choosing. For example the commander of the 2nd Division may chose to deploy 2 battalions turn 1, miss turn 2, deploy the KV turn 3 and the recce turn 4. he chooses to leave the third battalion until turn 9

The Soviet players may chose to bring a 76mm or 122mm stand with its command infantry on to the table. This enters the board on any open table edge (D or AB) or along a trail where it meets a friendly board edge.

The 1st Recce Battalion enters the table turn one between points AB

Each turn roll 1d6 - if a 6 is rolled one of the Soviet players (randomise which) gets an infantry company of 1 Command Infantry Stand and 1 Infantry Stand. This appears in the woods CXF. They appear at 2" from the nearest German stand or within 2" of the woods edge. When they appear the Soviets are assumed to have made a BMA move, so if they were given Hasty advance orders thy may move another BMA that turn. The infantry company appears only once.

Soviet Players

Ideally there should be two Soviet players, one for the 1st Division one for the second. They are competing for casaulty points and are NOT allowed to talk to each other.

The 1st Recce Battalion switches control each turn between the players. Randomise which gets it first

This is designed to reflect the terrible co-operation between Soviet forces in the battle

Terrain Notes

The map is 5ft by 8ft if playing 1"=50m. North is towards the top of the map

The red line is a road. The road counts as open terrain for spotting and LOS purposes

The thick blue line GE is the Luga river - it is impassable except at the bridges. The thick blue line to the north is a reservoir and is impassable.

The thin blue line is a ditch or stream. It has steep banks. Infantry are unimpeded crossing it. Tracked vehicles take a BMA to cross. Wheeled vehicles and man-handled guns take 2xBMA to cross. Any personnel stands (not towed guns) within get +2 cover.

Bridge X and the dam at the foot of the reservoir are class VI. Bridges Y & V are class III. Bridge U is class I

Ivanovskoye is a village of widely spaced wooden buildings. Halted personal stands within get +2 cover. Tanks, guns and moving inf get +1 cover. There are no ROF penalties. Other BUA's work the same way

The forests lining the east and west table edges are thick, swampy, forests. They are impassable to vehicles, infantry is half speed within. The margins of the forest are more sparse. Within 3" of the edge or the road (but not trials) are counted as open. Half speed for tracked AFV's, quarter for wheels. Foot units are unimpeded. Vehicle stands can not move parallel to the edge of the wood, only perpendicular (ie no sneaking along the edges of woods in tanks). Visibility within the wood (all parts) is 2"

The Green dashed lines are trails. Stands on the trails move as if in the open. LOS on the trail is 6". All stands on the trail still get light cover

Aircraft

The VVS was active over the battlefield, each turn roll 1d6 = on a 5-6 a plane arrives. Randomise what arrives, roll another d6: 1-2 Fighter (Il-16 or LaGG-3), 3-4 Light Attack (Il-16 or LaGG-3) & 5-6 Attack (Il-2)

Special Rules

The game lasts 12 turns minimum. At the end of turn 12 roll d6 - the game ends on a 5-6. At the end of 13 it ends on 3-6. the game will always end by the end of turn 14

The German infantry was low on ammunition during the battle. To reflect this the firepower all German personnel stands except pure command and gun crews is reduced by one. So Panzergrenadiers a(+) are ROF 1. Weapons stands are ROF 1. Inf stands are ROF 0. The calling for the artillery has been reduced to reflect the ammo shortage

The games starts with all German transport "trucks to the rear". Be aware that the only route forward is road FW. If there are Soviet stand in LOS of the road that will prevent the trucks coming forward if called.

Victory Conditions

There  are two sets of conditions German vs Soviet and 1st Militia vs 2nd Militia

German vs Soviet

The following areas are worth VP's: Road WF = 5VP, Bridge X = 5VP, Bridge Y = 3VP, Bridge V = 2VP

If the Germans use the 6Kp 114SR the soviets get 3VP

If the Germans do not have at least 10 stands in good morale within 6" of a BUA of  Ivanovskoye the Soviets get 8VP

Only the Soviets score VP's

To get any sort of victory the Soviets must destroy a German tank (Pz-I, II, IV, 35 or PzBefWg), if they fail the Germans get a minimum minor victory

10+ VP is a major Soviet Victory

5-9VP is a minor Soviet Victory

2-4VP is a minor German Win

0-1 VP's is a major German Win

To score for the road the Soviets must have one or more stands in good morale touching it at the end of the game

To score a bridge Soviets must have one or more stands in good morale touching it at the end of the game and the Germans must have no stands in good morale touching it

Good morale is not shaken and not demoralised

1st Militia vs 2nd Militia

Each side totals the number of enemy stands killed. Most are worth 1CP. Tanks (Pz-I, II, IV, 35 or PzBefWg) are worth 5CP. Other armour is worth 3CP

Any stand touching a bridge, road WF or wholly within a BUA of Ivanovskoye, in good morale, is worth 2CP

Division with most CP's wins

Historical Outcome

It was not a good day for the Russians. Their tank infantry co-operation was terrible. The tanks managed to launch a simultaneous attack on both sides of the town but their infantry were no where to be seen. The KV's rolled over the German outpost line only to be shot up by the K18's and 88mm's. The Germans then counter attacked with their armour and shot the Russian light tanks full of holes.

The Russians then tried a mass infantry assault to take the dam, but that was also shot to pieces by the German armour.

Really not a good day for the Russians

References

AMVAS page on 1st Mech corps: http://www.armchairgeneral.com/rkkaww2/formation/mechcorps/1mk.htm

Map: http://en.poehali.org/maps/001m--o35.html

German WW2 Organizational Series Vol 3/I - Leo Neihorster

Panzers on the Eastern Front - PG Tsouras

Soviet order of Battle WW2 Vol XI - Charles Sharp