Day 2

 

Roster : German

Unit	Composition		Leaders	Status
	Start	End
Rifle Company n° 1 (17/10)	3 x 4-6-8 7 x 4-6-7 1 x 4-4-7 [A to K]	TBA	9-1; 8-1	On-Board
Sturm Company n° 1 (17/10)	6 x 5-4-8 1 x 4-4-7 1 x 4-3-6 [A to H]	TBA	10-2 [Wnd]	On-Board
Sturm Company n° 2 (17/10)	9 x 5-4-8 [I to S]	TBA	9-2	On-Board
Sturm Company n° 3 (18/10)	12 x 5-4-8 [T to EE]	TBA	9-2; 9-1; 8-0	Off-Board
StuG B Platoon	3 x StuG B	TBA	-	Off-Board
PzIIIH Platoon	3 x Marder II	TBA	-	Off-Board
Battalion Mortar	Plentiful	Retained	n/a	n/a
Battalion Mortar	Plentiful	TBA	n/a	n/a
Off'd Observer		Used	n/a	n/a

 

Roster : Russian 

Unit	Composition		Leaders	Status
	Start	End
Rifle Company n° 1 (17/10)	5 x 4-4-7 1 x 4-2-6 [A to F]	TBA	7-0	On-Board
Rifle Company n° 2 (17/10)	1 x 4-5-8 1 x 2-3-7 2 x 4-2-6 1 x 2-2-6 [G to K, W]	TBA	8-1; 7-0	On-Board
SMG Company n° 1 (17/10)	5 x 5-2-7 [A to E]	TBA	10-0	On-Board
SMG Company n° 2 (17/10)	9 x 5-2-7 [F to N]	TBA	9-2; 9-1	On-Board
Militia Company n°1 (18/10)	12 x 4-2-6 [O to Z]	TBA	9-1	On-Board
Militia Company n° 2 (18/10)	9 x 4-2-6 [AA to GG]	TBA	7-0	On-Board
Rifle Company n°3 (18/10)	12 x 4-4-7 [F to Q]	TBA	9-0; 7-0	Reserve
AT Battery	1 x 45LL 1 x 2-2-8	TBA	n/a	On-Board
Battalion Mortar	Normal	TBA	n/a	n/a
Fortifications	80FPP	n/a	n/a	n/a
SAN Increase	SAN 5	n/a	n/a	n/a

 

AAR Highlights 

Turn 1 :

Whilst the Wehrmacht advanced cautiously elsewhere, waiting for the arrival of the StuG, and were blocked in the west by the blaze sweeping through the suburbs, contained only by the wet ground, fierce fighting quickly broke out in Manufacturing Hall 6a, where the Russians also counterattacked relentlessly and won most of the vicious hand to hand fighting.

Turn 2 :

The Russians in Manufacturing Hall 6a had kept to the eastern side to avoid any German MG fire.  To counter that, a StuG churned its way through the debris in order to get into range, only to be hit and directly destroyed by a Russian 45LL AT gun.

In the eastern suburbs, intense exchanges of small arms fire between the Russians in the fortified building in Z1-Z2, and their adversaries across Prospekt Lenina street, were relatively ineffective.  Russian mortar fire dropped amongst the Germans in a harassing pattern, causing surprising amounts of damage, to the extent that the Russians mounted a counter-attack in the sector, hand to hand combat breaking out in Z5.

The two 50mm mortars and the HMG up on the roof of the Gun Tube Thermal Processing and Deburring Hall 3 were proving very troublesome, the latter managing to wipe out an entire section [as to the former, I briefly forgot that Area Fire from on-board ordnance was at half FP, so it was more troubling than it should have been; I decided to give the Germans two free re-rolls to compensate].  A StuG was detailed to blast them off the rooftop, but with dismally poor aim it did nothing of any use, and it would take the battalion mortar battery to do the work a little later.

Turn 3 :

Very unfortunately for them, the Russian OBA ran out of ammunition and fell silent.  In the centre, the Wehrmacht, who had been able to sneak through the rubble once MGs swept Russian observers off the nearby rooftops, were finally gaining momentum, although the defensive strongpoint in building I12 was a thorn in their side.  The defenders of Stockyard Building F11-F12 were dismally ineffective, and obviously jittery, since German advancing fire broke the entire section despite their fortifications.  This opened up the west flank of the factory somewhat, and allowed the Germans to get around the blaze, which could threaten the buildings on the other side of Tramvanaya.  Russian reserves had previously begun redeploying from the factory buildings to counter the menace to the western flank, but would they arrive in time ?  A platoon of German infantry was also closing in on Foundry Hall 5 and threatening its K10-K11 outbuilding.

As for Manufacturing Hall 6a it was by now firmly in German hands, apart from a knot of resistance in the south-east corner that they planned to blast out with demo charges.

In the eastern suburbs, the Germans had managed to consolidate their forces and throw back the Russian counterattack, now isolating building Z1-Z2 and its defending platoon.  With support from a StuG they began to hope that they mught reach the piles of still smoking rubble that had been the Chemist's Shop.

 

 

Day 1

Roster : German

Unit	Composition		Leaders	Status
	Start	End
Rifle Company	12 x 4-6-7 [A to L]	3 x 4-6-8 7 x 4-6-7 1 x 4-4-7 [A to K]	9-1; 8-1; 8-0	Off-Board
Sturm Company	12 x 5-4-8 [A to L]	6 x 5-4-8 1 x 4-4-7 1 x 4-3-6 [A to H]	10-2 [Wnd]; 8-1; 8-0	Off-Board
Sturm Company	12 x 5-4-8 [M to X]	9 x 5-4-8 [I to S]	9-1 [9-2]; 8-0	Off-Board
PzIIIL Company	3 x PzIIIL [A to C]	Recalled	None	Off-Board
Off-Board Observer	n/a	Used	n/a	n/a
Battalion Mortar	Normal 2 Pre-Reg	Used	n/a	n/a
Battalion Mortar	Plentiful	Retained	n/a	n/a
Stukas	3	Used	n/a	n/a

 

Roster : Russian 

Unit	Composition		Leaders	Status
	Start	End
Rifle Company	12 x 4-4-7 [A to L]	5 x 4-4-7 1 x 4-2-6 [A to F]	8-0; 7-0	On-Board
Rifle Company	12 x 4-4-7 [M to Y]	1 x 4-5-8 1 x 2-3-7 2 x 4-2-6 1 x 2-2-6 [G to K, W]	9-1; 8-0 [8-1]; [7-0]	On-Board
SMG Company	7 x 5-2-7 [A to G]	5 x 5-2-7 [A to E]	10-0	On-Board
SMG Company	9 x 5-2-7 [H to P]	9 x 5-2-7 [F to N]	9-2; 9-1	Reserve
SAN Increase	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Light Artillery	Scarce	Used	n/a	n/a
AT Battery	2 x 45LL 2 x 2-2-8	1 x 45LL 1 x 2-2-8	n/a	On-Board
Fortifications	170 FPP	n/a	n/a	n/a

 

AAR Highlights 

Turn 1 :

-  A 45LL Russian AT Gun revealed itself on the upper (fortified) level of I6.  The PzIIIL had deployed in this sector; the first one was missed due to the short time spent in LOS before it settled into a blind spot; the second PzIIIL used the wall to remain hull down, and the third managed to sneak past and reach the gap between Hall 6a and the workshop.  The PzIIIL remaining in sight and hull down decided to concentrate on nearby Russian infantry, as poorly aimed AT shells continued to impact the wall.

-  The Russians obtained battery access despite the handicap of scarce ammunition, and dropped HE onto the Sturm company advancing through the wooden buildings forming the angle of Tramvanaya and Skulpturnaya.  The German offboard observer, having somehow failing battery access previously, now obtained it and dropped FFE onto the pre-registered fire hex in the F5 Workshop...only to see the incoming rounds completely miss their target, obtain maximum deviation, and drop onto the Sturm company already under Russian artillery fire !  Somebody was going to get a court-martial !

Turn 2 :

-  The German Offboard observer corrected his FFE...only to see it deviate once again in the only unhelpful direction possible, and bombard once more his own troops.  Definite firing squad for him...By the time both artillery barrages came to an end, the German infantry was broken or fleeing and flames were licking at the rubble.

-  German infantry entered the warehouse in F5-F6, after copious smoke grenades protected them from the flanking Russian MG fire.  Russian resistance was overcome, and three and a half squads and a precious 9-1 leader taken prisoner.

-  The Russian AT gun in its fortified building broke down and proved to be irreparable.  With Russian ATR fire bouncing off the PzIIIL armour, the defenders were now left with little means to stop the tanks.

-  Or so they thought...a PzIIIL forced its way between factory and workshop in order to get encircling fire on the buildings overlooking Tramvanaya  It bogged down in the debris in L7.  A concealed Russian squad stealthily approached and managed to blow a track, immobilising the tank.  

Turn 3 :

-  The German infantry took the F5-F6 workshop, although a 10-2 leader was wounded and his troops broken by a series of sniper shots.  This led the Russian commander to consider a counter-attack, although he discarded that option in the end.  Instead, he mounted a successful counter-attack against the German spearhead crossing Tramvanaya in E9 

-  The Stukas arrived, three of them !  The first scored a critical hit against the Russian HMG in the Chemist's Shop, destroying it entirely and setting the building on fire.  The second blew up a group of Russian infantry working its way to reinforce the L5-M6-N5 Workshop.  Other German victories in the vicinity made it likely the building would now soon fall.   The third Stuka retained its bombs, waiting for a useful target.

 

At the end of turn 3, the Wehrmacht was making inroads into the north-west corner of the factory, using the F5-F6 workshop as a fire base to support their advances.  They might even have time to make an attempt on Hall 6a.  West of Tramvanaya, there were plenty of Sturm troops, but they were hiding in the houses and rubble, having lost most of their leaders.  If they could be rallied, another attack would be possible, although the only hope of directing it at the large B12-B13-C13 stone building would be if the last Stuka got in a bomb run.

On the eastern side of the battlefield, the German infantry had pushed as far as W5, but their forces were in ruin.  The Russian commander was seriously considering leaving his haven in Z1-Z2 and pushing back at his enemy, although a PzIIIL was a serious threat.

 

Turn 4 :

-  The L5-M6-N5 Workshop was due to be mopped up, when a Russian squad went berserk.

-  The flames licking at the Chemist's Shop turned into a Blaze, that would spread to the entire building before the end of the scenario, destroying it utterly.

 

 

-  Despite the Germans moving up a PzIIIL into the rubble opposite them, the Commissar led his troops into a dash across the road.  Surviving incoming fire from the behemoth, they courage failed however as they attempted to move into contact with it.  This effectively stopped any Russian counter-attack in the eastern suburbs. 

 

Turn 5 :

-  After a ferocious melee, the Russians were eliminated from L5-M6-N5, and despite them gradually running out of steam, the Wehrmacht considered an offensive into Factory Hall 6a. 

-  The Sturm troops coming across Tramvanaya Street were hit hard by the defenders, and only one squad finally made it across, reaching F8.  In the ensuing close combat, both rival squads were wiped out, but the building was held by an emerging leader.

 

Although both sides were close to exhaustion, the Germans could have made additional inroads, and perhaps even got a foothold in Manufacturing Hall 6a and Foundry Hall 5.  Fortunately for the Russians, time ran out of them as high command gave the order to halt and consolidate.

 

Day 1 is a hard-fought German victory, with 24 Stone Locations taken.

 

 

Red Barricades - Into the Factory !

Having played some Squad Leader, my best mate and I bought ASL around 1987, as teenagers, and we quickly acquired the Red Barricades campaign.  Since then, I have played the opening days a good dozen times, but have never gotten past that.  I have a small games room, but I'd have to take RB down every Friday to make room for other stuff with my friends.

Now the girls are off to Uni and have moved out...well, I can borrow their room !

Since I can set up the board more or less permanently, this should, at last, be the campaign to end all campaigns, a full playthrough of CGIII of Red Barricades, with its thirty campaign dates.

I made a post back in 2020 that I have just updated, regarding house rules, rules to remember, and some tactical tips for both sides. 

For the first post of this new campaign, I begin with the map drawn from VASL (I couldn't figure out how to get it in one piece, so had to do a series of copy-pastes).  This map has the considerable advantage of place names, and it is a lovely piece of work.  VASL also has an LOS-checker tool integrated, which is very handy indeed.

Stay tuned for Day 1, as the Germans head Into the Factory... 

 

 

 

 

Venetian Guard

Man, I want to paint almost all of TT Combat's Carnevale range.  They keep bringing out new ones, to boot !

Anyway, I at least got this one painted, to join my Patrician faction.  I actually intend to build two Patrician factions, one representing a Noble House, and another representing the Doge's soldiers, those poor souls who are supposed to keep the peace in tortured Venice.

Photo is not great, it is overexposed, but I'm having trouble with my phone camera at the moment.

 

Great figure, a lot of fun to paint.  If you like doing NMM, that is !  

Mistress of Threads

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