Flames of War 12mil: Hill 239 The Korsun Pocket

 

I didn't bother setting up roads - the whole area was just a morass of snow and mud...Also deciduous wooded lots were set up as ground cover only since it was winter - still a bog check required and providing cover, but not preventing line of sight. Obviously no change for coniferous woods.

The German perspective below - no question they had a tough mission and a long way to go - this was a historical scenario rather than a balanced one!

Heavy Panzer Detachment Bake started on table and headed out with high hopes...they had not yet encountered IS-2s and Guards standard T-34-85s who are hit on 4+...

The Russian team were consistently lucky with their airstrike rolls - but these Tigers survived!

However the IS-2s immediately passed their reinforcement roll and caught at least one Panther with a side shot.

The German team were not so lucky with their reinforcement rolls, and a significant gap opened up between Bake's spearhead and the main body from 1st Panzer.

The Russians had specified they would bring reinforcements on from both north and south so the Germans were restricted to a narrow wedge and had to fight on two fronts just to reach the objective!

The wily Russians, with another secret weapon - Darren's automatic 6 rolling dice, were whittling away the heavy German armour.

But they were equally constrained by mud and terrain.

With the Russian Motor Rifles making haste to dig in on the objective in all round defence against both the relief effort and any escapers from the pocket, Panzer Grenadier SPWs assumed an higher priority than usual as Russian targets.

However the Russians weren't having it all their own way, although the IS-2s were starting to appear invulnerable...

As the ISU-152s came on the Germans steeled themselves for a tough fight to the objective.

Even the diminutive SU-76s can take out SPWs!

With the Motor Rifles now securely dug in on Hill 239 and a second company on the way, the Russians devote their air strikes to neutralising the nearest Panzer Grenadiers. 

A successful Stuka attack is too little too late...

A hard fought game, but, as historically, Hill 239 was just too far for the German relief effort, starved of logistics in the sea of mud. Individuals and small teams from Group Stemmerman were forced to work around to the south, hiding in the broken country, to reach salvation! 

With hindsight I should have delayed Russian reinforcements to make more of a game of it.