After finishing the All American Normandy campaign, we went back to the East for Chapter Two of the Winter Storm campaign. I think we will probably game the 8 scenario's of this chapter and then game something else aigain for variety before starting with Chapter Three.
Chapter Two sees the Germans advancing towards Verkhniy-Kumskiy while they attempt to break through the encirclement of 6th army at Stalingrad.
In the first scenario the Germans must break through the Soviet lines at Gremjachi. Like the previous Winter Storm games, we rolled a dice for who would play the Soviets/Germans. I got the Soviets this time and knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park for them.
I managed to block the German flanking attempt during the patrol phase.
The Germans would have to cross a fair bit of open ground to reach the Soviet lines, but they had two tanks and the Soviets only had one AT gun to oppose them. So I waited until the first panzer entered the table and the command dice rolls allowed me to deploy the AT gun.
The AT gun crew managed to deliver a flanking shot that unfortunately failed to damage the panzer.
Alerted, the panzer started firing at the Soviet AT gun. Also 2 German squads deployed between the trees and the scrub.
I decided to try and protect the AT gun crew by deploying a Soviet squad in entrenchments. Unfortunately their junior leader was wounded (by the German squad in overwatch) before he could order his squad to fire on the German troops.
Not a great start for the Soviets. Another AT gun shot failed to hit the panzer and the gun crew was rapidly losing men as a result of the incoming fire from the panzer and the nearest German squad.
Only the gun's junior leader survived, severely wounded.
After taking out the Soviet AT gun, the German second panzer entered the table and started pounding the entrenched Soviet squad.
I deployed a second entrenched Soviet squad to try and stop the German squad on my left flank.
Again the junior leader was wounded almost immediately.
The panzer then started to move within close range, making the situation even worse for the Soviets.
Rapidly losing command dice due to low morale I deployed a third Soviet squad to try and make a dent in the German onslaught.
It was to no avail. The Soviet squad on the left flank broke and Soviet morale dropped to 1. The Soviets lost almost 2 squads and the crew of the AT gun. The Germans lost 2 men....
Aided by some incredible dice rolling (one German squad scored 13 hits, 5's and 6's, out of 20 dice rolled!) the Germans punched straight through the Soviet defense and are on their way to Verkhne‐Yablochny.
