Special operations of the Red Army (long campaign)

[runequester]

Time again for a bit of "what-if" but not as far fetched this time

This will be a campaign for sure, played on pretty small maps and mostly infantry based.
I am going to create a "red army special forces" army, company plus some supporting weapons, but fighting mostly, or even entirely on its own, without support points in the battles. If they end up in over their heads.. well, thats okay

The premise is a secret order issued by high ranking members of the Soviet hierachy, to form and train specialist infantry units capable of operating in any environment and any objective, to perform politically or militarily sensitive and important missions, in preparation for upcoming conflict with Germany.

(of course, they'll spend their first battles dying a lot in Finland, but thats part of the fun of playing the Soviets)


Im a bit uncertain as to what will be the most fun, but for now we'll go with:

Paratroop platoon:
Perfect for this. 3 squads with satchel charges, plus a sniper. Their morale boost also means they may be slightly less likely to bail, as soon as the going gets tough.

Marine platoon:
Can't go wrong with marines. Another sniper, morale AND experience boost, and two hand grenade slots, which may come in handy for house-to-house fighting.

Mountain platoon:
I've never used these guys, but let's give it a shot. +5 to morale and experience, and we get two sections with rifle grenades, one with satchel charges and a scout section that we'll also outfit with satchel charges.

Engineer platoon:
Of course. One section with flamethrower, the other two are there to shoot things with rifles and carbines. Their main role of course will be obstacle clearing.

Scouts:
4 sections of 4 men each, again, with more satchel charges.

Snipers:
2 more snipers, of the best quality we can get (which for 1939 soviets is "somewhat willing to fight and possibly trained")


It'd be tempting to pick all sorts of other stuff, but the focus here is on infantry combat. As time goes on, we'll add in some AT rifles, and we'll see what else happens.


So, off to fight the Polish in the trial by fire of our special operations company!

[runequester]

(Im using maps of 20x30 since I want the games to be pretty quick and brutal)

We have sparse woodlands, 2 objectives in the south, one pretty much for the taking (1), and the other further west (3), one in the north but about a kilometer away (2).

Plan is for the paratroops and mountaineers to rush the southern objective, then dig in, repel the inevitable polish onslaught with support from the two independent snipers.

The marines and engineers will advance, hopefully unmolested, to secure the northern objective.

As the Polish thrust is blocked, the northern detachment will then swing south, and provide support while the paras and mounties push forward to capture objective 3 in the south


The scouts will provide reconaisance, and pick off any stragglers that may present themselves.

[runequester]

Our first mission was a success.
We took 52 losses, mostly on the para's and mounties, who endured despite heavy enemy action, and two squads of the para's being pinned down in the open for a while.

Enemy losses were 214 men and 2 AA machine guns.

Our next action is another meeting engagement against the polish. Undoubtedly the spearhead of another strike against the bourgeois swine oppressing the Polish people from true socialism!

We fix any damage, but no changes or upgrades. Our boys need all the experience they can get.
I should add a machine gun section, and maybe a 50mm mortar unit, but we'll wait till we're out of Poland to evaluate our force.


The next battle is a heavily wooden urban center. Objectives scattered throughout. We have been tasked with recovering and securing multiple communist agents that have been preparing our entrance. The para's and marines will sweep through the south, with sniper support, while the mounties will take the more densely wooded northern route. The engineers will follow up in support, poised to provide assault support for the mountain troops, or move south in a supporting role there.

The center of the map has a X shaped crossing where a road and a railroad track intersects. The para's will rush to hold that, as it seems a good place to set up a killing ground.

[runequester]

Another resounding success!

We secured all objectives and won great glory for the motherland!

Our losses were 41 men, while 285 imperialists and one AA MG were destroyed.

The paratroops were definately the heroes of the day. No sooner had they hunkered down in the railroad crossing, before a company of Polish infantry crashed into them. They kept up a brisk rifle and DP fire, with supporting fire from the marines, and sent the Poles scurrying in despair.

In the north, the engineers and mountaineers tangled with what is estimated to be about one platoon of Poles, and some recon units. They took fairly heavy losses, due to the dense woods, but prevailed in the end, and swept the remaining objectives after the enemy had broken.

Glory to the workers and peasants!


With Poland destroyed and split between the illustrious USSR and the fascist Germans, it is time to set our sights north, on Finland.


Our forces have performed well, but the Finn's will be a much harder proposition. To bolster the firepower of our forces, a machine gun section, consisting of two Maxim gun sections (2 guns each) has been added. While these may find themselves hard pressed to keep up with the infantry advance, they will be invaluable for defensive battles.


Our first mission is to push through a border garrison, clear any obstacles and secure two objectives. The battlefield is mostly lakes and bridges, with plenty of open terrain. Three platoons will attack head on, while the marines and snipers will provide supporting fire.
The scout sections will be sent on a flanking movement around the northern flank, to harass and pin enemy movements.

[runequester]

(these company level games on a tiny map are moving pretty quick, though I'll increase the mapsize to 30x30 for a bit more maneuver room)

The mission was a success. The Finn's had only a token defense, a 2 platoons and a MG seems to have been it. There was a wall of mines and wire though, but our troops negotiated it with minimal hindrance.
The battle was mostly resolved through long range fire, and was a fairly slow affair.

We lost 45 men, mostly to long range rifle and MG fire, while they lost 62 men and the MG.

There's cause for celebration however. We have our first veteran unit! The lead paratroop squad had finally reached that hallowed status. Double vodka rations tonight!


With that, Im done for the night

[Lt. Ketch]

Runequester, you read my mind. Even since someone mentioned a battle being "a knife fight in a phone booth" I've been fasinated with the idea of a small force on small map. I've dinked around with a company of US Rangers and Commandos (10 squads total) on a 20X20 map. I really want to try a set up in the streets Stalingrad. Nothing like "Enemy at the Gates," but more like a traditional rife company seperated from support or a similar force to yours. Keep up the AAR. I'm going to be watching it closely. If I can figure out how to get most urban battles in a campaign, I might start posting my own.

[Brummbar]

Great AAR so far! Keep up the good work.