Alternate history. 1930. The Reds attack!

[runequester]

The world watched as the Soviet Union arose from the rubble of the Russian civil war, and crushed the infant Poland in a swift war. As Germany collapsed into civil war, the western democracies feared for the spread of bolschevism across Europe.
As tension increased, and the flames of revolution seem certain to spread, the French and British deployed their armies, entering Germany and occupying the Ruhr region in 1929. The Soviet Union protested, and violence erupted. Socialist and Bolschevik elements in Germany fought a guerilla war against the occupiers, leading to Operation Paramount, the military occupation of Germany proper in the summer of 1930 by the English and French armies.

In Russia, Lenin saw the moment to commit the Red Army, and in the winter of 1930, the first divisions crossed into Germany, entering battle with the Allied forces.


The Red Army featured a wide range of military strategists, eager to shape the modern face of battle. For this reason, a number of different formations had been theorized, and thinkers in favour with the party were able to deploy their ideas.

At the regimental level, the Red Army was utilize a number of specialized formations. The spearhead was the "heavy detachment", consisting nominally of a battalion of infantry, 2 companies of tanks and its own integral antitank guns for defensive purposes. Additional forces could be attached as appropriate for the mission.

On the 14th of January 1930, the "Steel of Leningrad" detachment of the 28th division entered combat in the frozen German forests, against advance British elements.

Like many elements of the 28th, not all units had been assembled before being sent to the front, leading the detachment to be understrength. Present was a full infantry company, well armed with DP light machine guns, hand and rifle grenades, as well as a company of marines. It was felt that the presence of picked or elite troops would bolster the fighting spirit of the regular men.
The marines were equipped as light infantry, and hand picked for superior marksmanship.
The third company was to be a standard rifle company but was absent at the first engagement.

2 companies of tanks, made up of the MS tank, copied of the French FT17, would support the advance and break any defenses.

Defensive fighting was bolstered by 6 37mm antitank guns, which were to be manhandled into position, and provide supporting fire.

For offensive purposes, 2 scout platoons and 4 specialized snipers, as well as two platoons of engineers were attached. For the Steel of Leningrad, the engineers and scouts were Polish troops, inducted in the Red Army under the "foreign comrade" doctrine.

On the morning of the 14th, 3 mortar batteries were present as well, for providing close, indirect fire support

(yeah, this is completely silly fun, but it'll be an interesting campaign)

[runequester]

Field report [turn 15]

Initial progress hindered by snow and dense, wooded terrain. This is proving unsuitable terrain for armoured warfare.

Heavy British bombardments observed north and south of current positions. Objectives within half a kilometer. Forces to split, attacking the central and southern objective zones simultaneously.
First British armour spotted. Limited long range fire exchanged with no conclusive effects.
Spirits are high!

[gila]

15 turns in 16 mins?
Man thats fast

[runequester]

[I set the map size a bit too big, so the first 15 turns have just been slogging through the snow unfortunately.]

[turn 20]

Scouts have occupied the central objective, with marines and armour moving up to support. Contact made with at least a platoon of British infantry.

The southern objective is contested, our scouts are engaged with enemy infantry elements as well. Enemy infantry appear to be well trained and equipped.
Enemy tanks are primarily machine gun carriers. Little threat is posed by these vehicles. Red Army tank doctrine will prevail!

[turn 25]
The battle is intensifying. Lead infantry and armour elements have received heavy shelling from artillery and mortars, causing the advance to momentarily cease.
Scout detachments repelled, and falling back unto main force.
Heavier British armour spotted, mounting cannon. Destruction will be priority.
This vehicle, identified as "vickers tank" is heavily armoured, and resilient to HE shells, as well as 37mm armour piercing rounds fired at range. Armour will engage at close quarters to utilise sabot rounds.
Enemy machine gun carrier (MK2) spotted performing flanking maneuver. Destroyed by 37mm AT gun at 600 yards.

[PanzerBob]

Well here's a twist I never thought of!! Very interestink, keep them coming.

Bob out

[runequester]

[turn 30 and a bit of delay cooking for the lady]

Intense fighting around both objectives. At the southern objective, we are occupying the edge of the woods, on high ground, firing down on the dispersed British positions. The central (northern) objective is densely populated by trees, and subject to close quarter fighting. Ground is contested but advance is proceeding extremely slowly.

Heavy armour losses have been sustained. 3 Vickers tanks have been knocked out. Enemy infantry is pinned down by a sustained barrage of 82mm mortars.

[RERomine]

Originally Posted by runequester

[turn 30 and a bit of delay cooking for the lady]

That should have bought you another few hours of play time

[runequester]

Originally Posted by RERomine

That should have bought you another few hours of play time

hehe She's usually pretty good with letting me get some time to play silly games. And when I get in a Steel Panthers mood, I can disappear into the game for quite a while...

[Turn 35]
The central objective is mostly in Soviet hands. Advancing over the wreckage of our own armour, the marines captured the objective and are fighting to fend off a counter attack by at least one fresh platoon. Enterprising marines managed to destroy a Vickers tank by close assault.
When the counter attack has been defeated, the marines are to rally and then proceed north-west to the northern objective.
There are 3 tanks remaining to support the advance.

The southern objective is still contested. Our advance is measured in feet here. Despite the mortar shelling, the British are maintaining a steady and disruptive fire of rifles and machine guns, which we are finding tough to brave.

All mortar batteries are to switch to targets in the southern region, expending all remaining ammunition on this area, to prepare for an assault

[runequester]

In the end, we managed to demoralise and rout the capitalists!

Total losses sustained: 160 men and 16 tanks
Allied losses: 291 men and 17 tanks
Score: 2056 vs 602

Marginal victory.


Own unit evaluations:
Infantry: The Red Army infantry platoon is a solid formation, however, lack of training makes advances difficult. Steady artillery support will be nescesary for succesful offensive operations.
The marines performed above expectation, and should be utilized to spearhead assault operations.

37mm AT gun: These weapons performed admirably. They were capable of damaging the Vickers at 600 yards, and reliably killing them at 300. In the final stages of the battle, they were used as field guns, directing high explosive shells unto routed enemy infantry forces.

MS tank: Our armoured forces are vastly outclassed. Vickers tanks can destroy our armour at range with ease, while our guns only stand a chance within 100 yards. Even then, the sabot rounds are unlikely to inflict damage unless a side or rear hit is inflicted.
Any armoured operations against British forces must expect significant losses.

Against infantry, the lack of a machine gun makes this vehicle fight at a disadvantage. It is recommended that one company is refitted with the close support version of this vehicle to provide close range suppressing fire.


Enemy unit evaluations:
Infantry: The enemy infantry is well trained, and capable of maintaining a withering small arms fire, even under bombardment. The British platoon is well equipped, and carries multiple support weapons, giving them excellent firepower.

MK2: This vehicle is a machine gun carrier. It presents little offensive threat, and can be destroyed by light weapons.

Vickers: This behemoth is the queen of the battlefield. It is well armoured, being impervious to high explosive shells, nearly so against sabot rounds, and can sustain multiple hits at 600 yards by our antitank guns. High losses must be expected when facing these.
The dual machine gun mounts makes close assaults hazardous.

[Imp]

Very amusing like your synopsis of unit capabilities