AAR: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!

[Taskforce]

Been too busy lately...



No fancy tactics here, since the mission is hold the ground and defend all the flags.

The infantry, together with small groups of T-34/85 tanks will advance, thus detecting the enemy and giving the supporting units, located on high ground with hopefully good enough fields of fire, something to shoot at.

Cheers, Taskforce

[Spledge]

A right-hook starting by taking the hill in the north behind the road followed by a mobile assault south into the enemy's rear over open ground looks enticing. Your thoughts Commander?

[Taskforce]

It was clear from the very beginning that this battle wasn’t going to be an easy victory. The terrain caused lots of problems regarding fields of views for the supporting units and it was expected to encounter lots of tanks, above all Panthers, from the German’ side.



The infantry advanced as planned, encountering the enemy after a few minutes and then starting a fierce battle, which would be relentless towards both sides right up until the last 20 minutes, when the Soviet’ taskforce, or at least what remained of it, got a small but big enough advantage over the German’ forces. Initially the German’ taskforce lost much more tanks than the Soviet’ side, but after that, quite unexpected, the German’ tanks and anti-tank units started to cause heavy casualties among the Soviet’ armoured fighting vehicles.



When the situation was stable in the south, where the heavy machine guns combined with what remained of the infantry companies were enough to hold the enemy at a distance, it was somewhat uncertain in the middle and started to critical in the north, where a small group of tanks all of the sudden started to capture the flags. Finally, after quickly re-grouping, this threat could be put to a stop and all that remained of the German’ forces were anti-aircraft artillery and fields guns, which couldn’t be dealt with due to the way too weak Soviet’ forces, and three tracked German tanks, that insisted on not letting them selves being captured nor knocked out.



The outcome of this battle hanged by a thread, even when the German’ losses far outpaced those of the Soviet’ taskforce, and it was only due to the sacrifice and violent resistance of the infantry companies that this battle could be won. If it hadn’t been for them, the German’ tanks would have been able to drive straight through the Soviet’ lines and capture all of the flags.



Losses:

The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 33 tanks, 2 anti-tank guns, 1 aircraft and 975 men, the great majority infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 124 tanks, 4 halftracks, 1 artillery and more than 900 men in total. Of the 124 German’ tanks lost, a total of 8 were abandoned by their crews.



The tank battalion lost 26 tanks and 20 crews. The tank destroyer battery lost 3 tanks. The tank destroyer platoon lost 3 tanks and 3 crews. The anti-tank gun battery lost 2 anti-tank guns and 3 crews. The support tank destroyer group company lost 1 tank and 1 crew. The IL-2 ground attack aircraft lost 1 airplane and 1 crew.



Claims:

The tank battalion claimed 69 tanks destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 10 tanks and 1 halftrack destroyed. The anti-tank gun battery claimed 3 tank and 1 halftrack destroyed. The tank destroyer platoon claimed 12 tank destroyed. The infantry as a whole claimed to have destroyed 19 tanks and 2 halftracks in close combat actions, including a Tiger I. The support tank destroyer group claimed 2 tanks destroyed. And finally the supporting IL-2 Shturmovics claimed 1 tank and 1 artillery destroyed.

Of the total claims of the tank battalion, 52 were made by the T-34/85 tanks (23 lost), 11 by the T-5g tanks (3 lost) and 6 by the pre-production T-44 (surviving the battle).



Overall combat performance by the T-44 was considered very good, its frontal armour being practically in-penetrable even for the 75 mm KwK 42/L70 gun, and its 85 mm gun was just as good as that of the T-34/85. Complaints however were made about the mechanical reliability, which required much more work by the mechanics and crew than then other tanks, even the captured T-5g.

Battle result:

Although the Soviet’ forces controlled all the flags, the remaining forces were too weak to push towards the rear German’ lines and destroy the artillery remaining there, thus the result was a minor victory. However, during the circumstances - with the huge losses on both sides - this result was far better than a draw or minor loss.

Replacing losses:

The tank battalion, it was decided will step by step be transformed from a Medium Tank Battalion into a Heavy Tank Battalion, thus some of its losses were replaced with 8 IS-II fresh from the factory. One of these was given to a veteran crew, the rest to freshly trained crews. This together with the remaining T-34/85 tanks, which are to valuable at the moment, the T-44 pre-production tank and the newly captured German’ tanks, makes it a very mixed unit indeed.

8 German’ tanks - 1 Tiger I, 6 Panther G and 1 PzIVH - were found abandoned by the Soviet’ forces. The first seven were put into service at once, replacing the four T-5g either destroyed or put out of fighting condition, with the Tiger I being re-designated T-6a, due to the existence of the Tiger II, which would be renamed T-6b if captured. Again, the T-4h was given to another taskforce, due to its lower survivability under fire, compared to the T-5g.

Since none of the tank destroyer batteries veteran crews were lost during the battle, it was no problem replacing the three lost SU-85M tank destroyers with fresh ones from the factory.

The losses of the tank destroyer platoon however meant that only the two surviving crews got their ISU-122 fixed. With a new, upgraded version of the ISU-122s, with stronger lower frontal armour, this model will gradually replace the older ISU-122 tank destroyers after the next battle.

The losses of the anti-tank gun battery and the infantry were completely replaced.

New basic force:

Basic force:

-Soviet HQ + Boys Carrier (8 men)
-Tank Battalion (4 T-34/85, 8 IS-II, 6 T-5g, 1 T-6a & 1 T-44 pre-production - 91 men)
-Tank Destroyer Battery (5 SU-85M - 20 men)
-Tank Destroyer Platoon (2 ISU-122 - 8 men)
-Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men)
-Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men)
-Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men)
-Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies and 16 Bazooka - 1.160 men)

Battle Four:

Rumania, September 1944 - Meeting Engagement

Support forces:

-Heavy Tank Battalion (10 IS-II - 40 men)
-Air Support (4 Yak-9T - 4 men)

[Taskforce]

Having a family sure takes a lot of time...



The terrain is a combination of high ground and low ground and a mix between wooded and clear areas. Thus using the forces available will be more difficult.

The attackforce will be divided into four attackgroups, each with their own different targets and objectives, supported by the supportunits on the high ground and in the rear.

Group A consists of two infantry companies and four T-5g tanks, and their objective will be to capture and defend the north flag group.

Group B consists of two infantry companies and four T-5g, one IS-II and one T-44 tank, their objective will be to capture and defend the centre flag group.

Group C consists of four infantry companies and four T-34/85 and two IS-II tanks, and their objective is two-fold - to capture and defend the south flag group and if possible wreck havock in the rear German lines.

Group D consists of 15 IS-II and one T-6a tanks and their job is to advance deep behind enemy lines and wreck havock among the enemy units they will encounter there. If needed they will turn back and attack / defend the flag groups from the rear.

The rest of the taskforce will be support units and a reserve attackforce, that will capture / defend the flag groups if needed.

The 122 mm artillery will have two main targets, the high grounds most rear of the German' lines, since this is the place where AT guns, AA guns etc. will be located.

Let the battle begin...

[Spledge]

Looks like one could run Task Force (TF) D up the diagonal road (from east to north) at the start of the game just behind TF A also. The road has a tree line along it to offer cover and one would avoid some of the rough terrain east of the road by doing so.

Just suggesting...

[Taskforce]

In the beginning of the battle, as the forces A, B, C and D advanced towards their targets, Puma armoured scout vehicles started to appear and after about five minutes, they had all been destroyed. After that force D ended up in tank to tank combat against a mixed unit of Panther G and PzIVH tanks, resulting in 8 destroyed tanks for the loss of a single IS-II. Minutes later a few more PzIVH tanks appeared in the north sector and tracked a T-5g before finally being knocked out. Now however, the north sector was under Soviet control and all the flags were captured, with the infantry fanning out to defend them and all the IS-II tanks except four staying behind to help them defend them and the T-6a heading south to help out at the south flag group, where a strong German’ force not only had captured all the flags but also managed to knock out both IS-II tanks and track the T-44, that now relied on the mass of infantry being able to hold it’s positions and protect it. The four T-34/85 tanks, knowing that they stood no chance against the Panther G tanks, had headed north towards the centre flag, to take part in the defence there instead.



The four other IS-II tanks continued towards the rear area of the German’ lines and arrived just in time to stop an armoured assault by a large number of PzIVH tanks heading towards the centre flag group, which had just been captured for the loss of a T-5g, with the crew surviving. They managed to destroy all the enemy tanks for the loss of a IS-II and then continued further south, to deal with the German’ mortars, which had been spotted.



The T-6a arrived in the south flag area but was also knocked out by the German’ tanks, the experienced crew with 10 confirmed kills being killed. Thus, with both the north and centre flag groups in Soviet’ hands, all of the mobile support units - the ISU-122 and SU-85M tank destroyers - headed southwest to help out in defending the captured territory and try to capture the south flag group.



It was only after very hard fighting that the south flag group slowly but surely began to come under Soviet’ control. First the five Panther G tanks were destroyed and then the remaining German’ tanks fell under artillery fire. Some of them tried to re-capture the centre flag group, knocking out a SU-85M, the crew surviving, but it failed. A second attempt made by a strong force of Panther G tanks also failed, after a trap had been set by the Soviet’ tanks and tank destroyers. A final attempt to re-capture the flags also failed, although it resulted in the destruction of a IS-II tank. Finally, after further fighting, the superior mass of Soviet’ infantry moved in to capture the south flag group, thus ending the battle. The few infantry groups remaining couldn’t do much about it and the fire support was reduced in half, thanks to a second mortar unit being abandoned. It was good planning and a large portion of luck that decided this battle, had force D been to the north, chances were that the German’ forces would have been able to perform a pincer move and made it more difficult to re-capture them.



Losses:

The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 8 tanks, 2 aircraft and 184 men, the great majority infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 78 tanks, 4 halftracks, 2 artillery and about 400 men in total. Of the 78 German’ tanks lost, 1 was abandoned by its crew and could be captured by Soviet’ forces. The 2 artillery units - mortars - were also found abandoned after the battle.



The Soviet’ losses included 3 IS-II with crews, 1 T-6a with crew and 1 T-5g without crew from the tank battalion, 1 SU-85M from the tank destroyer battery and finally 2 IS-II with crews from the heavy tank company.



Claims:

The tank battalion as a whole claimed 36 tanks and 2 halftracks destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 9 tanks destroyed. The tank destroyer platoon claimed 1 tank destroyed. The heavy tank company claimed 19 tanks destroyed. And finally the infantry claimed 12 tanks and 2 halftracks destroyed during intensive close combat actions.



Of the total claims made by the tank battalion, 9 were made by the IS-II tanks, 7 by the T-34/85 tanks, 2 by the T-44 and an incredible 20 by the T-5g tanks.

Battle result:

Since the Soviet’ taskforce managed to capture all the flags and control all of the flag areas, the battle ended up as a decisive victory. The German’ forces simply didn’t have enough manpower re-capture the south flag group nor to capture the north and centre flag groups.

Replacing losses:

Since the battle was such a great success, it was possible to transform the entire mixed tank battalion into a pure heavy tank battalion, equipped with 27 IS-II and 5 T-5g tanks. Thus the old and battle scarred T-34/85 tanks could be given to another medium tank battalion.

The T-44 was given back to the factory for evaluations based on the reports regarding its combat performance and the combat damage received, the old T-44 crew being issued a brand new IS-II instead.

It was also possible to almost completely re-build the tank destroyer battery, from just 5 to 10 SU-85M, thus just a single SU-85M from reaching full strength again.

The tank destroyer platoon however will have to put up with just 2 ISU-122 for a while longer.

The infantry also got their losses completely replaced.

The T-5g put out of fighting condition during the last battle in Rumania, with its main gun destroyed by another Panther G, had in the meantime been worked on and transformed into an improvised APC by removing the turret and closing the turret ring with thick wooden boards and adding a heavy AAMG for extra firepower. This APC was now given to the Soviet’ headquarters, enabling it to take more active part in the future combat actions as well as providing more armour protection for the HQ.

New basic force:

Basic force:

-Soviet HQ + T-5g APC (8 men)
-Heavy Tank Battalion (27 IS-II & 5 T-5g - 133 men)
-Tank Destroyer Battery (10 SU-85M - 40 men)
-Tank Destroyer Platoon (2 ISU-122 - 8 men)
-Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men)
-Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men)
-Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men)
-Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies and 16 Bazooka - 1.160 men)

Battle Five:

Latvia, October 1944 - Defend

Support forces:

-Fortification works: Minefields, barbed wire, dragon’s teeth & trenches
-Artillery Support (2 122 mm batteries - 72 men)

[Taskforce]

Better late than never...a lot of Christmas preparations.



The plan is simple: A long line of Dragon's Teeth will keep the tanks and armoured vehicles at bay long enough for the defence to transform chaotic situations to controlled chaos and two lines of barbed wire will help keeping two of the forrest areas safer.

The infantry and Tank Destroyers are in the front line and the IS-II and T-5 tanks are reserves, ready to pop up when needed.

Let the battle begin...

[Taskforce]

As expected the battle turned out to be a hard one. The fortification works team had built a line of Dragon’s teeth all the way from the north to the south, complete with strands of barbed wire in the forest areas. This turned out to be a smart move, since this effectively stopped the German’ tanks from advancing any further and bought the Soviet’ taskforce valuable time needed to regroup forces when needed and fight back.



At first German tanks appeared in the middle together with trucks and halftracks carrying infantry. Some of the tanks and halftracks got knocked out by the AT guns and tanks, while the heavy machineguns also managed to destroy a couple of trucks with their heavy fire support. At the same time, to the south, a few infantry groups had advanced along the road to spot any enemies approaching. They managed to destroy a few tanks in close combat, but after that it didn’t take the attackers long to wipe out these brave groups down to the last man.



To the north things were under control but started to get worse when all of the sudden a couple of Tiger II tanks were seen. The Panther G and PzKpfw IV tanks could be dealt with pretty easily by the IS-II tanks, but these heavy tanks were much tougher. Soon a few IS-II were destroyed, along with a ISU-122, and the rest reversed into cover. The brave AT gun, situated just along the line of Dragon’s teeth, managed to destroy four enemy vehicles before being destroyed.



Things were under control thanks to the brave infantry and the artillery fire support, which managed to disperse a large gathering of tanks to the north and kept the rest under pinned down. And things stayed this way until a small breach in the line of Dragon’s teeth to the south allowed some German’ tanks to slip through. But thankfully these could be destroyed rather easy thanks to the rugged infantry groups and some IS-II tanks.



Thus the Soviet’ taskforce managed to hold their lines and protected the flags from the German’ taskforces grasp.

Losses:

The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 11 tanks, 1 AT gun and 418 men, the great majority infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 131 tanks, 7 halftracks, 7 trucks, 1 artillery and about 1.000 men in total. Of the 131 German’ tanks lost, 16 were abandoned by their crews and could be captured by Soviet’ forces.



These abandoned vehicles included 4 Tiger II, 8 Panther G, 3 PzKpfw IVH and 1 Puma armoured scout vehicle.

All of the Tiger II tanks and one Panther G were taken over by the Soviet’ taskforce, with the rest of the Panther G tanks being stripped of spare parts, ammunition etc. before being turned over to the Soviet’ high command together with the rest of the captured equipment.



The Soviet’ losses included 7 IS-II together with 5 crews, 1 T-5g with crew, 1 ISU-122, 2 SU-85M with crews and 1 AT gun with crew.



Claims:

The heavy tank battalion as a whole claimed 45 tanks destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 36 tanks and 2 APC destroyed. The tank destroyer platoon claimed 4 tanks destroyed. The AT battery claimed 1 tank, 3 APC’s and 2 trucks destroyed. The heavy machineguns claimed 5 trucks destroyed. The artillery claimed 2 tanks, 2 APC’s and 1 artillery destroyed. Finally the infantry claimed 27 tanks destroyed in close combat actions.



Of the heavy tank battalion’s total 45 claims, 34 were made by the IS-II tanks and 11 by the T-5g tanks.



The commander of the tank destroyer battery, Kaptain Rogov, became the battle hero during this defensive action when he and his crew managed to destroy two Tiger II tanks in less than 30 seconds. His crew is also one of the few crews to have been a part of the taskforce from the very beginning.

Battle result:

Since the Soviet taskforce managed to hold the lines, stop the small breach made by the Germans and caused so much damage among the German’ lines, the battle ended in a decisive victory.

Replacing losses:

The battle outcome meant that the entire taskforce could have its losses completely replaced. The only exception were the two armoured AOP vehicles, where the question remains what to replace them with.

The heavy tank battalion got their remaining 4 T-5g tanks replaced with the captured Tiger II tanks, renamed T-7 to avoid any confusion with the T-6 - captured Tiger I tanks. This since these crews already were accustom to using captured German’ tanks.

The old T-5g tanks, along with one of the captured Panther G, were given to the tank destroyer platoon, thus transforming it into a medium tank platoon, since the T-5g tanks so far have had a proven combat record within the Soviet’ taskforce.

The tank destroyer battery finally reached full strength with 11 SU-85M in service. The final step will be to equip this unit with the new SU-100 tank destroyers when they finally start being delivered to the combat units.

The anti-aircraft platoon got their old AA trucks replaced with lend-and-lease ZSU-M15 halftracks from the USA. These vehicles have armour plating, which makes them less vulnerable against small arms fire and increases the overall chances of survival on the battlefield.

The infantry also saw some changes with 8 of the Bazooka teams being replaced by snipers, one within each infantry company.

New basic force:

Basic force:

-Soviet HQ + T-5g APC (8 men)
-Heavy Tank Battalion (28 IS-II & 4 T-7 - 132 men)
-Tank Destroyer Battery (11 SU-85M - 44 men)
-Medium Tank Platoon (5 T-5g - 25 men)
-Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men)
-Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 ZSU-M15 - 16 men)
-Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men)
-Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies, 8 snipers and 8 Bazooka - 1.152 men)

Battle Six:

Hungry, November 1944 - Defend

Support forces:

-Fortification works: Minefields, barbed wire, dragon’s teeth & trenches

[Taskforce]

With the tactics of using a complete line of dragon's teeth from the north to the south being successful, this tactic was used again. However, this time double lines of dragon's teeth were used again together with strands of barbed wire in the wooded areas.

This battle is going to be more difficult than the last defensive action, since there are more wooded areas, which in turn means more places for the enemy forces to hide. However the newly captured T-7 heavy tanks, although somewhat low on ammunition, should even these odds out.

Otherwise the tactics used are the same as before: The infantry, AT guns and tank destroyers are dug in with the heavy tanks acting as a mobile reserve force.

Let the battle begin...

Cheers, Taskforce

[sigeena]

Why are the attached images so small? I can't really see the details, other than the big arrows.