Scenario 5 "Hill 621"
169 views
Skip to first unread message
Scott B
Nov 12, 2023, 12:03:29 AM11/12/23
to Squad Leader AARs
HILL 621
SCENARIO 5, SQUAD LEADER
AFTER ACTION REPORT
22 June Initial positions and Feste Plätzes map and 5th Guards Tank Army map.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The Russians move forward and take casualties. At the end of Turn 3, they have lost 7 squads. The T-34s enter and swing around to the right to take the German armor line on its flank. The Russians quickly dispatch the Germans on the Russian left and take out the radio. One German tank is destroyed by tank fire and a second is lost by immobilization from infantry in the woods. The halftrack is lost on the hill with its ATG due to tank fire. Russian armor and infantry are poised to pour through the center and left. The German Turn 4 reinforcements should slow the advance.
GAME TURN FOUR TO SIX
Russian Comments
The last German forces from the original positions continue their withdrawal towards the hill. The Russian advance catches them and the Germans are surrounded. They will make their final stand just short of the hill as individual Russian squads move in. The German reinforcements set up a reverse slope defense on the backside of the hill.
The Russians try to outflank them on both sides. On the right, an armor battle takes place between T-34s and STGs. Eventually, the STGs will win that engagement taking two T-34s for the loss of one STG. On the left, two German tanks defend alone on the front side of the hill. They are quickly engaged at point blank range by a T-34 and infantry. Both German tanks are lost by point blank fire and close combat. The Russian tidal wave is still coming.....
GAME TURN SEVEN
Russian Final Comments
At the end of Turn 7, the Germans conceded the game. It appears that the combination of the pre-game NMC and the Russian general advance carried the day. Almost all of the Germans were broken at the start of the game, but the flanks did rally prior to the Russians being able to do anything about it. The German center never rallied and German right collapsed again under fire. The Russians soon overtook and finished off any survivors. The last of them were gone by Turn 7.
The Armor battle was touch and go. It could have gone more decisively against the Russians had the German infantry not contributed greatly. In this case, one German tank was immobilized and a second tank was destroyed in close combat. These losses evened the battle and made the armor fight a draw.
Generally, it was the constant pressure of the dispersed infantry that carried the day. The advance was a wave of infantry that just kept coming. Thank you Tom for a good game. I am sure you will win next time.
SCENARIO 5, SQUAD LEADER
AFTER ACTION REPORT
22 June Initial positions and Feste Plätzes map and 5th Guards Tank Army map.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
22 June 1944. The Soviets were set to employ their strategy of “deep battle” against Army Group Center and Minsk. First they would break through German tactical zones and forward defenses. Then mobile operational reserves would exploit the breakthrough and encircle the enemy on an Army Group scale. The 5th Guards Tank Army (5th GTA) was one such exploitation unit.
Hitler assisted the Soviets by establishing Vitebsk, Orsha, Mogilev, Minsk, Bobruisk and others as Feste Plätzes and denying his commanders any operational mobility. No commander was allowed independent action and this helped the Soviets encircle and annihilate large pockets of German forces.
On 26 June 1944 the 5th GTA was advancing down the Moscow-Minsk highway toward Borisov, attempting to capture the city and stop the withdrawal of German troops to the east of the Berezina river. On the 28th at Krupki they met the 5th Panzer Division (5th PD), re-equipped and at full strength. These units would fight for Borisov until the 5th PD finally withdrew to avoid encirclement by other Soviet forces already across the Berezina. On the night of 30 June, they blew the bridge over the river.
The 5th GTA was then ordered to cross the Berezina and advance north-west to the communication hub of Molodeczno. Its rail line was crucial for evacuations and reinforcements like the 170th Infantry Division that had arrived the day before. The 5th GTA and the 5th PD would continue their thrust and parry, with a sharp conflict occurring at Pleshchenitsy on 1 July.
On 3 July the Russians would enter Minsk as German forces withdrew north-west through Molodoczno. To the east entire German armies were cut-off and annihilated. Over the following weeks only a very few small groups of Germans soldiers would reach their lines to the west. After the capture of Minsk, the Russians continued to press west, meeting little resistance. Their momentum carried them to the Vistula river where they, spent, rested to re-supply and re-equip themselves.
On 17 July the Soviets held the “Parade of the Vanquished” and marched 57,000 German POWs through the streets of Moscow. Even at a quick pace and twenty abreast, it took ninety minutes to pass. Operation Bagration saw the elimination of three German armies, 400,000-540,000 killed, wounded or missing and vast amounts of territory recaptured. The German army never recovered from the loss of men and materials. This was the greatest Russian victory of the war in numerical terms.
RUSSIAN ORDER OF BATTLE
Third Byelorussian Front (Chernyakovskiy)
5th Guards Tank Army (Rotmistrov)
3rd Guards Tank Corps (Bobchenko)
29th Tank Corps
3rd Guards Cavalry Corps (Oslikovskiy)
3rd Guards Mech Corps (Obukov)
GERMAN ORDER OF BATTLE
ARMY GROUP CENTER
Fourth Army (later XXXIX Panzer Corps)
Kampfgruppe von Saucken
5th Panzer Division
Schwere Panzerabteilung 505, subordinated.
170th Infantry Division
Other elements
RESOURCES
“Hill 621.” SQUAD LEADER. Baltimore, MD: The Avalon Hill Game Company, 1977. https://storage.googleapis.com/archivesqlt/AAA00005A.pdf
"Holding the Ridge: An Analysis of Scenario 5". Shaw, Martin. The Avalon Hill General. Volume 22 Issue 6, 1985.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxBhV3GHa1N8VTEyUEdadmY5UjQ/view?resourcekey=0-_s3n4sycfQmpcp4UxuZrSg
"Hill 621: The Duel: Tanks Versus Tanks". Thomson, Bill. Squad Leader Academy. 2005.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MICAjgwEk6EhjgBx7I3cEl3CJSbRdVnT/view
Adair, Paul (2004) [1994]. "Hitler's Greatest Defeat: The Collapse of Army Group Center, June 1944". Weidenfeld Military.
https://archive.org/details/hitlersgreatestd0000adai/page/192/mode/2up?view=theater
Wikipedia. The Minsk Offensive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_offensive
Wikipedia. Operation Bagration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bagration
FitzGerald, Charles Lieutenant Colonel, “Operation Bagration”, Military Review. May 1964
https://cdm16040.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p124201coll1/id/656/rec/9
King, Curtis, Major “Operation Bagration: A Soviet Victory”, Military Review. April, 1994. pg 89/93
https://cdm16040.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p124201coll1/id/452/rec/3
Hinze, Rolf. "East Front Drama - 1944". Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing Inc. 1996.
Zaloga, Steven. "Bagration 1944: the Destruction of Army Group Center". Westcourt, CT. Praeger Publishers. 1996.
Veal, Stephen Ariel. "The collapse of the German army in the East in the summer of 1944 (Volume 1)" (1991). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 4301.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.6183
Connor, William, Lieutenant Colonel. "Analysis of Deep Attack Operations: Operation Bagration, Belorussia 22 June - 29 August 1944". Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. March 1987.
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a483385.pdf#page=54
INITIAL PLACEMENT
Russian Comments (Monty)
The Russians are set up in a broad front. The idea is that they will use human wave tactics and available terrain to cross Board 4 to engage the Germans closely. The 9-1 leader and MMGs are set up in the two story building in an overwatch position. Hopefully, their fire support will break up any resistance to the advance. Reinforcements on both sides will tip the balance of the game back and forth.
GAME TURNS ONE TO THREE
Russian Comments
The game starts with all but one German unit failing the pre-game NMC. The only unit left was one squad on the far left. The Russians start a general advance across the board while the Germans rally. The 9-2 leader on the Russian right rallies all his units and takes a strong position there. The 8-1 leader rallies his squads and positions himself on the Russian left with his radio. He quickly makes radio contact and calls in an AR/SR combination on his own position. The German tanks enter the board and position themselves in the center to guard the hole in the line. The Germans move the halftrack/ATG to the top of the hill.
Hitler assisted the Soviets by establishing Vitebsk, Orsha, Mogilev, Minsk, Bobruisk and others as Feste Plätzes and denying his commanders any operational mobility. No commander was allowed independent action and this helped the Soviets encircle and annihilate large pockets of German forces.
On 26 June 1944 the 5th GTA was advancing down the Moscow-Minsk highway toward Borisov, attempting to capture the city and stop the withdrawal of German troops to the east of the Berezina river. On the 28th at Krupki they met the 5th Panzer Division (5th PD), re-equipped and at full strength. These units would fight for Borisov until the 5th PD finally withdrew to avoid encirclement by other Soviet forces already across the Berezina. On the night of 30 June, they blew the bridge over the river.
The 5th GTA was then ordered to cross the Berezina and advance north-west to the communication hub of Molodeczno. Its rail line was crucial for evacuations and reinforcements like the 170th Infantry Division that had arrived the day before. The 5th GTA and the 5th PD would continue their thrust and parry, with a sharp conflict occurring at Pleshchenitsy on 1 July.
On 3 July the Russians would enter Minsk as German forces withdrew north-west through Molodoczno. To the east entire German armies were cut-off and annihilated. Over the following weeks only a very few small groups of Germans soldiers would reach their lines to the west. After the capture of Minsk, the Russians continued to press west, meeting little resistance. Their momentum carried them to the Vistula river where they, spent, rested to re-supply and re-equip themselves.
On 17 July the Soviets held the “Parade of the Vanquished” and marched 57,000 German POWs through the streets of Moscow. Even at a quick pace and twenty abreast, it took ninety minutes to pass. Operation Bagration saw the elimination of three German armies, 400,000-540,000 killed, wounded or missing and vast amounts of territory recaptured. The German army never recovered from the loss of men and materials. This was the greatest Russian victory of the war in numerical terms.
RUSSIAN ORDER OF BATTLE
Third Byelorussian Front (Chernyakovskiy)
5th Guards Tank Army (Rotmistrov)
3rd Guards Tank Corps (Bobchenko)
29th Tank Corps
3rd Guards Cavalry Corps (Oslikovskiy)
3rd Guards Mech Corps (Obukov)
GERMAN ORDER OF BATTLE
ARMY GROUP CENTER
Fourth Army (later XXXIX Panzer Corps)
Kampfgruppe von Saucken
5th Panzer Division
Schwere Panzerabteilung 505, subordinated.
170th Infantry Division
Other elements
RESOURCES
“Hill 621.” SQUAD LEADER. Baltimore, MD: The Avalon Hill Game Company, 1977. https://storage.googleapis.com/archivesqlt/AAA00005A.pdf
"Holding the Ridge: An Analysis of Scenario 5". Shaw, Martin. The Avalon Hill General. Volume 22 Issue 6, 1985.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxBhV3GHa1N8VTEyUEdadmY5UjQ/view?resourcekey=0-_s3n4sycfQmpcp4UxuZrSg
"Hill 621: The Duel: Tanks Versus Tanks". Thomson, Bill. Squad Leader Academy. 2005.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MICAjgwEk6EhjgBx7I3cEl3CJSbRdVnT/view
Adair, Paul (2004) [1994]. "Hitler's Greatest Defeat: The Collapse of Army Group Center, June 1944". Weidenfeld Military.
https://archive.org/details/hitlersgreatestd0000adai/page/192/mode/2up?view=theater
Wikipedia. The Minsk Offensive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_offensive
Wikipedia. Operation Bagration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bagration
FitzGerald, Charles Lieutenant Colonel, “Operation Bagration”, Military Review. May 1964
https://cdm16040.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p124201coll1/id/656/rec/9
King, Curtis, Major “Operation Bagration: A Soviet Victory”, Military Review. April, 1994. pg 89/93
https://cdm16040.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p124201coll1/id/452/rec/3
Hinze, Rolf. "East Front Drama - 1944". Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing Inc. 1996.
Zaloga, Steven. "Bagration 1944: the Destruction of Army Group Center". Westcourt, CT. Praeger Publishers. 1996.
Veal, Stephen Ariel. "The collapse of the German army in the East in the summer of 1944 (Volume 1)" (1991). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 4301.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.6183
Connor, William, Lieutenant Colonel. "Analysis of Deep Attack Operations: Operation Bagration, Belorussia 22 June - 29 August 1944". Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. March 1987.
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a483385.pdf#page=54
INITIAL PLACEMENT
Russian Comments (Monty)
The Russians are set up in a broad front. The idea is that they will use human wave tactics and available terrain to cross Board 4 to engage the Germans closely. The 9-1 leader and MMGs are set up in the two story building in an overwatch position. Hopefully, their fire support will break up any resistance to the advance. Reinforcements on both sides will tip the balance of the game back and forth.
GAME TURNS ONE TO THREE
Russian Comments
The game starts with all but one German unit failing the pre-game NMC. The only unit left was one squad on the far left. The Russians start a general advance across the board while the Germans rally. The 9-2 leader on the Russian right rallies all his units and takes a strong position there. The 8-1 leader rallies his squads and positions himself on the Russian left with his radio. He quickly makes radio contact and calls in an AR/SR combination on his own position. The German tanks enter the board and position themselves in the center to guard the hole in the line. The Germans move the halftrack/ATG to the top of the hill.
The Russians move forward and take casualties. At the end of Turn 3, they have lost 7 squads. The T-34s enter and swing around to the right to take the German armor line on its flank. The Russians quickly dispatch the Germans on the Russian left and take out the radio. One German tank is destroyed by tank fire and a second is lost by immobilization from infantry in the woods. The halftrack is lost on the hill with its ATG due to tank fire. Russian armor and infantry are poised to pour through the center and left. The German Turn 4 reinforcements should slow the advance.
GAME TURN FOUR TO SIX
Russian Comments
The last German forces from the original positions continue their withdrawal towards the hill. The Russian advance catches them and the Germans are surrounded. They will make their final stand just short of the hill as individual Russian squads move in. The German reinforcements set up a reverse slope defense on the backside of the hill.
The Russians try to outflank them on both sides. On the right, an armor battle takes place between T-34s and STGs. Eventually, the STGs will win that engagement taking two T-34s for the loss of one STG. On the left, two German tanks defend alone on the front side of the hill. They are quickly engaged at point blank range by a T-34 and infantry. Both German tanks are lost by point blank fire and close combat. The Russian tidal wave is still coming.....
GAME TURN SEVEN
Russian Final Comments
At the end of Turn 7, the Germans conceded the game. It appears that the combination of the pre-game NMC and the Russian general advance carried the day. Almost all of the Germans were broken at the start of the game, but the flanks did rally prior to the Russians being able to do anything about it. The German center never rallied and German right collapsed again under fire. The Russians soon overtook and finished off any survivors. The last of them were gone by Turn 7.
The Armor battle was touch and go. It could have gone more decisively against the Russians had the German infantry not contributed greatly. In this case, one German tank was immobilized and a second tank was destroyed in close combat. These losses evened the battle and made the armor fight a draw.
Generally, it was the constant pressure of the dispersed infantry that carried the day. The advance was a wave of infantry that just kept coming. Thank you Tom for a good game. I am sure you will win next time.
0 new messages