Scenario 22 The Borders Are Burning
Scott B
THE BORDERS ARE BURNING
SCENARIO 22, CRESCENDO OF DOOM
AFTER ACTION REPORT
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
November 30th, 1939: The Soviet 54th ID started its advance toward Kuhmo, Finnland. A regiment of Finns slowed down the division while the Finns concentrated on destroying the 163rd ID and the 44th ID at Suomussalmi. Afterward they turned their attention to the 54th and gnawed away at the motti until it was saved by peace.
“Of course we tried to attack and open the road forward, but it was like hitting your head against a wall. It was different from what we were used to in our previous battles, in Poland, for instance. It was unbelievable…awesome.
Our communications didn’t work and we began to get hungry.
But the Finns we couldn't see anywhere. And believe it or not, the first Finns that I personally saw were the two that took me as a prisoner after my regiment was destroyed. We couldn’t see them anywhere, yet they were all over the place. If anybody left the campsite, he met with certain death. When we sent our sentries to take their positions around the camp, we knew that within minutes they would be dead with a bullet hole in the forehead or the throat slashed by a dagger.
This invisible death was lurking from every direction. It was sheer madness. Hundreds, even thousands of my men were slaughtered.”
-- Russian POW, a colonel of the Soviet 44th ID
RESOURCES
Soviet-Finnish War, Operations During December 1939 and January 1940 map.
Wikipedia. Battle of Kuhmo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kuhmo
Wikipedia. Winter War.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War
The Military Review Vol37 No1, April 1957
http://cdm16040.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p124201coll1/id/730/filename/731.pdf#page=45
Warfare in the Far North. Department of the Army. October 1951.
https://history.army.mil/html/books/104/104-24/index.html
Hyperwar. The Soviet-Finnish War, 1939-1940. Department of Military Art and Engineering, USMA, West Point, New York, 1948
https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/ETO/Winter/USMA-Finnish/index.html
AFTER ACTION REPORT
Victory Conditions
The Russians must exit 20 squads off the west board edge via a road hex. Russian tanks count as two squads. Finnish player wins by avoiding the Russian victory conditions.
Special Scenario Rules
- Deep Snow Rules (111.8) are in effect
- Infantry Cost of Terrain is doubled, except when beneath an AFV.
- AFV Cost of Terrain is doubled, Road rate is 2 MP.
- Non-tracked vehicle Cost of Terrain is quadrupled, except Road cost are 4 MP.
- Trucks move at 16 MP in Open Ground, or one hex per turn. Effectively road bound.
- Entrenchment attempts are +2
- Minefield resolution is +1 (no other DRMs apply).
- FFE are +1.
- A Pre-game bombardment of four FFEs of 120mm Harassing Fire over two pre-game turns. For entrenched Finns in woods these are resolved as 8 IFT +4 (+4 Entrenchment, +1 Deep Snow, -1 Airburst).
GAME SETUP
Finnish Comments
The defense is divided to cover the two required road exits. The southern defense is wire, a road block, and mines, backed up by a dug in platoon in the road. The northern defense is a hilltop position with dug-in infantry possessing MGs and ATRs. This is a modified defense from one that is described in an article of “The General”. It tries to avoid having the Finns in small groups that can be overwhelmed.
Russian Comments
There are only two choices - take the north road and face the firepower or take the south road and face the fortifications and terrain. Infantry moves one hex in woods and two hexes on a road, so terrain is as much an obstacle as the Russians.
It takes about nine turns at 4 MF and one hex advance. Exception: Infantry moving with an AFV are not doubled.
GAME TURN ONE
Russian Comments
The Russian mass moves forward. The units on board four intend to interdict Finnish movement; they are not expected to exit.
Finnish Comments
The Russian attack comes in on the forest road. A second force is posed to engage the hilltop position. The mines that could have been placed in the forest road to immobilize tanks and delay their advance are not there at all. My thinking was that the mines would be navigated through by the first tanks and would have little effect on the rest of the scenario. They were repositioned.
The hilltop position starts to send reinforcements to the forest defense. The platoon in the woods may be hard pressed to slow down the Russian advance. The going is tough as the snow is bogging down both sides.
GAME TURN TWO
Russian Comments
The northern section failed its mission of pinning and harassing the enemy. The T-26 spontaneously exploded as soon as it encountered the enemy, like T-26s do. It didn’t even have a chance to use the new By pass rules. The infantry lost position to the Finns and will suffer to dislodge them.
The southern section trudges on, the road bound infantry keeping pace with the flanks.
Finnish Comments
The Russians moved a tank up in sight of the hilltop position in an effort to push through that defense. The ATR squad managed a lucky hit on the first shot and the tank is KIA. Reinforcements inch southward while the platoon in the woods mounts a desperate defense of their position. The Russians advance up the road.
GAME TURN THREE
Russian Comments
The northern sector fails again with the malfunction of its HMG. At least they still have a capable 10-2 to support the MMG on the hill.
In the southern sector the infantry continues to trudge through the snow.. The armor knows not to out run the infantry.
Finnish Comments
Obviously, the Russian advance moving forward slowly is providing cover for their infantry. They move forward to provide a shot at overwhelming strength at point blank range as well. The Finns continue to break the Russians at point blank range, but a T-26 is almost there. Russian infantry is moving past the first line of wire and has encountered a mine hex to the south of the entrenchment. Will the hilltop reinforcements get there in time?
GAME TURN FOUR
Russian Comments
The 10-2 is now dead, along with two squads and the HMG. The northern sector contributed nothing to the war effort at the cost of the best leader and HMG.
A T26 exits the road and trail-breaks through a mined woods hex, thus avoiding the roadblock and opening a path through the minefield for infantry. Other T-26s may follow the trail break without immobilization.
The infantry trudge forward.
Finnish Comments
The defenders of the entrenchments break the last Russians at the edge of their entrenchment and are then flanked. Overwhelming fire from a minefield to their left cuts them down. The northern reinforcements take up positions in the woods. In the northern sector, a Russian platoon is keeping a larger Finnish force in place watching them. The assault down the road inches forward. Next turn, they will take the entrenchments. The turn after that, they will start dismantling the roadblock without any interference. Will the Finns strike?
GAME TURN FIVE
Russian Comments
The Russians trudge forward but attrition is catching up. They have twenty-four victory points in squads and T-26s and twenty must exit. They rarely glimpse the enemy shooting at them as the Finns retrograde after each shot.
Finnish Comments
In the northern sector, the remaining Russians move up to engage the Finnish. One squad is cut down in the woods by the same machine gunner that destroyed their 10-2 leader. The two remaining squads are taken under ineffective fire.
Along the forest road, the Russians occupy the Finnish entrenchments. Some squads venture into the second line of wire. They are immediately taken under fire by Finns in the woods on the other side of the wire. The exchange of fire causes the Finns to go berserk and charge into close combat with them. There they are locked in hand to hand while being entangled in wire.
GAME TURN SIX
Russian Comments
The Finns are consistently out-fighting the Russians. In our Close Combats, the Russians fail to kill on 7s and 8s and the Finns kill on 5s and 6s. The 9-1 leader attempted to rally a squad four times without success.
The infantry trudge forward, but there are few left.
Finnish Comments
In the north, the Russian holding force is broken and eliminated. The Finnish squads are now free to move into the woods. In the woods, the Finnish defenders fall back and break more advancing Russians. The Russian squads eliminate the roadblock and are ready to push past the abandoned T-26 on the road. They are quickly running out of good order squads to move forward. At the “Fight in the Wire”, one Finnish squad has eliminated 3 Russian squads. It is unreal. I think the Russians are beginning to know what the Romans felt at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
GAME TURN SEVEN
Russian Comments
The Russians no longer have twenty squads or equivalents to exit and are unable to fulfill their victory conditions. An excellent Finnish performance eliminated the majority of units. Additionally, they incurred significant losses for failure to rout. Brokies’ four MF routs only one hex in woods during deep snow. Given the congested road, wire and enemy, they simply had nowhere to go.
Finnish Comments
We are approaching the end of the Russian assault force. There are only 4 good order squads left. It has been as close to running into a brick wall as you can imagine. The Finnish were unmovable.
AFTERMATH
Russian Comments
This was as historically accurate a game as ever played - the Russians went into the woods and did not come out. If the Finns rolled this well in actual battle, it is no wonder the Russians sustained such heavy casualties for so little gain. The Russians would move to contact, break under defensive fire, and rout into the advancing troops; only to have the Finns drop back and repeat the process again. It was chaos in slow motion, it was sheer madness.
Good game, would play this scenario again.
Finnish Comments
After my first play of this scenario, I would say that the Finnish advantages and the snow make this a slow motion death for the attackers. I was incredibly lucky in this game. It feels like I may have used all my luck up for several matches in this one play.
The Finnish contributed two main efforts to the win. One squad in the woods had an epic performance. After breaking, they self-rallied, then went berserk and proceeded to close with the Russians at the wire. They managed to kill 4 Russian squads and were still fighting two others in close combat at the end of the game. On the hill, the 10-1 leader, HMG, ATR and squad destroyed the Russian’s best leader, a truck, a T-26 and two squads. Unbelievable….
Thank you to Scott for an entertaining game. I hate to see how badly I will roll in our next match.