The Battle for Pervomaysk Bridge : August 1941

Our fifth and final battle in the Uman Kessel campaign has the German 16th Panzers looking to capture the Bug river bridge at Pervomaysk. Although this is mentioned in the Osprey guide and other sources that I have used as a starting point for the campaign I haven't been able to find any other references to a battle at the bridge at all. However, it seems reasonable that to capture the bridge the 16th Panzers would have to push back the final remnants of the Russian 6th and 12th Armies who had escaped the encirclement. (Importantly I have had the bridge for ages and it would make a great final scenario).

Using a Blitzkreig Commander scenario we gave the Germans approximately twice as many points as the Russians. But importantly the Bug River can only be crossed at the Bridge. The Russian leadership is low reflecting the poor overall strategic position. The Town of Pervomaysk straddles the river and the Russians had to start the scenario with at least one formation on the north side of the river.

Germans enter from the North 1 Battlion of Pz heading straight for
 the town the other looking to cover their approach

We also gave the Germans some air cover which adds to the flavour of the battle but proved very ineffective. You might be able to make out the ME109 ground attack plane.

Overview of the battlefield

The Germans took some early casualties before they were able to get out of their vehicles losing at least one infantry unit and one attached anti tank gun.

Better view from the East the last few remaining Russian tanks
 prepare to counter attack any attempt to get across the bridge

View from the South

The first German Pz's made it to the river bank and began engaging unit across the river at long range whilst bringing up heavy anti-tank guns to clear the town. The remaining Russians who have volunteered to stay behind have dug in in the buildings making it almost impossible to get them out with out and infantry assault. I think BC it particularly realistic here where dug in infantry just cant be shot out as they dug further into the rubble.

German Anti-tank unit unlimbers and begins to bombard the town

 

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The German panzer grenadiers have dismounted and charged into the town but are repulsed taking quite heavy casualties, eventually heavy fire from the antitank guns eliminates one unit but it is going to be hard to force the infantry out.

Minor success for German tanks at long range

Whilst the infantry tries to force the Town the second Pz Battalion forms
up to rush for the bridge

More air cover but the Russian tank despite being low of fuel can still exchange
fire across the river and get the better of it !

Germans waste time and effort trying to force the town and the
Russian mortar crews on the other side of the river start to pick off units

Eventually the German Tanks rush for the bridge and the Germans bring as much firepower as they can up to support and to clear a way for the tanks to force the bridge.

The lead PzIV's make it across but are pinned down

Infantry dug in on the far side of the bridge meant the Pz's couldn't exit the bridge and as they couldn't assault the infantry in the buildings they had to try and blast them out. Whilst doing this the Russians used up their remaining ammunition opening up with everything in a last ditch attempt to hold the Tanks back.

Road block on the bridge

Whilst the bridge gave the tanks stuck on it good cover they didn't have the space to deploy. At this point we gave a well deserved minor victory to the Russians. They had fought with everything they had rather than running for their lives.

Final position Germans have cleared the North bank but simply can't
get across in any numbers to make a difference.

Another excellent, close fought battle to end the campaign, with all five battles being a close run thing. We have learnt masses running each battle especially around the size of armies we can hope to manage in a single evening and reach a reasonable conclusion. Historically of course the Uman Kessel was a significant victory for the Germans pretty much eliminating the 6th and 12th Armies. With overwhelming air power the Germans mopped up the pocket fairly quickly before spreading out across the Ukraine. We are currently considering where our next encounter with the eastern front will be.........

The Battle for Novo Archangel'sk : August 1941

The fourth battle in our Uman Kessel Campaign. By now the Russians are well and truly surrounded in the pocket. With a view to forcing a way through to the Dnepr River the 4th Mechanised Corps fought to break though the 9th Panzer Division. Fuel and armour were now running low so despite fierce fighting and with only limited support the ultimate end was probably not in doubt.

For our battle the  4th Mechanised Corps under Gen AA Vlasov consisting of remnants of the 81st Mechanised Division and the final tanks of the 8th and 32nd Tank Divisions are up against Alfred Ritter von Hubicki commanding the 11th Panzer Granadiers, 102nd Panzer Artillery Regiment, the 50th Panzerjager Battalion and the 33rd Panzer Regiment.

Overview of the Battlefield

As a breakthrough mission the Russians have a much larger force but only 12 turns to break through the German lines to safety. As always a lot happens in the battle so I will let the pictures tell most of the story.


Germans dug in in the town itself. 33rd Panzers on the right flank

Panzer Grenadiers in the Town supported by Artillery and
Panzerjager Battalion

The Russians in a desperate position in the kessel chose to throw all their armour into a full on left flank attack attempting to swing round the town to safety.

Russian Motorized Division enter on the left flank

Remnants of the 8th and 32nd Tank divisions

Historically the Russian were down to their last few tanks by this stage but to make it a more fun battle we allow the Russians to pull together quite a few tanks, perhaps they were able to salvage a few from within the pocket. Importantly they have managed to find the last 2 KV1's.

Germans reorganise their left flank

With the thrust of the Russian advance on the far right, the German had to quickly reorganise, sending the Panzerjagers through the town hopefully to buy some time whilst the 33rd Panzers swing round capturing the Russian exposed flank.

Dug in Artillery claims the first Russian tanks



Panzers on the flank

By now the Germans have pushed out the 33rd Panzers and are starting to have an impact. The Russians are starting to turn to protect their flank whilst pushing forward direct for the town.



Hot work as the Germans bring increasing firepower into the battle

Germans starting to take casualties and they are outnumbered !



Russians deploy their last few T34's and use them to bolster their right flank

At this stage the whole battle started to drift to the North, the Russian Motorized infantry in trucks, they didn't have a enough for all of them, have reached the small woods in the distance. Whilst the battle continues in the centre, the Russian armour is tied down but as they bring greater numbers into the combat the German Panzers begin to become isolated and are picked off one at a time.

Russians in the woods

The German commander desperately tries to bring more troops across to the right flank but no armour can be spared at this stage.

Critical stage of the battle, Russian T34's push the 33rd Panzer back !

 

Russian T34's are concentrating fire on the panzers and pushing them back

At this point the Russian Motorised infantry had made it into the woods and were able to unlimber their remaining artillery, they made a heroic dash forward taking out some of the Panzerjagers and pushing back the Panzer Grenadiers in hand to hand fighting. With the Panzers being pushed back and a definite breakthrough on the right we decided to call it a day here, a minor Russian Victory.

End game......

Historically the battle took several days of hard fighting and I guess our battle might represent the Russian high point, eventually though the Germans were able to bring more reserves into play and the Russian were running out of fuel, armour and hope.....

ED: another good battle and a deserved win to the Russians. Luckily they have run out of KV1's now all that remains now is to close the pocket our final battle for the bridge at Pervomaysk.

The Battle for Uman : August 1941

The third battle in our Uman Kessel campaign was centred around the town of Uman itself. The remnants of the Russian 18th Army have dug in East of the town but are gradually being pushed back and surrounded. In this battle the Germans on the attack are represented by 125th Infantry Division supported by the 94th Antitank Battalion. They will be further supported by the 11th Panzers on their left flank and the 4th mountain division on the right flank. The Russian have pulled together whatever troops they can, the 240th Mechanised division motorised infantry and Antitank Battalion with the remnants of both the 15th and 39th Tank divisions. A mixed bag of soviet tanks including the last KV1 in the kessel.

This was quite a big battle and we had included a couple of new features. In line with history the Germans had now gained significant air superiority so were supported by a unit of Stuka dive -bombers from V Fliegerkorps. The Russians in desperation had mined some of the ground in front of their forces.

A lot happened in the battle which was hard fought and very balanced. I can only skim through the details and will let the photos tell most of the story........

The town of Uman held by the 125th Infantry Division..stuka's overhead !

The Russians had dug in at five identified strong points (objectives). The Germans reluctant to push unsupported infantry forward held them back in the Town until the 11th Panzers had arrived to support. The initial attack of stukas was really successful but it was clear later on that the soviets had woken upto the threat and in subsequent rounds they were driven off by AA fire.

4th mountain Division arrives on the right flank

On the right right flank the elite 4th Mountain division under Gen Maj K Eglseer pushed forward hard and fast supported by their own Stug III's. This flank proved a killing ground for both sides as the Germans laid down heavy fire into Southern farmhouse and the woods, but knowing this was do or die the Russian simply wouldn't give up their positions.

Some of the 11th Panzers arrive on the left and push forward, infantry
 hold back in the town awaiting more support

Eventually in the centre the panzerjagers of the 125th Infantry division started to push forward clearing out the woods allowing the infantry to secure their objective. Eventually on the left flank numbers started to tell as more German panzers rolled in pushing the lighter Russian tanks back.

125th Infantry Division support by its own Panzerjager I's push forward

The original objective had been to capture or hold the five objectives but we were beaten by the clock. so had to stop. During post battle analysis we felt the Germans had probably swung it their way and with the remaining turns would have gained a minor victory.

But all credit to the Russian commander LtGen Smirnov who dug in and wouldn't give up, but why would they when surrounded.......

View from behind Uman, 11th Panzers deploy in strength, 125th Infantry
Division in the centre making for the small wood. In the distance the battle
between the 4th Mountain division and Russian Infantry for the high ground.

Stukas have started to take their toll on Russian tanks in the open

The whole battlefield from the east looking west Uman on the left.

In the distance German Infantry are forcing their way into the woods
whilst stuka's remain a threat they are actually less effective

Pretty much the end of the battle, German infantry has taken the small wood
Russians are holding onto to the hill

On the German left flank the German Panzers are starting to overwhelm the
 remaining Russian tanks.

We had another great battle which was really close. we will definitely be having more air support in the future. Size wise we need to give ourselves more time or slightly less troops the Germans on the right flank were particularly slow and it almost became a battle within a battle. No apology for the tinted photos as I just think they give such a great feel  for the battle. Without keeping a strict score I think it is 5-4 to the Germans currently.

The Uman Kessel : Breakout at Monastyrysche

 

The second battle in our Uman Kessel campaign covers the attempt by the Russian 6th Army to Break out of the encircling XLVIII Panzer Corps. The battles took place between the 21st and 27th July 1941. As always we have had to slim things down to make them manageable. So we have focussed on the 24th Mechanised Corps under MajGen Christyakov made up of the 216th Motorised Division and the 45th and 49th Tank Divisions. Attempting to force a passage through the 16th Panzer Division under GenMaj H Hube.

Initial view of the battlefield Monastyrysche in the foreground

We played this as a breakout attack scenario from the blitzkrieg rulebook. So the Germans are heavily outnumbered and the Russians objective is to get either 25% of their forces of the German Baseline or to get 25% of their force within the final third of the battlefield.


The Germans whilst outnumbered simply need to hold the Russian onslaught back. Their initial deployment was to place motorised infantry in the town supported by an independent Anti tank battalion with two small Panzer battalions spread across the expected line of attack. The battle would be a maximum of 12 turns or when one of the forces reached its break point.

Turn 2 Panzers have pulled back to avoid bombardment

The Russians have two small Tank divisions with T26's and some early T34's, an independent Heavy Tank brigade which they chose to bring on from the flank and the large 216th Motorised Infantry Division. Ivan also had 3 scheduled artillery barrages. Although it seemed clear that the Germans had captured some key intelligence before the battle as they cleverly avoided the initial bombardment by pulling back off the front line.


German motorised infantry dug in around town. Two Stug III in support

After an initial failure in turn two the Russians were able to bring the heavy tanks on the flank in turn three, this required the Germans to quickly reorder their right flank to try and hold them back but the Panzers were heavily outgunned by T34's and KV1's.

Russian heavy tanks attack on the German right flank

Things getting hot Anti-tank gun in the trees on the right knocked out by
artillery barrage.

The Russians initial had the advantage with Germans uncharacteristically failing several command rolls. The Russians pushed the 216th Motorised Infantry towards the town, but their local commander was indecisive and couldn't seem to decide whether to push on in trucks or dismount (a safer option) this wasted time and left them exposed, although they were able to inflict damage on the defending Germans they were too exposed in the open and concentrated fire form the defenders caused the advance to stall.

Motorised infantry being held up by accurate suppressing fire

In the centre of the battlefield it was tank on tank, with the Germans dug in by the road and the Russians pushing across open ground. As the two groups exchanged fire it was touch and go who would come out on top. On the Russian Left flank the heavy tank brigade was making fairly easy work of the lighter Panzers, who attempted to hide in the woods but the KV's were simply too strong.

 

Russian armour pushing through in the centre of the battlefield
in the distance heavy Russian Tanks are forcing the 2nd Panzer
Battalion back but the Germans are taking losses

Things were looking bad for the Germans at this stage so some re-alignment and luck was needed. The luck came in the form of double 1's on two successive command rolls (in Blitzkrieg Commander this allows and extra free action) Now some of the pressure was off the town the German HQ was able to order the Stug III's across to the centre, their additional fire power in the centre tipped the balance, especially as they were able to catch several T26's in the flank knocking them out.

My favourite shot of the battlefield

Final point in the battle where the Russians reached their breakpoint. The Russians have taken heavy losses as expected but have achieved a minor objective with 25% of their troops in the German third of the battlefield. With the heavy losses it seemed fair to award 2 VP's to both sides. This gives 4 VP's to each side so far in the campaign.

End point of the battle

Final thoughts....another great battle just loving 6mm at the moment.

The Uman Kessel : Retreat to Bratslav

The first battle in our Uman Kessel campaign sees the Russian 12th Army commanded by General Ponedelin attempting to escape the German 17th Army under Von Stulpnagel. Using Blitzkrieg Commander rules we used the pursuit scenario where the smaller Russian force sets up in the centre of the battlefield with the German forces entering with mobile deployment from a random baseline, we also agreed the Germans were allowed to bring one formation (elements of the 16th Panzer) from the NE flank.


Germans as the attacker get the first turn and come on from the North (right)

The 1st Mountain Division is leading the way for the Germans represented by 3 battalions of the 98th Mountain Infantry Regiment, these are crack troops with good mobility in trucks and halftracks. They can be seen coming on from the right in the first few pictures, but immediately taking some casualties as the Russian 4th Anti Tank Brigade guns open fire. The Germans are supported by the 44th Panzerabwehr (Antitank) battalion which can bee seen in the foreground unlimbering. Again in the second photo the Russians have opened fire taking out one gun early on.

Russian set up in centre around farmhouse with infantry dug in in the central wood

The Russian forces shown above on the left consist of the 240th Mechanised Division on the road, the 44th Rifle Division dug in around the farm and woods, and elements of the 39th Tank Division (2 light companies of BT7's and one medium Company of T28's) attempting to hold the flanks.

Overview of the battlefield, German 50mm anti-tank guns have opened up on Russian Armour

The objective for the Russians in the battle is clear they are trying to get as much off the battlefield intact as possible. They are outnumbered and for a 'minor objective' they need to get ten elements of the field. This looked easy to start with but he battle proved to be an excellent challenge. The Russians having to decide between leaving units behind and running the risk of being overwhelmed and the Germans having to try and drive forward as quickly as possible.

German infantry starting to dismount and Anti tank guns fully active

One big challenge for the Mobile German troops was when to dismount, they are much easier to kill in vehicles so for safety better to dismount but far slower to advance.

Russian Mechanised Corps starting to pull back but caught by Artillery barrage

The Germans as the attacker have 3 scheduled artillery Barrages aimed in and around the road junction these were particularly effective in disrupting the 240th Mechanized Division who were pulling back along the road.

16th Panzers enter from the NE but have restricted deployment due to ground conditions

The Panzers form the 16th Division arrived on the flank on turn three, although very deep on the flank they are restricted by the poor ground conditions on either side of the road. Although they push on fast they have limited impact on the battle overall.

Losses are mounting up by valuable Russian Armour is pulling back further each turn

View from German baseline as the Russian armour disappears towards Bratslav

The town in the far left corner represents Bratslav and represents the next point on the Russian retreat to Uman.

Russians now pulled back beyond the road is it retreat or rout ?

German Infantry are now on foot and having to slog it forward to push Russians out of the woods

By this stage in the battle the Germans have started to pick off any remaining Russian armour but the majority has, as required by the scenario pulled back from the front looking to regroup on the other side of Bratslav.

More pressure from the Germans pushing forward with anti tank guns

The Germans are now struggling to get forward quickly enough without adequate armour support the infantry is just too slow to capitalise on their advantage. Too little to late the 44th Antitank Battalion pushes forward to press the retreat eventually taking up a forward position in the nearby field.

German infantry in the mid ground advancing towards woods

Almost all remaining mobile Russian armour has made it off the battlefield

98th Mountain Infantry now clearing out the woods

At this final stage of the battle the Russians had achieved their minor objective and gained 2 victory points for the campaign. We judged the remaining Russian infantry in the woods would be captured and sent to work in factories back in Germany. The Germans have however, destroyed more than twice the casualties inflicted on them so they too gain 2 VP's. The outcome then for the campaign a tactical draw.

Final Russian infantry make it off the field, but some are left behind in the woods to be captured
 

Final thoughts, a really great battle, what looked easy on both sides was actually really hard to achieve.