NQM Soviet Spring Offensive 1943 (Part 16) – 2nd OREL

 As he pondered his operational maps,  XXXV Korps commander had an insurmountable problem to solve. To both north and south, the Soviets had established bridge crossings and was holding them in strength. His only armoured reserve was heading south to try to stem the flood of Soviet armour heading east. Even if this succeeded, he had the depleted remains of two divisions to hold off six, with half the city of OREL lost already. If he delayed ordering an evacuation, his divisions would be cut off, with Soviet air superiority dashing any hopes that his garrison might be supplied by air. If he withdrew, he would be falling back on his lines of communication and might hope to counterattack when the Soviets reached the limit of their supply chain.

2 Tank Army heavy armour moving forward

 17 Panzer fortuitously failed to intercept 16 Tank Corps, with its T-34s, and hit instead  19 tank Corps, still equipped with T-70s. The lighter tanks were no match for 17 Panzers‘ Pz IIIs and attached StuG IIIs,  and suffered heavily. The stream of Soviet armour  heading west lost momentum and stalled as it reached the limits of its fuel.

The order to withdraw had been issued by XXXV Korps Commander, knowing that it would probably cost him his career, but judging it better to save his troops. Headquarters and artillery began to crowd westward as pioneers and infantry began a systematic destruction of anything that could not be carried with them. As 1 Guards Artillery Division arrived at the front and began to pound the west bank, it was already clear that the Austrians in front of them were withdrawing.

Being short of engineers, it took the Soviets some time before bridges in the city centre were able to take heavy enough traffic for supplies and vehicles to cross. As they pursued the fleeing Fascists, a cat and mouse game of rearguard ambush and retreat developed, with the Wehrmacht strewing booby traps and mines in the path of the advancing Soviet tanks. This timely account of the Battle of OREL makes interesting reading

It can be seen that far fewer forces were involved in my battle than the real operation.

Game notes:

1. Nowadays, OREL or ORYOL (Орёл) appears on Google map as RAZGRAD.
2.  I set the morale of the two Wehrmacht divisions to 4, and the Soviets to 2, meaning that each Soviet Division would be able to conduct two attacks and each Wehrmacht division four defences before becoming exhausted and disorganised. The early successes of the Soviets meant that these limits were not tested, and OREL fell without much of a struggle.
3. Another solo game, with the dice deciding a number of things:
   • Would the Soviets reinforce the north (1,2) or south (3-6) crossing site?
   • Would the breakthrough armour swing north around the west of OREL (1-3) or make a deeper breakthrough (4-6)?
   • How much air support would both sides get, one, two or three sorties (1d3)?
   • Will the garrison be surrounded (1-3) or escape (4-6)?
4.  With an active pair of players, most of these actions would have been decided or gamed by the participants themselves. I could have Skyped or Zoomed the game, but as previously mentioned, I’m pretty much all screened out by work at the moment.

NQM Soviet Spring Offensive 1943 (Part 15) – 2nd OREL

262  Infantry Division was raised in Austria, having fought through the Ukraine. As Soviet 102 and 106 Rifle Divisions attacked the eastern approaches to the city, with heavy artillery and Sturmovik support, 486 Infantry Regiment and the divisional HQ on the southern edge of the suburbs caved in under pressure, letting 106 Rifle Division into the outskirts.

A fierce counterattack from 482 Infantry Regiment restored the situation for long enough for the division to withdraw to the west bank, but  with four Soviet divisions curling around the flanks, holding the east bank was out of the question.

262 Pioneer Battalion conducted an exemplary bridge demolition. Nevertheless, the east bank had been lost relatively easily.

Further north, ariel recce had observed activity on the river OKA. A substantial pontoon bridge was being thrown across, with a tank corps and infantry massing behind it.

17 Panzer Division was despatched north to attack the bridgehead without delay from its staging area just west of OREL. Whatever the failings of their infantry brethren, the panzers fell upon the bridgehead, scattering armour and motor rifle troops, and destroying the bridge.

Undaunted, the Soviets were also bridging to the south of OREL. The first inkling that XXXV Korps Commander had that the river line had been bridged, was when infantry from 175 Rifle Division were sighted on the west bank, to the south of OREL. 17 Panzer had been recalled to their original staging area in a central position against just such an eventuality, but the Soviet attack began before they had reorganised and refuelled.

Now it was the turn of 293 Infantry Division to feel the weight of the assault as 175 and 162 Rifle Divisions attacked the southern edge of the city. Raised in Berlin, the “Bear” division fared no better than their Austrian Cousins. 175 Rifles drove the infantry back onto their artillery line before counterattacks from the reformed Austrians restored the situation.

At this point, casualties had been heavy on both sides, with both Wehrmacht divisions down below half strength. Although they could not know it, the Soviets were fast outrunning their supply lines and needed more river crossings.

17 Panzer set off again in a wide sweep to the south, the plan being to catch the Soviet infantry in the rear. As they did so, fresh ariel reconnaissance intelligence was coming in: The second crossing had been located, and at least two tank corps were streaming west. To add to XXXV Korps commander’s troubles, the northern bridge crossing had been rebuilt and was being held by at least two rifle divisions with armoured support.

Orders were hurriedly amended on the move, and 17 Panzer had a new target; the stream of Soviet armour  heading west.

to be continued …

NQM Soviet Spring Offensive 1943 (Part 14) – 2nd OREL

The first battle for OREL was fleeting as the Wehrmacht swept east. This time the Soviets were on the offensive heading west. The land around OREL is largely flat,  fertile, grain-producing country, with OREL itself sitting astride the OKA river running north-south. The picture above shows the OKA running through OREL with north at the top of the picture.

Looking West into the Centre of OREL

For this game I used the Front Scale Orbat, with a stand representing a single regiment of two or three battalions. Below, we see Soviet 211 Division, with the divisional HQ front left, two regiments behind, and an artillery regiment to the right. The squares on my board are 150mm (6″) to a side.

262 and 293 Infantry Divisions backed by 17 Panzer Division were facing 2 Tank Army less 9 Tank Corps, comprising 3, 16,19 Tank Corps, and 70 Army, comprising 28 Corps (132, 211, 280, 102, 106, 140, 162 175 Rifle Divisions, 1 Guards Artillery Division). Additional Support included 16 VVS.

70 Army was ordered to advance on a broad front to pin the German Defenders whilst 2 Tank Army bridged the OKA and cut it off. Engineer crossings were planned for the north and south of OREL.

 

As Soviet Army level recce advanced, the shape of the defence became clearer.

To be continued …

New Uniforms for the Jägers

For Barbarossa, the Wehrmacht raised mountain, light and Jäger divisions. By 1943 all light divisions had been renamed as Jäger divisions, in the same way that motor rifle divisions had been renamed as Panzergrenadier divisions. Much sexier! My light division has always been at the back of the queue for toys, fighting with my Gebirgsjägers and Fallschirmjägers for the limited number of Kettenkrad Sdkfz 2s that I had. Reinforcements of 6 Krads from Syborg 3d Printing have allowed me to swap out Raupenschleppers that had been standing in with the 7.5cm mountain guns in all 3 divisions, with spares for the Luftwaffe ground crews.

The original intention of the light divisions was that they would be the link between mountain divisions and more ponderous standard infantry divisions, fighting nimbly in wooded and built up terrain. Barbarossa, and the Soviets did not oblige in that respect, and they often found themselves thrown into the line, where the terrain did not cooperate, and where they needed as much artillery as their line infantry brethren.

My light division is a mix of troops of varying levels of painting and vintage. Nowadays, my painting style wavers between minimal¹ and comic book², depending on mood and energy levels. The light Division got the Comic Book treatment.

Given that Waffenfarben can be almost invisible in the field, even close-up, it didn’t stop me putting meadow green/grass green (grün) splotches onto the shoulders of the figures.

… and if camouflage makes everything the same colour at a distance³ , anything that gives the viewer the sense that “wow, he’s put a lot of detail into those figures” is a toy soldier conceit. If I’m only doing it to pass the time, and for pleasure, then it makes sense to exaggerate the colour differences of different bits of equipment, to separate them out on the figure. You can blame Old School or the Sci-fi and fantasy painters for leading me down this route. Take your pick 🙂

… so here are the Jägers, resplendent in their new box, and with very little paint chipped off them. I’ve also updated the Orbat page.

The drop off in my regular postings is entirely due to having to waste time learning the new block system, now that the default classic editor has been turned off. Still, it’s free. Oh, and two days in, I’ve just discovered where the classic editor has been hidden. Excellent!

1. Basecoat, face, Ink shading, then perhaps guns and helmets. In 15mm this counts as “realistic”.
2. Think four-colour Eagle or Judge Dredd comics, with brighter colours for visibility.
3. Vallejo #0038 Really Hard to See 🙂

Slapping Paint onto Stuff – Poles and Steyr 1500A Kfz. 70

The painting and modelling plan has taken a bit of a hit this year and last, for reasons that are obvious to everyone. Work has taken priority, and still is, with overstretch and under manning taking its toll on my spare time. At the end of the day, I don’t feel like logging onto a Zoom or Skype wargame, even though there have been some good ones that I could avail myself of. So apologies to everyone whose invitations I have turned down, or not replied to.

Weekends have been spent outdoors. There is nothing quite like spending 10 hours in a mask to help you appreciate just how good fresh air tastes. Shed 24 was completed this week, although I will probably continue tinkering with it for fun. The Cloister is now roofed and painted in Fairground-pattern dazzle camouflage, with party lights in anticipation of post-lockdown garden meets in our reliably inclement summer weather. Caunter had the right idea, but never carried it fully through IMHO.

Indoors, I managed to slap more paint onto these Steyr 1500A Kfz. 70 heavy cars from PSC. The finish of the kits is lovely, the jigs horrible as you need to cut and shave the side panels to fit. If you don’t, they keep springing off before the solvent sets.

Aircraft modellers will be looking on, unimpressed.

“We do this all the time”, they say.

” …. and this. It’s part of the fun”, they say¹.

So the end result was this handsome pair of kits. Was it worth it? Yes. Will I do it again now that resin printed models are available? No.

1. Don’t google anything with “clamps” and “fun” in the same sentence unless the family filter is on. Just saying.

 

Paint and Glue Miniatures Kfz 21 Krupp Pkw

This post on the Kfz. 21 Krupp Pkw (Personenkraftwagen or people carrier) shows the superiority of a resin print over an FDM one (see my review of the Kfz. 19 last week).  The Krupp is a good model to highlight the differences, because of its long sloping bonnet.

As far as I can ascertain, the Kfz. 21 was used as a staff car for senior officers, or as a troop carrier for the Führer-Begleit-Bataillon. The motley crew are mostly Command Decision, with the rather fat general in the middle right hand seat coming from the Plastic Soldier Company Marder crew.

Paint and Glue Miniatures Kfz 19 Krupp Protze

This iconic vehicle featured heavily in the sort of photographs that were available in pre-internet days to a teenaged Panzer fancier.  I always fancied building one, but never got round to it. So I was delighted when PGM offered this model. It is a very nice print too. The usual comments about print lines apply , and when I get the review of the resin schwerer geländegängiger Personenkraftwagen (6rad) (Kfz. 21)
mit Fahrgestell des l. gl. Lkw. (o) onto the blog, the differences can easily be seen, showcasing the superiority of  resin over FDM. As resin printers become more affordable, they are the way forward, I think.

The PGM model can be used as a Fernsprech-Betriebskraftwagen (Kfz. 19)
mit Fahrgestell des l. gl. Lkw. (o) (telephone vehicle ) or as a Funkkraftwagen (Kfz. 19) mit Fahrgestell des l. gl. Lkw. (o) (Radio vehicle). The latter , according to Holger Erdmann (see sidebar), was a rare variant, making up numbers for the commoner Kfz. 15.

Wikipedia gives 7000 chassis being built overall, but the radio and telephone bodies would have been a much smaller proportion of these. I believe that the Kfz. 19 and 21 were essentially early war vehicles, so I have painted mine grey. I haven’t seen any vehicles painted in mid war camouflage yet, although there are a couple of Kfz. 70s in the pre-war three tone pattern of dunkelgelb, green and brown. The vertical wooden panels on the doors and body are rendered nicely, but it would really take a resin print to take full advantage of this detail. the wheels are printed separately, needing to be stuck on. I’m very happy with my model, and can recommend it.

Paint and Glue Miniatures Krupp Protze Kfz. 69 (L2 H43)

The Paint & Glue Miniatures Krupp Protze Kfz. 69 (L2 H43) is a very neat print that has excellent detail, and which models the rear tyre with its frame very accurately, and has good detail around the ammunition boxes. Print lines on the sloping front bonnet, the usual curse of printed models, are not too noticeable, and the windscreen is separate, so can be modelled up or down. Wheels are printed individually, which you either like, or don’t. It can be seen that printing separately enables better tyre detail. As usual, my battle-ready-get-it-on-the-table paint job does the model no favours.

It compares very favourably with the Butler’s and QRF Kfz. 70s and the QRF ’69, which lacks the rear wheel detail. The Kfz. 69 was most often seen towing the 3.7cm Pak, with the Kfz. 81 variant towing the 2cm FlaK 30 and 38 gun

SdKfz 11 and Le FH 18 10.5cm

The Le FH 18 10.5cm was intended to be the mainstay of Wehrmacht divisional artillery, supplemented by heavier 15cm batteries, and remained so, with updates until the end of the war. Command Decision make a rather nice one in both towed and limbered versions, seen here being towed by a Syborg 3D Printing Sd Kfz 11, with a mix of one Command Decision and four PSC crew.

Look closely, the driver is a very crude printed figure that is part of the vehicle print, and who blends in nicely at three feet away. He is not as obtrusive as the disparity in sizes between the older,smaller and newer, bigger PSC crew. Happily, I just think “that loader at the back is a big farm-bred lad!”

The prime limber of the ’18 was intended to be the Sd Kfz 6 (Wikepedia gives 3,500 as having been built), but the ’11 could also tow the piece perfectly well and saw widespread service (9000, compared to 15,252 SdKfz 251s of all variants – again Wiki).  So it is probably three times as likely that the FH 18 would be towed by an ’11 as a ‘6.

NQM Soviet Spring Offensive 1943 (Part 4)

The timing of the panzer attack was not so fortuitous on this occasion, and although the advancing column was disrupted, the Army Commander of 69 Army was able to gain safety at the crossroads and begin to organise a counter-defence. Recognising that more reinforcements were massing against him, the commanding general of 47 Panzergrenadier Division began a careful withdrawal through the remaining lines of 298 Infantry Division. SS Wiking raced south to cover the staging area, and attacked south of the crossroads. They failed to break into the defended position newly occupied by 3 Mechanised Corps.

Assault Pioneers at the Schwerpunkt. North to Left of Picture

In the midst of this heavy armour battle, the 298 Divisional Assault Pioneers found themselves bearing the full brunt of  1 Tank Army heavy tank brigade. These Männer gegen Panzer acquitted themselves bravely, but were overrun, their sacrifice buying enough time for Wiking to arrive.

Wiking Heavy Armour covers the Reorganisation of 47 Panzergrenadier Division. North to Top of Picture

In their turn, Wiking held the line for long enough for the Ländser of 296 and 298 Infantry Divisions to withdraw with their artillery and heavy equipment intact.

Soviet Tanks of 3 Mech Corps Recover and Counterattack. North to Top of Picture

This  last action effectively marked the beginning of a more general withdrawal along the German line.

Soviet Recce Pushes through the Empty Main Defensive Line

1. Männer gegen Panzer [accessed on 25/5/20]