Flames of War - Russians vs Russians a Detailed Report

As promised a more detailed account of last night's game.

 

My force consisted of 1 Coy HQ (1 X T-34/85), 1 Pl (7 X T-34/85), 1 Pl (4 X T-34/85),
1 Pl (5 X SU-76M), 1 Pl (6 X 120mm Mortars), 1 Pl (3 X SU 85), and 1 X IL-2 Sturmovik)

The PRA's Advance Guard deploy to perform an assault river crossing. 

Civil war has broken out in Russia. The People's Revolutionary Army (PRA) have risen up against Stalin. The Soviet Army has been reeling back under their assaults. The Soviet commander has been ordered to hold the river line and delay the PRA's attack in order to buy time for the Soviet main force to regroup and dig in. 

The 1st Pl of the PRA force approaches the river. Scouts find minefield just across the ford. 

The PRA commander knew he had to strike fast and maintain contact with the retreating Soviet elements, but scouts quickly detected minefields in one of the fords and across the river. This left only a few options to cross the river - The center ford, the railway bridge and the road bridge. The first platoon of T-34s surged forward to force their way across the river. A long range tank battle broke out. While the Soviets fired artillery and rocket artillery at the advancing PRA forces. While some casualties were taken, the impetus of the PRA attack was not significantly slowed. 

As the lead PRA T-34 crosses the river, others erupt in flames.

While the PRA's center attempted to cross the ford, the Coy HQ and SU-76s tried to move around through the village and cover the bridge crossing and bring the Soviet infantry holding one of the objectives under fire. 

Soviet and PRA tanks engage in a long range duel. The PRA forces taking the worst of it.

With the attack in the center blunted, the PRA Adv Gd launches an assault across the railway bridge and moves towards the road bridge. The Su-76s continue to pound the infantry across the river in the town, but not before taking the brunt of a rocket bombardment.

Soviet infantry buy time for their comrades,  but are wiped out by the PRA tanks.

The PRA tanks were slowed up by cratered roads and an infantry attack across the bridge in the town. So the other platoon of PRA tanks began to cross the river using the railway bridge. As they were doing this, the SU-85s and SU-76s kept firing on the infantry and tanks across the river. Occasionally the PRA's Sturmovik appeared and rained hell down on the Soviets. It was able to knock out some tanks and artillery. The Soviet commander now had to start withdrawing units from the table.  

PRA tanks cross the railway bridge and head to their objective. 

The Soviet infantry on the bridge had been taken care of and it was time for the Coy HQ to lead the attack into the objective beyond the road bridge. While the Soviet had withdrawn some units, they still had their fearsome SU-122s on the table. These had been causing consider damage to the PRA forces. The sturmovik was called on to destroy them. He came in out of the sun and his bombs struck home. All the SU-122s were hit. Two were left burning. The brave crew of the last SU-122 managed to knock out 2 PRA T-34s just as they rolled up onto the objective. 

The PRA Sturmoviks hammer the Soviet SU-122s. 

Time was running out for the PRA and it looked like the Soviets might achieve their objective on delaying the PRA advance by denying the objectives to their enemy. The PRA made one final push for the objective in the city and the objective by the railroad bridge. The lone remaining PRA tank by the railway bridge try to use its machine guns to wipe out the last of the Soviet Infantry near the objective, but failed to do so. In the city, the PRA Commander personally led the tank assault onto the objective wiping out the Soviet infantry as they went. Victory looked like a sure thing, but the last Soviet die roll of the game show that Soviets were made of very stern stuff indeed. Their few remaining stands would not abandon their objectives. 

PRA tanks roll onto the city objective, but a lone stand of Soviet infantry and a rocket battery deny them victory. 

A few stands of Soviet Infantry are able to contest the other objective with a PRA T-34

With both objectives being contested until the 9th turn, the Soviet commander had achieved his objective. However, it was a close a game as we have played and it really was right down to that very last die roll for the Soviet infantry in the town.