AAR VotG CG II Drive to the Volga Sept 14th Night Part 1

After more than two hours of setting up, we got through the first 1-1/2 turns of the Russian night counter attack of 9/14


In preparing for the counterattack, I was overwhelmed at the number of dummies I would receive as the scenario defender. With all those dummies (and all those real troops!) I thought I was going to present a very solid and deep line to the hated Russian. And then, I started putting them on the map, and realized I was much thinner than expected.


Like any good ASL, this scenario forced me to make decisions. Can't be strong everywhere. So I decided to bulk up in the area that had seen some of the heaviest fighting in the daytime: the block south of the Nail Factory, and east of the Children's Home.


I bought one Rifle Coy as reinforcements. Being unsure how long my on board forces would be stuck on No Move counters, I thought it would be good to have troops with immediate freedom of movement. They too would come on in the south.


So, of course, Joe appears to have bought two infantry companies (at least one guards coy), and they are all coming on .....you guessed it, in the north. Trying to hold them back with a handful of squads, a few 50mm mtrs, and a single StuG does not seem to be going well.


Look at all those cloaked counters brazenly crossing the square. They have to be dummies! I mean, don't they??? (Gulp)



The Russians have all but ignored the center of the map, where my strategy of controlling street crossings with a few well placed machine gun nests for laying fire lanes has gone unchallenged

" No Move for you!!!" - The Move Nazi

Near the Univermag strongpoint, I took a gamble and got burned. I tried for the 'perfect placement' of my OBA when correcting and converting. I was trying to get both a KV-1 that was prancing around the square, and the .50 cal stack in the same drop.


The fire was off target, drifted towards my HIP Observer, and revealed him by forcing a 1MC. At least he passed it. The shot was also possibly effective as it got a Shock result on the heavily armored KV.

The radio man is revealed as a KV-1 is Shocked, SHOCKED! to find artillery raining down on him.

Further towards the SW corner we've had a success with a Set DC, and a fiasco with another.


In turn 1, we brought the center hex of building K44 down killing a Russian squad. Had hoped for a "chain reaction" of falling rubble, but no luck. Still pretty happy.


When it came time to blow up my other Set DC in hex M42, I gleefully announced that his Commissar and 2 squads were in big trouble there, and then proceeded to fail the NTC that would allow the detonating squad to complete the Big Boom.

Not sure what the convention here is, but pretty sure I didn't have to tell him where the DC was until after the NTC had been passed.(?) Couldn't contain my joy. Stupid. The Russians suddenly, strangely, began to vacate that hex.

Set DC hex : Hey! Where'd everybody go?

Further south, my Rifle Coy came on and helped to stabilize the map edge against a Russian push up the gully.

Overall, casualties for both sides have been a bit lighter than expected. Most of the casualties have been in CC situations, unsurprisingly. The cloaked and mostly Stealthy Russians have huge ambush advantage over the Lax Germans. Joe has yet to decline a H-T-H CC opportunity. The Russians have been burned a few times by that strategy, but it has been mostly successful.

So, after 1/-1/2 turns the situation in the North is approaching dire. Further south, the Russians have crossed Ostrowskaya St with mostly cloaked units and encountered very light resistance. They will probably gobble up stone locations by the bucket fulls there.


Only in the extreme south is it more or less an even fight right now.

Nevertheless, with lots of time left, I may still have a surprise or two in store for Joe. Should be fun.