Barbarossa – Day 5!

Following on from Last Week’s episode…

27 June 1941, Somewhere west of Bialystok, Poland

SITUATION

Despite the stubborn defence by Serzhant Trotsky’s squad, which threw back the assault of a force three times their size, the rest of the battalion’s position has been over run. While most of battalion was killed or captured our heroes have tried to slip through the German line to rejoin Soviet forces at the next line of defence.

The heavily wounded Satan could not keep up and so he stayed behind to cover the others withdrawal. Expending every last bullet he had and then blew himself (and hopefully some Germans) with his last grenade…

In their flight the squad met up with some other stragglers – including TWO more DP gunners (or at least guys that had the sense to pick up a DP and all the ammo they could find before retiring). After Avoiding German patrols in the woods for a couple days they have just about made it back to friendly lines….

SCENARIO

Russians start in the southwest corner of the table and must exit off the north edge – either by the bridge (in the Northeast corner) or by crossing the river (which would require making a swimming roll at -4… or they drown..)

There is a Soviet HMG team positioned at the bridge covering the road.

Germans will enter from the South east.

There is no victory… only survival…

FORCES

Soviet Forces (Elements of the 13th Rifle Regiment, 2nd Rifle Division, I Rifle Corps, Tenth Army, Western Special Military District)

Rayadovoy Yuri Gelakhov - Wild Card - John
Ag d8, Sm d4, Sp d6, St d6, Vg d8,
Pace 6, Parry 6 (7), Toughness 7
Skills: Fighting d8, Shooting d8, Notice d4, Stealth d4, Survival d4, Throwing d4
Edges: Brawny, Quick
Hindrances: Bloodthirsty
Gear: Mosin-Nagant Rifle (Range: 24/48/96, ROF1, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2), Bayonet (Str+d6, Reach 1, Parry+1)

Serzhant Boris Trotsky - Wild Card - Dave
Ag d4, Sm d6, Sp d8, St d4, Vg d8,
Pace 6, Parry 4, Toughness 8
Skills: Fighting d4, Shooting d8, Notice d6, Stealth d4, Throwing d4
Edges: Rank (NCO)
Hindrances:
Gear: Ppsh SMG (Range: 12/24/48, ROF3, Damage: 2d6, AP: 1, Auto)

Rayadovoy Viktor Krauss - Wild Card - Patrick
Ag d6, Sm d4, Sp d6, St d8, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 6 (7), Toughness 7
Skills: Fighting d4, Shooting d10, Notice d4, Stealth d4, Throwing d4
Edges: Quick
Hindrances:
Gear: DP LMG (Range: 24/48/96, ROF3, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2, Auto, Snap fire), knife (Str+d4)

Soviet Conscripts - 4
Ag d6, Sm d4, Sp d6, St d6, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 4 (5), Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d4, Shooting d6, Notice d4, Stealth d4, Throwing d4
Gear: Mosin-Nagant Rifle (Range: 24/48/96, ROF1, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2), Bayonet (Str+d4, Reach 1, Parry+1)

Rayadovoy Ivan Avaderski- Wild Card - Jackson
Ag d8, Sm d4, Sp d6, St d8, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 6, Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d8, Shooting d8, Notice d4, Stealth d4, Throwing d6
Edges: Quickdraw
Gear: Gear: DP LMG (Range: 24/48/96, ROF3, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2, Auto, Snap fire), knife (Str+d4)

Rayadovoy Androv Virgilovski - Wild Card - Rick
Ag d8, Sm d4, Sp d4, St d6, Vg d8,
Pace 6, Parry 6 (7), Toughness 7
Skills: Fighting d8, Shooting d8, Notice d4, Stealth d4, Driving d4, Throwing d4
Edges: Brawny
Hindrances:
Gear: Mosin-Nagant Rifle (Range: 24/48/96, ROF1, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2), Bayonet (Str+d4, Reach 1, Parry+1)

Soviet HMG Team - 3
Ag d6, Sm d4, Sp d6, St d6, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 4 (5), Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d4, Shooting d6, Notice d4, Stealth d4, Throwing d4
Gear: Maxim 1910 HMG (Range: 24/48/96, ROF3, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2, No move, Auto)


German Forces (elements of … Army Group Center)

Feldwebel Karl Meuller – Wild Card
Ag d6, Sm d6, Sp d6, St d6, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Intimidate d6, Throwing d6
Edges: Rock-n-Roll, Command
Hindrances:
Gear:
MP-40 SMG (Range: 12/24/48, ROF3, Damage: 2d6, AP: 1, Auto)
Luger Pistol (Range: 12/24/48, ROF1, Damage: 2d6, AP: 1)

German Rifle Team #1 (6)
Ag d6, Sm d6, Sp d6, St d6, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Throwing d6
Edges:
Hindrances:
Gear: 6x Kar 98K Rifle (Range: 24/48/96, ROF1, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2), Bayonet (Str+d4, Reach 1, Parry+1)

German LMG Team #1 (4)
Ag d6, Sm d6, Sp d6, St d6, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Throwing d6
Edges:
Hindrances:
Gear: 3x Kar 98K Rifle (Range: 24/48/96, ROF1, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2), Bayonet (Str+d4, Reach 1, Parry+1), 1x MG34 (Range: 30/60/120, ROF3, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2, Auto, Snapfire)

German Rifle Team #2 (6)
Ag d6, Sm d6, Sp d6, St d6, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Throwing d6
Edges:
Hindrances:
Gear: 1x MP-40 SMG (Range: 12/24/48, ROF3, Damage: 2d6, AP: 1, Auto),
5x Kar 98K Rifle (Range: 24/48/96, ROF1, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2), Bayonet (Str+d4, Reach 1, Parry+1)


German LMG Team #2
Ag d6, Sm d6, Sp d6, St d6, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d6, Shooting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Throwing d6
Edges:
Hindrances:
Gear: 3x Kar 98K Rifle (Range: 24/48/96, ROF1, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2), Bayonet (Str+d4, Reach 1, Parry+1), 1x MG34 (Range: 30/60/120, ROF3, Damage: 2d8, AP: 2, Auto, Snapfire)


THE GAME

So I could get to bed at a reasonable time (as I’ve been getting up for early morning rides this week) and just to have the scenario done in a reasonable amount of time I made it a timed scenario – starting on turn 10 I would roll a d10 and if the total of the turn number and the roll was 20+ that was it the game was over… Of course the question comes up “Why”…? More germans arrive? The bridge is blown (OOOh that would have been a good one, now that I think of it…)? What I decided was at that point the woods would be saturated with a Soviet artillery barrage and anyone left south of the bridge would take 4d6 damage! My hope was to instill a sense of urgency – that they had to get across the bridge and NOT get bogged down in a firefight with the Germans…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


Patrick was the first to srrive so he got to wear the “lucky pilotka” which got him a bonus benny… he also brought a Natural Brew Root Beer which got him another bonus benny for a grand total of four. Viktor Krauss (his new character after Ovek Satan died) should have been the luckiest man on the table…


The Russians ready to make their dash up the road to safety.


The Germans fixin’ to head them off.


The Russians make a run for it… wait… where they heck is Viktor going…?! Patrick assured us he had a “plan”…


The Russians start taking fire from the woods, one of the conscript extras is down, another wounded.


The Germans closing in.


One of the German LMG teams got set up and took down two more Russian Conscript extras and leaving the fourth irrevocably broken (though he was put out of his misery later in the turn).


Jackson drew a Joker and decided it was time for Ivan to chuck a grenade! BLAM! He took out most of one rifle team!


Shortly after, however he was feeling a little too closed in within the turn he was out of bennies (despite having received a bonus one through fortune and calamity)!


Around this time, the already injured, survivor of the previous two engagements, Yuri Gelakhov, was shot… TWICE… and bled to death lying in the bushes by some dirt road in Poland – far, far away from his home by the Don….

Ivan broke contact and ran off across the road. He stopped a moment by the supine body of the Cossack, not to staunch the flow of blood, but to search him and see if he still had that grenade he’d had earlier…


Viktor finally came out out of the deep dark forest to the edge of the road and started gunning down Germans. He took down two and injured a third!

Time was running short, however… turn ten had come and gone and it was only a matter of time before the game ending barrage came in…


Ivan was the first to make a dash across the open for the bridge – he was cut down in a hail of fire from the Germans… Serzhant Trotsky made it across unscathed just in the nick of time. Rayadovoy Ivan Avaderski made a dash next but was winged by Feldwebel Meuller he was unable to recover and make it across before the barrage – he was caught in it and blown apart. Rayadovoy Androv Virgilovski was the last to make the dash across the open. As all the Gemrans had already shot he made it TOO the bridge but not across. Luckily when the barrage came down he still had bennies and soaked all the wounds he took (the concussion of the first blast BLEW him across the bridge and into a trench on the other side!).

It was another bad day for the Germans 11 out of 17 taken out of action – before the barrage came in. That amounted to 3xKIA, 4x Serious wounds, 2x Light wounds, and 2x nicks and scratches or temporary shock cases…

Of the Russian concript extras one was KIA, two were seriously injured and left to die of their wounds. The fourth was taken prisoner of war and died a year later in a labour camp.


Coming soon on Savage Timmy’s Playhouse:

More WW2 Action (in two weeks – as I am otherwise engaged next Wednesday). In the meantime there should be a couple reports of the Savage Saturday Realms of Cthulhu campaign. And you can always sheck out what’s being painted at my Wargaming Blog to get an idea of what’s in store for the characters in upcoming actions…