As Manstein delivered the “back-hand blow” to Soviet forces at Kharkov, the Red Army was beginning to develop tactics on par with their German counterparts. With the huge victory at Stalingrad to build upon, propaganda switched from politics to defense of the Motherland. So, too, would the morale of Soviet forces improve. This was never more apparent than at the defense of the train station at Taranovka. A platoon of 25 soldiers from the 78th Guards Infantry Regiment banded together to hold off numerous assaults by panzers and supporting infantry.
Attacker: German (Panzer-Division 11)
Defender: Russian (78th Guards Infantry Regiment)
5.5 turns
Players: 2 OBA: Russian Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:7.0 D:4.0
AFVs: A:5
PzKpfw IIIJ x 2 PzKpfw IVF2 StuG IIIB x 2
AFVs: D:0
Guns: A:0 D:1
45mm PTP obr. 42 PTRD-41 ATR
Misc Rules:
D: FB2, MOL
Map Board(s):
56
Overlays:
RR2
Wd12
Wd34
Errata (source)
Players wanting to play this game/Request a match:
OBA was effective, German tanks managed to stumble in both AT mine hexes and roll a "1'". AT gun wrecked the last tank as it neared the last objective building.
The Russians have to be careful, with so few MMCs that an early break can unbalance the game.
Setting fire to some key buildings may also be a good strategy for a future playing. The MOL will come in handy.
2020-03-28
(A) Vic Lauterbach
vs
JM
German win
Very close until PB AFV fire broke key MMC and defense collapsed on the last turn. OBA broke some MMCs but never killed an AFV. Good MC and Smoke DRs got me through minefields and wire almost unscathed. Fortification placement options create high replay ability.
2018-01-25
(A) patrick palma
vs
Miguel Molina
German win
2016-07-01
(D) Michael Rodgers
vs
John Harmeyer
Russian win
Russians hung on to one building, just barely, for the win.
2016-05-30
(D) Michael Dorosh
vs
Michael Rodgers
German win
A little schooling by MR. Was pleased with my minefield placement. Tried a fall back defence but it really wasn't deep enough and too much set up on the objectives. Not to make excuses, but my artillery didn't fire a single round, drew red chits off the hop. Lost 3.5 squads and some SMCs to Michael's 2. Learned a lot. Not as close a game as I would have liked, but Russian didn't succumb until my last Player Turn. Germans had an efficient attack. Did get to use a DC to blow a hole in a wall, then assault into CC through it.
2016-05-30
(A) Michael Rodgers
vs
Michael Dorosh
German win
No Russian OBA; only one roadblock used.
2015-08-10
(D) Simon Staniforth
vs
Russian win
2013-10-09
(A) Fred Ingram
vs
Nigel Blair
German win
ASLOK 2013
2013-08-28
(A) Jeff T
vs
Jerry
Russian win
Jerry crushed me in this one, I didn't even get a single victory building of the three required (I conceded in German turn 4). He got killer rolls on his 80mm OBA and just took out my entire attack, he broke squads in 3 hexes after a fortuitous random movement 'inaccurate' FFE and by the time I could regroup, it was too late. Didn't help that one of my 75s malf'd his gun and I couldn't get any good attack results. A solid loss for the Germans, a good defensive setup and mistake free play for Jerry's Russians.
2012-08-29
(A) Jeff T
vs
Jerry
German win
AP46 Red Comrades
Jerry and I set this one up with Jerry as the defending Russsians and me attacking as the Germans. We decided to give the Germans the balance (an extra 4-6-7 1st line squad) since it was 24-11 favoring the Reds on ROAR. The Germans need to take 3 2-hex buildings on board 56 around the railroad in 5.5 turns. (R4, P6, N5). The Russians get 80mm OBA, 18 factors of mines, wire, roadblocks, 2 fortified locations, and heroes!
Jerry setup wire and a roadblock across the road and open area on hexrow Y1-5). He had 5 concealed stacks in the big woods overlay and the rest back in the main town area. Jery only had 2 squads, 2 half-squads, and 2 heros to hold the 3 buildings.
I decided to go through the woods and to bypass on the west board edge to avoid the wire and roadblock in the open. I brought one Stug across the wire (no bog!) to threaten the East flank and brought him around behind the large woods to prevent skulking/routing.
My infantry split, half board edge creep and armored assualt with the 2nd Stug, and some down the path to take on the concealed defenders and finally some on the East edge of that large woods overlay. By turn 2 I had eliminated 3 dummy stacks in the woods. Jerry setup the 2 heros on the West board edge, one with an ATR the other with a Demo charge. He tried to immobilize the Stug but missed. After that he was attacked by my pressing infantry and wounded. He was subsequently killed by a 2nd wound by my sniper. The 2nd hero tried to withdraw when the PzIV and Stug threatened and he was locked in close combat on German turn 2. The Russian AT gun got several hits on the 1st Stug (East) but failed to kill. The Stug snuck behind a building and the AT gun moved his attention to the Panzer Mark IV. He got probably 8 ROF hits before finally immobilizing the tank. Jerry just couldn't get a kill roll for his life. Both Stugs moved up to U7 and T7 (bypass - Hull down behind wall) to support the infantry assault into the village. The AT gun crew intensive fired and broke the gun. They were subsequently killed by the German 9-1 and MMG fire. The last Russian hero died in close combat on Russian turn 2 and Jerry was down to his last few units.
My Germans stumbled into some mines in S5 and S4 and one squad broke. Unfortunately, the Stugs now free of AT gun worries moved up and survived a drive into the mines to get point blank on a Russian squad with LMG in victory building R4. The Russians survived advancing fire, but died a horrific death trying to move away from the point blank Stug in Russian turn 3. A critical hit followed by a 2nd hit killed the leader and eventually eliminated the squad. Jerry now was down to a 6-2-8 squad with an 8-1 and a half-squad with the 9-2 leader and HMG. The 6-2-8 was pushed back out of the P6 victory building and retreated to N7 which was fortified. Jerry had been trying to get his OBA down since turn 2 but he could not get an accuracy roll and it kept moving around.
On German turn 4 I moved into capture 2 of the three buildings, only needing N5 (fortified) with the HMG and leader. Jerry finally got some OBA down in defensive fire but it only broke an 8-0 leader and pinned a half-squad in the street. His rolls were consistently 10s and 9s for no effect. The game ended on Russian turn 4 as I broke his 9-2 leader and the half-squad and then Jerry's OBA came down on his own location, leaving my troops unharmed. He had the one squad left, but with 2 more German turns and 4 vehicles in range (2 PzIII reinforcements + 2 Stugs) and infantry ready to swarm across the railroad tracks, Jerry conceded.
This one was fun and easily could have gone the other way with some better rolls. If Jerry would have got some kill rolls with the ATG, he could have threatened the 24CVP cap the Germans have. His OBA came down on 4.5 squads and an 8-0 as well as a Stug and easily could have devestated the final assualt on the last victory building. The balance wasn't critical, it was nice having an extra squad but the Germans weren't lacking as it was. I thought Jerry's setup was solid and his fighting withdrawal was very good. I'm frankly surprised this one is 2-1 in favor of the Russians as OBA can be fickle and the Germans have ample resources and 6 turns to move a little more than half a board length. It's a nice small scenario that is playable in 3 hours. I give it a solid recommendation.
2012-07-14
(D) Fred Ingram
vs
Rick Nieznanski
Russian win
This scenario offers the Russian a little bit of everything in putting together a defense: OBA, Mines, Roadblocks, wire, fortified buildings, but very few bodies. Luckily Rick spent the first 2 turns searching for mines, eventually finding all of them by the end of the 2nd turn. They were in a string of buildings in the middle, forcing him to avoid the best cover and to move in more open ground. On his prep fire in Turn 2, his PzKfwIV tries for smoke and malfs the gun. He then tries to shoot his bow and coaxial, rolling boxcars. He then yahtzeed his random selection roll so that vehicle had no armament what soever. However, a turn later in the defensive fire phase, his StugIIB gets a critical hit on a stone building hex containing my 9-2, a hero, the 4-5-8, and the HMG. The 4-5-8 took the CH by random selection and the HMG goes away due to random support weapon destruction. The 9-2 and the hero escape unscathed. In the following close combat phase, the 9-2 and the hero advanced onto a hapless German half squad, who got ambushed (-3 DRM) and then suffered a 1-1 attack with a -4 DRM. Eventually, Rick ran out of time and conceded after he discovered the location of the fortified buildings and the 3 wire counters blocking direct access to the last victory building.
