Victory at Hill 207.5

Tension has risen to breaking point at the battle - the workhorses of the Kamfgruppe, the Panzer Mark IVs must break the Russian defences as all of the flashy Tigers and Elefants on the other flank have some way to go to breakthrough the refused Soviet left.

Those few defenders still holding out against the killer elite (we're looking at you #231!) stand fast. Don't mind that brave Ivan running to the rear - he's just popping back to the village to grab his officer a fresh cuppa!



The mass German amour are funnelled into the gap, little did they realise that they're in the bulls eye of a Soviet registered target point...



As the fiercely effective Nebelwerfer strike hits the T-34 company, tank riders jump off and run for cover inside the trenches ahead. They'll bolster the depleted defenders already inside



On the other flank, the last Soviet tank killer ambushes the leading German tanks. It eschews a chance to fire at the Mark III (thankfully its shell missed the SU-152) and concentrates on the Mark IV behind escorting the flame-throwing tank. It immobilises the tank, but is knocked out by the return fire of the stone-cold crew who stick to their guns!



The infantry fight on - suppressing another tank that comes into range, but then the Flammpanzer comes into range and wipes out an entire squad - things do not look good for the foremost platoon of Russians...



The hordes of Russian tankers burst into action - driving at breakneck pace straight at the clump of Germans ahead. Their fire is effective, mostly suppressing their opponents, they hope to survive any return fire while the flanking moves cull the weakened formation



A sad moment for the assembled Russians, the heroic PO-2 is shot down (by some disgruntled and persistent PanzerGrenadier machine-gunners!)



The SU-76s, led by some brave T-70s try to hit the German's flank - the light tanks target the German engineers with their machine guns while the mini-tank killers work their angles to some effect



The Germans break off the road and spread into the wheatfield to avoid the Soviet artillery and blunt a flanking manoeuvre from the other side. The Borgwards have some effect here, knocking out several T-34s



The Soviet nerve centre is under threat - the Gaz truck with quad-Maxims sees off that Stuka again. A bout of confusion leads to one of the Katyushas driving off.



The Soviet KV-2 inches forward and takes aim at a German tank in the distance. It misfired and is destroyed in a blazing response from the Tiger ace



The three T-34s in reserve nearby surges forward, they has seen a Panzer get ahead of its support and they kill it with some concerted fire. In the following turns though the main German attack at the trenches turns into it and destroyed this spirited local counter-attack



On the other side of the battlefield, the close-range tank battle develops. The initial success of the Soviets is destroyed by the uber-efficient German command, and the Russian attack never gets it second wind after this



An interesting duel in the wheatfield - we imagine the Russian commander is put off (either by rage or confusion) by his chance to kill the German T-34 with a point-blank flank shot! The German gunner makes no such mistake



A Sturmovik drops its bombs in the centre of the ravaged German tank formation, but its' too little to stop their advance and too late.



With the impetus of the attack dieing out the German infantry finally catches up



The German commanders take stock - the Russians are broken, but there are still defence lines to overrun



With time run out, the Soviets were within a hairs-breadth of their break point. The Germans had taken a bloody nose, but were not is such bad shape in those terms.
However they had not taken any of their objectives. Depending on your point of view this local German victory may have been too slow to have an effect, or the breakthrough's impact might have been toothless given the losses taken.

We retired for drinks, post-mortem, some good-natured banter and talk of the next big bash! Many thanks to the guys down in Kildare for hosting and to all the travellers from abroad for making the trip.
Kudos to Piers for running the game, and commiserations that the Hill never got used!

Struggle for Hill 207.5 continues

With the Germans finally within reach of the most-advanced Soviet units, our resolve would be tested. BUt on the other hand with commanders straining at the leash and the possibility of morale flagging, a decision was made to unleash some of our heavy-hitters

On the left flank, the two SUs in the village rush out to engage the oncoming Panzers. The SU-152 misses entirely, despite the close range, but the SU-122 gets a better result, knocking out one of the Panzer IVs. Both are knocked out in shockingly-routine fashion by their German opponents, who didn't really look worried for an instant!



Nearby though the Germans were about to taste some Soviet malice-aforethought. A Russian mortar barrage forces some Panzergrenadiers out of their half-tracks, and they draw the fire of a brave Soviet sniper hidden in the rail station. The pair have kept quiet and hidden as the German Panzers rumbled by. The squad assaults the building, taking several casualties in the process. Across the way with the firefight breaking out, the Platoon HQ scarper into a ruined building. It's booby-trapped but luckily for them they only take one casualty going up the stairs.



The Soviet defenders hold firm, as their emplaced guns trade fire with the stalled German advance



More Soviet artillery rains down on that German column - a timed barrage of 122mm guns from behind the lines hits those very same German tanks, pinning the entire formation (except for the leading Tiger) and knocking out a Stug



This smaller column of Panzers keeps outside the rail line, escorting a flamethrowing tank directly into the Soviet lines of defence!



On the other flank, the Soviet armour reserve kicks into gear, T-34s rolls past their dug-in compatriots



-70s break off from their larger brethren, advancing up to the village in the centre of the lines



Finally, the Germans nerve fails (or at least their common-sense kicks in!) as their advance unit veer away from the anti-tank ditch



As the mass T-34s dress the lines just behind the trenches on-call Nebelwerfers from Corps hit them, knocking out one and injuring a few of the tank riders. The German's solve 'registered target point' was aimed at the machine-gun bunker just ahead of them - to be honest the infantry in the trenches alongside got it worst of all



On the other flank, the Stuka tries to support the German tank rush (this pilot is possibly the least effective we've ever seen - he's not put in a single attack so far). The Tiger is racking up some kills, everything from a dug-in T-34 to a long-range flank shot on an SU-152



The main Soviet tank reserve in the village (two SU-152s and a KV-2) is severely disrupted as the (stationary!) SU-152 triggers a mine and being destroyed!



Back at what we can fairly call the main action now, previous zeroed-in Soviet artillery hits the now-bunched up German advance, knocking out a tank and suppressing several other vehicles



German command doesn't seem to be worried - whatever number they lose in the gap, the remainder will be enough to take care of poor Ivan



Having done sterling work all day calling in heavy mortars on the Germans, the PO-2 finally gets hit. It's a small miracle that it's survived this far, given the amount of fire being thrown at it (including some scratch PanzerGrenadiers who've given up the advance and are firing their MGs at it!)



With the onslaught of Panzers nearly upon them, the Russian infantry (along with an over-confidant wagon carrying ammunition resupply for the SUs) withdraw from the hill and rush back to the main trench lines



The Zis-3 on the hill, gives a good account of itself. Despite all the high explosive and artillery being aimed at it, it's still going



As the Zis-3 falls silent, the defenders in the trenches wish they had a chance to dig in a bit more. With just a single emplaced gun left now, they only have a few T-34s and a KV-2 sitting in reserve. The SU-152 has gone forward to hide in a copse of trees and ambush the first German tank who rounds that particular corner



Back on the other flank the two massed tank formations are finally ready to clash - everyone feels that this is going to be titanic



But the Germans want a five minute break for discussion...

Attack on Hill 207.5 opens

I'm going to split up the rest of the game report into several parts, to make it easier for me to write and for you to read.

On the German left the initial armoured surge is led by a repainted T-34, we imagine that the crew are very nervous and are more likely to be killed by friendly fire than anything else!



On the German right, a scouting Puma pokes it nose out from behind a copse of trees, the local Soviet commanders begin to suspect that it's calling in some heavy bombardments on the defensive lines



At the outer limits of the Russian defences a small squad of Razvedchiki are lying up in the central wooded area calling in mortars and everything else they can connect with! The German response is fierce (some one say an inappropriate reaction!) and a battery of 150mm guns is called down on their heads



This tiny Panzer rides the coat-tails of its larger cousin



A Soviet Il-2 Sturmovik arrives on the scene and tries to knock out a Tiger with its 23mm cannon, but just suppressing the crew



It seems like its going to be a field day for ground attack aircraft on both sides when a Stuka swoops in to pick on a parked SU-152, but the efficient Soviet anti-air guns in this area of the battlefield drive the Stuka away



On the German left the mass infantry begin what must be a daunting long-range advance on foot, they can't be relishing the machine gun nests or heavy mortars lined up against them



A well-timed pre-planned Sturmovik attack picks out some German scouts, including an artillery observer team, but is driven off by the anti-air guns nearby



On the other flank, some heavy mortar fire (called in by the PO-2 droning overhead) hits two halftracks, knocking them out and causing serious casualties amongst the Panzer Grenadiers aboard



A heavy bombardment of Katyushas hits the massed German infantry, suppressing the guts of two platoons in one feel swoop - thankfully for the Germans the medic isn't overworked by the casualties



The first of several 150mm bombardments hits the Russian defences on the German right flank, but the reinforced earthworks protect their charges from harm



This refitted T-70 with a 20mm cannon is doing sterling work on the German left flank to ward off air attacks



The German communications team are hard at work - ensuring that the Kamfgruppe commanders are able to call on Corps-level artillery (several successful requests are made on the heaviest of Nebelwerfers behind the front)



As the heavy Tigers and Ferdinands advance along the rail line on the German left flank, several Soviet tank killers lurk in the village



The emplaced Zis-3 on the hilltop anchoring the Russian left-flank spots the oncoming armour come over the hill off the road, but holds its fire for now



More heavy artillery targets the guns - the Soviet local commander has had enough of this messing around...



Calling the Sturmovik in from harassing the heavy tanks, it picks on the armoured car (possibly) holding the artillery spotter



The strike has an instant effect on the frequency of artillery strikes in this area of the battlefield



Tigers pass the new Train Station, little do they know they've entered a well-prepared zone of Soviet defence (with generous dashings of Maskirovka!)



Previously unseen Borgwards are given their marching orders, these infernal machines give the Soviet officers pause for thought



These Marders, still bearing the early war grey of the campaign in France advance behind some Panzer IVs and infantry



The advance on the German left is developing well, though it seems like the Germans will be attempting to cross the anti-tank ditch anchoring the Russian's right flank...



As yet, the two armies have been only fencing with each other, relying on artillery and long-range pot-shots. Soviet resolve has been maintained, but can they retain their discipline while spotting any opportunity for an attack?