Interview with Warwick Kinrade

This interview originally appeared in The Gazebo. Warwick Kinrade is the author of BattleGroup Kursk (BGK), reviewed elsewhere in issue #3.

DMC: Can you tell us a little bit about your background as a gamer? What early wargames influenced you or even inspired you to write your own rules?

WK: Early gaming for me was World War II and Napoleonics using Airfix and Matchbox kits, mostly on the bedroom floor. They were the first games with toy soldiers we had rules and dice for, before that we rolled marbles at each other’s men. Like many back in the 70s, most of my boyhood toys were army related, like Action Man, and mostly WWII too.

As I got a bit older I bought the first Warhammer rules, and we started playing them. Collecting actual army’s developed from there, and I was pretty much a fantasy only player throughout the late 80’s. I rediscovered World War II in the mid-nineties, with the first Rapid Fire, and we played them a lot. I started really collecting seriously then, boards, terrain, models, tonnes of stuff. That led me back into the wider world of historical gaming again, back to my youth, and I started collecting for other periods too, but WW2 always remained my main passion.

I don’t think I’d call it inspiration, but it was dissatisfaction with most of the WW2 rules available (and I tried most of them), that led me to write my own. Like many people, I figured it was the only way to get the game I wanted to play.

DMC: Before Kampfgruppe Normandy I think it’s fair to say not many historical wargamers would have heard your name – can you give us an idea of how you got into writing gaming material professionally?

WK: Well of course not, if you work for GW for 15 years then that is bound to be the case. I was also a games writer, in my teens I wrote many role-playing games, boardgames and house rules for everything. In some ways I think I preferred it to actually playing. I was taken on by GW after I left university (you know, when you suddenly have to get a job), so I applied with some of my own material, got an interview, did it and got a job as a trainee. After that I worked for GW in all sorts of writing and book production related roles, on White Dwarf, for the Black Library, etc. In the end I was Forgeworld’s main writer for 10 years. I guess there something inside that just needs to get out, given free time I often start noting down ideas of new games, I have hundreds of them. Some may someday see the light of day.

DMC: Is there any aspect or mechanic that you find yourself returning to across different games? Is there a common thread running through Warwick Kinrade material?

WK: Despite writing for 15 years, I haven’t actually designed many game systems. GW doesn’t do many anymore, so the opportunities were rare, but I do have certain things which I always consider when designing a game. After 30 year’s experience my ideas of what makes for a fun tabletop miniatures game don’t change much these days.

One important element, often overlooked, is that priority has to go to a gamer’s miniatures collection. Playing games is just part of the hobby, collecting is another big one, and I what to write games that encourage collecting, and give a reason and direction to it. For example, non-combat units like ambulances or radio teams. I wanted one (not loads just one of each) in my WW2 armies, and I also want them to do something in the game too, other than just look pretty. It doesn’t have to be much, just a little something useful. I’m not interested in making stuff powerful on the tabletop which, in my experience, is usually a fairly cynical attempt to boost miniatures sales and shows no respect to the players. Believe me it happens a lot, and there is a lot of ‘sales’ pressure, especially in the corporate world. I believe in the end, if the game plays well and is fun, people will want to buy the models anyway, you won’t need to twist their arms (by twisting the game). But you need to design a game from the ground up with collecting in mind, not shoehorn it in afterwards.

Another important aspect of wargames which I’ve come to love more and more is unpredictability and ‘chaos’ (not the spiky men). Games that roll ‘buckets of dice’ are quite predictable, because the more die you roll the closer you’ll get to the predictably average result. In my opinion, rolling 1 or 2 D6 is inherently more exciting than rolling 20, because the result is so much more random. There is nothing better than needing a 6 and getting it!

DMC: Looking at BGK, it’s clear that you’ve put a lot of thought into both points systems and scenarios. There seems to be great dispute between those two camps in gaming – what’s your take on the debate?

WK: My take is that both are valuable and valid. I do both. For years I was a purist, no points, only historical scenarios, I wanted a backstory and unbalanced but ‘correct’ forces, but I think this was because the points systems were overly simplistic and in striving for balance made the games dull. BGK points system exists to facilitate quick, evening gaming (because that’s what many players can do – including me), and the game doesn’t balance solely on points. More important is the Battle Rating system which works alongside it, it this system on which the game really balances. I also think the introduction of better, more historical-based and characterful army lists helps a lot to improve points-based games. You can have it both ways!

DMC: If all new sets of rules fulfil a need, what will BattleGroup Kursk (BGK) provide that other rules do not?

WK: A tenser, more dramatic and ultimately more fun game, which retains a good feel for the theatre or period! Subjective opinion I know, but I really think it provides a better feel for WW2 battles, and the character of the fighting in that theatre (here Kursk), than generic rules which provide effectively the same battles put with different model tanks. Of course, you can play like that, but I strive to give the games a characterful edge, a feel for the theatre and period, so battles in 1943 at Kursk feel different to those say, during the invasion of Germany in 1945. Not just the equipment has moved on, but the tactics, and the strategic situation too, I like to get a little of that influence into the army lists too. Subtle changes sometimes result in a very different feel and approach by players. It gentle encouragement though, not brow-beating.

DMC: Can you give us an example of how the German and Russian forces work differently?

WK: Well, the Germans are the all-rounders, a forgiving army to play, they don’t really lack for anything. Their infantry is good to very good, there artillery likewise, their tanks are good to superb, they have descent air support. All the elements are in place, and with good command and control they are a formidable outfit. Really, they were the easy part to deal with. It won’t be so in the 1945 supplement.

The Russians were the headache - now to make the Russian army fight more like a Russian army with its very different tactical doctrines? Obviously their equipment is cheaper, and their infantry is generally poor (but again very cheap). They have a lot of artillery, but it is inflexible, lots of guns, but can you get them in the right place at the right time. But it is command and control that they suffer most. Finding the balance took a while, but I think we cracked it.

Historically the Germans achieved about an 8-1 tank kill ratio at Kursk, and lost! But I don’t think you can write that game, who wants to lose that badly every game. But you can write a game were a 2-1 or 3-1 is the norm, it feels right, and yet the Russians can still win despite those heavy losses.

DMC: How do you handle the challenge of maintaining historical accuracy and playability at the same time?

WK: Basically, playability is always the priority, without it you have nothing. All the accuracy in the world doesn’t make for a better game. When designing you can take a few licences sometimes, as long as it improves the game play and retains the right feel. So, if a vehicle doesn’t have exactly the right move distance it won’t matter too much, as long as it still feels fast or slow.

That said, I try to get things right, and do a lot of reading and research. I’ve read everything I could get my hands on about Kursk. Most of it isn’t much use in games design, but it all feeds in on one level or another. Mostly, I want the tanks to have the right guns and armour.

DMC: I’ve described as ‘striking gold’ situations where rules reward historical tactics with success – do you have any good examples of this from playtests of BGK?

WK: Many. Too many to list. I’d like to think the entire reason for creating the game was to get closer to this, and I think we have succeeded (but that’s probably for others to judge). The number of reckless Russian T-34 charges that have had the German players cursing and sweating, only for a single Tiger to reap havoc and save what looked like a lost cause, or for a swirling melee to come out in the German favour, I’ve lost count of. Such asymmetry in a game is a tough one to balance; most games don’t even try and fudge it instead.

The game is inherently unpredictable, but it does encourage ‘realistic’ play. Note ‘encourages’, it doesn’t dictate it, I hate that, games and army lists with only one plan, based on what units you take, rather than how you fight with what you have.

DMC: I understand that you’re planning on doing Normandy ’44 and the Fall of the Reich ’45 next. What plans do you have for 2014 and beyond?

WK: Vague. The whole war (and beyond it too) are up for grabs. Obviously North Africa looms large, and there are many early war gamers I’d love to get something out there for. Blitzkrieg 39-40 isn’t my personal bag, but it will be high on the list. Best not to get too far ahead of yourself though, I try to stay focussed on the project in hand, pour all my efforts into that. I can say we won’t be dealing with the niche theatres and conflicts before we’ve covered the big ones. So there will be no Battlegroup ‘Norway’ or Battlegroup ‘Greece’, before I have covered early, mid and late war on the east and west fronts, North Africa and the Pacific. That’s a lot of work already. Spreading beyond WW2 is also on the cards, eventually.

DMC: Will these theatre-level books have the rules in them? How do you deal with comments about obliging people to buy the Kursk book to play with entirely different armies?

WK: The rules won’t be in every book, only the lists, scenarios, special rules etc. In effect, when you buy Battle Group Kursk you are buying the core rulebook and the Eastern Front 1943 supplement in one volume (which is not bad for £30). Soon(ish) (but don’t hold me too it), I’ll look at getting a smaller core rulebook available. But for now it’s Kursk, and I choose it because, as far as I’m concerned, the appeal of WWII wargaming is playing battles with the tanks (at its heart). So where else to start but at the largest tank battle ever?

BattleGroup Kursk - Review

The Plastic Soldier Company (in association with Iron Fist Publishing) has released a new games system for re-creating battles around Kursk in 1943 on the Eastern Front. They are written by veteran games designer Warwick Kinrade.

Overview

The book – well over 200 pages of colour – is split up into five broad sections:

• 50 pages of rules with an example of a turn, and then detailed sections on movement, combat, artillery, morale and some special rules.
• 25 pages of well-researched historical background (including information on the orders of battle and an in-depth timeline). 
• Four detailed army lists including German panzer and infantry divisions facing Russian tank corps and rifle divisions, with full rules for all their equipment.
• There follows 10 pages or so of generic scenarios and then a short seven-part campaign, ‘The Inglorious 12th July’, set during the savage tank battles at Prokhorovka.
• A well-balanced modelling and painting guide – The tutorial shows three stages of painting… Basic, Gaming and ‘Master’ so while useful for novices, there’s plenty for more experienced gamers too.

First off, we get some guiding principles from the author: on style of play (friendly cooperation), measuring distances and line of sight. A few more pointers on what you’ll need to play are include (this one is solely for the novices) along with a very nice view of a battlefield. I think this is the first ‘wow’ moment in the rulebook: most wargamers would travel quite a way to play on a board like that, and tips on how to make such terrain are promised for later.

Then we start to get some idea of the structure of the game: army lists, points and battle rating (a factor which will be very important later), a discussion of infantry basing (single or multiple are fine, so long as individual casualties can be recorded), and a brief note on game size (minimum, maximum and typical points for games from platoon to battalion along with the recommended table size for each.

The Rules

I’m going to give a brief summary of the main parts of the rules along with a bit of analysis of the most important aspects. Pinning and morale play pivotal roles in the game. Supply and communications are also important considerations.

Command and Control

Each turn a commander can issue a certain number of orders (from 1D6 for a squad-level game to 4D6 for a battalion-level game, modified by the number of officers in play). A unit can take one action a turn, a list of orders is available, from straight-forward options like moving and firing, moving at double-rate and so on; to more specialised ones, like resupplying or requesting artillery fire.
Units can also be given a reaction order, which allows them to move or fire during a future turn in response to an opponent’s action.

Senior officers can also attempt to remove a pinned marker from a unit. If a player wants to un-pin multiple units he must draw a battle counter, which allows him to remove D6 pinned markers at the end of the turn.

Movement

Movement is fairly simple; infantry move 5” whether off-road or on one, only reducing this when crossing dangerous terrain (like barbed wire or minefields). Other units move further on the road, but most will lose D6” if they cross any obstacle or enter terrain.

Firing

Weapons have a maximum range, varying from 30” for infantry units with rifles to 70” for long-barrelled guns. All fire is made with D6s, and generally speaking a ‘6’ is an effective hit, a ‘1’ an outright miss and anything else a pin.
There are two main choices in the type of fire along with a few special rules:
• Area Fire (for infantry and high explosive shells) – good for pinning the enemy without causing any casualties; it’s even possible at short ranges for a large amount of infantry fire to pin an armoured vehicle. Depending on the amount of cover the unit is in, it might not be pinned.
• Aimed Fire – represents the unit spotting the target and actually hitting them for effect; an observation roll must be made (easier to spot vehicles than infantry, and easier to spot units in the open and firing than those obscured) before rolling to hit. After that the target unit can roll for its cover and then makes a morale test if it’s taken any damage.
• There are rules to differentiate high explosive and armour piercing rounds (weapons have a penetration value and armour a rating – there’s a simple chart for cross-referencing). One old-school curiosity is the necessity to specify what ammunition load each of your tanks has at the start of the game; every time your fire you choose what type of round is being used – once you run out you have to be resupplied from a supply truck.
• There are some further specialised rules for infantry falling back under attack, close assault and even anti-tank grenades. I really like the rules for these, rather than shoe-horn the normal shooting rules into this unique situation, there is a D6 table to determine the effectiveness of the attack.

Artillery

Artillery fire is a little bit more complicated in terms of mechanics, but I think how to treat the big guns is always a problematic aspect of wargaming rules. Because artillery is such a big part of the second world war (causing a majority of ground combat fatalities and wounds), balancing dominance with power is a tough ask.
Scheduled artillery arrive on a specified turn and location with no roll, but otherwise artillery from the ‘Additional Fire Support’ section of the list (representing army-level assets behind the lines) then a priority check must be made. If the roll fails, then HQ has refused your request; if the assets are directly under your battle group’s command you skip this part and go straight to the communications check. If that check is passed, deviation is accounted for and then we roll to see what the artillery effect is.

The rules escape one of the most common pitfalls by inflicting direct hits and pinning hits separately, moving from the centre of the blast area outwards, so that units closest to the epicentre will most likely feel worst off. Hit are applied until there no units or hits left (units can be subjected to multiple hits if there is an excess) so again there’s a decent chance that a significant number of units will be affected.

We get some additional rules for pre-registered target points, timed barrages and counter-battery fire missions, as well as a couple of good examples of artillery in action. We also see a detailed note on Soviet artillery, specifically picking out areas in the army lists where the Soviet flavour is (some are limiting, and some are definite pluses).

Morale

Morale is an important factor in the rules, with two aspects: unit (whether it will stand and fight) and battle group (who wins the battle).

Infantry units test whenever they take losses, but vehicles will take a morale test whenever they’re hit. There’s a chance that crew will abandon their vehicle is they were already pinned, immobilised or near an enemy unit without support. If the unit aces their test, they have a chance to go ‘Beyond the Call of Duty’ and immediately be given an order, even unpinning them if they are already pinned.

The battle group system is more complex. Each unit in your battle group has a battle rating (abbreviated br.). This represents how important and/or effective it is in the battle group. You can calculate your battle group’s break point by counting up your units’ total battle rating.

There is a mix of battle counters, most numerical (from 1 to 5, but clustering in the middle) but some with special effects. Each time your opponent destroys one of your unit you must draw a battle counter. More counters are drawn the first time your force comes under flame or air attack, whenever a senior officer is destroyed or when your enemy captured an objective. The extra battle counters include air attack, mine strike and others which allow you to strike back against your enemy. So it’s not all bad!

One really interesting feature of the rule (hinted at earlier) is the rally option at the end of each turn. You decide if you want to unpin (1D) unit in return for drawing a battle counter. This forces the player to make an assessment of the danger of his battle group breaking, and how important the currently pinned units are. There’s also an element of risk involved. When the number (hidden from your opponent) on your drawn battle counters exceeds your side’s battle rating, the game is over.

Special Rules

There are a slew of rules for specialised units, from the mundane (medics, artillery spotters, supply trucks) to the peculiar (bomb dogs). A few piqued my interest immediately. Radio trucks, wire teams and dispatch riders help you make those communications check to call in artillery, some give you a simple re-roll, but the dispatch rider gives you an automatic success as he rides off!

Some units are classified as ‘scouts’ whether they be a foot patrol, armoured car or spotter plane. Scouts help you win the initiative during the first turn of the battle and whoever has less scouting units than his opponent takes one battle counter in the first turn.

Also incorporated are rules specifically modelling mass Russian infantry wave attacks and tank assaults, as well as the strict authority of the NKVD.

The Army Lists

On first look the four army lists present a bewildering array of choices, but they are carefully structured so that you must purchase some basic units before going on to pick up the more specialist options. For instance, in the German Panzer Division list each standard tank option you pick allows one from the specialist support units; and given that a single Tiger I represents one such specialist unit, you may hobble yourself if you concentrate on non-standard units.

Within these constraints it is possible to pick a highly individual list, so I think this represents a good balance between historical accuracy and player style. Every possible option would seem to be available, from assault pioneers with flamethrowers and panzer aces to mass Katyusha batteries and motorcycle & sidecar combinations.

Conclusion

I’m not going to cover the painting guide or scenarios (I haven’t played them) except to say that they seem to be well chosen. The setups and forces involved varies in terms of size and style so I imagine most gamers interested in the period will be able to pick out one to try straight away.

While some don’t believe it should be a factor in choosing a wargames set, this book is definitely pushing the needle on the eye candy scale – while there are some historical images, the miniature photographs stand out for me, it seems like just about every unit you can field is represented in miniature form in the book.

I have to give these rules a solid thumbs-up: while I’m not crazy about keeping track of ammunition for each tank on the battlefield, the design principles are clear and implementation well-applied. I’m especially impressed with the battle group rating mechanic and trust that we’ll be seeing a lot more radiomen, supply trucks and other oddities on the battlefield due to the rules encouraging their use.

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?