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Saturday, March 21, 2015

CENTAG, August 1985 : BC Campaign Game 2

This is game #2 of my 5 Core Brigade Commander 1985 campaign.

Probably will not get another game in this weekend, as we have family in town and I am in the midst of updating some of my terrain.  Meanwhile, here is the second game from last weekend.  As always, click photos to enlarge.



The Soviet Motor Rifle Regiment (BMP) deploys on the line of departure, with the goal of
penetrating the NATO defense for follow on forces.

2nd Brigade deploys into defensive positions.  The Brigade CO has cross attached companies to create 3 mixed battalion task forces, deploying them 2 up, 1 task force in reserve.  The Brigade's mission is to prevent the Warsaw pact from moving through the gap at the Western edge of the table.

Here are the initial moves of the MRR, with the planned axis of advance.

Initial contact results in the Soviet left flank MRB taking a beating from artillery and the other two taking damage from direct fire, but they drive 3-44 Armor off of their forward position.  Worse for nd Brigade, one of 3-44's armor companies is hit by a battalion of 152mm guns and rendered combat ineffective.

The Soviet lead element continue to advance as planned, while TF 2-93 launches a counter attack on the other flank.  The Soviet commander brings up the regimental anti-tank company to protect the flank, and drives off the initial thrust.

2/93 continues to try to make headway, but the massed ATGM fires from the MRB hold them off.  On teh other flank, the Soviet lead elements continue to advance and destroy the Mech Infantry Company attached to 3-44 before being driven back by a counter attach, supported by elements of TF 1-44.

Here we are at the then of the game.  TF 2-93 counter attack has faltered, and 3-44 has lost 3 out of 4 combat companies.  The 2nd Brigade commander, with his northern flank in ruins, decides to fall back to more prepared positions to the rear.

After the game, I rolled on the recovery table for every destroyed company.  For 2nd Brigade, this results in A Co., 3-44 Armor having be destroyed and the survivors have been dispersed as replacements throughout the rest of the Brigade. C / 3-44 Armor and B/ 2-93 Inf both will not be available for the next engagement.  I will roll for them again after the next battle and see if the forward support battalion was able to get them sorted, instead of automatically making them availible again.

The Soviets lost 1 Tank Company and 2 BMP Companies.  After rolling, the Tank Company is back in action and the two BMP companies are permanently destroyed.  I am assuming for the Soviets that if a company does not roll an immediate back in action, they are destroyed, as they plave less emphasis on battlefield repair and recovery.

The next game will see the MRR continuing its attack.  The Division commander decides to reinforce it with the Division reserve tank battalion ad attack helicopters, to hopefully force a breakthrough that the Tank Regiment can be unleashed through.

Stay tuned, and happy gaming!

3 comments:

  1. Rough day in the field. Are the same two formations going to crash into each other again?

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  2. Yes, 2nd Brigade is going to fall back to positions the combat egineers have been preparing, while the MRR has lost a couple of companies, but is not too banged up to continue. Since 2nd Brigade's first position was unhinged (with the mauling of 3-44 and if you notice the other flank was driven back with several bails), I am assuming the Soviet Division commander is viewing it as a success and throwing in his reserve tank battalion. If / when the MRR is spent, I will replace it with a regiment fro the 2nd echelon, probably the division tank regiment. Depending on how long it goes, you may see Czech units show up or FRG Territorials.

    I was very happy with how this turned out, as the Soviets pushed hard with their lead elements, and used artillery and the Anti-Tank reserve effectively.

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  3. Looks good. I'm going to try the Brigade Commander rules very soon. Just reading the rules at the moment : )

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