Mission Critical (FOW): Tiger hunting on the Eastern Front

Design notes:

Based off “Defence of the Vistula Bridgehead” by Chris Stoesen in the Two Fat Lardies

2012 Christmas special. The article was in turn based on the memories of Lieutant Evengi D Moniusko “from Leningrad to Hungary: notes of a Red Army soldier”

Overview:

Summer 1944, The Red Army has established a bridgehead across the Vistula River. The German army commits its heavy Tiger tanks to break down the bridge head. Between them and the river stands the 1645^th Tank Destroyer Artillery regiment.

The Terrain:

The terrain as per map the ground is open. In addition the Russian player gets 8D3 hay stacks (use coins, if like me you do not happen to have 24 hay stack terrain pieces). The hay stacks can be deployed any where out side of the German deployment zone.

Russians at the Trench line

The Forces:

The Attackers

German Armoured Infantry Company

(Confident Veteran)

Company HQ – 85 points

with panzer faust upgrades

Armoured grenadier platoon -165

with two sections and the platoon HQ has a 3.7mm gun and panzer faust upgrade

Armoured grenadier platoon -165

with two sections and the platoon HQ has a 3.7mm gun and panzer faust upgrade

Panzer platoon- 360

with 4 PiV

Heavy Panzer platoon -430

with 2 Tigers

The Defenders

Russian Machine Gun Battalion

(Confident Trained)

Battalion HQ -70 points

with Sappers

Machine gun artillery company -305

with 4 platoons

Machine gun artillery company -305

with 4 platoons

Artillery group – 225

with 8 76mm ZIS guns

Red Army Strelkovy Company – 350 points

with 3 platoons

Deployment and who goes first:

-The Russian deploy first.

-All the companies must be deployed so that at least half of each company is within 18” of the objective. The Artillery group can opt to deploy via the tiger hide special rule.

-The Germans deploy the Tigers up to 18” from the their table edge (north). The Armoured infantry (HQ and 2 platoons) enter on a single single reserve roll starting turn one. The Panzer platoon is also in reserve.

Germans advance behind the Tigers

Russian man the defenses

The Special Rules:

-Tiger Hide

The Artillery group can opted to deploy via tiger hides. If it does so the group is replaced with 2D6 independent gun teams. The Russian player rolls secretly to determine the number of gun teams present, The gun teams start the game in ambush. At the start of the Russian turn the Russian player can replace a single hay stack with a single gun. He can replace as many hay stacks as he has gun teams. The gun team counts as being in prepared positions and must be centred on the spot of the hay stack. Normal ambush rules apply.

Germans sight an Anti tank gun

Anti tank gun revealed

-I see you

If the Tiger Hide special rule is used the Germans get access to the “I see you” special rule. At the start of the German turn roll a D6 on a roll of a 6 a gun team is detected. The Russian player must deploy a gun team as normal. Add an additional D6 each turn. Eg for turn two roll 2D6. Each 6 rolled reveals at gun team.

-Outflank

The German Panzer platoon can opt to out flank. After Russian deployment the German player must declare he wants to out flank. Roll a D6 on 3+ the panzer will now entry form point A.

Game length and Victory conditions:

There is only one objective in the game that is the capture of the crossroads in the village.

The game ends when the attacker takes the objective or the defender starts his turn with no attacking teams in his half the table

Infantry wait in reserve