Flames of War - Stalin's Onslaught

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4 5



Written

by:

Michael Haught, Phil ates

Editors: Peter Simunovich, John-Paul Brisigotti

Assistant Writers: Steven Ptak, Ken Camel,

Neal Smith, Mike Allen, Joe Breacher, Neil Todd,

Damian Robinson

ProofReaders: Paul Beach, Ned Merrick, Neal Smith

Graphic Design:

Casey Davies, Dion Holswich

Miniatures Design: Evan Allen, Seth Nash

Cover and Internal Art: Vincent Wai, Warren Mahy

tM znuttu1 es

Painting:

James Brown, Jeremy Painter, Matt Parkes

Terrain Modelling: Blake Coster,

Kyran Henry, Dale Pepperell

Photography: Battlefront Studio

web

Support:

Wayne Turner

Play

est

Groups: CoMG (Rob Hebrew),

Da

Momma s Boyz (Tony Hernandez),

Sydney Syndicate (Richard Chambers),

The Regiment (Simon McBeth)

Photographs: National Library of New Zealand,

Imperial War Museum, Bovington Tank Museum,

Australian War Memorial, Roger Key Private Collection,

NARA, National Archives

Of

Canada,

Ceris-Normandie.com, US Army Signal Corps

ONTENTS

Introduction to

Stalin s Onslaught ............... 2

Painting

Soviets .........................•............... 43

Operation Bagration .................................... 4

78 Sturmdivision History .......•................. 46

8ya Otdyelnaya

Shtrafnoy

Batalon ............•.. 8

78

Sturmdivision Special Rules ................. 47

Leytnant A V Pyl cyn .................................

10

Feldwebel

Dietrich Uthoff

.•.......................

48

Reconnaissance in Force Scenario .............. 15

Sturmkompanie ..........•.............................. 50

Gvardeyshiy·Tyazhelyy Tankovy

Polk

........

18

StuG

Batterie .............................................

56

8

th

Guards Rifle Corps History .................. 20

German Divisional Support ....................... 58

Udarny Strelkovy Batalon .......................... 22

Field Fortifications ..................................... 64

Soviet Corps Support ..................•.............. 32

German

Arsenal .........................................

66

Soviet Arsenal ....... .....•........................•......

36

Onslaught at

Orsha

Scenario .....................

68

Special Assault

Group

................................

38

Henschel

Hs 129

Panzerknacker ................

72

Breakthrough Assault Scenario ..................

40

Painting

Germans ......................................

73

This is a

supplement for

Flames fWar, the World War miniatures game

copy

of

the rulebook for

Flames

f

War

is necessary

to

fully use

the

contents

of

this book

All rights reserved.

No

part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or

transmitted, in any form

or

by

means witho ut the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than

in which

t

is published

and

without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.



FL MES

OF W R

f

War,

you take on the role of a field

commander

manoeuvring

your

troops across

the

battlefields

of

World War

II. This classic period

of

warfare is brought

to

life in your

own

game room. Stalin's Onslaught allows you

to field the German and Soviet forces that

fought

along the

Smolensk-Minsk highway

in June

1944. You'll also need

the

f War

rulebook,

which

contains all

the

rules

and

national characteristics that you need to fight miniature

World War II battles.

WHY COLLECT A FORCE FROM

STALIN S ONSLAUGHT?

n's

Onslaught

brings

Flames Of War

players

into the bitter

ting

of

the Eastern Front. The epic scale of

the

war

in

reveals many unique

and

exciting forces t play.

players will love

the

elite Guards flavour for their

i l l t a n t l These crack Soviet troops and their heavy tanks

inspire Eastern

Front

players to charge

into

Germany

tself Take command of

one

of

the

Soviet Union's elite

Heavy Tank Battalions, which will

crush

everything

their path. You might find yourself in charge

of

Ley tenant

V PyI' cyn's Independent Penal Battalion

made

of disgraced

; l ) l 1 n c e r s forced

t

earn back their respect by spilling their

for the

Motherland.

These remarkable Soviet forces

w ll

march forward under

the most

withering fire to return

the soil of the Soviet Union

back to

the people.

The German players have the specialised

78.

Sturmdivision

(78

th

Assault Division) at their disposal to repulse

the

Soviet

attack.

No other

infantry division

in the

entire German

army

was equipped with s many 7.5cm PaK40 anti-tank guns and

PanzerJaust anti-tank launchers. You can also field the assault

division's

StuG atterie with

its

new

escort

infantry

troops

armed with

their StG44 Assault rifles. These

purpose-built

German forces provide the counterattack punch needed to

wreck Soviet ambition

How

THIS BATTLE BOOK WORKS

The intelligence briefings

in

this

book

give

you the

choices

three Soviet and two German companies based on

h l s t o r l c a r

examples that fought on the Eastern Front

in

June 1944.

Each army has easy-to-use diagrams,

highlighting

a v ~ u l a l b l c . ; ~

platoons

which

are the fighting

units

of your force.

platoon diagram visually displays

what

troops are

l l l C ; l U ( l e ( l t

in the

platoon. A detailed arsenal

at

the end of each s e c t l O l

describes the specific ratings for your units and the e a p . D m i

they use.

From

tanks to infantry, this

book

contains

thing

you need

to field these forces

In

addition to the technical information that you'll

to build

your force, this

book

contains plenty

of

ins

pictures and stories

to

help you

capture

the flavour

of

new Flames

f

War force

To find

out

more visit

our

informative website

www.FlamesO.fV?' ar.com or visit your local game store.

How

TO

BUILD A FORCE

Flames f War

uses a points system

when

setting up

and

playing games. Typical games are around

1500

po·

but are certainly not

limited

to any value Play any ~ ~ ' ~ ' ~

. . .

value you and your opponent decide. You

can

playa small

600

points

game over a short period, oryou can play

mammoth

are

3000 or

5000 poin



In

lames

f

War

games you will command a company with

several platoons. Each

company

includes:

• Company Headquarters -

The company headquarters

platoon

is

required-without

it

you have no command

When you choose

your

force the first

thing you must

purchase with

your

points

is

your company headquarters

platoon.

Combat Platoons -

At least two combat platoons are

required. These platoons make

up

the core

of

your force.

Whatever your battleplan includes, the Combat Platoons

are the ones you'll rely upon to get the job done

• Weapons Platoons -

Weapons platoons come from your

own battalion or regiment. They are not required,

but

can offer

your company

excellent

support, such

s

heavy

machine-guns, mortars and anti-tank weapons.

Support Platoons -

Support platoons are loaned to your

company by the division or corps. These platoons give

you extra support in many forms, ranging from tanks to

artillery.

Each

platoon

diagram indicates

the

required teams

that

must have to make that unit a combat-worthy force.

troops

that

are black

in

each diagram are essential

and

be included. Those troops

in

grey are optional troops

add

special weapons

and

equipment to

the

platoon.

SPECIAL RULES

In

lames

OfWar there are many special rules that give players

the

flavour of playing each individual

nation in

the , , ~ \ . . v u U . . t ;

World War. The special rules reflect the sort of training

equipment

the soldiers of each nation used,

s

well

s

fighting spirit

of

the men.

Remember to use each nation's special rules found in

lames f

War rulebook on pages 155 to 182. When

c 1 e ' ~ e r l

used, these special rules will give you the edge needed

bring glorious victory to your armies

SAMPLE

SOVIET UOARNY STRELKOVY BATALON

6 Battalion HQ

Compulsory Headquarters)

Headquarters

with Anti-tank

Platoon .

and

Anti-tank Rifle Platoon 125 pomts

G

Udarny Strelkovy Company Compulsory

Combat l a t o o n )

with 3 Rifle Platoons, replace Rifle MG teams With .

SMG teams

in

one platoon, and Komissar 250 pomts

Udarny Strelkovy Company

Compulsory Combat

l a t o o n )

with

3 Rifle Platoons, replace Rifle MG teams With .

SMG teams in one platbon, and Komissar 250 pomts

Mine roller Tank Company

Support

Platoon) .

with 5 PT-34 Mine-rollers

280 pomts

A

Guards Flame thrower Platoon

Support Platoon)

.

I

S . 180 pomts

with 2 Flame-thrower ectlons

4 Shock Artillery Battalion

Support

Platoon)

with

2

Gun

Platoons, and Observer team 150 points

B

Assault Gun Company

Support Platoon)

with

5 SU-76 Assault

Guns

190 points

m

uards Rocket Mortar Battalion

Support Platoon)

with 2 Rocket Mortar Platoons .

modelled with extra crew 155 pomts

Total-1680 points



With

plenty

of

irony to spare,

Operation

Bagration was

scheduled to begin on 23 June 1944, to coincide with

the

three-year anniversary of Operation Barbarossa,

the

German

invasion of the Soviet

Union.

The great offensive was to fall

upon Germany's Army Group Centre and break

the front

open.

Stavka

the Soviet General

Headquarters,

recognised

that the key to success was to capture the

major

railway

junc

tions in Byelorussia and then press on toward Minsk.

Once

Army Group

Centre

was destroyed, the Soviet war machine

would be unstoppable.

Worried

that

the vital towns along the front line

would

be

overrun, Hitler ordered the cities of Orsha, Vitebsk and

Mogilev to be heavily fortified as part of a chain of impreg

nable fortresses, called Festerplatzen. German commanders

OKH the Oberkommando des Heeres or Army

High

Command, went to work fortifying each city with

multiple

lines

of

trenches, barbed wire, concrete emplacements,

earthen blockhouses, mines and anti-tank ditches.

RMY GROUP CENTRE

PREP RES

The German 4. Armee 4

th

Army) defended Orsha and the

,i>u.l1u,uuding area. At

the

core ofhis army was

Generalleutnant

Traut's 78. Sturmdivision (78

th

Assault Division). The

ion occupied fortified positions in front of Orsha. This

ue division

had

a higher allocation

of

heavy weapons

and anti-tank guns than a

normal infantry

division, and was

kept

at

higher strength, making

t

one of

the

most powerful

forces along

Army Group

Centre's front line.

Festerplatz Orsha incorporated various fortifications in

the

defence of the city. Infantry barricaded and booby-trapped

buildings and set

up

firing positions along the major ap

proaches into the city. Marshes and peat cuttings dotted the

land

and

created very difficult terrain for tanks and heavy

equipment. Inside

and

out, the city braced for the storm.

R

BYELORUSSI N

FRONT

PREP RES

Stavka divided the operation's objectives amongst the lya

2ya

and

3ya Byelorusskiy Front

pr,

2

nd

, and 3

rd

Byelorussian

Front). General Polkovnik I D Chernyakovskiy deployed his

3

rd

Byelorussian Front against Orsha.

On the 22 June,

Independent

Penal Battalions, such as

Ley enant A V PyI' cyn's 8ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon

conducted reconnaissance in force missions to expose flaws

in the German

line.

htraf

battalion

attacks revealed

the

complex fortifications of the 78

th

Assault Division. To deal

with this, Stavka authorised the organisation of Special

Assault Groups prior to the attack. Each Guards Rifle

Corps

received

one

of these specialised units to crack

the

enemy's

heavy fortifications.

OPER TION B GR TION

On the morning of 23 June, General K N Galitskiy, com

mander of

the 11ya Gvardeyskaya Armiya (11

th

Guards

Army), ordered his Guards rifle corps to attack and

the

Sturmdivision

in

half. A massive artillery

preparation

su

ported the

attack

with an astounding artillery density of up

to 250 guns per kilometre Katyusha mortar rocket batter

joined in as well, stunning the German defenders and

Soviet storm groups

the

opportunity to quickly overrun the

forward German trenches.

The Gvardeskaya Strelkovaya Diviziya (or Guards Rifle

Divisions) directly east of Orsha ran into very stiff resis

and

failed to get past the German first layer of defence.

did, however, manage to get the German XXVII A . . ,PPIt . . ,n

. . .

..

.

(27

th

Army Corps) to commit reserves, drawing them a

from

the

northern

approach

to the

city.

The 78. Sturmdivision managed to hold

their

ground at the

second line of defence, but the

situation

worsened when a

small two-mile (3km) gap

opened on

the left flank. Galitskiy

reinforced his success by driving his 2ya Gvardeyskaya Tankovy

Korpus (2

nd

Guards Tank Corps) through the opening using

a narrow-gauge railway bed to manoeuvre the tanks through

the

marshes.

The

bold

Guards attack

from within

the

wet

lands shocked the Germans, as

they

didn't expect

an

entire

Soviet tank corps

to

emerge

from such

inhospitable terrain

By

the

end

of the

third day

of

fighting, the

Germans

claimed

116

Soviet tanks destroyed,

but

the

Red

Army

had

more to throw into battle. Surviving elements of

78. Sturmdivision retreated west into Orsha and re-formed

defensive line.



nightfall

on

25

June,

the

11th

Guards

Army

advanced

kilometres toward Orsha. The next day, it joined the

Guards Tank Army and completely encircled the city.

ya vardeyskiy Strelkovy

Korpus

8

th

Guards Rifle

) moved into the city to engage in bloody street-to

fighting

with

the tenacious German assault division

r O l l g b l o u t

the

night. The city finally fell

under

Soviet

the following day.

TTO

M NSK

fragments of he 27

th

Army

Corps withdrew west towards

-"

UUl103n . .

all

the

while

under

harassment

from

the

advancing

tanks and infantry. In some cases the Soviet forces

A l v a l [ } C e : d

so quickly that

they often

arrived at

the

German

points before

the

Grenadiers

The

Battle for Orsha

had

to a close,

but

Operation Bagration still continued

-rolling westward.

•

l lya Gvardeyskaya Armiya

16ya

Gvardeyskiy

Korpus

8ya

Gvardeyskiy

Korpus

36ya

Gvardeyskiy

Korpus

f

llYA

If 5YA 84YA

•

Gvardeyskaya

,

Gvardeyskaya

•

Gvardeyskaya

Tt. Strelkovaya Diviziya Strelkovaya Diviziya I Strelkovaya Diviziya

.

1YA 83YA 16YA

• Gvardeyskaya Gvardeyskaya , Gvardeyskaya

l

Strelkovaya Diviziya Tt. Strelkovaya Diviziya

Strelkovaya

Diviziya

" 31YA 26YA

18YA

i Gvardeyskaya Gvardeyskaya • Gvardeyskaya

llStFelkovaya Diviziya 'Tt. Strelkovaya Diviziya Strelkovaya i ~ z i y a

2YA Tankovaya

Korpus

••

XXVII

Armeekorps

d 25 6 .

IJIJF\. Grenadierdivision

t

25. Panzer-

tJ,.. grenadierdivision

,

78.

fi))1If1i Sturmdivision

,

14

f1lIJFt GrenadierdiVlSlOn



Massive artillery bombardments

pound

the

erman

defences prior to Operation Bagration



Guards

heavy tanks support

the

Strelkovy battalions breaking into the German

defences



MACHINE GUN

COMPANY

Shtraf Machine gun

~ ~

Company •

was nothing poetic about the use of a Shtraf bat

.

As e ~ p e n d b l e

troops, Shtrafniki always made the

first assault mto the

enemy

lines.

The.8ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon will always attack

agamst any other

force

even against a Tank Company.

Since

it is

expected

to

always go forward, Companies

in

the 8ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon can never attempt

to ~ i g In and never benefit from the Prepared Positions

special rule.

D.espite the offence, the

only

way to leave a

Shtrafcompany

wIth

honour

was

through

dedication and sacrifice in battle.

ARMOURED

ssault

Gun

Company t

ROCKET

ARTILLERY

Guards Rocket ortar Battalion ~

ShtrafBatalon

HQ

Shtraf Companies, ShtrafMachine-

gun

~ m p ~ n i e s

and ShtrafMortar Companies always pass

a Motzvatzon Test

on

a roll of2 .

INITI TIVE

S

PUNISH BLE

Orders given

to

a Shtrafbattalion are not

to

be

questioned

or altered. Under no circumstances will the Batalon be

allowed to retreat.

The 8ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon never has

to

take

a Company ~ o r a l e Check for being below half strength.

The Companies still take Platoon Morale Checks

as

normal

though. However, i

no

Shtraf

Companies remain

on

table, the remaining forces automatically fail a Company

Morale Check and the game

ends.

8ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon, or 8

th

Independent Penal Battalion, served

an assault and reconnaissance unit during Operation Bagration. This unique

infantry battalion consisted

of

former officers from across the ranks who had

slacked in their duties or had been revealed

as

defeatists. In contrast, t he battalion s

company commanders were

not

penal troops. Instead, they were loyal officers .

whe had

committed

no crimes

and

well known for theh:- s ~ r o n leadership. -

Under

the firm guidance

of

its leaders,

the

8

th

Independent Penal Battalion

revealed fractures in the German lines during

Operation

Bagration. Their

sacrifices vitally

contributed

to overall victory

in the

field

by

assisting

the

Soviet

breakthrough divisions to find the weak points in the

German

line.

The

men of

the Shtrafnoy Bdtalon

continued

to fight, serving with distinction to

absolve their sins against

the

Soviet people. They fought

hard during Operation



TION

ND SK LL

~

it -.= ;

Ii

•

The Shtrafnik

soldiers

of

he

8ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon

8

th

Independent Penal Battalion) are there

to

serve the

unit for a variety of reasons Former pilots, sailors, and soldiers, al l officers, found themselves enrolled in the battalion

and were expected to atone for their offences on the battlefield. This concentration of experience in the unit made the

8

th

Independent Penal Battalion unique, dramatically increasing the.quality of he htrafunit.

Aforce based on the 8ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon is rated Fearless Trained.

~ K t J ' T T I , or battalion commander,

is

expected to motivate

" ll

l Spllre our

disgraced men to redeem their honour with

blood and sacrifice, ferociously throwing themselves

enemlles for Mother Russia As always, your Batalon

will be present to help encourage and push the men

end

most of the division's assets reserved for the main

units, you will have to make the most of your few

anti-tank guns, anti-tank rifles and anti-aircraft guns.

each Kapitan a few flame-throwers and pioneers

flames and tossing explosive charges to weaken the

before the

Shtrafoiki

charge into the assault

anti-tank guns will be able to surprise more than a few

tanks that try to come too close The anti- tank guns and

are also valuable to help destroy

the

cowardly

erman

: l a c . r u n l e ~ ~ n

nests and gun pits.

PODPOLKOVNIK

PODPOLKOVNIK

Company

Command

SMG

team

2iC Command

SMG

team

Battalion

Komissar

team

BATTALION Q

n ~

45mm obr

942

gun

n ~

~ ~ ~ .

Anti-tank

Rifle

team

Horse

Drawn Limber

n ~

. 1 l u . ~

n ~

45mm

obr

942

gun

~ ~ ~ .

Horse

Drawn Limber

~ l ~

Pioneer

Rifle

team

M l ~ ~ ) l ~

ShK AA

MG on

truck

Pioneer Pioneer

Rifle team

Rifle

team

~ l ~ ~ l ~

DShK AA

MG on

truck

Pioneer

Pioneer

Rifle team

Rifle

team

~

Pioneer Supply

horse-drawn wagon

Flame-thrower Flame-thrower Flame-thrower Flame-thrower

team team

team

team

FLAME-ThiROWER PLATOON



(pronounced, Pil-chin) began

career as a volunteer soldier and quickly

himself as a competent leader. As a loyal

was given command

of

a company in the

Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon

th

Independent Penal

u . . . ' -',l&J

in

1944.

;; peraltl01n

Bagration was Pyl' cyn's first major combat action.

the opening days of the campaign, he led his men through

German minefield and cleared paths for the following Soviet

ps. Pyl' cyn earned a reputation

as

an expert mine-clearer,

skill he was

not

enthusiastic about using too often

During the operation, Pyl' cyn was wounded.

hospital, he met a nurse named Rita Makarievskaya. After

recovery, he had her transferred to his

company

as a

where she saved many lives. The two were married before

end of the war.

Pyl' cyn and his Shtrafniki went

on

to fight

in

the

Oder

operation and the final assault into Berlin. During

service, he was wounded three times, awarded the __ .

the Red Banner,

Order

of the Great Patriotic War 1

[

and the

Order

of the Red Star.

~ '''''nt A V Pyl'cyn

is

a Warrior and an SMG team that

is

the Command team of one of the Shtraf Companies in

Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon.

He is

not an Independent team.

~ - ' : ) I J r a T Batalon often led reconnaissance in force missions

iOclisc:ovler enemy weak points along the front line.

eploy Pyl cyn s ShtrafCompany when you would normally

deploy Independent Teams.

a Reconnaissance in Force mission, Pyl' cyn carefully

minefields and wire before continuing.

RIT

M K RIEVSK Y

Rita Makarievskaya met Pyl' cyn while he was wOlun.dei

and

soon became the company's very able medic.

Model Rita Makarievskaya on the same base as Pyl cyn.

Once per turn, Rita may attempt

to

save a team that is

in

Pyl cyn s

Shtraf

Company.

If

an Infantry or Gun team

within

6 ,/

15cm ofPyl cyn fails a Save, roll a die:

•

If he result

is

5+, ita manages to save the team and it

continues to fight on unharmed.

• Otherwise, the soldiers are too badly wounded

and

the team



the reason for them being there, your men of the

Otdyelnaya Shtrafooy

Batalon

know the only way

out is

and defeat

the

fascists, or die trying'

The

Vo

• • .1\.(

mzssar

S

to remmd

them of

their

duty

and to

punish

cowards.

b rave Shtrafoiki (penal soldiers) are well armed

with

relIable

Pepeshka

submachine-guns, grenades, raw des

~ o u r g ~

and plenty of

ammunition.

The factories of

SovIet Ulllon have

~ u ~ p l i e d

us

with the

ability to finally

. our great

mISSIon to

rid Mother Russia of

the

mvaders

the potential of the submachine gun and fire

at

close

to suppress the

enemy

and then hurl

the Shtrafoiki

the enemy defences.

. plan your attack

and

your

men

will follow

through.

thelf

honour on

the

line,

it

is

no

surprise

that

so

many

come from the Shtrafoiki ranks

11 11

Command Komissar team

SMG

team

:::r:.II.U-

,

__ ~

__ ~

SMG

team

SMG

team

~ ~

~ ~

~ ~

~ ~

SMG team

SMG team SMG team SMG team

~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

SMG

team

SMG

team

SMG team SMG team

~ ~

~ ~

~ ~

~ ~

SMG

team

SMG

team

SMG team SMG team

.

LEYTEN NT

~ ~ ~

~ ~

SMG team SMG team SMG team

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SMG

team

SMG

team

SMG

team

SMG

team

SHTR F PLATOON

SHTRAF

COMPANY

How

TO USE

THE

VA

OTDYELN AYA SHTRAFNOY BATALON

When

fielding the 8ya Otdyelnaya

Shtrafnoy Batalon,

a

good

commander

takes as many

Shtrafniki

as they can possibly get

their hands on. Being wen trained, they have as much skill as

any other Soviet infantry formation, but their real strength

is

that they will never run away. Combined with their Komissar

and the

S h ~ r a f n i k s

Absolution special .rule,

and

large

enough

companies

to

benefit from

the

Soviet Quality

of

Quantity

special rule (see page 182 of the rulebook).,. it takes a lot to

ShtraJ

Bata lon is

the bh,mt r e ~ o n n a i s s a n c e

instrument

of

Soviet Army.

The

Shtraf, or penal, battalions are

formed

Soviet soldiers who 'have

cpmmitted

offencc;s against

the Motherland.

With

infantry increasingly in short supply,

they are too valuable to shoot

but

not t r u s ~ e d enough to '

, ignore their sins.

Other Soviet forces have a lot

of

impressive weapons

and machines to wage war. However, commanding the

8ya Otdyelnaja Shtrafnoy Batalon takes nerves

of

steel,

as

they

can

rely only art their men.

Armed with not much more than their submachine-guns

and ,their fearless

commitment

to redeem their sins, they

are prepared to do whatever it takes to rid their beloved

country of the fascist invaders. When handled effectively, the


is

a devastating force.

Soviet planners used

the

8

th

Independent

Penal Battalion

to

conduct reconnaissance in force missions. The battalion

would assault

the

enemy to test

the

strength of their

positions. If the battalion was destroyed, there was obviously

a significant enemy force

in

their 'Yay

that

required attention

from the rest

of

the division. If ,the battalion survived and

slow a Shtraf Batalon down

I

The real trick to running this

f o r ~ e

is

the

ability

to

accept

casualties. The Soviet commandc;r will lose a lot

of

infantry

on the

way to yictory. The way a Shtraf Batalon overcomes

their enemy is to deploy as far forward as they cad,

and

charge toward the

enemy and pin them

down

with your

deadly flame-throwers before slamming into the defenders.

Accept

that

some of your force will be chewed up by

the

enemy's firepower

as

your

companies charge forward. As long

as the

Shtraf companies start at full strength, they are almost

guaranteed to get into range to use. their attached heavy

machine-guns

and

l a m ~ t h r o w e r s to assault the enemy lines.

While.i

n

assault, the SlY raf Batalon has no equal.

Due

to

the motivation

and

numbers of the Shtrafniki the enemy

is



Combat

reliable

Maksim

heavy machine-gun is n old friend of

Deploy them with your companies to lend

or have them concentrate their fire

as

a single large

II fl

llne rrLn

company

nd

keep the enemy

pinned

down.

htraf Mortar Company may make Combat

ttachments

t

Combat Platoons

army s arti llery may be elsewhere, but your

ShtrafBatalon

always count on its own mort r company. They have

role in pinning down the enemy

nd

giving your

I WIloured soldiers a better chance at their redemption by


Rifle team

d ~ ~

d ~ ~

Maksim

HMG Maksim

HMG

Command

Komissar

team Observer

Rifle team

Rifle

team

Q SECTION

82 BM 41 mortar

82

BM 41 mortar

82

BM 41

mortar

82 BM

4 mortar



ORSHA 23 JUNE

944

t= }

I( .. .

t= , Ii

"Hurry, Comrade The ammunition is here " slowly.

My

hands feel sweaty on the grips of my Pepeshka

Everyone knows that is

the

sign that

the

great offensive is

about to begin Our comrades to the north have been fighting

the

Hitlerites for nearly a

month

and finally it is our

turn

to

bring glory to Mother Russia

I wonder how we all

got

here. Did

they commit some

grievous

infraction against

the

Soviet Union and get sentenced to

serve in this unit?

Whatever

they did, it couldn't have been

worse than what I did No I was branded 'unreliable' because

I had fought for almost three years with

the

partisans after

the German offensive overran our unit in 1941. We kept

fighting, and being condemned to this penal battalion is

the

thanks we got.

I am a good Communist. I am not a coward

The

tribunal

judge told us, 'Initiative is punishable ' Death or being

wounded are the

only

two ways to be redeemed. I remember

hearing

of

Comrade

Stalin's

order to

stand or

die. A fellow

soldier had said,

It

takes a brave man

to

be a coward

in the

Soviet

Army '

It doesn't take long for the scream

of

rockets and artillery

to

fill

the air. It boosts our morale to

know

that

the

Fritzes are

in

their foxholes with their hands over their heads trying to bury

themselves deeper

into the

ground Then, stillness falls over

the

area. That was a

short

bombardment

We

hear

the

shouts

of our leaders, "Get up

Onward

to victory or death "

s we move forward,

the

distinctive sound of a German

machine-gun is heard.

Our group

heads towards it,

submachine-gun.

Suddenly,

the

Leytenant orders us to charge the position

That's how it's done as a shtrafnik We

rush

the position,

spreading out as

much

as we can.

In

the rush, a couple of

men

are

hit.

One

right

in

front

of

me I

jump

over

him

and

keep going.

I can see the

position

now. As I leap up

to

the edge of the

nest, I lower my

trusty

weapon and fire a burst It hits the

machine-gunner. All becomes quiet. I've survived

the

first

engagement

of

the day. I hope there are no others but know

this is wishful thinking.

The Leytenant

shouts

for us

to

move forward. Faster and

faster we move. It filters through the ranks that we need to

reach the main highway as quickly as possible. The Ley tenant

is

determined

that

our

company be

the

first to reach it

Suddenly, a loud explosion knocks us all

on the

ground.

It sounds

like an artillery shell. A few

wounded men

are

writhing on the

ground.

Some comrades were very badly

wounded.

I move to help

the

nearest and fall over onto the

ground. My

right leg doesn't support me What is wrong? I

look and

realise it wasn't there

The world

is spinning

As I awake in the field hospital, I notice a

wound

tag that

deemed my wound

as worthy of notice. It is my

redemption

in the eyes

of

the Soviet Union

?os;t;onS,

he

o-l'-I'ered h;s SMa/I, ornate

Ilasf:

0-1' Vodf:a to Me to

hei?

chaSe

awo/

the nl3ht

ch;lls. >'Ie aSSUred Me ;-1 th;n:Js j well oVer

the next -I'ew do/s he w;11 u t a jood word ;n

-I'or Me

at

headfLlarterS. >'Ie SeeMS a 300d Man,

thoLl3h weary a-I'ter Man.;

battleS

oVer the last

three yearS.

We

are the ?o;nt 0-1' the bo/0net. Beh;nd u s

l;eS the MI3ht 0-1' the 50v;et /lrMY. Ihe well

tra;ned

and

eful??ed

Men

0-1'

the

1St

Guards

~ I l e

]);v;S;on

w;11

?oLlr

throu3h the

30/

that

we create. 77,;s

t/Me,

thoujh , the GerManS are

ready. We'Ve had theM

on the

rLln -I'or

Months

now, bLlt the ?os;t /on ;n -I'ront 0-1' LIS ;S well

?re?ared w;th trencheS, M;nelields and w;re.

I

aM lea.v;n:J

th;s

letter w;th oLlr Med;c, Grejor;

ieneSoV. >'Ie's a 300d Man and, shoLlld an.;th;n:J

ho/?en to Me todo/, he w;1 j e t ;t to YOLl. <;SS

I;ttle Valer;ya -I'or Me, /lnna. ie l l h;M h;s -I'ather

joeS

to -I'ree Mother ~ u s s a -I'roM the -I asc;st

barbar;ans and

he

doeS

So w;th

a CalM

heart,

w;II;n:J

to Ma.f:e the

saCr;IiCe shoLlld

that be

h;s -I'ate.

5en;or

L;eutenant ])M;tr;

Verensh;lov,



·

Operation Bagration was planned to

the

smallest detail.

Stavka

or the Soviet High

Command,

left nothing to chance.

They employed

maskirovka

(or subterfuge) in the lead-up to

the operation, ·disguising the official troop strengths and

movements. The o.peration was planned

in

secret and

only

the key generals'were

informed

about

the

overall plan. Soviet

troops succeeded in masKing their

movements

during

the

night under the strictest security.

Surprisingly, the Germans failed to detect the

build-up

of

forces as well as the Soviet intentions in Byelorussia. They

believed that the Soviet summer campaign would fall further

south. s. a result of their misjudgement, they stripped Army

Group Centre

of

the majority of its armoured diyisions and

sent them south. This

added

to\ the large superiority the

Soviets held in infantry, artillery, tanks and air power. The

Soviet plan to confuse the Germans had succeeded.

However, that is

not

to say

that

the

Germans

did

not

have superb troops guarding the line. The

German

78

Sturmdivision

(or 78

th

Assault Division) and the

501. Schwere

Panzerabteiliung (or 50'1 t Heavy

Tank

Battalion), equipped

with

Tigers, silently awaited the Soviet

onslaught at Orsha. They well armed and prepared for

the Soviets compared to the

other

nearby infantry divisions

along the line. .

t became very

important

for

the

Stavka

to

assess

the

actual

,strength of the German line and to find any gaps that

might

appear. The Soviet solution to this question was typical.

Shtraf Batalons

or

penal battalions, were assigned to test the

enemy defences. to see if they cbuld find weaknesses in

the

German lines.

Ley enant A V PyI' cyn's


(8

th

Independent Penal Battalion) was one of

the

many,

penal battalions that were assigned to test the defences of the

Germans

during Operation Bagration.

On

the eve

o

heir assignment, PyJ' cyn's company received

fresh ammunition and a

warm

meal,

which told

them they

were getting ready for a fight. PyI' cyn was ordered to use

his company to clear mines for

the

following offensive. He

decided to leave his company behind

and

complete

the

sweep

by

himself during

the

night.

Despite some

close calls,

he

managed to

flag routes through . the mine field using

twigs and

white

cloth. With the way marked, the test of the

company prepared to assault the following day.

The

screams

of

Stalin's

Organs

(or

Katyusha

rocket

launchers) signalled the ' beginning of the offensive for the

penal battalions.

They lurched

forward, crashing into the

German defences. Many fell upon well-prepared positions

with

machine-gun

bunkers and

barbed

wire. A few lucky

units

found the open

gaps between

the

German divisions

along the line. Those that

found an opening r p o r t ~

back

to their assigned Soviet armies, who promptly fed tanks and

mechanised infantry

through,

exploiting the successes of the

brave Shtrafniki.

The reconnaissance

in

force missions proved vital to

the

success

of

Operation

Bagration_

Without

the

Sthraf

, battalions' sacrifice, many more Soviet soldiers would have'

perished against the Germans well-planned defences



The Soviets have never been known to conduct delicate re

connaissance missions. Instead, Soviet generals collect their

information by sending small battalion-sized units out to

test

the opposition.

The Reconnaissance

in

Force scenario uses

the mmediate

Ambush

Prepared Positions

and

Reserves special rules.

On

the eve of

the

great Operation Bagration, you have been

tasked

t take a

Shtrafbattalion and

test German

opposition

along

the line. Report any weak points

you

find so our break

through units can exploit during the upcoming offensive.

appear to be

on

the move, and their exact

numbers are

unknown.

As with most other Soviet offensives,

expect

that the enemy will

attempt

a reconnaissance

in

force.

Prepare

to crush

the

Soviet reconnaissance

element and

preserve

the integrity of the front line.

PREP RING FOR B TTLE

1

Set

up the table

as

shown

on

page 17. Place two

objectives

at the points marked .

The

table

is

4 /

120cm

by

6'/180cm.

2 The German

player places their starting troops. Keep

the

Machine-gun Platoon

in Immediate Ambush. Deploy the

Operation Bagration

depended on the

successful capture

of

several key towns along

the

front. The railway supply centre

of

Orsha is one of these important cities. Capturing it would

prove t

be a task easier said

than

done. The German defences

were

intelligently arranged

and manned by the

toughest

division on the line. Therefore, it then became imperative

for

the Soviets to find

the

weaknesses

in the

line.

ll along the Byelorussian Front, towns like Orsha

had

to be

taken

and secured

in

order to

carryon the

offensive.

From the

northern sectors to the

southern

ones, Shtraf

and

Strelkovy

battalions were given

the

task of probing the German lines.

While

the mission remained

the

same,

what they encoun-

tered differed greatly from kilometre

to

kilometre.

To reflect these variations, try this scenario using a Udarny

Strelkovy

Batalon

or

a Strelkovy Batalon instead of

the

ya tdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon

You can also replace the German Sturmkompanie with a

Heavy

Mortar Platoon and the

Heavy Anti-aircraft Platoon

anywhere behind

the trench

lines.

Deploy

the remainder of

the German

force along

the trench

lines.

3.

The

Soviet player deploys

their

forces

in

area •

BEGINNING THE B TTLE

1. The German player deploys

the

Assault

Platoon held in Immediate Ambush.

2. All

German troops on the

table

start the

game

in

Prepared

Positions, so

they

are

in

Foxholes

and Gone

to Ground.

3.

The

Soviet player has

the

first

turn.

4. German Reserves arrive

at any point marked

ENDING THE B TTLE

The battle ends when:

•

The

Soviet player starts their

turn in

possession of

one

of

the

objectives,

or

•

The German

player starts

any

of their

turns

from

turn

six

with no Soviet teams

in

the German

half

of

the

table.

DE IDING

WHO WON

The Soviet player wins if

they hold an

objective, having

found

a weak

point in the German

line. Otherwise,

the German

player wins, having successfully

prevented

the

Soviet recon

naissance mission from

penetrating the

defences.

may

choose to play Reconnaissance

in

Force

as

the first

part

of the Orsha mini

campaign

with

the

Breakthrough

Assault

and

Onslaught at Orsha scenarios. The player

who

wins the final

Onslaught at

Orsha scenario wins the

mini

campaign. However,

the

results from

the

first two scenarios

will influence

the

outcome of the final battle

units

would

be held

in

divisional

and

corps reserves where

they were ready for

the main

offensive.

WESTERN FRONT

The

Americans

and

British used a

more

approach when

collecting

information

before a

major

offensive. Using this scenario,

you

can recreate an American

or

British

attempt

to gather intelligence before

one of

their

major operations

in

France

or

Italy.

In

place of a

Shtraf

battalion, use

an

American Cavalry

Recon Troop

or

a British

Armoured Car Squadron or

Recce



re the attack can begin we need to assess the

German

;r st:renLgtllS and weaknesses along the line. To do this we need to

test the line at several points and see

if

cracks in the German

a : r m 4 J U r appear for us to exploit. This glorious

duty

has been

8YA

OTDYELNAYA

SHTRAFNOY

BATALON

8ya Gvardeyskaya Armiya, Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon

1ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Rota

2ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Rota

3ya Otdyelnaya Pulyemyotnaya Shtrafnoy Rota

6ya Otdyelnaya

Minomyotnaya

Shtrafnoy Rota

317YA

GVARDEYSKIY

MINOMYOTNY POLK

2ya Gvardeyskiy Minomyotny Batalon

given to the penal companies all along the front.

will reveal the vulnerable areas where we'll send in the s

cialised assault force. This

is the

perfect opportunity for

htrafoiki to redeem themselves with heroic resolve

8TH INDEPENDENT SHTRAF BATALON

FEARLESS TRAINED)

Shtraf Battalion H Q (with full Sapper Platoon, and full

Flame-thrower Platoon).

ShtrafCompany (with Pyl'cyn, at full strength).

Shtraf

Company

(at full strength).

Shtraf Machine-gun Company (at full strength, with

HQ).

Shtraf Mortar

Company

(at full strength,

with

Observer).

GUARDS

ROCKET MORTAR BATTERY

Guards Rocket Mortar Battery (with two Guards Rocket

Mortar Platoons with extra crews).

~ ~ e r r l e r r l b e : r before your forces are deployed, you may combat attach Battalion H Q platoons, Shtraf Machine-gun '-' '-' 'J 'UP' ,,

ShtrafMortar

Company

platoons to either or both

Shtraf

Companies.

is

evident the Soviet forces are for an

ive. Exactly where such a blow will fall

is

currently

Until then, we must be wary

of

any enemy

i fn4)Velmelrlt in this sector.

You

have been given some support

deal with any incursion in your area, but the majority

of

3 KOMPANIE, 195

STURMREGIMENT

Kompaniegruppe

1. Zug, 3. Kompanie

2. Zug, 3. Kompanie

4. Zug, 3. Kompanie

5. (PaK) Zug, 3. Kompanie

2. Zug, 4. Kompanie

1.

Zug, 13. Kompanie

s SCHWERE GRANATWERFER BATAILLON

3. Zug, 2. Batterie

293 HEERES FLAKASTEILUNG

1. Zug, 1. Batterie

the division's support will remain in un

know

where the attack will fall. Strengthen your lines

machine-gun

and

mortar positions and hold off any a

by the enemy to ascertain

our

true strength

STURMKOMPANIE CONFIDENT VETERAN)

CompanyHQ.

Sturm Platoon (at full strength).

Sturm

Platoon (at full strength,

in

Reserve).

Sturm Heavy Platoon (at full strength).

Sturm Anti-tank Platoon (with two 7.5cm PaK40

an i -

tank

guns).

Assault Machine-gun Platoon (with one Machine-gun

Section. Deployed

in

Immediate Ambush).

Infantry

Gun

Platoon (with two lelG18 Infantry guns)

HEAVY MORTAR

BATTERY

Heavy Mortar Platoon (with four 12cm sGW43 mortars)

HEAVY ANTI-AIRCRAFT BATTERY

Heavy Anti-aircraft Platoon (at full strength, with two

8.8cm FlaK36 guns each with extra crew)



Byelorussian countryside

dotted

with

low-lying bushes

patches

of

vegetation. These

great features for infantry

take advantage

of during

an

smaller patches

that

are not

woods are bushes. These

low-lying terrain features;

them

as though

they are

woods.

woods growing

around the

are populated

with

tall reeds

and

thick brush.

are a

common and

for

feature

in

Byelorussia.

such marshes are often used

generals to form anchor

from which to build de-

marsh is flooded

and

is

as Impassable to vehicles

Very Difficult

oing

for all

have tall grasses growing

them providing excellent

mc<ealrnerlt for troops hidden

iJ{eiiielnbler

to

refer to

the

terrain

of

trenches wire

and

ninehe lds

in

the lames fWar



ROCKET RTILLERY

Guards

Rockel

Mortar

Battalion

ANTI AIRCRAFT

Guards Anti aircraft Company

AIR SUPPORT

Priority ir Support

Limited

ir

Support



10N

AND

S .KILL

I . = ,Ii •

Guards heavy tank companies assisted the infantry

in

breakthrough operations along heavily for tif ied enemy lines. A Gvardeyskiy

Tyazhelyy Tankovy Polk has the Soviet Union's best tanksand crews and is ready

for

the next major offensive. Highly celebrated

and well trained, the heavy tanks are ready to roll the Germans all the way back to Berlin

15 2 obr 1943 heavy tanks are not affected by the Hen and Chicks special rule.

A Gvardeyskiy Tjtazhelyy Tankovy Polk is rated

Fearless Trained .

f

n,f i hl lv heroic and skilled Guards heavy tank company

and powerful IS-2 tank to smash enemy armour

U estlX V their cowardly gun positions. Each tank has two

J c l L J J ~ J

than the usual one per platoon

in

the other

t m j e n t s

with orders to advance, advance, advance

1 : l l k : o d l e s a J l l t n l i k i

(or tank riders, pronounced tan-ko

l u··nl··KlJ to protect the decks

of

our beasts. ur heavy

all opposi tion beneath their tracks

The

machine-gun

mounted in

the back

of

the turret

is

perfect

for discouraging boarders

in

an assault.

A Turret-Rear Machine-gun may not shoot. Its funct ion is

purely

defensive.

PODPOLKOVNIK

PODPOLKOVNIK

Company Command IS 2

obr

1943

BATTALION HQ

Company

Command IS 2

obr

1943

HQ

SECTION

f

hey pass the reroll, the assaulting team gets past the

machine-gun to hit.. i.lge

tank

and the

tank must

make an

Armour

Save as normal.

f hey fail the reroll, the machine-gunner managed to

keep the infantry

at

bay

and

protect the tank,

and

the



Y

GVARDEYSK Y

The 8y Strelkovy KorpuS, or 8

th

Rifle Corps, was

reformed in -1942 and had received

its

Guards

.honorific title, becoming the 8y

Gvardeyskiy

StrelkovyKorpus. Thecorps tookpartinOperation

Mars

in

November

1942 and then, as a part of the

11ya

Gvarde

-yskaya Armiya (11th

Guards Army),

led

the

way during tlie great

battle

at

Kursk

in

July

1943.

In

the spring of 1944,

the

8

th

Guards

Rifle Corps found itself as a special

assault

corps

in the

newly formed

3

r

Byelorussian

Front under

General Colonel

ChernyakhovSkiy.

On

June

24 1944, the 11th Guards

Army, with

its 8th

16

th

and 36

th

Guards

/ Rifle Corps,

and

the

2

n

Guards Tanks

Corps attacked

into

the

teeth

morningof27 June.

The

1Ph

Guards

Army and its

8

th

Guards Rifle Corps

were

crucial in

opening

the

Road

to Minsk for the 3

r

Byelorussian Front

After liberating Orsha, the 8

th

Guards Rifle

Corps

forced crosSings of the e r ~ z i n a River, south of

Borisov.

Together

with the nd Guards Tank Corps,

they crossed the Berezina River and raced -on

to

Minsk,

capturing the

city by

the

end of

the

first

week in July, accomplishing

the

Front s objective

for

the

first stage

of

Bagration.

·The 8

th

Guards Rifle Corps included

the

5

th

Altaisk

Gorodovskaya

G u a ~ d s

Rifle Division (Order of

Lenin, Order of

the

R'ed Banner, Order of Suvorov

2

n

ClaSS), the 26

th

East Siberian GorQdoks

koi

Guards Rifle

Division (Order of

the

Red

Banner,



9 700

soldiers 9

infantry regiments guns

.144anti-tank guns 324 heavy machine-guns 36 nfantry guns

Gorodovskay.a Guards

DiviSionj<?ined

the

11 h o u ~ r d s A r m y i n 1943

and

participated in

the aS

sault

at

the

Orel bulge

the

advance

into

Byelorussia

and

into East

Prussia.

The division received

the

highest uI? it

citation,

the Order

of

Lenin,

in

June

1945.

The

26

t

East

Siberian

Guards

Rifle Division

formed-

as

a guards unit in

1942. When the

Iph

Guards

Army was formed in 1943, the

26

t

Guards and its 8

t

Guards

harps became part

of

the new army. The

division

participated

in the lib

eration of Bryansk and Operation Bagration, and

captured KOnigsberg the

East

Prussian capital.

GU RDS

SS ULT

B IT

LION

The Udarny Strelkovy Batalon has been given the

duty

to

break through the heavily fortified lines

and

open a

route

for the tanks

to

exploit

and

encircle

the

enemy.

An Udarny Strelkovy Batalon will always attack against

1§O heavy mortars 162 medium mortars

and 24 K a t y u s ~ a

rocket launchers.

When the 11 h Guards Army

was

o r m e d ~ ·the 83

r

Guards Rifle Division formed

the

CQre of the

new

guards army.

They

parti9ipated

in the

assault

at

the

Orel

in

1943, and followed

the

SOviet

breakthrough forces

advancing

directly

up

the

Smolensk-

M i n s ~

Highway corridor to encircle

German troops near

Minsk

during

Operation

Bagration.

The iivision

assisted

the

Guards

Division

in the capture

of

Konigsberg.

As with

the rest

of

the

8

t

q.uards

Rifle Corps

the 83

r

ended

the

war

in

1945 west of

the East Prussian

capital.

H RDENED

VETER NS

Brutal fighting with grenades bayonets sharpened tools

and SMGs

have

taught

these veterans

how

to survive

the

bloody

assaults

of the

Eastern Front.

Infantry teams .from a Udarny Strelkovy Batalon

hit

on a



UDARNY

MACHINE-

GUN

COMPANY

d ~ ~

Udarny Machine gun

Company

ARTILLERY

~ Shock Artillery Battalion ~

HEAVY ARTillERY Reserye Heavy

Artiller

Battalion Y •

Shock

Heavy Mortar

Company )t

ARMOURED

GuardeyskiyTyazhelyy

\ .9

_

Tankovy Company

•

ARMOURED

MinerolierTankCompany

t

FLAME THROWERS

a.. Flame tank Company t

ARMOURED

Assault Gun Company t

ARMOURED

Assault Gun

Company

Guards Heavy Assault

Gun

Company •

INFANTRY

M ) 1 ~

Guards

Sapper

Company

~

INFANTRY

11111 Guards Flame thrower Platoon ~

ROCKET ARTillERY

Guards

Rocket

Mortar Battalion

~

ANTI AIRCRAFT

Guards

Anti aircraft

Company

It



he

troops of he Guards Rifle divisions are ready to push the Hitlerites

out

ofMother Russia fter three long years of ighting,

Soviet troops are on the verge

of

aking the war into Germany

itself

he troops are motivated

and

ready

to

take on this task, and

eagerly await the orders to attack

Udarny Strelkovy Batalon is rated Fearless Trained.

promotion given you command of an

and patriotic Udarny Strelkovy Batalon (or Shock

pronounced V-dar-ny Stryel-ko-vy Ba-ta

men have been fighting for Mother Russia with

zeal. They are ready to take the fight OUt of

into Germany

battalion's headquarters

not

only provides leader

also specially trained platoons. Use these

assetS

to

anything the fascists try to do to stop our irresistible

also rely

on

the battalion

komissar

to keep the troops

forward to their objectives

. . Ivanovich carefully motioned his

It

was

not yet time

to

attack Th men . to stop

e x c e l l ~ n t J : b ~ O f ~ t s d a ~ d thhe .

men t:hro

h h

ea mg

t e

deserted Th t e German minefields. The village

.

. e

aSClsts

were nowhere to

be

b

were

there waitin .

I f .

seen, ut

, g q ~ l I e t y or sIgns of the attack.

Rashes

snapped Ivanovich back to th

opened up and the Soviet G e p ~ e s e n t The

down his fur h . , od of War began to

explod ' . yon t

e

faSCIsts positions. Shell after shell

PODPOLKOVNIK

Company Command

Rifle

team

.1t

2iC Command

Rifle

team

Battalion

Komissar team

BATTALION HQ

. J \ U ~

45mm obr 942 gun

Horse

Drawn Limber

f t l l ~

45mm obr 942 gun

Horse

Drawn

Limber

ANTI-TANK PLATOON

.--

ShK AA

MG

on truck

.--

ShK

AA

MG

on

truck

.--

- . 1 l ~

- . 1 l ~

Anti-tank

Rifle

team

Pioneer Pioneer

m e ~ a m m e ~ a m

~

Pioneer

Supply

horse-drawn wagon

, .

s

suddenly

as

it b h h .

h

egan, t e t under stopped The Ka

.

s outed the Maksi b . h . pltan

a}1ead t;ward

the

e:er:;an

Its c

a t t e ~ n d

the troops tharged

The fascists wqke from their daze S

mines were beIng set off dd . °h

me

remotely operated

k h . , a mg to t e confusion Th

new t

S was not

going well

T h ~

. : omas

very well prepa;ed and strong n d e e d ~ e r m a n pOSltJons were

Suddenly, accurate canno fi b .



heroic workers and

superior

industrial might of the

nion have

guaranteed

a steady supply of automatic

~ r e l r } C l n S

to

the front

line soldier Your brave soldiers are well


Rifle MG

team

M ) 1 ~ ~ 1 ~ M ) 1 ~ ~ 1 ~

Rifle MG Rifle MG

Rifle MG Rifle MG

team team

team team

~ ) 1 ~

~ ~ ,

~ ) 1 ~ ~ ~ ,

Rifle MG

team

Rifle MG

team

Command

Rifle

team

Rifle MG

Rifle MG

team

team

Maksim HMG

Maksim

HMG

Maksim HMG Maksim

HMG



offer a steady rain of explosives over

the

heads of

the

allowing your brave assault

troops to

advance while

stays pinned down

in

their pathetic foxholes.

rated

as

Fearless Veteran.

Shock

Scout Platoons are n exception

to

the Centralised

ontrol special rule on page 181 of the rulebook They

operate as a normal platoon

the early days

of

the reat Patriotic War the

tough and

Razvedki scout troops have assisted

our

glorious

by being the eyes

and

ears of

the

Red Army.

Command

Rifle

team

Observer

Rifle

team

~ ~ ~

82 BM 41 mortar

~ ~ ~

82 BM

4

mortar

~ ~ ~

~ ~

SMG

team

•

Command

SMG team

•

~ ~ ~

82

BM 41

mortar

~ ~ ~

82 BM 41 mortar

~ ~ ~

SMG team

~ ~



workers

of

the Soviet Union produce

of PPSh submachine-guns and millions

of

rounds

U 1 t U n l t 1 C m

each month. This means the Red Army can

: 1 N h l o l e

company of soldiers with these deadly assault

for close-range combat.

submachine-gun companies to assault the enemy

your

strelkovy.

The high rate

of

fire

of

their guns will

Germans pinned in their cowardly holes.

though it's an old gun, the 45mm obr 1942 anti-tank

been given another chance to assist the motherland

will still obliterate unsuspecting fascist panzers

can use your anti-tank guns to ward off desperate

counter-attacks, charging with their light vehicles

Command

SMG team

Komissar

team

~ 1 ~ ~ 1 1 ~ ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ 1 1 ~ ~

SMG team SMG

team SMG

team SMG

team

~ 1 1 ~

1 1 ~ ~

~ 1 1 ~

1 1 ~ ~

.

.

M

Command

Rifle team

. ~ I . . I [ .

\

.

.

~ ~ ~

. 1 \ . l l ~

45mm obr 942

gun

45mm obr 942 gun

~ ~

•

~ ~ •

Horse drawn limber Horse drawn limber

~ ~

1\ U

45mm obr 942 gun 45mm obr 942 gun

~ ~ • ~ ~ •


. .

1

I . 1 . . ] ~

__

. .

1

I . 1 . . ] ~

__

LEYTENANT

1\ U

. 1 \ . l l ~

45mm obr 942 gun 45mm obr 942 gun


ANTI TANK PLATOON



: r e g l m ~ n t ; a . t guns are easy to manoeuvre

on

the battlefield

'-'[O -

i l l Clr

brilliant Soviet design. Your regiment's guns

support your str lkovy with direct fire and rapid

76mm obr 1927 gun to fire over open sights to silence

machine-guns with an intense volley of high-explosive

versatile little gun will keep enemy light vehicles

8 heavy mortar

is

heavy enough to be classified

but light enough for infantry

to

carry into battle.

assembly and fire combination of the weapon will

infantry its own serious artillery support.

( ) r t a r s of

the Heavy Mortar ompany are a threat to

troops

s

well s lightly armoured vehicles. A

company of eight mortars will

hit

most things

range

in

on. With its high firepower, it will cause

casualties amongst the cowardly dug-in enemy

is no doubt

that

with such a brilliant design, the

heavy mortar will be in Soviet service for a long

n C 1 1 l n g

our

brave comrades devastating support

Command

Rifle

team

76mm

obr 1927

gun

Horse drawn limber

76mm

obr 1927 gun

Command

Rifle

team

~ ~ ~

120 PM 38 mortar

~ ~ ~

Horse drawn limber

~ ~ ~

120 PM

38

mortar

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

120 PM 38 mortar

~ ~ ~

Horse drawn limber

~ ~ ~

120 PM 38 mortar

~ ~ ~

Observer

Rifle team

76mm

obr 1927 gun

Horse drawn limber

76mm obr

1927

gun

Observer

Rifle

team

~ ~ ~

120 PM 38 mortar

~ ~ ~

Horse drawn limber

~ ~ ~

120 PM 38 mortar

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

120 PM 38 mortar

~ ~ ~

Horse drawn limber

~ ~ ~

120 PM 38 mortar

~ ~ ~



PT 34

tanks equipped with mine

rollers use

the Mine Flails

and

Rollers rules

found

on page

2 5 of

he rulebook.

The 517

th

Mineroller and Flame-Tank Regiment led the

8

th

Guards Rifle Corps against the German fortifications.

As such they are rated as Confident Trained

When you deploy your force at the start

of

a game you

may elect to remove the mine

rollers

from any or all

of

our

PT-

34

tanks converting them into

T

34

obr

942

tanks.

~ ~

Command

PT 34

~ ~

PT 34

PT 34

~ . a .

PT 34



I:ft

OWhelre

for the fascists to hide from the righteous

....

: ...

, . ' people

o

matter how deep their bunkers

flame-tanks will find the enemy and destroy

cleansing fire, leaving no trace

of

their evil

on our

tanks are perfect for demoralising the enemy as they

into their fortifications. Strelkovy and sub

U

U ;

- UllI companies rush in to destroy whatever is left

Soviet citizens want the fascists to suffer for the

have visited upon the Soviet people. For this

have the ultimate messenger of death with the

t O w l e r

platoon

Command OT 34 Flame-tank

a.

a.

OT 34

Flame-tank OT 34

Flame tank

a.

a.

OT

-

34

Flame-tank OT 34

Flame tank

a. a.

OT 34 Flame-tank OT 34 Flame-tank OT 34 Flame-tank

FLAME TANK

PLATOON

FLAME TANK COMPANY

LEYTNANT

Flame-thrower

team

Flame-thrower team

Flame-thrower

team

Flame-thrower team



soldiers

of

the assault companies will advance with

behind the lethal steel rain falling on the hapless

troops. They will be left broken in their trenches as

h ' O n l t n i J ~ s overtake their rat holes.

the gun platoons with your heavier

122mm obr

f r t l J S to pulverise what your lighter guns did not shatter

s P i l t 1 t e

ZIS-3 guns should

be

rolled up to your front line

blast enemy emplacements over open sights. Tear

r p . j l . c h i · n e ~ g u J 1 S

from their bunkers with a hail

of

steel.

the enemy be foolish enough

to

send tanks against

UtiUe.tY

'posi1tiorts the regiment's 76mm ZIS-3 guns will

~ ; ~ I ~ ~

into twisted metal

Howitzer Platoons in a Shock Artillery Battalion may fire a

bombardment together

s

a separate battery apart from the

Gun Platoons. f ny Howitzer platoon fires n artillery bom-

bardment all Gun Platoons

must

either participate in the

bombardment or may instead conduct normal Shooting.

Command

Staff

team Observer

Horse drawn

Rifle team Rifle team wagon

HQ

SECTION

Horse drawn limber

• •

.

Horse drawn limber

.

.

~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

22mm obr 938 gun

22mm obr 938

gun

talinets tractor

Stalinets tractor

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

22mm obr 938

gun

22mm obr 938 gun

talinets tractor

Stalinets tractor

n ~

n ~

n

n



the regiment's guns are not enough to remove the

your corps will lend its guns

to

help purge

Russia of the Nazi plague

artillery battalions armed with 122mm and 152mm

howitzer guns pound the enemy even harder than the

normal Shock Artillery Battalion, smashing huge

fascist defences.

heavy artillery has finished their brutal and just '

rontnik

soldiers move in to take

on

the shattered

of

the disheartened enemy platoons

ommand Staff

team

Observer Horse-drawn

Rfle team Rifle team wagon

Q

SECTION

{

A

A

~ i \

~ i \

Howitzer Howitze r

owitzer

Howitzer

talinets tractor Stalinets tractor

r

~ i \

~ i \

Howitzer

Howitzer

i : : ~

~

Howitzer Howitze r

talinets tractor Stalinets tractor



MOTIV TION ND SK LL

= y = }I

II

y = It

The

Guards divisions have

all

sorts

o f

upport

in

the form

of

assault guns Katyusha rocket mortars sappers anti -aircraf t

guns

and

more. In addition the Red irArmies are ready to give

plenty of

upport to ground operations as well as sweeping

the Luftwaffe

from

the skies.

Unless otherwise noted Corps Support companies are rated as Fearless Trained.

Soviet Shock armies drew assault gun support from the

regular

army S U companies. As such they

are

rated as

Confident Trained.

Guards assault gun units are in high demand and not

available. However, the army will lend our heroic

~ > o : , s support from their assault gun companies

76M assault gun

is

excellent in giving close support



t a k l l n g

on

the heavy tanks of he enemy or smashing

the heroic Guards heavy assault gun

are able

to

support

the

infantry at close quarters.

heavy assault guns to blow away Nazi machine

anti-tank gun bunkers. They are equally efficient at

the enemy from buildings

Soviet army used assault guns to clear the

enemy

ltrellch1es of machine-gun nests and anti-tank guns. On the

of an attack, Soviet scouts crept out

into

no-man's-land

map the German front line

in

detail, marking where

-tank guns and machine-gun nests were situated. They

rushed their detailed maps to the assault gun regi

who would then assign targets to specific companies

the next day.

When

the offensive began, Soviet assault

compared the maps with the horizon, identifying key

;ianidrrlarlcs

and targets and then blasted the enemy guns

intense barrages.

the enemy guns were silenced, they moved on to

next target, following the infantry

as

they advanced.

'1/1 . , . . ,,"'r the infantry reported

enemy

anti-tank guns and

malcmne· 2:un

emplacements, the assault guns would help

When

the

advancing Soviet

army

came across a uc::rrrlauC

strong

point,

assault guns and artillery batteries stopped to

blast it using a massive centralised volley.

SU-76M, ISU-122, ISU-152 assault guns,

and

76mm

ZIS-3 and

5mm

obr 1942 guns that

did

not move in

the Movement Step may reroll failed

rolls

o Hit when

shooting their main guns at teams up

to

16 ,/40cm away

HE VY BRE KTHROUGH

GUN

The 15-2 heavy

tank and

the ISU-122

and

ISU-152 heavy

assault guns blasted the enemy gun positions into oblivion,

leaving little chance to escape their fury

Unarmoured targets automatically fail their

saves

when hit



a : s c i s t s

call the BM-13 rocket mortar Stalin's Organ

happy to play the song of death for themf

ur

a U l e u

crews can deliver a massive and de dly barrage

ili,P;UC::lllY. Should the enemy's aircraft try to attack the

the mobile anti-aircraft truckS to defend against

f J t f ¥

( ) e k e t

launchers are ready to signal the

o J : t e r l s i v ' e . Very little can withstand the fury

n Artillery Bombardment fired

by

nine or more weapons

uses

a double-width Artillery Template to determine which

teams can be

hit and

rerolls foiled

To Hit rolls.

n Artillery Bombardment fired by fourteen or more

weapons

uses a template 12 /30cm square to determine

which teams are hit and

rerolls

foiled To Hit rolls.

Command

Rifle

team

Truck

Observer

Rifle

team

~ M

BM 13 Katyusha

~ M

ShK AA

MG on

truck

ShK AA

MG on

truck

~ M

BM

13

Katyusha

~ M

~ M

BM 13 Katyusha

~ M



if :1l:10110l1S

pilots rule the skies,

but

·should any German

foolish enough

to

try and attack our forces on the

the guns of the anti-aircraft company will make

of them

the anti-aircraft company along the line to protect

r i l l e r v . tanks and infantry.

ith

six well placed guns,

be able to cover a great deal

of

the battlefield.

situation warrants, they will deal equally well with

and light vehicles

that stray into their range.

~ r o u

use them, make sure they are well protected,

be sent

to

a htraf

unit

for misappropriating the

e q u . i ~ m , e n t

of the Soviet people

strong backs

of

our sappers can dig trenches,

remove mines and,

if

necessary, destroy

with their explosives.

company can be put to work to help dig your

into prepared positions or build up your supply

They

will also take on specialised assault tasks with

the brave comrades you most

want

at your side in

assaults

. 1t

Command Rifle

team

~

~

7mm obr 939

gun

37mm ob r 939 gun

~

7mm obr

939

gun 37mm obr 939 gun

e e

c e

~ ~

7mm

obr 939

gun

37mm obr

939

gun

e e

Truck Truck

Command

Pioneer Pioneer Supply truck

Rifle

team

HQ

SECTION

r

Pioneer Pioneer Pioneer Pioneer

Rifle team Rifle

team

Rifle team Rifle team

M) ~ ) ~

M)

~ ) ~

Pioneer

Rifle team

Pioneer

Rifle

team

Pioneer

Rfle team

Pioneer

Rifle team

LEYTENANT

Pioneer Rifle

team

Pioneer

Rifle

team

Pioneer

Rifle

team

Pioneer

Rifle

team

Pioneer

Rifle

team



Mobility

Front Side Top

Equipment

and

Notes

Range ROF

Anti tank

Firepower

Fully-tracked

7

5

Co-ax

MG,

Mine roller, Limited vision.

32 /80cm

2

9

3

Fully-tracked

6

5

Co-ax

MG,

Hull

MG,

Fast tank, Limited vision,

Wide tracks.

7 mm

F-34 gun 32 /80cm

2 9

3

Fully-tracked

10

8

Co-ax MG, Turret-rear MG, Slow tank.

32 /80cm I

15

2

Fully-tracked 6

5

32 /80cm

I

9

3

4 /JOcm

2

6

Flame-thrower, Hull-mounted.

Fully-tracked

3

1 0

Wide tracks.

32 /80cm

2 9

3

Hull-mounted.

Fully-tracked

9

7

Slow tank.

32 /80cm

I

15

2

Hull mounted.

Fully-tracked

9 7

2 Slow tank.

152mm ML-20S howitzer 32 /80cm

1

3

1 Bunker buster, Hull mounted.

Wheeled

64 /160cm 2

4

Rocket launcher.

Wheeled Awkward layout.

16 /40cm 4

4

5

Anti-aircraft, Portee.

16 /40cm

3 2 6 ROF 1 i other weapons fire.

16 /40cm

3

4

5

Weapon

To

Hit Anti-tank

Firepower Notes

Cannon

3

9

5

Flying tank.

Bombs 4

5

1

Rockets

3

6

3

Cannon

3

12 4 Flying tank.

Bombs 4

5

1



Mobility

Range

ROF

Man-packed

16 /40cm

2

Man-packed

24 /60cm

6

Man-packed

40 /100cm

120-PM-38 mortar Light

76mm obr 1927 gun

Light

16 /40cm

2

Firing bombardments

64 /160cm

Man-packed

16 /40cm

4

Immobile 24 /60cm 4

Light

24 /60cm

3

Heavy 32 /80cm 2

80 /200cm

Immobile 24 /60cm

80 /200cm

Immobile 24 /60cm

80 /200cm

Range

ROF

Anti tank

16 /40cm 2

16 /40cm

2 2

4 /lOcm

3

4 /lOcm

4

4 /IOcm

cannot shoot

DDITION L TR INING ND EQUIPMENT

Mobility

Wagon

ZIS-5 3-ton, ZIS-6 4-ton, Dodge 3/4-ton,

or

Studebakker 2

112

ton truck Wheeled

Fully-tracked

Anti tank Firepower Notes

5 5

Tank Assault 3.

2

6

ROF 2 when pinned down.

2 6

3

3

5 3

Gun shield.

3

6

4

5

Anti-aircraft, Turntable.

6 4

Anti-aircraft, Turntable.

8 4

Gun

shield.

9

3

Gun shield.

3

6

7

2 Gun

shield.

4

3

10

1

Bunker buster,

Gun

shield.

5

2

Firepower Notes

6

6

6

Full ROF when moving.

6

Flame-thrower.

6

Moves

as

a Heavy Gun team.

Slow tank.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Horse-drawn Limber

Wagon



region

surrounding Orsha is

heavily fortified

by the

#i:refimans.The

town

itself has been designated

as

a

Festerplatz

fortress town, so it will be a fight to take this crucial

point

the line. However, the Spyetsialnaya Gruppa Shturm (or

fi ; pe<:l·;al

Assault Group

is

specifically organised to deal

with

formidable defences.

ya Gvardeyskaya Armiya (11

th

Guards Army) has been

three assault groups to be used against Orsha.

It

inte

tanks, heavy assault guns

and

assault infantry together

several waves.

first wave

of ten

PT-34 mine-roller tanks will

open

a

through the prolific

German

minefields through which

heavy

tank

regiment

of

21 IS-2s will exploit.

Then

a

bat

ion

of

assault engineers will follow to secure the area.

Trailing

behind the

engineers

at 150

metres

is

a heavy

s s a u J l t

~ ~ ~

gun regiment of 21 ISU-152s whose mission is to

rI

·

..........u ·);;.:I

the

last

of

the

tenacious

German gun

teams.

The final wave is a combined force of Guards rifle

r e ; l m l e n t s

. ; . :

a

company of OT-34

flame-tanks,

and

a regiment

SU-76

light assault-guns. This last wave will take

a d v a r l t ~ ~ e :

~

of the breakthroughs made by the previous waves,

mop

pockets of resistance, and secure the opened gap in the

With the main

assault accomplished,

our

heroic

divisions will roll

into the

rear areas,

surround

enemy force,

and

force

them

to

abandon

their d e j t e n s t v ~

positions

and

flee before Soviet might

FOURTI- WAVE

Regiment of

21

ISU-152

Guards heavy assault guns.



you have a particularly difficult fortified line that needs to be broken, a Special Assault Group is exactly the tool to

is possible to recreate a Special Assault Group using the force organizations

in

this book. Depending on the size of

you are planning, here are a couple of suggested lists to recreate however much of the assault group you would like.

, some situations warrant the use

of

even more specialised equipment,

and

you will have to add more companies

FIELDING THE

COMPLETE

ASSAULT

GRoup-24 240

POINTS

Mine Roller Company

lOx PT-34 mine-roller tanks

SE OND

WAVE-

Guards Heavy

Tank Regiment

2lx IS-2 obr 1943 heavy tanks

THIRD WAVE-

Assault

Engineer Regiment

4x Sapper Companies

FORTH WAVE-

460

points

3275

points

1200 points

Guards Heavy Assault Gun

g i m n t

2625 points

2lx ISU-152 Heavy assault guns

FIELDING THE

2ND

3

RD

W

U

·

AVES

slng a Gvarde ski

B

. Y Y yazhelyy Tankovy Polk)

attalto

n

HQ

1 IS-2

obr

1943 heavy tank 1 .

v a r ~ e y s k i y

Tyazhelyy Tankovy

Com

~

POInts

With 4 15 2 obr 1943 h P y

eavy tanks 625 .

v a r ~ e y s k i y Tyazhelyy Tankovy Com an POInts

with 4 15 2

obr

1943 h P Y

Sh k S eavy tanks 625 points

oc. apper

Company

With 3 Sapper Platoons

add upply Truck

Tota l- l

730

300 points

25 points

FIELDING THE

4

TH

FINAL

WAVES

(Using a Udarny Strelkovy Batalon)

Battalion HQ

Headquarters

Udarny Strelkovy

Company

with 3 Rifle Platoons

add 2 Maksim

HM

G teams

add Komissar



add 2 Maksim

HM

G teams

add Komissar

Guards Heavy assault Gun Company

35 points

235 points

50 points

15 points

235 points

50 points

15 points

with 3 ISU-152 heavy assault guns 375 points

Flame-tank Company

with 5 OT-34 flame-tanks

245 points

FINAL

WAVE-

Flame-tank

Company

lOx OT-34 Flame-tanks

Assault

Gun

Regiment

21x SU-76M assault guns

400

points

SOO

points

4x Guards Rifle Regiments 154S0

points

Each Regiment has two Strelkovy Battalions of:

Ix

HQ

(at full strength) 255 points

2x Strelkovy Companies 570 points

Ix Machine-gun Company 230 points

Ix Mortar

Company

135 points

2x Submachine-gun Company 500 points

Ix Heavy

Mortar

Company 245 points

Battalion

total

equals 1935 points

FIELDING A

CROSS-SECTION

SPECIAL ASSAULT

GROUP

(Using a Udarny Strelkovy

Batalon

Battalion H Q

Headquarters

Add

Anti-tank Platoon

Udarny

Strelkovy Company


add 2 Maksim HMG teams



add

2 Maksim

HM

G teams

Mine

Roller Tank Company

with 5 PT-34 mine-roller tanks

Guards Heavy Tank Company

with 3 IS-2

obr

1943 heavy tanks

35 points

45 points

235 points

50 points

235 points

50 points

280 points

470 points

Shock Sapper

Company

with 2 Sapper Platoons 210 points

Guards Heavy Assault Gun Company .

with 3 ISU-152 heavy assault guns 370 pomts

Flame-tank Company

with 5 OT-34 flame-tanks 245 points

Assault Gun Company

with 4 SU-76 assault guns

155 points

Total-23S0



The Soviet reconnaissance in force has discovered a narrow

gauge railroad through which tanks and infantry will attempt

a breakthrough

into the

rear areas

of

the German

lines.

The Breakthrough Assault scenario uses the

Delayed

Reserves Preliminary Bombardment and Prepared

Positions

special rules.

YOUR

ORDERS

Our

reconnaissance has revealed a

point in the

line where

we can launch

our

Special Assault Group. Your task is to

secure the narrow-gauge rai lroad bed as a route for

our

tanks

through

the marshy terrain

to crush the German

defences.

The Russians are attempting to use a railway line to force

tanks around our flank. It

is

absolutely vital that you

prevent

a Russian breakthrough

in

this region.

PREP RING FOR B TTLE

1 Set up the table as shown

on

page 41. Place objectives at

. The table

is

4 /120cm by 6 /180cm.

2.

The

German

player holds the

StuG Platoon in

Delayed

Reserve. They then place

the

remainder

of

their troops

anywhere

behind

the barbed wire at • .

3

The Soviet player deploys their forces

in

area .

1. All German troops on the table start the game

in

Prepared

Positions so

they

are

in

Foxholes

and

Gone to Ground.

2. The Soviet player now conducts the Preliminary

Bombardment.

3.

The

Soviet player has

the

first

turn.

ENDING

THE B TTLE

The battle ends when:

The

Soviet player starts

their

turn

in

possession

of one of

the objectives or

The

German

player starts any

of

heir turns from

turn

six

with no Soviet teams

on

the German half of the table.

DE IDING

WHO

WON

The Soviet player wins if they

hold an

objective having

found a weak point in the

German

line

and

established a

route for the breakthrough forces. Otherwise the German

player wins having repulsed the Soviet Assault Group.

You may choose to play Breakthrough Assault as the second

part

of the

Orsha

mini campaign with the Reconnaissance in

Force and Onslaught at

Orsha

scenarios. If you are playing the

mini

campaign Reconnaissance in Force affects this scenario

in the following ways:

If

the

German

player

won

the Reconnaissance

in

Force

scenario the exact Grenadier strength has been success

fully kept secret

and

German strength is higher

than

an

ticipated. The German player gains one Sturm platoon,

fully

equipped

with Panzerfaust anti-tank launchers. This

platoon may be deployed

as normal,

or may be deployed

using the Ambush special rule.

All along the line Soviet

commanders

were tasked

with

breaking through well defended and prepared positions.

Players can choose to refight this scenario using different

forces that reflect the diverse

German

defenders using a

Panzergrenadierkompanie

or

Grenadierkompanie

If the Soviet player

won

the Reconnaissance in Force

scenario the

German

fortifications have been accurately

assessed

and

higher

command

has devoted

more

break

through

units

to your

force.

The

Soviet player is given an

Assault Gun

Company

with five SU-76M assault guns.

W ST RN

FRONT

In the

western theatre

the

American

and

British forces faced

similar German defences when

they

encountered the German

Gustav and Gothic Lines in Italy. You can fight this scenario

using

any American

or

British army

as

you attempt to break



last few days leading

up

to

Bagration have been

wet and rainy. Additionally the

area around rsha is marshy

and

, : m 1 : a I I I S many fresh peat cuttings.

conditions combine

to

inhospitable terrain for

main

assault. Nevertheless

attack

must

continue

and

objective

is

unchanged:

b r e a j k t h r o u g h

are built up

on

tall

posing a danger-

obstacle for vehicles to cross.

tracks and axles could break

: b ( ~ t w l e e n

the weight

of

the

vehicle

the unforgiving steel rails.

railway embankment counts

as

Difficult Going.

railway embankment

is

built

high

enough

to Conceal tanks

behind them.

Mlarshes

are a

common and

for

midable feature

in

Byelorussia.

such marshes are

often

used

by

generals to form anchor points

which to build defensive

are flooded

and



Galitskiy ordered

an

immediate attack

on

the

a Spyetsialnaya ruppa Shturm Special

SPYETSIALNAYA GRUPPA

SHTURM

517ya Tankovy Polk c

Minnym

Tralom

63ya Gvardeyskaya Tyazhelyy Tankovy Polk

142ya Gvardeyskaya Tyazhelyy

Samokhodnaya Ustanovka Polk

4ya Gvardeyskaya Saperny Batalon

1YA

BATALON,

17YA

GVARDEYSKAYA

STRELKOVA

YA POLK

1ya Batalon, 17ya Polk

2ya Rota, 1ya Batalon,

17ya Gvardeyskaya Strelkovaya Polk

4ya Rota, 1ya Batalon,

17ya Gvardeyskaya Strelkovaya Polk

28ya Gvardeyskaya

Minometnaya

Batareya

The infantry made slow progress but to open

small gap

in

the line. Galitskiy sent his tank reserve thn::>ue:h

.;:? :

the hole, and soon the Germans were forced to withdraw.

SPECIAL

ASSAULT

GROUP

PT-34 Mine-roller

Company

five PT-34 mine-rollers).

Guards Heavy Tank Company three 1S-2 heavy tanks).

Guards Heavy Assault Gun Company three 1SU-152

heavy assault guns).

Sapper Company with two platoons and no Supply

Wagon).

UDARNY STRELKOVY

BATALON

FEARLESS

TRAINED)

Battalion H Q with

Anti Tank

Platoon and Sapper

Platoon).

Guards Strelkovy Company at full strength, with two

Maksim

HM

G teams).

Guards Strelkovy Company at full strength, with two

Maksim

HM

G teams).

Guards Rocket Mortar Battalion with four Guards

Rocket Mortar Platoons with extra crews).

Despite fierce ting,

the

78.

Sturmdivision

eventually outflanked and forced to fall back to the next

of

defence.

2 KOMPANIE, 215 STURMREGIMENT STURMKOMPANIE

CONFIDENT

VETERAN)

Kompaniegruppe Company H Q with

both

command teams equipped

with Panzerfaust anti tank launchers

and

three Anti tank

Sections equipped

with

Panzerschreck

anti tank

rockets).

1.

Zug, 2. Kompanie Sturm Platoon at full strength, with all squads equipped

with Panzerfaust anti tank launchers).

2. Zug, 2. Kompanie Sturm Platoon as

1.

Zug).

4. Zug, 2. Kompanie Sturm Heavy Platoon at full strength).

5. PaK) Zug, 2. Kompanie

Sturm Anti tank

Platoon with two 7.5cm PaK40 anti

tank guns).

1.

Zug, 4. Kompanie Assault Machine-gun Platoon at full strength).

3. Zug, 14. Kompanie Anti-tank Platoon with three 7.5cm PaK40 anti- tank guns).

51 WERFERREGIMENT

ROCKET

LAUNCHER BATTERY

1.

Batterie Rocket Launcher Battery with six

15cm

NW

41

rocket

launchers).

189

STURMGESCHOTZABTEILUNG STUG

BATTERIE

DELAYED

RESERVE)



Tank crew overalls

lack (950),

or

Khaki

Grey (880)

Vehicle

and

gun

colour:

Russian

Green

(894)

Alternate vehicle

gun

colour

Luftwaffe

Camo

Green (823)

Painted metal

Flat

Flesh (955)

Exposed flesh

Flat Red (957)

Epaulette piping

Khaki (988)

Webbing, satchel

Gunmetal

(863)

Gun

metal, tool heads

Beige rown (875)

Rifle wood, tool handles

Flat

Earth

(983)

SMG Pouches

Khaki

Grey (880),

or

Khaki

(988)

Uniform

lack (950)

pattern camouflage uniform.

To paint your scouts, mix in a little

Buff

to

Khaki Grey or Luftwaffe - - <1

for your base coat. To complete the

flage, paint patches

of Russian Green

Earth over the base colour s shown

ll colour names and codes given are for the Vallejo range of

War paints

found

in the Flames

Of

War Quartermasters Paint

Soviet Paint Set,

available from the online store and

Flames

Of

War

More comprehensive painting and modelling guides can also be

t o u n

www.FlamesOjWar.com website

IIlii

paint

Tank crew helmets

lack

(950),

or

Beige rown (875)







division was O r i g i ~ a l l r a i s e a

9 3 9

as

the

78 .

Grenadierdivision

in Stuttgart,

Germany. The

division participated

in the

invasion of Russia

and

advanced

to

the gates of Moscow,

before

being

forced

back.

I:n:January 1943, the 78.

Grenadierdivisionreformed

as

the

78. Sturmdivision. The motive behind

these

changes

was

to create a division with many

weapons

and few men.

Each

Sturmkompanie

was authorised

enlarged infantry platoons and significant increases

in

heavY

weapons.

Additionally,

each battalion

had

nine integral7.5cm

PaK40

anti-tank guns, a

number

usually

held

by an . entire

Grenadier regiment.

Sturmgeschiitz-Abteilung 189 was also

attached to

the division, along with panzerjager-Abteilung 178.

Soon after

its

reorganisation, the 78. Sturmdivision

was committed to Operation Zitadelle

Citadel)

where

the unit fought with distinction at Kursk.

\ By October

1943, the veteran 78.

Sturmdivision

was placed along the Panther Line

near

Orsha.

t was

now part

of

the

XXVII Army

Corps along

with the

25.

Panzergrenadier Division

and

the

260. Grenadierdivision,

and

defended the critical

junction along the Moscow-Minsk highway.

.Three years after

the

GeI. man invasion of the Soviet

Union, on the 22

June

1944,

the Soviets

launched

Operation

Bagration

with a

huge

preparatory bom-

.

bardment.

The initial

attacks

failed with heavY losses,

By

the

evening of 23

June,

had withdr,awn

back

in good order,

about 5km to

its

second

defensive line.

Problems

arose when a Soviet

reconnaissance patrol discovered a disused narrow

gauge rail line

through

the

swampy forest

between

the Sturmdivision

and

the 256. Grenadierdivision.

The 2nd

Guards

Tank Corps pushed through along

the rail line,

and

the Sturmdivision was

outflanked.

On 26

June, t h ~ division

withdrew again into

Orsha, and fell under attack by two Soviet divisions.

Meanwhile, the 5. Panzer

Division

and the Tiger tanks

of 505. Schwere

Panzer

Abteilung

~ r r i v e

to

t ry

to

stem the Soviet advance. However, by the morning of

the

27 June,

Orsha had fallen,

and the road

to Minsk

was

wide open.

The Sturmdivision continued to

retreat, abandon

ing

its

heavy equipment at the Berezina River.

Any

stragglers risked attack by units of partisans

lurking

in

the

forests.

By

5 July, the

Sturmdivision

had fought

from

encir

clement to encirclement,

having

conducted a 200km

long fighting withdrawal. The division managed to

get clear of the encircling

enemy,

despite

losing

the

majority of

the 78.

Sturmdivision and its commander,

General

Traut. They were not

alone, as Army Group

Centre lost 17

other divisions

comp1etely, with many

more severely

depleted.

.

Those

few

survivors

that managed to escape the



The Sturmkompanie was organised in early 1943 s a specialised assault division. Its first practical use was at the massive

battle

of

Kursk where it performed well. The concept of the company went beyond the normal grenadier organisation

by giving it a lot more heavy equipment

such

s its own integral 7.5cm PaK40 anti-tank guns and a heavy platoon.

The

company

also boasts its own StuG Batterie

which

lends

immediate

armoured

support

whenever needed.

5 700 soldiers, 8 infantry battalions, 30 assault guns, 26

self-propelled guns, 36 artillery guns, 99 anti-tank guns,

102 heavy machine-guns,

18

infantry guns, 36 heavy

mortars,

90

medium mortars, 6anti-aircraft guns.

German defensive doctrine used the Pakfront to efficiently devastate Soviet tank assaults.

Guns are deployed carefully with overlapping fields of fire inflicting

maximum

damage.

The

78. Sturmdivision

made expert use of the

Pakfront

defending

Festerplatz Orsha.

You may choose your Sturm

Anti-tank

gun platoon or one of our

Anti-tank

gun platoons

to

form a Pakfront. Do not deploy the platoon when you would normally. Instead,

it is

deployed

at

the same time

as

Independent Teams.

Orsha

is a critical location

and s

a result boasts an impressive defence

network ofearthen

and concrete emplacements

and

trenches.

In any game that

does

not

use

the Fortifications special

rules page

217

of

he rule book , a Sturmkompanie may

purchase fortifications from page 6

as

a part of heir orce

using their normal points total.

All fortifications must

be

deployed in your deployment

area

immediately before you or your opponent places

an objective.

A Sturmkompanie containing more than 50 points

of

ortifications always defends against another

Infantry Company in missions that use the

l

uerei lsz'l

Ie

Battle special rule.



;itrctns.efJred to the

78.

Infonteriedivision just as the division

to Russia, where he was wounded while manning a

E : n l n e · ~ u m after its crew had been wiped out by a 76mm

This earned him an Iron Cross

and

a

promotion

to

fUl I:(/nn::£, or sergeant.

1943, Uthoff

and

the

78.

Infontriedivision reorganised

l t Sturmdivision. During the conversion,

Uthoff

acquired

latest weapons, such as his own personal Sturmgewehr

rifle

and

a pile of PanzerJaust launchers for his men.

In

late June 1944,

Operation

Bagration erupted

in

Uthoff and

his

men and

by the afternoon of the first

platoon

had

been reduced to

just

six men.

He

asked

volunteers and ordered the remainder of the men to

the division in Orsha.

Uthoff and

the volunteers were last seen dashing

mortar

craters and upturned earth, each with three 1.J111119'.1.'f I'L)

launchers. Several Soviet T-34 and IS-2 tanks ex):,locle(l;

they made their way through no-man's-land.

For his bravery, Dietrich Uthoff was posthumously

mended for the Knight's Cross.

CH R CTERISTICS

Dietrich

Uthoff

is a Warrior

and

a Panzerfaust

Rifle team. He is an Independent team and rated as

Veteran

join a Sturmkompanie from the

78.

Sturmdivision

Uthoff

used craters, destroyed tanks and bombed

c : : n c n e s to surprise hapless Soviet tanks.

Uthoff may be deployed using the Ambush special rule

on

page 196 of he rulebook in addition

to

any other platoons

that would normally be deployed in Ambush.

While defending Uthoff may deploy in Ambu sh even in

missions that do not normally use the Ambush special rule.

-

T NK

HUNTER

Uthoff knew

that

there was

no

time to waste in ste mlmi nJC

the Red tide

Feldwebel

Uthoff

may move and shoot with his PanzerJaust

anti-tank launcher.

F UST EXPERT

After several years of

hunting

tanks with Panzerknackers,

new Panzerfaust launchers make

tank-hunting

even

Feldwebel Uthoff may re-roll failed o

Hit

rolls with his

PanzerJaust anti -ta nk launcher.



German

divisions in Byelorussia, the

Sturmdivision is

the

most prepared to receive

the impend

Soviet attack. The Sturmdivision has been kept at high

I'enl2;th

with

a

trench-strength

of

5,700

troops

compared

the

average 2,500 troops of the

other German

divisions.

addition

to its

high

strength,

the

assault division has

been

plenty

of heavy weapons

to support

its troops

The

Sturmdivision

is

fully prepared for a Soviet assault

MG4 LIGHT MACHINE GUN

Sturmdivision has

been

issued two M G42

t

machine-guns

per

squad,

rather

than

the

Grenadierkompanie organisation of

one

squad. This sort ofadditional firepower will

the

line against the Soviet onslaught

ANTI TANK LAUNCHER

June

1944, Panzerfaust anti-tank launchers are a welcome

to the Grenadier's arsenal. These weapons are deadly

range, roughly

30

meters (98 feet)

and

will

penetrate

up to 200mm

(8

inches) thick By

June

these in

, p e : n S . l v e tank-busters

can

be

found

in large

quantities

all

g the 78

th

Assault Division's fortifications.

Sturmkompanie has its own Sturm

Anti-tank

platoon

two 7.5cm PaK40 anti-tank guns. This gives each

its

own

anti-tank guns in addition

to the battalion

regimental anti-tank guns.

No other German

division

boast having 99 PaK40

anti-tank

guns at its disposal

STUG

ASSAULT

GUNS

Since

the

Battle of Kursk, the Sturmdivision has

had

its

Sturmgeschutzabteilung (Assault

gun

battalion).

The StuG

Assault

guns

of

189.

Sturmgeschutzabteilung

189th

Gun Battalion) offer

an immediate tank

response

to

breakthroughs, helping

shore

up the

line

and

restore

fensive

positions

or

follow

up

a

Sturmgrenadier

assault.

StuG

assault guns of the Batterie offer a huge morale boost

the men

and

BEGLIET RIDERS

The 189. Sturmgeschutzabteilungpioneered the

use

of

or

Escort, troops at Kursk. These Grenadiers ride atop

StuGs

when

the battalion is manoeuvring, offering the

guns their

own infantry protection. When in combat,

Begleit

riders

often dismount and

fight alongside

their

working

together to

mount successful counterattacks.

STG44 ASSAULT

RIFLE

The

Begleitriders

in

the

189.

Sturmgeschutzabteilungare

the first to receive the new

StG44

(or, Sturmgewehr 44

rifle, also

known

as

the

MP44 (or,

Maschinenpistole 44 .

StG44

assault rifle combines the firepower of a subrn,actlJJ1J

gun

in close combat

with

the accuracy of a rifle at

ranges. t fires a shortened version

of

the 7.92mm

also

used in the

standard Karabiner 98k rifle.

The

gun's

munition

supply

also increases the standard five-round

in

the Karabiner 98k rifle to

an

impressive

30-round

the

StG44

assault rifle

This fully automatic rifle will

help

the

Begleit

riders

to

the enemy

infantry

with their

Assault

guns

in support



z

0

0

~

....

0

~

co

~

0

u

STURM

PLATOON

~ ~ \ ~

Sturm

Platoon

~

STURM

PLATOON

~ ~ \ ~

Sturm

Platoon

t1

STURM

PLATOON

~ ~ \ ~

.tl

Sturm

Platoon

HEAVY PLATOON

7 F A ~ l

Sturm Heavy Platoon

~

z

0

0

~

0..

Z

0

0..

«

W

~

INFANTRY

COMPANY)

MACHINE-GUN

PLATOON

7 F A ~ l

Assault Machine gun

<t >

Platoon

MACHINE-GUN

PLATOON

7 F A ~ l

Assault Machine gun

<t >

Platoon

MORTAR PLATOON

~ ~ ~

I

. ';

Assault

Mortar Platoon

INFANTRY GUN

PLATOON

~

Infantry Gun

Platoon ~

><

Q

Q

c

.)

CI

CI)

E

g

c:

Q

s

CI

'E..

CI)

c:

Q

CI)

'

Q

c

\

z

0

0

I -

«

Heavy Tank Platoon t

ARMOURED StuG Platoon

. . . . . . Tank hunter Platoon

t

INFANTRY

~ ~ \ ~

Pioneer Platoon ~

INFANTRY

~ ~ \ ~ . . . .

MotorisedScoutPlatoon

~

ARTILLERY

~ ~ ~

Heavy Mortar

Platoon t

ARTILLERY

Artillery Battery i

ARTILLERY

Heavy Artillery Ballery

i

ROCKET ARTILLERY Rocket Launcher

Battery

Armoured Rocket Launcher

Battery •

HEAVY ANTI-AIRCRAFT

~ ~ Heavy Anti aircraft Gun

~ ~ Platoon •

ANTI-AIRCRAFT

Anti aircraft

Gun

Platoon

~ l . l . l . Luftwaffe Anti aircraft

Gun

~

Platoon •

AIR

SUPPORT

Sporadic Air

Support

t



MOTIV TION AND

SK LL

11== . rt= .

;11

. = •

he illustrious 78. Sturmdivision has seen combat from the gates ofMoscow

to

Kursk, and now guards the critical point at

Orsha.

he

high concentration of ntegrated infantry weapons

and

assault guns makes the unit a very powerful formation.

he

78. Sturmdivision

will keep the Soviets in check, should they decide to assault

A Sturmkompanie is rated Con1ident Veteran.

HE DQU RTERS

is the time to dig in and prepare for the expected

offensive. We

cannot

be certain where this

fall but we can be assured

that

the mighty

HAUPTMANN

.

.

Company Command

SMG team

iC

Command

SMG

team

-

.

Panzerschreck Panzerschreck

team team

~

~

Panzerschreck team

STURMKOMPANIE Q

78. Sturmdivision is

ready. Your

Sturmkompanie

supplied

with

the new PanzerJaust and

r a l l Z t · r s c l J r t ~ D f t :

tank

rocket launchers able

to

repel any Bolshevik

COMB T

PL TOONS

only is the Sturmkompanie well equipped

with

machine

and PanzerJaust

anti-tank launchers but it also has a

unit

strength compared to

other Grenadier

units

front line. This combination of defensive weaponry

manpower should make it easier to build a formidable

1 I > + ~ n l : i T P

line.

other hand your

Sturmkompanie

has

not

lost its

potential. The company

is

prepared to leave its

and counterattack against whatever small gains the

might manage to secure.

r

.

LEUTNANT

Command MG

team

I 1::[ . III-

'

.

~ \ ~ ~ \ ~

MG

team MG team

~ ~ \ ~ ~ ~ \ ~

MG

team

MG

team

• IJI::I:6,{.1IT U__

.

··IJI::I:6'{.11l 11

__

.

~ \ ~

MG

team

~ ~ \ ~

MG

team

STURM

PLATOON

fyour Sturmkompanie has three Sturm platoons, you may upgrade the smallest Sturm Platoon

to

a Sturm Pionier Platoon for



8 points

2

points

Grenadier

force,

your company

is

unique

in

having

a

platoon

available to it.

The

company s

fourth

heavy

is a great asset to use along

the

defensive line

and

its fire against

the

olshevik assault.

:$Sl glllnga

heavy

machine-gun

to each

of

your

Sturmgrenadier

ns will boost their defensive capability.

R

ANTI-TANK GUN PLATOON

120

points

Command SMG team with a Command

~ U l Z 4 : r t a u s t SM G team for 10 points

may make Combat

7.5cm PaK40 anti-tank guns

of

your fifth, anti-tank

give the

Sturmkompanie

its

own

guns.

If

positioned

these can destroy even heavy tanks. They are also

as

infantry

guns, to knock out enemy machine-gun

LEUTNANT

~ \

Command SMG team

~ ~ l .

~ ~ l .

~ t t

MG42 HMG MG42 HMG

Observer Rifle team

GW34

mortar

GW34

mortar

STURM HEAVY PLATOON

While the fourth

platoon s heavy

machine-guns

are

not

m

use against waves of Soviet tanks, they are vitally needed

cut

down

their

infantry support. The platoon s

8cm

pin

down attacking formations and lay smoke to conceal

coun

erattack.

LEUTNANT

Command SMG team

~ ~

~ ~

7.5cm

PaK4

7.5cm PaK4

SO

tractor



WE PONS PL TOONS

battalion's assault machine gun platoons strengthen the

, forming strong points to stop Soviet infantry and allow

renadiers

to counterattack. Position them carefully to

objectives and dig them

in

quickly. They will be the

upon which

the

waves of Soviet

infantry

break

integral mortar platoon delivers a

quick

t)on:se to calls for fire.

t

is

excellent

at pinning the enemy

they advance,

or as

your troops close to assault.

well-placed mortar platoon

can stop

a Soviet advance cold

six mortar tubes in the

platoon.

A mortar barrage

can

devastating as enemy

troops approach

in the

open.

r

••

LEUTN NT

Command SMG team

~ \

Command SMG team

. ~ : I

••

•

~ ; t

~ ; t

Observer Rifle team

Observer Rifle team

~ t l t l

~ t l t l ~ t l t l ~ t l t l

Bcm

GW 4

Bcm

GW 4

Bcm

GW 4

Bcm

GW 4

mortar mortar

mortar mortar

- - - W ~ { .

•

. ] ~ - - -

~ ~ { . . l

. ] ~ - - -

UNTEROFFIZIER

~ ; t

~ t l t l ~ t l t l

Observer

Bcm

GW 4

Bcm

GW 4

Rifle team mortar mortar

MORTAR SECTION



regiment 78. Sturmdivision a

l Z J a n z e

holding twelve heavy anti-tank guns. The

k lrvision s well stocked with anti- tank guns, far exceed

allocation for a Grenadierdivision

your guns so you can maximise their fields o fire

devastating losses to your opponent's tanks The

PaK40 anti-tank guns are ideal for ambush ing enemy

from concealing terrain.

LEUTNANT

1\,\

Command

SMG team

Ail -

A A ~ t l

7.5cm PaK40 7 5cm PaK40

UNTEROFFIZIER

A A ~ t l

5cm PaK40

RSO

tractor

ANTI TANK GUN SECTION



STURMKOMP NIE SUPPORT PL TOONS

7 5cm lelG18 and 15cm sIG33 infantry guns of the

Regiment s

13. ompanie

may be few, but they are

; . .

a u n . weapons on defence or when counterattacking. Move

r,...,.

.........

-. inability to

maintain

their fire over a prolonged

is more than overcome by their ability to provide

support to the

assault troops.

LEUTNANT

~ \

~ ; t

Command

SMG team

Observer

Rifle team

Q SECTION

7.5cm lelG18

gun

7.

5cm lelG18

gun

Horse-drawn limber

INFANTRY GUN PLATOON

them up to pin down the enemy, or take out enemy

or

dig them in to help defend against Soviet armour.

LEUTNANT

~ \

J l

Command SMG

team

Kfz

15 field car

:1.1[.

I

. ..

Observer

Rifle

team Observer

Rifle team

~ ~ - - ~ ~ - -

2cm sGW43

3 ton truck

12cm sGW43

3 ton truck

mortar mortar

~ ~ - - ~ ~ - -

2cm sGW43

3 ton truck

12cm sGW43 3 ton

truck

mortar mortar



PIONEER PL TOON

~ - - A \ ~

6 0

Pioneer Platoon

More

often

than not the

Begleit troops

would form

together

to

operate separately

from their

assault guns.

f he Company

HQ and at

least one Combat Platoon have

Begleit Assault Rifle teams a

StuG

Batterie player may form

a separate Begleit Platoon. his Begleit Platoon is formed by

removing the Begleit Assault Rifle teams from the Company

HQ

and

all of he Combat Platoons

and

grouping them into

a single platoon.

f ou

choose

to do this the Begleit Assault Rifle team from

the Company

HQ becomes

the Platoon

Command

team.

Begleit Assault Rifle teams from a

StuG

Platoon taken

as

a

Divisional Support Platoon are no t

part

of he main battery

and can not

join

the Begleit Platoon.

While

aboard,

the

Begleit troops

man the

assault gun s

hull

machine

gun, freeing

the

gun s crew

to concentrate

on

providing

cannon

support.

A StuG G or StuH4 assault gun with a Begleit Assault Rifle

team mounted

on

it may fire its hullMG at the same time as

its hull-mounted main guns.

he

Begleit Assault Rifle team

may still ire its Assault rifles

as

normal.

ARMOURED

I

~

..

Heavy Tank Platoon •

ARMOURED

.

SluG Platoon

RMOURED

. Tank hunter

Platoon

INF NTRY

~ - - A \ ~

Sturm Platoon

INF NTRY

~ - - A \ ~ . . . . . .

Motorised Scout Platoon

ARTILLERY

Heavy Mortar Platoon

~ Artillery

Battery

ARTILLERY

Heavy rtillery Battery

ROCKET ARTILLERY

Rocket

Launcher Battery

~ ~

Armoured

Rocket

Launcher \ a

Battery •

HE VY

ANTI AIRCRAFT

~ ~ Heavy

Anti aircraft

Gun

e

~ ~ Platoon •

ANTI AIRCRAFT

~

Anti aircraft

Gun Platoon

t

AIR SUPPORT

Sporadic

Air

Support



MOTIV TION AND SKILL

. , . 1 = .

YII It .

If

The

189. Sturmgeschiitzabteilung has a long history working with the 78. Sturmdivision

and

has earned recognition as an

elite assault

gun

force.

The StuG

assault guns

and

their Begleit escort troops are ready

to

be deployed wherever needed

to

help the

Sturmgrenadiers repel Soviet attacks. A StuG Batterie is rated onfident Veteran.

Sturmgeschutzabteilung,

the 189

th

Assault Gun

has been attached

to 7B Sturmdivision

since

~ c ~ m l e r 1942. It fought

with

the

Sturmdivision during

the

battles

at

Kursk. 1B9

Sturmgeschutzabteilung

was the

to use

Begleit

(pronounced be-glite), or Escort, tank

escort their assault guns.

HAUPTMANN

HAUPTMANN

Company Command StuG G

Begleit team

COMPANY

HQ

STUG B TTERIE HQ

~ ~ ~

Begleit team

HQ

SECTION

StuG G

~ ~ - \

Begleit

team

STUG PLATOON

BEGLEIT

TANK

RIDER

SPECI L

RULES

Begleit Assault Rifle teams are normal Assault Rifle teams with

the following special

rules.

While Begleit Assault Rifle teams are mounted on tanks from their

own platoon, they operate as tank riders

see

pages

44 and

7 of

the

Flames

Of

War

rulebook), butgain the following benefits:

• One team per assault gun can shoot

as if

ismounted

if

he tank

moves

6 /15cm or

less,

but

no

teams

can

shoot

at

all

if

he tank

moves

over 6 /15cm.

•

They

fight in assaults

as

if dismounted (they can roll

to hit

and

be

allocated hits separately from the tank).

f

nly one team

is

mounted

on a tank,

it

has a

3

+

save when

the tank is

hit

instead

of

he normal

5+

Passenger Save,

but

is

automatically Destroyed

if

he

tank

is Destroyed.

Ignore Destroyed Begleit Assault Rifle teams when determining

whether a StuG Platoon

is

below

half

strength

and

needs

to

take a Platoon Morale Check.

Escort troops are assigned to protect their assault gun at all

costs. They spot threats to the vehicle

and

quickly assault

them

before they can cause any harm.

A platoon

with

tanks

and

Begleit Assault Rifle teams carries on

with

its assault after being Pinned own by Defensive Fire,

despite having Infantry teams in the platoon.

f

his happens,

only the tanks fight in the first Assault Combat Round. The

Begleit Assault Rifle teams remain in contact

and

can counter-

attack in subsequent rounds.

The heroic

Begleit tank

riders deal

with

any threat to their

assault guns, even

at

the cost

of

their own lives Remember,

in

assault combat,

you

allocate hits. Therefore,

it

is

best

to

place hits from anti tank teams like pioneers and anti

rifles on your Begleit teams instead of your assault guns.

uring Assault Combat Rounds when the defender allocates

hits, they must allocate a

hit to

each Begleit Assault Rifle team

before they can allocate

any

hits

to

the assault guns.



MOTIV TION ND SK LL

...

YM=

}I

rt .

r1i= ii •

The 78. Sturmdivision

has more support along its portion

of

he line than any other in

rmy

Group Centre. In addition the

501. Schwere Panzerabteilung 50r

Heavy Tank Battalion

is

stationed

in

Orsha

to

help repel Soviet attacks.

Divisional Support platoons are rated

onfidentVeteran.

129

is

a formidable ground-attack aircraft nick

anzerknacker

by the German

Luftwaffe.

Armed

7.5cm main gun from the Panzer

IV

tank, the

is

able to knock

out

any tank in the world

LEUTNANT

LEUTNANT

LEUTNANT

lt •U

Command

SMG

team

Kfz 5

field car

HQ SECTION



eeres

Flakabteilung is

the dedicated anti aircraft

for

our

78.

Sturmdivision.

Use their eight heavy

• t·/ lrcr ft

nd

twelve light anti aircraft guns to put out a

of flak nd bring down even the vaunted Shturmovik

ANTI AIRCRAFT

UN

LEUTNANT

diD

Command SMG team

Kfz

5field car

~ a a a

~ a a a

cm

FlaK38

gun

cm

FlaK38

gun

LEUTNANT

LEUTNANT

Tiger E Tiger E

•

HEAVY TANK

SECTION

HEAVY TANK PLATOON



other Grenadier units, 78. Sturmdivision has

their own

Panzerjiigerabteilung

equipped with

tank-hunters

and

a dedicated

Sturmgeschutz

UJiaiined equipped

and

experienced, the Pioneers are

as

building defences as they are at leading the coun

It; ¢

kiirtg

against the Bolsheviks with their devastating

on

your pioneers to hold tenaciously onto

an

send them

out

to

blunt an

enemy

tank

assault.

makes these well equipped troops

an

indis

to your company

Command Pioneer

Rifle team

ioneer Supply RSO

HQ

SECTION

. .

~ ~ \

~ ~ \

Pioneer Rifle team

Pioneer Rifle

team

~ ~ \

~ ~ \

Pioneer

Rifle

team

Pioneer

Rifle

team

~ ~ \ ~ ~ \

UNTEROFFIZIER

~ ~ \

~ ~ \

~ ~ \

Pioneer Rifle

team

Pioneer Rifle team Pioneer Rifle

team

PIONEER SQU D

PIONEER

PLATOON

ou

may replace up to one Pioneer Rifle team

per

Pioneer

quad with a Flame-thrower team

at

the start

of

he game

before deployment.



... .

pu. . .. vmon

has three regiments of light 1O.5cm

able

t

bring a

storm of

fire

down on the

Bolsheviks.

have been reorganised

and

are ready

to brush

aside

t.

S

c viets as they

try

to overrun our Sturmgrenadiers

10.5cm

leFH18

howitzers will efficiently

disrupt the

advances. Use the artillery on heavy targets

and

free

your lighter weapons to deal with advancing infantry.

the

importance

of our

stretch

of

the front XXVII

has supplied

the Sturmgrenadiers with

ample

of the heavier 15cm sFH 18 howitzers to destroy

most stubborn targets. In an emergency they can also

even the heaviest Soviet

armour with

direct fire.

HAUPTMANN

HAUPTMANN

Command

SMG team

Staff team

Observer

Horse drawn

Rifle team wagon

HQ

SECTION

.Horse drawn limber

•

10.5cm

leFH18

Horse drawn limber

•

Horse drawn limber

GUN SECTION

ARTILLERY

BATTERY

HAUPTMANN

H UPTM NN

Command

SMG

team

Staff team

~ ~

Observer

Rifle team

wagon

HQ

SECTION

~ ~

15cm sFH18

~ ~ ~

Horse drawn limber

5cm

sFH18

Horse d

rawn limber

•

~ U ~

15cm sFH18

~ ~ ~

Horse drawn limber

5cm

sFH18

Horse drawn limber

•



Nebelwerfer Regiment has provided artillery support

Sturmdivision since peration Zitadelle and contin-

lend its 15cm rockets to

our

troops along the front at

the launchers to give them protection from counter-

fire. The 15cm rockets will yield spectacular results

used to smash

the

Bolshevik advances.

dozens

of

Nebelwerfer launchers supporting the line

morale will shatter from the terrifying sound of

Aufklarungsabteilung will provide you

with

field reconnaissance. Use them to discover enemy

positions s well

s

to scout ahead of your Stu

..

A 1\

ib

i

Command Kfz 15 field car

SMG

team

::1.••1

r

~ ; t - ,

Observer Kubelwagen

Rifle team

~ ~ ; t

15cm NW41 rocket launcher

d Kfz

half track

15cm

NW41

rocket launcher

Sd Kfz half track


Sd

Kfz

half track

. .

A A ~ ; t

7 5cm PaK40 gun

d Kfz

half track

a

t

•

Observer Kubelwagen

Rifle team


Sd Kfz

half track

~ t

15cm

NW41

rocket launcher

d

Kfz

half track

~ ~ ; t

15cm

NW41

rocket launcher

Sd Kfz half track

LEUTNANT

~ 1 \

S

1 •

Command MG

team

Kubelwagen

with MG

• •

••

••

~ 1 \ ~

s

1 •

~ 1 \ ~

s

a •

MG team

Kubelwagen

MG team

Kubelwagen

with

MG

with MG

~ 1 \ ~

S

•1 •

~ 1 \ ~

S

1

•

MG

team Kubelwagen

MG team

with MG

MOTORISED SCOUT PLATOON



~ 7 : P : r ~ J J , r f , > r

crews fire a

bomb rdment

nd

then

quickly

r l l n l r ' their vehicles to avoid counter battery fire from

artillery.

When an Armoured Rocket Artillery Battery successfully

rolls

a Stormtrooper move t lso

removes

any smoke trails

associated with the battery even i the battery does not

HAUPTMANN

i l

•

•

Command Kfz

15 field car

SMG team

. '::(.1[.

' ' ~ ~

5cm PaK40 gun

d Kfz half track

•

.JIla-

tt

I.

Observer Klibelwagen

Rifle team

~

Panzerwerfer 42

~

Panzerwerfer

42

~

Panzerwerfer 42

~

Panzerwerfer

42

.

ttl

3·

Observer Klibelwagen

Rifle team

~

Panzerwerfer 42

~

Panzerwerfer

42

~

Panzerwerfer 42

~

Panzerwerfer 42



18. Sturmdivision is responsible for securing

the

front

around Orsha

s

well

s

the town itself. Using the swamps

marshes in

the

region, German pioneers have built up an

~ Q J r e s s i v e

network

of trenches, with each line

connected by

unication trenches

to

facilitate

rapid

reinforcements.

2

ANTI TANK

BUNKERS

150 points

industrious pioneers have fortified

the

cities along

the

using a series

of

concrete

bunkers connected together

trenches.

these heavily camouflaged

strongpoints

together

to

Soviet

tank

assaults. When carefully

planned,

the line

withstand

a

tremendous

amount of

punishment

10 points

ed wire

is

a cheap and effective way

to

keep

the

enemy

try from assaulting your own positions.

TO 16

TRENCH

LINES AND

GUN

PITS

5 points

5 points

50 points

minefields have been sown into the soil

with

both

.ie:uelrmme 43 anti-tank mines

and the

pernicious S-Mine 35

ersonnel mines.

than

construct

minefields, pioneers can construct

pooby traps using mines, grenades and even aircraft bombs

are perfect for helping

to

defend buildings

in

a

town

delay the opposing army.

you deploy y ~ u fortifications you may exchange any

all

ofyour minefields for booby

traps You

may deploy eight

traps

for

each

minefield exchanged in this

way

Wire and minefields will keep the Soviets busy

s

they try to

make their

way through

multiple

layers

of

obstacles.

Should

they be lucky

enough to

get

into the town, the

pioneers

have

prepared

the

buildings

and

roads

with

booby traps

which will breed

paranoia s they

go between buildings

oTO 4

HMG BUNKERS

BUNKER

HM in Open Bunker

• Upgrade to

an

HM in a fully enclosed Bunker

40

points

A well placed machine-gun in a bunker is an ideal fortifi-

cation

to

help keep

infantry off the

heavier bunkers. They

utilise interlocking fields

of

fire

to

force

enemy infantry to

find alternate routes to

their

objectives

oTO 2 ANTI TANK OBSTACLES

FORTIFICATION

Anti tank Obstacle

100

p 0 1 : n t s l f D ~

Anti-tank

barriers can range

from

concrete ditches

to

logs

driven into

the earth to

stall tanks in vulnerable positions.

Prepare

multiple

lines

of

trenches across your

front line

so

that

your

men can

fire on the enemy while protected.

Connect

these lines

with

communications trenches

to

allow

reserves to

advance quickly and safely while

under

fire. Use

Gun

Pits

to

protect

your

vulnerable guns

from enemy

fire.

When placingfortifications place

all

booby traps in buildings

in

your deployment area

and

No

Mans

Land.

While friendly teams are in the same building as a booby trap

it is inactive. t the end ofany Step when no friendly teams are

in the building the booby trap becomes active.

Each booby-trapped build ing has a minefield inside it. Follow

the rules for minefields

found

on pages 213

and 214

in the

rulebook with the following exceptions:

Since troops are typically unaware of heir existence booby

trapped buildings do not require a Motivation Test to enter

• Mine flail and roller tanks cannot clear booby traps

Once a booby trap has exploded remove it rom play.

Remember, when dealing with large buildings, to treat

multiple rooms

each

s

separate buildings. Refer

to

page

222

of

the

rulebook to

learn more about large buildings in Flames



According to German defensive doctrine towns and villages are considered the ideal

strongpoint. The

more

important the

town

on

the strategic scale, the

more

heavily it is fortified.

In the

case

of Orsha

pioneers have

had

several months

of preparation to truly make

the city a

esterplatz

(or fortress

town). Trenches are dug in the streets and improvised booby traps are placed all over the city. Soviet troops will face a

well planned and prepared defence

in

Orsha.

The outer perimeter of the city is

abandoned

due to its

vulnerability from direct artillery support. By placing

screening troops and booby traps in this area,

the

Soviets

will be

worn

and

exhausted

just

as

they hit our main line

of defence

Mines

are disguised

along

the

obvious routes

of

attack.

Anti-personnel

and

anti- I--=,......,...fi ..

tank mines are interspersed 1 I \ ? i ~ i i C 1

to maximise casualties

amongst enemy troops.

towncentre. Relyon these troops

to halt any Soviet advances

in

the

city. Further reserves

outside

the town

are available,

but are normally occupied

ting encirclement.

s a last resort, assault guns are

sent in

when the

situation

turns

desperate. Otherwise they

wait

outside the city, taking whatever shots

they

can

Intuitively placed

booby

traps

the enemy to use extra

caution

in their

advance. Placing them in both the outer

and inner city areas adds to the enemy's

increasing paranoia

as

they move forward.



· ' ,. . . .,.' , TANK

·

TEAMS

·

. ,

.'

,. -'

Armour

Mobility

Front

Side

Top

Equipment and Notes

Range ROF Anti-tank Firepower

UL GUNS AND TANKS

Fully-tracked

3

Hull MG, Protected ammo, Schiirzen.

32"/80cm

2 11

3+ Hull mounted.

Fully-tracked

3

1

Hull MG, Protected ammo, Schiirzen.

32"/80cm 2

10

2+ Hull mounted, Smoke.

Fully-tracked

9

8 2

Co-ax MG, Hull MG, Protected ammo, Slow tank

Wide

40"/100cm 2 13 3+ Slow traverse.

Fully-tracked 1 0 0

MMG.

32"/80cm

2 12

3+

Hull mounted.

Fully-tracked 1 1

0

M MG, Protected ammo.

8.8cm PaK43 gun 40 /100cm

2

16

3+ Hull mounted.

ARTILLERY SP)

Half-tracked

0 0 0 M MG, Armoured rocket launcher.

64'' J60cm

3

4+

Rocket launcher Smoke bombardment.

Half-tracked

24"/60cm

4

6

4+

Anti-aircraft·

16"/40cm

3

2 6 ROF

1 i other weapons fire.

-

.. ' ,

. .

. ,, ') U T M S . , . .

, -

Mobility

Range ROF Anti-tank Firepower Notes

Man-packed

24 /60cm

6 2

6

ROF 2 when pinned down.

Man-packed 40 /100cm

2 6

Smoke bombardment.

Light

56 /140cm

3 3+

Light

16 /40cm 2

9 3+

Gun shield, Smoke.

48 /120cm

3

6

Heavy 16 /40cm

13

1+

Bunker

buster, Gun shield.

56 1140cm

4

2+

Light

16 /40cm

4

5

5+

Anti-aircraft,

Gun

shield, Turntable.

Medium 32 /80cm 2 12

3+

Gun shield.

Immobile 40 /100cm 2

13

3+

Gun shield, Heavy anti-aircraft, Turntable.

Immobile

24 /60cm

10

2+

Gun

shield, Smoke.

72 /180cm 4

4+

Smoke bombardment.

Immobile

24 /60cm

13

1+

Bunker buster, Smoke.

80 /200cm

5

2+

Smoke bombardment.

Light

64 /160cm

3

4+

Rocket launcher, Smoke bombardment.



.

. ,

INF NTRY

TE MS

Range

ROF

Anti-tank

16 /40cm

2

16 /40cm

3

2

4 /10cm

3

8 /20cm

3

8 /20cm

2

11

4 /10cm

2

cannot shoot

Firepower

6

6

6

6

5

6

Notes

Full

ROF

when moving.

Full ROF when moving.

Tank Assault 5.

Flame-thrower.

Moves as a Heavy Gun team.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DDITION L TR INING ND EQUIPMENT

4 /lOcm

12

5

Tank Assault 6,

Cannot

shoot in the Shooting Step if

the Movement Step.

--------------------------

Pioneer teams are rated as Tank Assault 4.

.

, . ,

.

TR NSPORT

TE MS

'

Vehicle

Weapon

Mobility

Range

Front

RO

Armour

Side

Top

Anti tank Firepower

Equipment

and Notes

Jeep

Jeep

Wheeled

Optional Passenger-fired Hull

MG.

Sd Kfz 7

{8t}

half-track or

rSd Kfz 11 {3t}

half-track

RSO

Wagon

Half-tracked

Fully-tracked

Wagon

Slow tank.

.

. . , . , IRCR FT ·

,

Weapon

To Hit Anti-tank Firepower

Cannon

2

9

4+

Cannon

4 15

3

MG

3

6

5

Bombs

4

5

1

3

4

Notes

Flying Tank

Flying Tank, No HE



'The Soviet llya

Gvardeyskiy Armiya

(11

th Guards

Army)

and

. lya

Armija

(31't

Army) fell

upon Orsha on 26

June,

1944

:,

solitary Soviet

tank

brigade from

the

2ya Tankovy Korpuj

nd

Tank

Corps) swept

around

to the west

of

the

city,

com-

pleting the encirclement. The

German remnants

of General

Volkers'

XXVII Armeekorps

(27

th

Army

Corps) were

now

'trapped inside

the

city lnd prepared for a tenacious defence

of the town.

The ,final struggle for the city began with

the

Soviet 31 t

Army

tying

down

Volkers' reserve troops outside

of Orsha

while

the

11th

Guards

Army

crashed

into

the city

on

the

e ~ e n i n g

of 26

June. The initial assault faltered due

to the

defenders'

clever use

of

booby traps

and

fortified positions

throughout

the city. Fighting

continued through

the

night,

adding

. another layer

of

complexity

to an

already difficult mission.

In

the

morning, XXVIIArmeekorps

was

ordered to hold

along

the west of the Dnepr River,

just south of Orsha,

while ,

the

78. Sturmdivision remained in

the

city to defend

the

town

centre. The

main

objective

of

the

Sturmdivision

was

to

~ U l U L < : U u control

of the

raHway

station and to

keep that vital

safe in the event

of

a withdrawal.

Orsha

is

now under assault from

the

Soviet

war

The Soviets will

stop at nothing to

seize

the

streets

The fate

of

the

town

will be decided here

U r l s l ~ l l l p r h t at

Orsha scenario uses

the

Prepared Positions

Reserves

special rules.

has designated

Orsha

as a Festerplatz meaning

that

be held

at

all costs The beleaguered

but

tenacious

O?ftl lrr.ruitvision must conduct a tight defence and repel the

Soviets

its location

as

a railway centre,

it

is absolutely critical

the

town of Orsha be captured. Securing the railroad

allows supplies to be

brought

forward for our break-

" , - ~ . . .

,

. a.ur German observers have been using

the

station's

tower to harass

our

entire advance

with

artillery fire.

must

capture the water tower so that our forces

can

without

delay.

q p a ~ / 1 2 0 c m by4'/120cm table as

shown

on page 69.

three small ,pockets.

The

78. Sturmdivision still

held the

town

centre, despite repeated

attempts

to

dislodge

them.

A

•

quickly assembled battle group made

of remnant

units

held

the railroqd several kilometres

outside the

city,

and

another

tattered

battle

group

attempted to

break

out to

the

south

without

success. '

A

coordinated attack by

several divisions from

the

11 th Guards

Army

finally dislodged 78.

Sturmdivision and

a

bloody

street-to-street fight unfolded as

the

Grenadiers

fought

to

hold the

railway station. / '

Meanwhile,

at the

railway station, elements of

the

Sturmdivision

established a

prepared

defence

of

the area.

The

railway

provided the

Grenadiers

with the

hope of safety.

If

they could hold the station

long enough

to

allow the

last train

to be loaded with

the

wounded, they could then

withdraw out of

the

<;:ity

and

find a point

to

break out of

the

encirclemen .

The

Sturmgrenadjers succeeded

in buying enough time

for the

train to depart began

to

fall back.

They

had

managed to

hold

the

city

until the

last, but

not

all

of the

troops

managed

to escape.

Orsha

finally fell

to the

Soviet

onslaught in the

early

morning

hours of 27

June:

2.

The German

player deploys

their platoons

behind the Main Road,

in

area • .

3.

The

Soviet player now deploys

their

force a n 1 W t l p n ~

area : and more than

16 /40cm from

enemy teams

Line

of

Sight, or more than

8

20cm

from

teams

Line

of

Sight.

BEGINNING THE B TTLE

1

All

German

troops

on the

table

start the

game

in

Positions, so

they

are

in

Foxholes and Gone to

Ground.

2.

The

Soviet player has

the

first

turn.

ENDING THE B TTLE

The

battle ends:

•

At the start of the German

turn 11, or

If the

Soviet player starts

their

turn in possession of

objective.

DECIDING

WHO

WO

The

Soviet player wins

if

they

capture the

railroad

or

the water

tower. They have

prevented the

fascists

escaping and

the

city is captured. Soviet

supply

lines

open and the offensive

can

continue

Otherwise,

the German

player wins. They've repelled

Soviet attack,

having

held

Orsha open

for

the train



Do not worry

if

our scenario table does

not

exactly match the diagram. Sim?ly try to make

t b l ~ as

close to the map

as

the terrain

you

have

will

allow.

f ou

40

not

have a city-fight table simply place a small vtllage place

of

he large

b u i l d i n g ~ nd

treat the Soviet deployment area

as

.bullet-proof

cover.

Treat the entire table as .concealm

g

terrat1 .

nslaught at

Orsha is

the final scenario in the

Orsha mini

campaign.

Whoever

wins this scenario wins the

carnp liliQ

results from the Breakthrough Assault scenario affect this scenario as follows:

If the Germans

won

the Breakthrough Assault scenario,

they have disrupted the Soviet battle plan

and the

forces

at

Orsha

are

not

entirely encircled. Reinforcements

are now able to help in the defence of the city.

A full-strength Sturm Platoon, fully equipped with

Panzerfaust anti tank launchers,

and

a StuG

platoon

with

three

StuG

G assault guns are available and held

If

the

Soviet player won the Breakthrough

scenario,

the 11 th

Guards

Army

exploits the s

and

manages to swing around Orsha and

Add a full-strength Udarny Strelkovy Company

two HMG teams

and

a Komissar to

the

Tyazhelyy

Company

held

in

Reserve. These platoons

Reserve are now Delayed Reserves,

but

may come on



6YA

GVARDEYSKIY

STRELKOVY

DIVIZIYA

II. Batalon, 49y Gvardeyskiy Strelkovy Polk

4ya Rota, 49y Gvardeyskiy Strelkovy Polk

5ya Rota, 49y Gvardeyskiy Strelkovy Polk

2ya Mashinpushka Rota, 49y Gvardeyskiy

Strelkovy Polk

2ya Minomet Rota, 49y Gvardeyskiy Strelkovy Polk

1ya Avtomat Rota, 49y Gvardeyskiy Strelkovy Polk

2ya Rota, 37ya Gvardeyskiy Tyazhelyy

Samokhodnaya Polk

ZAPAS KORPUS

1ya Rota, 63ya Gvardeyskiy Tyazhelyy Tankovy Polk

1. KOMPANIE, 14 STURMREGIMENT

Kompaniegruppe

1 Zug, 1 Kompanie

3. Zug, 1 Kompanie

4. Zug, l Kompanie

KAMPFGRUPPE

195

STURMREGIMENT

2. Zug, 3. Kompanie

2.Zug, 4. Kompanie

51

WERFERABTEILUNG

1 Batterie

501

SCHWERE PANZERABTEILUNG

2. Zug, 1 Kompanie

FESTERPLATZ ORSH

1 Batterie, 293. Heeres Flakabteilung

UDARNY STRELKOVY BATALON

FEARLESS

TRAINED)

Battalion HQ with Anti-tank Platoon only).

Udarny Strelkovy

Company

at full strength, with Komissar

and

two Maksim HM G teams).

Udarny Strelkovy

Company

at full strength, with Komissar

and two Maksim

HMG

teams).

Udarny Machine-gun

Company

at full strength).

Udarny Mortar Company at full strength).

Shock Submachine-gun

Company

at full strength, with

Komissar team).

Guards Heavy Assault Gun

Company

with two ISU-152

heavy assault guns).

RESERVES

Gvardeyskiy Tyazhelyy Tankovy Company with two

IS-2 obr 1943 heavy tanks).

STURMKOMPANIE

CONFIDENT

VETERAN)

Company

HQ with both Command teams equipped

with Panzerfaust anti-tank launchers and two

Panzerschreck teams)

Sturm Platoon at full strength, with all squads equipped

with Panzerfaust anti-tank launchers)



Sturm Heavy Platoon at full strength)

STURMKOMPANIE



Assault Machine-gun Platoon at full strength)

ROCKET ARTILLERY BATTALION

. Rocket Launcher Battery with four 15cm

NW4

rocket

launchers) .

501

ST

HE VY T NK

BATTALION

Heavy Tank Platoon with two Tiger I E heavy tanks).

CITY DEFENCES

Light Anti-aircraft Gun Platoon with two 2cm FlaK38

anti-aircraft guns).



Orsha s

population

and strategic location facilitated

the

use

of

paved roads

within

the city limits. These were built up

by the Germans

to

sustain the city as a military

supply

hub.

Generally, all roads and streets on

the

map are wide enough

to

allow vehicles

to

pass

with plenty

of

room

to

spare.

However, larger tanks,

such as

Tiger and 1S-2 heavy tanks

and

1SU heavy assault guns, are usually too wide

to

pass each

other on the same road.

THE R IL Y RD

Rail yard features make ideal

strongpoints

for

defending

infantry

as

well as providing cover for

an

advancing

platoon.

Many obstacles force attacking soldiers

to

take more risks

due to fierce nests

of

resistance at every turn.

Towering piles ofcoal, used

to

fuel the dozens oflocomotives,

provide great vantage

points

for observers. Boxes,

loaded

with

various cargo,

lend

cover for infantry manoeuvring

around

the yard. Large crates, rail wagons (train cars), locomotives,

parked trucks and loading

equipment

give a little

more

cover

for larger vehicles

and

guns. Some,

such

as locomotives and

large stacks of boxes, are quite resistant

to

gunfire and can

give teams hiding amongst

them

Bulletproof Cover.

Have a

look

at your terrain and

determine how

each terrain

feature provides Concealment and BulletproofCover.

ther intense fight in Vitebsk,

just

north

of

Orsha. The city was located in a salient, surrounded on three

sides by the Soviet 1 t Baltic and

yd

Byelorussian Fronts.

Defending the

city was

the

4.

and

6

Luftwaffe Felddivisionen

and

the 206 and 246 Infanteriedivisionen

Using this scenario you can recreate

the

desperate Battle

of

Vitebsk using a

German

Grenad ier force.

The Luftwaffe

troops

fought

with

distinction

and partici

The railway

station is

the centre

of

the rail yard, and

it

be

the

defining feature.

The main

building has two stories

and several large rooms inside.

Since this is a much larger building

than

usual, refer

the Street

Fighting

rules on page 221

of

the

Flames

rulebook

when

laying

out

the railway station.

Remember that each

room

inside the

station counts

a separate building

when

shooting a weapon

with

b u n k ~ ~

buster

weapons.

The

roof, on the

other hand is

not a

nor a building, so teams

on

the roofwould be in open terrai

Depending

on

the type

of

roof, teams on the roof might

be

Concealed

and in Bulletproof Cover

R IL Y RD TR CKS

A vehicle

attempting

to

cross a railroad

would encounter it

as Difficult

Going.

However, where the railroad is

built

into

the street, it should still be considered a road.

Typically, railway embankments in this scenario are not b

up enough to Conceal tanks hiding behind them. However.. ;

infantry

may

crawl

up to the

rail and make use

of it

Concealment.

offensive. As such, a

LUHwa rre

force

would

be

rated Confident

Veteran.

The

Western

Allies also recognised the importance

of

junctions and key supply towns. Several major fights, si·mi.lar tC

to

Orsha broke

out in Italy,

Normandy and southern

France

German Grenadiers heavily fortified towns

and

prepared

to

defend

them against the Allied incursion.

Use the Onslaught at Orsha scenario with British or American



HENSCHEL HS 29

P NZERKN CKER

Following its involvement

in the

Spanish Civil' War,

the

Luftwaffi

or

German

Air Force, decided that , it needed a

purpose-built close ground-attack aircraft. A

Henschel

.

eventually

~ n

the contract

and the Hs

129

' P a n z e r k n a c k t e ~ r ' ' ' ' - ' ' '

(or,

Tank

Buster') entered service

in December

1941.

The first variants of

the Hs

129 proved to

e

underpowered.

Mter

the fall of France, German engineers fitted a pair

of

French

Gnome-Rhone 14M

radial engines

and the Hs

129

Panzerknacker

began its

stunning

military service career.

With

these

e n g i n ~ s the Hs

129B2 was

equipped with

two

7.92mm m a c h i n e - ~ u n s

and two

20mm

cannon

in

nose.

Another version replaced

the

3cm cannon

pod

with array

of

four additional

7.62mm

machine guns, for a total of six

machine-guns and two 20mm cannons.

By 1944, it was apparent that the 3.7cm cannon was

too old

for tank-busting duty, and the

Hs

129B3 received a massive

firepower upgrade. The

3.7cm cannon pod

was replaced_

with

the 7.5t:m gun from a Panzer

IV

The

7.5cm gun

was fed by an auto-loader systerh with ini

tially twelve rounds,

which

was later expanded to

26

rounds.

The

cannon

was fed from an

ammunition bin behind the

cockpit. A sophisticated hydraulic system absorbed

the

massive recoil of

the

gun. Despite this, however,

the

cannon

would slow

the

aircraft

down

to dangerous stall speeds after

firing more

than

three rounds

With

the new gun, the Panzerknacker could destroy any

armoured vehicle

in the

field

Origin: Henschel Flugwerke AG

Crew: One

First flight: Early 193_9

Service delivery: December 1941

Number produced: 841 B-Series (879 total)

Engines: Two 14-cylinder Gnome-Rhone

14M 04/05

Dimensions:

Wing

span:

46

ft 7 in (14.2m)

Length:

31

ft 11% in (9.75m)

Height:

10ft

8 in (3.25m)

Wing surface area: 312 sq ft (29 m

2

)

Weights:

5511b

of

bombs, 2x 7.92mm Machine-guns,

2x 20mm cannons.

Hs 29 B2 R2 GUN

PO

F

2x 13mm Machine-guns,

2x 20mm cannons,

3cm

MK

101' gun.

Hs

29

B2 R3 GUN PO


2x 20mm cannons,

3.7cm BK 3.7 gun.


2x 20mm cannons,

7.5cm BK 7.5 gun'.

Performance:

Maximum speed: 253 mph (408 km/h)

Initial climb: 1,390 ft/min (425 m/min)

Service ceiling: 29,530

t

(9000m)

Range: 547 miles (880km)



German Camo Dark

Green

797)

Alternate helmet colour

Middlestone

882)

Alternate helmet colour

Flat Flesh 955)

Exposed flesh

Black 950)

Webbing, boots

Green Grey

886)

Pouches breadbag

Beige

Brown

875)

Gun

stocks, tool handles

Gunmetal 863)

Gun metal, tool handles

arsh patte rn camouflage

German Camo Beige 821)

Base colour

Luftwaffe Camo

Green

823)

Camouflage colour

Luftwaffe

Camo Medium

Brown 826)

Camouflage colour

German Field Grey

830)

Trousers

tunic

Green Grey 886)

Gaiters



During the

deceptively

calm

weeks

leading up

Operation

'

Bagration,

the busy Soviets have

amassed their armies for

the

greatest offensive yet

f t r l , p " T ' ' l l T o C ' n on

the

Ostfront.

years

after the German

invasion

of he

Soviet

the

Red Army stands

as

battle-hardened

~ " " ' I J " ' " ready

to

finally push the fascist invaders

of

Mother

Russia

the Germans have

not been

idle.

They

spent months

preparing.

Fortress towns are

pnnected

by

intricate

trenches

and bunkers in

~ t i c i p t i o n of the Soviet attack.

screaming barrage of shells and rockets signals

beginning of Operation Bagration, yet the

J

\;Jerman defenders hold fast under the terrorizing

Soviet

8

th

Guards

Rifle

Corps

charges

forward

capture the fortress town ofOrsha with its heavy

tanks

and specialised assault groups. Here

•

History of the battles for Orsha.

•

History and complete organisation

of

the

8ya Gvardeyskiy Strelkovy Kor us well

with specialised

assault

tanks,

massive

batteries,

and

determined

shock troops.

•

Options to

field a

Soviet

Shtraf

Batalon

Gvardeyskiy yYazbelyy Tankovy Polk

and

Udarny Strelkovy Batalon.

•

History

and

complete organisation of he

German

78. Sturmdivision. Assemble your storm

with

heavy weapons, assault

guns,

tank

riders and

plenty

of Panzerfaust anti-tank launchers

• Options to field a German Sturmkompanie and a

Stu

Batterie.

•

Follow

FeldwebelDietrich

Uthoffas

he

charges

into

the jaws of Soviet

steel, or

Ley enant

A V

Pyl'cyn

Flames of War - Stalin's Onslaught

Documents