Across the Polish border: Belorussian Front operation AAR

[Anatoli]

The desperate defense of the Polish Border Protection Corps (KOP) continued last week as me and David started the "Belorussian Front" operation from my "Poland in Flames" campaign book.

The date is still September 17th just like in our last battle, but this time we had a custom scenario as opposed to running something
out of the main FoW rulebook.

"Across the Polish border" is the first scenario in the Belorussian Front operation, and it's really the most vulnerable flank of the Polish backyard at this point on the timeline. The reserves which had been stationed there had already been shipped to the western front to face the German armies, most of the best equipment had also been stripped from the KOP formations. Cities such as Grodno and Wilno were barely defended at all, and certainly not prepared and reinforced for battle the same way such as Lwów in south-east Poland. In fact, military personnel and equipment had been stripped from the north-east and taken down to the south-eastern parts of the country shortly prior to the Soviet invasion.

Another aspect that made the situation even more impossible along the Belorussian front was the lack of any larger regular army formations left in the area, whereas the south-eastern parts of the country still had the withdrawing remnants of the "Krakow" army and general Kleeberg's "Independent Operational Group Polesie" had already begun its fighting withdrawal south towards Lwów due to German attacks on Brześć.

If you wonder about the lack of Polish commitment in the north-eastern part of the country, it was due to the Polish plan to - in case the shit hit the fan - withdraw whatever forces remained towards the mountainous regions of southern Poland along the shared border with Romania and Hungary, and in that favorable terrain make their stand while waiting for the Allied troops. When the Soviet Union invaded, this plan completely fell apart and Polish troops started to receive orders to evacuate the country instead.
.........

The scenario "Across the Polish border" is quite simple, Polish troops are hit by a Soviet surprise attack at 4AM in the morning. The Soviet player deploys his entire army, the Polish player has 75% on the table, and the rest in Reserve (assuming those units are out on patrol duty). The first turn of the game is played in darkness. The terrain is sparse, it's the outback with wilderness, a road and a solitary farm. Not much cover for the attacker, but neither that much to hide behind for the defender. The Soviet goal is to crush the KOP force and drive onwards into Poland - so the Soviet player wins by breaking the Polish force morale. The Polish player must hold out for 7 turns in order to win, being the only line of defense you have to win time for other forces to prepare their defenses.

1500 points per side, the armies looked like this:

Polish Border Protection Corps (KOP units = Confident/Trained)

KOP HQ
2 KOP infantry companies, with 2 infantry platoons each
1 KOP HMG company, with 2 platoons
1 KOP Cavalry squadron, with a single platoon
1 KOP Bunker section (1x 75mm, 2x HMG bunkers)
1 Piechoty AT-gun platoon (Fearless/Trained)
1 Piechoty Light artillery battery (Fearless/Trained)

Soviet Fast tank company

HQ (BT-5)
BT-5 platoon (4 tanks)
BT-5 platoon (4 tanks)
BA-10 armoured car platoon (5 cars)
Motorized infantry company (with attached HMG, 2 infantry platoons)
45mm AT gun platoon
82mm Mortar platoon

Check the full AAR over at my blog:

http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.se/2013/01/across-polish-border-belorussian-front.html#more