'Should have turned left at Rymzeekorsakov.' (WW2 Russian Front)

[has.been]

In an effort to play more games us retired few are involved in a
trial period of playing bi-weekly on a Thursday. Today was the
second game & the first at my place.
I  decided to put the whole thing on. This meant several things:-
The lads just needed to turn up,
I could set it all up in advance,
I could leave it set up & take it down at my leisure AND
it could be a complete secret. (sound of maniacal laughter from
the Umpire, OK Me.

The original headcount was going to be seven (a squeeze, but doable)
but Vodkafan fell ill this morning. The idea had been 6 players & me as
Umpire. Nobody ever goes with plan 'A' anyway.

The players roles were decided by where they sat (I now took the last
vacant seat in place of Vodkafan. This resulted in:-
Lead Russian (One squad in a Dingo & Carrier) = Flatpack (Bob)
2nd Russian (One squad in a Grasshopper)= JC
NKVD Enforcers (One squad in a tracked Artillery prime mover)=Dicemaster, (Garry)
Russians arriving from a different direction (One squad in a truck)=Dave,
2nd Germans (One squad in a lorry)= Westbury, (Ian)
1st Germans (One squad in a lorry) =me. (Has.been)

Some pictures to set the scene.
The Village of Rymzeekorsakov.
As the front is collapsing all around & troops are on the move,
the villagers have fled to the nearby woods taking their livestock with them.
To please some observers they left behind their wagons & carts.

[has.been]

Rules.
I pulled out of the pile of WW2 rules the venerable
WRG 1925-1975 Infantry Action.
A fairly simple set, if in fact  involving a LOT of dicing for both
shooting and morale. Time which often seemed to no point.
Lots of shooting calculations followed by who (if anyone) did it
hit calculations which most often resulted in...no hits!
This did however lead to lots of moral tests across the table,
which resulted in...no restriction most of the time.
Still the basis is uncomplicated and as each player had a QRS
(2 sides A4 & all the necessary rules) they could get on with it.

Scenario.
The German front line is collapsing & the Russians are breaking through.
Our two German players are in a rush to get out of the pocket before
they end up in the bag, or worse. The lead (Me) has the only map &
knows he must take the left at the crossroads in the village.
The second German has been told to follow the first lorry.

The Russians have been given various mission briefs.
Lead = 'Hans is retreating. He must NOT be allowed to get away & regroup.
            Attack, attack! ATTACK!!! For the Motherland!'
2nd= Killing Nazis is all well & good, it pleases the Commisars & the NKVD,
         BUT no point dying yourself is there? If you don't have to risk your neck...
NKVD=There have been TOO many slackers on this Front. Now WE have
           Hans on the run we MUST keep up the PRESSURE.
           Eliminate any backsliders!
Late arriving= Avenge yourselves on the retreating Nazis!
                     No greater glory than falling with your face to the enemy.

Let the carnage commence.

First the Russians.
Most came from the talent that is...VODKAFAN, who missed seeing them in action

[has.been]

Next the MIGHTY WERMACHT (on the run I'm afraid)

[MaleGriffin]

Lovely terrain! I can't wait for the next installment! I hope Vodkafan feels better soon!

[has.been]

Praise must go to the players who each played their part.
Dave rushed headlong for the crossroads as, 'I don't know
the Germans & other Russians are heading there.
Ian followed me blindly until...well wait & see about that.
Bob was determined to stop my truck, while JC made no
great effort to get into the war effort, which quite irked
Garry's NKVD.

No big surprise chaos reigned supreme.
Bob slammed the breaks on the Dingo & sprayed my lorry with
smg fire, to no great effect, but it did scare me.
I swung the beast of a vehicle around the corner of the crossroads
only to crash headlong into Dave's truck load of Sailors. Ian right
behind me slammed on his breaks & quickly dismounted his squad.
I threw a couple of grenades into the Dingo which encouraged Bob to
exit pretty darn quickly!
Dave & I then piled into each other for a ferocious melee that was to last
several moves. I got the worst of it, not helped when Bob's squad joined in!
Ian saw the writing on the wall (no not the Russian graffiti) and headed
behind the buildings towards our destination. Thankfully he noticed I was
heading left when that crazy Russian crashed into me.

[has.been]

Lovely terrain! I can't wait for the next installment! I hope Vodkafan feels better soon!

Thanks MG. I too hope VF recovers soon.

Down to 50% of my squad I...run for it. Ian's lorry is still OK,
so I hope to use it to get away. Dave & Bob pursue me shooting
all the time. I managed to get all three into the cab & start reversing.
Then one gets hit. He is on the left...what side do Russian truck
driver sit on? Thanks to Bob (Auto expert) who tells me it is on the left.
My driver has bought it!!!!!  A move to unceremoniously kick him out
& start up again. More bullets spray the cab but no hits.  I manage to
force the lorry over Russian 'garden' & midden heaps etc. I thought
about trying to rescue Ian, but he was making an heroic last stand.
Assailed by both JC & some of Bob's squad he fell under...
 the boots of the Bolsheviks.
Meanwhile a mini Russian Civil war was going on.
The NKVD considered JC's 'tactical flanking maneuver' to be an attempt
at desertion & fired on them. This escalated into their own firefight with
JC throwing as much lead back as he was getting.

[has.been]

Some more pictures.

134 & 5 = The Universal Carrier from our allies the British.
137 = The NKVD sweep through the village (after the battle &
          it is not clear if they are after Germans or backsliding Russians)
141 = The Locust
142 & 3 = The Dingo, also from our British brothers.

The players did say they enjoyed the game, well I wouldn't let them
leave until they did.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Wow! Epically brilliant mate! 🫡

[Norm]

Very nicely done.

[Digits]

Pah…..still have a few years left till my retirement….not fair!

Glad you guys enjoyed it, table looks great Pete!

[has.been]

Thank you gentlemen. It i nice to hear comments like yours.

[flatpack]

Great fun was had by all at this bust up.
It was a heck of a fight.
We on the Soviet side, were determined to stop the Germans from leaving the motherland ALIVE.

We entered the village in our ARMOURED COLUMN (a dingo, a Bren carrier and a couple of tracked trucks, doesn’t really count as an armoured column  lo)


The German units were trying to move through the village in their trucks, but were blocked by Soviet vehicles.


Soviet troops entered the town from all directions.




Every man for himself at the crossroads, as German and Soviet troops fought to gain control.


In every backyard, firefights were happening.


Germans tried their best to keep the Red wave at bay, but it wasn’t happening.

Germans taking up positions. Waiting for the wave.


Soviets massing for the attack.


In the end, it was a defeat for the German forces, and a resounding victory for the Soviets.

Great game, played in the right spirit.
Thanks to Has.been (Pete) for organising and putting it on.

[has.been]

Thanks for the pictures & comments Bob.
With so many around the table I wasn't able to view the
game from your viewpoint.

[Zingara]

Great looking table Pete, and sounds like chaos ensued with lead flying everywhere - as it should be then :-). Glad to hear you are now getting regular games in!

[Cybergaz]

Many thanks Pete great game and many thanks to Helen for the snacks