Memoir 44 eastern front

I arrived fresh from a stamina building run at the athletics track to the gaming club with no idea of what we were going to be doing today, and as I saw one of the other two get out of his car without a box of toy soldiers I had the distinct feeling that perhaps I was meant to be doing something for tonights game... but in the end it was all alright and a good game of Memoir 44 the eastern front.

 

I took the Germans, my opponent took the Soviets and the third member of the club served as advisor. It was a scenario from the booklet in which the Germans could win a point for each unit they sucessfully got across the frozen river on the other side of the board, in addition to units destroyed.

 

The set up was good with the two guard divisions of Panzer tanks in the centre flanked on either side by four units of infantry and one unit of enginneers. On the German right too was another Panzer division and the artillery. The russians held the ridge in the centre of the table with four units of infantry and just behind an artillery battery. They also had two infantry units in forward positions at the bottom of a trench line and in the line of forests. On the soviet left, sheltered behind villages and a forest, were two guard divisions of tanks and one normal division along with two infantry units and another artillery battery. On the soviet  right another division of tanks and another unit of infantry held  onto a village, while guarding a village along the frozen river was a unit of infantry.

I opened up the engagement by spearheading my two guard armour divisions straight down the gap between the trench works and the forest, going straight for the ridge. They were also supported by the majority of the German infantry who threw themselves at the trench works, wiping out half the defenders with their sweeping machine gun fire.

 

The tank divisions opened up on the infantry in the forest and along the ridge, but did little damage to either unit, however they did manage to send the infantry in the woods running for the ridge position. The Germans were staging a strong breakout spearhead offensive and had practically cleared  the russian defenders from the pickets in the woods and trenchworks.

On the left two of the german infantry units advanced from their position in the village towards the line of forest. Whilst the soviets began to move their armour divisions back and towards the river, consolidating their position on the ridge with the infantry units gathering in the centre.

With that the Germans began to really make some headway in pushing for the river. The Infantry assualted the trenchworks and wiped out all the russians inside, taking 75% casualties on one of the assualting units. The other infantry occupied positions in the forest line whilst the engineer units made their way quietly up behind the lines. The Panzer divisions, on the otherhand, made great progress whith the undamaged one assualting the soviets on the ridge and pushing their way on towards the river. The other division came under heavy firing taking 75% casualties but dealing out just as many to the infantry firing on them.

The Panzy division on the other side of the ridge now made a break for it, blasting its way through the russian infantry defenders before racing across the frozen river to safety. The other armour division came under yet more heavy firing on the otherhand and was pushed back down the ridge with minimal casualties. Some of the German infantry made a dash from the forest and up the ridge sending the defending soviet infantry dashing right down the otherside.

It was then that the German commandant called an infantry assualt and the German infantry went racing out from their cover in the tree line and trench works across the open ground and straight up the ridge. Their enthusiastic firing got most of them up the ridge and two of the units over it, sending the russian artillery and infantry fleeing right onto the frozen ice.
The assualt was not without casualties though and the Germans paid dearly for their ground gaining though they killed few men.

The Soviet comissar now struck back. The Russian armour on the right made a flanking move down the ridge and onto the assaulting infantry. They too brought up their infantry units and sent the Germans scattering. The soviet tanks were soon scattered by return fire from across the trenches by the last panzer division and bombardments from the german off board artillery but even this was not enough to break the soviet line and the Germans were inevitably defeated.

Another great game of Memoir 44 and interesting with the eastern front scenario.
It seemed a onesided conflict with the Germans seriously outnumbered and outgunned but the soviets had very weak command structure, choosing an order from four rather than five cards. This was made worse by their commissar who had to choose the command for the next turn before he had seen what the enemy had played as their order.
But a deserved victory to the soviets.

Next time from the club will be napoleonics, myself in command of Captain Frederickson (of Sharpe fame) and the 60th rifles with two seperate forces of Guerillas or Cossacks and Frenchmen. It promises to be a good Sharpesque three way loosely based on Sharpe's gold with acount being taken for time taken to load and fire as well as the amount of ammunition each man holds