Firestorm: Red Thunder

Battle 4: Forward Detachment Logan (10th Guards Tank Division) vs No. 3 Kompanie, 22nd Panzer Grenadier Battalion. Scenario: No Retreat (Morgan Logan coached by Jim Naughton vs Ben Langen).
Bad Harzburg, 1400 hours, August 4th

CP, Number Three Kompanie, 22nd Panzer Grenadier Battalion, 1st Panzer Grenadier Division. Hauptmann Schmidt listened to the rumble of artillery to the north and east toward Luneberg and briefly gave thanks to a benevolent deity for his recent promotion from Oberleutenant and transfer to the 22nd Panzer Grenadier Battalion. The rest of the division, north and west, had been catching hell from PACT air and the covering force in Luneberg, which included his old outfit, 3rd Panzer Division, was seeing heavy action, although the azimuth to the artillery fire was unchanging, indicating that the PACT was stacking up in front of the defenses of 3rd Panzer and British First Armoured.
The 2nd Panzer Brigade was stationed in Braunschweig, and its job was covering the forward movement of the rest of the 1st Panzer Division from its kassernes near Hannover. The 2nd Panzer Aufklarung Battalion was attached to the Brigade so it could conduct its mission. Schmidt’s force was one of three abteilungs from the 22nd Battalion, each of which consisted of a kompanie from the Aufklarung unit and a company from the Panzer Grenadiers. Two of the abteilung were commanded by the Battalion Executive officers; the force at Bad Harzburg was commanded by a starchy Hauptmann from No. 3 Kompanie of the Aufklarung. Hauptmann Kohl’s personality had not been improved by recent announcement that he was not on the Maior’s list.
Bad Harzburg was almost literally the asshole of the Bundesrepublik. The small town made some pretense to being a resort. It was almost in the East. Several Spas were in evidence, and after nearly 3 days in his uniform Schmidt was in need of a good soak. The Oberst in charge of the brigade had read some tea leaves, or tossed the traditional runes, and decided that it was a good time for an exercise. That premonition had gotten 2nd Brigade in place before any other units. Unfortunately the Soviets could read maps and consult weather forecasts, and so none of them had appeared so far. Sehr Gut. In der Tat, ausgezeichnet.
The weather was miserable enough on the fringes of the Harz Mountains, and there even was some skiing, but being this close to the Nordsee and Baltic weather patterns meant a lot of ice. The Inter-German Border was a couple dozen kilometers away. The road network crisscrossed many terrain compartments, no few streams and his flank was secure on the Harz Mountains. The weather was relatively dry now, but a nasty storm off the Nordsee could easily turn those streams into raging torrents for a few critical hours. To the south, the Amerikaner 11th Cavalry held the Fulda Gap. Schmidt had heard both that the 11th had been massacred once by native Americans and that it had been one of Amerikaner General Patton’s favorite outfits. That did not seem to make sense, and certainly did not seem auspicious.
On both sides of the mountains airborne patrols and airmobile insertion teams were supposed to monitor the network of roads and logging trails that snaked through the mountains. Schmidt had no idea if the patrols were in place yet. 27th Falschirmjager Brigade had not been part of Herr Oberst’s brainstorm.
Two hours ago, a Fuchs patrol from the Aufklarung Kompanie had reported something unusual on the other side of the IGB, then gone silent. Herr Hauptmann Kohl had immediately took off east with the bulk of the company, expecting to either rescue the Fuchs patrol, or start the delaying action. He left Schmidt with the Gepard zug and one Luchs spah to scout south into the mountains until they had confirmation of the airmobile teams. There was another Gepard zug on the way with some of the battalion’s mortars. Schmidt’s No. 2 Platoon had gone east with Hauptmann Kohl, ostensibly to set up a road block and cover Kohl’s inevitable retreat. The presence of 8 of the Divisions 36 precious Gepards at Bad Harzburg did not make Schmidt comfortable. It seemed someone expected the position to be bombed.
With the aufklarung company out to the east, Schmidt had focused his defenses on leaving Kohl a protected withdrawal route in case he came back with the Soviets hot on his heels. He laid mines to the east and south east, carefully avoiding the main highway. His infantry would use ropes attached to 10-kilo pressure mines to drag chains of mines across the highway, and one of his precision off-route mines was laid there. When a Skorpion showed up he had them lay more mines, including some to the south. A dismounted assault by a motor rifle battalion or some desanti wasn’t improbable by tomorrow. To keep the troop’s minds off the growing storm of fire to the north, he had them dig supplemental positions facing south.
Then the radio message. Die Hugel sind lebendig mit dem Klang des Panzers. Coming from the south. Out of the theoretically impassable Harz Mountains.
The German Panzer Grenadier Company was part of a two-formation force with an aufklarung Kompanie. The NATO player put his infantry on table, with two Luchs and 4 Gepards from the aufklarung force. Unfortunately, as the battle broke out, the aufklarung kompanie’s influence was mostly negative, as the risk of losing them meant they couldn’t be risked. The total force included 3 Leo IIs, 6 Leo Is, 7 Marders, 2 infantry platoons, 6 Luchs, 8 Gepards, 3 Panzer Morsers, and 4 Tornados. NATO chose to use the Tornados along with the two Zugs from the Aufklarung Kompanie and the two infantry/Marder units as the on-table force.
The Soviet force was two formations, as well – one infantry, one tank. It included T72s in four small kompanie, 2 small BMP-2 kompanies in a battalion, artillery, recon and flak. Total force was 13 T72, 11 BMP-2, 6 BMP-1 (recon), 4 BRDM, 3 2S1, observer BMP, 2 ZSU, 2 SA-13, 14 infantry and 2 Grail stands, plus two Hinds.
The terrain consisted of a central village complex (presumptively one of the ‘spas’ west of town center) with hills east and west of the village. The hill east of the village was essentially a cliff so we called it no-go on that face. Large hill mass north of village, very scattered woods and vineyards. A hedge/wall terrain feature aptly termed ‘the graveyard.’
NATO mines and no-go terrain essentially blocked all but 18 inches of table space, cutting off access to a central village and the ‘east’ side of the table. NATO positioned two infantry platoons to protect the other 16 inches, occupying both objectives, hid the Luchs and Marders and put the Gepards in ambush. The Soviet attack took advantage of a hill in that sector to spearhead in cover to just outside 8” of the centerline. Then the entire PACT force, infantry on foot, trundled forward to the attack.
PACT used a smokescreen to block the Second Platoon’s Milan Teams from shooting, and pushed to within 8” of the other two teams, following up with a massive barrage of cannon and machinegun fire, successfully pinning the NATO platoon. A T72 platoon successfully assaulted one exposed team, killing it, and thus opened a lane running down the west edge of the table. Another team died to brutal cannon fire. Two teams had to abandon foxholes when the T72s exploited along the graveyard wall.
NATO counterattacked by bringing 3 Marders to the party, moving them into the center of town. They destroyed a BMP-1 platoon by bailing two vehicles and watching the platoon fail morale. NATO didn’t dare assault as the T72s had the graveyard in a crossfire. The Tornados didn’t show up.
PACT Turn 2 saw the T72s swing further down the graveyard, staying in cover from NATO’s second platoon. The Hinds landed on the northern hill to discourage a close ambush. A hail of fire from BMP-2 and T72 vehicles destroyed First Platoon to the last man, and in a final irony, killed the NATO company commander, thereby making an airstrike possible. The Tornados dutifully appeared, and a barrage of MG and flak brought all four down. Meanwhile the Luchs and Gephards destroyed one of Hinds. The other was destroyed by a Milan from Second Platoon.
PACT Turn 3 shredded, but did not quite destroy the Second Platoon. Its transport melted under a hail of BMP fire. One Gepard was knocked out. Tanks and recon BMPs swept around the northernmost objective, threatening a NATO reinforcement’s flanks. An infantry team sacrificed to contest the southernmost objective so PACT now had control.
It was do or die. NATO rolled its first reinforcement and got them. The Leo IIs rolled on to the battlefield and contested the northern most objective in spades, and then destroyed 3 T72s. A lone Gepard contested the southern objective. The Luchs hid, but not perfectly.
PACT now was merciless. BMP-2s went after the surviving Gepards;T72s and BMP-2s went after the Leo IIs, and the BMP-1 scouts successfully blitzed to a position that allowed two SAGGER shots at an exposed Luchs. Two Leo IIs died to flank shots. The Gepards died to the BMPs, as did the lone Luchs. The surviving Leo II was bailed by a Spandrel missile. And finally, the last teams of 2nd Platoon died in a hail of heavy machinegun fire. With no teams on table in good spirits, game over.

PACT 5-2 VICTORY. PACT seizes Braunschweig and Hannover. PACT Losses – 4 T72s, 3 BMP-1, 1 ZSU, 2 Hinds plus assault teams. (24 AP). NATO losses 67 AP (3 Leo I, 2 mechanized platoons, Gepard and Luchs platoons, Tornado Flight).

By Jim Naughton