Counterattack Near Uman-Scenario 3 Part 5-The Defense

 The Soviet counter attack was nearing its conclusion.  They had pushed in the Axis right flank and driven the Hungarians from the small farm, causing significant casualties.  In the center and Soviet right the Russians had found stiff resistance and were progressing slowly. 

The Single remaining German infantry squad on the right decided not to stick around and fled through thickets and onto the road that exited the smaller bridge.  The Axis wisely used a COC die to move the Jump Off Point toward the center, thus avoiding its capture.  A reserve Hungarian squad then emerged from hiding at the new JOP location and battled with the Soviets who were in pursuit from the farm.  They also deployed a Medium machine gun to cover the center of the line against the single Soviet squad that continued to lurk in between some buildings.

The Panzer 3 pivoted to engage the T-26.  A blast from its main gun banged off the Soviet tank killing the driver as shell shrapnel breached the vision slit.   The remaining Soviet crew had enough and bailed from the tank, and fled back across the bridge.  

On the opposite flank rhe Russians were taking heavy losses on the large bridge.  The hero of the moment was a medic who had crossed the bridge with the assaulting infantry.  He bandaged both the Junior and Senior leader and kept the squad from disintegrating.

The medic has a gun.  Why does the medic have a gun?

The Germans continued to pour fire into Soviet fighters  who clung to the near bank in the walled courtyard in the middle of the line.  The fire was too much and the Soviets routed.  The attack in that part of the line  was effectively over. 

A Hungarian sniper used the opportunity to climb to the third story of burnt out committee building and send a Soviet mortar squad across the river fleeing to cover. 

Back on the Russian left, the Soviets were obsessing over the Panzer.  A 45mm Anti Tank gun that had been quietly deployed in the woods next to the large bridge made its presence known by bouncing a shell harmlessly off the front armor of the Panzer.  

The Panzer CO decided he had enough and drove towards the middle of the line along the road perpendicular to the small bridge road.  Thinking fast, the 45mm gun crew wheeled their gun and pushed it through the wood, allowing them to catch the German tank in the flank.  They slammed a shell into the breach and fired.  A hit!  The Panzer driver was killed and the tank ground to a halt, while the Panzer crew pulled the dead driver from his seat and tried to replace him.  A Soviet with a satchel charge ran up to the tank and let fly with the explosive but was unsuccessful in doing any further damage. 

Several German squads decided it was time to clear out the sneaky Soviet squad (sounds like an Eastern European Scooby Doo gang) that had been lurking in the middle.  The Soviets pulled back to safer ground and fended off an ill coordinated German charge, causing a high level of carnage. 

As sure as the sun rises in the Russian east, whenever rhe KV2 (against odds) shows up, an 88mm gun shows up (also against odds) as well.  So it was that a short duel was had between these two forces of nature.  It didn’t live up to the hype.  The 88 missed and the KV caused no casualties to the gun crew in the brief scuffle. 

This turned out to be the last act.  

The Results

The original condition for victory was the elimination of the Force Morale of the opponent.  Five weeks of ( real) game time left the Germans with 11 and the Soviets with 13.  This does not tell the story.  The Soviet attack on the right and middle was over.  The Germans had complete control of the defensively strong stone and steel buildings at the city’s edge. The Soviets held the farm but would have to fight across a narrow slice of land and into the city. Any further Soviet support would have to either come from the lone Jump Off Point to make it across the bridge near the farm, or by crossing the big bridge ( a death trap); or another launch of rafts (a bigger death trap in the light of day.)

The Soviets just didn’t have the immediately available support to break into the city.  Their casualties would have been enormous and they would be attacking without sufficient command support, as a good deal of  squad and higher leaders who made it across the river were dead or wounded.  

In the end the Soviet attack was not successful.  The German army would continue their advance.  They would now be ordered into a very nasty few acres of  woods where they would have to flush out the regrouping Soviet army…