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Offline Asid

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Thursday, September 1, 2016
By: JC
Panzer Battles Kursk The Southern Flank - AAR - No Smoke Can Silence the Cries of the Dying

This is an AAR for Panzer Battles Kursk The Southern Flank. The scenario is #0708_05 Teterevino South. Massive spoilers ahead. You are warned.



From the scenario briefing:
Teterevino South, South of Prokhorovka: July 8th, 1943. (Scenario Size: Regiment. Soviet Human vs German AI) Major Mikhail Konstantinovich Belov had been given very clear orders. His 158th Guards Rifle Regiment had regrouped at Tetrevino South and was to attack Luchki South from the East. Voronezh Front intended this to be a diversionary attack, hopefully pinning or dragging away reserves from other parts of the German line. The assault would not be easy. The Guardsmen had to cross a deep, kilometre wide valley before assaulting the defenders on Hill 210.7. After breaking through they were to move towards the town and capture the bridge crossing the Donets and clear the town of any remaining enemy. Voronezh Front had provided both air and artillery support in the hope that the attack would be considered a major thrust rather than the intended demonstration.


Three kilometers east of the town of Luchki, 615 men of the 2nd Battalion, 158th Guards Infantry Regiment orderly occupied their assigned spots for the short walk to the line of departure. To their right, they could make out the hunched profiles and catch the muffled chatter of their 1st Battalion counterparts. Those lucky bastards got it easy today, one of the 2nd Battalion HQ staff noted, envious that the 1st Battalion was to attack west only after his men would open a gap in the defensive line of Hill 210.7 and envelop the center trenches. He could have thought the same of the 3rd Battalion in their left, which would exploit that gap beyond the hill and towards Luchki. But he could not muster hard feelings for men who were seemingly in a better combat posture. Hell, the 3rd even offered to bring their 2 AT guns up to support them with direct fire!

The 158th was a fine combat outfit. You could tell by the way they did everything. A veteran helped a younger comrade to secure his field blanket around his torso. It was like the chaplain they didn't have, delivering the last rites. The most miniscule omissions were punished and there was hardly anything out of place in the noon of July 18th. Except the conspicuous absence of attached armor.

The preparatory indirect fire opened on time, if one is to keep scores of what worked or not. The southern flank of the German defenses went out of sight under billows of smoke, dirt and rocks. It was like the curtain of a theater. And neither side knew who was the performer and who was the audience.A sergeant in the front platoons looked back at the commanding officer of his company. His arms open and slightly lifted in a shrug. When do we start to advance? Past a few meters, the sound of artillery didn't allow for anything else . Officers started to send runners back and forth. Finally, just plain gestures put the front troops in motion.



The 2nd Battalion lead the way through the valley east of Hill 210.7. They made good progress, but got stuck at the base of the elevation, just short of their assault objective. Hundreds of men stayed prone in different grades of disarray. The volume of fire uphill was good, one corporal noticed, but the one downhill was even better. The amount of casualties were egregious. The battalion commander finally made it to the front and sorted out the mess. In an uphill battle, the enemy defenses were finally cracked. The whole ordeal took around one and a half hours.






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« Last Edit: September 04, 2016, 12:54:16 AM by Asid »
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