Mission 8: Spoils of War
Note 1: Welcome to Hell. For those who think the game is too easy, or the AI incapable of playing a good offensive game, try this scenario on Manstein.
After the Polish campaign, most of my men are ready to return to Germany for a period of rest. But just then, a Russian general, our erstwhile allies, offered me a duel. We will fight over the territory between Brest-Litovsk and Warsaw, and to the victor goes the spoils. I accept the offer, but most of my men are exhausted from a month of campaigning, so I request some fresh recruits and Panzer Is from High Command. To supplement these forces, veteran air units and artillery are deployed, along with the gun crew of the 88. My veterans are kept in reserve, to be activated should the need arise. The captured Polish artillery was returned to High Command in exchange for some extra prestige.
High Command has also placed significant auxiliary forces at my command, including Panzer Is retrofitted with a powerful antitank gun. These are known as “Panzerjägers.” There are also some auxiliary cavalry, a mobile AA gun, and a He-111. These forces should be sufficient to destroy the Russians. How much resistance could these they possibly put up anyway?
German deployment.
As the battle started, a Stuka caught a Soviet artillery in the open and inflicted significant damage. Meanwhile, German infantry marched forward, for no trucks could be spared. The Bf-109s isolate and destroy a Soviet fighter, and finished off the bomber next. Things seemed to go well at first, but soon enough I was disabused of the notion of a quick victory.
Bf-109 vs. I-16.
On the ground came a nasty shock, as repeated attacks by Soviet forces, including infantry and an armored car, destroyed an auxiliary Panzgerjäger, despite it being covered by artillery. Clearly the Soviet forces are not to be underestimated. In the south, German forces that took Zelechow spot Soviet recon units, infantry, and artillery, and are forced to pull back to Pilawa. In the north, Wegrow was taken, albeit with losses. The city was garrisoned by infantry, and flanked by the remaining Panzerjäger. Heavy fighting broke out in the hills and forests southwest of Wegrow, with numerous German brigades destroyed in brutal fighting. The Soviets were willing to brave artillery fire and attack German infantry, often with success. One infantry assault even destroyed an isolated Panzer I in the open. Yet I had sufficient prestige to request more fresh recruits from High Command, assuring them that this was only a “wargame.”
The Red Army is innumerable.
The Soviets launched several waves of attacks, including sending the dreaded T-26 tank, which could only be damaged in close terrain or by the 88 gun. Even their armor cars are more or less invincible except to the 88. Fortunately, the Luftwaffe is vastly superior to the Red Air Force, and Stukas in particular capable of inflicting great damage on Soviet armor. A combination of Stukas, artillery, and infantry attacks were needed to destroy most forces, even their basic regulars and cavalry. Results were best if the Soviet infantry could be forced into close terrain, although on several occasions Soviet brigades escaped with only a battalion, only to be fully reinforced in short order.
Trucks are vulnerable to strafing by fighters.
Heavy fighting in the forests and hills near Minsk Mazowiecki saw the destruction of many German infantry brigades, and at one point, heavy damage to field artillery and the 88 gun. Only desperate fighting by German forces prevented the Soviets from capturing the city.
After the initial Soviet attack was managed, although hardly beaten back, a wave of T-26s charged forward. Fortunately, they stumbled into the forest near Wegrow, whereupon concentrated attacks eventually destroyed them. Next came a wave of BT-7s from the south, which fortunately came within range of the 88 gun, which was able to deal with them in short order. Each wave was accompanied by seemingly endless Red Army infantry and cavalry, with some artillery and recon cars for support. Several times German forces had to retreat from Wegrow to a more manageable position.
Most of the auxiliary brigades were eventually lost, until only a single Panzerjäger remained. The Soviets also scrambled additional fighters, which proved difficult for the now weakened Bf-109s to shoot down. One particularly annoying squadron of I-16 could not be fully destroyed despite two separate attempts to surround and engage it. The green Wehrmacht and Panzer Is performed well, although they suffered horrendous losses. I eventually ran low on prestige and was forced to call up my veterans from the reserves to join the fighting. Yet the losses continued. The veteran Panzer IB, which had survived the entire Polish campaign, was destroyed by Russian tanks.
More aerial combat.
No German gains despite days of fighting.
The battle was so desperate at times that I held onto only one objective. A Russian cavalry brigade even managed to enter Warsaw, though fortunately I was able to deploy additional reserves in time to destroy it and take back Warsaw.
The Red Army was clearly vastly superior to the Poles. I had begun to despair of victory, for I controlled at most two of the seven objectives during these days of fierce fighting. Even as I cleared out the many previous Russian brigades, Lieutenant Mikhailovich, a deputy of the opposing commander, led one final Soviet assault, which included infantry and yet more BT-7 tanks. The lieutenant himself commanded a monstrous contraception that I later learned was a “KV2” tank. The power of the tank was incredible, and its armor all but invincible. It easily rolled over all opposition and took Wegrow. Yet, though the tank seemed invincible, it had one fatal weakness: it did not possess much ammunition. After several engagements with the tank, I ordered a brave battalion of Gebirgsjager, the only survivor of its brigade, to attack in order to exhaust the KV2’s ammunition. It was not easy to send these men to their demise, but their sacrifice opened up the opportunity to surround the Russian monstrosity, and under the bombardment of all available German artillery and air units, the 88 gun forced the surrender of this beast.
KV2 taken down.
Meanwhile, a Panzer I had captured Zelechow, bypassing nearby Soviet artillery. It was sent to Radzyn Podlaski, where it spotted some Soviet regulars guarding the city. It stayed near the city, to lure the regular to attack. The Soviet infantry indeed took the bait and attacked, destroying the panzer, but this left the city open for the auxiliary Panzerjäger to seize. Wegrow was also taken from the last time. At this point, both the Russian and German forces are exhausted from the fighting, thus the Russian Commander and myself agree to end our battle. Since I held more objectives, I eked out a marginal victory.
Zelechow captured.
Radzyn Podlaski and Wegrow captured.
Losses before.
Losses after. More losses were taken here than in the entire Polish campaign.
Much intelligence was gleaned from this battle, including Soviet battle doctrine and their advanced armor prototype. We must focus on defeating the Allies before we can even contemplate war with the Soviets. I fear the day should that war break out.
Note 2: The reason I didn’t deploy any core infantry/tanks was that I knew I was going to lose them. The reason why I got Panzer Is instead of better tanks is that they are cheap, and they have the same ground defense as every other German tank at this point. I suffered in this scenario double the losses than all previous 7 combined.
Note 3: I had 2.3k prestige to start. I ended the scenario with around 400, dipping as low as 100 at one point.
Note 4: The AI should be programmed to garrison the VH cities with its units, not park them next to the city. Without that flaw, I would not have won MV.
MV 21/21. Barely.
