Korsun Pocket

After action reports/During Action Reports on your SP:WaW battels!

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Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »



Both Hitler and Stalin expect a second Stalingrad.
Konev wires Stalin, "There is no need to worry, Comrade Stalin. The encircled enemy will not escape."


Operation Watchword Freedom

16th Panzer Division
Spearhead of III Panzerkorps

The German commander briefs his troops on the upcoming battle.

"We will be entering heavy combat. Gruppe Stemmermann is surrounded in Korsun by a Russian force of 200,000 infantry and 500 tanks. Our trapped force includes the SS Wiking and SS Wallonien divisions with loyal Russians who have joined us in fighting Bolshevism. The Waffen SS units have only 43 armored vehicles remaining and are running low on supplies. The Russians we will fight are mostly new recruits, like most of you, who have refilled the ranks of their formations which were savaged in earlier battles against our forces. They are inexperienced, but make no mistake. They have been whipped into a frenzy of hate by their political commissars."

"Hitler wants a second Stalingrad, and instead of ordering a relief effort, has ordered us to surround the Russians surrounding Korsun in a huge encirclement which he knows cannot succeed. Our 11th Panzer Division has already burnt itself out trying to carry out this order. We are the next spearhead of III Panzerkorps but have been ordered by Manstein to ignore nonsense orders and to attack directly towards Korsun to rescue our comrades. Between us and our objective are 4 Russian Tank Corps supported by infantry, bunkers, mines, artillery, bombers and plenty of mud. We must ignore the odds and hurry before our comrades are overrun. Speed is of the essence!"
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RE: Korsun Pocket

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The German Kampfgruppe begins the breakthrough operation after a brief artillery preparation. Recon units are fired on as they speed forward. A platoon of tigers leads the assault ahead of one company of infantry, a platoon of motorized engineers, self-propelled guns and AA support.

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RE: Korsun Pocket

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Several SU-152s charge into the German flank in a sneaky attempt to smash the artillery battery. Shrugging off 88 rounds fired by Tigers, the 152s' heavy calibre rounds pound the defenders causing casualties among gun crews and blow up a truck and a Panther tank. A pair of 88 flak guns are trucked in, and together with a Nashorn, 2 of the SU-152s are destroyed and a rifle squad finishes off the crews. A third 152 charges in to continue the flanking action.

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The main assault is bogged down by unseen Russian positions which rake the soft-skinned German vehicles and soldiers causing some losses. On the left wing, a flamethrower engineer squad scrambles out of an APC when is it hit and the squad is then wiped out by a single burst from an unseen heavy machine gun. A second APC is struck and the driver panics before the onboard engineers can disembark. T-34s rush for the hilltop and rain fire down upon German recon and SPG vehicles.

A Tiger tank drives up to take on approaching enemy soldiers in the centre but gets stuck in a swampy forested area. The stuck Tiger's guns tear into the enemy troops causing some of them to scatter in panic.

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A wooden bunker is discovered and engineers are moved in in preparation to clear the obstacle. Enemy fire over this area is very heavy and almost every unit is shot at including the Tigers being hit by tank rounds. Return fire destroys a BT-7 light tank and a Russian armored recon unit. The inexperience of the German crews shows when a second BT-7 spotted driving through the forest to the near east requires no less than 3 German tanks to destroy it. The haze is making it very difficult to spot Russian units which seem to have fortified in advance to block our approach. German artillery can only guess at where the enemy positions may be and fire blindly into the haze.

Far to the west, several foot patrols along with a sniper, forward observer and 2 Panther tanks sneak towards the flank of the Soviets in the hope of setting up observation posts to direct artillery into their rear areas. It is a possible forming up area for an enemy counterattack and therefore needs to be put under fire.

So far, the fight has been hard but was expected to be so. The enemy has only just begun to join battle with it's mobile units, and the situation is likely to get a lot more violent as both sides rush for the control of the hills and the road going east to west.
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RE: Korsun Pocket

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P39 Airacobra goes down. The P39 sent from America was the favorite fighterplane of Russian aces so they drew a lot of fire whenever they sortied over ground troops.

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The third SU-152 on the right flank is finally destroyed after a shoot-out with 3 German tanks backed-up by infantry. The Tiger's 88 cannon was damaged from a turret hit and one rifle squad was hit when it tried to rush the Russian behemoth. A KV-1 to the east also traded shots with the German tanks during the fight.

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Artillery on both sides is accurate and deadly. Light Russian artillery rounds walk their way across the German positions reducing infantry squads and gun crews. The German 150mm battery directs it's 4 guns towards the Russians rushing towards the German left flank. Rounds drop into packed ranks of soldiers on the road and a fresh platoon moving over the hill to the west is culled by shrapnel rounds.

A short, intense exchange of fire results in several AFVs on both sides being destroyed. The Russians lose a couple of T-34s while the stuck Tiger in the swamp is easily destroyed by a perfectly placed 76mm anti-tank gun fortified in the nearby north. It becomes apparent that the Russians built the dirt road which dead-ended in the swamp among the trees as a trap to catch a German tank. The ATG sandbagged nearby the swamp trap was waiting for prey and scored just as planned. The clever defensive preparations by the Russians is a warning of more nasty surprises in the tough fighting coming up.

The hill the to west is named Horseshoe Hill by the troops. The culprits responsible for the mysterious fire coming from that direction are finally brought under fire including a log pit bristling with heavy machine guns which is finally destroyed after it caused so much damage to German recon units and motorized engineers.

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The hill north of the road is named Top Hat Hill and the Russians uncannily recognize it as one of our prime objectives in securing a breakthrough path. An enemy armored counterattack starts to form-up on Top Hat hill including more of the dangerous SU-152s which caused damage to the German right flank. The burning fortified position is the suspected site of the 76mm ATG which destroyed the Tiger stuck in the swamp. Vengeful indirect fire from tanks is poured into the position, and although damage cannot be assessed, there is a report that 2 of the ATG crewmen are heard screaming in the flames.

The Russian actions are so exact in countering our plans that it seems likely that a captured 'tongue' has given them detailed information about our operation. Given the record of Russians torturing POWs and drowning them in cesspools, the talkativity of terrified captured troops is understandable.

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RE: Korsun Pocket

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The German schwerpunkt is still bogged down in the center while tank shells and light artillery rain down constantly.  The Tiger just east of the swamp trap is rattled by tank shells bouncing off of it's thick armor fired by Russian tanks hiding in the safety of the haze, and a precious Nashorn is destroyed by heavy calibre HE rounds from an unseen SU-152.  

The log bunker blocking the way is still resisting as well as helping to call down the nagging artillery which continues to whittle away at the strength of the Wehrmacht troops trying to work their way through the mud, snow and tangled undergrowth while under fire.  Two engineer squads failed to blow-up the bunker with satchel charges and had to retreat when some of them were wounded by friendly shrapnel after a siG33 auf 38t fired a 150mm shell at the rear of the bunker to 'support' their assault.  The siG33 auf 38t finally manages to start a fire in the bunker and the engineers, who are wisely resting in the safety of a grove of trees, pick off the escaping Soviets.

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Another siG33 auf 38t was destroyed while approaching Horseshoe Hill but 2 more fire on the hill turning the peak into a smokey hell for the Red Army troops trying to encamp there on the key point among the trees.  The raw recruits are pushing themselves deep into the snow and mud to make poor targets for the German units trying to clear them out.  

In the northwest, the foot patrols and 2 Panther tanks finally spot two T-34 tanks in the distance heading south towards Horseshoe Hill.  One Panther fires three 75mm rounds to destroy both T-34s.  The Soviet crews bail out and the Panther commander elevates his turret-mounted machine gun to send the crews into disarray.  When this news is radioed to the 16th Panzer command post in the south, the response given is, "Good.  We finally got something for nothing."

From that reply they learn the assault is not going as well as planned.

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The Casualty Problem

This battle was never intended to be a battle of attrition by either side.  The Germans want to form a corridor for the trapped Stemmermann group to escape through while the Soviet agenda is to rebuff all rescue attempts.  For the Germans, their heavy losses in AFVs is slowly rendering them impotent.  Only two operational Tigers, one Panther, one Nashorn, three siG33 auf 38t SPGs, two APCs and two recon cars (one damaged) remain in the south to continue the attack.  In the northwest, the two Panthers there continue to support the foot patrols moving east to keep watch on Russian redeployments.  

On the Russian side, they have been weakened around the central road and Horseshoe Hill but have very solid control of Top Hat Hill which is the vital north side of the corridor required by the Germans.

HQ has been hit by shellfire with one officer down and the rest taking cover so the command post by the artillery battery does a quick estimate of casualties so far.  In this early report, AFV losses are confirmed kills and casualty figures (infantry, crews, etc) are considered to be conservative guesswork.

German Losses:

3 tanks destroyed and 1 damaged
4 light armor destroyed and 2 damaged
1 truck
various heavy weaponry damaged
50 casualties

Russian Losses:

8 tanks including 5 T-34s and 3 SU-152s
3 light armor including one recon car and 2 BT-7s
2 log bunkers
1 P39 fighter
one damaged ATG
100 casualties

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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »


In addition to the confirmed armor kills, the Soviets also have two tanks which engaged us and fled after taking hits: a T-34 maybe lurking in the forest on Horseshoe Hill and a KV-1 which was part of the flanking attack escaped to the east after being fired on.


Strategy

Top Hat Hill is the prime goal now but first the Germans must clear Horseshoe Hill and secure the crossroads in order to safely move up troops and to reduce the number of Soviet eyes calling in barrages all over the German staging area.

The crossroads have some suspicious bushes leading south from which heavy machine guns are firing on troops and recon units trying to move up the road from the south. Two 81mm mortars will be assigned to work on these bushes until troops can finally claw there way up to clear out whatever is hiding there.

The Tiger next to the swamp trap is likely to take damage from all the shells hitting it so the Tiger with turret damage from the flank fight will move up to try and provide another target for the heavy Soviet armor on Top Hat to shoot at. A truck is now moving an 88mm gun and an MG42 up as well in case any enemy targets are spotted in the north.

All the heavy guns including the artillery battery and 3 direct fire self-propelled guns will continue to reduce the defenders of Horseshoe. There is so much smoke on the peak from a burning T-34, canisters and HE rounds that the hill is looking more and more like a volcano.

While the sluggish attack tries to move up from the south, the northwestern scout mission will continue to move east towards Top Hat Hill and hopefully spot the armor on it that is hiding in the haze. This patchwork recon force includes 3 foot patrols with 4 riflemen in each team, 1 forward observer, a sniper and 2 Panther A tanks. This group's mission has been upgraded from observation to a skirmishing attack on Top Hat Hill from the rear and has been renamed Kampfgruppe Jackboot. The tank crews are nervous about attempting tank sniping against SU-152s while operating large armored vehicles painted in colorful summer camouflage and framed on a snowy background. The crews are trying not to think about the effect of a Soviet 152mm shell impacting a Panther designed to sometimes deflect 76mm shells on a lucky day.
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »

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Here is the strategic map showing the directions of attacks. The arrows in the northwest indicate Group Jackboot's advance as well as the enemy infantry counterattack it faces to it's northeast.

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The next wave of fighting is begun with a squadron of Russian fighter planes performing strafing runs over the German positions. Flak claws at the planes and one goes down in flames while it is machine gunning defensive positions near the command post.

Fire is traded all all over the battlefield. Red Army tanks and troops making a run for Horseshoe Hill to reinforce it are stopped by long-range fire from Group Jackboot. In response, the Soviets try to remove the Jackboot threat with an infantry counterattack staged from the town northeast of Jackboot's position. The sniper carefully picks off a couple of Red Army soldiers with his scoped Kar98 while tank machine gun fire repels the Soviet infantry forcing them to retreat back into the town leaving a heap of dead and wounded on the road behind them.

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Horseshoe Hill is pounded by all types of weapons but the log bunker resists all attempts to destroy it while the infantry on the peak finally retreat after a long and murderous barrage. Two more German light armored vehicles blow up on mines while trying to climb Horseshoe Hill. Another APC hits a mine near the swamp trap, adding to the mess of burning vehicles in the area. The engineer squad on Horseshoe Hill runs out of satchel charges and grenades in failed attempts to destroy the bunker and the Panther's 75mm gun malfunctions. The APC with them tries to open fire and it too has it's MG42 malfunction while mines take care of the reinforcements sent to help them. This combination of bad luck renders the German force on the hill impotent.

Soviet light artillery continues to rake the entire German staging area bogging everything down and causing casualties in many units. The HQ unit itself loses 3 more officers leaving only Colonel Steigel and one staff officer unwounded. As a wave of regrouped heavy Soviet armor slams into the German right flank and artillery and tank fire pepper the remains of his forces, Colonel Steigel sends a message to the CP to be transmitted to III Panzer Corps which starts out, "Tell my wife I love her..." In response to this message, the last APC in the area dumps out the two half-strength squads it was carrying into the mud and rushes to pick up the colonel and bring him back to the command post amidst a rain of artillery shelling. The upper brass order Colonel Stiegel by radio to stay in the CP for the remainder of the battle with a stern threat of court action if he gets himself killed while trying to lead from the front.

The Germany artillery battery prioritizes Top Hat for fire missions and saturates it. An SU-152 is seen to explode but another SU-152 on Top Hat Hill scores a hit on a Tiger near the swamp trap and destroys it. The damaged Tiger next to it is pounded with shells from T-34s hidden in the haze and it is not expected to survive with it's main gun smashed and unable to reply. Only one operational Tiger is left and it continues pound the Soviet machine gun positions in the bushes along the southern road. A Soviet log bunker in the bushes fires without rest at anything that moves on the road and successfully destroys another recon vehicle. No less than 6 German units are firing on the log bunker expending large amounts of their dwindling munitions before a 20mm AA gun finally takes it out.

On the right flank a brutal fight rages when a half dozen heavy KV-1 tanks counterattack. The tanks survive several close assaults by German infantry hiding in the trees and return point-blank fire forcing the Germans to retreat. The last precious Nashorn destroys a KV-1 but it's high velocity 88mm main gun is damaged and the other KV-1s quickly dispatch the thinly armored German vehicle. The last German recon unit dashes amongst the trees trying to escape but it is unable to dodge all the heavy tank rounds fired from the Soviet tanks and it joins the other burning wrecks littering the forest. Having overrun the infantry and armor protecting the German right flank, the KV-1s set upon the gun emplacements and artillery. Heavy fire is exchanged and the KV-1s come off the worse losing 3 more tanks.

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The lastest combat has doubled the losses for each side. Armor losses for the Germans have reached a critical point. The main schwerpunkt is virtually impotent and has become completely bogged down. In the latest fighting the Germans have lost a Tiger, 4 light AFVs and suffered moderate casualties (infantry, crews, officers, cooks etc) with a Panther and an APC damaged. The Russians lost one SU-152, four T-34s, four KV-1s, a log bunker, and one airplane with moderate infantry casualties.

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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by Alby »

nice job,  this is one of my favorite campaigns........you should try out SP Enhanced sometime....noticed you are using Standard SPWAW
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »

The mod probably good but I want to stick to the orginal version for these custom campaigns so my units are compatible with the intended designs. I made small edits to infantry units and weapons using military books I've read as references.
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »


Horseshoe and Crossroads Secured


The broken remains of 16th Panzer's schwerpunkt cautiously limp up to the crossroads and the peak of Horseshoe. Instead of the expected fanatical last stand by some Red Army remnants that bleeds both sides of their last drops of blood, both locations are taken without further resistance.

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In the picture above, the burning T-34 north of Horseshoe is actually a mangled mess of 4 tank hulks. In total, six T-34s were shot-up while trying to reinforce Horseshoe. Many of their crews along with supporting infantry also were cut down by the long-range fire coming from Group Jackboot. The destroyed remains of German armored cars which hit mines can be seen on Horseshoe and near the swamp trap.

The only observed Soviet forces north of the road is a routed SU-152 from Top Hat and small bands of retreating soldiers heading away from the battlefield through the town. The last German Tiger bounces shell after shell off of the stubborn frontal armor of the SU-152. It's gun too weak to hand the Soviet armored monster, the Tiger can only hope the crew will panic enough to abandon the SU-152.

Two more light armored vehicles are found to be damaged from earlier fighting leaving the Germans with a total operational armored force of only one Tiger, two Panthers, two siG33 auf 38ts (1 damaged), and one APC (held at the CP in reserve). The armor losses are especially distressing considering how each valuable tank produced in Germany is desperately needed by hard-pressed, depleted units all down the Eastern front. With the Western front now the priority for reinforcements, most Eastern front regiments never will receive a new Tiger or Panther. In most cases, defending groups trying to hold off brutal Red Army assaults have only a couple of Stugs, or if lucky, a platoon of Panzer IVs to support their troops with.


Battle in the East

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The breakthrough in the north is offset by a violent struggle to the east. The Soviets have selected the German right flank as the soft underbelly to be attacked without pause. A mixture of KV-1s and T-34s yet again charge the same place as before and exchange fire with the defenders. At least 2 of the tanks are destroyed in the latest engagement but 6 more undamaged tanks continue on with the apparent goal of overrunning the artillery battery. It is feared that this may only be part of a major counterattack. The lead KV-1 is doused in 20mm fire from AA guns to provide some meager coverfire for the German guns and infantry moving in to stiffen the defenses.

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The German defenses facing the tank onslaught include two 88mm guns, two MG42 heavy machine guns, one siG33 auf 38t, two 20mm FlaKvier38s, and four squads of infantry depleted from the previous armored assaults. Almost all of the gun positions have been hit by both artillery and tank shells during the earlier fighting. One 88mm crew even abandoned their gun for sometime before an officer got them back on the gun.

Colonel Stiegel's order to the defenders is to, "Destroy the incoming tanks and wrap up the crews if possible without pursuit."

The Germany artillery halts their barrage of Top Hat and are reassigned to putting down a screening fire on the right flank. The four guns will likely do little damage with indirect fire against the fast-moving Soviet tanks, but everything will help in this desperate fight.
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by forgorin »

God, this makes me want to lay the game again.  It has been over a year since I even thought about it!

Maybe I will start with this one.

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Stress is the confusion created when ones own mind over rides the bodies desire to choke the living shit out of some asshole who really deserves it!
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »

This is called 'Watchword Freedom'. Good campaign cause it's unpredictable and realistic.
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by forgorin »

I started a game and just got hammered into the game.  Talk about getting beaten like a rented mule!  You are doing way better than me!

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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by Alby »

ORIGINAL: forgorin

I started a game and just got hammered into the game.  Talk about getting beaten like a rented mule!  You are doing way better than me!

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RE: Korsun Pocket

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The 76mm anti-tank gun hidden north of the swamp trap is apparently still in action despite being set on fire for a short while. The German AA truck sent to secure the crossroads is hit and explodes. Ever the irritating gnat, a German infantry squad is fired on while trying to approach and identify the extremely well camouflaged AT gun position but fails to see anything and is too suppressed to get any closer.

The tank assault against the right flank rushes the German defenses. Shots are exchanged and rounds bang off the sides of the Soviet tanks causing several to explode. On the German side, a truck attached to an 88 blows up and more German infantry get shot up while trying to close assault the fast approaching tanks in amongst the trees. A back-up squad with only 4 soldiers left in it jump out from a gnarled mass of frozen undergrowth to destroy a T-34 just before it breached the defensive works protecting the trucks and artillery. Crews exiting their burning machines are cut down by a combination of MG42 and 20mm AA fire. This latest round of fighting leaves another four Soviet tanks burning on the wreckage and corpse strewn road.

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Some of the burning tank pyres in this photo contain more than one destroyed tank hulk. It is hard to see the exact number of destroyed tanks here.

Colonel Steigel is informed by the CP staff that Russian morale is showing signs of breaking. Now all depends on the two Panthers along with their infantry patrols taking Top Hat hill while some brave troops from the ravaged staging area try to take control of the eastern part of the road.

The sniper approaching Top Hat spots retreating Red Army soldiers and kills one with a well-placed shot. The sniper's position is sprayed with angry return fire while the two Panthers in Gruppe Jackboot mow down the enemy troops before they can run for the safety of the northern town. The Panthers move on to discover a fresh log bunker on the approach to Top Hap but reserve their fire for the still dangerous SU-152 approaching the crossroads. The Soviet beast is well within range to deliver accurate, penetrating shots. Two Panthers versus one SU-152 could go either way so the Panthers hope their enemy has been hit enough times already to cause some systems damage.

At the same time, the hidden swamp trap AT gun continues to pop rounds at the German infantry who are trying to work their way through the frozen undergrowth, mines, wrecked vehicles and diminishing Soviet artillery fire. The Germans realize they had better hurry up and destroy that gun before it earns a Hero of the Soviet Union medal. A German APC which had been transporting engineers is discovered still in operational order within the dense brush and wreckage next to the destroyed Tigers. The APC tries to move out from the hell of fire and smoke but immediately blows up on a mine. Apparently this is not APC-friendly terrain.

The biggest problems now faced are the rampaging SU-152 from Top Hat and an unchecked KV-1 which is moving up to finish off the German remnants near the swamp trap. The KV-1 is very close to the declawed Tiger which has no main gun. A depleted infantry squad stalks the KV-1 through the trees to it's rear and the last siG33 auf 38t timidly makes it's way north on the perchance it can get in a lucky shot. Lacking AT weaponry besides 1 remaining panzerfaust round, the Germans may well get shot-up in this area in the next few minutes.
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »

Stalemate and Slaughter in the Mud


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The last undamaged Tiger roars out to take on the SU-152 and is nailed by the hidden swamp trap anti-tank gun but the shell does not penetrate. The Tiger fires repeatedly at both the SU-152 and the now visible ATG but misses both targets. German riflemen open fire on the ATG and they are blasted in return by accurate HE rounds forcing them to retreat while dragging their wounded comrades along.

The two remaining Tiger tanks are each hit by at least eight 76mm shells each. The last remaining operational 88 gun on the Tiger is wrecked and both of the Tigers retreat into the trees to avoid another hail of fire. Once in hiding behind a building, one Tiger blazes away at some Soviet infantry on the road with it's machine guns.

Soviet artillery rains down over the German crews and depleted infantry squads. Some infantry squads having only 2 or 3 soldiers still able to fight. The SU-152 and KV-1 head unchallenged towards the crossroads firing big rounds into the German infantry and also hit a siG33 auf 38t and it explodes. The two last siG33 auf38ts head towards the crossroads from the south to defend it but one gets stuck while other realizes it's out of HE ammunition. The crew are saved the bother of returning for resupply when a round from one of the enemy tanks scores a direct hit on their tiny vehicle.

The Russian tanks continue to mow down German troops around the crossroads when they fail to destroy the tanks with close assaults. An MG42 machine gun is run over. Finally the SU-152 blows up during a final desperate charge by a German squad. The KV-1 still charges into the crossroads while Soviet artillery rakes the area over.

Kampfgruppe Jackboot in the northwest gets caught in a nasty crossfire from bunkers, hidden ATGs and Soviet infantry still on top of Horseshoe Hill. The German sniper kills another soldier but when he dives into a house to avoid the return fire he is cut down. A flurry of anti-tank shells bounce off both the Panthers which return ineffective fire. This continues for some time with little achieved other than one Soviet bunker destroyed and the infantry who killed the sniper are shot-up by the vengeful German tank gunners.

The German assault has become completely bogged down in the mud, craters and bitter fighting. Just as despair sets in, the Soviets jolly up the Germans with a spirited counterattack. T-34s fire from the fog of war and one is spotted and destroyed. M5 halftracks charge towards the German command post but the thinly armored vehicles moving along the roads are shot full of holes by the heavy weapons and their onboard infantry suffer heavy losses.

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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »

With heavy losses on both sides in men and equipment, the large set-piece battle has degenerated into more of a pick and peck kind of fight. The Germans have expended all their offensive potency so Colonel Steigel orders his troops just to hold the crossroads and eastern flank against counterattacks in order to protect the crowds of crew members from destroyed vehicles who are streaming southwest to take refuge in the relative safety of the forest. The only problem with this is the frozen treetops offer little protection against incoming shells, though it's looking as though the Soviets are running down their munition stocks.

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Four Soviet tanks with some infantry counterattack again from Top Hat hill in the north towards the crossroads. German riflemen shoot down Russian troops on the road and they break off their attack. A KV-1 tank drives up behind the wreckage from earlier fighting while German engineers drop smoke and prepare to close assault the heavy tank. A Tiger with an inoperable 88 makes a run behind some buildings to escape the nearby KV-1 which hits the rear hull of the fleeing Tiger with all its weapons but fails to damage it.

The two Jackboot Panthers west of Top Hat blast away at the T-34s at extreme range causing the crew of one tank to panic and bail out. Follow-up machine gunning catches one crewman climbing down from the turret and he topples down the side of the tank and into the mud.

Meanwhile on Horseshoe Hill to the west, a damaged Panther and a scout team fight non-stop with Soviet infantry still in the hilltop forest. A German engineer squad is left without orders right on top of the Russian log bunker and they are mowed down in a hail of fire from the bunker.


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The German troops defending the crossroads close assault the KV-1 several times and finally destroy it after taking some casualties from the tank's machine guns. More T-34s are approaching from the northeast and it is hoped the two Panthers will be able to stop them before they rip into the reduced, exhausted German troops who are running out of ammunition.

The rest of the battleground is quieting down. The Soviet assault from the east has broken off and the AA guns continue to shoot down any escaping Soviet vehicle crews they see. One of the 88 AA guns protecting the flank against tanks is packed into a truck and shipped north towards the crossroads while being careful to avoid the swamptrap. The truck crew recites Hail Marys so that a Soviet shell does not hit the soft skin vehicle with its vital cargo onboard.
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by Alby »

You're back!
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »

Hi, my internet was down for some time cause my computer needed some repairs. I fixed my computer and now it's okay.
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A Shoot-out During the Lull

The Germans use the relative lull in the fighting to snipe at retreating Soviets and try another attack on the sandbagged anti-tank gun watching over the swamptrap area from a carefully camouflaged position among the dense forest. The carnage of so many destroyed vehicles in the area provides an excellent smokescreen to further enhance the invisibility of the Soviet gun. This is the same gun, a solid candidate for the Hero of the Soviet Union award, which has destroyed a Tiger and fired upon many other vehicles and troops causing grief far out of proportion expected from a single medium fixed gun position and all this despite being fired on numerous times by troops, tanks and artillery. A fire earlier in the gun pit caused by 88mm Tiger rounds did some damage but apparently failed to silence the weapon.

German infantry firing on retreating Soviets invites opportunistic fire from the hidden ATG which kills another two German soldiers. Rifle shots are returned and one of the ATG crewmen takes a round and flops down behind the sandbag wall. Artillery support is called in to hit just north of the ATG to avoid hitting nearby friendly troops to the south. In this latest exchange with the heroic ATG, the Germans defending east of the crossroads are down to only 4 soldiers and confirmed a total of 3 casualties among the enemy ATG crew since the start of the battle. It is unsure what effects artillery has had on the position as it is almost impossible to spot.

Soviet Counterattack on the Crossroads

The lull was short and ended with a strong Soviet counterattack coming down from Top Hat hill. Six tanks in all have been spotted and they are supported by infantry. Some of the units moving on the hill have yet to be spotted. Just as the counterattack got rolling, the last siG33 auf 38t was hit and destroyed while trying to support the crossroads. The damaged Tiger just north of the crossroads is hit by two 76mm shells from fast moving T-34s at a range of less than 700 meters and the Tiger explodes. Only 2 of the Tiger's crew survive to bail-out leaving 3 of their comrades screaming and dying in the internal fire. It was hoped that the Tiger would occupy the attentions of T-34s at long-range giving time to the two Panthers to get shots off and reduce the attackers. This plan did not work.

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Facing this Soviet counterattack, the Germans are left with two Panthers, one damaged Tiger with no main gun and three badly depleted infantry squads in and around the crossroads. Crews of 2 or 3 men who had their vehicles destroyed earlier are now being used to test possible deployment sites for the 88 being trucked in. Viewpoints and protection provided by the terrain are the main interest. A favorable spot is selected and the truck drives off the road and into the trees as indicated by a scouting crew.

The last Tiger tank hunkered in among the trees and burning wreckage east of the crossroads, left with only machine guns, hoses down the approaching T-34s and their accompanying infantry in order to delay them long enough for the 88 to deploy. Deployment of the 88 is quick when a round from a T-34 hits the truck killing one of the crew and destroying the truck. Due to severe shock and disorganization, the 88 remains inoperable at this time.

The two Panthers from the original Jackboot group, fire non-stop from extreme range at the Soviets moving southwest. Hits are few and ineffective because of both the extreme range and the way the Panthers drive around constantly to dodge the hail of incoming rounds. A camouflaged 76mm anti-gun in a sandbag pit west of Top Hat hill bounces rounds off the Panthers. The Panthers return machine gun fire but with no success. These two Panthers, the damaged Tiger and an AA truck are the last mobile units available. The AA truck is hidden in some trees nearby to the south of the crossroads providing sanctuary for retreating crews and protection against incoming Soviet aircraft.
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SS Hauptsturmfuhrer
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RE: Korsun Pocket

Post by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer »


Soviet Breakthrough

The Germans try to provide a line of defense on the front from Jackboot in the north through Horseshoe Hill and the crossroads in the middle and eastwards along the road. Wehrmacht forces are battered, depleted and liable to fall apart at any point on the line.

The Soviet attack is fast approaching the crossroads. There is only token German resistance from a few rifle shots and inaccurate tank rounds supported by the four 150mm guns of the artillery battery which provide a constant reduction of Soviet infantry with accurate overhead bursts.

The leading two T-34s drive through the smokescreen at the crossroads and survive several close assaults by German infantry and engineers. The return fire from the tanks mows down the German troops at point-blank range and the tanks pursue the retreating survivors into the trees to finish them off with machine gun fire. The loss of these troops means the loss of any organized German resistance at the crossroads.

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The Germans respond to the loss of the crossroads by mounting a weak counterattack with troops from the south and tanks from the north, but lose a rifle squad in the swamp trap which is overrun by the next wave of T-34s, and one Panther in the north gets stuck in the mud and dense forest where it is hit in the side hull and explodes. The crew escape the Panther but are shot down to a man. The last Panther in the northwest spots a T-34 through the trees and knocks it out with an accurate long-range shot. The crew from the T-34 are killed off by a combination of artillery and fire from the Tiger in the south.

The ongoing fight in the trees on top of Horseshoe Hill takes a turn for the worse when Soviet infantry finally succeed in approaching the Panther and blow it up with satchel charges. The Germans have only 2 recon teams left on Horseshoe to contest it with. One recon team comes around the south of the hill and hit a mine which blows off one soldier's foot, but the remaining 3 troopers carry on and destroy the infamous log bunker on the south side of Horseshoe Hill. The other recon team sneaks up behind the destroyed Panther and sets up an ambush which ravages the jubilant Soviet infantry causing them to disperse.

With crumbling defences and rampaging T-34 tanks approaching their rear areas, German moral plummets. The 88 gun which barely survived when it's transporting truck was destroyed, is abandoned by it's crew just as the T-34s break through which means the end of any kind of German anti-tank capability in the crossroads area. With the German infantry overrun and dispersed, crews from the many vehicles destroyed in the opening stages of the battle are now coming under fire from the T-34s and other Russian positions which cannot be spotted.

German Schwerpunkt Attacks Eastwards

With crippling losses, the original German schwerpunkt is no longer a viable force so a new assault group is cobbled together to renew attacks to break through to the Korsun pocket before it is too late. This new battlegroup is made up of two rifle squads, both slightly reduced by Soviet artillery which ravaged German positions earlier in the battle. The schwerpunkt of the attack is to be towards the eastern crossroads which has not yet been reconnoitred but is expected to be lightly held. With this battlegroup formed, the only German forces left uncommitted to the battle are a fresh squad of riflemen kept in reserve near the CP and another squad with 4 soldiers left which is sent east to blow up an abandoned M5 halftrack so that the Soviets cannot recover it after the battle.

The troops in the schwerpunkt use trees and buildings as cover and avoid the open fields on the approach to the crossroads. There is no organized resistance and the some crew moving through the area are picked off by German riflemen. Once the road junction is secured, one German infantry squad notices a fast-approaching T-34 and fires a panzerfaust at it with no effect. The other squad pops smoke and a deadly ambush along both sides of the snow covered road is prepared for the enemy tank and whatever else comes with it. The Germans point their panzerfausts at the smoke and stop breathing to steady their aim and reduce the shaking from the cold and fear of the clanking tank treads coming at them from just meters away.

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