Winter War - Scenario #5 - combat patrol

 

Rules: Nuts! By TwoHourWargames (28mm WWII skirmish) - With a few touches of my own

 Campaign & Scenario Details:

Nationality	Unit Type	Month/Year	Location
Suomi (Finland)	Jääkkäri (Jaegers)	Joulukuu (Dec),1939	Kuhmo Sector

 

ID	Mission	Finnish Morale	Soviet Morale	Finnish Inv Lvl	Soviet Inv Lvl	Notes
1.	Patrol	4	4	3	4	Soviet Victory
2.	Defend	4	4	3	4	Finnish Victory
3.	Patrol	4	3	3	4	Soviet Victory
4.	Defend	4	3	3	4	Finnish Victory
5.	Patrol	4	2	3	4

 

Note on Finnish Language: I prefer to use Finnish ranks and abbreviations. Note that these are my abbreviations and not necessarily the real ones. They are as follows:

Sotamies (Sm) Infantry private

Jääkkäri (Jkr) Jaeger private

Korpraali (Krp) private first class

Alakersantti (Aks) corporal (in game terms, an assistant squad leader)

Kersantti (Krs) sergeant (in game terms, a squad leader)

Ylikersantti (Yks): senior sergeant (in game terms, the platoon sergeant)

Vänrikki (Vrk): 2nd Lieutenant (Platoon leader)

 

Common abbreviations used:

LOS = Line of sight

IST = In sight Test; a game mechanic that determines who shoots first, regardless as to whish side is active at the time

PEF = Possible Enemy Force; may be actual enemy force, or may just be rumors. It won’t be determined for certain until positive identification by friendly forces.

 Date: December 28th, 1939,

Weather: Clear, deep snow, cold weather rules in effect, all rivers completely frozen

 Historical Note:

 The Red Army offensive on Kuhmo has been stopped cold (pun intended). It is time for the Finnish army to start breaking up their formations and begin working on creating “Mottis” (The Finnish word for a cubic meter stack of firewood).

  The Finns are not strong enough to engage the entire Soviet 54^th Division. Their plan is to cut the strung-out Soviet forces into smaller more manageable pockets, taking out the weakest ones first, while the severe cold works its magic on the larger pockets. They call this tactic Motti as it was reminiscent of cutting up firewood and leaving the stacks to be picked up later.

 Briefing:

  Kapteeni Kaarna’s combined force easily stopped a Soviet thrust on the northern road to Tyrävaara. In hindsight, this must have been a feint, as the main thrust of the Soviet 54^th Division was on the southern road to Kuhmo, where it was stopped by forces from the 25^th Jalkaväki (infantry) regiment’s third battalion. The Soviet 54^th Division is now strung out along the main road from Lyötävaara to Kankivaara.

  Kersantti’s Kalvela’s 1st squad has received replacements and is now up to its full strength of ten men. Unfortunately, over half (6) are still green (Rep3). It is hoped that a patrol or two might improve their quality before the next major battle - if they can survive long enough. The good news is they were able to keep the captured LMG from prying eyes at headquarters.

 Kalvela’s mission is to patrol the road between Sivaka and Luvilahti and find a suitable place for a subsequent attack that will cut the road and establish a Motti.

 At present, they are made up of:

·       Kersantti Kalvela (SMG), Rep6; Marksman, Knifeman

·       Alakersantti Korpela (SMG), Rep5; Tank Killer

·       Korpraali Helske (Rifle), Rep6; Crack shot

·       Korpraali Hakala (LMG), Rep4; Quick reflexes

·       Jääkäri Laine (Rifle, LMG Assistant), Rep3; Shirker

·       Jääkäri Laitila (Rifle), Rep3; Stone Cold

·       Jääkäri Alanen (Rifle), Rep 3; Nerves of Steel

·       Jääkäri Haapasalo (Rifle), Rep3; Resilient

·       Jääkäri Jouppi (Rifle), Rep3; Coward

·       Jääkäri Ahti Saari (Rifle), Rep3; No attribute

 Situation at start: 

Turn 1: Soviet Initiative

 No sightings, PEF1&2 do not move; PEF #3 advances towards Kalvela’s squad

 Kalvela (on skis) advance up the left side.

(Some of the early photos are a bit foggy, must have been snowing)

Turn 2: Finnish Initiative

 Kalvela keeps moving up the left; PEF advance – still no sightings

 Turn 3: Finnish Initiative and reinforcements

 Vrk Kantola and Krs Lehto’s Jääkäri LMG squad (one LMG, one SMG and 5 rifles) arrive in the center of the Finnish side of the board.

 Krs Kalvela cautiously approaches the road.

Vanrikki Kantola and a LMG squad arrives

 PEF 1 & 3 continue to advance; PEF2 does not move.

 Turn 4: Soviet Initiative

Start of turn #4

 PEF1& 2 continue their slow advance towards Kalvela. PEF3 has turned and now advances towards Vrk Kantola’s group, where it is spotted.

 Rules Note: PEF advance towards the closest friendly force. When Kantola arrived, this became his group.

 Vrk Kantola identifies PEF3 as a full strength (14) enemy squad with a medium MG. The Finns are outnumbered and outgunned (nothing unusual about that), but do manage to win IST and fire first. Vrk Kantola kills one and wounds one, but there are no other Soviet casualties; several Soviets are forced to drop back however. Soviet active fire does not cause any casualties, but forces all but Aks Rokka to drop back deeper into the woods.

 

Kantola engages PEF3

During the Finnish phase, Vrk Kantola rallies his forces. Feeling rather exposed, Rokka drops back and joins his squad mates out of the Soviet LOS.

Kalvela hears PEF2 advancing towards him; he orders his men to dismount from their skis and form a firing line. He also sends Helske and Laitila to the bridge to get a look at what is coming down the road, if anything.

Kantola prepares to engage Sov 2nd Squad

Turn 5: Soviet initiative – new PEF(4) appears in the far right corner (from Finnish point of view)

PEF1 & 4 continue their march down the road.

PEF2 advances and is spotted by Kalvela – an 11man squad. The Finns fire first.

 Krs Kalvela bravely takes on the Soviet LMG. His first burst is ineffective and he is wounded by the return fire. He shakes this off and kills the gunner with his second burst.

 Rules Note: One figure is the “Star” and represents the player – in my case Kalvela. There are special rules that protect the Star from being killed too easily. This is the 3rd time in this campaign that Kalvela has been saved by special rule. He’ll have to be careful as the odds of being saved twice in one scenario are low.

 Krp Hakala (LMG) kills one rifleman and wounds another; Krp Korpela (SMG) also wounds a rifleman. The inexperienced Finnish riflemen fail to do any damage, but do force several of the enemy to drop back further into the woods. Soviet active fire causes Jkr Jouppi and Saari to drop back.

 The few members of Soviet 1^st squad that are in good order engage Kantola’s squad. One Soviet is killed and the others drop back, they are no longer in LOS of the Finns.

 Finnish phase.

On the left Kalvela has his force regroup. He sends Aks Korpela and Jkr Haapasalo off to the right, to keep an eye on the retreating Soviet 2^nd Squad.  Jkr Saari has recovered his composure, but Kalvela notices that Jkr Jouppi has already “Hunkered down” (Coward attribute). Kalvela decides he has better things to do than deal with Jouppi, so he leaves him where he is and moves with the rest of his men toward the bridge.

Helske identifies an enemy squad

At the Bridge, Krp Helske takes a quick peak and identifies PEF1 as Soviet 3^rd squad (LMG and 9 rifles) in a defensive position along both sides of the road. Helske drops back before they can spot him (house rule).

 On the right Kantola moves up and re-engages with 1^st Squad. Kantola kills the machine gunner, other members of the squad wound another and force the Soviets to drop back. Kantola’s group pursues; they kill one more and wound three others, as the Soviets continue to flee deeper into the forest.

Kantola drives Sov 1/1 back

 Turn 6: Soviet Initiative & Reinforcements – 4^th squad (12 men but no LMG).

 The Soviets spend most of their time rallying and reorganizing. Six out of seven in 1^st squad recover, as do four out of five of 5^th squad. Third squad stays in its defensive positions. Fourth squad and the last PEF move down the road.

  On the Finnish left-center, Aks Korpela rather impetuously leads Jkr Haapasalo towards the remnants of Soviet 2^nd squad.  Haapasalo takes aim at the Soviet sergeant, but misses. Haapasalo is killed by return fire. Korpela kills a corporal and two others leave the battlefield. The Soviet Sgt falls back towards first squad.

 On the Finnish right, Vrk Kantola continues his pursuit of 1^st squad. Reaction fire continues to drive the Soviets back, although they do suffer some casualties. Krp Vanhala throws a grenade into the fleeing Soviets. Before long, all of both 1^st and 2^nd squads are eliminated or are leaving the battlefield.

 Turn 7: Soviets fail to activate but receive reinforcements, 1^st squad of 2^nd platoon (14) plus Captain and a political officer.

 

Start of turn #7

Krs Kalvela orders Jkr Saari to grab his skis and give a message to Vänrikki Kantola, requesting he take his half platoon and come to his immediate support.

Rules Note: Normally, a friendly group that is not controlled by your star, acts according to the game mechanics - which may or may not be in your stars best interest. I play it that if I send a runner to the other group, it is much more likely to act as I want them to.

 

Kalvela gives Saari his instructions

Turn 8: Soviet initiative

 3^rd squad continues to hold its defensive position; PEF4 continues its slow march down the road.

 Kantola sends Saari back with his confirmation and his plan to flank the Soviet position.

 Turn 9: Soviet Initiative

 3^rd squad continues to hold its defensive position; PEF4 continues its slow march down the road.

 Kalvela holds his position in the woods outside the LOS of the road. He also takes the time to kick Jkr Jouppi in the butt and get him back into the line. After skiing at triple speed, Jkr Saari is able to report to Kalvela.

 Kantola works his way through the woods to his right, looking for the flank of Soviet 3^rd squad’s defensive position. It will take some time.

 Turn 10: Soviet Initiative

 Pretty much the same activity as turn 9.

 Turn 11: Finnish fail to activate, but reinforcements arrive in the nick of time: Sgt Perkola’s 10-man (2SMG, 8 rifles) ski patrol.

Start of turn 

Finnish reinforcements

 PEF4 has reached the bridge.

 Turn 12: Soviet Initiative

Cpt Koldinov orders 4^th squad (1^st platoon) to turn to the left and provide flank security for 3^rd squad’s defensive position. He then orders 1^st squad (2^nd platoon) to continue down the road.

Perkola’s SMG squad skis for all they are worth (successful triple march) and link up with Vrk Kantola.

 Turn 13: Finnish Initiative

 Kantola has organized his Jääkäri squad and Perkola’s Jalkaväki (infantry) squad into one large group. He continues to move parallel to the road, through the woods to his right, aiming for the defensive position’s flank.

 

Kantola prepares his forces for attack (top) while the Soviets prepare for defense - they must cover two approaches

PEF4 has crossed the bridge, but has no LOS to Kalvela’ s group, as the latter is too deep inside the woods.

4^th squad completes its deployment and drops prone.

 Turn 14: Soviet Initiative

 PEF4 leaves the road and advances on Kalvela. It is identified as a 12-man Soviet squad with a MMG attached. The Finns win the IST and fire first, carefully avoiding the MMG.

Kantola is attacked by the Soviets on the main road
(The Finns are still in the tree line - trees were moved for the photo

 Thanks to his special ability (Marksman), Kalvela scores hits and kills the LMG gunner. Aks Korpela also scores some hits, wounding two riflemen. Finnish riflemen score a couple of drop backs. However, with no cover nearby, the Soviets simply drop prone. Active fire from the Soviet MMG kills Jkr Jouppi and forces the rest of Kalvela’s squad deeper into the woods.

  Finnish phase:

 Kantola leads his group forward, although the ykeep to the tree line and its cover; unfortunately, the Soviets were waiting for them and fire first. The Soviets avoid the Finnish automatic weapons and concentrate their fire on the riflemen: the drive five Finns back into the woods. The firefight continues through active fire, with both sides suffering casualties. Two Soviet riflemen have had enough and leave the battlefield.

 

Kantola engages the Soviet main force
(As before, the Finns are still in the tree line)

Soviets have to reorganize to respond to Kantola's threat

Turn 15: Soviet initiative

Turn 15 (more or less)

 Political Officer Badinov orders 1/2 (1^st squad, 2^nd platoon) to redeploy to the left and face the Finns. Several figures from 3/1 also turn to face.They missed the first firefight as they had no LOS (facing the wrong way). The Finns were ready this time, winning the new IST and firing first.

 Accurate fire from Aks Rokka forces the political officer and a sergeant to seek cover from a nearby snow drift. Fire from the other Finns kills one, wounds three and forces several others to drop prone.  The Soviets fail to cause any casualties.

 The Soviets finish their redeployment and begin active fire. Soviet rifle fire only scores one hit; but it’s a significant one – they have killed Aks Rokka (my favorite figure after my “Star.” I may have to cheat and allow him to crawl off into the woods and have him return at a lower rep. Perhaps he is only “Mostly Dead”). Soviet rifle fire has also caused several other Finns to retreat into the woods. Only the LMG (Lahtinen) and the two infantry SMG (Lukkari and Saarinen) stand their ground, killing one and wounding two between them. Their accurate fire also causes a couple of riflemen to leave the battlefield.

 However, with all their comrades retreating into the woods, the trio elect to follow them. Safe from enemy fire, the redoubtable Kantola has rallied his Jääkärit, but two of Perkola’s infantry squad refuse to recover.

 The Soviets stopped Kantola’s attack, but at some cost. They are barely hanging on.

  In kalvela’s sector, both sides take advantage of being beyond LOS of the other to recover.

 Turn 16: Finnish initiative

 On the right, Vrk Kantola decides he needs everyman he has, so spends the turn rallying the two infantrymen. Time will tell if this was the right decision.

 On the left, Krs Kalvela re-establishes LOS with Sov 2/2 and opens up a firefight. Between reaction and active fire, Kalvela wounds two, but Saari is killed. Fire from Hakala’s LMG is disappointing. However, Laitila does throw a cluster grenade on top of the Soviet MMG crew, killing the assistant and wounding the ammo bearer; Korpella finishes off the gunner with a burst of his SMG.

 

YksKorpela and Jaeger Laitila attack the MMG nest

 On the left, Political Officer Badinov continues to organize his forces.

On the right, the sergeant of Sov 2/2 rallies his men, then engages in active fire with Kalvela’s squad; their fire is quite effective. Korpela is wounded by the Soviet senior corporal, Haakala and his LMG are driven back by the Soviet junior corporal, while Jkr Alanen is killed. Even Kalvela is forced back into the woods.

 Turn 17: Soviet initiative – and more reinforcements.

Do they ever run out of men?

 The Sov 3/2 squad (13), with an MMG attached, arrive on the board. The Soviet commanders have certainly done a good job of “Marching to the sounds of the guns” this day. The Finns are out-numbered by over 2:1 (48-20)

 

The Soviets have formed a double line to face Kantola

End

At this point the Finns have decided the situation is hopeless and have decided to withdraw. Although they were not able to cut the road at all, thanks to repeated Soviet reinforcements, it can be said that they did accomplish their mission, from a certain point of view. Kalvela’s mission was to find a soft spot for the next attack. This he most certainly did not do. On the other hand, he was able to find a spot where they should not attack, so that is something. As they say, he who defends everything, defends nothing. Perhaps another patrol will find a weak spot.

 On a positive note, it seems like Aks Rokka wasn’t killed after all. He was wounded and feigned death until dark (around 1500 this tine of year in Finland), when he made his own way back to camp.

 Rules note: Technically, this mission was a failure, which would require the next mission to be another “Defend” mission. However, having already played two such missions I wanted to try an “Attack” mission. Consequently, I stretched the definition of “success” just a bit.

 

Situation at time o fFinnish withdrawal

Daily Report for Kantola’s half platoon:

1^st (SMG) squad

·       Kersantti Kalvela: survived, no change to Rep

·       Alakersantti Korpela: wounded, returns to action next scenario

·       Korpraali Helske: survived, no change to Rep

·       Korpraali Hakala: survived, Rep increased to 5.

·       Jääkäri Laine: survived, no change to Rep

·       Jääkäri Laitila: survived, Rep increased to 4

·       Jääkäri Alanen: killed

·       Jääkäri Haapasalo: killed

·       Jääkäri Jouppi: killed

·       Jääkäri Ahti Saari: killed

2^nd (LMG) squad

·       Vänrikki Kantola: survived, no change to Rep

·       Kersantti Lehto: survived, Rep increased to 5.

·       Alakersantti Rokka: wounded, returns to action next scenario

·       Korpraali Vanhala: survived, no change to Rep

·       Jääkäri Lahtinen: survived, no change to Rep

·       Jääkäri Susi: survived, no change to Rep

·       Jääkäri Rahikainen: survived, no change to Rep

·       Jääkäri Riitaoja: survived, no change to Rep