Nuts! Big Battles Winter War - Scenario #1
Rules: Nuts! Big Battles (15mm)
Scenario: “So it Begins” (The Advance on Kuhmo)
From White Death – The Soviet-Finnish Winter War
1939-1940
by WWII Campaigns in Miniature by Treadhead Games
Date: Nov 30, 1939
Actual Forces involved:
Finland: Two companies from the 13th
Reinforced Battalion.
Soviet: Three companies plus a tank company from the 81st
Rifle regt. of 54th Division
Note: Rather than roll for each platoon to
have its own Reputation level, I decided to make my life easier and roll by
companies. This made the game a lot quicker, but does have consequences if you
roll badly – which I of course did.
Finland: Battalion
Commander (Rep4); 1st Company (Rep3) with an 81mm mortar, a 37mm ATG
and one heavy MG attached; 2nd company (Rep5) with an 81mm mortar
and one heavy MG attached; Jager platoon with a Boys anti-tank rifle attached. Both
companies consisted of three platoons of three squads. The Jager platoon also
consisted of three squads.
Soviets:
Battalion Commander (Rep4); 1st company (Rep5), with an HMG and
mortar attached; 2nd company (Rep3) with an HMG and mortar attached;
3rd company (Rep3) with an HMG and mortar attached. Each company
consisted of three platoons of four squads each. The tank company consisted of
three T-26 light tanks.
Note: Soviet rifle platoons of this time period were much larger than Finnish ones (about 55 v. 35), so I considered making them five stands each. In the end I thought/hoped four stands would be enough.
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| Soviet company of three platoons of four squads each (plus some support weapons) |
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| Finnish company of three platoons of three squads each (plus some support weapons and some leaders) |
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| Showing the three stages of order Note the facing for "Fall Back" |
Weather: Normal cold, light snow on ground (no effect on movement; tanks take bog check if they leave road); poor visibility.
Objectives: Soviet
win a major victory of they can exit 50% of their forces off the far table edge
and eliminate 50% of the Finnish Forces. They win a minor victory if they only
accomplish one of those goals. Finns win a major victory if they deny the
Soviets both of their objectives.
The Finns start
the game dug in; the Soviets start the game out of sight behind a tree line.
Note: The scenario calls for 16 turns, but because of how
the initiative system works, I will likely play more.
Terminology: When an army “fails to activate,” it means that faction rolled a DR6 for activation, so nobody can move. When a company “Does not activate” it means only that particular leader cannot move.
#/# means platoon/company, so 2/1 means 2nd platoon of 1st company, etc.
Turn 1: Finns do not activate, but receive
reinforcements: one infantry squad (1/3)
All three Soviet companies move forward. Only the center
company is spotted, but is out of small arms range. They exchange MG fire
without effect.
Turn 2: Finnish initiative, but neither #1 company
nor the reinforcements activate
Soviet #1 company (left flank) advances and is spotted by
the Jaegers; The Jaegers fire at Soviet 2/1 without effect.
Soviet #2 company and the tanks move forward in the
center, but are not spotted.
One platoon from Soviet #3 company (2/3) is spotted by
Finnish 2/1. The Finns win the initiative and Soviet 2/3 is disordered.
Turn 3: Soviets fail to activate; they also fail
to receive reinforcements
The Jaegers engage and disorder the Soviet 2/1.
Finnish 1/2 (with MG attached) fires at Soviet 1/2 and
disorders them
Finnish 2/2 fires at Soviet 2/2 and disorders them.
Finnish 2/1 continues to engage Soviet 2/3, but causes no
further damage.
Turn 4: Soviets again fail to activate
The same shooters
and targets as in turn #3. The only difference is that the Finnish 1/2 forced the Soviet 1/2 to Fall Back; the others
remained disordered.
Outnumbered Finns await the deluge
Turn 5: The
Soviets fail to activate for the third consecutive turn; Finnish #1 company
does not activate, nor do the reinforcements
The Jaegers keep
up their fire on the Soviet 2/1, but cannot achieve a decisive result.
Finnish 1/2 and 2/2 fire decisively on their Soviet
counterparts, causing both 1/2 and 2/2 to break.
Turn 6: Finnish initiative; Finnish #1 company does
not activate
The Jaegers keep
up their fire, but still cannot get a decisive result against the Soviet
veterans (Rep 5) of 1st company.
The Finnish 1/2
doesn’t have anyone in range of small arms – so does not fire. Finnish 2/2
fires its mortars at Soviet 3/2 causing disorder.
Soviet left (#1
company): 2/1 rallies from disorder; 1/1 fires its mortar at the Jaegers, but
has no effect. 3/1 fails to move (It was active, but the “Non-Player Enemy”
chart dictated it held its position. It couldn’t fire because its LOS was
blocked by Soviet 2/1).
The Soviet tank company advances up the road and is
spotted by Finnish #1 company’s ATG. Neither fire is effective.
Tank #’s 2 & 3
do not have LOS to the ATG so fire at Finnish 1/2 and 2/2 respectively. Finnish 1/2 Falls Back and 2/2 is disordered.
View looking south this time
Jaegers continue
to keep Soviet 2/1 pinned, but little else. Finnish1/2 and 2/2 rally.
On the Finnish left, 2/1 rallies.
Turn 8: The Soviets yet again fail to activate:
Heads will no doubt roll!
Note: I can’t believe how many times the poor Soviets
rolled a DR6 for activation. At this point I almost gave them a “Mulligan” and
rerolled the initiative. But since I was rolling from a pool of about 10 dice –
using a different one every time, I just decided to keep going: fortunes of war
and all. They will definitely be awarded more turns.
The Finns weren’t
able to accomplish much anyway. The Jaegers kept up their mostly ineffective
fire, and the ATG clanked another round of the lead T-26.
Turn 9: Soviet Initiative!
Soviet left: 3/1 passes through Soviet 2/1; Soviet 1/1
advances.
Soviet Center: Lead T-26 continues to ineffectively engage
the Finnish ATG.
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| Soviet 3/2 advances behind the tank company. |
Finnish turn:
The Jaegers
finally cause a casualty and force the Soviet 2/1 to Fall Back.
Turn 10: Finnish initiative; Finnish 1st
Company does not activate
The Jaegers
cause another casualty to the 2/1, but they remain in “Fall Back.”
Finnish 2nd
Company has no targets it can damage.
Soviet left:
1/1 advances to
get within charging range for next turn. 3/1 passes through the “Fall Back” 2/1
and remains in good order. 2/1 moves back, so cannot attempt to rally.
Turn 11: Finnish initiative and reinforcements (2/3) – Finnish 1st company doesn’t activate
About to be overwhelmed, the Jaegers drop back.
Finnish 1/2 fires at the Soviet 3/1 – causing disorder
Finnish 1/1 fires at Soviet 1/3 – knocking out their MG
and causing disorder
Soviet left:
2/1 and 3/1rally; 1/1 moves forward causing an IST with
Jaegers. The Finns get the worst of it and are disordered.
Soviet center:
The 1st T-26 continues to ineffectively
exchange fire with the Finnish ATG (I am either not doing this right or need to
re-examine the factors)
The 2nd and 3rd T-26 continue their ineffective fire on the Finnish 1/2
Soviet 3/2 stays behind the tanks.
Soviet right:
1/3 fails to rally. 2/3 and 3/3 advance.
Turn 12: Soviet initiative – 2nd and 3rd
companies do not activate
Soviet left:
1st
company advances, causing multiple IST – fire is ineffective
Finns – 1st company does not activate
Jaegers and 2nd
company units engage Soviet 1st company; 1/1 is disordered whereas
the 3/1 carries on. 3rd company continues its march up the main
road.
Turn 13: Finnish initiative – 1st company
does not activate
Fire fight between Jaegers and 1/2 against Soviet 1st
company continues. Soviet 3/1 loses a stand, but is not disordered.
Soviet 1/1 rallies; Soviet fire from 3/1 causes Finnish 1/2
to lose a stand and become disordered.
Turn 14: Finnish initiative – 1st
company does not activate
Jaeger fire is
ineffective; 1/2 fails to rally
The leading element of 3rd company decides to
wait for the 2nd platoon (about 2 moves behind) to catch up.
Soviet left:
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| 1/1 decides to charge the Finnish jaegers; the charge is unsuccessful – the Soviets Fall Back but the Jaegers are disordered. |
Fire from Soviet 3/1 against the Finnish 2/1 is deadly, the Finns lose one stand and break
Soviet 2/1 advances
Soviet center:
Soviet tanks move on line to maximize their firepower.
Soviet right:
1/3 rallies; 2/3 and 3/3 advance and are spotted by
Finnish 1/1. The fire is ineffective.
Turn 15: Finnish initiative
Jaegers rally; 3/2 moves up from its reserve position to
take up the foxholes abandoned by 1/2 when it broke.
Note: At this point I realized I made a critical
mistake in the Finnish setup – something that should have been obvious. I had
the Finnish battalion commander (Rep4) with #2 company. However, that company
was Rep5 – so his presence didn’t matter. He should have been with #1 company
(Rep3) – where his higher Rep was needed.
Finnish battalion commander heads off to his left flank –
where he should have been all along.
Finnish 3rd company takes up covered positions
– with one squad on each side of the road.
Soviet left:
1/1 – instead of rallying, 1/1 moves to the left to make
room for the 2/1, which moves to the company center. Soviet 3/1 fires at the
Jaegers, causing disorder.
Soviet center:
Tanks engage Finnish 2/2, killing one, but the 2/2 remain
in good order.
Soviet right: 3rd company fails to move
Turn 16: Soviet initiative – the tanks plus 2nd
and 3rd companies all fail to activate
Soviet left:
The plan was for
the 1/1 (still disordered) and 3/1 to bring fire on the Jaegers, so that reduced
2/1 could charge on. However, fire was unusually effective and forced the jaegers
to fall back out of the charge range of 2/2.
Finnish turn:
Jaegers rally. Finnish 3/2 fires at Soviet 2/1 – causing one
loss and disorder
In the center, the Finnish ATG finally takes out one of
the T-26; also causing the nearest T-26 to Fall Back.
The two surviving squads
of the 2/2 take this opportunity to assault the 3rd T-26 (which is
now by itself). Although 2nd squad is stopped, 1st squad
is able to destroy the tank .
A desperate attack
Turn 17: Soviets fail to activate
Jaegers advance to
come back on line with 3/2.
The 3/2 fires at their counterpart (Soviet 3/2) – causing
disorder
In the center, 2/2 rallies from their disorder following
their assault on the T-26.
On the right, the 1/1 fires at the Soviet 2/3 – causing a
casualty but not disorder
Turn 18: Soviet initiative, but only 1st
company activates
Soviet left
1/1 rallies, 2/1 breaks and the 3/1 fires at Finnish 3/2
causing one casualty and disorder
Soviet center
Soviet 3/2 charges the Finnish 2/2 – causing them to break
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| Trusting in their numbers, 3/2 attacks Finnish 2/2 |
Note: I just realized while typing this that this
attack should not have happened as the Rep3 Soviet 3/2 should not have
activated. Must have been unusually motivated.
Soviet right:
3rd company advances on Finnish 1st
company in order to get in charge range
Turn 19: Soviet initiative, but only 1st
company activates
Soviet left
1/1 advances while 3/1 unleashes devastating fire on
Finnish 3/2 – causing casualties and the Finns to break. All three platoons of
Finnish 2nd company are now lost.
Finnish turn:
Feeling exposed, the Jaegers withdraw towards linking up
with #3 company.
On the Finnish left, fearing they are about to be
flanked, the two surviving platoons of 1st company withdraw.
Turn 20: Soviet initiative
Soviet left:
1st company advances, re-establishing contact
with the Finnish Jaegers; Soviets win the IST – cause one casualty and force
the Jaegers to Fall Back.
Soviet 3rd company on the right spends the turn
advancing and straightening the line
Finnish Jaegers fail to rally; 1st company
withdraws some more, seeking the cover of the woods.
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| With the arrival of two more tanks - the Finns withdraw from the field |
All Soviet companies advance
Situation at the end
At this point the Finns are dangerously close to the 50%
loss mark – and would have had not reinforcements arrived. The Finns decide
they have delayed the Soviets as long as they can and retreat off the field.
Call it a Soviet “Winning Draw”
Notes:
·
The initiative die rolls were quite cruel to the
Soviets
·
Both sides had Rep3 companies (Soviets had 2) –
they were inactive more than expected.
·
Both sides had Rep5 companies (Finnish Jaeger
platoon was also Rep5). By coincidence they ended up facing each other. This
meant that on the flank where all the action was, it was easy to score hits,
but equally easy for side receiving fire to avoid disorder.
·
Nuts! Was designed for late war. When it comes to
WWII I have two passions: US Airborne and the Winter War. Winter War factors may require some tweaking.
I discovered Nuts a couple of years ago and
have been playing it pretty constantly since then (it’s good to be retired). I
really enjoyed it at 25mm – enough that I bought and painted a ton of new
figures – and will keep doing so. However, I still had even more 15mm WWII stuff
(US Airborne, Germany, Finns and Russians)- and wanted to give them a try.
I initially used another rules set (name
intentionally omitted), but try as I might, it was just too complicated for me
to enjoy – I like the simpler games. My first attempt was to try and just expand
the original “Nuts!” (basically a platoon level game) – but that didn’t work for
me. Someone at “TMP” suggested I try Big Battles, so I did.
I think it worked well enough. As usual with
me, I had a lot of questions. I suspect I will have to “house rule” some
things. But since this is a solo game, that really isn’t a problem. It was fast
and fun – basically what I was looking for. I will paly it some more.
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