Lapland Wars - a rather intense Finnish patrol

 

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LAPINSOTA The Lapland War (Sep 15, 1944 – Apr 27, 1945) Campaign

Rules: Nuts! By TwoHourWargames (28mm WWII skirmish) – with a few personal touches here and there (not to mention forgetting a rule now and then).

The Mission Card Deck will be used for pretty much everything.

More Background Information and explanations can be found HERE

Note: Inappropriate capitalization in the middle of a sentence refers to Rules

Campaign Background: Lapinsota, The Lapland War (Sep 15, 1944 – Apr 27, 1945)

 Follows the exploits of Kersantti (Sgt) Tapio Kalvela, AKA “The Metsän Kauhu” (Terror of the Forest) or often just “The Kauhu” and his Rajajääkäri (Border Jaeger) squad (The Brute Squad) as they try to expel the Germans from Lapland as demanded by the Soviets

 The Kauhu has been ordered to be cautious. The Soviets are demanding they pick up the pace to force the Germans out of Finland. At the same time, they are demanding the Finns demobilize much of their army. Replacements may be hard to come by.

  The Brute Squad is currently at full strength, as follows (Attribute):

·             The Kauhu, Rep5, SMG, satchel charge, Mol Cocktail, (Born Leader, Brawler)

·             Alikersantti Suominen, Rep6, semi-auto (SA) Rifle, Panzerfaust, (Lucky)

·             Korpraali Pylkäs, Rep6, SMG, 2 grenades, (Combat Sense)

·             Korpraali Korpi “The Immortal:” Rep6, SMG, 2 grenades, (Rage)

·             Könsikäs: Rep5, Captured Soviet LMG, (LMG Specialist)

·             Kirsi II: Rep4, SA Rifle, 2 grenades, (Marksman)

·             Kemppaala II, Rep3, Bolt Action (BA) Rifle, 2 grenades (Dumbass)

·             Niska III: Rep3, BA Rifle, 2 grenades (none)

·             Lång: Rep4, BA Rifle, 2 grenades, (none)

Medic Hussi has been temporarily attached to The Kauhu’s squad

This scenario:

Date: Oct 23, 1944; somewhere in Finnish Lapland

Weather: Clear.

Campaign Morale: Germans (4), Finns (3)

Investment Level: Germans (4), Finns (3)

Forces:

German Forces: The German forces are in some disarray as they retreat towards Norway. At this moment, we are not exactly sure who is in front of us. It could be the SS Nord, the 169^th infantry and/or elements of the 211^th panzer battalion.

The Mission:   

  The Kauhu is to patrol with his squad up to the Hirvijoki (Moose River), reconnoiter the bridge and scout the area between the river and the village of Kivivaara (Stone hill – off map to the north). Finally, you are to determine the identity of the force in front of us.

 The Kauhu moves off in a double road column, with his men just off the road at the edge of the tree line, He has his best man (Pylkäs) scouting ahead, as well as Korpi and Suominen guarding the flanks.

Positions at start. The Kauhu is entering the field on the road by number #8.

The Kauhu's march order

Turn 1: German initiative

Both sides move forward without sightings

Turn 2: Finnish initiative

Finns move forward without sightings. All 3 German PEFs move up. PEF3 is spotted by Korpi – but it is only Rumors.

Turn 3: Germans fail to activate

          Pylkäs identifies PEF1 as a 10-man squad with an MG42 (1^st squad of 1^st platoon or 1/1) in a prepared Defensive Position. He uses his Combat Sense to find cover before he is seen.

Pylkäs (upper center) spots the Germaan squad in cover behind a wall

Close up of the German 1/1

Turn 4: German initiative

          PEF2 moves up and is spotted by Suominen, but it is only rumors. 1/1 holds their position.

Suominen scouts from cover

          Pylkäs moves back to contact the Kauhu and reports his sighting.

Turn 5: Finnish initiative & Reinforcements

Finnish reinforcements

          Vrk Koskela appears on the road in sector #8. He has Hietanen’s 9-man squad plus a 45mm anti-tank gun. The squad consists of 2SMG, 1LMG, 1 SA Rifle & 4 BA Rifles.

          The Kauhu signals Korpi to rejoin the squad and moves the rest off the road to his right.

Turn 6: Time passes as neither side Activates

Turn 7: German initiative

          1/1 remains in its Defensive Position.

          Koskela inexplicably takes up a Defensive Posture. The Kauhu moves the balance of his squad toward Suominen’s last position. Suominen peaks out from cover and spots 1/1. He quickly retreats out of sight before he is spotted.

Turn 8: New PRF (#4) appears at the base of the hill in sector #6 – beyond Suominen’s line-of-sight. Germans fail to Activate.

          Satisfied there is no immediate threat, Koskela switches to a more active posture. Meanwhile, Suominen reports to the Kauhu, whose entire squad is now gathered together beneath the rocky hill.

Turn 9: Germans fail to Activate

          Koskela continues his advance, which is slowed by the need to manhandle the anti-tank gun. The Kauhu sends Pylkäs up to further spy out the German position and locate heavy weapons, leaders, etc.

Koskela's group advances

Turn 10: German initiative

          PEF4 is spotted and is resolved as a heavy mortar attack. It falls on the Kauhu’s position, but because of the cover provided by the rocky hill, there are no casualties. The 1/1 remains in position.

          Pylkäs moves up just far enough to scout out the 1/1. Using his Combat Sense, he quickly withdraws before he can be seen and reports to The Kauhu.

          Koskela continues his slow advance.

Turn 11: Finnish initiative

The Kauhu organizes his squad

    The Kauhu remains out of sight, but spends the time organizing his squad and assigning targets. He sends P.ylkäs forward again with orders to continue watching the enemy and staying out of sight. He is to signal when they let their guard down (Rules note: Pylkäs has a special ability – “Combat Sense” – that allows him to move after losing an In Sight Test. This enables him to do a sort of ‘cat & mouse’ activity where he moves up and can withdraw if he loses the In Sight Test. If he wins, he will signal the rest of the group to come forward. The rest of the squad is within “Group” range – but still out of sight of the enemy)

Turn 12: Finnish initiative

          The Kauhu notices that Koskela’s group is quite close. He signals Pylkäs to withdraw and sends a runner (Niska) to Koskela.

Turn 13: Germans fail to Activate

          Niska contacts Koskela and gives a situation report. Koskela gathers his squad and prepares to engage in a coordinated attack on the 1/1. The plan is for Hietanen’s squad to provide distracting cover while the ATG sets up. He sends Niska back to The Kauhu (who is waiting for word) with orders for them to attack when he starts up.        

Turn 14: Germans fail to Activate

          Niska returns and reports to The Kauhu – Koskela has reached his jump off point.

Turn 15: Two new PEFs followed by German initiative. PEF5 appears in sector #4, while PEF6 appears in sector #3.

  

        

  PEF5 moves along the ridge and is resolved as a 5-man MG34 squad. Unfortunately for the Finns, Koskela has failed to assign anyone to watch the rear. They are able to set up without being observed.

          PEF6 moves forward and is now positioned on 1/1’s left flank.

Finnish phase.

          Pylkäs moves up and identifies PEF6 – another 10-man squad plus an 50mm ATG!  He alerts The Kauhu that they are now outnumbered. The Kauhu sends Niska to Koskela to try and stop him, but he is too late. The Kauhu does use the time to assign new targets and tells the men they will be engaging the 2/1 now.

The German position on the river

Koskela spots the MG34 crew before they are ready to fire. Suddenly finding himself somewhat surrounded, he still has time to react (Rules note: he passed a Hearing Test so was able to turn to face the MG34, then won the IST so could react and fire first.)

          Koskela engages the MG34 with Rokka (SMG), Susi (BA rifle) and Rahikainen (SA rifle) and orders Hietanen to continue with the original plan with the rest of the squad. Rokka scores the only hit, killing the team leader. This unnerves the rest of the team, who Duck Back and then Leave the Battlefield.

          Hietanen moves forward with the rest of the squad to provide covering fire while the ATG sets up. Unfortunately for him, the Germans were ready and fire first. Kersantti Hietanen and Sotamies Hauhia (both bolt action rifles) are killed and Rahikainen (SA rifle) is wounded). The others, including Vanhala and his LMG are forced to Duck Back, even though the MG42 has a malfunction. They fulfilled their mission in that the ATG was set up, but at some cost.

Turn 16: Germans fail to Activate

          Having driven off the MG34, Koskela turns his attention to the 1/1 (there’s no new IST since the ATG gun remained in sight). The ATG crew fires first, wounding the German corporal and forcing two others to Duck under cover. The rest of Koskela and his squad’s fire is quite effective with Koskela killing the enemy squad leader and Rokka wounding the MG42 gunner even though his SMG has a malfunction. The German squad stays in the fight, but they all have Ducked Back in their fighting positions.

          Hearing the commotion, The Kauhu orders his men forward and they engage the 2/1. Their fire is only partially effective, though the enemy squad does have to Duck Back. Since they are not in prepared positions like the 1/1 they are forced to Duck Back into the woods for cover. The Germans suffered one killed (the squad leader by the Kauhu) and two wounded, the assistant MG42 gunner (by Könsikäs) and the assistant ATG gunner (by Kirsi).

          Vanhala and the two others Recover from Ducking Back.

Turn 17: Finnish initiative

          The Kauhu holds his position in cover at the edge of the woods while Koskela leads his men over the bridge to flank the 1/1.

          Both the 1/1 and the 2/1 Recover, but haven’t had time to reorganize their MG42 crew, or fix the ammo issue for 1/1.

Turn 18: Germans fail to activate, but receive artillery support, which has little effect on The Kauhu’s squad (they’re in cover).

          The Kauhu advances his squad up to the river’s edge. Lång and Kemppaala throw grenades. Although the latter’s malfunctions, the former’s has deadly effect, killing one and wounding two. The Kauhu leads his squad across the river and “over the top.” The shaken remnants of the 1/1 quickly surrender.

Turn 19: German initiative

          The German Lieutenant organizes the 2/1 so that it can defend from two directions, with the MG42 at the corner.

          The Kauhu leaves Kemppaala and Niska to guard the prisoners while he and the rest of the squad move towards the last known position of the 2/1.

Turn 20: Finnish initiative

          Koskela leads his men to the flank while The Kauhu moves towards the 2/1’s suspected position.

Turn 21: PEF #7 in sector #3 (with 2/1) followed by German initiative

          The Germans hold their position.

          Koskela moves up and identifies PEF7 – a squad of tanks from the 211^th (One PzIII and two H39)! Koskela quickly withdraws out of sight and sends a runner to bring up the ATG double quick.

    The Kauhu has Pylkäs scout ahead and he sees the same thing Koskela did. He withdraws and reports to The Kauhu. The Kauhu sends Suominen, Kirsi and Lång to go get the German AT gun and bring it forward, double quick. Meanwhile The Kauhu drops back behind the rocky hill to stay out of the line-of-sight of the tanks.

Turn 22: Finnish initiative

  There is a brief lull while Kauhu and Koskela wait for their men to bring up the guns. The Germans remain in place.

Turn 23: Finns fail to Activate

  The German Lieutenant grows impatient and orders an attack to regain their former position, apparently undaunted by the bad terrain. The left half of his group spots Aks Suominen’s group as they head for the abandoned ATG. Suominen is alert and his group fires first. Suominen kills the German Lieutenant, whereas Kirsi and Lång only force a couple of Duck Backs.

In spite of the bad ground - the 211th Panzer advances

  Unfortunately, Active Fire from tanks #121 (The PzIII) & #123 (H39) wounds Kirsi and forces Suominen and Lång to take cover among the rapids of the Hirvijoki.

Turn 24: Finnish initiative

  Koskela’s runner reaches the Finnish ATG and delivers the message. Koskela keeps his squad in a defensive posture in the cover of the woods, out of sight of the tanks

  Medic Hussi moves over to attend to the wounded Kirsi. Suominen and Lång Recover.

 The Kauhu’s squad crawls up the rocky hill, but stay just out of sight of the tanks.

German phase

  Only two out of the six survivors of the 2/1 Recover. This includes two members of the ATG crew that were pressed into infantry duty when they abandoned their gun.

 The tank platoon pushes forward, but has to be careful to avoid the impassible areas of rocky ground. #123 (H39) fires its co-ax at Suominen & Lång, but thanks to the cover of the rocks, only manages to keep their heads down. Tank #121 (Pz III) fires on Korpi and Pylkäs – Korpi goes down hard.

Tank #124 (H39) fires on The Kauhu and Könsikäs, forcing the latter to Duck Back. The fearless Kauhu holds his ground.

Turn 25: Germans fail to activate

Working around the tank's rear before starting the assault

  The noise of the battle gets Koskela’s dander up, and he moves aggressively to the ‘sounds of the guns.’ As he emerges from the cover of the trees, he spots the flank and rear of #124 and the survivors of 2/1 – which have all gone to ground. Koskela directs his squad to fire at the infantry while he takes care of tank.

 Vanhala kills one with his LMG and Rokka wounds another with his SMG. Two Germans Leave the Battlefield, leaving only two survivors.

 Because tank #134 is engaged with The Kauhu’s group, Koskela is easily able to approach its rear and disable it with a cluster grenade. The crew abandons the tank and promptly surrenders to Koskela.

 Meanwhile, The Kauhu uses the cover of the hill and works his way behind Tank #121 (Pz III), where he is able to disable the vehicle with a satchel charge. This crew likewise surrenders.

 After seeing both of his fellow tanks being destroyed, the commander of #123, decides he has had enough and Leaves the Battlefield.

Medic Hussi is unable to get Kirsi back in the fight.

Turn 26: Finnish initiative

Medic Hussi goes over to take a look to see what he can do for Korpi.

Rokka moves up and captures the last two German riflemen. (Note: There are no longer any German forces on the field; but in order to complete the scenario, the Finns have to recon sections 1-3, by spending a turn near the edge of each section. They have not done this yet.)

Turn 27: Finnish initiative

Medic Hussi examines Korpi. “You really are Immortal,” said Hussi. “That wound would have killed most men. But we’ll get you back up and in the fight in no time.” (Korpi was saved from death by being “Hard as Nails.”)

The Kauhu and Koskela spend the turn reorganizing their squads. The Kauhu places Suominen in charge of all the PoWs. Rokka joins The Kauhu’s squad (as he is much closer to them then his own squad). Sectio #3 has been cleared.

Turn 28: Finns fail to Activate. No Germans on board.

Turn 29: German initiative

Koskela has cleared section #2 – only #1 remains.

The Kauhu moves his force (minus PoW guards) into section #2.

Turn 30: Yet another PEF (#8) in sector #1, followed by German initiative.

PEF8 is resolved as a small 7-man LMG squad (3/1) in a building. Koskela retreats back into the cover of the woods and will wait for the Kauhu and the ATG (which I promptly forgot about. That happens sometimes with a new model you aren’t used to having in your force – LOL!)

Great. More Germans

Turn 31:  Finnish initiative

  The Kauhu has now joined Vrk Koskela’s group. Kosela decides to complete the mission, even though a few of the men think they need to cut losses and withdraw. Koskela decides to ignore the original squad composition and form two ad hoc groups: a fire group and an assault group.

  Fire group: Koskela (SMG), Pylkäs (SMG) 2 x LMG (Vanhala & Könsikäs:) and 1 rifleman

 Assault group: The Kauhu (SMG), Asumaniemi (SMG), Rokka (SMG), Susi (rifle)

Turn 32-3:  Finnish (#32) & German (#33) initiative

 Both turns are the pretty much the same.

The Germans remain in place in the building, while Pylkäs plays a bit of a cat and mouse game with the sentries, thanks to his Combat Sense, which enables him to withdraw out of sight if he loses an In Sight Test before getting shot at.

Turn 34:  Neither side Activates

Turn 35:  Finnish initiative

 

Assaulting the hunter's cabin

 Pylkäs distracts the sentry and declares the time to be right. Koskela’s fire team moves forward to the edge of the wood and fires on the building. Thanks to the cover of the building, they score no casualties, but do force several Duck Backs. Return fire from the MG42 wounds Vanhala and forces Könsikäs to Duck Back (both had LMGs).

 Active fire from Pylkäs forces the gunner to Duck Back, while Koskela wounds the assistant gunner.

 While this is going on, The Kauhu uses the covering fire to lead his group making a dash to the blind side of the building (the large chimney doesn’t allow for windows on this side.)

Turn 36:  Finnish initiative; Finnish reinforcements fail to arrive

 Susi sneaks to the front of the building and throws a grenade through the now broken window. The MG42 gunner is wounded but there are no other casualties.

Tassu Susi approaches a window to drop a grenade

 The German squad leader suspects something and has his men face the rear window, just in time to see the Kauhu and his men break windows and prepare to fire. The Germans fire first (The dice can be cruel sometimes and spoil the best laid plans). The Kauhu and Rokka are both forced to Duck Back by better-than-expected German fire. The German squad leader misses Asumaniemi, who wounds him with return fire.

The Kauhu leads an assault on the rear of the building

Turn 37:  Finnish initiative

 The Finns spend the turn recovering. The impulsive Asumaniemi starts to engage the enemy by himself, but is stopped by The Kauhu. We’ll go all at once.

Meanwhile, with the Germans occupied by The Kauhu’s assault, Koskela makes use of the opportunity to lead his men forward. Koskela throws a grenade through the open window, wounding the original MG42 assistant and a rifleman. This causes the original ammo bearer and a rifleman to Hunker Down. Only the German corporal remains in good order.

Koskela calls for the last three Germans to surrender. The ammo bearer and the rifleman quickly accept the offer, forcing the corporal (who had other ideas) to accept his fate and throw down his arms as well.

There are no more German Forces on the board.

Turn 38:  No Germans on board. Possible German reinforcements fail to arrive.

The Finns complete their scout and claim their hard-fought victory.

 

End: Finnish Victory

Next-Up: Finnish daylight Attack

Casualties:

          The Brute squad: zero killed, one wounded & will return (Korpi), one wounded will not return (Kirsi II)

          Koskela’s group: two killed (Hietanen & Hauhia) and two wounded (Vanhala and Rahikainen)

Rep Increases: 

          Pylkäs => Rep7; Lång => Rep5

          Lång acquires Attribute “Aidman”

End Notes:

 It seems like my patrols are usually more intense than my Attack or Defend scenarios, and this was no exception. Part of that is because I play on a larger than usual table (6x4) , which means it takes longer to traverse the board. And of course with more turns comes the increased chances of new PEFs or Reinforcements. But that’s OK. I like it that way.