Vuosalmi Campaign

[Sesam]

I'm making a series of battles. It covers the battles around Vuosalmi and Äyräpää villages on the last two weeks of the Winter War, 1st - 13th of March 1940. Finnish 2nd Division was defending Vuoksi riverline, it was the last line of defence. Russians made continuous attempts to breakthrough with four divisions, strong artillery barrages and air attacks. Weak Finnish forces managed barely to hold the line until the peace on March 13th.

The first six battles (from 1st to 5th of March) are available from The Scenario Depot.

VC-1-Cemetery

VC-2-Counter Attack

VC-3-Wave after Wave

VC-4-Islands

VC-5-Church Hill

VC-6-Too Late

Matti

[Admiral Keth]

Uploaded and linked!

Download, play, review.

[vils]

Exellent work! Thank you for this!!

[Sesam]

I have got some questions about the series:

- I recommend to play the scenarios in order.

- #3 is huge, if you think it's too large you can skip it, it's not decisive battle. I just wanted to make one larger scale battle.

- I'm making more battles. If you want to be beta tester send me email (address is in profile)

Please, send feedback. Are scenarios too small, too long, too hard, boring, ... ?

Matti

[Sesam]

Bump

I need testers for my new scenarios:

VC-7-Urrah!, a russian assault to Vasikkasaari, large, 50 turns.

VC-8, a finnish counter attack on Vasikkasaari, night, large, 45 turns.

I'd also like to have comments about the first 6 scenarios. It's quite frustrating to have 900+ downloads and no comments.

Matti

[Sesam]

Bump

[Eden Smallwood]

Coming from the maker of _Breaking/Making Motti_ scenarios, (which I loved), I was excited and expecting really great stuff. Once I figured out that an entire sequence of battles was being modelled, not just one, I was more excited still. But I was very disappointed.

In the first battle, I was upset to find a huge swarm of enemy magically appearing right under my nose in turn one; possibly there's some kind of justification for this, but I have never liked it, nor do I really believe any justification is possible for that situation- the map can always be a bit bigger...

The setup had me puzzled as well- tank hunters are on an innermost island, yet the tanks cannot cross the ice, so what on earth are the hunters doing back there where the tanks physically impossibly could not get to anywhow??? ( Or was that the fourth scenario? ) Definitely I remember that four MG squads were 'stuck' on that back island where they couldn't see squat- I wanted them forward, so squinched them up forward and tried to cross the ice on turn one, only to be scared poopless by some plane while they were exposed... Ooops! So much for *those* guys!

Spent the rest of the game being hopelessly outnumbered, which is *fine*, really, if it's a historical model favoring history not balance, but I would hope for some appropriate hints in the briefing- surely recon knew that a massive swarm of angry red men were coming, and I could have been told that a delaying tactic was inevitable and should have been considered the best possible scheme. If those MGs had been forward, it might actually have been just barely the edge I needed to hang on... but probably not

The second one (fourth? the one where a breach is attempted to retake at night), was much better- a compelling story/situation not usually found in scenarios, and the balance was such that proceeding cautiously I managed to suffer a minor or tactical victory, not moving quite fast enough, and actually getting a horde of my force routed while having gotten a bit too confident towards the end and tried to cross a small section of ice in a cocky, non-covered way. Good one overall, but still I found it highly perplexing why the forward MG units in that one were apparently ready for an enemy from *somewhere off the left*...

The only other one I played, (skipped the Huge one), ISTR also had the huge swarm of enemy appearing right under my nose on turn one... I can't recall exactly at this point, but overall I was disappointed in not seeing the last ten percent of QA testing gone into this series that went into the Mottis. The briefings ISTR could be improved with a native English proofreader, which does make a difference when there are things which need explaining. Hth,

Eden

[Sesam]

Thanks for your comments. Here are my replys:

In the first battle, I was upset to find a huge swarm of enemy magically appearing right under my nose in turn one; possibly there's some kind of justification for this, but I have never liked it, nor do I really believe any justification is possible for that situation- the map can always be a bit bigger...

I have few reasons for this:

1) It's an infantry attack and there is snow in the ground, movement is slow and troops tire very easily under fire.

2) AI doesn't attack well over open snow covered areas. I had to place the russian infantry quite close to Finnish lines to make scenario challenging.

3) Historically the engagement distance wasn't very long because the enemy movement in snow was slow.

4) Battles were fought for hours. Russian infantry slowly crawled forward until they were close enough to start the assault. I decided to start the scenario when the real action starts.

I could have mentioned in the briefing that the enemy was already so close.

The setup had me puzzled as well- tank hunters are on an innermost island, yet the tanks cannot cross the ice, so what on earth are the hunters doing back there where the tanks physically impossibly could not get to anywhow??? ( Or was that the fourth scenario? ) Definitely I remember that four MG squads were 'stuck' on that back island where they couldn't see squat- I wanted them forward, so squinched them up forward and tried to cross the ice on turn one, only to be scared poopless by some plane while they were exposed... Ooops! So much for *those* guys!

I put MG's and one platoon on islands because historically the defenders got fire support from the other side of the river. I never thought someone would start moving MG's over 300m wide river in the middle of fight. Tank hunter team is essentially a two man SMG team with molotovs, they are good against infantry.

Spent the rest of the game being hopelessly outnumbered, which is *fine*, really, if it's a historical model favoring history not balance, but I would hope for some appropriate hints in the briefing- surely recon knew that a massive swarm of angry red men were coming, and I could have been told that a delaying tactic was inevitable and should have been considered the best possible scheme. If those MGs had been forward, it might actually have been just barely the edge I needed to hang on... but probably not

The first scenario is winnable, both playtesters got major victories. All scenarios are historical, but only one is not winnable (CV-6-Too Late). I decided to make it because it's very famous battle and to show that there are impossible situations.

The second one (fourth? the one where a breach is attempted to retake at night), was much better- a compelling story/situation not usually found in scenarios, and the balance was such that proceeding cautiously I managed to suffer a minor or tactical victory, not moving quite fast enough, and actually getting a horde of my force routed while having gotten a bit too confident towards the end and tried to cross a small section of ice in a cocky, non-covered way. Good one overall, but still I found it highly perplexing why the forward MG units in that one were apparently ready for an enemy from *somewhere off the left*...

The MG's were there because the enemy was on the other side of that open field. It was their job to defend the frontline.

The only other one I played, (skipped the Huge one), ISTR also had the huge swarm of enemy appearing right under my nose on turn one... I can't recall exactly at this point, but overall I was disappointed in not seeing the last ten percent of QA testing gone into this series that went into the Mottis. The briefings ISTR could be improved with a native English proofreader, which does make a difference when there are things which need explaining.

I'm looking for playtesters and proofreaders, any volunteers?

Matti

[Eden Smallwood]

Originally posted by Sesam:

Thanks for your comments.

Well you're more than welcome- I'd begun thinking that when SDs say "I like negative feedback too" they don't really mean it. Having you voice your appreciation to me is just as important as my voicing my disappointments to you, otherwise I'm not going to say anything.

I have few reasons for [magic swarm, reasons 1,2,3,4]:

Hmmm well I *still* don't like it, but I do have to take back what I said in part- those *are* pretty good reasons. I wish there were some kind of compromise which doesn't cheat history, but still gives the player time to say "Aw nuts! Here comes a swarm!" Especially the tanks!!

I could have mentioned in the briefing that the enemy was already so close.

Definitely- what you said in those reaons would have helped me rationalize it. Maybe my game wasn't as *cold* as it was supposed to be? I don't remember what settings can't entirely be saved, maybe temp is one of them?

I put MG's and one platoon on islands because historically the defenders got fire support from the other side of the river.

But they can't *see* anything from way back there- only the back row of the field?? I though I would need them on the *next* island, not even on the mainland, and it turns out I was right- they would have had a perfect line on the swarm, but would have been unapproachable by the tanks, (at least any closer).

I never thought someone would start moving MG's over 300m wide river in the middle of fight.

Yes, but it wasn't the "middle of the fight" until I hit the "Go" buttton! LOL!!

[EDIT Also, they were in the shadow of that first island they were headed to- it was only the perfectly timed plane which got their panties in a knot]

Tank hunter team is essentially a two man SMG team with molotovs, they are good against infantry.

?? Even if meant for infantry, the SMGs are good at close range, not at long range, so they still are not useful way in the back? Yes I had some of them on the mainland, but they're fragile, and run out of ammo fast too. Also with swarms of tanks coming I felt I had no choice but to send them on dangerous attempts to take out some if they could. They couldn't. But now I'm starting to talk about my weak tactics...

The first scenario is winnable, both playtesters got major victories.

Who, Steve & Madmatt??? I guess I must play it again, (this time with fallback foxholes, which I should have made- another thing good to mention in the briefing. I think they'll be needed!). But whoever playtested this one and got major victories must be pretty insanely good. Possibly this explains the lack of reviews you mentioned- noone wants to admit a complete disaster... I don't know- I leave it to the forum/reviewers, but there are not many QBs or scenarios in which I won't get an MV, and I've played just about everything at SD, (except for huge). Well, very recently I've gone into Campaign mode, but still.

The MG's were there because the enemy was on the other side of that open field. It was their job to defend the frontline.

OK. So if you could have, you would have *locked* those guys onto their spots...? Maybe in the rewrite. Once again for the briefing, describing them being there, facing that way, would have helped. For me at least- I couldn't tell whether they were there like you say, or whether they were for me to pull and use, which I certainly had to do.

I'm looking for playtesters and proofreaders, any volunteers?

As far as playtesters....er, will it hurt me? Seriously, I've got blonde hair and blue eyes, but that must be from furniture-designing Swedish blood rather than fighting-warrior Finnish blood.

If you're ok with someone who got destroyed by VC-One, (and you're OK with the United States' civil rights history, especially in re treatment of Al Quaeda pows at Guatanamo), then I'd be happy to test anything smaller than 'really large'.

For proofreading, I'm also available, but I'd prefer if you took a suggestion I've made more than once: post your rough drafts here in ST, asking for a proofread. I will get to them for sure if noone else does first, but I've been trying to get people to do that just for community spirit, esprit de corps and whatnot, and it would help make other designers feel more comfortable coming here asking for help the same way.

Eden

[ December 13, 2002, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: Eden Smallwood ]

[Sesam]

Originally posted by Eden Smallwood:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Sesam:

Thanks for your comments.

Well you're more than welcome- I'd begun thinking that when SDs say "I like negative feedback too" they don't really mean it. Having you voice your appreciation to me is just as important as my voicing my disappointments to you, otherwise I'm not going to say anything.

</font>

[Eden Smallwood]

Originally posted by Sesam:

I have one last turn save of the battle. Those three MGs combined have fired 246 ammo units and killed 18 men. Surely they must have seen something!

If they were Finns, then they must have seen about 19 or 20 men, tops. But pretend that you didn't know what to expect (or not exactly) from the scenario- would you not have wanted them on the closer island? Their usefulness in back seems to be part of your strategy for allowing the enemy in so close, something I wouldn't have assumed I would be doing if I thought I could hold him off further... Even then, I'm not sure I wouldn't want them closer on the first island- maybe deep in the cover there, but still.

Maybe what it really means is that I should just play it again and take a closer look at it.

If he is sharp, he can see huge craters all over the map.

He must be sharp, if he can look at the scenario and tell that those craters were made recently! But regardless- I don't understand how the SMGs will be usefull in *any* role way in the back- they just won't be able to cross that ice, no way, and their FP drops off too much at that distance... No, I'm sorry I still don't get understand why they wouldn't be forward.

Both testers were Überfinns

Yes they were. I invite anyone else reading here to tell us how they did. Or maybe I shouldn't- "Oh, it was too easy..."

Green and conscript russians can't take it.

Yes to all your tactics, but there is very little arty, (historical amount, I would suppose), and while the Russians "can't take it", there are *many* of them, and they *will* recover!!

It will hurt, but that's ok.

No no you see, I'm not a Finn, so *pain* is generally something to avoid, and... oh, nevermind.

The battle #7 is large Finnish delay, 50 turns, 1400 points. #8 is large Finnish assault 45 turns, 1650 points. Are these too large? #9 is medium defense, 30 turns, 1000 points.

No they don't sound too large- it's more a matter of too many polygons- 2000pts of all infantry... If the 1650 is *all* troops maybe that's pushing it; just send and I'll try it.

Send to zeppenwolf at lafn.org

with CC to zeppenwolf at angelfire.com

The one at lafn *might* come back, which is why both... it's a long story.

I'll do that when my new briefings are ready.

You mean, when you *think* they're ready I will be here, and I'll look for them!! Remember to assume that we don't know the history of these battles, and we certainly don't know what you're thinking. Subtle is good, just not *too* subtle.

Eden

[ December 14, 2002, 11:54 AM: Message edited by: Eden Smallwood ]

[Sesam]

Here is the briefing for the battle #7. I'll send the file to you. If anybody else wants to playtest, just say it.

Title: Vuosalmi Campaign, 7. URRAHH!

Type: Soviet Assault (Historical)

Date: March 5th, 1940

Time: 09:00 hrs

Location: Äyräpää, Karelian Isthmus

Region: Finland

Weather: Frozen

Terrain: Snow, Farmland

Turns: 50+

Author: Matti Vesanen, matti_vesanen@hotmail.com

Best played by Human Finland vs. Soviet AI. If played by two players better player should play Finland.

Stick to scenario default

Background:

On February 15th the Mannerheim Line was broken. Finnish GHQ decided to pull the troops back to the intermediary defensive positions on the Karelian Isthmus. On February 27th the Soviets had broken through the intermediary positions and the Finnish forces began to withdraw to the backline defences. The 2nd Division is ordered to defend Vuoksi river line on Vuosalmi sector.

There is a ridgeline on the southern bank of Vuoksi. From the ridge opens a good field of vision to open lowlands of the northern shore. Therefore it was decided to hold a bridgehead and put the main line of defence on the ridge.

Vuoksi line was the last line of defence. Russians made continuous attempts to break the line with four divisions, strong artillery barrages and air attacks. Weak Finnish forces managed barely to hold the line until the peace on March 13th.

This is the seventh battle of Vuosalmi campaign (1st - 13th March, 1940)

The church hill was lost on the evening of March 4th. The attempt to recapture the hill was a failure. Now Russians are ready for crossing the Vuoksi river.

Strategic Situation:

The situation in our sector is grim. Mustasaari island was lost yesterday and now there is a lot of Russian infantry on the island. The church hill was lost last night and our counter attack became a terrible bloodbath. Kev.Os. 8 lost over 70 men in the assault. Two hours ago the enemy started firing artillery on the southern shore of Vasikkasaari island. The firing is so intense that you can't hear individual explosions anymore.

Intel:

We believe there is over battalion of infantry on the Mustasaari island.

The enemy has moved direct fire guns on the church area. We have counted 3 guns and 5-6 MGs on the church hill. They can fire on the SW shore of Vasikkasaari.

The enemy has air superiority, ground attack planes are circling above us. It's dangerous to move during daylight. If you have to move, use covered routes and dispersed formation.

Mission:

09:00, 5.3.1940

Suddenly the artillery barrage stops. You hear terrible russian warcry URRAHHH!!! The ice between Mustasaari and Vasikkasaari is full of charging infantry. You pick up the phone, but the line to artillery batteries is broken. First wave is almost on the shore...

You are the commander of I/JR 23. Your mission is to hold Vasikkasaari island. It's very important to hold Vasikkasaari because there is only a narrow stream between the island and the north shore of Vuoksi. If we can't hold Vasikkasaari it's difficult to prevent the enemy from crossing the river.

We have artillery observation post near point 16. When the lines have been repaired you'll have some artillery support. (spotters appear on point 16)

Forces:

1 Company

4 Maxim MGs

2 Sharpshooters

Reserves:

Artillery in 10-20 minutes (spotters arrive on point 16)

Infantry in 20-30 minutes (you have sent a runner to get 9./III/JR 23 and all other available men to your aid.)

Glossary:

Vasikka-saari = calf-island

Musta-saari = black-island

Lammas-niemi = sheep-cape

[Eden Smallwood]

Sesam-

I'm in the midst of Xmas shopping; got your file- it loads fine. It's *pretty* big. "Pinned", eh? I think this is going to hurt.

I do need to catch up on some things but I will be back here soon...

Eden

[Eden Smallwood]

Sesam-

Here is my proofread for small typos or slightly awkward wording. I'll edit this *in place*, and hope you have a "diff" function available, to see what I changed.

The most important part of the briefing, of course, is the matter of describing what the player should know in order to get the best understanding of what he is facing, or what needs to be done, as we've discussed above. About that issue, I of course won't know much until I get to the scenario. Still, here are my changes, not many of them and not serious- mostly style issues, and a few particles, conjunctions... Your English is very good. One small thing first, the Turns is listed as "50+", but in the scenario it's "45+", isn't it? I think it is.

PS, after reading: "9./III/JR 23" Er, what's that? How big is it? If it's coming to help me in one of your scenarios, I hope it's big Anywhow, I will try to get to the scenario soon, but it looks like you're being clear about the situation. Back soon,

Eden

Title: Vuosalmi Campaign, 7. URRAHH!

Type: Soviet Assault (Historical)

Date: March 5th, 1940

Time: 09:00 hrs

Location: Äyräpää, Karelian Isthmus

Region: Finland

Weather: Frozen

Terrain: Snow, Farmland

Turns: 50+

Author: Matti Vesanen, matti_vesanen@hotmail.com

Best played by Human Finland vs. Soviet AI. If played by two players the better player should play Finland.

Stick to scenario default

Background:

On February 15th the Mannerheim Line was broken. Finnish GHQ decided to pull the troops back to the intermediary defensive positions on the Karelian Isthmus. On February 27th the Soviets had broken through the intermediary positions and the Finnish forces began to withdraw to the backline defences. The 2nd Division was ordered to defend the Vuoksi river line on Vuosalmi sector.

There is a ridgeline on the southern bank of Vuoksi, from which there is a good field of vision to the open lowlands of the northern shore. Therefore it was decided to hold a bridgehead and put the main line of defence on the ridge.

The Vuoksi line was the last line of defence. The Russians made continuous attempts to break the line with four divisions, strong artillery barrages and air attacks. Weak Finnish forces managed barely to hold the line until the peace on March 13th.

This is the seventh battle of Vuosalmi campaign (1st - 13th March, 1940)

The church hill was lost on the evening of March 4th. The attempt to recapture the hill was a failure. Now the Russians are ready to cross the Vuoksi river.

Strategic Situation:

The situation in our sector is grim. Mustasaari island was lost yesterday and now there is a lot of Russian infantry on the island. The church hill was lost last night and our counter attack was a terrible bloodbath, with Kev.Os. 8 losing over 70 men in the assault. Two hours ago the enemy started firing artillery on the southern shore of Vasikkasaari island. The firing is so intense that you can't hear individual explosions anymore.

Intel:

We believe there is over a battalion of infantry on the Mustasaari island.

The enemy has moved direct fire guns on the church area. We have counted 3 guns and 5-6 MGs on the church hill. They can fire on the SW shore of Vasikkasaari.

The enemy has air superiority, and ground attack planes are circling above us. It's dangerous to move during daylight. If you have to move, use covered routes and a dispersed formation.

Mission:

09:00, 5.3.1940

Suddenly the artillery barrage stops. You hear the terrible Russian warcry "URRAHHH!!!" The ice between Mustasaari and Vasikkasaari is full of charging infantry. You pick up the phone, but the line to artillery batteries is broken. The first wave is almost on the shore...

You are the commander of I/JR 23. Your mission is to hold Vasikkasaari island. It's very important to hold Vasikkasaari because there is only a narrow stream between the island and the north shore of Vuoksi. If we can't hold Vasikkasaari it will be difficult to prevent the enemy from crossing the river.

We have an artillery observation post near point 16. When the lines have been repaired you'll have some artillery support. (spotters appear on point 16)

Forces:

1 Company

4 Maxim MGs

2 Sharpshooters

Reserves:

Artillery in 10-20 minutes (spotters arrive on point 16)

Infantry in 20-30 minutes (you have sent a runner to get 9./III/JR 23 and all other available men to your aid.)

Glossary:

Vasikka-saari = calf-island

Musta-saari = black-island

Lammas-niemi = sheep-cape

[Sesam]

Originally posted by Eden Smallwood:

I'm in the midst of Xmas shopping; got your file- it loads fine. It's *pretty* big. "Pinned", eh? I think this is going to hurt.

Here are few advises:

-You don't have to hold all flags to win, if you'll try you'll lose.

-Make every artillery round count. Fire only on biggest targets. Save artillery ammo for late game.

-Watch out for planes! Don't move in large groups.

[Sesam]

Originally posted by Eden Smallwood:

Sesam-

Here is my proofread for small typos or slightly awkward wording. I'll edit this *in place*, and hope you have a "diff" function available, to see what I changed.

Great, thanks!

The scenario is 50+, I just checked. 9./II/JR 23 is a company, I should mention it in the briefing.

[Sesam]

I have decided to put the following disclaimer to all my Vuosalmi scenarios:

The scenario is historical, therefore the forces are not equal. The scenario is balanced for a veteran CM player against the Russian AI.

If you think my scanarios are generally too hard, give yourself a +25% bonus.

[Sesam]

The battle #8 is ready for playtesting, any volunteers?

Here is the briefing:

Title: Vuosalmi Campaign, 8. A Cold Night

Type: Finnish Assault (Historical)

Date: March 6th, 1940

Time: 02:00 hrs

Location: Äyräpää, Karelian Isthmus

Region: Finland

Weather: Clear, Night, Extreme Cold

Terrain: Snow, Farmland

Turns: 50+

Author: Matti Vesanen, matti_vesanen@hotmail.com

Best played by Human Finland vs. Soviet AI. If played by two players the better player should play Finland.

Stick to scenario default

Background:

On February 15th the Mannerheim Line was broken. Finnish GHQ decided to pull the troops back to the intermediary defensive positions on the Karelian Isthmus. On February 27th the Soviets had broken through the intermediary positions and the Finnish forces began to withdraw to the backline defences. The 2nd Division was ordered to defend the Vuoksi river line on Vuosalmi sector.

There is a ridgeline on the southern bank of Vuoksi, from which there is a good field of vision to the open lowlands of the northern shore. Therefore it was decided to hold a bridgehead and put the main line of defence on the ridge.

The Vuoksi line was the last line of defence. The Russians made continuous attempts to break the line with four divisions, strong artillery barrages and air attacks. Weak Finnish forces managed barely to hold the line until the peace on March 13th.

This is the eight battle of Vuosalmi campaign (1st - 13th March, 1940)

Vasikkasaari was lost on March 5th. On the following night the Finnish battalion III/JR 24 is ready for the counter attack.

Disclaimer:

The scenario is historical, therefore the forces are not equal. The scenario is balanced for a veteran CM player against the Russian AI.

If you think my scanarios are generally too hard, give yourself a +25% bonus.

Reference:

Karjalan kartat CD-rom, 1:20000 topographical map

Talvisodan Historia 2

Strategic Situation:

Yesterday was a hard day to us. Our assault to the church hill failed and after that the enemy captured Vasikkasaari. Russians attempted to continue the assault to the northern shore of Vuoksi. We had to commit all our reserves to prevent the enemy from crossing the river. Even the men from the supply formations had to be used to hold the lines. Late in the afternoon we got reinforcements, the third battalion from JR 24 was attached to us.

Mission:

02:00, 6.3.1940 - You are the commader of III/JR 24

Your mission is to recapture Vasikkasaari. Fire a preparation barrage near point 16 and charge to the shore. Use your MGs to give support to the assault platoons. When you get your troops to the shore, keep moving, don't let the enemy to regroup. Artillery observes have placed several TRPs on the island, walk the artillery in front of your advance.

The III/JR 6 follows behind you, when you run out of steam they'll continue the assault (not modeled in this scenario).

Intel:

We believe there is two weak battalions on the Vasikkasaari island, maybe 400-500 men combined. The enemy fought hard all day and suffered heavy casualties so they must be tired.

The enemy has strong forces on the church hill. We have spotted 2-3 artillery batteries and over battalion of infantry.

The sky is clear and it's pretty cold, -22 Celsius. The ice won't support tanks, but it grows stronger every day.

Forces:

III/JR 24

- 3 x infantry company

- 7 x Maxim MG

81mm mortar FO (60 rounds)

2 x 75mm FO (100 rounds each)

105mm FO (50 rounds)

Reserves:

None

Glossary:

Vasikka-saari = calf-island

Musta-saari = black-island

Lammas-niemi = sheep-cape

[Eden Smallwood]

Sesam-

I have *failed*. Or rather, my computer has failed- it is just too big. I tried, really, but at this rate it will take a month to finish. I insist you send me the next one which is closer to your number 1 or 2 or 4, (I think?) of this series in polygon size... Sorry. I will now add some final polishing to the text below. [EDIT- missed one]

Title: Vuosalmi Campaign, 8. A Cold Night

Type: Finnish Assault (Historical)

Date: March 6th, 1940

Time: 02:00 hrs

Location: Äyräpää, Karelian Isthmus

Region: Finland

Weather: Clear, Night, Extreme Cold

Terrain: Snow, Farmland

Turns: 50+

Author: Matti Vesanen, matti_vesanen@hotmail.com

Best played by Human Finland vs. Soviet AI. If played by two players the better player should play Finland.

Stick to scenario default

Background:

On February 15th the Mannerheim Line was broken. Finnish GHQ decided to pull the troops back to the intermediary defensive positions on the Karelian Isthmus. On February 27th the Soviets had broken through the intermediary positions and the Finnish forces began to withdraw to the backline defences. The 2nd Division was ordered to defend the Vuoksi river line on Vuosalmi sector.

There is a ridgeline on the southern bank of Vuoksi, from which there is a good field of vision to the open lowlands of the northern shore. Therefore it was decided to hold a bridgehead and put the main line of defence on the ridge.

The Vuoksi line was the last line of defence. The Russians made continuous attempts to break the line with four divisions, strong artillery barrages and air attacks. Weak Finnish forces managed barely to hold the line until the peace on March 13th.

This is the eighth battle of the Vuosalmi campaign (1st - 13th March, 1940)

Vasikkasaari was lost on March 5th. On the following night the Finnish battalion III/JR 24 is ready for the counter attack.

Disclaimer:

This scenario is historical, therefore the forces are not equal. It is balanced for a veteran CM player against the Russian AI.

If you think my scenarios are generally too hard, give yourself a +25% bonus.

Reference:

Karjalan kartat CD-rom, 1:20000 topographical map

Talvisodan Historia 2

Strategic Situation:

Yesterday was a hard day for us. Our assault on the church hill failed, and after that the enemy captured Vasikkasaari. The Russians tried to continue the assault to the northern shore of Vuoksi, and we had to commit all our reserves to prevent the enemy from crossing the river. Even the men from the supply formations had to be used to hold the lines. Late in the afternoon we got reinforcements, when the third battalion from JR 24 was attached to us.

Mission:

02:00, 6.3.1940 - You are the commader of III/JR 24

Your mission is to recapture Vasikkasaari. Fire a preparation barrage near point 16 and charge to the shore. Use your MGs to give support to the assault platoons. When you get your troops to the shore, keep moving, and don't let the enemy regroup. Artillery observers have placed several TRPs on the island, so you can walk the artillery in front of your advance.

The III/JR 6 follows behind you, and when you run out of steam they'll continue the assault (not modelled in this scenario).

Intel:

We believe there are two weak battalions on the Vasikkasaari island, maybe 400-500 men combined. The enemy fought hard all day and suffered heavy casualties so they must be tired.

The enemy has strong forces on the church hill. We have spotted 2-3 artillery batteries and over a battalion of infantry.

The sky is clear and it's pretty cold, -22 Celsius. The ice won't support tanks, but it grows stronger every day.

Forces:

III/JR 24

- 3 x infantry company

- 7 x Maxim MG

81mm mortar FO (60 rounds)

2 x 75mm FO (100 rounds each)

105mm FO (50 rounds)

Reserves:

None

Glossary:

Vasikka-saari = calf-island

Musta-saari = black-island

Lammas-niemi = sheep-cape

[ December 18, 2002, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: Eden Smallwood ]

[Sesam]

Originally posted by Eden Smallwood:

Sesam-

I have *failed*. Or rather, my computer has failed- it is just too big. I tried, really, but at this rate it will take a month to finish. I insist you send me the next one which is closer to your number 1 or 2 or 4, (I think?) of this series in polygon size... Sorry. I will now add some final polishing to the text below. [EDIT- missed one]

Ok, the scanario is quite big. I have got two other playtesters, if they agree with you, I'll have to do some changes. Number 9 is medium sized, I'll sent it to you when it's ready for testing.

Thanks for proofreading my briefing.

[Osmo]

Originally posted by Eden Smallwood:

PS, after reading: "9./III/JR 23" Er, what's that? How big is it? If it's coming to help me in one of your scenarios, I hope it's big Anywhow, I will try to get to the scenario soon, but it looks like you're being clear about the situation.

Since I happen to have time to spare...

9. = 9th Company

III = 3rd Battalion

JR 23 = Jalkaväkirykmentti 23= Infantry Regiment 23

Thus, it's the 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the Infantry Regiment 23.

In Winter War the companies in regiments were numbered as following: 1-3 (Rifle) Companies were part of the 1st Battalion in the regiment, 4-6 formed the 2nd Battalion and 7-9 the third one of the regiment.

In addition each infantry battalion had a machine gun company, numbered 1-3 through the regiment.

In Continuation War (41-44) MG Companies were renamed. Now they were called 4th, 8th and 12th Companies. Thus rifle companies became 1st-3rd in the 1st Bn, 5th-7th in the 2nd Bn and 9th-11th in the third Bn.

It might be helpful for the non-Finnish speakers if the Finnish scenario designers started to translate the abbrevations too?

Then again, not that many Finns are able to understand what do abbrevations like "Esk/KevOs 8", "RatsPtri" or "ErP 6" mean actually...

[Sesam]

Originally posted by Osmo:

It might be helpful for the non-Finnish speakers if the Finnish scenario designers started to translate the abbrevations too?

Good idea, I'll put translations to my future scenarios.

Btw. do you have spare time to test my scenarios?

I just finished the briefings for the scenario #9 "Red Snow". It's ready for play testing.

[Sesam]

Title: Vuosalmi Campaign, 9. Red Snow

Type: Soviet Assault (Historical)

Date: March 7th, 1940

Time: 11:00 hrs

Location: Äyräpää, Karelian Isthmus

Region: Finland

Weather: Clear, Frozen

Terrain: Snow, Farmland

Turns: 30+

Author: Matti Vesanen, matti_vesanen@hotmail.com

This is the ninth battle of Vuosalmi campaign (1st - 13th March, 1940)

After taking the church hill on March 5th the Russians wanted to enlarge their gains on the southern bank of Vuoksi. The ridge near the ferry was seen as a valuable support position for any operations across the river. The Finnish light detachment Kev.Os.8 was defending the eastern part of the bridgehead.

Strategic Situation:

We couldn't capture Vasikkasaari on the night of March 6th. The supporting artillery ran out of shells and the attack was stopped. The III/JR 24 deployed in defense on the north bank of Vuoksi. On March 6th we repulsed all enemy attacks from Vasikkasaari to the north bank.

On the south bank the situation has been relatively quiet since we lost the church hill on March 5th. Our easternmost defensive positions are on the ridge that goes from point 31 to the ferry. The perimeter is here only 150-200m wide. There has been a few company sized probing attacks and some artillery fire but nothing serious.

Yesterday our JR 23 was attached to the 21st division, which took control of this sector. With the division HQ we got much needed reinforcements, three combat weary battalions from the Taipale sector: I/JR 62, II/JR 61 and III/JR 63.

Mission:

11:00, 7.3.1940 - You are the commader of Kev.Os.8

The enemy has been making attack preparations on the church hill all morning. We couldn't harrass their actions bacause a serious shortage of artillery shells. Only a moment ago there was a strong artillery barrage on our positions, fortunately the accuracy was poor and we suffered only light casualties. We have seen some enemy infantry on the hill near point 31, they are moving towards our lines. Defend the salient between the river and open fields.

You have two companies on the salient (green setup zone). There is a MG platoon near Alatalo farm, their southern flank is protected (***** -line on the map). You can also get some fire support from the north bank.

Intel:

The enemy tanks have been moving on the fields 500-1000m from our positions.

There are direct fire guns on the other side of fields.

The enemy has air superiority, and ground attack planes are circling above us. It's dangerous to move during daylight. If you have to move, use covered routes and a dispersed formation.

Forces:

Salient (green zone)

- jääkäri company

- infantry company

- 3 x Maxim MG

- 2 x sharpshooter

- 81mm mortar spotter (75 rounds)

Alatalo (yellow zone)

- 3 x Maxim MG

- Kev.Os.8 HQ

North bank (black zone)

- 75mm spotter (80 rounds)

- 2 x Maxim MG

Reserves:

None

Glossary:

Kev.Os.8 = light detachment 8 (battalion sized infantry recon formation)

III/JR 24 = 3rd battalion of infantry regiment 24

[Sesam]

Scenarios "VC-7-URRAHH!" and "VC-8-A Cold Night" are available on the Scenario Depot.

[KG_Jag]

When last I checked, you could not yet download them (and other late posts).

[ December 31, 2002, 01:15 AM: Message edited by: jagcommander ]