New Operation - Return To Borisov

[Mark Gallear]

Title: Return To Borisov

Operation Type: Soviet Assault

Date: June 1944

Operation Length: 7 Battles, Night Falls on 4th Battle.

Battle Length: 20 Turns Variable.

Scenario Design: Mark Gallear and Brian Martuzas

Briefings Editing: Mark Gallear and Brian Martuzas.

Playtesting: Mark Gallear, Brian Martuzas, Carl Nogueria (Both Ex-Advanced Squad Leader designers and testers)and James Morton.

On June 22, 1944, exactly three years to the day that the Germans launched Barbarossa, the Invasion of Russia, the Russians launched their massive summer offensive, codenamed "Bagration". This operation was designed to hurl the Germans out of Byelorussia forever. Despite inflicting heavy losses on the Russian attackers during their drive towards Orsha and Bobruisk, the German defences collapsed under the sheer weight of Russian men and metal. Soviet forces threatened to encircle Vitebsk on June 23/24 and by the time permission was given to try a breakout it was too late for the two Infantry and Luftwaffe Divisions defending the city. Only a few ravaged battalion sized units made it through the Russian lines on the night of June 26 into a countryside dominated by Partisans.

By June 25, the 11th Guards Army had finally overcome the tactical defences of the 78th Sturm Division and began moving on Orsha. General Von Tippelskirch in the face of unrealistic orders deceived Hitler and the OKH that he was holding firm and slipped his forces back to more defensible positions across the Dnepr. Even so the last train filled with German wounded was blasted apart by T-34s, and the city fell on the night of June 26.

Reinforcements from the Ukraine in the form of the 5th Panzer Division began arriving in Minsk on June 26. Its force of Panthers, PkKpfw IVs and subordinate units such as SPZAbt 505 Heavy Tank Battalion, equipped with Tiger I tanks, made it a formidable German formation. It was tasked with blocking the heavy Soviet concentration of Armour coming down the Moscow-Minsk highway and allow the remnants of 4th Army to retreat over the Berezina River.

On June 28 at Krupki, M4A2 tanks of 3rd Guards Tank Corps clashed with the Tigers of sPzAbt. 505. The Russian tankers captured Krupki Railway Station after a night of heavy fighting and losses. North of the highway, reconnaissance companies of the Soviet 29th Tank Corps trying to cross the Berezina at Studenka were rebuffed by the Reconnaissance Battalion (AA5).

On June 29 the five Rifle Divisions of 11th Guards Army caught up with the lead tank forces and clashed with 5th Panzer Division’s 31st Panzer Grenadier Regiment at Kostrista and 11th Infantry Regiment, which was providing a rearguard to the approaches to Borisov. The 31st Panzer grenadier Regiment had managed to withdraw to Borisov, eluding the defensive positions set up astride the Moscow-Minsk highway by the Soviet 26th Rifle Division in order to prevent German stragglers escaping westwards.

On June 30 the Soviet 1st and 31st Guards Rifle divisions crossed the Skha River but were prevented from crossing the Berezina east of Zembin by continued defensive resistance from AA5. The 29th Tank Corps forced a river crossing north of the 5th Panzer positions. The commander of the 35th Guards Tank Brigade provided a crossing for 3rd Guards Tank Brigade when he ordered three of tanks to be driven into the river to form an improvised bridge. South of Borisov, two rifle divisions of the 11th Guards Army forced crossings of the Berezina River against patchy resistance from five SS Police regiments. The Luftwaffe launched a series of attacks on the captured bridges using FW-190 fighter-bombers but with little result.

The 5th Guards Rifle Division enveloped Borisov, while the 3rd Guards Tank Corps tried to break into the city directly across the main Berzina Bridge. Lt. Pavel Rak led a column of tanks from 3rd Guards Tank Brigade across the main bridge, but as they crossed German Engineers blew it up. Only Rak’s tank and another made it across with a few infantry men finding themselves trapped they fought a desperate battle for survival as soviet units entered the city from other directions. All afternoon Borisov was engulfed in Street fighting but by evening the surviving German forces retreated. The last major obstacle in front of Minsk had been overcome.

A column of Russian tanks from 3rd Guards Tank Brigade led by Lieutenant Pavel Rak tried to rush one bridge, only to have German Engineers blow it up during the crossing. Lieutenant Rak's tank along with one other, and a few riding infantrymen, successfully made it to the other side, finding themselves trapped, and desperately trying to survive by fending off repeated determined attacks. Throughout the afternoon Borisov was engulfed in fierce street fighting as more and more Soviet troops entered into the city from all sides, joining the fray. By nightfall the few surviving German forces managed to withdraw from the now devastated city

By July 1, Minsk was defended by only 1,8000 poorly organised troops, while a further 15,0000 unarmed stragglers, 8,000 wounded and 12,000 rear echelon staff from Army Group Centre headquarters attempted to flee the city by train. Demolition of key installations began and on July 2nd Hitler finally agreed to permit evacuation to begin. The bulk of 5th Panzer Division fought a series of costly battles on July 1 and 2 against 5th Guards Tank Army to keep them away from the rail lines being used for evacuation. The Soviet 2nd Tank Corps reached the southern outskirts of Minsk in the early hours of July 3 and entered the city cutting off large pockets of German troops to the east, who continued their attempts to break out. By July 9, the largest concentrations of German forces had been captured or destroyed. The 5th Panzer Division, which had started the battle with 125 tanks, was by July 8 down to just 18, with the loss of all of its Tigers.

- Players Notes –

This is a continuation of my previously released operation "The Road To Minsk". This action follows the Soviet 1st and 31st Guard Divisions as they attack towards the Berezina River crossings at Borisov.

The initial version of this operation was designed for an Allied Human player against the German AI, but it has been balanced and is suitable for a long two-player campaign. In single player it may be easier as the Germans as the AI is not good in attack. The German player has the unusual dilemma of deciding when to hold his ground and when to withdraw. If he tries to go toe-to-toe against the Russians he may find himself surrounded and isolated for the next scenario. If the German yields ground too early, then he finds his back to the wall, with only a small portion of the map to defend. When playing against the German AI, stick to the Scenario Default since the AI will not place his Germans in good defensible positions. The German player begins the operation with some stragglers set up on roads trying to reach their defence line.

The map was created from a Russian military topographical map by Larry Winslow, a long time player of the Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) game system. Originally designed for inclusion in an ASL module, this project was abandoned, only to resurface here as an operation for CMBB. I have been assisted in these efforts by Brian Martuzas and Carl Nogueira, both noted ASL scenario designers and playtesters. Special thanks also go to Scott McLaughlin and Pat Flory, from The Citadel Game Store for their previous playtesting and storage of the map. Carl gets a special thank you for mailing me this huge map to my address in the United Kingdom. I have used the 3D map from Stephen Zaloga's "Operation Bagration" book by Osprey Publishing, to set these maps in context and to fill in the missing portions of the map required for the Russian start position.

Brian wished to portray the increased mobility exhibited by the Soviet Army in the second half of 1944. Augmented with copious amounts of Lend Lease vehicles--Sherman and Valentine tanks, halftracks, Scout Cars and Ford Trucks, the Russians had shown that they had learn well from their enemy the art of blitzkrieg. In addition, this operation saw the inclusion of over 100 SU76(i) assault guns, used in large numbers for the first time. Conversely, the German Army was reeling from the weight of the Russian offensive. The German defenders here were comprised of Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, SS Police units which added (often at the point of a pistol) stragglers from various shattered units pouring to the rear.

I have added Russian paratroopers in their distinctive camouflage smocks to represent tank hunting teams, snipers, and "Razvedchiki" scouts.

"The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer impressed me with his first-person account of the savage, desperate fighting between both sides. This book has influenced my design for the German forces. Here, even elite formations--such as The Grossdeutschland PanzerGrenadier Division by 1944 was reduced to strictly using any motorized transport to move the wounded. His unit were generally only supported by a few armed halftracks and his memory of Tiger tanks was with awe at their power and rarity. He describes being constantly ill from the poor conditions but even in this condition withdrawal from battle was not an option. He also describes the change in the Soviet forces as they became increasingly mechanised and the shock when the Luftwaffe could no longer protect them and they were constantly harried by the Red Air Force.

"The Soviet Blitzkrieg" by Walter Dunn, as well as Zaloga's "Operation Bagration" were used as reference.

Mark Gallear

You can get from my website and I will be sending it to the Scenario Depot for distribution there

[tooz]

This project began in 1998. Inspired by the classic Cross Of Iron Scenario "Breakout From Borisov" (which coincidently was converted successfully to CM by ASLvet). It was designed as a "three-in-one" CG. With one huge map gamers would have the ability to play three different campaigns: Blitzkrieg '41, Partisans '43, and the Russians return in '44. I hope that this long dormant project can now resuface with CMBB.

The main obstacle with this trilogy is how to use the same map for three different ops. Can this be done?

The next in this series will be the enormous '41 campaign. This op will be double the size and length and utilize another heretofore unseen portion of this huge map. The original HASL map was displayed at an ASL convention (named Oktoberfest) in Cleveland, Ohio five years ago. The map truly is beautiful and all credit goes to Larry Winslow, my good friend and erstwhile ASL opponent. If any of you ASL "old-timers" (damn, now I'M AN OLD TIMER) knows Larry, please pass on my regards as we have since lost contact. Larry now resides in Michigan.

Getting back to the '41 op, there are three major hurdles to surmount. The first is with bridge construction--how do you rebuild a blown bridge between battles? The Germans were successful in taking one bridge intact, then ferried across reinforcements while the Engineers went to work building pontoon bridges under fire. This is not available in CM--nor in ASL, for that matter. For now, should all of the bridges be blown, the German player will have to mount a river crossing. The second problem lies with the absence of the then ubiquitous Russian tank, the T-28. Substitute T-26s and the Russians are too weak, substitute T-34s and the Russians are too strong. T-34s and KVs did become available, but only later as the Russians tried to crush the bridgehead. Third, the campaign was going to include armored trains. These trains are still not depicted in ASL or in CM. Pity, they would have added another novelty. Despite the fact that this campaign had been finished it never was released due to the project being dropped. All we can do now is try to recreate this op as well as we can within the limits of the CM system.

The '43 op will be smaller, but will it be fun by using the CM system? This op would depict the massive Partisan sweep conducted in the summer of '43 by the Germans to eliminate once and for all the Partisan problem. In this op the Partisans blow bridges, raid barracks, and blow up sections of the railroad, then melt away into the dense forests that abound in this region. Three campaigns, three different OBs, same map. That was the idea.

So, here is the first title. I wanted this to be different than the other fine ops available. The major difference is that it does not begin with the massive armored onslaught, as seen in Mark's "The Road To Minsk" operation. It starts small with neither side having that one "uber tank" or dense ATG belts that permeates throughout CM battles and ops. The Russian player's heaviest tank is the T-34/85, but the majority of the vehicles are Lend-Lease. The Russian player now has to face Tigers with Shermans, a la CMBO. The captured Stug and SU76(i) are added since, as according to sources, the Russians used these during Bagration. My primary reference for the inclusion of these obscure Russian AFVs was Walter Dunn's excellent book: Soviet Blitzkrieg. Ever since my SL playing days in my youth (when I could drink a 12-pack and STILL function) I had always ruminated over the strange counter that read "SU76(i). To the best of my knowledge no SL/ASL scenario had ever included them. Not one. So, before posters cite opposing views by authors refuting the presence of these rather tame SP's in this battle just consider one thing. Fun. I hope using the captured Stug and SU76(i) proves entertaining in its novelty. Fun is, after all, what this game is about. We hope you enjoy it, and will appreciate any feedback.