Don Bridgehead

[manchildstein (ii)]

Don Bridgehead

Play as Axis against Computer AI

Default AI Setup

Semi-Historical

Axis (Hungarian) Attack

42-08 (Jul 1942)

South, Dry, Warm

Calm, Clear

Dawn

Size: Huge: 2k x 2k Map, Tank and Recon Battalion + Artillery Support attacks -> 2 Infantry Battalions plus fortifications.

30+ Turns

version 1

It is July 1942 and the Hungarian 2nd Army closes upon the Don. Here there is a barge crossing ("Landing") and a bridgehead which is being constantly fed with Soviet troops from the eastern riverbank.

Since sometime yesterday friendly FOs have infiltrated and established a forward observation post (OP). Since then the FOs have been calling in spotting rounds in order to register fire and create an on-call grid in the area.

All through the night your supporting infantry have screened forward to positions in front of the OP and face to face with the enemy. Combined with earlier reports from the air, infiltration and recon sorties on foot show that the area is heavily fortified; numerous bunkers, tank turrets, and infantry positions dot the terrain. The main resistance is outlined by the 'x' markers on the map. It begins in the ravine.

Overnight your available armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) have taken up jumpoff positions for this dawn attack. There is a 'full' Tank Battalion from the 30th Regiment; Panzer IVs (short) and 38(t) tanks. There are also Nimrods from the 51st Motorized AA Battalion; Toldi I tanks and Csaba armored cars from the 1st Recon Battalion.

Now it is dawn and with help from the OP, the attack is set to begin.

Recon has shown a large Soviet minefield on the left flank. The approaches from the south and west are clear.

In the default setup: The Tank Battalion is set to attack on the right. Their Pioneers have screened ahead. Facing the enemy ravine the Motorized Infantry from the Recon Battalion have screened well forward; right to the edge of the defenses. The AFVs from the Recon Battalion - Csabas and Toldis - are assembled around the OP.

The Self-Propelled AA Battalion is split into three companies of six vehicles apiece from left to right.

So your entire force consists of:

Tank Battalion:

1. Company: 11 Panzer IVF (L/24)

2. Company: 22 38(t)

3. Company: 23 38(t)

Pioneer Company

Recon Battalion:

14 Csaba Armored Car

17 Toldi I Tank (20mm)

Motorized Infantry Company

AT Platoon: 4 50mm Gu

51st Self-Propelled AA Battalion:

19 Nimrod

OP Elements:

2nd Army:

2 x 210mm (2x2-tube)

3 x 149mm

Divisional Motorized Artillery Battalions:

1. 3 x 105mm

5. 3 x 105mm

The idea is to smash the Soviet positions quickly, before daylight proper.

As is fairly well standard procedure of late for the tasks handed your 2nd Army, it will be a miracle if this attack doesn't result in high casualties in trying to clear the area of Soviets. Yet the West bank of the Don must be secured.

Notes: It is questionable whether the Hungarian 1st Armored Division saw action in the "Don battles" of that Summer. One feature of this scenario is that by depicting the 1st Armored the Nimrods can 'realistically' be included!

Tactics: If you call in artillery support on a TRP it should hit by the end of that turn. So if you hit a target (target wide or 'i') with all of your FOs you can expect a decent disruptive effect over an area of 100 or 200 meters in radius. Your Toldis and Csabas might be best kept back in defense of your OP. Daytime aerial and nighttime infiltrative recon have detected some very heavy Soviet firepower in the area and these lighter AFVs might have a tough go of it in these conditions. On the other hand this 'light armor' could assist in a larger push by your 'heavier' tanks.

The thrust of the scenario is to destroy as many Soviet units as possible in the time given. The 'x' landmarks can give you an idea of where the main line of resistance (MLR) starts.

The default setup is merely an example: Feel free to re-arrange the default and create your own setup, including the TRPs.

Some Background: Apparently the Hungarian 2nd Army had nine "Light" (Infantry) Divisions (three each in III, IV, and VII Corps) and one Armored Division. The "Light" Divisions were Infantry Divisions with 2 Regiments instead of 3. By the time the Hungarian 2nd Army cleared its area of operations West of the Don, it was covering something like 120 Km with these same nine Divisions. And as it was these Divisions arrived in a haphazard fashion. One source claims that the Hungarian Light Divisions which saw action took 50% casualties in reaching and 'clearing' the West bank of the Don; the word 'clearing' is in quotes because if memory serves there were some Soviet bridgheads on the West bank which were never taken by the Hungarians prior to Operation Uranus. In any event, even at full strength with six Battalions per Division, the Hungarians would have had roughly one Battalion to cover every 2+ Km of frontage, with only the 1st Armored as a reserve along a front of 120 Km! And these Infantry Battalions - even if all of them were present - would have been depleted from the July and later battles. Admittedly

each of the three Corps had some attached units (such as Artillery, Cavalry, and AA Battalions) but all the same they were stretched extremely thin there on the Don.

As hystory later showed, it was a disaster in the making.

The Order of Battle (OOB) information for this scenario came from: http://members.tripod.com/~Sturmvogel/Hung2Army.html

[Zitadelle]

Originally posted by manchildstein II:

Don Bridgehead

Play as Axis against Computer AI

Default AI Setup

Semi-Historical

Axis (Hungarian) Attack

42-08 (Jul 1942)

South, Dry, Warm

Calm, Clear

Dawn

Size: Huge: 2k x 2k Map, Tank and Recon Battalion + Artillery Support attacks -> 2 Infantry Battalions plus fortifications.

30+ Turns

version 1

It is July 1942 and the Hungarian 2nd Army closes upon the Don. Here there is a barge crossing ("Landing") and a bridgehead which is being constantly fed with Soviet troops from the eastern riverbank.

Since sometime yesterday friendly FOs have infiltrated and established a forward observation post (OP). Since then the FOs have been calling in spotting rounds in order to register fire and create an on-call grid in the area.

All through the night your supporting infantry have screened forward to positions in front of the OP and face to face with the enemy. Combined with earlier reports from the air, infiltration and recon sorties on foot show that the area is heavily fortified; numerous bunkers, tank turrets, and infantry positions dot the terrain. The main resistance is outlined by the 'x' markers on the map. It begins in the ravine.

Overnight your available armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) have taken up jumpoff positions for this dawn attack. There is a 'full' Tank Battalion from the 30th Regiment; Panzer IVs (short) and 38(t) tanks. There are also Nimrods from the 51st Motorized AA Battalion; Toldi I tanks and Csaba armored cars from the 1st Recon Battalion.

Now it is dawn and with help from the OP, the attack is set to begin.

Recon has shown a large Soviet minefield on the left flank. The approaches from the south and west are clear.

In the default setup: The Tank Battalion is set to attack on the right. Their Pioneers have screened ahead. Facing the enemy ravine the Motorized Infantry from the Recon Battalion have screened well forward; right to the edge of the defenses. The AFVs from the Recon Battalion - Csabas and Toldis - are assembled around the OP.

The Self-Propelled AA Battalion is split into three companies of six vehicles apiece from left to right.

So your entire force consists of:

Tank Battalion:

1. Company: 11 Panzer IVF (L/24)

2. Company: 22 38(t)

3. Company: 23 38(t)

Pioneer Company

Recon Battalion:

14 Csaba Armored Car

17 Toldi I Tank (20mm)

Motorized Infantry Company

AT Platoon: 4 50mm Gu

51st Self-Propelled AA Battalion:

19 Nimrod

OP Elements:

2nd Army:

2 x 210mm (2x2-tube)

3 x 149mm

Divisional Motorized Artillery Battalions:

1. 3 x 105mm

5. 3 x 105mm

The idea is to smash the Soviet positions quickly, before daylight proper.

As is fairly well standard procedure of late for the tasks handed your 2nd Army, it will be a miracle if this attack doesn't result in high casualties in trying to clear the area of Soviets. Yet the West bank of the Don must be secured.

Notes: It is questionable whether the Hungarian 1st Armored Division saw action in the "Don battles" of that Summer. One feature of this scenario is that by depicting the 1st Armored the Nimrods can 'realistically' be included!

Tactics: If you call in artillery support on a TRP it should hit by the end of that turn. So if you hit a target (target wide or 'i') with all of your FOs you can expect a decent disruptive effect over an area of 100 or 200 meters in radius. Your Toldis and Csabas might be best kept back in defense of your OP. Daytime aerial and nighttime infiltrative recon have detected some very heavy Soviet firepower in the area and these lighter AFVs might have a tough go of it in these conditions. On the other hand this 'light armor' could assist in a larger push by your 'heavier' tanks.

The thrust of the scenario is to destroy as many Soviet units as possible in the time given. The 'x' landmarks can give you an idea of where the main line of resistance (MLR) starts.

The default setup is merely an example: Feel free to re-arrange the default and create your own setup, including the TRPs.

Some Background: Apparently the Hungarian 2nd Army had nine "Light" (Infantry) Divisions (three each in III, IV, and VII Corps) and one Armored Division. The "Light" Divisions were Infantry Divisions with 2 Regiments instead of 3. By the time the Hungarian 2nd Army cleared its area of operations West of the Don, it was covering something like 120 Km with these same nine Divisions. And as it was these Divisions arrived in a haphazard fashion. One source claims that the Hungarian Light Divisions which saw action took 50% casualties in reaching and 'clearing' the West bank of the Don; the word 'clearing' is in quotes because if memory serves there were some Soviet bridgheads on the West bank which were never taken by the Hungarians prior to Operation Uranus. In any event, even at full strength with six Battalions per Division, the Hungarians would have had roughly one Battalion to cover every 2+ Km of frontage, with only the 1st Armored as a reserve along a front of 120 Km! And these Infantry Battalions - even if all of them were present - would have been depleted from the July and later battles. Admittedly

each of the three Corps had some attached units (such as Artillery, Cavalry, and AA Battalions) but all the same they were stretched extremely thin there on the Don.

As hystory later showed, it was a disaster in the making.

The Order of Battle (OOB) information for this scenario came from: http://members.tripod.com/~Sturmvogel/Hung2Army.html

OK, I'll bite since I have seen several message like this. Yes, sounds like a very intriguing scenario- and much like the others that have been documented something that I would like to try.

Only one very small detail....

Where is it?????

I do not see a link. I do not see a message "let me know if you want to give the scenario a try". Not to be blunt, but the theme of the message is "Hey, I created this really cool scenario based upon this historical information. It will really blow your socks off, but you can't have it."

I'll apologize now, if I totally am missing the mark....

[manchildstein (ii)]

oh i put these over at the scenario depot...

http://ns9.super-hosts.com/~dragonlair.net/combatmission/

they're linked through to

http://peter_panzer.tripod.com

[CombinedArms]

Originally posted by Zitadelle:

Only one very small detail....

Where is it?????

I do not see a link. [snip]

I'll apologize now, if I totally am missing the mark....

The Scenario Depot is the premeir scenario site for CM and pretty much the default location for all scenarios these days--especially with Der Kessel, sadly, shutting down. If a designer fails to mention a location, you can pretty much assume it's at the Depot.