WG113 "The Cost of Prestige"

Scenario Design by Bill Thomson; Updated 190220

August 28, 1941: Although denuded of Panzer support, the timely arrival of reinforcements enabled German infantry elements of the 20th Army Corps to stalemate the repeated Russian battering of the Yelnia salient. Infantry heroics assisted by Sturmgeschutz assault guns, representing the only effective counter to stunning arrivals of T34s front lines, are called upon to restore the line. Army Group Center high command is committed to retain the Yelna salient as a possible springboard to Moscow in a renewed offensive. The vacancy of PanzerGruppe 2, to participate in the encirclement of Kiev, leaves the German infantry on its own. Both sides continue the struggle at Yelnia, while the headlines focus on actions to the south.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: The Germans win if at the end they occupy all five of the designated victory hexes with a good order squad (not broken, or in melee) in the location and no Russian unit is present. The Russain player initially controls all victory hexes at the start of the scenario. The Russian player immediately regains control if no German good order squad remains in the hex. The victory hexes are: I6, J1, M1, O7, Q3.

BOARD LAYOUT:

NORTH

SCENARIO SEQUENCE:

Russians Setup First	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	END
Germans Move First

GERMAN FORCES:

AT START: Reinforced elements of 263rd Division; Setup any whole or have hex south of hex row H inclusive, but not adjacent to I6:
1x10-2, 1x9-1; 1x8-1; 1x7-0; 2x838; 12x467; 1x247; 4xLMG; 1xMMG, 1xRadio; 1x50mm ATG; 3xEntrenchments;
1xSTGIII(75); 1x Armed HT; 1xFT; 1xDC, 2xT34 wrecks; 2x135 bunkers (placement per SSR WG113.1)

RUSSIAN FORCES:

AT START: Elements of the 308th Rifle Division and 2nd Bn. 37th Guards. Set up on whole or half hex north of hex row J inclusive, each victory hex and bunker in the Russian setup area must be initially occupied by a good order 447, including I6.
1x9-1; 1x8-0; 9x447;6x447 (Broken); 3xLMG; 1x MMG; 4x ENT; 1xHT wreck
TURN 3; Additional Elements of the 17th Tank Brigade; Enter any North Edge hex:
2 xT34; 1x8-1; 6x447; 2xLMG

SPECIAL SCENARIO RULES:

WG113.1: TERRAIN: Wheatfields are in effect. All roads do not exist. Treat all orchard hexes (11S7) as open ground. Place a 135 Bunker on hexes L4 and L6 facing North; the bunker were captured from the Germans in the previous days fighting (refer to WG102). All wrecks must be placed within 4 hexes inclusive of the I6 building in any direction (ignore the setup restrictions of other forces).
WG113.2: Buildings O7 and Q3 are partially fortified. No vehicle may enter the hex; the TEM remains +2 and there are no other restrictions.
WG113.3: The German 10-2 is wounded, he has only 3 MP but suffers not other limitations.
WG113.4: The German 838s has unlimited smoke making capability. As a result of specialized training, the German 838s are not required to take a PreAFV MC to place DC on enemy AFVs
WG113.5: The German radio may only contact the company mortar, a single hex 50mm battalion mortar, unlimited Fire Missions but no smoke ammunition. AR/SR/FFE possesses sufficient range to reach any hex on the map subject to OBA mechanics.
WG113.6: Due to a morning rain shower, fires of any kind may not be created.
WG113.7: SIDE SELECTION PROCEDURE: Each player takes one marker of each nationality and simultaneously reveals their choice of side. If opposing sides are selected, those sides are assigned. If the same side is chosen, the players bid for side with the lower rated (seed) player bidding first. Bids may start at '0' and progress in whole numbers only. The bid is the number of dominate AT START squads to be added to the opposing side. The bid continues until one player accepts the opposing side whose force is augmented with that bid. Please report the bid, winning side and comments (i.e. uneven die rolls at key moments) as this data will be used for balance modification the scenario prior to its published form.

PLAYTEST STATUS: This scenario is currently in playtest (Beta Release), please contact Squad Leader Academy to join this effort. The 'final' version will be published as a SQLA/Wargame Academy (WGA) scenario pack.

AFTERMATH: The German infantry Divisions were hard pressed to hold their ground given their meager resources. Given the ineffectiveness of the standard ATGs vs the T34, the Sturmgeschutz assault gun were pressed into an antitank role and served as the only effective AT weapon beyond heroic infantry assaults. The misguided fixation by OKH to hold the Yelnia salient as a jumping off point for a potential renewed summer Moscow offensive proved to be a sad commentary on some of the generals who advocated maintaining a position solely for reasons of prestige. To say that Yelnia was a costly blunder would be to minimize its true horror for the German infantryman.

PLAYER COMMENTS:

David Garvin vs Matt Spitznagel 060826: Very well played by both. We had personal ups (My STG III destroyed both T 34s in a long range tank duel, his 9-1 wiped out FOUR 467s with one shot, firing a MMG solo!) and we both had downs (reverse the situations from above: he lost both tanks to my STG, I lost 4 squads in one attack!). In the end, my manpower losses were critical. Matt was able to get enough of his reinforcements to the key areas in order to fend off my attack on the final two victory locations. My company mortars were effective this game, but losing my STG III in close combat to a 447 put me out of the match. Very well played by Matt, and an enjoyable experience. I look forward to playing him again.