Tactics in 'Blue Division'
Scenario #18: !No Somos Italianos!
0900 – 1000 Hours
By Doug McNair
December 2006

The full weight of the Soviet 72nd Rifle Division hits the Spanish lines in today’s installment of my Blue Division, Scenario #18 replay.

During the first hour of battle, Soviet offboard artillery demoralized the Spanish INF and HMG platoons guarding the Izhora River Bridge. This sparked an unsupported infantry charge on the bridge, which Spanish opportunity fire from the bridge and the town blunted quickly.

The Spanish line has held against Soviet artillery and tank fire, but with two reinforced infantry battalions now in the woods just north of the town, and another one plus a Soviet tank company in the woods north of the Spanish western flank, the Spaniards will have all they can handle in just a few moments.

Turn 5 — 0900 Hours

The Soviets get initiative by three activations, but their air support drops to zero this turn. With almost all the river bridge attackers disrupted or demoralized, Soviet offboard artillery shifts to the town, where the Spanish anti-tank guns are positioned. Eliminating them is crucial to giving the Soviet tanks the freedom of movement they need to support infantry attacks.

But Soviet offboard and onboard artillery fire fail to break Spanish morale in the town, so rather than advance to the edge of the woods and get shot at, the main Soviet force waits while the units that charged the bridge try to recover morale before more Spanish artillery hits them. Some recover and some don’t, and the Spanish on the bridge take the opportunity to try and recover too. Only one INF unit does, so that position is still somewhat vulnerable.

That being the case, the Soviets in the woods activate and rush the bridge. The units in the town southwest of the bridge have to be judicious with their opportunity fire — if they use it all on units charging the bridge, then the Soviets can send the rest of their human wave south to the town unopposed. Nevertheless, they disrupt three INF platoons, and the rest of the Soviets stay on the edge of the woods rather than rushing the town. The kommissar finds the pile of demoralized units there and prepares his speech.

Spanish artillery disrupts one Soviet SMG unit that advanced to the edge of the woods north of town. Then the Soviets and the Spanish start trading fire on the left flank, with the result that a couple of Soviet units in the woods get disrupted.

After a while the Soviet colonel gets tired of seeing his troops ducking and covering, so he orders the charge on the Spanish trenches. Opportunity fire from the trenches inflicts three step losses on the human wave and demoralizes two surviving INF units. The only unit that does make it to the trenches becomes disrupted, and the turn ends on recoveries, except that the disrupted KV-1s north of the eastern woods STILL fail to recover. The Soviets REALLY need some air support right about now.

Turn Six — 0915

The Spanish get initiative, and no Soviet air support is forthcoming. Spanish offboard artillery demoralizes the Soviet SMG unit nearest the bridge, and then the bridge rush surges forward with support from onboard artillery while lots of units behind them recover morale (except a demoralized unit the Kommissar inflicts a step loss on as they run away). One Soviet INF unit makes it adjacent to the bridge but gets disrupted. Then units start pouring out of the woods toward the town. One INF unit and a sergeant make it through point-blank HMG and 75mm opportunity fire to get adjacent to the town in good order, but another INF gets disrupted.

Spanish mortar fire demoralizes a low-morale Soviet lieutenant near the western trenches, and OBA from both sides is ineffective. But then the T-34s fire and disrupt a Spanish unit in the western trenches.

The Spanish reposition their recovered HMG unit in the town to oppose the oncoming Soviets, and then Soviet mortar fire demoralizes both Spanish INF units in the western trench hex! One immediately recovers, but the other doesn’t and flees south toward the wheatfield where the mortars are. That’s all the Soviets need to see — they charge the trenches with support fire from HMGs, 45mm guns and KMS transports. Opportunity fire from the trenches disrupts one unit and eliminates another on a 2X result, but a third makes it to the trenches in good order.

The Spanish pass (having used most of their units for opportunity fire), and all the Soviet units and leaders who got demoralized while rushing the western trenches last turn fail to recover and flee north to the woods. The Spanish teniente with the mortars heads east to intercept the fleeing INF platoon, and the turn ends with the KV-1s FINALLY recovering to good order.

Turn Seven — 0930 Hours

The Spanish get initiative again, and there’s still no Soviet air support to be had. Spanish OBA hits a three-high stack of Soviet INF units two hexes away from the bridge. The captain on top of the stack and one of his units are demoralized, but the others are OK.
Then Soviet OBA hits the town, demoralizing a teniente and disrupting the 75mm AT gun. Worried about a possible assault, the HMGs in the hex open fire on the adjacent Spanish while the teniente and the 75mm gun recover. One Soviet unit takes a step loss and both become demoralized (their sergeant is OK).

Robbed of their assault on the town, the one good-order Soviet INF platoon that’s adjacent to the western trench assaults it, with another one recovering to good order so it can assault later (the colonel stays behind to rally more troops). The assault harms nobody, but now the Spanish in the trench are pinned down.

The teniente from the wheatfield tries to rally the fleeing INF while telling the mortars to bombard the Soviet lieutenant who’s rallying units in the northern woods and sending them toward the trench. The INF unit fails to recover and keeps running, but the mortars demoralize two Soviet INF units. Soviet mortar fire is ineffective, and the Spanish in the trench assault try to recover morale but fail.

Then the major in the woods north of town activates his battalions. Numerous units rush the bridge, opportunity fire from the bridge and town inflict three more step losses. But the human wave is unending, and the Spaniards in the town have to let some Soviets through to the bridge because they know more will be coming at them from the woods. Many Soviets mass on the edge of the woods, but only one INF unit makes it adjacent to the town (it holds morale through opportunity fire).

The turn the ends on a Fog of War roll — not a good thing for the Soviets, since none of their tanks got to fire or move this turn. They’ve also taken 12 step losses now, so their initiative will drop to 2 next turn.

Turn Eight — 0945 Hours

The Spanish win initiative by one, but the Soviets finally get some decent air support in the form of a Pe-2 flight. The Spanish on the bridge fire point-blank on the Soviet lieutenant about to lead the assault against them. He and his units all pass their morale check, and he leads three INF platoons (one reduced) into the bridge hex. One Soviet INF unit becomes disrupted by First Fire, but then the only good-order Spanish unit in the bridge hex becomes disrupted as well. The bridge defenders are now pinned down, and the bulk of the eastern Soviet battalions can now concentrate on the town.

The town defenders open fire on the Soviets adjacent to them, leaving one stack of units unactivated so they can hit others with opportunity fire as they come in. One Soviet unit becomes demoralized but the other holds morale. Then the Soviets activate, with one INF unit going in for the assault while the rest burst out of the woods and ring the town. The assault does no damage to either side. Spanish OBA on the Soviets out in the open next to the town is ineffective.

The Soviets reinforce their trench assault but are once again ineffective (so are the Spanish defenders). Spanish mortar fire is ineffective, but then Soviet air command finally gets a clue and sends pilots who know what they’re doing. They strafe the Spanish mortars and score an X result, killing one of them and disrupting the other. The Spanish in the trench assault recover morale, but then the T-34s charge south from the woods and adjacent to the assault hex. One can join the assault next turn, and the others can head south to overrun the remaining mortar.

The Spanish on the bridge fail to recover morale (except for their leader), and Soviet OBA disrupts a teniente in the trench hex just east of the western assault, and demoralizes one of his units. The teniente recovers, but the INF unit does not and flees south. Soviet mortar fire disrupts the teniente in the extreme west-flank trench hex but leaves his HMGs OK. The Spanish east of the bridge abandon their trench to reinforce the bridge defense, and the turn ends on recoveries.

At the end of the second hour of battle, the Soviets have lost 12 steps and the Spanish have only lost one. But Spanish units have started fleeing the trenches, Spanish mortar support has been all but silenced, the T-34s are poised to finish the trench assault, the bridge defenders are disrupted and pinned down, and the town is about to be assaulted on a broad front.

Can the Spanish repel the endless wave of Soviets in Hour 3? Tune in next time and find out!

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