Tactics in 'Blue Division'
Scenario #18: !No Somos Italianos!
1100 – 1200 Hours
By Doug McNair
December 2006

Blue Division’s stand against the reinforced Soviet 72nd Rifle Division concludes today in my replay of Scenario #18, "!No Somos Italianos!"

In the battle’s third hour, Soviet losses topped half their infantry, but part of the Spanish western trenches fell and four Soviet tank platoons drove on towards town. A Spanish counterattack from the town and bridge just barely failed to break the Soviet flanks, and the Spaniards’ heaviest AT gun platoon was destroyed. With most of the town defenders now pinned down by Soviet assaults, and the rest of the Spaniards cut off from the town, a call for German reinforcements is under serious consideration.

Turn 13 — 1100 Hours

The Soviets have lost 30 steps so their initiative drops to zero, but the Spanish have now lost six steps so theirs drops to 2. The Spaniards win initiative, and the Soviet air force seems to be on an extended lunch break.

The teniente who was driven back into town before he could reach the woods and slaughter the Soviet artillery fires point-blank at the Soviet major, INF platoon and KV-1s just outside town. He kills one Soviet INF step, demoralizes the rest of the unit, and kills the major! But his own demoralized INF unit fails to recover and flees the town — a big step backward after such a solid blow against the enemy.

Then Soviet OBA hits the bridge, takes out a Spanish INF step and demoralizes both INF units there! But of course the Soviets can’t get away with that — friendly fire hits the Soviets in the adjacent hex, scoring an M2 result and disrupting their only INF unit.

Thus relieved of the need to defend the bridge against imminent assault, the Spanish hold off on their OBA and try to break out of the town assault. The initial rush does well, demoralizing the Soviet sergeant and one of his INF units. But the other two Soviets hold morale and hurl the Spanish back with a step loss, demoralizing their colonel again along with an INF unit, and disrupting the other.

The two T-34s west of town wipe out the INF unit the teniente left to guard the trenches behind him. That clears another trench of Spaniards, and opens the road between the T-34s and the town. The pendulum starts a lazy swing toward the Soviets again.

With very few options left, the Spanish in the southeast town hex assault their Soviet tormentors, hoping to throw them off and bring their AT gun into play. It’s a longshot against superior Russian numbers, and it does no damage while demoralizing the Spanish capitan leading it. Two out of the three Spanish-held town hexes now have only demoralized leaders.

Soviet artillery pounds Spanish troops that fled the town, helping to keep them that way. Spanish OBA starts hitting Soviet infantry near the western trenches to keep them away from the town, and it kills one half-strength unit before the turn ends on a Fog of War roll. This is a good thing for the Spanish, since the Soviets didn’t get a chance to move in reinforcements or make recoveries. But the Spanish took three step losses this turn to two for the Soviets, a deficit they can’t afford, and the bloody noses they got in the town counterassaults mean they are out of options for stopping the Soviet armor from overrunning the town. With apologies to the Generalissimo, they radio for German assistance. Whatever reinforcements the Germans send will arrive on Turn 16.

Turn 14 — 1115 Hours

Spain wins initiative, and the Soviets seem to have forgotten how to fly. Spanish OBA is ineffective, but Soviet OBA demoralizes the brave teniente whose failed charge on the Soviets in the woods was the best chance for Spanish victory.

Then the Spanish go into recovery mode, counting on Fog of War rolls to keep all their demoralized units from fleeing before the Germans arrive. A roll of 15 isn’t quite enough, and the two T-34s that cleared the trench hex west of town drive east. One links up with the KV-1s and the other drives into the town to block any fleeing Spanish units from getting back in, and/or to where it can assault the central town hex next turn.

Such an assault combined with the infantry already there would doom the disrupted and demoralized Spanish there, so they try to recover before that happens. The oft-demoralized coronel decides he’s been right all along and flees south, outrunning an INF unit that also flees. The disrupted INF they leave behind fails to recover.

Another 15 is not quite Fog of War, and the brave teniente follows his coronel out of town as his units fail to recover or hurt any Soviets. Another 15, and more T-34s move into position to hit the hex the Teniente just fled. Yet another 15 fails to save the capitan in the town hex with the AT gun from a recovery roll, which he fails, making him flee the town. The Spanish town defenders are now leaderless, and the pendulum swings sharply toward the Soviets.

A half-strength INF that was re-educated by the kommissar rushes out of the woods and adjacent to the bridge, but the kommissar is a bit off his game and has to kill a step of fleeing INF while the other comes to its senses.

Then, one demoralized Spanish INF unit on the bridge recovers, but the other does not and flees for the eastern woods. The turn then ends on sporadic traded gunfire and recoveries, and with a KMS from the western trench hex taking its 45mm gun to occupy the trench hex just west of town (before the Germans arrive).

Turn 15 — 1130 Hours

The Spaniards win initiative by two activations, so OBA keeps hitting exposed infantry while some now-disrupted units that fled the town try to recover to good order. The OBA is ineffective, but there is now a good-order Spanish HMG unit and leader adjacent to the town and ready to rejoin battle. That keeps the T-34 that was going to join the central assault out of it — it and two KMS transports turn and blast them point-blank instead, disrupting the Spanish leader and unit. OBA, mortar and tank fire is ineffective, but when a teniente that fled the town runs back in through heavy opportunity fire, he makes it!
After some traded fire, a capitan leaves the bridge hex to run after the fleeing INF from there, and the other INF in the bridge hex recovers to good order. A Soviet town assault does no damage to either side, and the capitan that fled that assault fails to recover and crosses the river to flee for the southeastern woods.

Then the other Soviet town assault goes horribly wrong, with a leader and two platoons getting demoralized while assaulting one leaderless, disrupted Spanish INF platoon. The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll, with numerous demoralized units on both sides not having had a chance to recover.

Turn 16 — 1145 Hours

The German reinforcements arrive! The Spanish player rolls on the Scenario 18 reinforcement table and gets a 6. Straining to hear the sound of panzers rumbling in, the Spaniards instead see one German INF unit, two 81mm mortar platoons, and a lieutenant. Not a tank among them. And if they ask for more reinforcements, they won’t come for another six turns.

The teniente (who just ran through tank fire to tell his troops to hold on till the Germans arrive) gives a fatalistic salute, and takes an INF unit to assault the demoralized Soviets in the next hex. But he just doesn’t have enough firepower left at his disposal to hurt them. The KV-1s and T-34s mow down the disrupted HMG unit guarding the teniente’s rear, and the tanks make ready to charge the bridge next turn.

The Spanish and the few Germans may hold onto a town hex or two, but there’s no way they’ll hold the bridge against massed point-blank tank fire. The trench hexes will fall the same way, so the Soviets will score at least a Minor Victory.

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