Siege of Leningrad
Scenario Preview
October 2013

Siege of Leningrad is Mike Perryman’s second book of Leningrad scenarios for Panzer Grenadier. Like its sister book March on Lenigrad, Siege offers players a nice mix of small, fast-moving scenarios and large-scale battles where one side or another tries to hold back the enemy hordes.

Scenario One
Uritsk
15 September 1941

As the German juggernaut rolled on, 31st Motorized Corps was ordered to attack north through the town of Uritsk and reach the Gulf of Finland. The Soviets could not afford to let this happen as it would mean the strangling of another route into Leningrad, but the only unit available to oppose the Germans was the badly-depleted 10th Rifle Division. Nonetheless the Red Army threw 10th Rifle into the fray, hoping against hope that it could stop the Hitlerites.

Note: This scenario uses a board from Road to Berlin and boards and pieces from Eastern Front.

Conclusion

10th Rifle slowly gave ground until it reached Uritsk, but surprised everyone by making a determined stand and ultimately refusing to yield the town. Marshal Zukhov took the opportunity to throw all the reserves he could find into the scant 2.5 mile corridor between Uritsk and the Gulf of Finland coast.

Commentary: In this scenario the German infantry attacks with decent offboard artillery support but only minimal armor and no air support at all. The Soviets are outnumbered but they’ve got plenty of defensible terrain plus a KV-1 tank unit, which will be very useful against the small number of tanks the Germans field. The deciding factor will be Soviet vs. German leadership, with the German leaders needing to work hard to keep their troops in good order as they cross three boards under fire to get to Uritsk. They’ll then need to work even harder coordinating house-to-house assaults to take the town.

Scenario Two
Black Day of the North
16 September 1941

To the west of Uritsk, the Red Army still held the town of Volidarskii despite extremely aggressive German attacks. As the day dawned on September 16th a tired German 1st Infantry Division rose again to try and force their way through the town and reach the Gulf of Finland coast. Once again, the only Soviet unit available to man the barricades was the depleted 10th Rifle Division, and nobody knew how much resistance they could actually provide.

Note: This scenario uses a board from Road to Berlin, and boards and pieces from Eastern Front.

Conclusion

Despite their best efforts, 10th Rifle was forced out of Volidarskii. The weary Germans harassed the retreating Soviets all the way through Streg’na, and the onslaught continued until a corridor to the Gulf of Finland had been secured. This isolated Soviet 8th Army in what would become known as the Oranienbaum Pocket. The Leningrad Pravda headline that night would read “ENEMY AT THE GATES” without exaggerating.

Commentary:This is a larger battle on a larger board, with more towns to fight over and air support for both sides. But the driving factors are the same as at Uritsk: Superior morale and leadership are what the German player must count on to vanquish a large, dug-in Soviet force to take the towns and create a corridor to the Gulf of Finland.

Scenario Three
Saaremaa Island
27 September, 1941

The Germans invaded the Baltic islands in order to secure the Estonian capital of Riga and protect the rest of the Baltic coast from Soviet incursions. This task was given to the German 61st Infantry Division, which had had all of 17 days to rest and recuperate after securing Tallinn. On September 14th they crossed to Muhu Island and then to Saaremaa, and by the last week of the month the Soviet garrison there was bottled up in the fortified Sorve Peninsula. The defenders held off repeated German attacks for five days, but on the 27th the Germans called in heavy air and naval bombardment support to finally crush the garrison.

Note: This scenario uses a board from Road to Berlin and pieces from Eastern Front and Edelweiss.

Conclusion

Air and naval support made the difference, and the Germans broke through Soviet lines on the narrow neck at the north end of the peninsula (1.25 miles wide). By October 5th the entire island was secured, which opened up the surrounding seas to Axis shipping.

Commentary:Here’s a quick and bloody one-board scenario where the Germans attack through thick forest, town and swamp terrain in an attempt to root the Soviet defenders out of their trenches and get enough units off the south edge to take control of the peninsula. The key issue for the Soviet player is how he sets up his units at the beginning of the game, because he gets to place an entrenchment marker in each hex where one or more units setup. Constructing an effective trench network that will stop the Germans before they get off the south edge is the key to Soviet victory, since any Soviet units that leave the trenches will be flattened by overwhelming German air and bombardment support.

Scenario Four
North of Kirishi
23 October 1941

The German drive to capture the bauxite mines at Tikhvin and link up with the Finnish army to isolate Leningrad was now running into more trouble from the weather than from the Red Army. With winter fast approaching and the roads a quagmire, 41st Motorized Corps advanced on Tikhvin with the 11th Infantry Division covering their left flank. Just north of Kirishi they ran into the Soviet 311th Rifle Division, and a battle as fierce as the weather developed.

Note: This scenario uses a board from Road to Berlin and boards and pieces from Eastern Front.

Conclusion

311th Rifle Division held the line against the German advance and kept 4th Army’s left flank from buckling, but the right flank was forced back. At that point, 4th Army had nobody left but the depleted 310th Rifle Division to shore up its flanks.

Commentary: Here’s another quick scenario where the German player is trying to get units across the board and off the opposite edge. But this time the Soviet player has plenty of mobile support plus a huge advantage in the form of deep mud that cuts German movement allowances. The Soviet player scores victory points for all German units that fail to exit the north edge of the board. So unlike last scenario, he needs to attack aggressively to pin down as many German units as possible in assault combat and prevent them from exiting and linking up with the Finns before winter closes in.

Scenario Five
Surprised at Sitomila
27 October 1941

By late October, the fall rains had turned the roads into quagmires that were all but impassable, and Stavka decided to give the Germans more to worry about than just the weather. Col. D.A. Luk’ianov’s 191st Rifle Division and Maj. Gen. A.F. Popov’s 60th Tank Division were ordered to engage and destroy the spearhead of 12th Panzer Division. At the time the attack went in, the Germans’ ability to redeploy troops was severely hampered by road conditions.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Eastern Front and Road to Berlin, and BM-13 pieces from Red Warriors. Only use Soviet leaders from Eastern Front.

Conclusion

Coordination between the two Soviet formations was nonexistent, allowing the Germans to defeat one before the other and capture a staggering 66 artillery pieces and 12,500 Soviet prisoners (or so they claimed). History abounds with examples like this where the Soviets had adequate forces to defeat the Germans but failed due to command and control issues. Acquiring these skills would come at a steep price in Russian blood.

Commentary:This is the first Siege scenario where the Soviets get some real firepower with which to attack the German invaders. The problems for the Soviet player are that his infantry enters the battle over an hour ahead of his tanks, his artillery support doesn’t really get going until the tanks enter the game, and once the tanks do enter the board the mud works against them. So the outnumbered Germans stand a good chance of holding the northern river line until a third or more of the way through the game, which will make the Soviet task of clearing roads, taking towns and getting 20% of their units off the south edge a tough one.

Scenario Six
Holding the Line
9 November 1941

Stavka’s simple plan of relentlessly hounding the enemy until they were driven from the Motherland was getting increasing assistance from Mother Nature by the day. One of the Red Army’s first serious attempts at harassment was to chip away at the strung out German positions east of Leningrad where continued fighting and lack of winter clothing were taking a mounting toll on the enemy. With great confidence of success, Stavka ordered the encirclement of the German 96th Infantry Division in the Shlissel’burg Corridor. To form the pocket, the Neva Operational Group was to move in from the east while the 8th Army came in from the west. Once the pocket was closed, no mercy was to be shown to the Hitlerites.

Note: This scenario uses a board from Road to Berlin, a board and pieces from Eastern Front and a BM-13 piece from Red Warriors.

Conclusion

Neva Operational Group’s first shock wave went in confident that the enemy would not be able to handle them on this bitterly cold day (-20 degrees). Thus, they could not believe it when at the end of the day their attacks had produced massive casualties but no results. They kept pressing the attack for days but were never able to close the pocket.

Commentary: This is a quick and straightforward scenario where the Soviets attack with overwhelming numbers and strong artillery support. But the Germans have higher morale and are entrenched behind minefields, so it will be a tough fight.

Scenario Seven
Voibokalo Station
24 November 1941

Stavka attached the 4th Army’s Volkhov Operational Group to General I.L. Fediuninsky’s 54th Army, and ordered the General to destroy the German Group von Boeckmann that was threatening Volkhov. Group von Boeckmann was particularly dangerous because if it reached the shores of Lake Ladoga, 54th Army would be isolated. Fediuninsky began to plan his offensive, but before he could begin von Boeckmann surprised him by advancing on Voibokalo Station.

Note: This scenario uses boards from Road to Berlin, a board and pieces from Eastern Front, and BM-13 pieces from Red Warriors.

Conclusion

Gen. Fedinunsky quickly recovered and dispatched his formation in time to stop the invading hordes just outside Voibokalo Station. This denied the Germans badly-needed warmth and shelter as well as a base at which to regroup for further offensives. By the last week in November, the German advance had halted all along the Volkhov Front.

Commentary: In this, the first of three scenarios that follow General Fediuninsky’s 54th Army, the Germans try to stop the Soviet winter offensive before it can start. The Germans have a good-sized force with decent armor and artillery and very good anti-tank gun support, but they’ll need to eject the Soviets from the towns early. The reason is that the Soviets get reinforcements a quarter of the way into the game from 122nd Tank Brigade, whose KV-1 and KV-2 tanks will slice through the German StugIIIBs if the latter are forced to engage them out in the open. The Soviet BM-13 rocket artillery will also do a number on advancing German infantry if they get to the towns before the infantry does.

Scenario Eight
Shock Group
26 November, 1941

With their advance having ground to a halt just short of Volkhov and Voibokalo Station, the Germans (who still had not been issued proper winter clothing) dug in and soon began losing men to the cold. General Fediuninsky had to strike back before the Germans could remedy this situation, and two days after stopping the German drive he launched 54th Army’s offensive.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Eastern Front, and BM-13 pieces from Red Warriors.

Conclusion

The Soviet attack pushed German lines back several kilometers on the first day. This was a particularly notable feat for 310th Infantry Division, which had been badly depleted earlier in the war.

Commentary:Here the full might of a well-coordinated Red Army attack hits German lines, and since the Soviets have even morale with the Germans they’ll have a better shot at taking trenches and towns and clearing the roads to get units off the south edge. The Germans will need to rely on their trench network and in particular their powerful 75mm and 88mm AT guns to stop the Soviet advance.

Scenario Nine
Winter Wonderland
3 December 1941

As the Germans reformed their lines and dug in after being forced back by 54th Army’s initial assault, the Soviets planned the next stage of their offensive. General Fediuninsky had been ordered to form a new shock group by December 1st, but this took longer than expected and the new offensive didn’t start until the morning of the 3rd. By this time the entrenched Germans had had plenty of time to freeze in the deepening cold.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Eastern Front and Road to Berlin. Only use Soviet leaders from Eastern Front.

Conclusion

The left flank of the German 254th Infantry Division was brutally pushed back, and several companies were surrounded and utterly destroyed. The Germans were driven southward, and on the 15th the Soviets brought in two fresh rifle divisions from Leningrad and promptly threw them into the fray. By December 17th the Germans had been driven all the way back to Olomny.

Commentary:With German forces battered and their morale flagging in the cold, the Red Army hits them with an even more powerful attack than in the last scenario. So the German player will have to be very careful about where he places his trenches and how he allocates his leaders among his troops to prevent the Soviets from taking towns and getting 20% of their units off the south edge by the end of play.

Scenario Ten
Krasnaia Gorka
19 February 1942

The next major phase of the Soviet winter offensive in the north called for the 2nd Shock Army to breach enemy lines and thus open the Volkhov Front for further operations. Given the weather and ground conditions it was decided that cavalry supported by ski troops would be better able to exploit the breach than tanks. The plan called for infantry to create the breach and let mobile troops pour through it and move rapidly northward towards Liuban. The ultimate (and rather ambitious) goal was the destruction of the two German groups based at Liuban and Chudovo. 2nd Shock Army opened the gap, but the plan was put to the test when the Germans decided to make a stand at Krasnaia Gorka.

Note: This scenario uses boards and pieces from Eastern Front and Road to Berlin. Only use Soviet RKKA leaders from Road to Berlin.

Conclusion

The Soviets skillfully drove the Germans from Krasnaia Gorka and then split their forces, with the riflemen closing in on Liuban (just 6 miles away) and the mobile troops attempting to cut the Leningrad-Liuban railroad line. But things went sour quickly, and within two weeks the Germans would reoccupy Krasnaia Gorka while encircling the majority of the attacking Soviets at the small village of Riabovo. The Red Army paid a high price for this offensive, with the Germans taking (and probably enslaving) 6,000 prisoners before the remaining survivors escaped to Soviet lines.

Commentary: The last scenario is the largest in the book. The Germans get multiple waves of reinforcements in an effort to stop the cavalry and ski troops of 2nd Shock Army from exiting the north edge while hordes of Soviet infantry follow close behind storm the German trenches and wrest control of the towns. The Soviets have to cross three boards with plenty of defensible terrain plus German trenches, and the Germans get big VP bonuses at the end for preventing the Soviets from clearing the north-south road or exiting 25% of their units off the north edge. Once again, the German player needs to deploy his leaders skillfully so the ones with the best morale bonuses can keep troops in good order under fire while others provide combat support to pin down as many Soviet units as possible in costly trench assaults to keep them from exiting the north edge.

Order Siege of Leningrad now as a download or in its printed edition.