To Embark Upon the Great Crusade – Part 1

A new series of posts from 2 Mark/(c)s. The chaps are attempting to play the entire series of all CC scenarios chronologically! Yes you read that correctly. Settle in, get comfy, grab some popcorn. This is going to be EPIC. Two scenarios below:

Newsflash, Europe, September 1, 1939!

Hitler’s armies roll through Poland! The German Fuhrer sends his planes, tanks and men storming into the peaceful nation of Poland. War has broken out!

15 September 1939…Sochaczew, Poland
Advances by the Germans have trapped brave Polish soldiers. These determined troops fought tooth and nail to escape the traps of their Nazi invaders.

In this footage, taken at the start of one engagement, brave Polish troops prepare to cross open ground and fields to break prevent themselves being surrounded by the Germans. The Germans occupy the little buildings and foxholes while the brave Poles sit on the edges, ready to run.

The group on the right makes a successful dash to exit the area, escaping the Germans and moving back toward Warsaw while the leader and his troops next to them lay down heavy fire into the nearby orchard. More troops make the attempt, this time slowed by the appearance of a German Infantry Gun.

But hurray! The Poles manage to hold the Germans off long enough that the Germans run out of time and cannot stop them!

This footage shows the situation when the Germans were frozen by that clock and the Poles saved their men.

More news! In the frozen north near Tolvajarvi, Finland…Russians invade and are driven back!

This is an actual photo of a column of Soviet troops moving along a road, careless to the danger that surrounds them by the valiant Finns defending their homeland.

But, what’s this? A troop of Finnish soldiers armed with Molotov Cocktails and loads of spirit are rushing through the woods. They advance right into the column of Russian soldiers not once, but twice! The Russians are cut down mercilessly by the Finns. A few manage to straggle off the trail and escape! Others are trapped back along the road!

The Russians have a few more men that arrive, along with a leader who thinks to rally the men and abandoned the road, getting his men out of the area through the woods. But the wily Finns are too much for them! The quickly move to cut off the hapless Russians. Men are falling like flies from the fire and knives of the Finns and even the shots of their own commissars! Oh, the humanity!

Here is footage after the Russians laid down their arms in surrender, having lost so many of their own they could not continue! Looks like the Finns have wreaked vengeance on their enemy today!

Game Notes

I’m the Allies and Marcuswoot is the Axis. The first two scenarios were from Combat Commander: Mediterranean.

In Scenario 14, I managed to exit a leader and several units, swinging the score way over to my side. The Germans, despite getting that IG33, were unable to move the VP marker back in time. My Poles won with 10 VP.

In Scenario 20, the Finns began with two Advance Orders and were able to clear out the road almost instantly. With Double Elimination Points, and 10 of 11 units on the Soviet Surrender Track, the Russians were getting hammered. Kovalev’s men managed to get off the map but that wasn’t many points. He came back on and tried to get some men straight up and off through the heavy woods, but the Finns got a Radio and began hammering the forest with artillery fire. It wasn’t long before they could move some men over to intercept the units in the forest and knife them into surrender.

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