25th of August 1941 Outskirts of Novgorod Severskiy
In an effort to better understand before we dive too deep, I conducted some actions knowing they were sub optimal, we conducted a stand alone arty barrage against the hex to west of where 3/1019 is sitting [hex 2012]. The net was no effect a 1.33:1 attack with -4 DRM.
We then used A3 recon unit to instead attack 1/1019. This attack starts out as a 1:4 but through the mechanics ends up as 1.5:1. Needless to say not a good idea as the company stands a strong chance of dying against a full dug in Battalion, even with full support of arty and air.
Feeling really no more comfortable we begin our primary moves. Driving the rest of Models division onto the map and clustering the Regiments into useful groups for turn 3.
The initial elements with 8MP, join the first units who entered the map on the 1400 turn and attempt to attack the 1/1019 Battalion.
But before we do that we want to remove one element that will help the Soviet Rifle Divisions defenders; their arty. So we sweep around and position behind the 1/1019, and adjacent to the arty support unit.
We initiate a nominal attack with some German artillery support. This means that the Soviets cannot use the unit to provide close support anywhere else this turn.
Unfortunately, I do not add enough to this attack and it costs the Germans a company of scout cars etc.
So lets look at an attack in detail and how I think they work.
6th Panzer Regiment 3rd Battalion and 1 step reduced 1stBn combine with 1Bn Mechanized Inf [ yeah I know there is a big long German name..but get over it and work with me here people] & an HAA unit that it is stacked with.
The raw odds are 43 vs 12 or 3:1.
Model adds Arty and CAS support. We go to the support combat table to see what impact these element will have [AA and CAS], we decide to roll just once and use same result for all types of support units [ you can choose to roll discretely if you wish]; we roll a 5 on a 1d6. This means the AA gets a 30% boost and offers a 1 DRM, and the CAS also delivers a 20% boost.
This means when we do all the math that:
The Tanks add 20% to their combat value for the CAS support 28 raw factors X30% adds 5.2 for a net 33.2.
The Mech Inf also add 20% but only after we have adjusted for the AA guns. Which is 30% more 12+30% is 15.6
Then we add the CAS bonus!
15.6 *20%, add 4.2 is net 19.8
33.2+19.8 =53
Germans multiply their attack by 1.5 if 2 more units from same Regiment attack – 79.5
+ Arty of 8 and CAS of 18 ….is ummm 105.5. Ok. So I might have gone too far the other direction this time. 8.9 :1. Our CRT tops out at 6:1 [sheepish grin]
N.B [extra unit in stack for retreat blocking scouts, I had bumped counters off board]
The defender does receive 2 DRMS -1 for hedgehog, and minus 1 for the town, when we roll for the attacker. But first lets roll for the defender! The Soviets roll on their table to see what happens to the attacker and what sort of losses. On the 6:1 table you need a very high roll. They get zip with a 8.
The attacker rolls a 6 +1 for the AA bump -2 for town and HH. Net 7. The 7 translates into a 3R against the Soviet. He must retreat 2 hexes, and lose 3 of his 4 steps.
However, as you can see behind him is a unit, which he will need to retreat into. EACH hex he moves into drops a step. Unit eliminated. The picutre above shows the post advance movement of the Germans. Who if they move off the retreat trail must stop in the 1st non retreat path hex.
Units head to a daily loss box, where some are recovered at day end, the remainder then go to permanent loss.
We now move to the Soviet movement and combat phase.