Counter-Attack at Mtsensk Scenario
I have now read through the rules several times since the weekend. I have been very impressed with everything so far. The layout of the chapters and the examples made everything pretty clear although I am sure some questions will arise as we play our first game. I hope to run the Mtsensk Scenario at our club next week and have one question about the Soviet second wave units. Am I right in assuming that these would come into play if the Russians lost all their armour from the first wave even if the infantry and other elements were still in play? Has anyone out there played this scenario? If so do you think it suitable as an introductory game for a bunch of new players to the rules? Steve

Steve, Yes, if the Russians lose all their first wave armour, or the armoured formation fails a senior level morale test (p.62 15.6) then the second armour wave enters play, even if the inf and other units (and potentialy remaining first armour wave units) are still in play. DB

Thanks for the reply. We are planning to play the game next Thursday evening. I will try and post a small battle report and let you know how we got on.

Steve, I'll look forward to it! DB

Counter Attack at Mtsensk Scenario
The group I game with played this scenario last night. We had three German players and four Russian players playing for the first time whilst I umpired. I was very impressd with the way the rules played and initial reaction from all players was favourable. The players were just thrown in at the deep end without a detailed explanantion of the mechanisms but picked them up very quickly. By the second turn all players were able to tell from the initial score of the 2D6 whether their firing would be effective and after a slow first turn the game moved along quite quickly although we did not get to finish. The Germans managed to get 6 hidden units and concealed their artillery and other guns amongst the fields with infantry support. The tanks were deployed on the ridge south of the river with the 88mm aimed right down the road. The Russians spread their tanks out amongst the inafntry and tried to advance on a broad front although they were limited at times by low command die rolls. Some highlights from the evening were the 88mm gun suppressing a KV-I on the first turn and them missing with very other shot until it became pinned itself and failed every rally attempt. The command Pz III which was elite was pinned straight away by defensive fire and could not rally for severasl turns but as soons as it did it rolled a double one for firing and went low on ammo. This was one of three or four units that did the same include a 105mm howitzer firing at some infantry at point blank range. The Russians found it difficult to make headway as their tanks were hit by the hidden guns early on which forced some to retreat and leaving some suppressed in place so that they became very strung out. The T-26 did make it to the outskirts of Mtsensk before the German 37mm opened up and destroyed it but was then forced to retreat itself. Just before we had to finish I let the Russians bring on the second wave of tanks just to see the look on the German players faces. They were becoming rather smug until that point! We are planning to run game next week based on a Kursk scenario from the Battlefront WW2 website and we should be able to get a few more turns in now we are more familiar with the rules. I would personally like us to use these rules for all our 20mm WW2 wargaming and cant wait untill next week as I will get to play on the Russian side.

Gentlemen, We've just played this scenario, and the results and pictures can be seen on my wargaming website. It was a close-run thing, especially as we modified the deployment a little, allowing the Germans to deploy their gun line on the southern bank of the river. You'll find it in the latest edition of the Journal - No. 21. Best Wishes, Angus Konstam www.edinburghwargames.com