On 29 July, elements of the Soviet 21st and 63rd Armies crossed the Don River in the Serafimovich bend and attacked the German 578th Infantry Regiment, forcing it out of the village of Serafimovich. After successfully crossing the river, the 193rd Rifle Division established a bridgehead into which more Soviet Forces began to pour to further threaten the German 6th Army flank. Generale di Divisione Mario Maranzani's 3rd Divisione Celere had arrived in the area on July 30th and deployed south of the village where it prepared to launch a counterattack to eliminate the German Bridgehead.
Attacker: Italian (XVIII and XX Battaglioni, 3rd Reggimento di Bersaglieri, 3rd Divisione Celere (Amedco Duca d'Acosta, German XVII Korps and LXVII Battaglione Motocorazzato Bersaglieri and the XIII Gruppo Semoventi (Cavalleggeri Alessandria))
Defender: Russian (828th Regiment, 197th Infantry Division with 193rd Motorized Rifle Battalion, and 418th Tank Battalion. 193rd Tank Brigade, 21st Army)
5.5 turns
Players: 2 OBA: None Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:20.0 D:15.0
AFVs: A:4
L6/40 x 2 Semovente L40 da 47/32 x 2 Motorcycle w/Sidecar x 2
I was very aggressive with my tanks on my opening moves to make way for my infantry, either smashing into the woods or VBM freezing the Russians that stood before me. But it was very costly; to the tune of one lost tank in CC, one HS to resid, two squads of broken men, and my FT-toting 7-0. The Russians weren't without losses, with my 9-2 kill stack sending a squad to their maker, and another one busted. One of my cyclists made it to the farm compound to grab a building. Meanwhile in the east I sent six squads against five on a mission to capture the stone building there. I had planted a HS up in the hills to deny conceal growth as well I could. The Russians repositioned to meet my men at the woods' fringe, but off the edge as my Semoventes had that covered. The Lees raced on. One to scare my 9-2 stack off the woods' edge, the other to guard the road leading into town. My remaining L6/40 was caught in the woods that had burst into flame after my FT had rained destruction on my half of the turn. I thought I had lost him, only to discover he could escape during my MPh. Next turn saw me take total control of the woods, killing two squads and taking a HS prisoner (a boon to the non-deploying Italians). None to soon either, as the flames were rapidly spreading through the woods and brush and had my back completely closed off. The Russians used a Lee to lay some defensive smoke to try and hold the two buildings on the edge of the woods, while the other Lee repositioned to join him. The Semo I had sent on a flanking mission to the west promptly broke its gun. He was the reassigned to VBM freeze the HMG squad/9-1 holding fort in the second stone building. His demise was certain, but it cleared the way for my FT to move up, who had been devastating all day long. The Russians shrugged this off, but I managed to tie them up in CC and move a bunch of units to hopefully give them some whoop ass during Russian T3. One of the Lees moved west to try and head off the men I was sending around that way, but he missed a LOS from my remaining Semo, who managed to fry him to a crisp on a side shot. The rest of the Russians huddled in a hedgehog position in town. The Russian squad in CC was dispatched, but the 9-1 was still holding strong. My T4 PFPh saw the 9-2 knock out another squad, my L6/40 paved the way with a freeze, and my men made their move on the town. My FT finally ran out of juice, but I knocked off the 9-1 and was able to grab the Russian HMG just before flames overtook the building. The whole center of the woods was on fire by this point. T5 was a great one for me. My men in the east, who had spent all game long cautiously moving in like a jaguar stalking its prey, finally had closed in with a Russian conscript in CC at the edge o the stone building. While on the other side of it four Italian squads converged on the 447 holding flank. He shrugged off some strong advance fire, but was soon tied up in melee. My 9-2 swept the east edge of town, helped along by a fortuitous sniper hit on the squad guarding the north side, but I could not crack a conscript holding tight on the south side, who was at least constantly distracted by my L6/40. My first foray into the stone building on the west side of town left me a broken 7-0, but cleared the way for my 8-1/HMG squad to move in. The sniper break of the squad holding the north allowed two of my squads to close in on the Lee holding down the middle of the town. I lost my L6/40 to an ATR shot, but the CCs all went in my favor. The bottom half of the turn is where everything really came together, with the Russians whiffing on shots on me in the west building. My return fire busted his squad, guaranteeing me another building hex to add to my existing five. A CH from my Semo knocked off the concealed conscript holding the church, promising me seven buildings, and the final straw was me busting his man in the east held in melee with me, giving me at least eight. My two molotovs attempts yielded nothing, but I'd still have my T6 to try again, and by this time he only had his commissar left in the west, and one 447 left in the east. A really challenging game for me, aided along by some atrocious shooting from the Russians, and a fair bit of luck on my part. All dice being equal I'd take the Russians in this every time, but quite a fun scenario.
