Leningrad Maps

Here is the main maps for both sides. These are the moves by the German side. The vehicles represent where the corps are located. This a bath tube game at 1:25. So a regiment is roughly a Corps and battalion is a division etc. I initally had a Infantry Division with 3 regiments of Regiment  and 8 supporting battalions from Flak, anti-tank guns, tanks, engineers, panzer grenadier, recon etc. Each side also had air assets in direct support. We used Command Decision III as the ruleset. Frank Chadwick had created the bathtubed version of the OBs which our gamemaster used. Both sides had complaints for what was left out from the OBs.

Here are the map moves.

The Leningrad Campaign Map

Some of the rules: Only a battaltion at a time could move down a road and only 3 battalions could move a hex at same time. Also you were limited to having 3 battalions enter one face of a hex at a time. A regiment had 4 battalions all by itself. HQ and 3 infantry battalions.  Supply was a big issue. I had 2 x RR engineer battalion that could convert the soviet rail. If I added a construction engineer to help the RR Engineer they could convert 6 hexes a weeks turn. Each hex was 16 miles. The month had four turns (i.e July I AM, July I PM, July II AM, July II PM). The AM turns allowed one to add replacements and fix hits. Beginning of each month you would receive reinforcements.



Starting point for Germans

I used the Infantry regiments from the Division as the base unit. Each regiment represented a corps. I chose 1st reg to become 1st Corps, 2nd reg = 28th Corps and 3rd Regiment = 39th Corps. I associated the tanks and panzergrenadiers to 2nd Corps. I distributed the rest of the battalions among the regiments. I sent 1st Corps right, 28th Corps up the center and 39th Corps to the left (smallest of the 3 corps). Each Jeep represents the Corps HQ and where a fight occurred.



June II AM Turn

 The biggest fight was with the 39th Corps on the far left. I was not expecting the left to be held in strength. The 1st Corps handily defeated the Russians in the town. The 28th Corps captured to airfields and raced to the town across the plains. The Railroad Engineers followed quickly behind 1st Corps. The RR Engineers attached with 39th Corps got stopped behind the battle just over the border.

June II PM

 The second move of the campaign. The left had the 39th Corps move up the coast to the road and airfield. A battle occurred at the crossroads. The Russian consolidated there forces on side of the city and bloodied the nose of the advancing Germans. The Germans swept around the city to cut off the retreat. Nearly bagging all the defending Russians. The arifield was abandoned by the Russians. Again the Russians delayed the advance of the left wing. The center attack (28th Corps) fought again at the crossroads pushed the Russians away from the city. An advanced guard was pushed forward. On the right the 1st Corps fought thru the city and took on the city of Wilno. Again the Russians were overwhelmed.



July I AM

The far right the Battle for Daugavplis was occuring. The first battle was the not good for the Germans as they attacked piecemeal and were kicked out. The Germans gathered their full weight and were ready renew the attack the next week. At the same time the Battle for Riga was beginning.

 

Battle of Riga

The first big battle was shaping up for the first big city before heading to Lenningrad. Two corps fell upon the city Riga. It was a tought fight. Some of the forces were delayed by planes interdicting the advance. The battle raged for 8 hours before the Russians fell back. Recon units and advanced elements swung around to tthe North of the city. The Infantry attacked from the South and the German tanks and panzergrenadiers attacked from the west. It was a tough fight. The Germans had to regroup after the battle. The Russians were dug into trenches and rubble in and around the city.



We had air attacks, tank fights, lots of artillery and infantry assaults. Each battle has been very interesting. When you know you have to fight tommorrow and you have supply limits everything has to be thought out. It adds to the fog of war. Having good recon is crucial to finding the enemy both locally on the battlefield and on the strategic level. Germans eventually captured the city of Riga. Nearly decimating the entire force. It did not come without some heavy losses.

 

 

July I PM

The next move I decided to create two supply lines running from Riga. One taking the coast road and the other moving to the road from Dougavpils to Leningrad. On the right the city of Daugavpils fell with out a fight as I had damaged the Russians more then I thought. They fell back to save there forces for another of their choosing. I raced up the road to capture more ground and recon what was ahead of me. I transferred the smaller corps (39th Corps) to the right wing. I sent the 28th along the coast road and the 1st Corps up the center. Along the way to Daugavpils the 39th Corps ran down a force in hiding and caught them at the river and decimated them. 39th Corps recouped in Daugavpils. Germans received another regiment and I called it the 16th Corps. I chose these corps names as these made up the real corps in the Army of the North back in 1941. The race for Leningrad was picking up speed.

July II AM



The 39th Corps, far right, moved up the road from Daugavpils and the advanced guard made a sweeping move to locate the enemy. In the center 1st Corps created airfields and captured more cities. Part of the 1st Corps captured the city Dno.The going was slower and the battles becoming larger. The first battle in the swamp happened and it was a slugging match. The New 16th Corps with parts of 1st Corps made for the swamps. Air was decisive factor in battle. Long range bombing was trying to slow supply and reinforcements getting into Lenningrad. On the far left 28th Corps dashed up the coast to fight several battles around Narva.

July II PM

Far left 28th Corps fought outside the city of Narva. Over a river and grinding across the plain the Germans barely hung on to have the Russians fall back. In the center 1st Corps went North to help the panzergrenadiers cut off the roads leading into Leningrad. The long range bombers were attempting to take out the bridges to stop supply and reinforcements. The 16th Corps attacked out the swamp and after a failed attempt to take the right of the Russians captured the central hill in Hex 1232 and swung left thru the minefields and barb wire to get on the flank of the Russians. Only 32 miles from Leningrad now or 2 hexes. The 1st Corps head North.

Aug I AM

The battle on the right is a slugfest the Russians fighting a controlled withdrawal. The center is holding on to its gains after a tough battle. The first battle on the right with 1st Corps went well as we caught the Russians retreating to Leninigrad and doing large amount of damage. Bringing up 39th Corps to make the final push into Leningrad. All the outlying forces will be pulled in for one last push to Leningrad.