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MISSION: Break through toward Orsha and Smolensk

DATE: 3 July 1941 - 18 turns

LOCATION: Lipki, East of Borisov, 130 km West of Orsha, Russia

FORCES: 18th Panzer Regiment with 3 Pz IIF plt, 3 Pz IIIF plt, 3 Pz IIIG plt, 3 Pz IVD plt, 4 PSW 222 plt, 2 PSW 231 plt, 1 lelG 75mm Inf. gun, 1 Pak 37mm AT gun, 4 Pak 50mm AT gun, 1 Engineer plt, and 3 Motorcycle plt.
REINF: 1 Pz IIIG company - Turn 2
1 Pz IVE company - Turn 3
1 Pz IIIH company and 2 PzJg I 47mm plt - Turn 4
There were 6 air support and 4 rounds of smoke.

ENEMY: Borisov Tank Battalion, 12th/1 MMRD Tank, and 1st/6 Mot Brigade with mixture of T-26 and BT-7s. At least 6 plt of T-34s to start the scenario with mix infantry units and mortars. 3 T-34 plt and 3 KV-1 plt showed up from the north as reinforcements. Also, KV-2 and other BT-7 and T-26 showed up later from the west. There was no air support for the Red Army.

CONDITION:
Major Defeat: -50
Minor Defeat: 100
Minor Victory: 200
Major Victory: 350

TERRAIN: No real feature on this map except for the town of Lipki near the center. Just east of Lipki is Lipki Ridge where a paved road runs through. The pave road, Moscow Motor Highway, runs from Borisov to Orsha, which is west to east. There is a railroad track, Kurganov Railroad, runs E-W on the southern section. This track runs through Stayki which is located south of Lipki. Another small town of Nemanitsa is located NW part of the map. An unpaved road runs from this town toward east. The terrain is mostly flat except for Hill 203, NW of the map, and Hill 215, SW of the map. Dense forests cover much of the area except for an area east of Lipki. Most of the victory HEXs are located in and around Lipki and Lipki Ridge. Visibility is excellent with no weather problems.

Opponent: Skip Franklin

As I examined the map, the ridge east of Lipki was the vital area to capture. There were two distinct groups of Panzers in the beginning: one near the town of Nemanitsa and the other on Moscow Motor Highway. I sent out PSW 222 to scout out the town of Lipki. My scouts were quickly destroyed by BA-20 scout vehicles in Lipki. Another platoon of PSW 222 was disrupted by this BA-20. Damn!! My scouts getting beat up and the battle has not even started yet! I moved up all my units toward Lipki. I send a token force of 3 scout plt to heavily wooded area north of Lipki to observe possible flanking attack by the enemy.

I was able to eliminate the enemy forces in Lipki by turn 2. All of my Motorcycle units were dismounted as they approached Lipki. One engineer unit was sent onto Lipki Ridge. I sent this engineer unit toward the hill next to Lipki. As I advanced into Lipki and beyond, I decided to push my northern forces far beyond the northern forest. There was no enemy presence up this way.

I found a perfect spot to set up my defense. On Moscow Motor Highway east of Lipki, there was an opening on a forest. I advanced my engineer unit there and fired a round of smoke to shield my Panzers advancing toward this area. I also send a company of Pz IVD to Stayki to deal with enemy there.

The Russians are coming!!! I saw a huge number of tanks advancing toward Lipki Ridge. My goal at this point was to divide his forces into two so that I can deal with those dreaded T-34s and KV-1s separately from other BT-7s and T-26 in the center. T-34s and KV-1s showed up north of the ridge. I sent all of PzJg Is, Pz IIIGs, and Pz IVEs there to deal with these monsters. My Pz IIIHs were doing quite well against BT-7s and T-26s on the ridge when……. (What are those MONSTERS!!!!) KV-2 tanks showed up. They were massive tanks!! (I guess now I know why this scenario is called "Terror at Borisov.")

I was able to clog this passage with tank wrecks using the engineer unit and AT guns so that the enemy could not seriously threaten my forces there. The enemy was relentless on attacking with the forces up north, however. The losses were quite heavy there without doing much damage to the enemy. Man, I could not damage those KV-1s to save my life!! But there were only three platoons of KV-1s. T-34s were relatively easy to handle. They were not able to get through the defensive screen I set up using infantry units and AT guns. The Russian infantry units were no threat to my forces.

By turn 13, most of his forces on the ridge were either destroyed or disrupted. Those KV-1 tanks were still trying to advance toward Lipki but they were finally destroyed using 50mm AT gun and Pz IVEs. Pz IIIH and Pz IIIG could not even disrupt those monsters. Once his KV-1s were gone, the rest became easy. I captured almost all of his units by the end.

RESULTS Axis Major Victory

LESSONS: 1. T-34s, KV-1s and KV-2s are deadly. Do not engage them in the open.
2. Infantry units are almost useless against tanks. I wish I had Panzerfausts! Only Engineer units are effective against tanks. They can be great on defense.
3. PzJg Is are surprisingly effective against Russian tanks.

CONCLUSION: This is the first time I was able to get a major victory on this scenario. This scenario is rather difficult one for the Germans, but I always find this one entertaining.

Skip could have won this scenario if he had a clearly defined objective. It looked as if all he wanted to do was to engage my forces instead of taking advantage of his superior weapons. Even when it was clear that he was not able to break through in the center, he continued to send his units to hopeless situation. He was also way too cautious in the beginning. I was able to get to Lipki Ridge before he had any forces there. That was the reason why I was able to set up a strong defense in this area. On the other hand, he was extremely aggressive once our forces came in contact. He was able to inflict heavy damage to my Panzers when he was able to coordinate his tank attack with his infantry. Once he learns to use his armor units better in conjunction with infantry, he could become a tough player to handle.

Yong Park
XVIII Airborne Corps
"Not all pain is gain."