Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Rapid Fire. The scenario was based on the action at Ziegenhagen on the River Ihna, February 8th, 1945.
The German force of 3 infantry platoons, 3 Tiger IIs, 2 Elephants, 5 Stugs and several Hummels faced a Soviet force of 3 JS-1s, 5 T-34/85s, 13 T-34/76s and several AT guns. Each T-34 carried a squad of desant infantry. The Soviet needed to gain undisputed control of one of the two Ihna River bridges.
The Soviet T-34s were reinforcements, with a random number arriving each turn. The Germans chose to send the Stugs and an infantry platoon by an unmapped path to the south bridge, with the possibility of a long delay.
-
- JS-1s hiding among the ruins of Ziegenhagen
-
- JS-1s and AT guns await the Germans
-
- Elephants on a hill and a Tiger II sight down the streets of Ziegenhagen. Hummels behind the hill wait for fire orders.
-
- View of the town from the south. German infantry move to occupy the buildings near the left bridge.
-
- German Elephant and Tiger II guns target Soviet tanks as they enter the town from the upper left. Infantry edges forward through the ruins.
-
- A JS-1 briefly shows a flank to a Tiger II, but the shot is missed.
-
- Soviet infantry and a JS-1 take the south (right) bridge with no Germans in sight.
-
- The artillery scatter template. Hummel fire takes out a lot of desant troops.
-
- Soviet Infantry and JS-1s take the south bridge with no Germans in sight.
-
- Infantry on reaction fire (RF) ready to blast whoever shows themselves.
-
- The long-lost Stugs and infantry arrive and take hits from waiting JS-1s.
-
- T-34s move south trying to avoid German fire. Close range infantry firefights have taken a heavy toll on both sides.
-
- The JS-1s and an AT gun decisively win the shootout with the Stugs. With the south bridge in Soviet hands, they achieve a hard won victory.
