NUTS - Stalingrad Mission 4

Rules: NUTS 2.0
Figures: 20mm Ceasar, Battlefield Blitz, HaT, and other 20mm mfgs


The presents are wrapped and the cookies are done. It's time to have some skirmishing fun.

 The Stalingrad campaign continues. The Germans need to advance to the other side of the industrial complex then push on to the Volga. The STUG III must not be lost during the advance because of a shortage of armor. The Russians have a certain possibility of reinforcements and the Germans have a strong possibility of receiving support. Lt. Goerling has been assigned a REP5 for the series of exploits during the campaign in Stalingrad. His squad is not at full strength but he did retain his LMG. A second squad is also assigned during this mission. I randomly rolled for the REP of the STUG crew, the commander is a 5 and the rest are a 4, a pretty good crew. I place the PEF's (Possible Enemy Force) but I assign one of them as an ATG which will be determined by the first non-infantry result.

EAL 6
Support 4

 The STUG III is idling the engines as the squads get their bearings and decide how to proceed. The Lt will clear the left side and the second squad will clear the right side. To minimize the chance of immobilizing the STUG  the assault gun will have to stay in the narrow road and avoid entering the rubble of the factory district.

 The second squad's Sgt  peers down the road. He is given the all clear to move as no enemy is seen.
Turn 1 : I roll Russian 6, German 5, which could be a problem, but the tank commander is a Rep 5 and activates the second squad.

 The view of the roadway, there is some rubble to cause concern. No Russians are seen but to  reduce the risk the commander closes the hatch and rolls forward. He is a veteran and lost many friends; the lessons of urban warfare are written in blood. The stench of burning flesh, metal and wood combine for a sickening environment.

Lt Goerling  leads his squad through the rubble, fast moving and trying to keep some form of cohesion. He waves his veteran corporal to the right as he moves left. The rubble reduces movement but is a life saving terrain feature. The LMG provides crucial support during the advance. The plan is to put the LMG on over-watch as the rest of the squad moves.

 The second squad also splits up as the Sgt moves through the rubble and 3 men follow the assault gun.
There is still no enemy contact until the Sgt moves far enough to see the Russian PEF. The random generation reveals an infantry squad. A fire fight erupts.....

 Lt Goerling advances and comes into view of another PEF...the random result reveals a Russian infantry squad with an AT Rifle. A real danger the STUG as it could immobilize it by knocking out a track. The Russian Commissar hits Goerling and he is given an Out Of Fight (OOF) result. Another squaddie is killed out right (a REP 3). The nearby figures pass the receive fire test but completely fail the leader loss roll and retire and hunker down. The closest man grabs the Lt and they scurry back to an abandon building. They are completely shocked; the Lt has survived so many engagements and done so many heroic deeds only to be taken out at the the start of the mission. The squad panics and doesn't know what to do, they need rallied!

The results of the second squad fair better as the Russians missed, the Germans pass the receive fire check and score several hits. The assault gun moved forward in support as the squad advances. The STUG commander purposely lets the infantry advance first to make contact. The fear of ATG's and assaults creates caution and the vehicle moves slowly as the crew just negotiated rubble in the road.

 The STUG fires then moves after suppressing the Russian infantry. There were 2 stunned and one  killed.  The Russians realize they are out gunned and fall back.

 The STUG advances too far and is spotted by the remaining PEF, it is the ATG. A gun dual begins as loaders keep pace with the action. The STUG has hull down status since a pile of rubble and a partial wall give cover. The StuG gunner is the first to score a hit as 2 crew man are OOF and 2 are stunned. The ATG did score 2 hull hits but the hull down status saved the AFV from a fiery fate.

 The ATG and surviving infantry can be seen hiding in the rubble. The STUG's main gun firing. The bow MG can not fire because it is hull down.

The Russians here the AFV and fail the fast move roll, but they prepare for an assault. They know the Germans they were facing ran away. They keep part of the squad on watch in case the German infantry come back. Most are drawn to the AFV. The Sgt from second squad moves to the first squad position since he sees them falter and fall back.

The Germans are rallied by the Sgt from second squad, he fast moves and makes it to the hunkered down squad, and on the next activation the Germans move up for revenge. The commissar rolled double 1's with his pistol and he's out of ammo. The Russian grunt misses as well. The German's return fire and kill the Commisar and wound the grunt. The Sgt scored double 6s with the SMG and rolled a result of 1, killing the Russian commander. The Russian squad is forced to Duck back and the position opens up.

Meanwhile the second squad, lead by a Corporal, advances and melees the stunned crew and infantry. The position is finally taken but with a high cost. Two are killed and one ducks back as they pop up to fire by a few remaining infantry protecting the ATG.

During the Russian activation the ATR (REP 4) peeks out, there is no one to spot him and he takes aim and fires. If he hits there is a good chance of damaging the STUG from the flank. He won't get another opportunity like this.

He rolls a 5 and a 6; both die fail to create a hit as they exceed his REP.  The shot sails harmlessly past the AFV. He now has to spend an activation to reload.

On the next activation the STUG moves and spots the ATR in the rubble. The AFV fires and OOFs the threat. The Germans receive a MK III in support, a 7 was rolled and the support level  and random reinforcements yields another AFV. The Russian's lose heart and fall back. The sector that the Lt was to clear has been cleared but with a high cost.

The sector assigned to the second squad has also been cleared. Mop up operations begin as the AFV's roll through the complex. The ATG was eliminated and the supporting Russian infantry was killed off. No quarter is being given as the struggle for Stalingrad grows desperate. It is late October and food is becoming scarce.

The Lt is attended to and then removed from the rubble. He is taken to the airfield to be airlifted from the city. He will spend months in recovery and hears about the fall of the 6th army from a radio broadcast. He spends some time at home to visit family in a small town outside of Hanover. His exploits are widely reported in the media, assaulting MG positions, an armored car and leading his squad to victory. He is reassigned to the 2nd SS Panzer division because of his bravery and man power shortages. He takes the train to a small village in Russia and meets up with his new command. The story continues....