Execution: (continued)
All units set out on the first leg of their journey as Russian 122mm artillery lands all around the road intersection. Barely five minutes into the engagement and a trio of T60s are spotted east of KG Krafft. StuG D1 opens fire and destroys two but is unable to get a line of sight on the third. Slovak recon spots a T60 and a T34 moving towards hill 133. Rifle platoon L races forward and dismounts to secure sites for the ATGs. The Slovak field guns and mortars also dismount in order to be ready should their services be required.
KG Krafft destroys the remainder of the T60 platoon in the south, machinegunning disoriented desante teams. Further north, its a race between the T60's and the Slovak ATGs to see who can get into position first. From the sounds Oberstlt Krafft hears over the radio, it seems the Slovak FO is calling for a smoke screen to be dropped somewhere north of hill 133.
The Slovak advance seems to be in trouble, a pair of BA-64 armored cars have outflanked them to the north and the northernmost recon motorcycles briefly exchange fire with soviet calvary before retreating. Motor-rifle platoon M decides to risk long range fire from the T-60s and create their own smoke screen after disembarking in the open. Hopefully this will cover the trucks in their withdrawal. In the south, A StuG from platoon E destroys a T-28e and suppresses the machinegun crews it was carrying. StuG platoon D may soon reach position to fire upon the northern T-60's from the flank.
Army Group Intel really dropped the sprengladung on this one, a full company of T-34/76s is approaching the Slovak positions and there appears to be an entire company of Guards infantry riding them. One platoon pops up out of nowhere between the two southern recon motorcycle squads. As the Slovak ATGs are frantically pushed into better positions, the Slovak commander, Kapitan Urban, contacts Oberstlt Krafft on the radio net and in broken German seems to say "Der plan is kerput!!" Oberstlt Krafft tries to tell him to hold position but finally gives up and switches to KG Krafft command net issuing the order "Execute contigency plan now! Engage armor east of hill 133, fire at will!".
StuG platoon D charges ahead and despite taking long range flanking fire from a 76.2mm ATG, knock out the southernmost T-34/76 platoon. StuG platoon E holds the rearguard, knocking out another T-28e. The remaining StuGs lay down a smoke screen that will hopefully mask off the ATG fire temporarily. The sturmpionieres of KG Krafft dismount and shield the eastern flank against infantry and ATR fire. Oberstlt Krafft calls in an airstrike, hoping to catch the northern enemy armor by surprise. The Slovaks put up a good showing, knocking out one T-60 with ATG fire and another by infantry close assault.
Two 76.2mm ATGs badly maul StuGs D0 and F0, forcing them to retreat with heavy damage. The airstrike overflew the T34s and did minor damage to a T60 far to the rear. Amazingly both planes managed do avoid being shot down despite being fired upon by at least six AA-guns. The StuGs of KG Krafft, in blatant disregard of standard procedures, engaged the enemy ATGs with HE fire, destroying both.
A Slovak ATG destroys a BA-64 but is in turn destroyed by a T-60. StuG D1 destroys a T-34 that threatened to overrun the Slovak command post but suffered heavy damage in the process and is forced to retreat. StuGs C0 and F1 get a leg up knocking out three T-34s and a T-60 between them. The Slovak center is in full rout, their FO is blindly calling in artillery in that area, hopefully giving the routed infantry a chance to recover. The Slovak platoon in the far north is the only good news in the entire battle, it has destroyed the soviet calvary and is moving towards its original objective.
The effective loss of nearly half KG Krafft's StuGs force the Sturmpionier platoon to take over rear gaurd duties with assistance from the recon section and the SPAA section in ground attack mode. The sIG1b's put a damper on Soviet infantry's enthusasim for advancing but the rear guard is still forced to give ground. Oberstlt Krafft isn't ready to give up yet, at least without saving his allies, but if he were in range of the GHQ Intel section odds are good that there would be a friendly fire incident.
An hour into the battle, the four remaining undamaged StuGs eliminate the major soviet armor threat. Further south, the long range fire support from the recon element allows the sturmpioniers to withdraw with few casualties and only minor vehicle damage. In the north, the remaining cohesive Slovak infantry platoon continues to hound enemy calvary as it advances into the woods towards hill 204.
Ninety minutes in and the Slovak units on hill 133 can barely hold their own against the tattered remnants of the soviet forces in that area. The, now understrength, StuG batterie is out of HE ammo and must retreat to reload, leaving only the sturmpioniers and recon element to counter the southern soviet infantry advance. With the help of sIG1b fire to suppress air defenses, a second airstrike destroyed a soviet SPAA. Slovak artillery seems to be engaging in a, rather late, counter-battery strike against local soviet gun and mortar positions.
Two hours in and the Slovak contingent has a better hold on hill 204 than they do on hill 133. Not that KG Krafft has been doing much better, the StuGs are unable to withdraw from the line long enough to fully reload, even with the aid of the sIG1b's in direct fire mode. Still, the southern Soviet Guards company is a shadow of its former self as they've paid for every meter in blood.
Two and a half hours into the battle, the russian forces are all but defeated, unfortunately there are still enough of them and enough AAA/AAMG units still in their rear area, that it doesn't look possible to secure all the objective areas in time.
At the three hour mark, end of battle, despite not having possession of all victory hexes, the result is:
Decisive Victory, KG Krafft!
Last turn file attached as zip, hope you found this worth the read
