Budapest Campaign - Street Fighting in Pest

Budapest Campaign – Street Fighting in Pest

Scenario eight of the Budapest Campaign and the Soviets are finally well inside the city.  Another offensive mission for the Soviets but one that sees all table quarters having scoring value which will force the Axis to be at least a little offensive.  Interestingly casualties are non-scoring in this scenario so it’s going to be all about aggression and clearing table quarters.  For novelty value Uri is on the subs bench this time and his Romanian cousin Uriescu will be taking a Romanian infantry platoon into the fight.

Uriescu’s Romanian Assault Platoon

Scenario 8 – Street Fighting in Pest – 1000 points – Romanian Allies vs Budapest Defenders.

Allied Romanian Infantry Division Reinforced Platoon:
 

2Lt.  Regular – x1 runner.
FOO.  Artillery Observer.
Late War Infantry Section. 10x Regulars, 4x SMG, 1x LMG, 1 Pz Faust.
Late War Infantry Section. 10x Regulars, 4x SMG, 1x LMG, 1 Pz Faust.
Late War Infantry Section. 10x Regulars, 4x SMG, 1x LMG, 1 Pz Faust.
Late War Infantry Section. 10x Regulars, 4x SMG, 1x LMG, 1 Pz Faust.   (Free – Stalin’s Cannon Fodder.)
Pioneer Section.  5x Veterans, 1x flamethrower.
OT-34.  Regular.
ZiS-3 Divisional Gun.  Regular.

City Siege Assets: Preliminary Bombardment, Night Infiltration.

Budapest Pocket Defenders Platoon:
 
2Lt.  Regular - x2 runners.
University Assault Section.  5x Inexperienced, 1x LMG.
Gendarmerie Section.  5x Regulars, 1x LMG.
8^th SS Cavalry Division Section.  5x Veterans, 3x Assault Rifle, 1x Pz Faust.
8^th SS Cavalry Division Section.  5x Veterans, 3x Assault Rifle, 1x Pz Faust.
8^th SS Cavalry Division Section.  5x Veterans, 3x Assault Rifle, 1x Pz Faust.
8^th SS Cavalry Division Section.  5x Veterans, 3x Assault Rifle, 1x Pz Faust.
Sniper team.  2x Veterans.
MG42 team.  3x Veterans.

City Siege Assets: Sewer Movement, Minefield.

Soviet Force Selection.  So a balance choice to kick this one off.  The Soviet Urban Assault Group list offers lots of goodies but the Romanian Allied lists gives a very different flavour – fewer options but the freedom to bring a lot of infantry while still bringing some heavy support.  Both I and the Scot have spent most of the campaign using mostly veteran troops for their greater staying power.  However, for this mission I’m going to bring as many dismounts as possible so the Romanian platoon is going to help stack the squads up.  By taking advantage of the Stalin’s Cannon Fodder army list rule I can get a fourth late war section giving me forty infantrymen for a very reasonable price.  Each squad will have SMGs and an LMG allowing them to hunker down and defend a building or push on with the SMGs.  Each section also has Pz Faust as I’m certain the Scot will bring a tank or assault gun.  The obvious challenge of this scenario is going to be digging veteran SS squads out of ruined buildings.  To this end a pioneer section with flamethrower is an obvious choice.  Likewise bringing a T-34 with a flamethrower (OT-34) is a pricey investment but could be horribly effective.  The final elements of the list are to provide some more HE and pins to cover the advance.  The ZiS-3 is a good Anti-Tank gun to cover off an axis of advance while also giving a good HE round for winkling SS out of houses.  The FOO is a logical choice given the efficacy of the bombardment in the previous game.  Finally, Uriescu is a regular 2Lt – I don’t expect a huge amount from the Pl Comd, just to stay low and keep the point sections advancing.  Both side get to choose two siege assets for this fight, I took prelim bombardment to start stacking pins on the axis.  The second slot was tricky, I considered Big Push to bring yet another ten man section but didn’t have many more dudes in the box to field.  A more difficult toss-up was between Night Infiltration and the Sewers.  Sewers would let any of my units pops up in across the board while Infiltration would let me advance two units during deployment.  Sewers would maintain surprise but Infiltration gives more control over where and when this advance force can be used.  I went for sneaking forward at night towards the tower block in accordance with the plan… 

Soviet Plan.  Looking at the board the vital ground looks like the central block of flats – its height dominates the ground around, the rubble inside the building allows infantry to move across it while still having cover and it is large enough that it has a corner in each table quarter.  Therefore owning the bulk of this building will allow the occupants to move troops on interior lines to contest any table quarter in the late game.  With this in mind I will look to push at least two squads into this building and drive out any defenders.  With this building secure I will be able to broadly rely on contesting any table quarter to maintain a draw.  To get the win I’ll need to clear and keep clear one quarter to bag some points while pushing to secure more.  To this end the main effort will sit with the push into central flats from my right flank.  I will seek to clear and protect my own right table quarter while contesting all others.  The Scot selected mines and sewer movement.  The mines are non-threatening as they aren’t wide enough to close and avenue of approach; however, the sewers will make life interesting.  The freedom to pop-up behind me will force the Romanians to keep a strong reserve able to clear out the back line as required – otherwise we’ll end up with a stalemate.  The obvious choice for this reserve is the pioneers, while I’d like to have their flamethrower up front it’ll be highly effective being used to come from reserve and burn out any infiltration SS who occupy buildings close to my starting edge.  With that decided the assault will fall to the rifle sections who will need to grind down the map supported by the Zis-3 and OT-34.  Inevitably the OT-34 will draw the attention of any Axis armour but hopefully it will survive long enough to break the infantry into the block of flats. 

Deployment.  The Scot deployed first and placed a picket line across the centre of the board.  The sniper pair and the MG42 team got settled high up in block of flats and their flanks were protected by the two Hungarian sections – the less capable infantry in the Axis line up – Gendarmes and the University Assault Battalion.  The Axis Pl Comd set up behind this line having sent instructions for his SS squads to get filthy in the sewers.  The Pz IV lurked in reserve awaiting the OT-34’s arrival.  True to the plan I deployed both infiltrating Romanian sections on the cetnre and right to start working up this flank.  The FOO crept up behind them and settled down in a building where he was shielded from the axis sniper.

Turn 1

 

Turn 1.  Flanking Right.  The Axis defence is broadly symmetrical so neither side of the table has been offered up as an easy flank to push, however the barricade on the eastern flank will stop the Axis from pushing so hard on this side.  With this in mind the Romanians will flank right and try to keep hold of the SE corner to score in while contesting all others and trying to clear at lease one more section for the win.  The push begins hot on the heels of an underwhelming prelim bombardment which caused no casualties and failed to place pins on the MG42 and sniper teams.  The two infiltrating sections advance placing pins on the University Assault Section who stiffen their resolve and are uprated to Regular.  In the West the remaining regular Romanian Sections advance and begin to suppress the Gendarmes, receiving ineffective return fire.  The ZiS-3 crew work hard to wheel their heavy gun onto the table to guard against Axis armour advancing in the West while Uriescu trotted up to support in the centre.  The most spectacular element of the turn was the arrival of the OT34 which trundled up the eastern main road and destroyed the MG42 team with its flamethrower, sadly the main gun missed the building the University Section was sheltering in. 

The Romanians advance cautiously into the teeth of an axis MG42 team.

Which to their great relief is swiftly removed by the OT34.

 Turn 2

Turn 2.  Consolidate.  Turn 2 started with a bang as the eastern Romanian Section launched itself out of its building to assault the University Section.  Despite some defensive fire and their recent uprating the Students were outnumbered and outgunned, they broke and fled pushing the Axis FLOT further north.  With the centre now only contested by a sniper pair the Romanians in the centre went firm and tried to pick out the Axis sharpshooters; however, poor aim and good cover resulted in pins only allowing the sniper to pick of the Romanian NCO in return.  The survival of the sniper led to extreme caution from the Allied officers who skulked around out of his eyeline.  In the West the Romanian Sections set in hasty defence to respond to the expected arrival of sewer stained SS men.  Despite this high level of paranoia Turn 2 was a washout for Axis infantry reinforcement as every single Veteran, and fanatical squad failed it morale check to find its way of the dark and continued to potter around beneath battlefield getting dirtier.  More positively for the Axis the PzIV entered the field, advancing up the west flank remaining out of sight of the OT34 and ZiS-3.  Despite its sneaky approach it did attempt to engage but managed to miss the westerly Romanian Section with all natures.  Turn 2 consolidated the Romanian hold on the SE quarter but until the SS arrived there was going to be little clarity on how things would play out.

The University Assault Section are overrun by the Romanian right flank.

While the Hungarians fight, every single SS section fails it’s check to enter the fray…

 Turn 3

Turn 3.  From the depths.  Turn 3 saw event heats up with the arrival of two squads of SS; but, before they could make their presence felt the Western Romanian Section and ZiS-3 got stuck in to the Gendarmes in the western centre building.  The HE shot from the ZiS-3 smashed into the building killing four of the Hungarians causing them to break and go home.  In a a search for vengeance the first SS squad entered in the SW corner and killed two gunners leaving the ZiS-3 being wheeled slowly by the final crewman.  This fire was answered by the Romanian Section in the Allied centre who put a pin on the SS but failed to make further impact.  Meanwhile in the centre the Romanians again failed to kill the axis sniper.  In a, briefly, alarming turn of events the Pz IV advanced but then failed to destroy the OT34 despite hitting it in the flank.  The charmed life of the Soviet tank commander continued as another SS squad popped up in the centre, advanced through the building and loosed their PzFsts at the OT34, also failing to destroy it.  Finally the Romanians ended the turn by advancing the Pioneers on, as intended, to counter the newly arrived SS.  However, the flamethrower operator failed to manage his weapon and the rifles were similarly ineffective - so much for the cunning plan to deal with infiltrators...  Turn 3 - all quarters contested.

The SS arrive and are straight into vigorous firefights in the Romanian back line.

And narrowly miss out on destroying the OT34.

Turn 4

Turn 4.  Carnage.   Despite their rising casualties the Axis puled the first dice and the PzIV fired again at the side of the OT34, this time it was rewarded by a huge explosion.  Hot on the heels of these pyrotechnics the Pioneers tried again with their flamethrower to close down the SS before they could cause chaos in the centre.  This time the feared weapon did its job causing three casualties and the SS went to ground.  Continuing this destructive theme the western Romanian section split its fire with its single PzFst going fir the PzIV and the rest of the section engaging the SS to their south.  The section was remarkably effective - the PzFst gunner put his shaped charge through the roof of the PzIV detonating its ammunition.  The rest of the section killed two SS men while their fire was reinforced by Section 3 in the centre who picked off a further two of the Axis elite.  The final SS NCO in the SW stood his ground but achieved little more.  With the initiative swinging to the Romanians the teams in the centre pushed on seeking to clear the sniper from his lofty perch.  Finally in the SE another SS squad entered the field re-contesting the table quarter.  With five squads now destroyed the Romanians had the initiative at the end of Turn 4; however, as noted the scenario requires clear table quarters to score - not kills.

The OT34 brews up.

Turn 5

Turn 5.  Operation Winkle...  At this stage the Axis were running low on options for offensive action but could still dig in.  In the South West the lone SS NCO was charged by Romanians an despatched delivering the SW quarter to the Allies.  In the SE the Pioneers advanced to try and repeat their flaming success and take clear another quarter, but failed.  As some consolation the return fire from the SS was modest.  In the centre the Uriescu sprinted up the stairs to assault the lone sniper.  The sniper knocked down the Romanian Pl Comd's runner but was in turn pitched out the window.  Meanwhile the nearby Romanian sections tried to pick off the Axis Pl Comd but failed to cause any casualties.  Finally the last SS section entered to support their Pl Comd.  One turn to go - two quarters contested, two in Romanian hands. 

With mixed success the Romanians try to clear their back line. 

When flamethrowers fail it's back to SMGs and pointy sticks.

 Turn 6

Turn 6.  Largely contested.  With few dice left in the bag for Axis I expected to lead off.  I was therefore disappointed when the Scot pulled the first dice and the SS assaulted the Pioneers wiping them out and then consolidating back into cover.  The rest of the turn was quiet as I failed to finish of either the SE SS squad (down to nutters only) and the Axis Pl Comd who moved to contest the NW quarter.  These failures meant that despite being down to a handful of defenders the Axis were able to contest 3 of 4 corners.  A Romanian victory but much closer than it might have been.

Uriescu secures the apartment building.

Post-mortem.  Well the wall of Romanians fared pretty well, in retrospect pushing them to 12 man sections would have been sensible, even at the expense of LMGs.  The flamethrowers did their jobs but weren't game-changing.  The biggest waste of points in the Allied side was the FAO who I completely misused and eventually got confused and put a barrage on an empty building...it looked like a cunning attempt to deny an area for a turn but in reality was utterly pointless and merely a product of ineptitude.  I liked the scenario and the requirement to clear board sections with no regard to casualties made for a different feel to the match.  The sewers are a great tool and forced some decisions and bet hedging.

Unfortunately this is probably the end of the Budapest Campaign for quite some time.  Postings have interfered and are likely to mean an even longer pause than usual.  I hope these have been enjoyable a hope to re-start them at some point in the future.