"Colombina": SU-76s in action (Draft)
| 100+ km west of Kiev, Ukraine, Russia |
Early Dec 1943 |
Historical Situation
Rem Ulanov was the driver in a SU-76 self-propelled gun (nicknamed "Colombina" by their crews). He was part of the 999th self-propelled artillery regiment formed in Aug 1943 at Mamonovka Station. In late Nov 1943 the regiment entrained at Mytischi and headed west. Crossing the Dnieper they passed Kiev and disembarked 100 km to the west at Irsha Station. From there they continued on by road, and at Chelovichi painted their vehicles white. That night the battery rolled into a village where the scenario starts:
At the dawn our infantry moved on to capture the village. Several times the Russian grey overcoats were standing up, but they could not take that village. There was an 8-wheeled German gun-armed armoured car at the outskirts of the village, pinning our infantry down by its fire. Lt. Karginov told me to turn the SP to the right and our second shot blew the turret off the German armoured car. This was our first, and, unfortunately, the last victory. Two days later a large German SP penetrated front armour of my "Colombina" by an armor-piercing round at some 1500 metres. Following recommendations of experienced drivers, I would leave the front gas tank full, and would use the rear gas tank. This is why we did not explode immediately after being hit.
Rem Ulanov from http://www.iremember.ru/tankers/ulanov/ulanov1.html
The crew survived but Colombina was destroyed.
This scenario puts some flesh on these rather bare bones. It appealed to me because it involved both SU-76s and a 8-wheeled German armoured car - neither of which you often see on table.
Map/Terrain
(Click on the map to get a full size map) |
Key features are:
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Pre-game preparation
- Germans deploy hidden west of the line A-A
German
Player (Defending)
Objective
Defend the village.
Forces Available
1 x CC (+2)
1 x HMG
1 x FO for off table 81 mm Mortar (12 FM)
1 x Rifle
Platoons: PC (+2), 2 x Rifle Squads
2 x Rifle
Platoons: PC (+1), 2 x Rifle Squads
1 x SdKfz 231 8-RAD
Morale: Regular
Deployment
Deploys first with all stands hidden and west of line A-A. .
Reinforcements
The German reinforcements arrive at the start of the first German initiative on the morning of Day 4.
2 x StuG III Ausf G
Soviet Player (Attacking)
Begins scenario with initiative.
Objective
Take the village.
Forces Available
1 x CC (+1)
2 x HMG
1 x FO for off table 82 mm Mortar (12 FM)
1 x on-table 50
mm Mortar (12 FM)
3 x Rifle
Platoons: PC (+1/0),
3 x Rifle
Squads
Russian PCs get +1 for close combat but not for rallying.
Morale: Regular
Deployment
Deploys second with all stands visible and east of the line A-A.
Reinforcements
The Russian reinforcements arrive at the start of the first Rusian initiative on the morning of Day 2.
3 x SU-76M
Victory Conditions
Terrain objectives.
There are three terrain objectives - marked X. The side with control of more terrain objectives at the end of day 4 is the winner. Control means the player has a stand in the terrain feature, or was the last to, and the feature is/was uncontested.
Scenario Special Rules
- HTD Special Rule 4. The Moving Clock is in use. The scenario lasts for 4 days, each with a morning and afternoon (i.e. 8 half days). The clock advances half a day on a 6 on one die rolled at the end of each German initiative. Fighting only takes place during the day.
- Snow??
Weapon stats
| Type | When | ARM | ACC | PEN | MG | HE/EFF | Smoke | HD | Spd | CC | Comment |
| SdKfz 231 8-RAD | Any | 1/1 | 0 | -3 | 3 | 1/1 | - | Y | 3 | +3 | Recon |
| StuG III F-G | Mar42-EW | 4/2 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 4/2 | - | N | 2 | +2 | |
| SU 76M | 43-EW | 2/1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4/2 | - | N | 2 | +1 |
Notes
- The battle was fought in snow.
- The account doesn't mention infantry anti-tank weapons, so I've given them to neither side.
- The German armoured car is described having a gun in a turret and with 8-wheels. In 1943 the main such vehicle was the SdKfz 231 8-RAD.