The Gorokhov Breakthrough - Rapid Fire Reloaded AAR

This past weekend I took part in Kelly's kickoff game for a campaign using Rapid Fire Reloaded.

Set in a semi-historical 1944/45 Eastern Front, Kelly has a series of games lined up with players taking command of Soviet and Germans forces.

The first game was based on the "Take the High Ground" scenario from One Hour Wargames.

The Soviets started with two tank battalions and a motorized rifle battalion on the attack.

The Germans began with an infantry battalion dug in on reverse slope of the hill.

Both sides aimed to control the hill by the end of the game, which would run for 15 turns.

The Soviet rushed forward, looking to push their T-34s and T-34/85 around the hill and hit the dug-in infantry. 

The attackers also had three turns of artillery barrages, but these failed to hit any Germans; the first two barrages targeted empty locations, and the last missed.

German reinforcements quickly arrived; Panthers, Panzer IVs, StuGs, and a mechanized infantry battalion.

The shorter travel distance for the Germans immediately saw Soviet losses as the Panther platoons reached cover and opened fire.

Hoping the Germans tanks were two preoccupied with their Soviet counterparts, the Soviet infantry prepared to rush over the top of the hill and engage the dug-in Germans.

One lucky Soviet infantry company held the flank in the case of a German counterattack.

Unfortunately, the Soviet infantry's attack failed and most of the infantry platoons were wiped out. The survivors retreated back down the hill, out of line of sight. 

Pressing their advantage, the German Panthers began advancing towards the remaining Soviet tanks. Soviet infantry reinforcements were added to the encampment on the hill. 

The Soviets did receive a few more reinforcements (additional T-34/85s and T-70s) which did an admirable job of attacking the weaker German flank and destroying several tank platoons.

However, this couldn't put a dent in the German advantage. While neither side was able to establish an uncontested claim on the hill at game's end, the Germans had caused enough damage to be able to declare a victory.