Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Rapid Fire. The scenario was based on the action at Ziegenhagen on the River Ihna, February 8th, 1945.
The German force of 3 infantry platoons, 3 Tiger IIs, 2 Elephants, 5 Stugs and several Hummels faced a Soviet force of 3 JS-1s, 5 T-34/85s, 13 T-34/76s and several AT guns. Each T-34 carried a squad of desant infantry. The Soviet needed to gain undisputed control of one of the two Ihna River bridges.
The Soviet T-34s were reinforcements, with a random number arriving each turn. The Germans chose to send the Stugs and an infantry platoon by an unmapped path to the south bridge, with the possibility of a long delay.
JS-1s hiding among the ruins of Ziegenhagen
JS-1s and AT guns await the Germans
Elephants on a hill and a Tiger II sight down the streets of Ziegenhagen. Hummels behind the hill wait for fire orders.
View of the town from the south. German infantry move to occupy the buildings near the left bridge.
German Elephant and Tiger II guns target Soviet tanks as they enter the town from the upper left. Infantry edges forward through the ruins.
A JS-1 briefly shows a flank to a Tiger II, but the shot is missed.
Soviet infantry and a JS-1 take the south (right) bridge with no Germans in sight.
The artillery scatter template. Hummel fire takes out a lot of desant troops.
Soviet Infantry and JS-1s take the south bridge with no Germans in sight.
Infantry on reaction fire (RF) ready to blast whoever shows themselves.
The long-lost Stugs and infantry arrive and take hits from waiting JS-1s.
T-34s move south trying to avoid German fire. Close range infantry firefights have taken a heavy toll on both sides.
The JS-1s and an AT gun decisively win the shootout with the Stugs. With the south bridge in Soviet hands, they achieve a hard won victory.
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