The Monster – A Crossfire Battle Report

Chris Harrod and I play tested my The Monster – A Crossfire Scenario. Twice. The first play test was over pretty quick and the Monster of the title chewed up the Germans as they appeared. A few tweaks to the scenario and we tried again … the second time we got a much better game out of it.


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Table Set up

First of all we set up the table. It is an unusual shape, being 8′ x 3′. I got out all my wargaming boards making 8′ x 4′. Then we used masking tape to block off 6″ from each long edge to give the 8′ x 3′ we needed. And, as usual, we used little white crosses for the foot square grid to facilitate transferring the terrain from the map.

You might want to jump to the tweaks following Game 1 or directly to Game 2.

Monster-0780 8x3 foot table with grid marked
Monster-0780 8×3 foot table with grid marked

I think the table was quite impressive. Nice windy road. Lots of trees. So many trees in fact, that I ran out. I had to recruit some very old trees to stand duty but I still only got about 2 trees per woods terrain feature. I also ran out of cardboard terrain templates and recruited my Sisal templates (the dark green ones) to fill the gap.

Monster-0781 Monster table
Monster-0781 Monster table

I think the table looked even better from lower down.

Monster-0783 Monster table
Monster-0783 Monster table

We also got out the troops and set them up ready to play. Three groups of Soviets.

Monster-0785 Soviet Force in Village Sector
Monster-0785 Soviet Force in Village Sector
Monster-0786 Soviet Force in Forest Sector
Monster-0786 Soviet Force in Forest Sector
Monster-0787 Soviet Force in Junction Sector
Monster-0787 Soviet Force in Junction Sector

Four groups of Germans.

Monster-0788 German Force at 0800 hours
Monster-0788 German Force at 0800 hours
Monster-0789 German reinforcements at 0900 hours
Monster-0789 German reinforcements at 0900 hours
Monster-0790 German reinforcements at 1000 hours
Monster-0790 German reinforcements at 1000 hours
Monster-0791 German supply trucks arrive at 1030 hours
Monster-0791 German supply trucks arrive at 1030 hours

Game 1: The monster eats everybody

Game 1 was over pretty quickly. I deployed the Monster at the edge of the village next to the clearing. It had a good field of fire and and shot at any Germans appearing from the west. It was a duck shoot.

Monster-1792 0800 hours
Monster-1792 0800 hours
Monster-1793 Germans arrive
Monster-1793 Germans arrive
Monster-1794 Pak35:36 charges forward
Monster-1794 Pak35:36 charges forward
Monster-1795 Germans discover the Monster
Monster-1795 Germans discover the Monster
Monster-1796 Boom and one destroyed Pak35:36
Monster-1796 Boom and one destroyed Pak35:36
Monster-1797 That is one big gun
Monster-1797 That is one big gun
Monster-1799 Chris smokes the centre and swings right
Monster-1799 Chris smokes the centre and swings right
Monster-1800 Boom - suppressed rifle squad
Monster-1800 Boom – suppressed rifle squad
Monster-1801 0830 hours
Monster-1801 0830 hours
Monster-1802 German mortar advances - Boom
Monster-1802 German mortar advances – Boom
Monster-1803 Then Boom again - destroyed mortar
Monster-1803 Then Boom again – destroyed mortar
Monster-1804 Boom as the infantry push forward on the right
Monster-1804 Boom as the infantry push forward on the right
Monster-1805 Boom at the infantry on the right
Monster-1805 Boom at the infantry on the right
Monster-1807 And then the beast goes silent on NO FIRE
Monster-1807 And then the beast goes silent on NO FIRE
Monster-1808 So an entire Soviet platoon opens fire
Monster-1808 So an entire Soviet platoon opens fire
Monster-1809 Who needs the monster - another kill
Monster-1809 Who needs the monster – another kill
Monster-1810 Remaining Pak35:36 advances - and gets suppressed
Monster-1810 Remaining Pak35:36 advances – and gets suppressed
Monster-1811 Another kill on the right
Monster-1811 Another kill on the right
Monster-1812 And another
Monster-1812 And another
Monster-1813 0900 hours
Monster-1813 0900 hours
Monster-1815 The two Pak38s arrive and do a Banzai charge up the road - destroyed
Monster-1815 The two Pak38s arrive and do a Banzai charge up the road – destroyed
Monster-1816 More infantry on the right wiped out
Monster-1816 More infantry on the right wiped out
Monster-1817 The surviving Pak35:36 pushes forward again - got to admire their bravery
Monster-1817 The surviving Pak35:36 pushes forward again – got to admire their bravery
Monster-1818 0930 hours
Monster-1818 0930 hours
Monster-1819 1000 hours
Monster-1819 1000 hours
Monster-1820 Flak88 drives into the sights of the Monster - Boom
Monster-1820 Flak88 drives into the sights of the Monster – Boom

Changes to scenario between Game 1 and Game 2

After the rather uninspired experience of Game 1, we decided to tweak the scenario to give the Germans a chance of winning.

First up was the German order of battle. The need more smoke capability to successfully threaten the Monster on it’s flanks, or via ATG from it’s front. I also wanted to give the Germans more reconnaissance ability. So they got:

  • 1 x FO for off-table 75 mm Infantry Gun (12 FM)
  • 1 x SdKfz 221 Armoured Car (MG)
Monster-2821 Enhanced German force at 0800 hours
Monster-2821 Enhanced German force at 0800 hours

Having the “Monster” deploy at the edge of the clearing was devastating. With a good field of fire, it killed anything that approached the village. So we forced it to deploy further back; this meant it had to either attempt to move into position, and risk throwing a track, or had limited fields of fire. So two tweaks to the scenario:

  • The KV-2 (“Monster”) must deploy in the Village Sector and east of the objective within the sector.
  • The “Monster” is at risk of throwing a track and become permanently immobilised. Each move action throw 1d6: on a 3+ the tank is immobilised for the rest of the game. Throwing a track loses the initiative. When immobilised the turret can still rotate and the vehicle can still fire. (no longer has a free move)

We also gave the German’s more flexible deployment, with a possibility of arriving anywhere on the on the western table edge:

  • On the first initiative, start arriving on the western table edge:
    • If no Soviets have been spotted so far, enter at the point where the road enters the table
    • If any Soviets have been spotted, enter anywhere on the western table edge.
  • If they wish, the German player can hold initial troops off table. This means they can send troops on table to find the Soviets, and then commit the rest with the benefit of arriving anywhere on the western table edge.
  • All German reinforcements arrive anywhere on the western table edge.

Lastly I introduced some special anti-tanks rules. Generally I think light guns (50mm and less) should be more manoeuvrable than heavier weapons. My house rule on man-handled guns addresses some of this, but I thought they needed something for limbering/unlimbering as well – which in the standard rules is very slow. And to give the small guns a fighting chance against the Monster, we let them group fire.

  • Light guns (50mm or less) are more manoeuvrable than heavier guns. Light guns can perform two types of action per initiative: manual move, towed move, limber, unlimber, or fire. So, for example, a light gun would limber, then take two towed move actions, in the same initiative. This would not be possible for a heavier gun.
  • German Paks of the same type can form a “fire group”, e.g the two 3.7 cm Pak35/36 can shoot together if within a stand width. Similarly for the two 5.0 cm Pak38. These weapons can also group move together.

Game 2: Germans capture the village

After the tweaks we made, Game 2 was much better. Chris made it past the village and into the Forest Sector.

Monster-2822 0800 hours
Monster-2822 0800 hours

First of all Chris offered up the sacrificial lamb – the armoured car – to reveal the Monster.

Monster-2823 German armoured car drives into ambush
Monster-2823 German armoured car drives into ambush
Monster-2824 The Monster deployed back at the objective in the village
Monster-2824 The Monster deployed back at the objective in the village

I tried to move the Monster to the edge of the village/clearing but, as luck would have it, the KV-2 threw a track and became immobile. The tweaks to the scenario – deploying in the village and no free move – were already having an impact.

Monster-2825 The Monster throws a track
Monster-2825 The Monster throws a track
Monster-2826 0830 hours
Monster-2826 0830 hours

Chris now had two FOs and this was significant from the start. He could, for example smoke off the Monster.

Monster-2827 Two German FOs means more smoke
Monster-2827 Two German FOs means more smoke

With the Monster smoked off, Chris could push troops in both directions. For the first time he was able to push troops left.

Monster-2828 Germans push left
Monster-2828 Germans push left
Monster-2829 And further left
Monster-2829 And further left

Of course I had infantry to stop any infiltration to the flank.

Monster-2830 Soviet rifle platoon tries to stop the advance
Monster-2830 Soviet rifle platoon tries to stop the advance

Unfortunately, my riflemen were clearly focussed on the Germans on the right rather than the guys sneaking up on them nearby. Or, more technically, both squads got a NO FIRE.

Monster-2831 Ooops - two NO FIREs
Monster-2831 Ooops – two NO FIREs

Chris was actively pushing forward on both flanks. At one point we had to see who could shoot at his troops, hence the white cord – we use these to measure straight lines.

Monster-2832 Germans push right avoiding Soviet Crossfire
Monster-2832 Germans push right avoiding Soviet Crossfire

Chris managed to get numbers to bear on my troops and destroyed a HMG squad.

Monster-2833 German Crossfire kills Soviet HMG
Monster-2833 German Crossfire kills Soviet HMG
Monster-2834 0900 hours
Monster-2834 0900 hours

An hour into the action and the second wave of Germans arrived, with heavier anti-tank guns (Pak38s) at the front.

Monster-2836 Pak38s arrive
Monster-2836 Pak38s arrive

The reinforcements also allowed Chris to send more troops left.

Monster-2837 More Germans on the left
Monster-2837 More Germans on the left

This gave him two platoons on the left. The Germans closed in on the village.

Monster-2839 Two German platoons advance on village from left
Monster-2839 Two German platoons advance on village from left

On the right the Germans continued to dish out death with superior small arms fire.

Monster-2840 On the right German fire kills more Soviets
Monster-2840 On the right German fire kills more Soviets
Monster-2841 And then some more Soviets die
Monster-2841 And then some more Soviets die

At this point it looked pretty bad for the defenders of the Village. I had the Monster, a pinned Platoon Commander and a suppressed rift squad. Grim.

Monster-2842 It is now looking pretty grim for the Soviet defenders of the Village
Monster-2842 It is now looking pretty grim for the Soviet defenders of the Village

Okay, it got grimmer. Chris charged the suppressed squad and killed it.

Monster-2844 Germans close assault remaining Soviet on the left
Monster-2844 Germans close assault remaining Soviet on the left

Then he took the PC captive.

Monster-2847 The same thing happens on the right
Monster-2847 The same thing happens on the right

That just left me the Monster visible. None-these Chris knew I had more troops out there, including some in the village, so he adopted defensive formations when each platoon finished moving.

Monster-2848 Chris adopts a hedgehog formation
Monster-2848 Chris adopts a hedgehog formation

The Germans crept towards the village carefully.

Monster-2851 Germans edge closer to village on left
Monster-2851 Germans edge closer to village on left

When Chris finally decided to rush for the nearest building (on the left) he discovered I had a sapper squad in the target building. My sappers stopped the German rush.

Monster-2852 Soviet Sapper squad stops the German dash to the village
Monster-2852 Soviet Sapper squad stops the German dash to the village

And Chris’s advance on the right revealed my last remaining rifle squad. This also stopped the German advance. Brave Ivan was going to go down fighting.

Monster-2856 Remaining Soviet rifle squad stops German advance from right
Monster-2856 Remaining Soviet rifle squad stops German advance from right

Although immobile the Monster could still fire, so took pot shots – very big pot shots – and any Germans that showed their faces.

Monster-2857 Boom - The Monster has a shot
Monster-2857 Boom – The Monster has a shot
Monster-2858 0930 hours
Monster-2858 0930 hours

My guys were fighting on but it was very one sided. I had the Monster and two squads. Chris had a complete rifle company on the outskirts of the village.

Monster-2859 Soviets are looking thin in the Village
Monster-2859 Soviets are looking thin in the Village

Further back Chris started manoeuvring his Paks into a position to shoot.

Monster-2860 Pak crews push their guns into the woods
Monster-2860 Pak crews push their guns into the woods

The next Soviet casualty was the Sapper.

Monster-2861 German fire kills Soviet Sappers
Monster-2861 German fire kills Soviet Sappers

That opened up the Monster’s flank to close assault. Chris sent in a anti-tank rifle squad and his PC. The Monster won – Mother Russia was pleased.

Monster-2862 The Monster repels a close assault
Monster-2862 The Monster repels a close assault

Having seen off the close assault the Monster opened up with its big gun again.

Monster-2863 Boom - Monster retaliation for the Sappers
Monster-2863 Boom – Monster retaliation for the Sappers
Monster-2864 Boom - any Germans will do
Monster-2864 Boom – any Germans will do

My remaining rifle squad continued to fight on.

Monster-2866 Surviving Soviet rallies and kills some Germans
Monster-2866 Surviving Soviet rallies and kills some Germans
Monster-2867 1000 hours
Monster-2867 1000 hours

With 1000 hours on the clock the Flak88 arrived. Finally Chris had something that could hurt the Monster. If only he could get it into a position to fire safely.

Monster-2868 Flak88 arrives
Monster-2868 Flak88 arrives

The fight in the village continued and the Germans managed to suppress my remaining squad.

Monster-2869 Germans suprress last Soviet squad
Monster-2869 Germans suppress last Soviet squad

Chris followed up with the bayonet and the Monster was alone.

Monster-2870 Close combat clear the village
Monster-2870 Close combat clear the village

Chris had his Paks in a position to fire on the Monster. The Pak38s fired. Ping!

Monster-2873 Paks open up on the Monster
Monster-2873 Paks open up on the Monster

Impatient for a quick victory, Chris sent in more infantry to deal with the Monster. Monster 2; German riflemen 0.

Monster-2875 The Monster repels the second close asault
Monster-2875 The Monster repels the second close asault
Monster-2876 1030 hours
Monster-2876 1030 hours

At 1030 hours the German supply convoy arrived. Five trucks on the road from the west. Unfortunately, the Monster was still squarely on the road.

Monster-2877 German supply trucks arrive
Monster-2877 German supply trucks arrive

Chris smoked off the Monster to let his Flak88 deploy.

Monster-2878 Smoke allows Flak88 to deploy
Monster-2878 Smoke allows Flak88 to deploy

Chris then sent in another infantry assault on the Monster. Monster 3; German infantry 0.

Monster-2879 The Monster repels the third close assault
Monster-2879 The Monster repels the third close assault
Monster-2880 1100 hours
Monster-2880 1100 hours

3 hours into the game and Chris finally had some fire power to use against the Monster. The Flak88 opened up.

Monster-2881 Bang - Flak88 opens up
Monster-2881 Bang – Flak88 opens up

One shot and boom! No more scary Monster.

Monster-2883 The Monster is knocked out
Monster-2883 The Monster is knocked out

The road was now (seemingly) open and the trucks rolled forward.

Monster-2884 The German Convoy rolls
Monster-2884 The German Convoy rolls

Chris sent his infantry forward around the village, looking for Soviets.

Monster-2885 Germans skirt village to left
Monster-2885 Germans skirt village to left
Monster-2886 Ditto on the right
Monster-2886 Ditto on the right

Chris also put an towed anti-tank gun in front of the supply trucks to draw Soviet fire.

Monster-2887 Pak gets in front of supply trucks
Monster-2887 Pak gets in front of supply trucks

Not surprisingly the German advance revealed Soviets hidden in the Forest sector. Fighting begins in amongst the trees.

Monster-2888 Germans discover Soviets in the Forest
Monster-2888 Germans discover Soviets in the Forest
Monster-2889 Quite a lot of Soviets and Germans die
Monster-2889 Quite a lot of Soviets and Germans die
Monster-2890 And more Germans
Monster-2890 And more Germans
Monster-2891 A German artillery barrage helps
Monster-2891 A German artillery barrage helps

While the German infantry try to clear the way, the supply trucks continue to drive along the road.

Monster-2892 The convoy edges forward
Monster-2892 The convoy edges forward
Monster-2893 1130 hours
Monster-2893 1130 hours
Monster-2894 1200 hours
Monster-2894 1200 hours

Chris was feeling the pinch as he was running out of troops. So he rushed the Flak88 to the front to give some much needed fire support.

Monster-2896 Flak88 overtakes convoy
Monster-2896 Flak88 overtakes convoy

The fighting continued in the woods with bayonet and grenade.

Monster-2897 German bayonets advance
Monster-2897 German bayonets advance

I didn’t see much reason to stand and die so I pulled back to get closer to my, still hidden, forces in the Junction Sector.

Monster-2898 Soviets pull back
Monster-2898 Soviets pull back

With no real offensive power remaining Chris packed it in. The German vehicles was jammed on the road through the village.

Monster-2900 German traffic jam
Monster-2900 German traffic jam
Monster-2901 Table at end game
Monster-2901 Table at end game
Monster-2902 Table at end game
Monster-2902 Table at end game
Monster-2904 German traffic jam
Monster-2904 German traffic jam

After the game I showed Chris were my remaining troops were.

Monster-2903 This is where the remaining Soviets were
Monster-2903 This is where the remaining Soviets were

Observations and Conclusions

Playing the Monster was a first in several ways:

  • First time I used all four of my Wargaming boards
  • First time I’ve used a 8′ x 3′ table
  • First time I fielded my KV-2 – the Monster
  • First time I fielded my 8.8cm anti-tank gun
  • First time I have had five German anti-tank guns on-table
  • First time I’ve had supply trucks in a Crossfire game

Now to the games themselves. The first game was a non-event. But with the tweaks mentioned above the second game was quite good. Chris cleared the Village Sector and most of the Forest Sector. But he didn’t have enough troops remaining to go the distance. Most of the German losses were trying to close assault the Monster. It might have been worth using this as a fall back strategy if the Paks couldn’t knock out the beast – a Plan B – but Chris chose this approach as his Plan A. If Chris had had those troops to fight with in the Forest, it might have been a different outcome. We agreed our second attempt was a good game. So I’ve incorporated the tweaks into the Scenario and it would be worth a replay in the future.

The scenario might still need some tweaking. In particular, I wonder if I should cut back the Soviet orbat in the Junction Sector.

The long 8′ x 3′ table was a nice novelty for a Crossfire game. As was the goal of shepherding vulnerable trucks across table.

It was great to get a KV-2 on table and have it behave historically i.e. be scary but more or less immobile.

I was surprised that I ran short of key terrain. An 8′ x 3′ table is the same table area as a 6′ x 4′ table (24 square feet), and I use 6′ x 4′ tables a lot, but none-the-less I needed more terrain. The scenario uses a lot of small to medium woods features so I ran out of my normal terrain templates. Luckily I had my sisal terrain templates on standby and they did the trick, at the cost of some aesthetics.

Homework: Make some more normal terrain templates: +9 x 6″ circles; +4 x 6″x4″ oval. [Done]

I also ran out of trees. So I had to use my original, very old, and now quite brown, bottle brush trees. This gave me enough trees for two per woods features. Enough but not generous. The the brown trees again sacrificed some aesthetics.

Homework: re-green my original bottle brush trees. [Done, that afternoon as it happens]
Homework: Base up the extra trees I have already purchased. [I’ve done 40, but more to do]

4 thoughts on “The Monster – A Crossfire Battle Report”

  1. Enjoyed the AAR and want to try it but with my German, Japanese, and US kit I’m not sure what to use for “The Monster”. Wait I also have Korean War kit – I can assume that the Chinese or N. Koreans have received a “Monster” from Stalin as a gift in celebration of some anniversary – all 3 seem to celebrate hundreds of communist anniversary days every year. Dick Bryant

    Reply
    • Dick, I think there would be sufficient terror amongst US forces if they had to break through a German force with a disabled Tiger on the road and they had no armour of their own. Assuming, of course, the grunts didn’t have the usual barrage of bazookas. Or change the bazooka rules so they have to shoot within a stand width to keep it exciting.

      Reply
  2. Wonderful scenario! Very thrilling to read the heroic last stand of the Monster in the second game… I was sad to see it fall at last. Love the KV-2 model.

    Reply

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