The Battle for the Rollbahn, February 1942

A 20mm WWII wargame fought on Saturday, May 24, 2008

The setting is the Eastern Front, south of Moscow. German forces defending a Rollbahn (major supply road) are attacked by various Soviet units, including airborne, armor, dismounted cavalry, and partisans. The Soviets must cut the Rollbahn by the end of the day. We played this wargame with 20mm miniatures, using our Hail of Lead rule set.

This scenario is based on the original Rollbahnen mini-campaign designed by Greg Novak for the Command Decision rule set, and first appeared on pp.53-58 of Command Post Quarterly issue #9.

Follow the the photos, below, to see how our playtest turned out.

To download a PDF containing the scenario, click here.

A view of the map, looking from the German board edge. The Rollbahn runs from the lower left to the upper right, passing over a hill.	German players man their stations.	Soviet commanders prepare to enter the board.	A German infantry outpost on the right takes a staggering amount of fire from the SMGs of Soviet Airborne troops. The outpost is quickly destroyed.	In the center, a Soviet armored cavalry unit armed with BT-7 tanks trades shots with entrenched German infantry. The anti-tank rifles of the infantry were unfortunately ineffective.
Dismounted Soviet cavalry on the German left have just dispatched a defending enemy infantry company in an outpost. The Germans hardly knew what hit them.	In the center, more Soviet cavalry tanks (including a lone T-34/76, plus more BT-7's) prepare to bypass the German outpost. The enemy infantry have been destroyed by fire.	On the Soviet right, the dismounted cavalry moves across the railroad embankment towards the Rollbahn.	In the center, the Soviet BT-7's rumble into the outpost and run smack into a platoon of SdKfz 222's and more defending infantry--the battalion headquarters, including engineers.	In the center, Soviet armor crunches through wooded hills toward the Rollbahn, with dismounted cavalry vainly attempting to keep pace.
The combination of 20mm cannon fire and infantry close assaults destroyed the unsupported Soviet armor.	A mixed company of German tanks in the center town on the Rollbahn take the Soviets under fire, with some effect.	One Soviet BT-7 is lost to flanking fire from the SdKfz 222 in the nearby outpost. Soviet armor losses were mounting.	Support units--including a 76mm infantry gun, left, and a 45mm AT gun--line up behind the railroad line to support the cavalry advance.	German defenders open fire from a town along the Rollbahn, and immediately lose half their transport to enemy fire.
The German infantry battalion headquarters in the front-center town moves to bring Soviet Airborne elements under fire.	On the Soviet left, the Airborne advance across open ground, taking fire all the way.	A German Flak halftrack in the center town opens fire with its 20mm autocannon on the Soviet Airborne, out of sight to the right.	A German kampfgruppe with StuG III D assault guns and motorized infantry enters the board, and is quickly attacked by a battalion of partisans (top left).	On the Soviet right, the machine-guns of the dismounted cavalry keep pouring a steady fire into the village on the Rollbahn.
On the Soviet left, Airborne support unit occupy a town and engage the enemy armored car with a 45mm antitank gun.	This is what happens when an SdKfz 222 meets a few 45mm shells: instant barbeque.	In the center, the remnants of the Soviet armor fall back into the woods at the top of the hill. Dismounted cavalry move to support.	The Airborne's 45mm gun comes under mortar fire from the center village. Gotta love the "krump" marker and shellhole.	The left of the German defenses is under full attack by the Soviet dismounted cavalry. Note the German motorized infantry have fallen back (with shaky morale) to the opposite side of the town, where they will have to deal with fire from the partisans.
Soviet infantry in the center veer away from their tanks--note the last BT-7 burning at top right.	An overview of the battlefield as the game nears its close. The Rollbahn is contested at the town at the very top.	Dismounted German motorized infantry of the newly-arrived kampfgruppe move toward the Rollbahn.	The Assault guns are taking tank and artillery fire, and something has to give. By this time they were out of ammuntion anyway.	Beseiged German infantry hold their ground along the Rollbahn. Note the Soviets are under mortar fire.
German tanks begin to flank the lone Soviet T-34/76, using a smoke screen to cover thier maneuver.	A lone Soviet Airborne stand has fought its way into the town on the Rollbahn. But now it faces a full company of German infantry. I can't watch.	We wrap up the game with the Soviets poised to capture the Rollbahn town on the German left.	We fought roughly half the 24 turns available for the scenario. The Soviets certainly held one town on the Rollbahn, and they had quite a lot of infantry left with which to keep it. But their lone T-34/76 tank was almost out of ammo, and they were still facing at least a couple of companies of German infantry supported by an intact tank company fully loaded. Would they have held out for another half a day? We declared the battle to be a draw.

We used a variety of 1/76 and 1/72 scale plastic figures and vehicles in this battle:

Soviet infantry are a mix of ESCI (now Italeri), Revell, and Airfix. BT-7 tanks are by Unimodel (UM), the T-34/76 is Fujimi. The 76mm infantry gun and 45mm AT guns are old Lyzard's Grin lead castings in 20mm. The horse-drawn limbers are American Civil War models from Accurate Figures.

Geman infantry are a mix of Matchbox, Airfix, ESCI (now Italeri), and Revell. The Panzer IV F1 is by Airfix. The Panzer III J, Panzer II F, and Krupp Protz (light truck) are from Matchbox. The Opel Blitz medium truck and self-propelled 20mm AA gun are 1/87 models from Roco Minitanks. The StuG III D's, SdKfz 222, and kübelwagen are by Fujimi.