Notes for Red Army Players

PLASTIC OSTFRONT

RULES FOR 1/72 SCALE WARGAMING

 Notes for Wermacht Players

 NOTES FOR RED ARMY PLAYERS

 

 GENERAL : Red Army In the Assault

Poor commanders and desperate troops often made frontal assaults with little support in the early years of the war. Such tactics were officially condemned and avoided in later years but still used if a rapid result was necessary - often with penal units leading the way. However, the Red Army learned rapidly and used its new and numerous weapons in new tactical developments that were crucial to the success of its rolling offensive programme from  winter 1942 onwards.

Infantry are used to spearhead assaults, sometimes closely supported by tanks and assault guns. Artillery is used to make preparation for entry into the enemy positions. Airstrikes are sometimes used. Once the enemy line is broken-into then a second wave moves into the assault to create a corridor through the enemy position. Once a corridor is created then armoured units and cavalry move through the enemy line into the rear and penetrate as deeply as possible but do not deliberately seek to create and attack pockets.

Tanks are used to exploit the break in the enemy line but often were sent in early if enemy resistance was tough or simply because of impatience with the infantry's progress. If entering restricted terrain the tanks could carry 'desantniki' to guard them against close assault and to help hold objectives gained.

 Artillery

Artillery is used to assist the assault by destroying enemy positions, eliminating enemy units and striking enemy forming-up areas or reinforcement routes. Blocking barrages could be used to isolate the assaulted zone from assistance.

Targets are identified by meticulous reconaissance in the days preceeding assault. Aerial observation is used but unusual and 'real time' observation unknown.

The weight of fire used is heavy and seeks to destroy targets and obstacles to the advance.

Responsive close-support is provided by assault guns or advanced batteries firing directly and mortars are the only artillery really 'on-call' to units.

Rocket artillery is used to saturate areas to be assaulted and to hinder enemy rear-area movement.

TABLE-TOP TACTICS

ANTI TANK GUN TACTICS

Guns should be emplaced and camouflaged.
Normally a light machine gun was deployed for defence against infantry.
Guns should be used together, not singly.
Site guns to shoot into the sides or rear of advancing tanks.
Fields of fire should overlap: a diamond formation of four guns is recommended.
Maximum range for engagement is 800m.
It quite acceptable to lose one gun for each medium tank or two for each heavy tank destroyed.

INFANTRY TACTICS

FRONTAL ASSAULT is used by inexperienced or poor formations. It should not be carried out
from more than 500m from the enemy. Go directly for the enemy's positions. Fit as many elements as possible together to carry the enemy position even with losses. Hit the enemy positions with artillery or airstrikes to suppress their fire.

STEALTH ASSAULT requires regular troops or some elite or scouts to aid the main assault. Start from as close as possible to the enemy and try to get through gaps and attack flanks. Mortars can suppress the enemy fire.

BREAKTHROUGH ASSAULT is used by regular or better troops with combined arms support. Preliminary bombardments flatten the breakthrough zone. As infantry go in supporting bombardments suppress the areas on the flanks and rear of the breakthrough. Aircraft sorties over the area to suppress enemy movement. Once infantry have broken into th enemy positions tanks should follow up to crush resistance and move onward.

DESANTNIKI are infantry supporting tanks closely by riding on them. Try to dismount before being blasted off by AP shots. Not being too numerous, desantniki should be used to locate targets for tanks to kill - not to get stuck in a melee.

TANK TACTICS

The job of the tanks is to pass through the successful infantry assault and into the enemy rear in order to achieve rapid and dislocating penetrations. It follows that getting bogged down on the battlefield is generally not what using tanks should be about for the Red Army player. Tanks are best for killing other tanks or shooting up vehicles, not duelling with anti-tank guns or assaulting infantry positions.

The Red Army player's main problem is the low efficiency of his tank units - this was due to poor tactical command, poor training and design deficiencies. To offset this it is necessary to either avoid tank duels or use numbers and close range. Better equipped or trained tank units should use ambush tactics and fight from flanks not frontally. In defence tanks could be dug-in. Don't get the idea you can play the panzer formations at their own game - you can't.

To support an assault it is possible to use special 'heavy breakthrough' armour units. In these cases it is still necessary to support them with artillery.

Tanks should have some infantry accompaniment in order to stop them falling prey to infantry assault. The problem is they can only go up on the tanks and they are vulnerable - a dilemma - but dont send the infantry up in trucks alongside the tanks as some formations tried in 1941, it gets messy.

SELF-PROPELLED GUNS

These should shoot-in infantry attacks or reduce tough strongpoints, getting up at the front immediately with the infantry assault. They are not for duelling with tanks but can be successfuly used from ambush.

ARTILLERY

The Red Army knew artillery affectionately as 'the god of war'. This was only after attrition and poor command-control forced them to pool guns into large central formations. Success for this approach in offensive operations and subsequent massive production led to its adoption as the main tactic for the rest of the war.
The Red Army never developed artillery as a rapier-like weapon that could be switched at will to drop shells anywhere on the battlefield. Only specialists controlled barrages and they were executed at the behest of higher command than battalion level. Battalions had mortars and infantry guns for their local needs.

The Red Army artillery sledgehammer preceeded assaults and aimed to smash the defence. Rocket launchers were perfect for this approach too. Creeping barrages falling in front of avancing troops could be used but in general all the shooting had been done by the time troops jumped-off with 500-1000 m to cover into the enemy lines.

Close support was direct fire from SPs or battalion guns and mortars - this was possible whereas rapid radio communication of ad-hoc targets was not due to poor training and lack of radios.

For defensive fire FOOs would be located in bunkers to call for shoots on preset areas when enemy troops entered them.

Rocket launchers are devastating to soften up the enemy or punish enemy crowding, however, they are vulnerable to counterbattery fire.

AIRSTRIKES

In general Red Army airforces performed poorly due to poor training. Numbers and the over-stretching of the Luftwaffe allowed them to be effective at some areas of the front where they had air superiority.
Sturmoviks were used to shoot-up trops and and vehicles but they needed fighter cover.
Pe-2 or similar could attempt to bomb strongpoints.
One or two bombers will not achieve much - go for a decisive airstrike or non at all.

Fighter cover can be crucial in keeping the Stukas off the backs of your troops though !!

Anti-aircraft troops are scarce resources in the Red Army at this time and should be concentrated to protect key resources.

ENGINEERS

Mines were a staple of defence and used in large numbers. Impassable barriers against tanks - ditches and part-buried heavy posts could be used to funnel tanks into minefields.

Trench systems came back into vogue in 42-3 after initial use of fox-holes. Trenchlines with log bunkers as strongpoints were the standard form of defence. Where time and material were available large numbers of concrete pillboxes and metal anti-tank obstacles and wire were deployed.

Site machine guns to be visible to the enemy only when they have closed to a distance where you can shoot effectively.