Battle for Zossen
21st April 1945
V1.1
Pictures of the first game (v1.0)
Pictures of the Second Game (v1.1)
Zossen is a small town a few tens of kilometres south of Berlin. In April 1945 it was the last line of defence against the Soviet 3rd Guards Tank Army advancing on the capital. Sperrverband Spree was ordered to halt the onrushing Soviets. Central to the defence of Zossen was the newly raised RAD Infanterie Division Friedrich Ludwig Jahn consisting of labour service construction workers; though only a half of the division made it to the battlefield; supported by rag tag of training and experimental panzer units and some hastily trained Hitler youth.
On the 20th the Soviet advance, lead by the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade, slogged their way through the outer German defences situated in the heavy woods to the south of Zossen. Going was so slow that Major General Panfilov Alexei Pavlovich commander of the 6th Guards Tank Corps decided to try and outflank the German position to the east.
The scenario starts early on the 21st of April as the Soviet forces start their assault on the second line of defences before Zossen, aiming for the bridges over the Nottekanal
Soviet Deployment
The Soviet 53rd Tank Brigade and 1893 SU Regiment are deployed along the two roads Q & R and the railway P that runs parallel. The Soviet vehicles must be single file along the road or railway. They must be deployed in the woods. If there is insufficient room vehicles that can not enter the board will enter on turn 1 behind their comrades. Note if the railway is used all vehicles using it start off board. Soviet infantry may be deployed in the woods within 10" of any Soviet vehicle or they may be tank riding
The first stand in the column entering turn one may move its full move allowance. Each subsequent vehicle in the column will move 3" less on the turn of entry
The HQ of the 6th Guards Tank Corps follows the 53rd tank brigade and will enter down one of the roads Q or R or the railway P. It enters on the 10:00 turn (start turn 5).
The 51st Guards Tank Brigade may enter from turn 4 (09:30). Roll separately for each battalion (the HQ & HQ company is treated as a battalion) Roll 1d6 - the first turn battalions arrive on a 6, next turn on a 5 or 6, turn after 4-6 and so on. However any roll of a 1 is a no-show for that turn. No unit is obliged to come on the turn it's rolled.
The 22nd Guards Motor Rifle Brigade is also a reinforcement and may enter from turn 7 (11:00). The entry procedure is the same as the 51st above except that the Mortars and artillery may not start rolling until the turn after the first battalion enters the table. They start rolling requiring a 6 and so on.
The 51st and 22nd enter the table from the east. They enter the table at between points WX or point YZ, player's choice. Either unit may use either entry point, both units may use the same entry point or different. However once committed the entire brigade must use the same entry point.
Units entering the board as reinforcements have their move halved on the turn of entry
Note that WXYZ are in different locations depending on the size of the board
FO/command for both 1st Battalion 272nd Guards Mortar Regiment and 439th Guards Mortar Battalion may either be flown in the U2 or enter with any Soviet unit the Soviet player wishes.
German Deployment
1 Grenadier-Regiment Friedrich Ludwig Jahn can be deployed anywhere north of the pink dashed line, but not in Zossen and not north of the Nottekanal. All stands are dug-in in camouflaged positions (-3 cover & concealment). Four stands (personnel or I weight guns can be in log bunkers (-5 cover). There are 48 inches of wire and 48 inches of mixed mines.
Stab Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, remnants I/2 Grenadier-Regiment Friedrich Ludwig Jahn and remnants 3 HJ Panzerzerstörer Brigade are all huddled in the BUA of Zossen, or on the road adjacent to the BUA. They must be south of the canal.
Remnants Kampfgruppe Moltke are deployed north of the Nottecanal
Kampfgruppe Ritter is deployed in the marked deployment zone to the east of Zossen.
Kummersdorf Technischen Versuchskompanie can be deployed anywhere north of the pink dotted line. The Maus can be subordinated to any non-demoralised HQ on the table before the game starts
Terrain
The table is 5ftx10ft when scaled at 1"=50m. The two thin black dotted lines indicate the table for players using an 8x5ft table
Red lines are roads. There are occasional hedge lines (break LOS, -1 cover (not vs HE) along the roads. Max 3" long over 6" apart
The black dotted line is a railway
Thin blue lines are streams. Tracked vehicles and personnel take normal move to cross them. (so with a cautious advance they may cross from one bank to the other assuming they start adjacent. With a hasty advance they may cross and move the equivalent of a cautious advance move). The banks offer limited cover, -2. The Maus may not cross streams, even at road bridges/culverts. The Germans may blow up any of the culverts where roads or rail cross streams. This is decided by the German before the game starts. Make sure to clearly mark the destroyed culverts.
The Nottecanal is impassable to vehicles. The bridges over the canal can not be destroyed. It is tree lined, there is no LOS from one bank to the other.
Light green areas are, for the most part, dense woods (1/2 speed for personnel, impenetrable to vehicles, 1" visibility). The woods adjacent to Zossen are open woods (1/2 speed for vehicles, no impediment to personnel, 2" visibility)
The grey areas are 4x4 stone built towns (-3 cover)
Green dotted lines are tree lines. These break LOS and provide -1 cover (not vs HE)
The open areas are fields, there are no hedges separating them.
Special Rules
Game starts 0800. It ends at 1500, so 14 turns long
I/2 Grenadier-Regiment Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, 3 HJ Panzerzerstörer Brigade & Begleit Kompanie start the game demoralised.
The Germans may blow up any of the culverts where roads or rail cross streams (but not the Bridges over the Nottecanal. This is decided by the German before the game starts. Make sure to clearly mark the destroyed culverts.
The Maus represents one (two if you are feeling charitable) vehicles. Because of this it is ROF 0 (ie can only fire in op fire phase) It can only fire one of its weapons in a turn. The 128mm gun can only fire AP rounds, no HE. The Maus can be subordinated to any non-demoralised HQ on the table before the game starts
The U2 can carry any FO/command stand from an artillery battalion. Once committed to the U2 the stand will use it for the entire turn
Aircraft
Both sides may roll for air each turn (d10).
Germans
The Germans can roll 2 dice (red and white), start rolling turn 2. With the white on a 10 the Germans get a Bu-181 armed Panzerfaust. The red dice is to roll for an Ar-234B2 Blitz bomber. On turn 2 this arrives on a 10, turn 3 a 9 or 10, turn 4: 8-10 and so on. The Ar-234 can only arrive over the table once
Soviets
The Soviets can roll 2 dice (red and white). The red controls strike planes the white the U2 artillery spotter
Strike planes (red dice): turn 1 to turn 6: 1-5: no planes. 6-7: Il-2, 8: Fighter, 9: Il-2 & Fighter, 10: Pe-2 and Fighter. Turn 7+ 1-7: no planes, 8: Il-2, 9: Fighter, 10: Il-2 & Fighter
The U2 has a 50% chance of being over the board every turn
Victory Conditions
For a victory the Soviets must capture the southern end of both the bridges over the Nottekanal. To count as captured a stand in good morale must be touching the southern end of the bridge on the last turn of the game. The stand must not be in contact with a German stand
For the Germans to win they must hold the southern end of the bridges on the last turn of the game and have at least two panzers under command south of the canal. Panzers can be shaken but not demoralised. Panzers for the purposes of the victory conditions are: Maus, Elefant, Panther, Hetzer or Sherman. Under command means that there must be one or two command stands that are neither shaken or demoralised south of the river that are capable of giving both the panzers orders. They do not have to be in LOS of the panzers, but must be capable of moving so as to be so. If command infantry they must be capable of getting within 6" of the panzers. If they they must move then they need a route that does not take them within 6" of any Soviet stand that is not demoralised. Basically the panzers don't count of they are cut-off
Other results are a draw.
Note on Historical Accuracy
The clash around Zossen is not very well documented so the scenario above involves an amount of educated guesswork. The German and Soviet forces are about right, though in the German case there is no information on what was in the first line of defences and what in the second. The demoralised stands in the scenario are the remnants of the first line. On the Soviet side its clear that the 51st and 53rd Tank brigades and the 22nd Motor Rifle were involved but the disposition of the Corps supporting units is not described. In both cases the information on deployment was sparse
Kampfgruppe Ritter, with the exception of the 614 Panzerjager Abt, was supposedly equipped with Sperber IR night fighting kit but as it's a daylight battle this capability was wasted. Its far from clear if the the kit was actually fitted at the time and whether the crews were trained in its use
Historically the Maus did not make it to the battle. A single Maus fled Kummersdorf ahead of the advancing Russians up the road towards Zossen. According to the Germans it broke down and was blown up by its crew; the Russians claim their tanks killed it. In any case it didn't make it to Zossen. However it was on its way and it was destined to be used in defence of Berlin so if it had made it to Zossen it would have likely been used in the town's defence. As it's a what-if you may prefer to leave it out. Kampfgruppe Mowes definitely had a single Jagdtiger and a single Tiger II, either of which could act as a substitute. The same rules would apply apart from the restriction on the main gun firing HE.
Historically the Germans clung on to Zossen until the early hours of the 22nd when the Russians took the town. The Germans failed to blow the bridges and the Russians pushed on north to Berlin.