When I was in elementary school back in the 1960s I had
several of the How and Why Wonder books. One in particular that I still
remember vividly was the one on World War II. It had, as I recall, a dramatic
illustration of Polish cavalry being attacked by German aircraft.
So when a new player of AAM suggested he’s like to try a few
DYO scenarios I thought I’d make it interesting by picking one of the minor
Allied powers to face his Germans. I happened to have a bunch of Polish cavalry
that had never seen the table, so I designed a build that used them – and almost
every other 1939 Pole I owned. Actually a few more, as I bought a few more to
fill it out from 12-7 games.
Although not intentional, our mutual OBs ended up being
reasonably historical, representing a good facsimile of an encounter between
the German 3rd Light Division and a Polish Cavalry brigade. About
the only departure was the inclusion of a stray Polish 7TP tank. The German build was 151 points and the Poles
were 174, given the 15% bonus for being an all-Polish build.
So, the Polish force comprised the following elements:
10 x Polish
Cavalry
9 x Polish
Mauser
5 x TKS
Tankette
4 x 37mm ATG
4 Minefields
3 x Polish
officer
1 ea 7TP
tank, Ammo Dump, HQ, and Pillbox
This
approximated a Polish cavalry squadron, an infantry company, an anti-tank
battery, a tankette platoon and supports
The German
opponents were:
Two infantry
platoons, each with 1 SS Leader, 3 Mausers, 1 MG34 and a Lt Mtr.
Two tank
platoons, each with a Pz IVA and two Pz 38(t)
Air support
with a Disciplined Spotter, one Stuka and one Bf 109E
The Poles had
to set up first. We used Map Configuration 1 “Villages” Alternate Map layout
from Page 7 of the Expanded Rules. The Poles selected the “Left” edge (the side
with the numbers) which placed them closer to the objective and gave them some
woods, hills and hedgerows for cover.
The cavalry
set up in the left woods, ready to advance through the woods and hills in that
sector. The HQ and pillbox were to their rear.
On the ridge
and central woods were the Polish armor and two infantry platoons.
In the
hedgerow field on the right was the ammo dump, the ATG battery and the
remaining infantry platoon.
The
minefields were set up to block the gaps between the woods on the German side
of the map.
The Germans
set up with one infantry platoon on the far right in some woods and the other
in the central woods behind the small pond. Each platoon had a Pz. IV in
support.
The Pz 38(t)
all set up on the German left flank, with the Disciplined Spotter.
The Germans
won the initiative, which they generally did through the battle. The Poles
advanced all along the front, occupying the central village and taking firing
positions. The German armor advanced, while the infantry held back for now.
During the
first Air Phase the German fighter targeted a cavalry squad while the Stuka
took aim at an ATG. Here the Poles caught a vital break, as excellent shooting
by two Mausers attached to the ATG actually shot down the Stuka! The Stuka’s
destruction of the ATG didn’t make up for this. In fact, the Poles continued to have good luck
with their rifle fire, twice managing to disrupt the fight later in the battle.
As a consequence, out of a theoretical total of 14 air strikes the German player
only got to implement six! It’s quite likely that this represented the winning
difference in the game.
The Polish
cavalry in the town was quite chewed up by the nearby German infantry, tanks
and fighter aircraft, prompting the Polish commander to pull back the surviving
platoon for the time being.
 |
| Near the end |
On the right
the German Pz. 38s tested their luck against the 37s and came out on the short
end of the stick, losing three tanks. A big help in the effort was the ammo
dump. Eventually the German player took out the dump with the fighter plane,
but by then the damage had been done.
The Polish
tank didn’t last long, dying in the first exchange of fire, but the tankettes
proved surprisingly robust. While the Germans destroyed four and damaged the
last, the TKS managed to swarm and destroy one Pz. IV.
Once the
Germans numbers were reduced the surviving Polish horse was able to re-enter
the fray and do some damage. Among their highlights was sobering one of the
German leaders in the woods and shooting up the rear of the last Pz 38(t) after
it was damaged.
The game
ended with the Poles in secure command of the objective with most of their
surviving infantry and leaders. Also surviving were two cavalry squads and two
ATG. The Germans had one infantry platoon and the fighter remaining.
Some good
luck against the planes was responsible for a surprising Polish victory.
A few
thoughts on the Polish units based on this fight:
The Polish
Cavalry’s forte was mobility, but they are very fragile. An overly aggressive opening
move cost the Poles half their cavalry on Turn 1. More circumspect usage thereafter
resulted in them doing good work. A key tactic was to disrupt the target hex
and move in during the following turn’s movement phase when there wouldn’t be defensive
fire.
The Polish
Mausers are your regular AAM standard infantry platoon. This worked to their advantage because the more
colorful units such as the cavalry, tankettes and officers drew fire. At the
end of the day, however, the Mausers
were the key to victory, shooting down the Stuka, disrupting the fighter and
capturing the objective
The Polish
Officers were a disappointment. While only 1 less initiative than the Germans,
they only won initiative a couple of times, and once was on a HQ re-roll. Their
Coordinated Fire Ability was only used once all game because the officer only
has a range of 1.
The 37mm ATG
were killers. Every bit as good as similar weapons in other Early War armies,
they were devastating against the light German armor. They really had no
drawbacks outside the mobility restrictions of the type. They achieved a 5-1 kill ratio against the
German tanks.
The TKS
tankettes were also useful. They proved distracting to the Germans and managed
to hold their own against the German armor, destroying on Pz IV and
contributing to the death of the other.
The ammo
dump was very useful and the Germans made
a mistake by not trying to take it out earlier. The Poles seemed to roll
an awful lot of “1s”
The 7TP, in
contrast, didn’t accomplish much before it died. It was taken out in the first
volley and only managed to disrupt a Pz IV. A single light tank isn’t very useful.
The HQ also
didn’t accomplish a lot. One initiative loss was turned into a win, but the
other rerolls failed. The pillbox wasn’t tested, largely because the HQ wasn’t
deemed worth killing by the Germans. The minefields created a minor headache
for the Germans, but nothing notable.
Overall it was
fun to finally get to use my Poles, but they aren’t really a competitive build,
even with the 15% bonus. Against a more experienced German -- or one with
better luck -- they could be expected to lose more often than they win. It’s a
very one-dimensional force and one that is especially vulnerable against an
armor/air build.
