Tuesday 10 May 2016

Prokhorovka (Battle Two) 12th July 1943

Our second battle in our Prokhorovka mini-campaign covers the counter attack by the Russian 5th Guards under Zhadov against the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf". It felt right to play this as a break through mission so the Russians significantly outnumbered the Germans . The Russian objective being to break through to the German deployment zone and the Germans to simply break the Russians.

The battlefield at set up looking from the south. After fighting for most of the 12th July Totenkopf are attacked by two Russian Corps. The Germans have moved onto the defensive with units in the trees and dug in around the small farm.

The Russians attack from the north, in the distance the village of Veselyy and in the foreground the vanguard of the Russian Guards Rifle Corps. The Russian tanks come under fire immediately they come onto the table.


Russian Tanks advance down the flank through Veselyy


An overview of the battlefield.


The Russians have made a decisive flanking movement down their left flank, putting the German units in the woods under pressure and in danger of being completely outflanked.


A furious close range fire fight breaks out with tanks being knocked out on both sides.


In the centre the Russians push forward and again supported by effective Katusha rocket artillery fire make a serious dent in the German centre, the Germans counter by moving to closer range to hold the T34's back.


On the far side the Russians have broken through but it's only two tanks so is not decisive, some of the Russian armour has failed to bridge the gap from the town and resolutely refuses to support the attack, I feel the Russian command will be sending some of them to Siberia !



At this stage in the battle it remains close, the Russian Guards Rifles are attempting to advance on the Russian Right but they lack adequate armour support and the infantry is too vulnerable to the German Panzers.


German Panzers re-deploy to counter the Guards Rifles.



German Anti tank unit continues to hold their right flank.


At this stage both sides were again close to breaking point the Russian had pushed through on their right but this was with limited strength and not decisive overall. The Russian Guards had been held back and the Russians had run out f options in the centre. At this point the Russians failed a break test giving a minor victory to the Germans.


The rockets had been slightly less effective than the previous battle, but had nearly knocked out the German centre in one accurate barrage. 


Another close run game with the Germans clinging on in the face of superior numbers. We are hoping to play a larger final battle...........

7 comments:

  1. Lovely post, really good pictures!

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    1. Thanks Stephen sometimes hard to make 6 mm very interesting especially when battles are based in the flat Russian environment.

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  2. Another closely fought battle! Great stuff!

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  3. Thanks Martin I hope to do some British 6 mm soon as well

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  4. Love seeing all the BKCII posts. It's the rule set I've spent the most time with. Really enjoy it. 6mm as well.

    I've Been wondering the best way to model the Russian landscape - I guess just flat, though with fields etc you could reduce the LOS a bit to simulate rolling landscapes that have small valleys and crests.

    Keep em coming.

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    1. Hi thanks for reading. Yes we really enjoy BKC for this type of scale WW2. We find it fairly easy to keep the game moving but gives enough realism to give the right feel, although in the last couple of games the Russians have struggled to knock out any tigers, which indicates they are perhaps a little too tough. Yes we keep it flat but as you have twigged we use very occasional field etc just to give that feeling of undulation. More to come..😀

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