[Sticky] Operation Iskra

OK, with the current missions it looks like the only one which may need a 'set piece' approach (with a time) is the battle for the water towers, and possibly pilot retrieval, the others can be interleaved like the ones 34th do.

I haven't quite got my head around the artillery game/rules yet but I'm sure it will be fun?!

Will do a point by point procedure for this so everyone can know exactly how it will work.

Am I right in thinking we'll just do small arms ammo as limited reloads (at HQ under orders?) with odd stashes of ammo around the site?

Tried with the token system at Luga and to be honest not everyone got it. best option would do ammo like last time but costs and time would be too high. So will be reload to set levels only at squad ammo tin or under order from CO. The constraints on the engagement will hopefully be controlled by the bandage rulings.

wrt Russian uniforms, they can really be very, very minimal - just a jacket or greatcoat and hat with any old trousers and boots and a bag to carry stuff in. How many people need to borrow stuff? They might even be able to put together something passable from what they've got - a GS shirt untucked looks quite like a gynmastorka, and hats can be pretty well anything - piltokas, ushankas, flat caps, maybe even US M1 helmets at a pinch.

I've got a spare padded jacket and an M69 jacket, we may have some other stuff between us and I'd happily do a 'looks like' guide for Russians on the cheap, but if it is only a couple of people then we may be able find some things for them.

This is the third year, so if people have not been interested to go out and get gear they probably wont. Look a like is OK but we did get moans after Luga about some of the players kit. So if your willing to deal with these moaning gits then no problem. The reason why the Militia was introduced was to give an easier option also the naval infantry in basic black could be an easier loadout.

Right Gun/Artillery Mission. Please relate to gun pdf file posted earlier

A number of posters will be placed each with a reference marker on them, see attached picture.

The forward observers move into range to read marker.

Marker info relayed to support crew through field telephones.

Info relayed to gun crew. (Will be making a range marker to be used with a map for the gun crew as want the crew to have to move the gun into firing positions)

CO accompanying the unit will relate marker info to CO on the Russian side.

Gun fires, Russian CO drops pyro/smoke in relative area. Anyone there gets blown to itty bitty pieces!

Forward observer confirms target hit to support crew, recoil phone line etc. and moves onto next designated target and procedure repeats.

Hope that makes sense. It will be a bit easier to explain in person with all the maps and stuff in place. Pretty much the same as called in artillery strikes but the actual in game procedure is a little more involved from the players. -- attachment is not available --

OK, with the current missions it looks like the only one which may need a 'set piece' approach (with a time) is the battle for the water towers, and possibly pilot retrieval, the others can be interleaved like the ones 34th do.

I haven't quite got my head around the artillery game/rules yet but I'm sure it will be fun?!

Will do a point by point procedure for this so everyone can know exactly how it will work.

Am I right in thinking we'll just do small arms ammo as limited reloads (at HQ under orders?) with odd stashes of ammo around the site?

Tried with the token system at Luga and to be honest not everyone got it. best option would do ammo like last time but costs and time would be too high. So will be reload to set levels only at squad ammo tin or under order from CO. The constraints on the engagement will hopefully be controlled by the bandage rulings.

That sounds fine, and what I meant by limited reloads. We'll limit it using the ammo tins and/or orders from HQ.

wrt Russian uniforms, they can really be very, very minimal - just a jacket or greatcoat and hat with any old trousers and boots and a bag to carry stuff in. How many people need to borrow stuff? They might even be able to put together something passable from what they've got - a GS shirt untucked looks quite like a gynmastorka, and hats can be pretty well anything - piltokas, ushankas, flat caps, maybe even US M1 helmets at a pinch.

I've got a spare padded jacket and an M69 jacket, we may have some other stuff between us and I'd happily do a 'looks like' guide for Russians on the cheap, but if it is only a couple of people then we may be able find some things for them.

This is the third year, so if people have not been interested to go out and get gear they probably wont. Look a like is OK but we did get moans after Luga about some of the players kit. So if your willing to deal with these moaning gits then no problem. The reason why the Militia was introduced was to give an easier option also the naval infantry in basic black could be an easier loadout.

Fair enough, it was just that you said in an earlier post that there were some people who wanted to play but weren't willing to buy kit. If we include militia/naval infantry in the uniform guide then that covers most bases, and between us we may have some bits to lend out. As for moaning gits, ffs, we aren't re-enactors and I'd much rather the game ran than have to cancel it because three people don't have the right pattern belt buckles or whatever. Again, a note on the uniform guide as to expected standards will be sufficient, but yes I am happy to talk to moaners.

Cheers
Martin

Have posted Gareth's awesome video as a teaser on the main section just to get interest up.

Nice vid well done

Just a thought the parking/camping area is in the centre of the site, will we be playing around it, out of bounds ?

Think we need a site visit for everyone as soon as we can organise. I know a couple of you will be at Tony's game if it goes ahead but still think it may be better for a walk round as all of us then we can all see all the issues at the same time and discuss.

If you're free Saturday, chief, I'm about.

Cant this weekend mate, family get together stuff, but maybe next weekend?

Trying to get some of the posts together.

For bookings the units are as follows (obviouosly this is based on original game idea so may change with Gareth's storyline):

Russians - On the one side of the line will be - 47th Naval Infantry Rifles and 8th Assault Engineers
On the other side of the line will be - 90th Infantry Rifles and No.8 Workers Militia

Germans - Think we are going to have two/three groups, being standard Heer, Gebirgsjager, and SS.
Would like to keep some continuity of the units from game to game but have lost what we titled them
at Nordlicht so any help?

I know I am going to sound like the moaning slave driver but we are into June now guys and we are still no nearer.

Yes your right, I think we need the site visit ASAP. Not sure if I can make the next couple of weeks though.

Right here is the background info Gareth has come up with:

'Leningrad has been under siege for over a year.

The former Tsarist capitol and the birthplace of Soviet Communism has endured unimaginable hardship. Civilian deaths from disease, starvation, cold and the bitter fighting has seen, at a conservative estimate, half a million perish. What remains inside the city are a battle hardened populace, survivors endured to hardship. From the battered walls of the Shlisselburg fortress, to the trenches and strongpoints on the River Neva, the surviving Soviet soldiers are determined to hold on. Leningrad has endured so much. To fail now would be unimaginable.

Only sixteen kilometers separate Leonid Govorov's Leningrad Front, dug in along the western banks of the River Neva, to Kiril Meretskov's Volkhov Front to the east. Between them are the forces of George Lindemann's German 18th Army. Part of the original offensive against Leningrad nearly a year previously, the 18th and their sister formation, the 16th, maintain the siege behind tens of thousands of miles of trenches and barbed wire. German heavy artillery, including captured French 305mm railway guns, continue to hammer the city. The Luftwaffe has, for nearly a year, held uncontested control of the skies. Three months previously, the Stavka called a halt to the Sinyavino Offensive, a failed attempt to break the siege that cost the Soviets over a hundred thousand dead. The frontline remained the same.

Unknown to the Stavka, however, it had badly disrupted and led to the eventual cancellation of a serious German attempt to take the city that was abandoned in the face of the fierce Soviet assault. Now, with the dawn of a new year, comes a new offensive. The fortunes of war are changing. Soviet forces have decisively broken the German 6th Army at Stalingrad and it is now only a matter of time before Von Paulus and the beleaguered remnants in the city are forced to surrender.

New formations raised from the vast interior of the Soviet Union are being rushed to the front. Factories in the Urals produce tanks, artillery and aircraft in their thousands every day. There is now a belief that victory is a possibility. Operation Iskra, or 'Spark', is the codename for a new Soviet offensive designed to definitively break the siege of Leningrad. '

Right can we all now agree on the following:

1) Cost for the event 30 quid.
2) Can we confirm unit numbers for German units please.
3) Are we happy with the above.

We can then post that lot and get bookings started game plan can then be discussed.

If we can all agree then lets get this up and rolling for the weekend.

a) Cost is fine, very reasonable assuming it gives us enough wedge for pyro and the like? I'm not sure how much we're planning on getting through?

b) German units:

5th Mountain Division faced the Volkhov Front.
Heer Units which served on various parts of the line included the 11th, 21st, 28th and 212th not to mention dozens of Kampfgruppen. Spanish Blue Division were there somewhere as well; I think they were near Sinyavino.
SS units included the SS Police Division, which was stripped down to form various SS Kampfgruppen. Notable regiments included SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 7 and SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 8.

c) You and I wrote and drafted it mate, so I'm biased.

Thinking about it the opportunity to have the Germans as very aggressive, highly mobile formations gives you huge freedom with the game plan. You can assume that other units are weathering the storm of the offensive and these groups are moving in, assaulting Soviet penetrations in the line and generally causing havoc.

Sorry to spam the thread. I've had a thorough read through everything I've got on Operation Iskra. If you're looking for objectives and historical formations, could be useful.

To get an idea of Operation Iskra, it's worth considering it as several battles, fought on three fronts.

The objective was to force a link up of the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts along a salient punched in the southern shores of Lake Lagoda. In distance we're talking sixteen kilometres long and eight kilometres deep. It wasn't emoty ground. This was suburban Leningrad. Aside from Shlisselburg we have numerous workers settlements and hamlets together with eense woodlands littered with bunkers and trenches, not to mention mines.

Running through the area was also a major metalled road. I've read this referred to as the Kirov Road. I'll double check that, but it was a big supply route for the 18th Army in the area. Given the awful off road conditions, it was prime real estate.

Leningrad Front had a horrendous task, crossing the frozen River Neva. Then it would have to clear the fortifications of Mar'ino and Melnitsa. The German 170th Division held the eastern bank. The Leningrad Front formed the Sixty Seventh Army into two echelons. The first, of four divisions, would cross, knock out the fortifications, then move on Workers Settlement Number Five. The second echelon was a strategic reserve.

Shlisselburg Fortress was Soviet held, the town German. Elements of the 86th Rifle Division would cross the Neva and attack Shlisselburg from the south. This was an urban, house to house fight. I'd love to include this somewhere. There are some sites at Grafton Park where we could include some CQB.

The 136th and 268th Rifle Divisions moved on Workers Settlements Number One and Five, then would hook South towards Sinyavino to push the salient back.

The Volkhov Front consisted of two armies. Its task was to move through miles of wire and mines and rendezvous with the Leningrad Front at Workers Settlements Number One and Five, then, like the Leningrad divisions, attack South to increase the depth of the salient.

The terrain on the Volkhov Front was harsh. The area had been sparsely populated before the war and infrastructure was lacking. Remote, is probably the right word.

The main line of the German defences on the Volkhov Front consisted of the Kruglaia Wood in the far south. To the north, Workers Settlement Number Eight. This is an important feature we should include if we can, even if it's just a mention. I'd include both.

Workers Settlement Number Eight was a small assortment of houses that the Germans had turned into a fortress. The Soviets had captured it during the Sinyavino offensive, but had been forced to relinquish it.

Soviet OOB Volkhov Front: 128th, 256th, 327th, 372nd Rifle Divisions in the vanguard.

All of these were assault trained and backed with tanks. There was a substantial emphasis on Recon and Assault Engineer elements.

Soviet OOB Leningrad Front: 86th, 136th, 142nd, 268th Rifle Divisions in the vanguard.

Like the Volkhov Front, all were assault trained and backed with KV1 and T34 tanks, ferried across the River Neva on wooden rails. Terrain here was easier, weather conditions aside (bitter cold and ice).

Principle objectives to consider including in the game:

Volkhov Front: Karugaila Woods (ideal for pilot rescue mission)
Workers Settlement Number 8
Lipka

Leningrad Front: Shlisselburg
Mar'ino
Melnitsa

Central objectives: Workers Settlement Number Five
Workers Settlement Number One.

If these are captured, it's a link up for the two fronts.

German considerations could include maintaining the Kirov Road to move forces and supplies through the lines. Sinyavino should feature as the high ground for artillery and dominating the road, even if it's just a mention as it was crucial. The failure to take Sinyavino ensured Leningrad remained besieged for another year.

I'll dig out some German information over the next few days, but the above will give you lads some ideas regarding naming objectives and key points on the map.

I don't really know what you've considered regarding a game plan. I think you have virtually a blank canvas to do what you want. The Germans counter attacked and gave some units free reign to operate as they saw fit, particularly the SS Kampfgruppe. Both sides can be as aggressive or defensive as you like.

Hope that was some help.

Good map of the opening moves of Iskra; helps to put everything into perspective.

a) 30 quid is fine.
c) description is fine.

b) jerry units - basically anything goes, Heer, SS, GJ (but no FJ! do we care?)

Just say 5th GJ Div, 4th SS Polizei Div and some random Inf Div, first on the list. If people really want to do the Blue Division or whatever, then fine. Stuts lot don't take a blind bit of notice about uniform restrictions anyway, they just wear what they have got.

I've been to Grafton before and was planning on looking around at Segs game, although I think he is struggling for numbers so who knows if it will happen or not.

Cheers
Martin

Thanks for putting the info up Kie.

I've slighty edited the storyline one to include a date (Jan 1943), people often like to know when things are set.

I've also updated the Russian uniform reqs as it is 1943 and winter (the original text talked about it being summer 1941). Hope that is OK.

Is to worth putting down to OCs for each side on the booking list? I've found that if there are at least a couple of names it is more encouraging to book. Tim and Gareth for the Jerries, Kieran and me for the Russians?

Cheers
Martin

I have no problem anyone making any amendments they see fit, always going to miss something or whatever.
If you want to put down the COs then yes again fine by me.

I don't have any German kit anymore, unfortunately. Could probably scrounge some.