John versus the German High Command -- A Short Game of Barbarossa

John, Zach, and I got together over the weekend for an introductory game of Barbarossa. We played the learning scenario for Army Group Center - which centers on the fight between the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division and the 18th Panzer Division - and wouldn't you know it, but we sure learned a lot in this game.

Zach started off commanding the 18th Panzer Division and John took control of the Russians. As a side note, the MVP of this game was the sole anti-airman on the ground with John's HQ. Thanks to his excellent anti-air coverage (John's incredible die rolls) not one of the Axis air units would come into play this game. For the 6 possible interdiction & CAS missions possible, not one went through this game.

Not a single ZIS truck was the be bloodied in this game.

Zach started off with a schwerpunkt up the highway on the way to Smolensk by trying to blast his way through Novyy Borisov. After lots of odds and DRM calculations, John held the town & its strongpoint, dealing a hefty blow to Zach's initial plans. John's reinforcements were thinning, though, and after some additional maneuvering, the German High Command sacked Zach of his command and put yours truly in place to get the job done (in other words, Zach had Sunday afternoon errands to attend to).

Realizing I'd advised John to put a gap in his ZOC line - which I still maintain was entirely accidental - I sent my flame panzers and a regiment of motorized infantry over the river to try and pierce John's line, prevent the use of his artillery, and hopefully result in a catastrophic loss for John's infantry and armor in Novyy Borisov.

Sadly, no luck was to be had for the Germans. I took the artillery's position (sadly without overrunning them) but failed to budge John from Novyy Borisov. On John's turn, his reinforcing armor and forces to the south threw back my forces across the river. 

Left with no choice, I sent the remaining parts of the 18th Panzer Division north against the independent Russian regiment and I launched a counterattack with the lone motorized regiment again across the river into the 2nd victory location. Despite securing 2 VPs on the final turn, it was too little too late. With 3 of the 5 VPs, John won a hard fought victory.