The Battle of Suomussalmi -- Motti Tactics in TSWW Hakkaa Päälle

In my last post on TSWW, I discussed in brief (and somehow still at length?) the combat system in the series developed by Diffraction Entertainment/TKC Games, but I did so in a way and manner that seemed to suggest I'd never before punched out the counters in a TSWW game before. That was an oversight on my part. A couple of years ago, I opened up the introductory game on the invasion of Crete published by Diffraction Entertainment and made a run at playing the game and learning the system. (You can find that post here.) I was so in over my head at the time, though, that I neither thought to take notes on the system, nor did I give myself much in the way of knowledge retention with such a short introduction. So, TSWW Hakkaa Päälle this time around feels like a fresh (re)introduction.

After working my way through some of the introductory learning scenarios (one on land combat on the Karelian isthmus and two on air-to-air combat over Helsinki), I punched out the counters for the first, substantive scenario (dealing with Finland) in TSWW Hakkaa Päälle: the Battle of Suomussalmi. 

If I had the energy in me right now, Id replay this utilizing the 5 Day variant rules provided for by TSWW game system. I chose to stay with half month turns, however, since that's primarily what the system was designed for. Given the limitations facing the Russian player, if there's much in the way of options afforded that side in this scenario, the 5 Day variant would likely bring more fluidity and flexibility to the strategy either side can take.

So, just what is the Battle of Suomussalmi? Suomussalmi is a town/municipality in east-central Finland. At the start of the Winter War, it lied in the path of advance for the Russian 9th Army in December 1939. It was in and around Suomussalmi in December and January 1940 that the Finns first employed and perfected their use of motti tactics: the isolation, encirclement, and destruction in detail of diffuse, enemy forces. In the Battle of Suomussalmi scenario, the Finns have one month (the Dec I 1939 and Dec II 1939 turns) to halt and repulse the western advance of the Russians as they cross the Finnish border, led by the 163rd Rifle Division and followed up by the 44th Rifle Division.

Before we take a quick look at the field, it bears mentioning that the weather conditions are less than ideal for any sort of Russian advance. 

Getting cold yet?

The weather is rated as severe and freezing for the month of December. That means snow, lots of snow. Infantry movement in this part of Finland, which is not supported by dirt tracks or gravel roads, effectively limits the advance of infantry to one hex per movement phase; advancing in wooded terrain, not to mention in the presence of hills or other terrain features, with a movement point value of 6, does not provide much in the way of flexibility when you're paying 4 movement points to huff it through the snow. (Hold this in the back of your mind for a moment).

Initial Russian set up and arrival of Finnish reinforcements on the Dec I 1939 turn.

Pictured above, we have the initial set up of forces in the Battle of Suomussalmi. The Finnish reinforcements that arrive on turn one already arrived three hexes west of the town (located at hex 4529). By scenario design, in compliance with the general rules, the Russians of the 163rd Rifle Division start the game overextended (out of supply), but not isolated. The 9th Army HQ is pictured mostly off camera on the bottom right of the screen. The 9th Army HQ stayed where it was located on the far extent of the low capacity railhead; with only two turns to advance the HQ west, I decided to leave it where it was. It wouldn't get far enough in the snow (oh ... even though it would use cavalry movement, which I had forgotten) in only two turns to have as positive an impact on the supply situation of the 163rd in exchange for the danger it would be put in advancing that far near the Finnish forces unsupported and in range of their skiers. As such, while the army HQ could have maybe alleviated the Russian supply difficulties in this game, especially if I was using the five-day variant rules, it remained of trivial importance this time around. So, the focus is solely on the 163rd.

The Finns move to contact.

The Finns opened the battle moving to isolate the 662nd regiment from its sister regiments to the north and south. The two regiments of newly arrived ski troops, led by General Siilasvuo, approached from the west while the light infantry brigade (equivalent) moves into Oltava in support.  (I placed General Siilasvuo wrong in the first image, so ignore the fact that he more or less teleports to north of Oltava on turn one). With the lake and the river (both frozen) between the Russians in Suomussalmi and the Räsänan light infantry, I was perfectly set up to bring all of my forces to bear on the first Russian rifle regiment while dealing a backhand blow to the second (still in Suomussalmi) when the Russian move turn came. 

On the north edge of the lake adjacent to Suomussalmi, the Finns went to work against the unsupported Russians. The Ski troopers (benefitting from their treatment as Cav for determining their CEV as well as the light infantry attack bonus) rack up several benefits in the odds calculation against the Russians. Ski Troopers plus (attack value of 3 x 1.5 Cav bonus to CEV x 1.6 CEV x 1.35 woods in poor weather) Light Infantry brigade (attack value of 1 x 1.4 CEV x 1 woods in poor weather) = 11.12 / 4 (for the Russians with 1 CEV and defending at 1 in the woods). DRM shakes out to net -1 (-1 for woods, - 2 for freezing weather, +2 for the light infantry bonus). The die roll differential shakes out on the Finnish favor resulting in a 3:1 combat odds. With the combat die roll, I rolled a 7 and at -1, landed an exchange result. 

The belligerents trade blows (and the Finns come out on top).

At the cost of the 25th regiment of ski troopers, the Finns under General Siilasvuo managed to wipe out the entire regiment.

Next up, the Russian response. Spurred on by their fanatic political officers, the Russians must advance west every game turn and make for the exit of the scenario edge. Beset by terrible road conditions and little to no supplies, the Russians can't expect to make it far. Consuming the GSPs that they have on hand to make temporary, general supply, the two regiments advance one hex west apiece. Entering the frozen lakes hex adjacent to the Finnish light infantry brigade, the Russian 759th regiment undertakes a mandatory attack against the defenders across the frozen river. To support the attack, the Russians send their only bombers in the vicinity, two wings. In response, the Finnish air force send a squadron of Gladiator biplanes to intercept them.

The Gloster Gladiator: tiny but mighty.

The squadron managed to intercept one of the two Russian wings. In an exchange of fire over the Finnish countryside, the Finnish pilots managed to turn back some of the attackers, but not all of them. The Tupolev SBs passed through the interceptors unharmed to make their bombing run on the defending Finnish infantry. Their bombs landed, but doing little more than damaging a few trucks and putting a machine gun out of action. The bombers returned back to base unmolested, but also without a credible contribution to claim in the battle's favor. 

A Tupolev SB bomber pictured during the Winter War

Not to be deterred when fanatical doctrine is there to guide you, the Russian officers immediately made their crossing to get at the Finnish defenders before they could be reinforced. The result, was near run, yet still a disaster. The Finns defended at a strength of 1.4. The Russians, with a combat factor of 4, were set back by their lack of supplies. The resulting .75 CEV bumped them down to 3, which divided by 1.4, did not leave good chance for getting beyond 2:1 combat odds. Losing the differential die roll, the Russians went in at 2:1 odds. The die roll modifiers are what really killed them though: -1 for the woods, -1 for the river, and -2 for attacking in the frozen snow. A die roll of 7, knocked down to 3, yielded a quartered result. The regiment was lost outright. 

With the 759th out of action, Suomussalmi is open for the taking.

Just like that, the Russians were down to just one effective regiment of infantry. And then on came four additional regiments of Ski troops to reinforce the Finnish counterattack. The 64th and 65th regiments, linking up with the 27th, swung around the flank of the remnants of the 163rd Rifle Division east of Taivalkoski. Again in support of General Siilasvuo, the Räsänan light infantry helped to finally pull of a concentric attack against the last of the Russians in the vicinity. The remaining regiments of skiers meanwhile took up positions inside of and south of Suomussalmi to ward off any immediate counter-moves by the 44th Rifle Division and the other units in support of the Russian 9th Army. No such answers were possible, though.

The Finns reconsolidate the line around Suomussalmi and reestablish the integrity of their borders with the USSR.

Finnish Blenheims, in support of the last Finnish attack, appeared over the battlefield uncontested but failed to make any meaningful contribution. They were simply few too in number, but not that Siilasvuo needed the support at this point. The Finns launched their concentric attack at 3:1 odds with a +1 die roll modifier (having cut off the Russians out in the open) and rolled a natural 10 on the combat results table. Modified to an eleven, the Russians were cut down where they stood. Flight or no flight, the last of the 163rd didn't stand a chance against the fast moving and hard hitting Finns.

And with that, it was effectively game over. With no let up to the weather conditions and the Russian reinforcements making terrible time to reach the Suomussalmi sector, I called it a game. Had I run this on the 5-day variant, maybe the Russians would have had better options. But, again, this is why the majority of the scenarios in TSWW amount to something more like a simulation than a game, because even though it can play out differently, even though the details are different, the rules of the game simulate prior realities. With three victory points to the Russian one VP, the Finns claim a minor, but still deserved, victory.