Robert Martin’s back again this week with the continuation of his series on the Battle of Krasny Bor and the actions of the Spanish Blue Division as part of the Siege of Leningrad. This second scenario focuses on the struggle for control of the October Railway Station…
Last Stop October
Krasny Bor, late morning 10 February 1943. Having overwhelmed the Spanish frontline, the Russians pushed into Krasny Bor. A company of Spaniards held the October Railway Station and managed to repulse several infantry and armoured attacks before the forty survivors finally abandoned the position and retreated into the village just after midday.
Soviet artillery pounds the Blue Division’s positions.
Forces
The Spanish player has a single reinforced platoon consisting of a 1st Lieutenant, a PAK 40, an AT Rifle team, an MMG team, and three ten-man sections, each with an SMG, eight riflemen, one LMG and AT grenades. All Spanish troops are veteran.
The Russian player has two regular Guards reinforced platoons led by a Captain, supported by two T34, each platoon has a 1st Lieutenant, a two-man medic team, and three ten-man squads (two rifle squads with nine rifles and one LMG, one SMG squad with nine SMG and one LMG, and an inexperienced rifle squad with twelve rifles).
If players wish to choose their own forces, use the Blue Division force selector in this article and the Operation Uranus selector from the Armies of the Soviet Union book.
The Russians get twice as many points as the Spanish.
The Spanish may not select any vehicles and the only artillery they may choose is a single PAK 36. The only vehicles the Russians can choose are KV1s and T34s.
Spanish soldiers on the advance!
Setup
The game is played on a normal 6’ by 4’ board. At the centre is the October Railway Station, a single storey building large enough to accommodate two squads. Around the station, within the central 2’ by 2’ of the board, place several buildings, some intact and some damaged.
Deployment
The Spanish set up two units in the station and all other units in buildings.
The Russians enter from the southern board edge on turn 1.
Objective
The Russians are attempting to take control of the October Railway Station and clear out all defenders. The Spanish must prevent this at all costs.
Game Duration
The game lasts six turns.
Victory
The Russians win at the end of the game if there are no Spanish units in the station. Any other result is a Spanish victory.
Scenario by Robert Martin
Spanish Blue Division
Drawn from volunteers of Francoist Spain, the Blue Division operated on the Eastern Front as part of the German Wehrmacht in World War Two. Officially designated the Spanish Volunteer Army by the Spanish Army, and the 250th Infantry Division by the Wehrmacht. Though Spain, under the regime of Francisco Franco, remained a neutral power during the war, Franco sympathised with the Axis powers.
The unit participated in the Siege of Leningrad, but was withdrawn from the front in October 1943, though many chose not to, some forming the short-lived Blue Legion, or incorporated into other units like the Waffen-SS. They were singled out for praise by Hitler, receiving the “Spanish Volunteer Medal”, for displaying effectiveness in impeding the Red Army’s advance. The Red Army suffered 49,300 casualties in actions against the Blue Division.
