World at War: The Relief of Tanenhause (Part 1)

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Today, I'm doing an AAR of another great scenario from LnL's World at War Compendium which was originally featured somewhere in the first seven issues of Lock 'n Load Publishing's in-house gaming magazine, "Line of Fire".

"The Relief of Tanenhause" has everything a World at War player could want.  It features a tough battle between the Soviet 2nd Airborne as they try desperately to defend the city of Tanenhause from an impressive German assault that includes three companies of tanks, infantry and armored personnel carriers.  

The Soviet 74th Guards Tank Regiment (GdT) is racing to Tanenhause to reinforce the 2nd Airborne.  Before the game starts, the Soviet player writes down (on the usual beverage-stained napkin) on which turn the Soviet tanks arrive.  The earlier the Soviet player elects to have the tanks arrive, the fewer units he receives.  Since I'm playing solo on this outing and I'm horrible at keeping secrets from myself, I'll roll a dice each turn and if the result is lower than or equal to the dice number, the 74th GdT will arrive.

This is a short scenario (only 8 turns long) but the map is small so maneuver and close assault will definitely be a  major factor in determining the winner.  So off we go:  The Soviet 2nd Airborne sets up in Tanenhause and its environs with only five infantry, an T12 AT gun with a Songster, Sagger missiles, and a light mortar.  

The Germans get the full works, including the 1/163rd Panzer with several M48 tanks and the 2/182 Panzergrenadier with infantry, Milan AT missiles, mortars, and Marder APCs.  These two groups set up east of Tanenhause.  And if that's not enough, the Germans also get the 2/174 Panzer with Leopard tanks, a Luchs and a Jaguar, all of which set up on the south board in a city hex.

Cornered:  The 2nd Airborne sits surrounded in the NE corner of the map.

The above image might be a bit too small to make out what's really happening, so I find the best solution is to right click on it and select "Open in new tab".  You can then zoom in on the image in the new tab.

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