Poland: Battle of Mokra

1 Battle of Mokra

(Rules: Memoir 44)


There have been various versions of the battle published online and the one selected for this was the BREAKTHROUGH version that provided some depth to the battlefield.  Although victory was defined as ten banners this was only through elimination of units with no objectives given.  The attached pictures were taken every two turns during the game.  

 

 


Set up is pre-set so that the battle starts with a German tank column having already penetrated the defences.  The elements specific to the Polish campaign is that the Polish tankettes are represented by the reduction of the standard tank unit from three figures to two, four of the nine infantry units are rated as cavalry and BLITZ rules are in effect, which means the German aircraft are more effective and the Poles are not allowed any.

The Germans started by trying to push through the middle with their tanks.  They were shot to pieces by the artillery.  

They then tried attacking on the flanks; they got shot to pieces but were able to absorb hits enough to get counter-play that ultimately broke the defending units.  


The last defending infantry is about to go down, leaving a single cavalry outpost in the middle.  The Poles had used their spare moves to construct a second line along the railway embankment and move up their tankettes.  


The Germans had a very useful air attack that damaged four units and then whittled away the reserves behind the front line.


The second German line of tanks slowly grinds through the artillery line being counter-attacked by the Polish tankettes, whose brittleness results in them soon succumbing to combat losses.


The Germans have also taken loses and many of the attacking tanks have suffered attrition.  They are confronted by the remnants of the first line before moving onto the second defensive line.


The German attack group clusters around the remaining Polish cavalry in the front line.  Despite replenishing casualties, the lead group remains vulnerable, being targeted by two artillery units.  The crushing finale is the play of a barrage card that took out the remaining two figures and eliminated the unit, giving a ten-seven victory to the Poles.

 

The game did show the weakness of tankettes and the mobility of cavalry, as well as the value of airpower.  However, mainly the game demonstrated Napoleon’s maxim about being lucky: good card-draw and dice rolling solves all!




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