Surviving The Purges

Surviving The Purges: Marching Forward with the Early-war Motostrelkovy with Jorge Sancho Caparrós The late thirties and the initial phases of World War Two were periods of great turmoil for the Red Army. Having to quickly adapt itself not only to the new demands of mechanised warfare but also rebuild its cadre of officers after the Stalinist purges. This massive but unprepared Soviet war machine had to prove himself in border conflicts against Poland, Finland and in the Far East before receiving a full scale invasion from Germany and their allies in 1941. With the release of Rising Sun last year the Soviets made a dramatic entrance into Early-war as the Flames Of War players were able to re-create the Red Army conflicts of the 1939-40 periods. Learn more about Rising Sun here...

Open a copy of Rising Sun and the Tankovy and Strelkovy battalions immediate catch your attention with their massive formations of tanks and infantry; but today we are going to focus on the Motostrelkovy. This force is the most flexible from those available to the Red Army in the Early-war period as it can combine both infantry and tanks in a crude but efficient combined arms battalion. Unlike the hyper-aggressive tank battalions or the more defensive orientated Strelkovy units, a Motostrelkovy battalion is rated as a mechanised company and therefore can be expected to attack or defend. Therefore, a perfect balance between mobility and the more static elements of the Motostrelkovy Battalion must be found.

Infantry: The Anvil The Red Army soldier of the Early-war period lacks all but the most basic of training with their performance further hampered by a very inflexible command and control structure. In Flames Of War this is reflected by their Confident Conscript rating and the Dual Command (which means your Command teams are also treated as Komissar teams and consequently you risk losing both every time you try to rally your men) and Close Supervision (which largely limits the influence of your Company Command team) special rules. Luckily the Red Army infantrymen are both numerous and cheap as you can field a complete Motostrelkovy company with 30 teams for a mere 300 points (similar to a single Panzerschützen platoon). Motostrelkovy companies are both a bit smaller and also significantly cheaper than their comrades in the Strelkovy units but in exchange they lack the ability to revamp new units with the Wave Attack rule, therefore it’s better to use them in a more cautious manner. I highly recommend bolstering the basic rifle team’s firepower with the inclusion of the two Maksim HMG teams in every Motostrelkovy company; they will prove invaluable both in the attack and on the defence. Nevertheless the shock value of these troops is very limited and being Conscript they will have difficulties surpassing Defensive Fire even with the help of the Quality of Quantity rule, so don’t waste them assaulting an intact enemy position that hasn’t been previously softened by your supporting weapons. On the other hand, the Conscript Soviet infantry is extremely resilient and is therefore ideal both to defend your own objectives and to consolidate control over the enemy’s.

Once dug-in, it will be extremely difficult for the enemy to eliminate them with pure firepower alone (since in Early-war both heavy artillery and high Firepower weapons are both rare and expensive) assaulting them can be dangerous even for the Panzers due to their high numbers.   A special mention has to be given to the 45mm obr 1937 anti-tank gun platoon in the Headquarters section; these three guns can be distributed amongst the Motostrelkovy companies giving them some essential anti-tank capability (it’s a single gun per infantry unit but it could survive quite long time when concealed amongst a sea of infantry and backed up by a couple of HMGs) or alternatively group them together as an ad-hoc anti-tank unit under the command of the 2iC team. Even if few in number, these 45mm guns have an excellent ROF and anti-tank capability and if fired from a defilade position they can dislodge the most heavily armoured Axis tank unit without much fear from returning fire.

Tanks & Armoured Cars: The Hammer While your infantry distracts the enemy, the Red Army´s armoured units can the fatal blow. Soviet tank crewmen suffer from the same Confident Conscript rating as their fellow infantrymen and are further hampered by the Hen & Chicks special rule (which basically enforce all the vehicles in a given unit to move or halt for firing as if they were a single tank) and by the maintenance and logistical problems that affected the Soviet formations of the period. Meaning that even if you can field a large tank company, once a given number of tanks are exceeded the cost of every additional tank goes up substantially, so you are therefore encouraged to field smaller, historically accurate, sized formation. But unlike the grunts, the Soviet tank men can count on some of the best hardware available for the Early-war period, specially their 45mm and long 76mm guns which are equally suited to deal with enemy Panzers and gun teams alike. A Soviet tank company can project an awesome amount of firepower, and is mainly thanks to this offensive capability that his survivability is also guarantee. W hat makes the Motostrelkovy battalion special is the fact that it can mix two different types of tank companies whether they are Light, Fast or Heavy. They can even introduce some armoured cars or scouts cars into the mix, giving them a basic flexibility that’s even greater than the one a proper Tankovy can achieve. It is also possible to back-up your Motostrelkovy with huge amounts of artillery organised in up to two batteries; being Conscripts this are more useful as direct fire weapons were they can make good use of their Volley Fire rule and excellent anti-tank capabilities.  Nevertheless in this article we will stick to Motostrelkovy forces organised around the basic combination of two infantry and two armoured units, with gun teams playing a secondary role.

1000 Point Force

Motostrelkovy Batalon (Confident Conscript) Headquarters   Motostrelkovy Batalon HQ   with Company Command Battalion Komissar team, 2iC Command Rifle Team & two 45mm obr 1937 guns. 90 points Combat Companies   Motostrelkovy Company   with HQ Section, one Machine-gun Platoon & two Motor Rifle Platoons. 215 points Motostrelkovy Company   with HQ Section, one Machine-gun Platoon & two Motor Rifle Platoons. 215 points Support Companies   Light Tankovy Company   with eight T-26 obr 1933.    285 points Armoured Car Company   with five BA-6. 185 points Total Points: 990 points

Using The 1000 Point Force After attaching one 45mm gun to each of the Motostrelkovy companies we’re left with a compact force with just four elements. While on defence the infantry should hold the line until the tanks and armoured cars come to the rescue; but if you see a good spot for ambushing the enemy deploy the T-26 instead of one of the Motostrelkovy companies. Sixteen shots at Anti-tank 7 is a fearsome proposition to even the most experienced Panzer commander! Use the armoured cars as your mobile reserves, as they are faster than the T-26s, can get additional movement when travelling roads and can even risk moving At The Double as they aren´t Unreliable like the tanks. Anyway the key to success with this force, especially when attacking, is the cooperation between tank and infantry. The tanks will prevent any assaults on your infantry with their machine-gun and cannon fire and the infantry will make it difficult for the enemy to assault or flank your tanks. They can also be used to assault and finish off enemy tanks that have been previously bailed by your own armoured units.

1250 Point Force

Motostrelkovy Batalon (Confident Conscript) Headquarters   Motostrelkovy Batalon HQ   with Company Command Battalion Komissar team, 2iC Command Rifle Team & three 45mm obr 1937 gun with Armoured Tractor Detachment. 180 points Combat Companies   Motostrelkovy Company   with HQ Section, one Machine-gun Platoon & three Motor Rifle Platoons. 300 points Motostrelkovy Company   with HQ Section, one Machine-gun Platoon & two Motor Rifle Platoons. 215 points Support Companies   Fast Tankovy Company   with eight BT-7. 370 points Armoured Car Company   with five BA-6. 185 points Total Points: 1250 points

Using The 1250 Point Force With the three guns in the HQ and the Tractor Detachment this raises is force up to six units, giving it an extra flexibility. The extra points have been used to field a full-strength Motostrelkovy company, which should form the point of the spear no matter if defending or attacking. The Light Tankovy is upgraded to a Fast Tankovy company equipped with BT-7 tanks, which provides extra mobility.

1500 Point Force

Motostrelkovy Batalon (Confident Conscript) Headquarters   Motostrelkovy Batalon HQ   with Company Command Battalion Komissar team, 2iC Command Rifle Team & three 45mm obr 1937 guns. 125 points Combat Companies   Motostrelkovy Company   with HQ section, one Machine-gun Platoon & three Motor Rifle Platoons. 300 points Motostrelkovy Company   with HQ section, one Machine-gun Platoon & two Motor Rifle Platoons. 215 points Support Companies   Fast Tankovy Company   with seven BT-7.  325 points Heavy Tankovy Company   with two T-28 obr 1933 tanks & two T-28 obr 1938 tanks with AA MG. 335 points Motorised Artillery Battalion   with HQ Section, Observer Rifle team, four 122mm obr 1938 & ZIS-5 trucks. 195 points Total Points: 1495 points

Using The 1500 Point Force At 1500 points we’ve maintained six units but we have reinforced it with the inclusion of a battery of 122mm obr 1938 howitzers; this modern weapon has a good range both in direct and indirect fire and is particularly effective if used at close range (were their Anti-tank 7, Firepower 2+ and Breakthrough gun attributes will dealt with any possible target). As they only have a ROF 1 they are also quite affordable and perfect to bolster your Motostrelkovy defensive line. When attacking they are limited by their Immobile nature but can still give you some precious support with their Firepower 3+ template. We have also exchanged the Armoured Car Company for a Heavy Tankovy Company equipped with the excellent T-28. This is my favourite Early-war tank with its perfect combination of mobility, firepower and protection. Having Wide Tracks, Top Armour 2 and a Turret-rear MG they are the perfect assault beast as many of the infantry units of the period won’t be able to even bail them out in assaults. Spearhead your advance with these excellent heavy tanks backed up by the infantry with the BTs racing to the rear of the enemy. These are just a few sample forces, as I said earlier the main strength of the Motostrelkovy battalion is its flexibility; there are many possible combinations to build a force that is both resilient and agile on the tabletop. ~ Jorge.