AAR: Agony at Arnautovo (AP23/280)

SITREP

Russian troops launched a surprise sortie against the village of Arnautovo which was held by the Italian Valchiese Battalion of the 6^th Alpini Regiment and some divisional artillery. To add to the dismay of the Italian defenders, they were also beset by Russian partisans coming from the southwest. The Italian artillery gunners had to use direct fire in their desperate attempt to stave off the Russian attack . . .

The Players

Neal – Italians – Defending:
Valchiese Battalion, 6^th Alpini Regiment, Bergamo Artillery Group, Tridentina Division/5^th Alpini Regiment

Scott – Russians – Attacking:
17^th Tank Corps and Local Partisans

After Action Report

Location:
Arnautovo, Russia

Date:
24 January 1943

ROAR Balance*	Archive Balance*
Italians 45	Italians 9
Russians 67	Russians 13
*As of posting of this AAR.

Neal (Defending)

Advantages

• Elite Italian squads with ELR 5? Yes please.
• Hidden ART guns.
• Late-game reinforcements with a 10-2!

Disadvantages

• Small starting force.
• Lack of effective anti-tank capability against T-34s.
• Defend dispersed village buildings.

There’s nothing quite like trying to hold a Russian village in January 1943 with five squads and prayers scribbled on ration paper. I drew the Italians, specifically the elite (rare!) but outgunned Valchiese Battalion of the 6th Alpini Regiment…those mountain troops tragically deployed to the flat, wind-swept steppes of Russia. Historically, they were part of the Tridentina Division, the only Alpine formation to avoid total destruction during Operation Little Saturn.

This scenario? That same retreat played out 40 meters at a time, hex by hex.

My goal was to delay the inevitable…hold out with a scratch force until my reinforcements could arrive from the west and retake parts of the village I was sure to lose early on. My setup leaned forward: squads deployed near the east edge of the village to slow the Russian advance across the open ground, a terrain choice that was either courageous or idiotic, depending on how much vodka you’d had. But it offered at least the illusion of control and potential point-blank shots on advancing troops.

I emplaced my two artillery pieces (75mm mountain guns) on the central hills with good LOS across the village approaches. While their HE (only) capability could theoretically hammer infantry, they were effectively useless against the T-34s thundering into view. My anti-tank gun (a Cannone da 47/32, 47mm) hid in CC6 on the flank, just in case the Red armor got too bold. The jewel of my defense was the 8-1 leader and a squad with a heavy machine gun in CC7, anchoring the hill flank like it was Monte Grappa.

The first Soviet moves were fast and brutal. Scott played it like Zhukov: aggressive, methodical, and utterly unafraid of casualties. His right flank surged forward under armored assault, infantry moving with T-34s, and his firebase in the center pinned down my defense before I could properly react. Within two turns, I had a broken squad routing into irrelevance, my central stack suppressed, and an overwhelming sense that this was not going to be a relaxing afternoon.

I caught one T-34 in the open, side shot, point-blank, with an artillery piece, and felt a flicker of hope. That flicker died fast. The gun lacked AP rounds; even at that range, it might as well have been a spitball. I rolled anyway. Nothing. Not even a crew morale check. That was the moment I knew this battle would be decided by infantry, not guns.

The Partisan flank arrived on Turn 2, creeping over the icy hills like ghosts with Mosins. I shredded one squad with my heavy machine gun—good feeling—but a poorly timed cower result (forgot to include the leader) meant I couldn’t follow up. That blunder let more of them press in.

The snow rules began grinding everything down. Every movement uphill cost extra MPs. Open ground became death traps. All units had to CX just to maintain pace, which in turn made them easier to break and harder to rally. And the hills? Well, when it’s snow-covered elevation, you don’t just climb a hill you wage war against gravity as well.

By Turn 3, Scott’s Soviets had overrun the village. He knocked out my guns, swept through buildings, and I had only a few broken squads in retreat. The only bright side: he was stretched thin now, occupying buildings, flanking, and setting up against a counterattack he knew was coming.

That counterattack came in the form of my reinforcements: proper Alpini squads, demo charges, and a heroic 10-2 leader named Ulenetti. I brought them on the southern edge to avoid the frozen gully on the west. I pressed forward, reclaimed buildings, and found just enough momentum to hope. Ulenetti, blessed by the dice gods, battle-hardened into a 10-3, immortalized forever in my logs as “Obi-Wan.”

My Italians fought with fury, retaking the southern village house by house. Fire discipline, well-placed machine guns, and creative use of terrain allowed me to claw back 7 buildings. Then 9. Then 11, with #12 locked in melee.

But I needed one more across the central road, #13. Obi-Wan led a desperate charge up the hill with two squads to claim it. They were met with last-ditch Soviet Defensive Fire and got pinned…the entire stack. They couldn’t advance into CC to secure #13. Game. Set. Matryoshka.

Scott (Attacking)

Advantages

• Early numerical superiority.
• T-34s.

Disadvantages

• Snow and hill terrain hampers movement.
• ELR 3.
• Limited time to capture before Alpini counterattack.
• Partisans.

This was a proper Eastern Front slugfest…snow drifting into foxholes, the crack of Mosins in the tree line, and tank treads chewing through frozen orchards. I had the honor of playing the Soviets and local Partisans, facing off against a thin screen of Italians already weary from the long retreat from the Don.

From the start, I took the initiative. With only five Italian squads on the map, I pushed hard on all fronts. The southern flank was my main effort: armored assault with two T-34/76s escorting infantry, charging over the snow-covered hill and straight toward the village outskirts. I wanted to punch through early, take buildings, and force Neal to defend deep rather than delay forward.

My central firebase, anchored by a 9-1 and twin MMGs, laid suppressive fire down the village avenues, stifling his response. On my right, I committed my 4-5-8 squads under an 8-0 to swing wide but ultimately avoided the frozen stream…crossing that icy gully, under fire, would’ve cost me turns and squads.

The terrain dictated tempo. Ground snow rules doubled the cost of moving uphill. Throw in hill hexes and you’re looking at units having to CX just to get into position.

By Turn 2, I’d broken his forward line. One of his key stacks collapsed after sustained fire. Another squad routed so far it never returned. With nothing able to check my advance, I surged forward. The T-34s were untouchable…his artillery bounced rounds off their armor, and his anti-tank gun stayed silent or was bypassed entirely. They provided perfect cover for infantry who followed behind in assault formation.

Then came the Partisans…scrappy, poorly armed, but ideal for flushing out positions. They entered on the northwest hill line and caught a faceful of lead from a hidden HMG. I lost a full squad outright, but the survivors managed to spot his gun nest and force a reveal. A fair trade. I didn’t press them further but instead let them harass the flank and tie down defenders.

I captured building after building. My squads swept the southern village, clearing out the defenders piecemeal. Melee, close combat, and sheer volume of fire carried the day. One artillery crew was eliminated in HtH. Another routed and abandoned its gun. I even sniped one of his leaders with a well-timed roll.

But the longer I pushed, the thinner I got. By Turn 4, I was stretched across every sector, covering every approach, and trying to set up for what I knew was coming: the Italian counterattack.

When it hit, it hit hard.

Alpini reinforcements surged onto the southern board edge, demo charges in hand, leaders barking orders. I held the high ground, but the snow and hills worked both ways. Italian squads bypassed the worst terrain and began recapturing the town block by block. He coordinated his forces well: OB movement, covered approaches, and target-rich fire groups.

Then came Ulenetti.

Originally a 10-2, he battle-hardened into a 10-3! (Obi-Wan on the battlefield) after surviving a morale check. From that moment on, he was an unstoppable juggernaut. His stack became a morale buffer…squads under his command simply refused to break. I tried to isolate and break them piecemeal, but nothing stuck. He retook the HMG I had captured. He rallied squads at will. He became the core of the Italian counterattack.

My squads, by contrast, began collapsing. Low ELR led to mass degradation…first-line squads became conscripts after failed MCs. With weakened morale, I couldn’t rally them fast enough. My T-34s couldn’t help—their MGs were all I had left, and one even lost its main gun to a malfunction.

Still, I managed to hold 13 buildings.

His final turn was surgical…melee in X6, fire into Y6, sweeping movement across the south. He captured his 12th building and was poised to take a 13th: V6, across the central road. He sent Obi-Wan and two squads charging the hill. They survived Defensive Fire…barely. All three units were pinned instead. No advance.

I held V6. I held the game.

What a nailbiter!

Debriefing

This scenario is a love letter to the desperate fighting during the Italian retreat from the Don in January 1943. Historically, Soviet forces launched Operation Little Saturn to exploit Axis weaknesses. The Italian Alpine Corps (trained for mountain warfare) found themselves defending frozen villages like Arnautovo against tanks, snow, and sheer attrition. The Tridentina Division did manage a fighting withdrawal, but only after bitter rearguard actions and staggering losses.

In this scenario, that struggle plays out beautifully. The Soviets must push quickly, overwhelm the initial defense, and brace for the inevitable Alpini reprisal. The Italians are trapped in a vice: survive long enough to counterattack, then make it count.

Neal nearly did. His counterattack was textbook: concentrated force, elevation advantage, and morale discipline under a heroic leader. Scott’s defense of the final building was desperate, improvised, and just barely enough.

The game ends Russians 13 buildings, Italians 11 buildings, with 1 building locked in melee…an ASL photo finish. A great scenario, tactically rich and evocative of a forgotten front. And a sharp reminder: the Eastern Front always finds a way to grind you down.

GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!!

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