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  Squad Leader

Hello and welcome to the Tamerthya Squad Leader fan page. Here, from time-to-time, you will find new scenarios, new maps, and optional rules for the Avalon Hill Squad Leader, Cross of Iron, Crecendo of Doom, and G.I. - Anvil of Victory game series. These scenarios are presented in a basic Squad Leader format, but you should feel free to adapt them to whatever version of Squad Leader that you play. Here are three new winter 1941-42 scenarios on the Russian Front for your gaming pleasure...

Scenario WH-1 - The Paw of the Bear
Scenario WH-2 - Cholm
Scenario WH-3 - Demjansk Eagle

WALDAI, Russia, December 19th, 1941: In early December, The German morale was low and they were already on defense, and had been, even before the United States entered the war. On December 5th, German High Command had issued orders to all units on the Eastern Front to hold their current positions. On the 6th of December STAVKA (Soviet High Command) issued the order to attack, and the first Russian winter offensive began. From Leningrad in the North to the Black Sea in the South the Soviets attacked, and around Moscow, and in the North, reinforced with Armies from the far east, the Soviets pushed the Germans back, in some places more than 200 miles. Bitter cold, and snow with the worst winter in recent memory, forced the werhmacht soldiers into shelter. Equipment and weapons froze, german tanks had difficulty manuevering on the ice, and in the deep snow. The bad weather made air support difficult. On the 11th of December Germany declared war on the United States, and from the 12th to the 18th, the German High Command experienced major changes as Hitler personally took command of OKW replacing or re-assigning more than 40 Divisional or Corp commanders on the Eastern Front. Hitler ordered all German units to stand fast. In Northern Russia, 21 miles northwest of Demyansk in the Waldai Heights the battle weary 30th Infanterie division stubbornly holds its position against repeated attacks from the reinforced Soviet 34th Army.

Board Configuration

Two new Squad Leader boards are featured in this scenario, Waldai Crossings, designated WX, and Waldai Heights, designated WH. Both boards are available from this website as free 150 PPI downloads. If you have a color printer, you can print the map segments directly from HTML, or, download the map segments and then print them out. Then arrange the segments so they match the map graphics you see here to create the boards. I mount the map segments on acid free binder's board, using a PVC glue, both available from Talas in New York. Talas Bookbinding. You can also find good acid free board, tools, glues, and book cloth to create your own SL maps at Bookmakers International, Ltd.  Bookmakers International The printable map segments overlap slightly, so you may have to trim them some to fit together just right. Download ready-to-print segments of the new map boards here: Download Waldai Crossings Map WX Download Waldai Heights Map WH

Special Rules
Deep Snow  -- All non-tracked vehicles should remain on roads. Any non-tracked vehicle exiting a road hex for any other kind of hex must roll 1d6, if 1-4 is the result, the vehicle is immediately immobilized (stuck in the snow) for the remainder of the current turn. A roll is required every turn during movement to get the vehicle unstuck, and an immobilization roll is required whenever a non-tracked vehicle enters, or exits any hex but a road hex. All vehicles and AFVs' moving must expend 1 additional MF for every hex they enter. German Infantry units must expend 1 additional MF for every hex they enter as well. All Infantry units may move a minimum of 1 hex during their movement phase, regardless of the MF cost to enter a hex.
Bitter Cold - All German AFV's, vehicles, and support weapons have an increased chance of breakdown, by a factor of 2, for example: A German HMG with a normal breakdown factor of 12 will breakdown on a roll of 10, 11, or 12.  All Soviet AFV's, vehicles, and support weapons have an increased chance of breakdown by a factor of 1 as well. There is also a 1 in 6 chance that any indirect Artillery FFE will not occur after the order to fire has been given.The Indirect fire request is not lost and may be re-initiated with spotting rounds, etc. in the following game turn.
No Smoke - Is available for Russian Indirect Fire Artillery

This Scenario requires 2 copies of Squad Leader, or Squad Leader, and Cross of Iron to have enough counters to play.

Victory Conditions
There are four hilltops on the Waldai Heights, Hills 761, 763, 771, and 779.
Decisive German Victory - Germans maintain control of all four hilltops.
Marginal German Victory - Germans maintain control of 3 of 4 of the hilltops.
Marginal Soviet Victory - Soviets control 2 of 4 hilltops on the Waldai Heights
Decisive Soviet Victory - Soviets control 3 or more hilltops on the Waldai Heights.
Control is defined as having a unit in the hilltop hex with no enemy present in the hex, or being the last player to have a unit to pass through the hilltop hexes. At the beginning of the game, the Germans begin with control of all the hill tops in the Waldai Heights.

Turn Record Chart
Germans Setup on WH Board as indicated. Germans move first. Soviets enter on turn one on the east edge of map 3.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

   Axis Setup - See Map Below -

	Companie 1, 6th Regiment, 30th Infanterie Division has dug in on the Waldai Heights.  All the Germans may use hidden initial placement rules, and Companie 1 may setup on any hexes, including the boundary marker hexes, within the zone indicated on the map below. Companie 1 has two modules of offboard artillery available this day.
	The remnants of companie 2 of the 30th Pioneer Battalion is also dug in, and holding the center of the ridge. Companie 2 may setup in any hexes, including the unit boundary marker hexes, within the zone indicated on the map below... Companie 2 has 1 module of offboard artillery available.
	Kamfgruppe Eiche, a detachment of the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf", and Antitank remnants of the 30th Infanterie Division may set up on any hexes including the unit boundary marker hexes, within the zone indicated on the map below...

German Setup Areas

Companie 1, 6th Regiment, 30th Infanterie Division has dug in on the Northern Waldai Heights.  The Germans may use hidden setup rules for all units, and Companie 1 may setup on any hexes, including the boundary marker hexes, within the zone indicated on the map here.           The remnants of companie 2 of the 30th Pioneer Battalion are also dug in, and holding the center of the ridge. Companie 2 may setup in any hexes, including the unit boundary marker hexes, within the zone indicated on the map here...   Kamfgruppe Eiche, a detachment of the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf", and Antitank remnants of the 30th Infanterie Division may set up on any hexes including the unit boundary marker hexes, on the southern portion of the WH map within the zone indicated on the map here...

Soviet Setup

The Elements of the 121st Rifle Division, and the 19th Tank Brigade may enter the map on turn one on the east side of SL map 3. ( North is up) All Soviet Armor and vehicles will be transporting infantry from the 121st Rifle Division. The Soviet commander may opt to have some units enter the map in later turns as well, after the 1st turn at his/her discretion. The 121st Rifle Division elements have four modules of offboard artillery available.

Aftermath
Hitler was correct this one time in ordering all the units of the Eastern Front to hold at all costs. The time the Soviets expended in overcoming small garrisons and nuetralizing stubborn smaller german units allowed the remainder of the German Army time to form up a stable winter defensive line. The cost in human life on both sides was very high. For the 30th Infanterie Division, they held their position on the Waldai heights, but were bled white in the process. Just over a month later, In January, the 3rd and 4th Soviet Shock armies on either side of the exhausted soviet 34th Army attacked and forced the germans back, surrounding the 30th Infanterie Division, the 12th Infanterie Division, the 32nd Infanterie Division, the 223rd, the 290th, and the 3rd SS Panzer Division in what became known as the Demjansk Pocket.

Variations
Companie 2, 30th Pioneer Battalion may elect to setup within 3 hexes of the two-story Inn located at the Waldai Crossings
WX Map,  hexes Q6-Q7..