PLAYER OPINIONS ON THE SCENARIO
"The game is an interesting take on the street fighting that occurred in Stalingrad. It is a good introduction to the system and to additional weapons and support items such as smoke, Flame throwers and Demo charges. "
"Had a great battle. Dice were about even, but man, those flamethrowers!!!!"
"Mid-game the Germans started to work their way into the Tractor Works, and I thought there was a small chance the Germans could gain foothold before the Russian reinforcements stormed the building; however, the fanatic Russians were able to win key battles and force the Germans back. "
Completed May 1, 2021
Allied-Axis-Draw (4-1-0) - Allied+.
All recorded games (21-13-1) - Balanced.
Two games ongoing, two games incomplete.
See sheet below for summary of results.
Resources
Tractor Works card
Scenario start file download
Squad Leader First Impressions article.
SQLA Officer Cadet School article.
SQLA Boys and Their Toys article.
We follow Squad Leader Academy conventions
The use of ACTS is recommended.
Squad Leader (VSQL) module 4.2.2 download
Vassal 3.2.17 download
Vassal 3.3.0+ is not compatible w/ 4.2.2
Rules
No Smoke DRM for FT and DCs.
No Smoke DRMs down a hex-edge (Q&A 17.1, SQL4 pg 23).
Schedule
Started January 2, 2021.
Completed May 1, 2021.
Historical Resources
Alan Brutus. 2019. Stalingrad: Campaign. Army University Press.
Alan Brutus. 2018. Stalingrad: Martenovskii Workshop. Army University Press. (A good documentary on urban combat if not the Tractor Works.)
Erich Schnee. 2018. The German Pioneer: Case Study of the Combat Engineer's Employment During Sustained Ground Combat. School of Advanced Military Studies. Fort Leavenworth, KS.
Stalingrad Tractor Factory: The Complete Story. Youtube. Retrieved 2020-12-14. https://youtu.be/AHzoNyh-IvQ
Historical Overview
Geocode: 48.792296,44.600959
Our scenarios ‘the Tractor Works’ and ‘Sowchos 79’ bookend one of the most significant two month periods of the twentieth century. On October 6th, the Germans are closing in on the Dzerhezinsky Tractor Works and victory in Stalingrad. A mere two months later Balck’s 11 Panzer Division is diverted from the relief of Stalingrad to deal with the Chir River crisis. Between the two dates the Soviets execute Operation Uranus, which encircles the 6th Army at Stalingrad and eventually destroys them. The world watched the Soviet Army come into its own, and start the long, bloody trek to becoming a world superpower.