Russia in the Rain, August 1943

     A German platoon had made itself comfortable in a cluster of buildings that had been a Russian dacha. Their Russian opponents thought the Germans would be more comfortable in the fields. So when a wayward infantry gun stopped by Lieutenant Bobov’s camp for some borscht and vodka, it found itself commandeered and deployed to a hillock overlooking the dacha.
     The Germans took it personally when 76mm shells began falling around the dacha.
     Leutnant Gregor took two sections and tried to run from the south end of the buildings to the southern finger of woods that led to the hillock. Sergeant Von Brendan led his section to the stone wall on the north end of the dacha. Unfortunately for the Germans the maneuver did not go as planned.
     One section did not make the cover of the woods and Brendan was met by withering fire from a Russian Maxim and the infantry gun. Brendan was pinned. Then the Maxim turned on Gregor’s floundering section and decimated it. (it helped the Russians got several “go again” phases).
     With Bobov’s heavies minimizing the threat, Senior Sergeant Grasonovich led two Russian sections into the south finger of woods. They soon contacted Gregor’s three teams. The ensuing firefight did not go well for Gregor and his second LMG section broke for the rear.
     Desperate times call for desperate measure and Obergegefreiter Hans ordered his riflemen to throw “Handgranaten”. The hail of grenades pinned one of Grasonovich’s sections.
     All the while Von Brendan had been directing the fire of the platoon’s 5cm mortar on the infantry gun, even as it continued to batter his pinned section. The mortar had deadly effect. Three crewman fell dead to the tiny bombs. When Gregor managed to rally an MG42 team and add its fire, the gun was abandoned by the sole survivor, the corporal.
     Then came the rain. Threatening all morning it now came down in torrents, cutting visibility and adding to the general misery.
     Under this cover, Bobov maneuverd his lone infantry section to take Gregor’s lead remnants in the flank and allow Grasonovich to continue pressing. However, with the infantry gun out of action and the Maxim too far away to see in the rain, Von Brendan could now add his support to Gregor.
     The result was a draw; both sides caught in a crossfire in the downpour. Even Bobov’s section was brought under fire by both Von Brendan and Gregor’s reconstituted MG team.
     The Germans took 18 casualties, killed and wounded, out of 33 engaged. The Russians lost 16 casualties out of 41 engaged. However, the Russians lost 1 leader killed and 2 more wounded (out of 5) while the German loss was only 1 leader wounded (out of 4). 
Chain of Command rules, 20mm figures.