0901_06a_Warta - Axis AI - PzC 31 Poland '39

Date: September 1st, 1939 - Size: Medium - Location: Lodz

Intended for play as Allied Human vs Axis AI

Scenario Briefing: Deployed on the border northeast of Oppeln, Walter von Reichenau's powerful 10th Army was assigned the main effort against Warsaw. Led by two Panzer divisions, Von Reichenau's forces were to smash through the Polish border defenses and push towards the Polish capital from the southwest via Lodz and Kielce. Julius Rommel's Lodz Army opposed the German advance.

Rommel's forces faced long odds. Against a larger German army supported by ten Panzer battalions, the Polish general could count on just a few companies of tankettes and two armored trains. With insufficient manpower to defend the the entire border, Rommel assigned two divisions to defend strong points near the border and held two more in reserve that could occupy the fortifications on the Warta and Widawka rivers. Hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, the Lodz Army's task was not to defend the border indefinitely, but to slow the Germans down and buy time for the still-mobilizing Prusy Army to concentrate.

Polish defensive doctrine placed little faith in static defenses and instead emphasized the need for an operational-level counterattack. Once fully mobilized and concentrated, Prusy Army was supposed to deliver a powerful blow against hopefully tired and strung out German forces, blunting the German assault and flinging Germany's most powerful army away from Warsaw.

If the Polish plan was to succeed, Army Lodz needed to buy time.The Polish command estimated that the Prusy Army could not be ready to attack for four days. Though Rommel's forces were disciplined and motivated, elan alone could not overcome such extreme material and numerical disadvantages. A premature retreat of Army Lodz was almost inevitable.

Recommended Rules: (Default)
Alternative Assault Resolution, Artillery Set Up, Recon Spotting, Virtual Supply Trucks, Optional Surrender, Low Visibility Air Effects, Quality Fatigue Modifier, Counter Battery Fire, Night Fatigue, Programmed Weather.

Additionally, Delayed Disruption Reporting will provide a more challenging experience for the attacking player.

Design Notes:

1. This short version of the scenario lasts from September 1st-3rd and focuses on the fighting at the border.

2. The distant, high-value objective hexes located behind the Warta and Widawka rivers, Lodz, and other towns and cities are not needed for a German victory and are likely inaccessible given the short duration of the scenario. They are meant to reward the German player should he achieve some improbable breakthrough.

3. The low-value objectives near the border expire at the end of the first day. These may be very difficult to capture before they expire and are not required for a German victory. Their purpose is to penalize the Polish player somewhat should he choose to abandon the border immediately.

4. This scenario uses conditional reinforcements. The arrival of some Polish reinforcements is tied to control of certain objective hexes.