1003_01_Kock - Allied AI - PzC 31 Poland '39

Date: October 2nd, 1939 - Size: Small - Location: Kock

Intended for play as Axis Human vs Allied AI or Head-to-Head

Scenario Briefing: General Franciszek Kleeberg took command of the newly formed Independent Operational Group Polesie on September 11th. With only a scratch collection of training, depot, and security troops at his disposal, Kleeberg's mission was to delay the German 3rd Army on the Mukhawiec and Prypec rivers while other Polish units retreated to the southeastern corner of the country. Operational Group Polesie's lines were breached on September 15th-17th as 3rd Panzer Division, part of Guderian's XIX Motorized Corps, bypassed the Brzecz fortress and advanced as far south as Wlodawa. Fortunately for Kleeberg and his men, Guderian declined to push further south or east - in his view, the Polish remnants in the Eastern half of the country were the Red Army's problem. Three days after the fall of Brzesc, the German XIX Corps began to withdraw to the west.

Kleeberg took advantage of the vacuum that had opened between the retreating Germans and the advancing Soviets. He moved southwest and reoccupied Wlodawa on September 25th. Reinforced by remnants from three cavalry brigades, Kleeberg hoped to relieve the Warsaw garrison, but news of Warsaw's capitulation arrived before he could set out. Under the advice of General Zygmunt Podhorski (nicknamed "Zaza"), commander of an improvised cavalry division, Kleeberg moved southwest. His new intention was to capture the supply depot at Deblin, cross the Vistula and make for the Swietokrzyskie Mountains. After defeating the Soviet 143rd Rifle Division at Parczew on September 29th-30th, Operational Group Polesie moved toward the woods between Kock and Zelechow. The next day, the remnants of Orlik-Ruckemann's KOP group surrendered to the Soviets at Wytyczn. Kleeberg's command was now the last significant Polish force in the field.

German aerial reconnaissance spotted the Polesie Group on October 1st and notified the XIV Motorized Army Corps. General von Wietersheim ordered Paul Otto's 13th Motorized Infantry Division, deployed around Deblin for more than two weeks, into action. Otto assumed that the Poles were demoralized and would not put up any significant resistance. Overconfident, he dispatched just a single infantry battalion and some supporting artillery to subdue the Polish group. Advancing toward Kock and Serekomla early on October 2nd, the 3rd Battalion of the 93rd Infantry Regiment would find that the Poles were not at all ready to surrender and was thoroughly rebuffed, suffering more than two hundred casualties. Realizing his mistake, Otto ordered the rest of his division forward toward Serokomla and Talczyn a little after 07:00. Meanwile, Kleeberg had also ordered the Cavalry Brigade Edward and two regiments from the 50th Infantry Division to attack around the same time. The ensuing battle would prove to be a bloody epilogue to the first campaign of the Second World War.

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

Note: Virtual Supply Trucks are not used with this scenario.

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