** Arctic Front: On Familiar Ground - The Matrix Games version of East Front II
| Rating: | 2.8 (3) |
| Games Played: | 3 |
| SM: | 6 |
| Turns: | 30 |
| Type: | Custom |
| First Side: | Finland |
| Second Side: | USSR |
| Downloads: | 393 |
18 August, 1941
[Vuoksi river, 40 km E of Viborg, Karelian Isthmus Finland] [H2H] [HIS] [CSL]
10 July 1941 marked the beginning of a Finnish push for the reconquest of Karelian Isthmus, ceded to Soviet Union after Winter War. River Vuoksi marked a formidable object to these plans, and on August 16, Col. Pajari's 18th Division was given orders to secure a bridgehead south of the river. Moving forward, they soon identified a weakly defended sector some 10 km west of Vuosalmi. As it happened, the location was by the narrow Hopeasalmi straits the 18.D was intimately familiar with from their peacetime wargames in the area.
During the night of August 17th, Pajari send his 27th IR to silently cross the river, with orders to secure a bridgehead south of the river. Then, as the regiment artillery would join in support, they would continue towards the vital ground of Kylä-Paakkola heights, a location fiercely contested during the last days of Winter War. At the same time, the 49th IR would advance towards Vuosalmi from North.
In the morning of August 18th Colonel Koptevski begun to realise the grim situation of his rag tag battle group, put together from various bits of surviving Red Army units in the area. Having finally received the permission to form a new defensive line south of the river, albeit with orders to still maintain a bridgehead on the northern shores, he had planned for a determined rearguard action against a Finnish attack from the North. Instead, he faced an imminent danger of encirclement before the reinforcements he knew were already on their way would reach the area.
(Player note: please make sure you are familiar with bridging engineers (building medium bridges), construction engineers (building trenches), and loading and unloading crewed boats and ferries.)
---
(Scenario picture: 'Men of III/IR 27 are crossing river Vuoksi with boats and assault boats. Hopeasalmi, Vuoksi 18 Aug 1941'. Source: SA-kuva.fi)
[Scandinavian Terrain Mod recommended to be enabled when playing this scenario]
[ALL: N AF: N VV][2.0]
---
Related Scenarios:
** Arctic Front: Across River Vuoksi - RKKA attempt to cross the river during their Summer 1944 Viborg Offensive
Errata
Updated 15 Nov 2015: fixed a couple of shallow water hexes, also containing Rubble. (Rubble does not show in water. Sorry!).
Updated 15 Oct 2015: fixed a pontoon bridge hex at 39,38 containing Rubble.
[Vuoksi river, 40 km E of Viborg, Karelian Isthmus Finland] [H2H] [HIS] [CSL]
10 July 1941 marked the beginning of a Finnish push for the reconquest of Karelian Isthmus, ceded to Soviet Union after Winter War. River Vuoksi marked a formidable object to these plans, and on August 16, Col. Pajari's 18th Division was given orders to secure a bridgehead south of the river. Moving forward, they soon identified a weakly defended sector some 10 km west of Vuosalmi. As it happened, the location was by the narrow Hopeasalmi straits the 18.D was intimately familiar with from their peacetime wargames in the area.
During the night of August 17th, Pajari send his 27th IR to silently cross the river, with orders to secure a bridgehead south of the river. Then, as the regiment artillery would join in support, they would continue towards the vital ground of Kylä-Paakkola heights, a location fiercely contested during the last days of Winter War. At the same time, the 49th IR would advance towards Vuosalmi from North.
In the morning of August 18th Colonel Koptevski begun to realise the grim situation of his rag tag battle group, put together from various bits of surviving Red Army units in the area. Having finally received the permission to form a new defensive line south of the river, albeit with orders to still maintain a bridgehead on the northern shores, he had planned for a determined rearguard action against a Finnish attack from the North. Instead, he faced an imminent danger of encirclement before the reinforcements he knew were already on their way would reach the area.
(Player note: please make sure you are familiar with bridging engineers (building medium bridges), construction engineers (building trenches), and loading and unloading crewed boats and ferries.)
---
(Scenario picture: 'Men of III/IR 27 are crossing river Vuoksi with boats and assault boats. Hopeasalmi, Vuoksi 18 Aug 1941'. Source: SA-kuva.fi)
[Scandinavian Terrain Mod recommended to be enabled when playing this scenario]
[ALL: N AF: N VV][2.0]
---
Related Scenarios:
** Arctic Front: Across River Vuoksi - RKKA attempt to cross the river during their Summer 1944 Viborg Offensive
Errata
Updated 15 Nov 2015: fixed a couple of shallow water hexes, also containing Rubble. (Rubble does not show in water. Sorry!).
Updated 15 Oct 2015: fixed a pontoon bridge hex at 39,38 containing Rubble.
| Player Voting Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Member | Balance | Enjoyment |
 Otto von Blotto |
Totally Pro Finland | 6 |
 cplkrotz |
Totally Pro Finland | 7 |
 Schwerpunkt75 |
Totally Pro Finland | 5 |
| Gaming Records | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Side Player | 2nd Side Player | Result | Score | ||||||
 |
 |
Schwerpunkt75 | vs. | dawags |  |
 |
Finland Major Victory | 72 | 12 |
|
 |
Otto von Blotto | vs. | cplkrotz |  |
|
Finland Major Victory | 72 | 12 |
|
|
Otto von Blotto | vs. | cplkrotz | |
|
Draw | 36 | 36 |
){kind=link}
Finland had an advantage the second time around because they knew what to do in their opening moves. This was much different from the first time we played when they we stalling to a much greater extent.
I do feel that there is an advantage to the Finns from the beginning and that their troops are of superior quality. Their plethora of combat engineers made every position vulnerable.
I also had bad luck with my construction and mine engineers. On many critical occasions they failed to build or lay mines. Russian forces are spread very thin. I saw little hope in winning. There was no way to hold the Finns back without later reinforcements arriving. Russian units to bring them up to strength arrive from far away and thus the Russians fight a rearguard until they arrive. By this point it is too late and if new reinforcements do not arrive, (which they do not), there is no hope for the Russians to hold on to what are essentially three lines of defense because they are spread so far thin.
Re: clean up, there are many hidden rubble sights affect movement.
Regarding the design of the scenario, I and my opponent were equally matched in terms of capabilities. I achieved a major victory around turn 24 of 30, but around 50% of my forces had not even experienced any combat. Russian infantry is very poor, and there isn't enough artillery or armor to compensate for the weakness of the infantry. The Finns don't have a lot of artillery, but what they have is quite powerful, and it is reasonably available.
On the positive side, the map is wonderful, and the design of the changing visibility is well done. Also, this is a great scenario for illustrating the capabilities of the various new engineer units that have been added to the game in recent years.