Hindsight
tells us that the invasion of Poland had only a week to run when the
skirmish at Chorazy Crossroads took place. It was a local
counter-attack by troopers of the 11th
Polish Legion Uhlans against their counterparts in the German 19th
Reiters.
 |
| The start of play. |
Sixty
or so reiters were resting around the Bitwa Inn, their commanders
taking their lunch within. Informed of this by his scouts, Major
Kozacy split his squadron in two, intending to catch the Germans in a
pincer movement. He led the southern wing himself.
Kozacy's
wing gained ground swiftly, but the other pincer was detected by the
German picket on the hill behind the inn. The second German platoon
opened fire and killed several uhlans in that first volley, sending
their fellows ducking to the ground.
 |
| The uhlans move up. |
Under
rather pathetic return fire, the reiters on the hill took the crest,
cheerfully settling down to pick off the uhlans to their north. As
they did so, fire began to ripple from Kozacy's lead company,
surprising the other German platoon. However, they reacted like the
consummate professionals they were, quickly seizing the initiative
and laying down a weight of fire to pin the approaching Poles in
place.
In
the north, Captain Straty brought up another platoon past the farm.
Its advance stopped in the fields due accurate fire from the reiters
on the hill, the centre of the wave going to ground under the hail of
bullets.
 |
| Straty's first platoon stopped in the fields. |
Unhappy
about his men stalling, Kozacy rode forward himself. With the help of
Lieutenant Porucznik, he rallied them around him and they opened up
to cover a move west by the reserve platoon.
Captain
Straty's shattered first platoon through the woods, and the reserve
took their place. The men in the fields also girded their loins and
moved forward under fire. Now the inn was surrounded on three sides,
and the weight of fire coming in was beginning to discomfit Captain
Grys.
 |
| Are those beads of sweat or suppression..? |
Leaving
the inn to rally his men in the woods, Grys was taken by surprise by
Kozacy's coming blow. A storm of fire erupted from the southern
woods, and with a cry of “For our Freedom!”, a charge came from
the east. The reiters on the hill drove one squad to ground, but the
rest charged home. The veteran lancers fell upon the suppressed
Germans in a slaughter, and not one escaped, not even Leutnant
Gerhardt, who fought valiantly but was outmatched pistol to bayonet.
 |
| The Bitwa's woods are Polish once again. |
Determined
to preserve at least a part of his command for as long as possible,
Captain Grys moved his men west, off the hill and into the woods in a
desperate rush.
Straty's
men followed them, but were checked at the crests of the hills by the
reiters' fire. It was enough to give Grys a moment of relief –
until the sharp whistles of ricochets and the bloom of splintering
wood reminded him that there were Poles to his left, still firing,
still unsuppressed.
Kozacy's
own platoon moved forward into a wall of iron, stumbling to halt in
the woods across the road from the Germans.
 |
| The Germans face the might of the 11th Polish Legion. |
Aware
of the impasse that his earlier lack of stealth placed the squadron
in, Straty opened fire with every squad at his command. Grys could
only stare as man after man of his brave platoon was whittled away by
Polish fire.
 |
| What "just" eight squads firing in unison can do... |
Straty's
lieutenants rallied their men, desperate to throw more men into the
firing line. The inn was once more occupied, this time by the uhlans.
Even
as he cheered his men on, Kozacy knew that nothing more than another
desperate charge could clear these Germans out. They did not retreat
despite not being cut off – was it honour, or were they pinning his
men in place for an airstrike or artillery bombardment brought back
by some quick messenger?
 |
| The reiters' end approaches. |
It
is said that all a leader must do in war is make decisions. If they
are good ones, so much the better. All along the line, the 11th
Polish Legion opened up, and then from the south, Lieutenant
Porucznik led his men in a charge across the open grass. One squad
went to ground, two more charged in among the trees. Captain Grys
counter-charged with his assistants, every reiter around him blazing
away with their Mausers or making grim work with their entrenching
tools.
But
it was no good. German honour was no match for Polish steel. As the
crows cawed overhead and the uhlan officers redressed their squads,
checking for dead and wounded, Captain Grys' cracked pocket watch
marked it only three o'clock of the afternoon.
 |
| Chorazy Crossroads, 1500h 28/09/39 |
Chorazy
Crossroads Butcher's Bill:
Germans:
sixty men dead, seven prisoners
Polish:
nineteen dead, twelve wounded
Conclusion
This
was a game of Crossfire, played on a 2x2 foot board with 2mm soldiers
(retasked from the Kop
That!
project). I didn't think it would work, but it all went smoothly in
the end. It felt both tense and inevitable all at the same time, with
I think is a good show for a game. I think if I run it again I'll
only give the Polish four platoons for a 2-1 advantage. 3-1 is all
very good when attacking, but with their higher morale they didn't
really need it.
The
man of the match was either Lieutenant Porucznik or Captain Grys.
Both did sterling work rallying and re-rallying their men. Grys held
out against crazy odds for longer than he might have done, and
Porucznik led the fateful final charge that despite being 10 dice to
9 was only won 2-0.
The
“ambush” nature of the scenario was implemented by allowing the
Polish to remain “hidden” until either they opened fire or were
spotted either in open terrain or on the roll of a 6 by a German unit
when in a terrain feature. I expected this would give more
manoeuvring, but the reiter pickets caught Captain Straty out very
quickly. All in all, very fun, and a lovely way to spend an hour or
so with a game I haven't played much of recently.
Orders
of Battle
Germans:
1x Company Commander, 2 x Platoons (Platoon Commander, 3 Squads).
Regular morale
Polish:
2x Company Commanders, 6x Platoons (Platoon Commander, 3 squads).
Veteran morale
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