Golpe de Mano
Pushkin 10 kilometers from
General situation
The serious fighting of March/April the Blue Division
was withdrawn from the line to rest and refit. Fresh volunteers arrived from
On September 10th the Division re-entered the line
this time only 10
kilometres from
For many men in the Blue Division this must have
seemed to re-create their time during the Civil War when the Nationalists
surged forward seemingly unstoppable only then to become bogged down on the
outskirts of
The golpes de mano consisted of a small assault strike force. The number of troops involved would range from about seven to as many as forty. These were led by either an officer or NCO, depending upon the size of the objective. They were armed with automatic weapons, hand grenades, bayonets and knives (though axes, sharpened spades and even meat cleavers were reported). Sometimes the assault force would slowly work its way across no-mans land, defusing mines and marking a safe escape route, then after quietly eliminating the sentries they would pour fire and throw grenades into their objective to inflict the maximum casualties and chaos before withdrawing.
At other times the Division would use its artillery and mortars to hit the Russians all along the front, but no other action would be taken – hence causing confusion and alarm with not attack. At other times the artillery would cover an assault elsewhere along the line, all adding to the frustration and confusion within the Russian lines. The assault would never last more than twenty or thirty minutes after which time they would regroup and withdraw usually covered by machine guns, mortars and artillery. The general idea was to keep the Russian guessing, was the artillery just that or the prelude to an attack. If the Spanish weren’t attacking along the whole front, which part of which sector would be attacked, if any?
The scenario
This scenario is to simulate a raid (golpe de mano) by
Spanish forces against a Russian outpost. It should play well with any set of
commercial skirmish rules; I’ve not given any specific rule mechanics so you
can convert the scenario without difficulty.
Table & terrain
We played the game on a 4 feet by 2 feet table, with
the opposing trench lines and a valley in between. The valley was dotted with
areas of trees and bushes which would provide line of sight cover for the
attacking Spanish patrol. The Russian defender was allowed to place some
concealed booby-traps and mines (positions written down before the start of the
game).
Spanish briefing
You are a brigada (sergeant major) serving with 3rd
Company, 1st Battalion, 269th Infantry Regiment. You are to lead a “golpe de
mano” against a Russian observation post that overlooks your lines. The plan
calls for artillery to lay down fire north of your target whilst battalion
mortars lay smoke to the south, this should confuse the enemy allowing you to
attack with surprise. You are to take prisoners and recover any papers, before
you return conceal a satchel charge with a delayed fuse to bring even more
death to the communists.
Spanish Patrol
Brigada (PPSH41 + 3 grenades)
4-6 soldados (SMGs + grenades, 1 sachel chage)
You are an ensign
with the 42nd Infantry Regiment; you are in command of an observation post
overlooking the enemy’s front line. Your orders are to observe and direct local
artillery fire upon the enemy trenches.
Russian OP
Officer (pistol)
Telephone operator (pistol)
4 men (rifles)
This would make a good 1 to 1 skirmish games the
Russian position might well have mines protecting it. The Spanish approach must
be cautious if not to be spotted. Another element that could be added is a
Russian Sniper lurking on the hillside. These raids proved highly successful in
keeping the Russians on the back foot. The raid would never last more than 30
minutes with the patrol pouring fire and hurling grenades into the chosen
target then retreating behind a heavy artillery barrage. The Russians too
carried out raids, there were occasions the two patrols ran into one another in
no mans land!
The Spanish felt that the golpes de mano had a great
effect on enemy morale, and actually saved lives with the Russians being under
constant threat of attack. When a Divisionario had taken part in five such
operations, he was awarded a special decoration called the Assault Plaque –
this award was highly prized by the soldatos.
Uniforms and equipment
The soldiers of the Blue division were kitted out as
per a standard German infantry division with: the grey-green uniform jacket and
trousers and high marching boot; for head gear they had the standard German
helmet, side cap or peaked forage cap. Insignia and rank were also as per the
German system except for an arm shield (red/gold/red) with the title “Espana”
worn on the right upper sleeve.
The Spanish unit however was a volunteer division from
an independent country and its troops were not subject to strict German
discipline like other volunteers from occupied countries. Soldats (and their
officers and NCOs) took to wearing their shirt collars outside over their
jacket collars (in Spanish fashion); these were often the dark blue shirts
(from which the Division gained its name) or the German grey shirt. Some
volunteers (ex-Foreign Legionnaires) wore the olive green shirt of La Legion in
this manner. Spanish decorations and badges of rank also began to find their
way onto the Wehrmacht uniform; the Osprey book “
The Spaniards were armed as any other German infantry unit – Mauser, MP40, MG34; but they quickly learned to appreciate the value of captured Russian automatics and would actively trade and buy these from German units as well as scavenge the battlefield. The excellent PPSH41 SMG and Degtyarev DP LMG were both highly popular. The Spaniards had all the standard German stick grenades, the round anti-personnel grenades and rifle grenades.
Figures
We have played a few games using scenarios available
in the internet involving the Blue Division. We used standard German figures
with the odd conversion (an arm swap to give a figure a PPSH). There are now
several late war German figures available already armed with this much prized
Russian weapon which will save a lot of work.
Great post Richard interesting scenario.
ReplyDeleteThank you Stuart, I do try my best to write different tabletop games.
DeleteAs you can see I am very late in catching up on your April posts and what treats I have missed till now. Another great scenario for Eastern Front Spanish!! Carl
ReplyDeleteI did wonder, but welcome back - your comments are always appreciated.
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