Friendly Fire Pack #6

Friendly Fire Pack 6 contains eight scenarios featured in the Friendly Fire 2010 ASL tournament, and a new "ASLSK-style" mapboard.

Totensonntag

Janowice, Poland, September 10, 1939: After a week of war, the German invasion of Poland ran according to plans. German troops of the 8. Armee were marching eastward on Warsaw, and on the other side of the Bzura river were Polish troops withdrawing in the same direction. Stretched along the Bzura, protecting the army's flank, was the 30. Infanterie-Division. On the morning of 9 September, the Polish Knoll-Kownacki Operational Group launched a large-scale assault across the Bzura. For the first (and would it prove later, only) time during the 1939 conflict the Poles mounted an offensive.

Dutch Courage

Outskirts of Dordrecht, Netherlands, May 10, 1940: The German invasion of the Netherlands included landing airborne troops tasked with capturing a string of strategic bridges. The bridge at Dordrecht was the objective of 3. Kompanie, Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1. On their route of advance they ran into a motley Dutch garrison stationed in the suburb of Krispijn: the 1st Depot Company, trained at bridge construction and torpedo gunnery. Like all Dutch troops, they lacked combat readiness and ammunition. Unlike most Dutch troops, they were led by capable and determined NCOs.

Cutting Off A Hydra's Head

Outskirts of Riga, Latvia, June 29, 1941: At 10:20 Oberleutnant Geissler's four assault guns reached the outskirts of Riga. While the bulk of their Kampfgruppe was tied up, Geissler's Sturmgeschütze accompanied by assault engineers raced through the city. The small force crossed Daugava on a pontoon bridge. Safely on the far side, the ground shook in two large explosions. Both the pontoon bridge and a railway bridge had been blown up, and the Germans watched as pieces of debris crashed into the surrounding terrain. The gamble had failed and they were cut off on the far shore.

Bad Moon Rising

Kodorov, Ukraine, August 29, 1941: On 28 August, lead elements of the German 437th Infantry Regiment, including Gefreiter Bidermann's 14th (anti-tank) Company, reached the river Dnieper at Kodorov. Bidermann and twenty Landsers were ordered to make night quarters in a storage facility. The infantrymen soon settled down to sleep in the cool, moonlit night. They could not suspect a Russian battalion across the Dnieper was planning a night attack against their position, guided by several villagers who had swum the river to help their Red Army comrades.

One Last Mighty Hew

West of Sevsk, Russia, September 30, 1941: After the reduction of the Kiev pocket in early September, the German High Command convinced Hitler that Moscow could still be taken before the winter. The dictator approved Operation Typhoon, a massive offensive aimed at destroying the Soviet forces before Moscow. In a special message to the German soldiers, the Führer urged them to deliver den letzten gewaltigen Hieb ("the last mighty hew") to the enemy and thereby decide the war in the East. On 30 September, Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group hurled itself against the Soviet defenses near Sevsk.

Pavlov's Dogs

Northern Rzhev, Russia, September 27, 1942: In August 1942, the Russians launched what would be known as the First Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive. The offensive slowly ground forward against fierce German resistance. In late September, the fighting had reached the city of Rzhev. On the 27th the Russian 78th Rifle Division supported by lend-lease tanks broke through the lines of the 6. Infanterie-Division. The Germans responded to this threat with a series of counterattacks. One such attack was performed by assault troops of the I. Battalion, Infanterie-Regiment 18.

Bite Of The Bassotto

Near San Casciano, Italy, July 27, 1944: During six months of static mountain warfare around Cassino, the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry had found little use for their lumbering Staghound armored cars. This changed after Rome fell. In hot pursuit of the retreating enemy in the Liri valley, the Cavalry were often in the lead, receiving a liberator's welcome from the Italian population. This did not last long: at the end of July they ran into the outposts of the Gothic Line, defended by the hardened veterans and Bassotto (Dachshund) assault guns of 4. Fallschirmjäger-Division.

Dying For Danzig

Olivaer Tor, Gdansk, Poland, March 27, 1945: Before the outbreak of the war, some French groups questioned why France would go to war with Germany over Poland and "die for Danzig". However, any French reluctance to fight did not prevent the outbreak of the war. In March 1945 the front lines ran through Danzig, and soldiers on both sides literally were dying for control of the city. The Russians formed combined-arms assault groups, comprising flame-thrower tanks, assault guns and infantry. On 27th March, such assault teams of 108th Rifle Division hit the German positions.