Bolt Action: Berlin 1945

It's just about all up for the Third Reich as the Red Army storms Berlin. A vicious urban armoured battle took place on the streets. Over 6,000 Soviet AFVs attacked 1500 German. The Red Army lost about 2,000 AFVs in the battle and the German Panzerwaffe was annihilated.

Shaun and I decided to recreate combat in a single street using Bolt Action rules and only armoured vehicles and guns. It is assumed that the infantry are fighting their own battle alongside.

The Germans hide a 105mm field gun and a Hanomag with a 37mm antitank gun on the left side of the strasse. Bit of a forlorn hope, this defence.

On the right side of the strasse is a dug in 75mm Pak and a Hetzer with a similar gun. This is where the real punch is located.

The Red Army drives boldly straight down the strasse, a JS-2 heavy tank in the centre flanked by a T34/85 medium and an SU122 assault gun.

However the sneaky Commy (me) sent a T34/85 and an SU76 SPG down the side streets to each side in an effort to outflank the Boche.

However the Hetzer performed a perfectly executed ambush on my left flank T34, slamming a high velocity 75 through the side armour. The crew got out before she caught fire. For a little tank the Hetzer packs a huge punch.

The Germans motor their heavy armour, a Tiger I, a Stug III, and a Panther onto the strasse to block the end. The Tiger comes in for particular attention from the Red Army and is soon pinned.

The SU76 on the left flank exacts some revenge for the brewed up T34 by dropping a a 76mm He shell right on top of the Pak. Note the Hetzer has wisely reversed back into cover after making a kill.

The Tiger was the next victim. A heavy 122mm shell from the SU smashed the left hand suspension immobilising the tank. The German crew courageously stayed inside and carried on the fight.

The SU76 on the right flank hit the Hanomag causing a catastrophic explosion.

Finally, the Su122 dropped a shell on the 105mm field gun, killing all the crew.

And that finally broke the German defence. The Panther, Hetzer and Stug reversed back out of sight and the Tiger crew abandoned their vehicle.

Stars of the game were the Soviet artillerymen who scored all the Red Army's kills.


Great fun and a simple quick game to set up and play in an evening. The models were from my collection and Shaun set up the table.