Progress Report 3/8/14 The Red Barricades Project

We had five members and a cameo from John Lehman for the March meeting of The Red Barricades Project. The committee of Jims (Jim Cotugno, Jim Svette and myself) were once again in command of the Russians against Henry DeVris and Dan Plachta as the Germans.

The action resumed with the top of turn 4 of the October 29th CG date. We played to the bottom of turn 5. The Germans continued to press hard in the factories while securing their gains on the east flank around the Kindergarten. The fighting in the factories was pretty fierce, but casualties were somewhat lighter than they’d been in the first 3 turns, with both sides trading blows and the Russians giving minimal ground. Thanks to my ability to draw 4 black cards in a row from a Russian 5/2 OBA deck, the German assault into the Bread Factory has been mostly stymied after their initial gains. The weather has been frightful: rain with heavy winds.

At the bottom of turn 5 the dirt cup shows 11 German squads to 31 Russian squads. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Russians have lost no support weapons, guns, vehicles or leaders. The Germans have lost 3 guns, a Pz III, a SPW251 (with another immobilized) three 8-1’s and a 9-2. The CVP ratio is less than 1.5 to 1. After their initial gains (seizing the Kindergarten and the buildings around it and some modest gains near the Bread Factory) the Germans have made very slow progress.

Since the trip to the Littlefield Museum falls on April 12th there will be no meeting of The Red Barricades Project next month. The action will resume in May.