Panzer Pioneers vs Russian Heavy Tanks in Pincer

Panthers engage in a duel at short range

This weekend we made the long drive to Gametronics in New Minas NS to play in their 1710 MW tournament that I'm calling the Blizzard Bash due to the weather on the way home.  My first game was against Joe who was playing a Russian heavy tank list. With me playing mechanized infantry against his tanks I would be defending.  I combat attached by mortars to the truck platoon and put them the armour pioneers on the table with the Marders in ambush.

Big Willie's Pioneers
OC and 2IC with knackers
Full armoured Pioneer platoon
half trucked Pioneers with supply vehicle
2 x 8" mortar platoon
2 x 8-Rads
2 x Panthers
4 x Marder III Ms
2 x 2cm SP AA (1x armoured)

Joe's Heavy Russian Tanks
OC in KV-85
3 x KV-85
3 x KV-85
Infantry platoon
2 x Rocket mortar launchers

Set Up

Objectives are beside the hill front left and on the road middle left. 

Trucked Pioneers guard one objective

Armoured Pioneers guard the other objective

Russian Infantry ready to advance

KV-85s ready to roll out

Mortars ready to cover the Russian advance

Turn 1

Russians surge forward but one of their heavy tanks bogs down in the stream

Turn 2

Mortars open fire from extreme range...

The mortars knock out 2 x stands of infantry while the heavy tanks continue to roll forward

Turn 3

KV-85s continue to advance into the teeth of the newly arrived Panthers

Russian Mortars hammer the German position knocking out a stand

Turn 4

The Russian tanks attempt to swing around to deal with the Panthers getting hung up on the stream and bogging several of their number

Marders reveal their position and open fire into the flank of the KV-85s knocking out a platoon complete!

The Panthers take out the OC leaving only one tank alive but bogged who then flees the battlefield

Turn 5

With their heavy tanks destroyed the infantry make a desperate advance to close the distance with the German defenders only to be shredded by MG fire

In the end it was a 6-1 win for the Panzer Pioneers.  The MVP had to be the stream which managed to bog on average 3 x KV-85s a turn which meant I only ever had to deal with 3 tanks at a time. Plus the Panthers are ideal for taking on the KV-85s.