Siege of Warsaw

[chico20854]

We're going to wargame out the Battle of Poland.

My initial, off the cuff impressions are that the siege would be a mix of US, German and British units. The US units would be from corps other than V and VII Corps (which were based in Bavaria in peacetime and most likely were further south in the NATO forces in Poland). III Corps had elements (5th ID & 116th ACR) previously engaged further south during the Battle of Czestekowa. (8th ID was part of V Corps at the outbreak of the war). Possible US units would include National Guard units such as 40th Infantry Division and 50th Armored Division and the remaining urban warfare experts of what's left of the Berlin Brigade. German units might be less mobile units of the German Territorial Army, while the Panzers and Panzergrenadier divisions rush the Soviet border. The British Army had an artillery division with 8" guns that might also be helpful.

On the Pact side, the garrison would probably consist of a hodgepodge of Soviet units from all over the front, falling back on defenses prepared by the Polish 3rd Army, especially its 28th Infantry Division (and yes, the Poles referred to their units as Infantry rather than Motor Rifle). Some of the 3rd Army's Mobilization-only units never really form, as NATO overruns their assembly areas, which also allows for the canon unit ID's to differ from RL. There are also lots of Polish paramilitary troops involved - police, ZOMO (riot police), ORMO (IRL more of a police reserve than the militia described in canon), the real militia and maybe even Party armed formations.

This is all based on a simple look at the map, knowledge of the structure of the forces involved, timeline and terrain, and reference to Black Madonna. I don't have the vehicle guides with me, nor feel particularly bound to their division histories, especially on the Pact side where their unit ID's were mostly guesses. (I've spent an awful lot of time researching and translating the RL Pact orbats... GDW did a great job for 1984, we have better sources now).

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by chico20854

We're going to wargame out the Battle of Poland.

I'd love to know how that goes (wish I could be there...).

The timing probably won't work out (my PCs will probably be getting there before you guys wargame it) but I'm really curious as to what role the town of Gora Kalwaria [sic] plays in your battle of Warsaw.

With its position on the west bank of the Vistula just a few miles south of Warsaw and two bridges there, it would probably be crucial to any encirclement/relief operations during/after "the siege".