AAR 10

On the 11th through the 12th of February 2000, my Military History class at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School participated in a wargame of the World War II Eastern Front battle of Kanev 19431. My class was divided into four groups, and each group controlled a Soviet Army. I was the G-4 and G-5 in charge of the 40th Army's supplies, and gather any information from the partisans in the area. Day one of the Kanev Campaign began on the 20th of September 1943. For the first two days of the campaign I gathered information from the Internet from the Russian e-mail group. At the end of the second day I gave a briefing to the 40th Army commander on this information. The purpose was to teach us how an Army briefing is conducted, and the jobs of G-1 through G-5 staff officers. At first all the information gathered was confusing, but once put in place in the briefings everything made sense, from which battle plans were made.

On the third day the wargame started. On September 22, 1943, I, comrade Thompsovick, took command of the 53rd Tank regiment (Regt.) following behind the 52nd and 51st Tank Regt. chasing the 10th Panzer Grenadiers heading towards Gelmyazov. My tank regt. moved at full speed on day three to try to catch up to the 52nd regt. When night fell my men stopped and rested to rejuvenate themselves to continue the chase in the morning. On September 23 my regt. woke up with a surprise in front of them. During the night a Tiger Battalion of two Tiger Companies and three Marder Companies had arrived on the battlefield in front of my four T-34 tank companies. Quickly my tanks opened fire into the sides of the Tiger companies before they could react to the situation. My tanks destroyed one Tiger Company and suppressed the other Tiger Company in the first firing of the day. The 52nd Tank Regt also destroyed the Marder companies in the first fire. The remainder of the Tiger Battalion destroyed two T-34 tank companies of the 52nd regt. before we were able to take out the rest of the Tiger Battalion. The Germany tank battalion was able to slow the 52nd and 53rd regts. Long enough for the 10th PZ Gn to form a defensive position at the edge of Gelmyazov on the other side of the Supov River.

Upon seeing the German defensive line, my Division commander ordered all units, except the 52nd regt. to go around the defensive line and head towards Kanev. It began raining early that day, which made the distanced traveled, cut by a third. The rest of day four was slow going with trucks and tanks getting bogged down by the river, and by a company of German infantry who controlled a key bridge point. By the end of day four, all Soviet armor and most of the trucks had crossed the river towards Kanev. Day four also marked the end of the German forces at Kanev. The Russian Army had crossed the Kanev Bridge and secured a foothold on the other side of the Dnepr River. The German Army was trapped and cut off from supplies. The Campaign was a decisive victory for the Russian Army.

All the commanders were able to work together towards a common goal. I also learned techniques to improve my briefing. It is better to read notes from a note card than to read off a slide. Maps and visuals keep the audience interested, and make it easier for the audience to understand what the briefer is trying to say. Communication skills help get information and plans across to the other commanders, so everyone can work together as a team.

Overall the campaign was a success for the Russians because of the Russian Army's teamwork to defeat the German forces. The commanders communicated the plan to their men to execute the plan to victory. The Kanev Campaign showed me how confusing a battle can become. Not everything is executed to plan, but if the results are successful then nothing else matters.

1. John Prados, "Parachutes Across the Dnepr Kanev, 1943," Strategy & Tactics, December 1967, 17-23.