Author	treadasaurusrex (Soviet Union)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Soviet Union
Participants	Tubac52
Play Date	2023-02-11
Language	English
Scenario	BluD014

This was a 6- session play-through with the able, Tubac52, leading the defending Spanish side. Luckily, I drew the attacking Red Army, which has armor in the counter mix! My most frequent opponents in Southeast Arizona, have been focusing on scenarios with little or no armor to force me to fight in infantry-dominated situations for the last 3 months or so. This is a very tough row to hoe for a former-tankie like me!

We used the FOW, consolidation, extended assault, excess initiative and smoke/illum optional rules. Both sides drew generally middling leaders, but the Spanish had better senior leadership. In this action, we experienced 14 FOW-shortened turns of the 31 we played, before the inevitable, but costly, Soviet triumph.

As others, have included in their AARs, I am sorry to report, that in spite of my indomitable opponent's fierce brand of leadership & tactical skill, this was an ugly & bloody Russian walk over in which the Spanish went down fighting to the last man. All Spanish units were eliminated by the end of game turn 31. The Spanish set up should have included significantly more entrenchments, some wire and minefields to make this a fairer fight. Despite my throwing 19 combat 7-die rolls for the Bolsheviks, many Soviet OBA strikes, and adjacent-hex firefights, proved quite deadly.

This encounter was fun to play with a crafty and gracious opponent, but as others have reported, this overlong (40 turns - 10 hours) and unbalanced scenario is virtually impossible for the Spanish to win. I give it a generous 2, and recommend it for SOLO play only. This one may be an accurate historical simulation, but IMHO, it needs a thorough rewrite.