The German strategy was to try and minimize casualties and hold all the town and hill hexes on 38 and 39 in the setup area. The small northern town is outside the setup area. The RKKA got a very good leader draw which proved crucial. Also, the reinforcements all came in on the first turns available so the attack was quite coordinated. The initial Russian thrust was down the RH side of the board on a narrow front to get in the small town and try and take the 40m hill. (They never did). There were a lot of units so the advance was to move past the Germans with the forward units and let the second echelon engage in combat. Lessons learned from earlier fights included to never assault the SS with RKKA units unless they are reduced.

The other units came on quickly but all must enter on the turn they are eligible so there are logjams and very vulnerable wagon drawn artillery to try and save. The Russian RKKA armor came in and swung way around the German left flank for a Schwarzkopf hook which ended up petering out. The large town was full of SS troops so the RKKA just avoided that. There were plans to swing around from behind but that never happened. There were fierce armor exchanges between T34's and Pzlll's. The Tiger and the 88's had to be knocked out first and that took about an hour and a half. The T34's proved their mettle as they handled the Pz1ll's well enough. The KV-1's from the Guards mainly lurked around as they were on a collision course with the Tiger. However, their lurking proved critical as they were needed to get enough steps to exit for a minor victory.

The RKKA was stymied trying to get the hills and towns. They just could never get enough momentum as they were constantly being disrupted and demoralized. The Russians knew the jig was up so with about 75 minutes left started running for the border. They had eliminated all of the Nazi armor so they managed to get enough steps off on the last turn. FOG and constant German wins on initiative almost prevailed. The SS was fanatical and jumped onto assaults on the Russian armor that was still functional. (not much). I don't see how the Russians stand a chance if their reinforcements are delayed much. Steps lost G-61 R-70 Russians had almost every unit disrupted or demoralized at game end that wasn't artillery or mortar.