This scenario was played out in only a few hours despite it's 40 turn length as it was finished at the start of turn 15 due to the fact that there were no German units left on the map -all had either been eliminated or exited by that time.

The German task is to exit at least 35 steps off the northern edge of map 4. The problem with that is it would require all the foot units to escape (33 steps) and also 2 of 8 steps of the panzers to meet that requirement -at least that is how I tried to manage it and failed. British victory requirements are a little more relaxing, having to just eliminate 10 steps and lose no more than 6 steps of their own units. It would seem that the best the Germans could hope for would be a draw unless they were very lucky at not getting knocked off. Very simply if they lose 8 steps then there is no way to meet the exiting requirements.

Both side's deployment is almost at an equal distance but there is no chance of outrunning British armour trying to get off the map. Eventually opposing forces will cross paths as the movement rates are the same provided German units stay loaded on the trucks. The British Crusader Is and CS units outnumber the panzers over 2 to 1 so an eventual tank battle is very much against the Germans. The one factor that plays a crucial role is whether Germany manages to win the initiative or not. The first five turns result with the British trailing along with two separate tank groups; one to follow the convoy and another to tail and eventually engage the panzers at the rearguard. Both side have to keep moving and decide when it is the right time to fire at each other. The first exchange of fire took place at 06:45/turn 6 with the British having the initiative. The results were the loss of two trucks with two leaders along with 4 steps of INF and 1 step of PzIIIGs. Already Germany could only afford to lose 2 more steps without forfeiting it's victory conditions.

With the turns that followed the remainder of the convoy was able to make it 2 moves away from exiting the map and then decided to unload most of the foot units to cover the exit of the 3 towed 50mm AT guns and 2 81mm mortars. Crusader I tanks have a very low direct fire value of 4 and don't fare well in infantry assaults so no attempt was made to stop those units but instead chose to fire on the PzIIs trailing behind and easily eliminated a step of those leaving the remaining step demoralized. Further south the tank battle against the PzIIIGs continues with predictable results. Soon there were just 3 steps of panzers facing overwhelming numbers of Crusaders. Somehow though, 2 British tank steps were eliminated before the battle's end. The panzers held out two turns longer than I thought they would. In one turn they survived a combined volley of 21 shots against them! Anyway, I probably could of done better with the German forces if I unloaded most of the foot units earlier and tried to set-up the 50mm AT guns which had a lot better firepower versus British armour but even then it would be unlikely that I would be able to load them again and escape off the map with them. What may of happened in that case is that more British step losses could of been inflicted and the battle could of ended in a draw.

I was initally prone to rate this scenario a '2' for the balance of play but I did enjoy it enough personally to merit it a '3' especially since it didn't take 40 turns to complete. It was definitely a very movement based scenario with Germany on the run. I was also very pleased with the performance of the vastly outnumbered PzIIIs and that they did at least take out a platoon's worth of British armour. For a time it seemed that it would end with no British losses. I also liked the fact that though this scenario required two maps I was able to play it with limited space by folding both maps in half.

Author	triangular_cube
Method	Solo
Victor	Germany
Play Date	2022-12-19
Language	English
Scenario	DeRa016

Scenario seems to be intended as a German motorized infantry group with a small armored escort fleeing north off the map, pursued by a large British tank force. Normally these types of scenarios are really poorly modeled in the PZG system, because units can only move or fire instead of both, so units racing each other going the same speed just results in them moving in a pattern until they escape.

The difference maker here is that the Brits have a road, and the Germans dont. So they are able to set up a trap and take out German trucks with ease to get their needed step losses and then dance and avoid contact until the scenario is out. Based on the W/L record so far that appears to be what is happening.

However, the Germans have 40 turns to get off the map, so why rush? They have a pretty formidable force at hand. I played them aggressively, and bunched up the INF/HMG in a slow push westward towards the road, attacking the Brit tanks if they get to close. With a range of 4, they have to get within a closing distance of charging INF to attack anyway. The 50s stay safely behind the advancing INF formation, in case the Brits are able to flank, and the IIIs advance a bit up the middle to make a flanking force getting a few shots on the tanks. The motor pool loaded with the mortars and the IIs do the normal rush off the map.

So the game plays out with the Inf crawling forward, chasing the Brit tanks who cant take step losses but must inflict some. There is a small tank skirmish in the middle that the Brits get the worse of, but take out 2 steps of IIIs. Eventually, initiative rolls and manuever put the German INF in position to assault the outer edge of the tanks, and they cut through what they make contact with . The 50s move up and assist in removing them once locked down in assault. Rinse and repeat. A total inversion of the scenario based on the lack of moving & firing, and the low firepower of the British tanks. Once cleaned up, the Germans take the road north and win.