I had to try this one. Given the Soviets’ arm-long list of VC’s, the time frame allowed, the forces waiting for them, untested tanks that kept bogging down, and an order of battle that would make me doubt HQ’s sobriety much less its sanity, made this a scenario that I couldn’t resist. I set up the German defenses over its 75% of the mapboard. Then I assigned the Soviet armor its mission, and sent them off to meet their fate in a battle whose outcome was almost a forgone conclusion.

The main thrust of the Soviet effort was aimed at the German Heer units deployed on the west bank of the river on Map 5. The aim was to eliminate them, wheel around and push onto map 9. Meanwhile the T-26’s would clear the lightly held woods on Map 6 then roll east while the main force came up from the south of the large wooded hill on Map 9.

The Soviets were hampered before ever encountering a German unit by their own tanks. Committed to battle before given a proper field testing, Soviet armor kept bogging down, hampering the speed at which they could travel. They became easy targets for the hard-hitting and incredibly effective OBA and for equally disruptive raids by the Luftwaffe. The main Soviet thrust was weakened by disrupted and demoralized units. Their only two shining moments were when the German PzJr I was eliminated in a deadly crossfire and when the mighty KV-2’s rained death on the German infantry.

The T-26’s fared no better. The woods may have been held lightly, but they were held by incredibly determined SS units. What should have been a simple mission dragged on for hours with the first assault.

As the Soviet attack ground on, the Germans reinforced, shattering any forlorn hope of a Soviet victory. It was time to go home. While extricating themselves from the battle, the Soviets suffered enough casualties to give the German defenders a clear cut victory. The Soviets had once more reaffirmed in the form of corpses and burning armored hulks that armor by itself is a really bad way to dig out determined enemy infantry.

The special commendation for this action goes to the coordination of all aspects of the German defense. The OBA and Luftwaffe worked astoundingly well in breaking the morale of the Soviet armor. I especially have to mention the German mortar platoons that worked together to demoralize two T-34a platoons within 15 minutes.

In this scenario a Soviet tank only force must try to dig out German infantry/gun positions. The Germans have a healthy albeit morale challenged force with both OBA and airpower, while the Soviets have unimpressive morale and no support. They have some good tanks, but that accounts for about half of them. At least they are also handicapped with tanks straight from the factory that each of them on a 1 out of 6 has only half movement. On top of that the Soviets have four victory conditions to meet, which summarizes as keeps the road clear not only of Germans, but of any German unit being able to hit a road with direct fire. The Germans must avoid these conditions, and inflict six step losses.

The Germans set up their 88mm on the southeast corner of the woods on board 9, with a huge open fire zone to hammer tanks approaching from any angle. The 75mm IG sets up adjacent, but with the intent of covering the south road (barely) with direct fire to spoil Soviet victory conditions. The 20mm AA sets up on the open hill on board 9 to cover the north road. German infantry lies in wait within the woods along the road to make any attempt to clear it painful. The 37mm guns (3) and remaining infantry of the north force goes into the woods on board 6, two flanking the road, one covering the open fields of board 6. The southern (and decent morale regular troops) force sets up with half the force dug in on the hill on board 5, the remaining foot units right along the board edge hoping to seize the town on board 4 if the Soviet tanks break down. The PzJr hides behind the hill, acting as a last ditch effort to occupy a road hex if needed.

The Soviets divide their tanks into two forces. The tanks with armor 4+ go against the SS since they are all but impervious to any anti-tank gun besides the 88mm, and the armor 2- tanks going against the regular German units since they can easily clobber the PzJr if required.

On the southern approach the Soviets and Germans both race for the town. The Soviets win, and the Germans occupy the road three hexes away. The Soviets spend ample time with direct fire trying to disrupt the Germans before moving adjacent, and finally get the needed result as the HMG disrupts. The Soviets make for the German line. German aircraft concentrate on the southern movement, and manage to cause some level of disruption to the tanks. The Soviets are trying to pummel the Germans from point blank range, so the Germans go on the assault. The HMG is constantly up and down in morale, and can’t get into the assault. Over time the Soviets eventually overpower the Germans, taking out six steps of Inf, two steps of HMG, and the leaders. But it was not without cost. The Soviets lose one step of T26 and one of T37, and leave demoralized tanks everywhere. The Soviets finally recover five steps of T26s and the BT7 and move forward, but the scenario is so close to completion there is no real chance to get into battle with the remaining three Inf and HMG waiting for battle, let alone chase down the PzJr.

On the north thrust, the Soviets go after the forces in the north woods of board 6. OBA and direct fire from German units manage to demoralize the KV2s, and these take forever to recover. The T34s rip into German forces, and eventually run around the northern edge of the woods to beat on the Germans on board 9. But the Germans on board 6 go after all the KVs. In the end, the tanks pulverize a lot of German troops, but both the KV2s suffer a step loss. The T34s crush all the German units on the exposed hill of board 9 (20mm AA plus two Inf), but this takes almost the entire scenario. The 88mm takes a couple shots, but never comes close to taking a step.

In the end, the Soviets lose four steps of tanks, while the Germans lose 26 steps total, plus three leaders. But they still have both roads covered by direct fire (and units sitting on the road in the woods of board 9), and the Soviets do not manage a single one of the four victory conditions. The results are almost to a T as described in the scenario's historical outcome (18 tanks burning, large numbers of squashed SS men), but the game ends in a draw since the Soviets clearly didn’t complete any tasks, and the Germans only achieve four step losses on the tanks. In fact, the last two turns were Soviet tanks trying to stay out of range and contact to prevent the loss.

The scenario isn’t bad to play, but the victory conditions are ridiculous. I can’t see how the Soviets could manage the victory conditions as they would need to nearly eliminate the Germans to achieve a win. And it's tough for the Germans to drive six steps lost if the Soviets run. Trying to get there with only twenty turns, mechanically unreliable tanks, and plenty of woods for the Germans just doesn’t work. I rate this a 1 based on unreasonable victory conditions. Edelweiss Expanded had another tank only scenario called Hunters of the Plains. I rated that one a 2, but my opponent felt it deserved a 3. Comparatively it is a much better scenario with victory conditions that are achievable by both sides. I really recommend between these two going with HofP vice this one.