For a player like me who is trying to become familiar with the subtleties of PG and not too concerned about which side has the advantage, this is an excellent short (7 turns) scenario. There are only a few units. Infantry, HMGs and SMGs, some leaders, and for the Germans, mortars and an IG. The Soviets must defend Hill 747 and therefore do practically no maneuvering. The fighting takes place at night, which means the troops will be asked to "close with the enemy and destroy him."

The Germans deployed in a line, with their 81mm mortars and 75mm IG on the right, controlled by a sergeant. Their plan was to assault the hill with 2 infantry platoons, supported by 1 x HMG. One infantry platoon was held in reserve.

Their initial fire by the mortars and IG had no effect, but at 2200 hours the infantry platoons advanced anyway to the base of the hill. One was disrupted by Soviet opportunity fire. At 2215 one infantry platoon assaulted the Soviet HMG in hill hex 0713. The fighting was inconclusive. The Soviets reinforced the assault hex with 1 rifle platoon, costing the German platoon 1 step. In the assault hex, 2 Soviet platoons were disrupted. The reserve German platoon moved forward, preparing to reinforce the assault; Soviet opportunity fire from a HMG had no effect. A Soviet SMG platoon assaulted into hex 0713. Continued fighting in that hex left a Soviet HMG demoralized and a German infantry platoon disrupted.

The ongoing battle for hex 0713 occupied the remainder of the game. At 2245 the German sergeant left his mortars and led the German HMG toward the hill in an effort to provide better support. By 2300, when I ended the game, the 2 Soviet HMG platoons were demoralized and fleeing the battlefield, and the remaining Soviet forces were mostly disrupted. German morale, initiative and leadership won the day--the mortars and IG played no role at all.

I'm sure I got some rules wrong and made many tactical blunders, but one of the nice things about playing solitaire is that you can just push on and hopefully handle the situation correctly next time. This scenario is great for practicing assaults and exploring some of the more advanced concepts like night fighting. It is also an excellent demonstration of how initiative, morale and leadership make all the difference in small-unit combat.