The Soviets in this scenario have the task of clearing roads and towns of a large, although dispirited Romanian force. While the Soviets clearly have the ability to do so in a local engagement, it is very difficult for them to hold the ground taken. They arrive with 9 platoons of T-34s, nine platoons of SMGs, a rocket artillery unit and a recon detachment. They can probe, disrupt, demoralize, chase and occassionally crush the Romanians but they cannot hold the ground.

Add to that the fact that the "ground" is primarily liquid. All units are mired in mud making it difficult to advance quickly in any off road direction. This forces the Soviets to take a predictable route to their victory conditions.

The Romanians set up primarily along the north-south road on the eastern side of the area. They heavily garrison the towns along the way, forcing the Soviets to risk their infantry in assaults in order to avoid having the valuable tanks caught without infantry in urban settings. They put no units whatsoever on Board 6, ceding that victory location to the Soviets but place a company of infantry with the 75mm on the hill south of that to threaten a counterattack.

The Soviets enter and send their recon detachment to capture the road to the west and send their main force forward to start clearing the eastern road. The Soviets have decided to go for a win by forcing their way down the eastern side of the board. A western strategy faces a much more difficult prospect as there is no north-south road there and all movement would be cross-country through the mud. Finally, without an attmpt at the town to the southeast, the best they can hope for is a minor victory and they are looking for better than that.

Within the first four turns the Soviets have lost their armored cars and four steps of infantry. This gives the Romanians a chance to reduce the Soviets victory performance if they can eliminate four more steps. On the other hand some very strong detachments of Romanian troops have fled the first two towns that the Soviets have attacked. So really a mixed bag of results.

By turn 10 the Soviets have captured the northwestern road (which was undefended) and have managed to lose ten steps, the last one coming on a failed Kommissar recovery (with a Kommissar morale of "10"). That fact is a perfect example of the die rolling in this action. A Romanian mortar platoon was attacked by two T-34 platoons in open ground and held out for 45 minutes. This simply wasn't a good day to be the Soviet commander.

Yet the Soviet assault ground forward. They had lost 9 steps of infantry and two of tanks and were grinding down the road towards Coarnele-Capru but time was clearly against them. The Romanians had garrisoned the town heavily and had the German support weapons there as well. The Soviets weren't able to even assault the town until turn 20 (of 24) and then still had to clear out the road system to the south where a lone Romanian platoon controlled the exit from the board.

Ultimately the Soviets were unable to take the town, losing another tank step and only gaining control of a single town hex. In addition, the Romanian company on the western board advanced to contest control of the western road which the recon detachment was not able to defend due to the loss of the armored cars earlier. The final total of victory conditions for the Soviets was "1" for control of the northeastern board, less the "1" for losing ten or more steps, leaving the Soviets with an unseemly "0" victory conditions met and a string of burning tanks. A major Romanian victory, a rare occurence this late in the war.

The tactical puzzle given to both sides here is daunting. The Romanians can't stop the Soviets but can retake anything they lose. The Soviets can take any position but can't hold any position. Given the Soviets' need to control areas they are at a disadvantage in the play of this one but there is plenty to enjoy in the play. Given the mud it seems odd to say that maneuver is critical but it absolutely is critical for both sides to think 5-7 turns ahead to consider where they need to be to have the best effect on the final result. I enjoyed this one, a solid "4".