It was decided to try to hold a line against the German assault to limit their movement and hit them with as much fire power in the initial stage of the battle as possible. However placement of the minefields showed poor judgment. The minefields in front of the town were wasted since the Germans sent a very large tank force against the center hill which was heavily defended by everything possible except minefields to slow the enemy. This was a major mistake since the tank force of the Germans proved to in-stoppable. The moral is town people can die but not your troops. Once the line of defense was broken the Soviets retired from the field.