Initially I thought the victory conditions made sense and then I played. The Germans need to eliminate twice as many steps as they loose. This sounds like an German assault and a Soviet defense. WRONG. The Germans destroyed a few Russian steps and then, since they have eliminated more than half the steps they lost, they went on the defense. The Soviets on the offensive have numbers by being caught in the open with persistent air attacks proved fatal (what's with the +2 adjacent rule for aircraft; it makes them crazy powerful). When it was finally dark the Soviets advanced under cover but too late to catch up.

Perhaps the idea is to wait until dark to advance on the Germans. Still, then, the Germans will be dug-in and waiting. My in-depth Soviet defense with flanking AT fire lanes and fortified towns were worthless while the Germans lurked in the west woods and dug-in their tanks. Or perhaps it's best for the Soviets to hunker down, let the Germans freely cross the river and force them to move into the Soviet's in-depth Soviet defense with flanking AT fire lanes and fortified towns.