Author	t1M0t8yk
Method	Solo
Victor	Draw
Play Date	2022-01-01
Language	English
Scenario	EFDx012

I give this scenario a solid 4 rating. I found it perhaps the most interesting PG scenario I’ve ever played. My rating though comes with some caution.

Certainly, the scenario out of the box has major problems. It’s woefully unbalanced; the Germans have no chance to clear boards 1 & 3 against a competent Soviet player. Russell InGA’s balancing document helped some. Using his victory conditions the Germans achieve minor victory by capturing the board 3 town, and Reds by capturing the board 1 town. Turns out I think even this is very challenging for the Germans, but not quite as prohibitively difficult as clearing boards 1 & 3.

What makes the scenario so engaging is the AFV interaction. At first blush the superior armor and firepower of the Soviet KVs and T-34s in particular appear decisive. However, this neglects to consider the limitations of Soviet command & control, and the superior range of the German Pz38t and Pz35t tanks.

I set up the Germans to defend board 1 town with perhaps a third of their infantry and try to take the board 3 town with the rest. Armor was set up to get long range crossfire. The Soviets flipped the German deployment, defending the board 3 town with their smaller infantry force and advancing toward the board 1 town with the remaining bulk of their infantry.

It didn’t take long before I realized the Germans didn’t have the bodies to seriously threaten the board 3 town, the Soviets were better off redirecting their effort to achieve the German casualty victory objective. Meanwhile the Germans gradually wore down the Red Army tanks, picking them off at long range.

By around turn 24 I decided to pull the plug and declare the battle a draw. The Soviets had an outside chance to achieve their casualty objective, but some important forces for doing that had just taken it on the chin. Casualties stood at 21 German and 39 Soviet – bloody for the Reds, but not so bloody for the Germans to claim a Pyrrhic victory.

I’ll be looking for more tank battles that set up such an interesting exchange – hopefully a bit smaller and shorter. Much to like, but it was a long slog. I prefer battles with smaller footprints.