Russian set-up mostly prescribed, but choices as to whether to set up more numerous, but smaller road-blocks or fewer, but stronger ones. Board 21 set-up must protect the "airport" from any of the three (see below) possible German attack axes.

Germans have three attack routes: (1) N to board 17, then E through 17 to 21; (2) E through 19 and 18, then N to 21; or NE 19 to 21 directly. This latter is sluggish due to heavy snow.

The German attack was in hindsight too slow to develop and too methodical. Although essentially every unit of the 93rd Rifle division was eventually destroyed (save for a few that fled due to demoralization), the Germans simply ran out of turns and only barely reached board 21 by game end.

Russians benefited from: (1) A (very) lucky assault by a crazed LT and two RIF platoons against a pair of Tiger II platoons; said LT posthumously awarded Order of Lenin and (2) a sharp-eyed captain who, from a 40-m hex on Board 21, could follow and call in OBA on the German advance essentially all the way in from entry.

The step-loss count was fairly close (and high), though the Russians went from about a 1.5:1 deficit to almost 1:1 by the end, due to the German player having to race in some PzIVs and V's past the last gauntlet of JSII hoping to reach the airport.

I'm quite convinced now that had the German player in this scenario more experience, a replay of this scenario would find the Russians very hard pressed to hold the airport. Still, this was a fascinating scenario with dashes followed by town assaults. The Russian player gets to watch a vast number of brave, but doomed RIF platoons get crunched, but he trades blood for time/terrain.