Author	J6A (Soviet Union)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Germany
Participants	unknown
Play Date	2023-02-10
Language	English
Scenario	FitS004

This is a tough scenario for the Soviets. They are spread out over 3 boards, they have inferior troops and inferior leadership and inferior morale. To win, the Germans must sweep the board of the Soviets, because it seems almost inevitable that the Soviets will defend the 2 key towns and the road.

In this one, I did just that, and waited as the German steamroller and heavy artillery support just ground my troops down. While it did take time for the Germans to clear out the lead village, it was mostly a bump in the road in the scope of things. Most of the Soviet artillery and AT support was wiped out early on by German artillery and the Soviet tanks didn't fare much better against efficient German armor, although they did take a few steps with them.

Fog of war didn't do me too many favors in this one, as most turns went fairly long, allowing the Germans to keep a steady path of advance towards the second town. Soviet OBA did what it could, however excellent German morale meant that anything less than an X was likely to do little damage. 8 morale troops with a 1 or 2 morale leader still pass on a 7 or 8 against an M2. And the dice weren't giving me many X results. I did disrupt the German advance a few times, and they had enough numbers that they could keep sending more troops forward as others recovered.

Eventually, the Germans got a massive force together to attack the second town. I did what I could with small arms fire, but the artillery and AFVs I had in the town didn't last long against German tanks and artillery. Then the Germans started assaulting, which was a slow, grinding affair, where the Soviets were able to do some damage, however German morale bonuses, combined with AFV/Infantry bonuses allowed the Germans to wear down the defenders.

Meanwhile, the force I had stationed in the woods to the south did its best to resist, and again were outclassed at every turn. They held up the Germans as long as they could, hoping the clock would grant me a victory.

And it almost did. The last Soviet units were wiped out on turn 22 of 24. Just 2 more turns and I could have eked out a victory. And eventually, I was overwhelmed.

I had mixed feelings on how to rate this scenario. It's not a lot of fun for the Soviets. They are just playing for time, and hoping they can get lucky enough to inflict a decent amount of casualties on the Germans as they advance. For that, I would have rated it a 3. In fact, that's probably a fair rating for opposed play. For solo, I think it's a 4, because even with everything going against the Soviets, I almost pulled off a win. And I think with a little better luck, I could have. As a solitaire puzzle, I think this is a good scenario.