Alternate title: Breakthrough = I Break YOU!

I played this scenario over email with my good friend Tracey. I can't recall clearly, as this damn scenario started back when the leaves were still on the trees, but I'm pretty sure I chose to play this one... or at least offered him several choices and he picked this out of maybe 3 or 4 possibilities.

In any case, I had marked this scenario as Want to Play after reading about it on PG-HQ. Astute members will recall that because of a gentleman's agreement with Avalanche Press, PG-HQ doesn't host OOB totals (ex: 3 x GREN), just OOB flavors (ex: GREN!).

The point being, this scenario looked pretty awesome on the site. And was happily selected by both sides. It was upon consulting the Sinister Forces scenario book that things became a little less awesome... you see the Germans get sixteen trucks. Every single platoon they have is truckable!

What's the problem? This is a breakout scenario! Breakout = understrength and desperate forces trying to pierce a line and slip through. This doesn't stand a chance if the enemy is driving all over creation like it's a freaking Monster Truck Rally!

Take your seats and hold on to your hearts, ladies and gentlemen! Because now it's time, time, TIME for the monster truck RALLYYYYYYY!

On the left side of the arena, we have a handful of starving, shivering communist partisans riding burros...

booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! (<-- crowd)

And on the RIGHT, we have... BIG FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

(delirious cheering)

annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd GRAVE DIGGERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

(deafening cheering)

start... your... ENGINES!!!

BRUM! BRUMBLE! BRUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

and then they chase the partisans and burros around the arena and run them over repeatedly until they're either a bloody pulp or stuck to the truck wheels... or both.

So that was pretty much how it went.

I tried to be a bit tricky, delaying entry of my cavalry group 4 full turns. It was enough to get Tracey to foolishly close his line down upon my sacrificial partisans (worth no VPs to the Germans if massacred - mind your VCs, lad! that should have tipped you off!) and my cavalry made a mad dash for an end-around his northern flank. He hurriedly packed all his gunners back into their trucks and redeployed right in front of me. As he noted, I did manage one cavalry charge to destroy his armored cars. That's the only cavalry charge I've ever made in PG, and in an otherwise disappointing scenario is was a rather thrilling moment.

No unit of mine made it closer than 3 hexes from exiting, the two that did again being turned away by hastily trucked and redeployed German infantry and HMGs. And that's really the story of the scenario.

If you wanted to make this more competitive, you should start by tossing out half the German trucks. The perfect German mobility, given that they already have better morale and firepower, is far too much to overcome. I'd also give the Soviets +2 net initiative rather than the -1 net they begin the scenario with, since they're the ones trying to break out after all.

Lastly, a note about my friend! Tracey, aka PG-Tank Dude, is a phenomenally patient opponent. This 15 turn scenario took us nearly half a freaking year to PBEM, and 99% of that is my fault. 2 or 3 weeks would have been appropriate. I hope his next few PBEM opponents treat him better than I!

Conclusion: Rated 2, because as written only complete incompetence on the German side will give the Soviets a chance. Throw out half the German trucks and you're getting closer to an interesting situation...