Shad's Note: I'm dumping in a bunch of my old BGG AARs. If you've followed my "work" on BGG then you've read these before...

Deployment

Because both sides must enter via the single road, the initial deployment is rather simple. The only decision of note was for the Germans to send their heavy artillery in first, in the hopes that they could get set up on the town perimeter and hit the onrushing Soviets a few times before being taken out.

The German -1 modifier to movement was a big concern, and did affect play...

Initial Moves

The Soviets rushed onto the board and down the road, but their cohesive marching soon started to string out along the countryside due to their poor command structure. One captain & three lieutenants does not an organized, rapid reacting army make!

The Germans slowly struggled against the heavy snow and began to file into the town, but realized that there simply wasn't enough room for all of them within the safety of the settlement. The unlucky stragglers were ordered into the nearby forest and wished the best of luck.

Hailstorm

The Soviet force broke up during advance into 3 distinct groups: the spearhead led by the captain and a lieutenant, the infantry reserve led by a lieutenant, and the heavy weapons group slowly bringing up the rear lead by the last lieutenant.

For a moment it looked as if the Soviet spearhead would be able to just slip into the northernmost reaches of the town before the Germans could fully occupy it, and thereby hold on until the reserve infantry arrived to lend them numerical superiority...

But then the German heavy weapons company comprised of 3 full HMG platoons and led by a more than capable German captain (0-9-1) got to that northernmost outskirts of the town first... and unleashed a hailstorm of hot lead upon the Soviets running desperately towards them across open ground.

The Soviet captain rallied what men were left alive and bid them run for their lives into the nearby forest.

Knowing the Soviets had only the weakest of artillery, the German captain and his HMG company patiently waited at the tip of the town for the next assault. (In game terms, an HMG triple stack with a 0-9-1 captain in the northernmost town hex knowing that the Soviet only has 2 x 81mm and thus nothing to fear in terms of the triple stack penalty.)

Plan B

The reassembled Soviet spearhead began to work around the German flank through the forest, and even managed to encircle and eliminate those unlucky German stragglers who had not been able to fit into the town, but time was running short.

With the Soviet infantry reserve now on the north end of the town just out of range of the German HMG company, the Soviet captain gave the order for a two-pronged assault.

On the west end the Soviets bravely dashed out of the forest and up to the gates of the village, only to panic and break under uncannily accurate fire from the German 81mm platoon.

On the north end of town the Soviet infantry madly ran towards the HMG company. Men died in mid-step, but no one retreated... except for the Lieutenant, who ran clear across the field into a distant wood and spent the next 2 hours carefully cleaning the shit from his pants while his men died on the edges of the town.

The attack was spent, only the Soviet captain remained combat effective. Two lieutenants had fallen in action and the third was doing his laundry, as mentioned. While the casualties suffered by either side had been nearly even, the Soviet command structure was broken beyond repair and the remaining soldiers refused to fight in anything but a self-defensive capacity. (Hence the headless chickenworkers...)

Game Conclusion

German Victory, all town hexes in German hands at scenario's end.

Final Thoughts

The core of Panzer Grenadier is its leadership system and this scenario dramatically highlights how differences in military leadership can overcome orders of battle. The Soviets begin the scenario with a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in infantry, but lack the leaders necessary to successfully coordinate their attacks.

I enjoyed soloing this, but I don't see much potential for variation with respect to the result.

The very next scenario in the book - 93: Tank Attack at Okhvat - reads:

After the 189th Infantry Regiment won the close race for Okhvat Station, the 249th Rifle Division made a second attempt to take the village. This time they brought tanks.

I'm very excited to play this "historical sequel" after having experienced the first battle. I recommend players approach these as a pair for maximum satisfaction and historical insight.