Road To Berlin's battles for the Oder bridgeheads continues with scenario 31, a race between the newly arrived Officer and NCO candidates from the "Kampfschule" (KS) Dresden Reg't, and elements of the 172nd Guards Rifles to reach and secure the strategically placed village of Podelzig. This village guards the Northern access to the Reitwein Spur - a perpendicular jut of elevated land that reaches out and dominates the lowlands of the Oderbruch and which allows an unrestricted view of the battles to the North and South.

Enough background - I rated this scenario a solid 4 as it was a good, quick playing scenario that ended in a Major German Victory.

The German plan was essentially a mad dash along the West-East road to secure the village hexes, leaving only a token force in the forest to the North to tie down any possible Soviet incursions through the woods.

The Soviet plan was essentially the same, all forces attempted to move as one, in sufficient strength to take the Easternmost town hex, and then bludgeon their way West.

What the Soviets didn't count on was the superior German leadership driving their Grenadiers forward to the same Eastern town hexes - evidently two battlehardened instructor-heroes from the school (a 2-1 Leutnant and 2-2 Sgt). That and the fact the Germans had a road to advance along, thus ensuring they would get to the town hexes first...

In the end the Soviets never really even got past the original town hex and were sent reeling back off the Spur with a little less than half of the time allotted for the battle.