The German LT looked out in the gathering light of dawn. He knew they were coming, and coming in great number. Today would be a test. Which would prevail, the raw numbers of the enemy or the training, discipline, and leadership of his comrades?

Across the way, on the other side of no-man's land, his Soviet counterpart was also looking. They had been told that they would overwhelm the Hitlerites with sheer force of numbers. In the terms of a field officer, that meant an old fashioned charge across open ground and engaging the enemy. The sheer numbers were already beginning to overwhelm him. He was to lead in the first wave. Its size was quite large for someone of his limited experience.

It began slowly for the Soviets. The LT's unit was hit with German OBA, disrupting him. The units under his command moved to let the second wave pass through. The second wave hit a clear area north of the field, where HMG fire awaited. The Soviets heroically stood up to it, and assaulted the emplacement. Meanwhile the LT pulled himself together and led his units into the field. The Soviet left advanced and demonstrated, with the intent of keeping the Germans in place and preventing them from reinforcing. When the time was right, they would close in and move through any holes in the German defenses that the their comrades on the right had made.

It did not go well on the Soviet right. The assault on the HMG emplacement proved disasterous. Superior German morale and training paid off and the Soviet forces fled into the field. Worse still, their sorely needed commanding officer was killed in the action.

The action in the field began well for the Soviets, who initially rolled up the German forward positions and inflicted casualties on them. But Soviet momentum was hampered by insufficient leadership. The brave but lone LT was spread thin, moving his units further into the fray while trying to rally units left demoralized. The LT himself was demoralized by German OBA. From then on, the action in the field was determined by the Germans.

Rather than exploit the advances made by their comrades, the units on the Soviet left became reinforcements. As they moved towards the beleaguered right, the German defenses adapted. The Soviet advance from the left found itself running a mixed gauntlet of fire, ranging from OBA to HMG to opfire and assault from German INF units.

As the Soviet assault ran out of drive and its remaining troops withdrew, the dazed Germans did not follow. There would be another time for attack. Stopping this ill-planned and under-led attack had cost them enough today.

A special commendation goes out for Soviet LT 701. Due to his youth and inexperience, he was slated to follow the assault with the wagons. However, he took it upon himself to rally demoralized units fleeing to the forest and leading them back to the battle.