This scenario is a brawl. Both sides have a regiment of infantry with lots of onboard AT, artillery, mortars and rockets. The SS also have about 2 battalions of tanks, while the Soviets get a few companies worth as reinforcements. The SS must achieve a number of VCs, with their level of victory determined by how many they accomplish. The tasks are to clear the road, take the town, exit 30+ steps, and suffer fewer than 30 steps casualties. The Soviets earn their victory by denying the SS their objectives.

I chose a defense in depth for the Soviets, with AT guns placed in entrenchments and dug-in all over the place, hoping to maximize the chances of crossfire. I also dispersed infantry/HMG strongpoints in clusters of entrenchments throughout the depth of the position. The idea was to slow the SS by making them repeatedly deploy and attack positions while other positions would have them in their sights.

The SS plan was to drive with the entire infantry regiment down the south edge of the board, two battalions in the lead to break open a hole and the third in tracks to exploit. The tanks were in reserve in the center, ready to join the tracked infantry once they got underway. To the north a small force was positioned to pin the Soviets in the north from reinforcing against the big push in the south.

Both sides took steady casualties as the battle developed, with a step of Tigers taken out in a Sturmovik strike, to be finished off in a gutsy assault by Russian infantry, and the Russian AT positions and infantry strongpoints in the south steadily rolled back. However, the SS command structure in the south fell apart early, and a dearth of captains meant that lots of solitary lieutenants had to try to keep the momentum going.

This was ultimately the downfall of the SS. The combination of deep Russian positions and fragmented SS command resulted in the hoped-for breakthrough coming too late in the game. As the final turns ticked by, the SS had failed to achieve any of their objectives.

This was a big, messy brawl. Both sides had small victories here and there, but the SS lacked any sort of sustained energy. Major Soviet victory.