I broken a long established rule for the soviets, "Do not divide your forces". Two units of mortars and 3 infantry units went south into the woods to get a safe shot at the german held city, while the main body of the soviets army attacked the small town to the north. This led to the destruction of the southern force by a quick counter attack highly mobile and with 2 or 3 times the fire power of the southern force. This error denied the Soviets of sufficient bombardment for the rest of the day. The Soviets were able to reach the city but never able to penetrate farther than assualting an outer town square.