The Soviets begin with just enough men and materiel to cause the German headaches, but not enough to adequately hold a defensive line- the Germans ARE going to get to the town. The Soviets therefore did some weird things in the set-up: a minefield on the hill to the south; entrenchments with just the 76.2mm's on the edge of the field to the west, covering the approach to the town; and an entrenchment at the north edge of the southern field, with the 57mm and 3 infantry platoons in the area. This meant that the town and a nearby entrenchment held the machine guns, the flame unit, and the remaining infantry, 76.2, the mortars and ATRs.

The question is not how to stop the Germans, but how to make them pay dearly for their progress. I figured the Soviets would at least be able to utilize all those 76.2mm's to good effect in an indirect fire role. That's how I conceived of it- but it didn't really pan out. Thanks to quite a few lucky dice rolls, what actually happened was more successful than a Soviet commander would have dreamed.

The bulk of the German infantry advanced directly towards the town and the southern field- only one engineer unit was hung up on the mined hilltop. Their tanks approached cautiously from the blind spot created by the southern field. The STGIII didn't expect the entrenchment in the southern field, blundered adjacent to it and was reduced by the 57mm.

The German approach then swung north to the east of the town, and to the west to take out the two entrenchments with the 76.2mm's. The Soviets had to rearrange their dispositions to cover all the town hexes; they even had to clear out of the one entrenchment adjacent to the town- and they would have been quickly overwhelmed if the Germans hadn't been distracted by the entrenchments. Three German platoons went after the 76.2mm's in the western entrenchments, but having been reinforced by a lone ATR from the town, and aided by the advantage of first fire, the Soviet defense proved relentless and murderous. Having committed too many resources to unnecessarily taking out the entrenchments, the Germans were able to create only two footholds in the town- in the far south, and to the west. The remaining Soviets were able to ride these assaults out- especially once the Grants were able to reach the town.

For the entirety of the game, German assaults bogged down on the entrenchment in the southern field- it was never taken by the Germans, despite commitment of the Tiger to the assault.

By the end of the game, step losses had become nearly equal-15 or so for both sides- but that wasn't the point. The Germans had run out of time, and the Soviets still held Gremuchii.