This small scenario from the main box-set EFD was played by email with old adversary of five and half years John Legan from Chicago. It has 2.5 German Infantry platoons back with an HMG pln, a PzIII, 50mm AT gun & mortar, trying to fend off 9.5 Soviet INF pln, 2 HMG plns and 2 plns of KV's. The Germans also have a 1 in 3 chance of air-support each turn and a 16pt OBA allotment. Both sides are tasked to control the whole 5 hex town of Malayi on the board or if contested, the Germans can win by eliminating 16 steps and the Soviets can win by eliminating 7 steps.

For the first 3 turns or so, the Soviets advance toward Malaya Kabosi and they manage this without loss. In fact, they practically get to the town gates unscathed. As a sub-plot, the PzIII does its best to become a target for the KV's and moves far from the roads serving the town tugging the slow moving KV's with it in a slow chase.

As the Soviets make their final dash to incur on the town, some German fire causes a step loss on turn 4. There is also some disorder struck, but the Soviets do manage to get to the one corner where a solo German platoon holds. The Soviets throw a company sized attack against the defenders on the corner just mentioned and this assault was to last around 8 or 9 turns as the German defenders hold the enemy off generally getting the better of the assaults by disordering the enemy attacks. Elsewhere, other Soviet foot troops are slowly becoming disrupted and then demoralised as they fail to breach the enemy line .... Their morale against fire often letting them down. But almost un-noticeably, their casualties are slowly mounting as some steps are cut down by German HMG and rifle fire, but also by DEM troops throwing in the towel and disappearing as fighting units.

In turn 11, the Germans throw in a counter-attack in the assault hex where two of the Soviet platoons are demoralised. This follows the Germans first loss of a step the turn before when what had been a brave stand by the solo platoon results in them losing a step in the assault and becoming disrupted. With better morale and concentrated force, this counter attack knocks off a step from the good order Soviet INF, and with a double demoralisation, a step off each of the already DEM Sov platoons. The damage is accentuated when the PzIII gets a ranging shot from 5 hexes against the KV2 reduced platoon and destroys the step too. This brings the Soviet step loss to 15 with just one more needed.

With the initiative theirs in turn 12, the Germans mercilessly drive the assault home against the 3 x reduced DEM enemy units remaining there. This causes another step loss and knocks off the other 2 x DEM units as they both fail M2 MC's by a considerable margin. With 18 step losses and still needing to inflict 6 on the Germans with a turn remaining, it was going to be impossible.

Of the 5 hexes of Malaya Kabosi, the best the Soviets could muster was control of 2 hexes and 2 hexes contested. The Germans controlled 1 hex (plus the 2 contested hexes). German win.

Rated '3' as its a decently fun game with such a small counter-count. German leaders were poor with only one of them having a morale rating. The Soviets were equally poorly led in officer ratings. I'm surprised this scenario has such a German win bias. Certainly at one point, it looked as if the Soviets might swamp the town around turn 4, but it never occurred in the end. Certainly as the Germans you have to be ready to fire-brigade locations and when you do fight, fight with a hard-hitting stack. Don't use them in dribs and drabs or else they will get picked off.