As the title states, this scenario is all about the T-34. if employed in large amounts with infantry support they were unstoppable by the Germans. This scenario highlight this quite well.

The Soviets have 16 steps of T-34s for the Germans to contend with and they must do this with PzIII's which were not up for the job. But the other issue is the mass of Soviet troops with them. Twice as many infantry than the Germans with SMG's and HMG's, recon units and supporting BT's as well. This was probably the best fighting force the Soviets could field at the time.

For the Germans the defensive is tough, they must fight a mobile defensive battle. There will be little chance to get dug in and a solid defensive line before the hordes are upon them. The question will be how to conduct this mobile defense. The plan will be to try to get the 18th to the center of the boards and control the approaches from the south. But they will need to deal with a 7km front.

Given the mass of troops that the Soviets have, they plan a three prong attack. A highly mobile force to the west, a mixed force in the center and an infantry force to the east. All will have a fairly equal share of troops and material, but each will have enough to satisfy the 30 step VC for exiting the board. This will give equal chance for all to get off if the other groups get bogged down in the attack. This will also force the Germans to choose how to defend. There force is half the size so they will need cover three threats, a tough job.

The action starts with the Germans getting the first turns and move there forces on from the north west. The armor and mobile units move down the road to position in the center of the four boards while the infantry and support units move down from the north. The Soviets have the three prongs advance. The mobile force consisting of T34's, SMG's, INF's advance and take the town on board four. Following behind is the supporting artillery and mortars that setup in the town. In the center the mixed force of infantry and BT's advance around the small woods and continue up the road and into the open, while the all infantry force moves northeast through the woods road and along the eastern edge.

By turn four contact is made. The Germans having setup in the center fields and light woods to the west make contact with the Soviet mobile force. Initial OP fire shots fall are ineffective, but both sides OBA strike with infantry step losses. The T-34's look to chase after the PzIII's lurking in the woods, but they wisely duck out of sight. Positioning of the PzJr I's proves tough as the mass of T-34s easily covers there advance with good overwatch tactics. This leaves a company of infantry holdup in the woods to fend off the Soviets. As the Soviets close the Germans open fire but there shots continue to be ineffective. The SMG's close with some supporting BT7's for assaults, but not before Soviet OBA obliterate a German HMG platoon. This weakens the defense and the Germans commit PzIII's to support. This was a failure as the Soviets quickly get the imitative on them and shoot up a G and F in the first action. Impervious to the Soviet armor the remaining tanks retire to the fields to wait for an opportunity. The small wood becomes a major assault with the Germans slowly worn down, but more importantly there is not much behind the woods defenders to stop the rest of the Soviets.

To the center the Germans have a little better luck. They have established a line in the fields with the two AT guns in the middle of it. These will fend off the lightly armored BT's and force the Soviet infantry into the HMG's that are with them. The Germans also send out PZ II's and III's to goad the Soviets forward into the guns. But a problem appears when the Soviet infantry force to the east appears around the woods. A lone Ba6 scouting ahead of the infantry force gets a bead on the PZII and is able to score a kill. The demoralize PzII is now on its own and help from another Pz IIIf helps fend off the Ba6 but a group of BT5's threaten the PzIIIf and it is just out of range of the 50mm AT's. They try to help with long range shots but it does not work and opens them up for OBA shots. At the same time T-34s from the mobile force shift to the center as the mobile force has had good success with the western approach. This puts the PzII and PzIIIf in grave trouble. More PzIII's are moved forward to counter this but this was where the T34 proved to be the queen.

In the next turn the Soviets get the initiative and T34's knock out 2 steps of PzIIIf's leaving demoralized remnants. The 50mm AT's try to hit the supporting BT's but fail and Soviet OBA obliterate one 50mm AT. The remaining German tanks must now find cover as they will not be able to take out the T34's and the BT's are out of range. Dashing into the woods they run into the left edge of the Soviet eastern infantry force and wind up fighting it out with infantry and mortars. This ties up the PzIII's for several turns and gives the T-34's free reign over the center right.

With the center at a stalemate for the moment the eastern infantry continue to press forward. Half are lock in combat with the PzIII's in the woods but the others continue up the eastern edge. The Germans shift a company to a small woods to the east and try to block them. After a couple turns of advance the Soviets close and assault the Germans. The Germans take a beating from the attacks, two platoons are reduced and then lost in fleeing fire. This opens the door on the eastern side for the Soviets. It also increases the steps loss count over 30 for the Germans.

I played several more turns but the German tank losses as well as others put the game out of reach for the Germans. It was a case of too many Soviets and not enough Germans to defend. It did go to turn 20 but there was not much point after that, as it was a major Soviet win. Despite this, I like the scenario very much it is one to play again with a different German tactic. Maybe keeping the Germans together and defeating one group at a time would be better, or maybe a flank movement by the German force. Hard to say, just many options.