Prioritizing the points to defend when you have so few men becomes quite a dilemma. I left the southern board undefended in order to better defend the town. I had one of the big guns set back in a field south of the town to deal with any Soviet tanks that got just a little too bold in the middle of the battlefield. A few groups of infantry and MGs were set forward in the northern sector, and another similar team was set near the road, a few hexes in front of the aforementioned big gun. My artillery was set in the town to take advantage of the spotting column shift. It was a pretty decent defensive set up.

However, there were the following issues. 1. Artillery is hard to move once the enemy closes. I should have shifted these pieces out of the town, but I was more focused on causing casualties. This hurt me in the end game, as they don't defend well against assaults. 2. Sometimes a long range shot at a loaded carrier just isn't worth it. My defense crumbled after I took such a shot (a miss), and the Soviet artillery knocked out the gun on the next turn. 3. Setting up dug in, but in the open can have the desired affect of drawing artillery fire away from more important assets, but you better have good leaders out there too, to get those guys back in order by the time the enemy draws near.

At the time I played this scenario, I had lost the previous 4 (I think) straight scenarios from Kursk, all of which I played as the defender. (We merely switch off each scenario: if I was the German in a scenario, I play the Soviet in the next one.) So, I was really trying my best to keep the Russians out of that town. However, they read my defenses well, and instead of coming straight at the town, they massed on the southern German board and charged up the road to the town. I held them up well until about turn 12 or 13, and caused more than enough Soviet step losses. But my reinforcements didn't come on board until turn 11 (I think), and there was simply no way to drive them off the road, or to keep the town in German hands.