This one was a pleasant surprise. I was sure the Germans would wallop the Soviets. Again, I was the defender; so I set up the four minefields in a sort of J shape right in front of the town, on the road and on both sides of it. Two entrenchments were next to the town, and the third was set back in the little field to the south of the town.

For some reason, a few turns into the game, the Germans balked at the opportunity to go North around the minefields. The entire attacking force shifted to the south. This kept them bottled up way too long as they spent time trying to take out the big 76.2mm guns. It also allowed me to make a small (eventually completely defeated) counterattack in the north- I drove the Grants and two T-34s toward the far hill on his starting board. Though defeated, this attack did keep a few HMGs and at least one heavy PZIV away from the town. At one point, the Tigers were completely separated from everybody else in the German force. I jumped into assaults on those guys! It cost me probably six full platoons to knock out one and a half Tiger platoons, but after a certain point, casualties didn't matter to the Soviets- but they did to the Germans. The German attack on the town finally came from the WEST! They had swung all the way to the far side and were taking the town easily at game's end. But time ran out- there was no way they could get the needed steps off the west edge.