The Soviets opted to entrench two hexes east of the woods and one to its west, all held with INF and HMG. The bulk of their forces were in the woods, ready to reinforce the entrenchments if the Germans hit on the flank, or to make the Germans pay for every meter of woods if they came up the center. Either way, the Soviets waited with a “come and get us” attitude.

The Germans were to clear the woods and work their way behind the entrenchments. They deployed the first wave between the town and the field, with the second wave deploying from the town. They approached before daybreak.

They hit the woods as the sky began to lighten up and found the Soviets waiting, ready for the fight. The forest sound resounded with the sounds of many bitterly contested close assaults. The mighty German OBA concentrated on the entrenchments, disrupting and demoralizing the units holding them. Combined with the loss of two leaders, the entrenched Soviets could do little to reinforce their comrades in the woods.

The Soviets in the woods fought with a magnificent tenacity, giving in close assault as good as they got. Their doggedness began to take its toll on the Germans, inflicting casualties, disruption, and demoralization on the Hitlerites. The lost German momentum due to the bolstering of morale proved a vital factor in the loss of this engagement.

In the end, the Germans had taken most of the woods. Their primary goal of inflicting tremendous casualties on the Soviets, however, eluded them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this engagement for two reasons. First of all, I left it a far more seasoned veteran of assault tactics. This is not a “wait and see” scenario for the Germans. Due to its limited number of turns, the German player must push, push, push from the first activation. Second was the way it played out for me. There was a lot of what keeps me coming back to PG in the dice rolls. At just the crucial time, the Soviets took the initiative with two activations to tighten up their line in the woods. They no longer reacted to the tactical situation, but redefined it, making the Germans lose critical time adapting to it. There were also many instances of excellent marksmanship by the Soviet units. They’d often inflict morale checks against the Germans that were way out of proportion to their firepower v targets in the woods. Add to it the high instances of failed morale checks on the German’s part and you had the Soviets leveling the field against an enemy with superior firepower, morale, and leadership.

Special commendations in this engagement goes to Soviet Captain 9-0-0, KIA scouting in front of the woods and the Soviet ATR units, fighting as infantry in repeated assaults on their position.