This was a tough one for the Germans. Their cavalry is not equal to the Soviet infantry in a head to head match, let alone with the Soviets having the advantage of cover and darkness. Basically, poor German cavalry bumped into dug in Soviet infantry deployed well forward in the town on board 4. If the scenario was part of a larger campaign, then I would have bypassed it, and screened it off while continuing my reconnaissance of the road. Unfortunately, the scenario dictated that the road had to be cleared of enemy troops by game end, which meant the Germans had to invest the town and take it by storm.

Things started off poorly for the Germans. As the lead element of cavalry came to the town's edge, opportunity fire from successive hexes first reduced it, and then eliminated it. Two steps lost almost immediately!!! The Germans, having been alerted to the presence of enemy troops in the town, carefully deployed around the western approaches to the town in an attempt to maximize fire. This took precious time, and with the arrival of sunrise, it became painfully clear to the Germans that this town would be a tough nut to crack. The Soviets had deployed forward in strength, were dug in, and had been very fortunate in their leader selections.

The rest of the match saw poor German dice (generally ineffective fire results) and fortunate Soviet dice rolls (rallied at approximately 85% success rate). The Germans just could not get enough troops in position to attack the relatively few demoralized Soviets, and even when they could mass in proximity to weakened enemy units, the Soviets would almost always rally prior to the assault. Eventually, the Germans would have to withdraw and rely on stronger troops and masses of dedicated OBA to reduce the town to rubble before continuing their advance.