Author	Miguelibal (Soviet Union)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Romania
Participants	treadasaurusrex
Play Date	2025-08-12
Language	English
Scenario	ARom015

With no tanks the T-Rex is not near as dangerous to play!

Yes, I ended up losing this 8-session, fracas leading the defending Soviets, but we came very close to a drawn game at the end of 32 turns. My guys held off the Romanian wave for more turns than expected and inflicted a great many casualties on the invaders on their way to Odessa. This was your basic infantry slugfest with many adjacent-hex firefights that I mostly lost, and plentiful close assaults which turned out to be about even. I shed leaders with alarming regularity in this scenario and suffered the traditional senior leader decapitation during the 21st turn. I used up my scant reserves trying to plug holes by the end of the 24th game turn, and was slowly shot to pieces as I lost critical terrain and troops to my wily opposite number. Room to maneuver was limited on this battle map, so both sides basically just bludgeoned their way, straight ahead across the map.

Oops, I nearly forgot . . . my fellow house rules heretic reminded me to include the rule set we used in this long battle. These certainly improved and simplified our play-through.

We used the FOW, consolidation, smoke/illum, excess initiative and strategic movement optional rules, and also used these THREE optional house rules: 1) Road Movement for Mechanized & Foot Units — All FOOT & MECHANIZED units may move on roads at the rate of 1/2 of a Movement Point (MP) per road hex, just like MOTORIZED units, 2) Standardized Movement for Mechanized Units — All mechanized units may move through clear hexes at a movement cost of only 1 movement point (MP) per hex, instead of 1 1/2. Add one to this cost if moving up, across, or down slopes hexes, 3) Revised Gully & Wadi Rule — The 4th Edition Terrain Effects Chart is adjusted as follows: combat units and leaders in gullies or wadis are in limiting terrain for purposes of spotting and are automatically dug in. Entrenching is allowed in this terrain type, as well. Movement within this terrain remains: 2 for Foot, 4 Motorized, 3 for Mechanized units. Combat against units in this terrain is –1 DF, -1 AT and defending units have First Fire in the first segment of assault combat.

I give this decently-balanced fight a 4, in shared play with a tough and clever opponent who made it more fun to play than a solitaire match. In truth it probably deserves a 3. The more experienced player should lead the Romanians, as they have the harder row to hoe in this infantry-heavy, firepower dependent, scenario.

Russians on defense. The Romanians couldn't catch a break on their attacks and the Russians were recipents of hot dice.