It was pretty clear before playing this one out in it's entirety that the Soviets would not win but I had fun moving the behemoth T-35s around and surprisingly not one of them broke down and in the end they were able to continue to be a nuissance to German units dug-in by the road; they kept rallying and coming back for more punishment. The Soviets actually got off to a good start; The one platoon of T-34As did manage to eliminate the StugIIIB assault guns and Soviet OBA was able to eliminate all 4 of the 37mm AT guns but soon a random event caused an ammunition shortage and the Soviets lost their 1x12 OBA increment. From then on it was all pretty much downhill for the reds. They did manage to clear the one southern hill of German units on map 5 and keep it occupied until battle's end but that was their high-water mark. There were plenty of Soviet foot unit step losses but only one step of Soviet armor was eliminated. The only remaining AT capable gun left in the German arsenal, the 75mm IG, did manage to get one lucky shot in and eliminated a half platoon of the T-35 super-clunkers. Most of the German OBA, at 3x16, was concentrated on Soviet tanks so Soviet casualties were relatively low until the end. The Germans had plenty of time to pick off demoralized Soviet foot units to meet the 8 Soviet step loss VC requirements before the 36 turns were up. As bad of a situation it was the Soviets kept rallying and returning only to run smack into a wall of lead again. It seemed that the Soviets were only getting their good rolls for recovery as plenty of "snake eyes" were rolled for demoralized units but never when it counted for DF. At one point before the T-35s lost a step they slowly rolled up, triple stacked to dug-in German positons by the road threatening them with 36 point combined fire value but never got the rolls needed to seriously damage the defenders. Twice the T-35s rallied and returned and at the end of play were some of the very few good order Soviet units left on the map. So I gave this one a "3" forgetting play balance as I did enjoy it enough as a solo play. As futile as the Soviet mission was they kept on and though they didn't accomplish that much the T-35 "Land Battleships" were center stage most of the duration. I was really astonished that with a move rate of 4 and the possibility of a mechanical breakdown per SSR#4 that these monster tanks got around as much as they did.

The axis set up across both boards with their infantry just north of the road screening some anti-tank positions located further north. The Axis mortars set up in the woods on Board 5 and the mountain gun and StugIIIb set up on the hillock on Board 4. The mountain gun was in range of the road with direct fire. The Soviets entered en mass east of the river and had trouble advancing in a orderly manner. This gave the Axis time to consolidate on Board 5 in blocking positions. The Soviets finally occupy the Southeast knoll with some armor and the mortar platoon to provide covering fire and with the rest pressed forward to the newly formed Axis line. In an exchange of fire over the next hour (4 turns) a number of steps and demoralizations and disruptions were suffered by both sides. Although the Soviets got the better of the exchange they were in no shape to advance until they could get reorganized. In addition an entire Soviet company was pulled of the line via special event to reinforce another sector. Right after that the Axis were able to knock out two Soviet armor steps with the relocated Anti-tank guns. The Soviets tried for a third time to reorganize but could not because Axis direct fire and mortar fire kept disrupting and demoralizing the Soviet infantry. The Soviets did manage to launch one weak assault on some Axis inf and a HMG on the road but this got bogged down and the Soviets became demoralized and had to retreat. By this time (2:45) it was obvious that the Soviets were going nowhere so they retired. Even if they could clear the main body of Axis off the road they still had to contend with the mountain gun dug in on the hill on board 4 which could put direct fire on the road. Also present were the StugIII3 and a platoon of infantry. In the town on Bd 4 there was a platoon of infantry and a anti-tank gun battery. Both these forces occupied a winning position. The Soviets never got near them. The best the Soviets could hope for in this scenario is a draw if they can eliminate enough Axis steps.

Really now. This one just appears so unfair for the Soviets. Their infanty are outnumbered 2:1, they have lower morale, inferior artillery, and the Germans can rush into the town and the Soviets need to take it off them.

I played 6 turns of the 36 available and the Germans hadn't taken a scratch. Soviets were down 7 steps already, with their infantry hiding from the German HMGs and OBA in the forest. The T-35 are nice, but at long range against dug-in defenders (which is how the Germans spent their first two turns), they have little chance of inflicting a step loss. Considering there are 32 steps of German infantry, plus AT Guns & StuGIII, I actually had the Soviets give up and withdraw.

This is as broken as an EF scenario can get a big let down. I think I'll go back to France now...

Scenario Rating: 1/5 - This scenario makes me feel guilty for any other 1/5s I've given, except for those cave battles...

Basta leer el texto de este escenario para ver que los soviéticos no tienen ninguna opción de victoria. No obstante, he desplegado los mapas y colocado las fichas de ambos bandos, lo que ha confirmado la opinión inicial. A pesar de todo he empezado a jugar intentando reproducir la situación histórica. A los dos o tres turnos los tanques T-35 soviéticos -coloso con pies de barro- habían perdido la mitad de sus efectivos y estaban casi todos ellos desmoralizados. Los alemanes se habían limitado a utilizar sus modestos cañones de 37mm. Dejé pasar tres o cuatro turnos más, me di cuenta de que perdía el tiempo y acabé la partida.

Uno de los peores escenarios que he jugado.

Author	t1M0t8yk
Method	Solo
Victor	Germany
Play Date	2022-02-05
Language	English
Scenario	EFDx016

16 looks like a poorly designed scenario. I set up the Germans to create a hedgehog defense in and north of the board 4 town. Even with the scenario balancing document I doubt the RKKA has much of a chance.

The Russian tanks moved to the left flank with the idea of focusing on the weakest of the German AT batteries. RKKA infantry approached under cover of the forest SE of the town. Before long three RKKA armor steps were eliminated, putting the Germans on the threshold of meeting both victory conditions. Consequently I advanced the Russian infantry to the edge of the forest and opened fire.

Of course, the Germans responded in kind, but added their otherwise up-to-now idle OBA. Soon RKKA infantry and leaders were disrupted and demoralized. I decided to pull the plug at this point. It's abundantly clear the Germans will win without much effort. The scenario is as disappointing as I anticipated.