This was a great scenario, lots of units on a medium board, diverse objectives. The SS had a reinforced regiment with which to do 4 things: capture a small town, occupy a point on the north-south road, exit 20 steps off the far edge, and don't lose more than 20 steps doing it. The Soviets had about half as many Guards troops to stop them, with reinforcing battalions of RKKA T-34s and SMGs arriving at some point.

The Soviet defense placed a minefield covering the southwest approach to the town, and a mix of 76mm and infantry defending it. To the north they straddled the road with dug in inf and 76mms. Backing this front line were ATGs and ATRs in interlocking fields of fire.

The SS split their force into a battalion to attack the road position, and a reinforced battalion to take the town. They also assigned a few companies of inf to support their StuG company and Tiger platoon. The plan was to spend the first 3 hours taking the two territorial objectives, then devote the final 1.5 hours to exiting their troops. The tanks and ATGs were to bide their time in the middle, available to support either attack or to deal with the T-34s when they arrived.

That was the plan, and then they met the Guards. In the north, as the SS was working their way through and around some fields approaching the dug-in Soviets, the Soviets decided to spoil their attack by charging out of their defenses and meeting them at the edge of the fields. It was brave, suicidal, and ultimately successful. For the rest of the battle, the SS was hung up, gaining no more ground, but decimating the Guards in turn.

In the south, as the main force approached the town, the 76mm opened up on the towed ATGs and wiped most of them out. Some infantry moved in to try to silence them, but they held on. For the rest of the battle. They were literally the last unit rooted out 4 hours later. One battery of ATGs tied up a huge variety of SS forces, and inflicted losses on their tanks when they tried to get in on the fight. At the south end of town, a company of infantry and SMGs held out for nearly as long, stopping every attack cold and holding morale remarkably well as they were slowly worn down.

The Soviet reinforcements were almost catastrophically late in arriving, and even when they did they were nearly wiped out in stopping the last desperate drives of the SS. The Tiger, which had been step-reduced in a dramatic assault by the town defenders that also claimed half the StuGs, was finally shot down in a blaze of glory, literally surrounded by tanks and ATGs on all sides and at ranges up to 2 kilometers.

It was apparent early on that casualties were mounting too fast for the SS, and they were having so little success in taking their objectives, that I never really doubted the Soviets would get at least a minor victory. But thanks to the final desperate attacks by the RKKA reinforcements, they achieved a major victory.

Great game, but tough for the SS. They need to play a bit more cautiously, look for the flanks, and keep up a steady stream of exiting forces, rather than waiting for the end.

Tigers are predators. Every predator needs prey. In this case a single platoon of Tigers gets to feast on a host of T-34s from the RKKA 96th Tank Corps.

At first the scenario looks to be a walkover as the SS need to dislodge some Soviet Guards from a town, establish a presence on an extended road, exit some units and keep from losing too many steps. If all that was around was simply the initial Soviet force this would be simple but the 96th Tank Corps is sending 10 platoons of a variety of T-34s (models a through c) and 9 platoons of SMGs to support the Guards. In addition the SS is primarily an infantry force with three platoons of StGs, one of Marder IIIs and one of Tigers.

Since the Soviets are amply supplied with AT gunnery capability the SS entry is calculated to protect their armor. Even at that one step of Marders are destroyed almost instantly (that darn 1 1/2 range will get you every time). What then ensues is a process of the infantry rooting out AT gun after AT gun and the Tigers pulling into sight in order to get the AT guns (and the 76.2s) to shwo themselves. I would expect that the most frequent sound heard on the battlefield was the boing and thud of AT rounds bouncing off the Tigers armor.

As the Soviet hold on the town began to slip and the AT guns in the fields began to lose their cohesion the 96th Tank Corps arrived. The Germans worried some as the T-34s dropped off their SMG riders and moved to a crossfire position. The Tiger, however focused its fire at long range on the a's and b's which had only 4 armor and quickly lost steps and (with a reduced morale of "6") demoralized and the StGs helped knock out one leg of the crossfire. This left the T-34s firing at "-2" and praying for miracles. While they ultimately did get one step of Tigers reduced they lost 15 of 20 steps of tanks and the SMGs were mainly demoralized. Unfortunately for the SS their losses were slightly too high (by four steps) but all other objectives were reached.

This leads to a minor German victory.

Again, the urgency of the German assault is palpable in the scenario. The terrific pace of the battle is felt through each fog of war stoppage (and most of the turns ended that way!). Losses are tremendous and the power of the Tiger tanks in comparison to the early model T-34s was stunning. While not the tour de force of the previous scenario (#3 Attack of the Lifeguards) it is still a heck of a play. I give it a "4".

I really botched up this one! The Soviets were bled dry over the 16 turns that we played. The Germans rather unexpectedly advanced en masse against the town- I had expected an advance on a broader front. Needless to say, I didn't hold the town, but my units there took down quite a few Germans steps. My reinforcements also showed up a bit later than I would have liked, i.e., after the Germans had pretty much consolidated their positions in the town and on the road on board 36.

My defense was spread too thin for me to make effective counterattacks anywhere, but the hidden AT assets were just enough to slow the German advance. Caution in these scenarios, I am learning, does not corollate with victory.

Nevertheless, the Soviet AT capabilities were able to take out the Marder, half an STG and half the Tiger platoon; nearly 20 INF/MG steps were lost by the Germans as well.

The Soviets had quite a few of the T-34s left, but only a handful of infantry and SMGs left, most of whom were poorly positioned by the end.

The Game was called a draw: Germans lost 20 steps; Germans held the Town; Germans held the Road; and they started to, but were unable to meet, the 20 exit point requirement.

Played in two sessions, this scenario has an SS battler group with armour support including a platoon of Tigers, air support and OBDA attacking a Soviet Guards regiment dug in with the promise of a regular Tank Brigades support. The German commander has four objectives and must fulfil three of them for a minor victory, as one of these objectives is not to lose 20 steps this is a tall order. The SS sweep onto the board and make for their first objective the capture of a small town, other units aim for the northern road and begin to dig in, another objective is to block this road, other units are kept in reserve their aim will be to exit the eastern edge of the board to gain the third objective. Initially all goes well and losses are negligible however once the close combat start in the town this soon changes. The Soviet forces defend with great vigour and accurate HMG fire cuts down many SS troopers. In fact the Soviet commander holds the town like a mini Stalingrad by feeding just enough units to reinforce the town just when the SS think they have the upper hand. In fact by game end the town is still solidly in Russia hands. The SS reserve enter the board and make for a gap in the lines as per the initial plan. These units are met by elements of the RKKA tank brigade and the T34's are more than the match for the STUG's and Marders who were in the reserve. By game end not one German unit has managed to break through to the east, SS losses are so heavy that the attack is called off.A major Soviet victory. Good solid scenario this, I'm not sure if the SS can ever get a major victory but a minor victory is possible with a better planned attack. The Tiger unit got embroiled in the hand to hand combat in the town and very early on got reduced and demoralised and never cane back, a mistake on my part as it would have been a tough egg for those T34's to crack.