Author	treadasaurusrex (Soviet Union)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Soviet Union
Participants	Tubac52
Play Date	2024-01-04
Language	English
Scenario	PGdm001

This was a costly, but fun, 4-session play-through with the ingenious & playful, Tubac52, leading the attacking elements of the German 6th Panzer, and me playing the defending elements of the Soviet 355th Rifle Division. While the result was a Russian victory after 16 bloody turns, the outcome was in doubt for most of the game. Our leaders draws were middling, with the Germans having a slight advantage. We used the defense-favoring FOW, as well as the smoke-illum, extended assault and excess initiative optional rules. We lost count of the number of combat 7-die rolls, but there always seemed to be one or two in the mix whenever there was a crucial fight in any of the 3 entrenchments or town hexes. Playing the Bolshevik side with no armor as penance for past sins, I had surprisingly lucky armor piercing, and morale recovery die rolls with the Russian 45mm AT units. All but the last 2 steps of Pz-IVe tanks were eliminated by either AT fire or close assault during this battle.

Others has described the action in this scenario, so I will only summarize. In the early going, the German thrust was aimed primarily at the town, but effective Russian OBA and long-range AT fire caused a change in plans, and a portion of the attacking force was drawn off to the ultimately successful conquest of the nearby hill. It proved comparatively easy to exceed the required German step loss minimum of 7, and thanks to hard fought Soviet counterattacks, only one town hex was controlled by the German side by the end of the battle. Mostly, the Axis side just ran out of leaders and combat units by the end of game turn 13.

This early scenario's "all or nothing" victory conditions are indeed very hard for the German side to pull off. This battle simulation is better suited to SOLO play, but we give it a generous rating of 3.

Author	Isra3lite (Germany)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Soviet Union
Participants	treadasaurusrex
Play Date	2025-02-26
Language	English
Scenario	PGdm001

***Player's note: This is my (Isra3lite's) 2nd time playing this scenario as the Huns, trying to carry out the same tactics as the first time, but against a much more knowledgeable player. Here are the rules we employed: We used the FOW, hidden units (Soviets only), extended assault, tank riders, smoke/illum and excess initiative optional rules. We also used these 2 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 per road hex, just like MOTORIZED units, and 2) Standardized Movement for Mechanized Units — All mechanized units may move through clear hexes at a movement cost of only 1 movement point per hex, instead of 1 1/2. Add one to this cost if moving up, across, or down slopes hexes.

Tread's Soviet initial deployment on Map 02 was primarily within the town of Bogdanovo, with both 45mm AT guns and HMG teams facing westwards towards the hill centered on 0713. Soviet 82mm Mortars deep along the west side of the town and most of the SMG and Leaders towards the center of town. Within the western side of the hill were all of the half-strength infantry 2-2 platoon units and a sole leader, awaiting the German advance.

Given the lengthy duration of the scenario, from 0800 to 1200, the Germans decided to overrun the hill and pin the half strength units taking three turns to assault those positions. Elimination of the half strength Soviet platoons proved challenging as the 82mm mortar teams as well as triple strength off-map artillery batteries pummeled the exposed infantry units on the hill, with little regard to the fate of their encircled platoons. However, the Soviets had a strategy (that worked) to delay the German advance on the town. Though there were not many German fatalities as they demoralized the Soviet teams, Germans underwent many failed morale checks, preventing a cohesive infantry advance.

The German off-map batteries took to softening the western-facing HMG positions, assuming the lackluster 45mm AT guns would only be lethal against the trucks. I held the trucks back to avoid being soft targets for the Soviet AT's and HMG platoons. This was a fatal error as I were to learn how poorly the rapid advance of the German StuG IIIh's, PzIVe's, and PzIIIb's would fare against the garrisoned infantry units as they advanced separately from their supporting infantry. Initially around 0845, the German armor approached from the southern side of the town entering the hexes just east of the north-south road and sopping up Victory Points as the town was largely undefended at that side, then circling northwards to eliminate the 82mm teams from inside the town.

Clearly, the Soviets SMG teams along with Captain and Lt leaders had other plans as they pinned the armor units along the northeast hexes of the town at 0915, with a pair of particularly bloody assaults at 0407 and 0507, causing two armor units to wreck in the former and one armor unit to demoralize in the latter. This drove the German casualties to 13 step losses and versus 8 steps for the Soviets, proving too expensive for the Germans to continue the assault. This successful Soviet counterassault ended the game for the Germans at 0915 with a strategic victory for the Soviets.

Author	Grognard Gunny (Soviet Union)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Soviet Union
Participants	treadasaurusrex
Play Date	2024-04-15
Language	English
Scenario	PGdm001

It was reduced to a town fight, which the Russians deliberately forced upon the Germans from the git go. The whole thing was predicated upon the last two or three turns... it COULD have gone the other way given a slightly longer game. Note; There seem to be a LOT of these games that come up a turn or two short or going the other way! Is this part of the balance bit?