The German offensive started out in freezing weather with heavy snow falling. The Russians had detected the German buildup, but had not expected them to advance during a storm anyway. Adalbert von Falk’s East Prussian 2nd Infantry Division came out of the snow to strike the Russians along the Pissa River. The Russians had spent months building fortifications against just such an offensive.

For decades, local residents had begged the kings of Prussia to change the name of the River Pissa (the name actually refers to its muddy color, from the old Slavic Masurian language); the only response was Friedrich Wilhelm IV’s offer to label the river “Urinoco” instead. The German offensive caught the Russians on the wrong side of the frozen stream, with several battalions conducted a probe ahead of their own advance. That allowed the Germans to both push them back over the river and take their entrenchments before a proper defense could be organized. The Russian 57th Infantry Division, a shaky reservist outfit, fell back in disorder but its individual battalions and companies still showed the will to fight.

Counters and maps from the first edition of August 1914 will work in place of those components of the second edition.

Maps from Eastern Front Deluxe or Panzer Grenadier: The East front may be used in place of those from Fire in the Steppe.

The German Oberleutnant should be a Leutnant.