red vs Scharfschütze

[red]

Things are clearing up in the south, another Pershing bit the dust destroyed by a very sharp sooting Bazooka team who already scored an earlier hit. Also a Ranger squad sneaking from behind was dispatched. Another Ranger squad was finished off near the northern vhexes. Still no sight of US reinforcements. NKVD is already starting to search the vicinity for any signs of the weapon that started this whole mess.

[Scharfschütze]

A sneaky "Skaut" car is dealt with, no stealing VHs here. On other fronts, we lose a Greyhound to some hidden sovs near the centre, but scatter many others. In the south, the enemy infantry is receiving further mangling. Even those crappy .30 MGs kill the occasional Red Army trooper.

This will be over soon. When all is said and done, I expect a huge bodycount of dead commie skiiers and SMG soldiers!

[red]

Well add another Pershing that was retreating and a ranger squad to that count. I wish I had managed to finish another Pershing in the south but it's still standing. So it now can't go unchallenged to the southern victory hexes anyway. A bazooka team gets wacked attempting to take on a T-44.

[Scharfschütze]

Well, that T-44 was lucky not to get whacked in the first place!

Whatever, where the AT-team failed, a nearby infantry squad prevailed, detonating the T-44. Its mate somewhat to the north with its accompanying infantry succumbs to a sustained assault from rangers, HTs and finally, a Pershing for the kill. We retake VHs overrun in the centre by sov "Skauts", and advance to lay claim to half of the southern VHs almost uncontested (well, there was a M1 Bazooka nearby that didn´t take 90mm HE to kindly).

It is over, and it is a draw. I guess I could have passed on reinforcements, they arrived way to late.

I called them on turn 4, they arrived on turn 8 and took two turns for a single Pershing to fire one shot at a lone sov sniper that refused to die from a hail of fire by two .30 Cal HMGs and a HT, and still lives

The end screen is attached:

[red]

I had my reinforcements incoming too but they were too late to show up. That was a good one.

[Scharfschütze]

Liked it, too, but I would have chosen different forces (many more Greyhounds and Hellcats!) if I had realized from the start that this would be such a short game. Also, no Pershings for reinforcements, but artillery and ... Greyhounds!

One other thing:

I had the worst Ranger show up ever: out of eight squads infiltrating, a whopping three had the grace to actually make it.

[red]

Well, I had a couple of IS-2m's and a mech infantry platoon icoming bound for the center/south but I should have gone for T-34/85 for IS-2 moves like a turtle.

The Rangers did arrive strangely, first I saw them rigth away so I set them up for ambush, second I expected them to appear in my rear and had to keep some significant forces there for protection otherwise we'd have to battle over the center more intensly.