Brandenburger Bridge - Rout Pack II 5
The other side got 2.5 squads with the hero, all near the bridge end. The Russians put their 82mm in 13DD9, 76mm INF in 13U9, and their infantry in the stream and in the woods around the big mortar, with the goal of pounding the Germans with spt weapons and using all those silly conscripts to for close combat. The west side was focused on the intersection at 32W5, with the 45L HIP in that location and with all the firepower within a hex or two. Their goal was to delay the German relief column for four turns.

Turns 1-2: In their first prepfire, the Germans on the east side took out the crews of both the 82mm and 76mm INF with direct fire (dice en fuego), but started taking damage from the HMG / 9-1 kill stack set up in 13W8. The Russians made progress moving along the river bank from 13S10 to 7L9 thanks to a sniper that broke the German HS in K9. The OBA was on target, but got few effects due to the foxholes. On the west bank, the German infantry pushed through the woods toward the intersection (32W5), smoking three conscript squads placed as a screen with flamethrowers and mr. 9-2 unt friends. Meanwhile, the hero went out scouting and managed to decoy the Russian MMG / 8-1 stack into leaving its position (he was moving up behind the 45L concealed). The armored column rounded the corner and the 45L opened up when the lead PzIIIH got to 32Z9 (boresight hex). Luckily, two Russian shots bounced off the front of the PzIII, and the other two closed the range and used MGs / Main g! uns, plus the flamethrower asslt engineers, to chase off all the remaining infantry in the area. Some German infantry made it into the 32V5 intersection and took out the crew in close combat. The Russian turn 2 reinforcements entered and moved as a stack to 32V5 to bring fire on the intersection. The Russians then blasted the intersection with rifle / MMG fire and re-manned the AT gun (albeit with a 447). Things still looked pretty good for the Germans until a sniper broke BOTH the squads guarding the western end of the bridge in 7J0.

Turn 3: The stalemate on the east side continued, with the Germans able to keep the 82mm and 76mm out of action via DMing. The Germans started to take loses from the volume of fire (OBA, HMGs, lots of squads and 50mm mortars) and were down to 2 squads still in good shape. A Russian OBA attack turned one of the 8-1s into a 9-2, but that promotion didn't last long when a Russian squad killed the 9-2, MMG, and a 468 in CC in 7K10 (ouch!). However, the Germans in 13Z10 held tight (damn fanatics...) and held the Russians back. The timely arrival of the stukas bailed the Germans out when the Russians tried to swarm from the stream toward the remaining Germans (just like in the AAR on the scenario card). On the west side, the PzIIIH with the 8-1 overran the AT gun and broke the crew (after taking one hit which bounced off), and stopped facing the Russian BT-5 in 32V5. Despite a great shot from an ATR which immobilized the panzer, he was able to blow away the Russian tank in advancing fire (nice work from mr. 8-1). The remnants of the Russian infantry streamed toward the bridge end with the Germans in hot pursuit.

Turn 4: On the east side, the German half saw nothing dramatic happen, but the Germans were down to 1 squad, 1 hero, and one leader total. Fortunately, the Russians lack of leaders and bad OBA rolls let the Germans cling to the bridge. On the west side, the Germans raced for the bridge, but had to deploy to take out three Russian squads which had made it to 7J0 and were dug-in. Still, by this point on the west side, the Russians were down to mostly conscripts (nice ELR), so they didn't last long. The Russian half of the turn brought on the Russian reinforcements. The tank platoon moved straight over the 13Y8 bridge, hoping to break the last of the german defenders and occupy 7I9. The stukas dove in on the tanks but some awful rolls resulted in no effect. The Russian infantry replacements CXed all the way to the stream, planning a human wave attack the next turn.

Turn 5: The Germans sealed their victory in the prep fire phase when one tank on the west side (32Y2) blew away two of the Russian tanks on the east side. During movement the Germans got a half-track with infantry and a tank across to relieve the east-side defenders. The Russians conceded at this point, the Germans were now too strong on the east side to be pushed back in one turn.

Overall:

1. The scenario has it all, and is perfect for a four-player game.

2. Russian: The force you start with on the east side probably won't be able to dislodge the Germans by themselves, the Germans are fanatic, elite, and well led. Concentrate on wearing the east side defenders down with your support weapons, and if the opportunity arises, get into close combat and secure a few attack positions for the turn 4 reinforcements (really possible only before the Stukas show up). You won't win an infantry vs infantry slugging match with all those 4-2-6s running around. Think about using spotted fire for the 82mm. If you can isolate the east side by placing the support weapons and artillery spotter so they can fire on the bridge, you should be able to capture 7I9 when the reinforcements enter on turn 4. On the west side, try to delay the German advance as best you can, but don't count on holding back all those assault engineers and tanks for too long (Your best anti-tank fire only gets you a "6" to kill roll vs the tanks). Spread out and delay! , my opponent stacked some of those conscripts and they died like flies. 32W5 is the key terrain on the board, you should focus your defense on that spot.

3. The German player must place the maximum units allowed on the east side, the Russians will pound you with OBA, the 76mm, 82mm, and an HMG. Key terrain on the east side are the woods in 7G10, 13Z10, 13X10 - 13T10. If you hold these the Russians have to attack across open ground with pretty crappy troops and one leader until turn 4. My partner and I neglected to set up in the south edge of the woods around 13T10, and this let the Russians sneak up into some ugly close combat situations. Hang on and pray for the stukas (they saved our rear on turn 3).

On the west side, you have enough high-quality infantry, support weapons, and tanks to push through the Russian masses. You don't have many choices beyond moving to secure 32W5 with infantry and moving your armor along the road to support. When the opportunity comes, race anything you can to the east side, they'll probably need it.