We played the first two scenarios of World at War: Death of 1st Panzer tonight.
BLIND SIDED: Me (USSR) vs. Aaron (Germany). He managed to get his Jaguar up onto the hill in the backfield as I crested the large hill on the other side of the valley. So I charged my tanks into the shadow of Talen and assaulted it. I lost several stacks of T-72's before taking the town, and realized that there was no way for me to reach Walkerburg through his enfilading fire. I fled with two platoons of tanks, conceding the game to Aaron.
SPEED BUMPS: Second up was Kurt (USSR), vs. Aaron's germans. Kurt split his assault on both sides of the east-west river. Aaron dropped mines north of the river and set up a crossfire from Wittburg, Talen and his Leopard II, lurking behind Talen. That fire finished off the BMP-1's. Kurt's half-hearted attempt to rush Wittburg from the reverse of the big hill petered out as well.
GRADE: Both games are good teaching situations, but very difficult for the Soviet player to win without lucky chit-pulls. On the other hand, both were also great examples of what to avoid as the Soviets: exposure in the open, and dispersal of focus. The soviets, on the attack, have to mass overwhelming numbers in a safe spot, and wait for the right moment to perform a wave assault on a portion of the defender's force. I tried to change direction mid-game and instead found myself in a cul-de-sac with fire coming down on me from all sides anytime I tried to move. Kurt divided his forces and watched each of them get picked apart as he approached the german positions. Aaron had teams of Marders and Milan-equipped infantry in advanced positions (in towns) and in both games, they managed to use multiple activations to rip the heart out of the soviet formations.
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