Dog Fight - Ostkreig Tournament Round 1

[von Nev]

German Turn 21 "It is Good to be Lucky Sometimes . . . "

Up north the Russians do indeed cross the Dnepr. As luck would have it I put my AT guns in place only one turn before the Russians crossed. This was fortunate as if he caught my AT guns it travel mode they would have been immediately destroyed by arty. "Lady Luck" smiled on me this turn. The bridgehead is quickly sealed off and artillery strikes disrupt the Russian engineer unit as well as one of the Russian infantry battalions.

Down south the northern attack has reached the 300 VP hex (finally). With 4 turns left to gain a single hex I am in good shape to get a "Draw." I will stay next to the hex until maybe turn 24 at the latest and not assault to capture it even if the possibility exists hoping the Russians continually reinforce the hex. As they stand defending the hex I will pour arty and infantry fire on top of them. Hopefully by doing this I can maximize the VP points as once I take the hex my opponent will probably quickly retreat away (playing "prevent defense") from my units since he knows at that point with the 300 VP hex lost a "Draw" is guaranteed if he prevents me from breaking through. If he holds the 300 VP hex through the rest of the game the math suggests that there is the chance that he can get a "Minor Victory." Giving him the impression that he can hold it will keep him close. With such a strategy hopefully I can inflict enough damage to get a "Minor Victory." I will admit that a "Minor Victory" is a long shot but this strategy is probably the only shot that I have to get one. My units overall are too worn out to really press especially with a "Draw" on such a razor's edge.

Down south my stacks pour fire on Russian units. Additionally, the Russian withdrew from some positions to either straighten his line or to prevent a mini-encirclement as the mini-breakthrough last turn made this portion of his defense somewhat irrelevant and at risk. I quickly occupy the positions that he leaves.