Dog Fight - Ostkreig Tournament Round 2

[Dog Soldier]

In my battle as the Russians in this scenario my opponent simply retreated back towards and eventually into that hex and I was not able to take it since there is limited Russian strength and the Germans were dug in the city and not isolated despite the fact that I held the southern crossing and the Germans were all in 1 hex. Those 75 VP points were part of the reason the Russians did not get a victory.

Just curious . . .

I would have to guess that you used far too many resources to take that one 75 point objective. The Russians can easily contain the Axis forces north of the Chir river if the Axis troops stay.
To commit the additional Russian forces to take that objective instead of the more valuable State Farm to the south would be a strategic mistake, IMHO.
The Axis are hard pressed with only their at start forces south of Chir to meet the Russian attack. The Russian is in command in this scenario. It is his battle to win or lose. As long as the Russians maintain a constant pressure on the Axis left flank and with the cavalry in the south, they have a good chance ot taking the State farm.


Review the objectives in the scenario.
The scenario starts with a VP total for the Axis of 625. This is a draw. An Axis minor loss is achieved when the VP total falls below 600. So, keeping the attrition even, the Russians only have to seize the 25 VP location on the Axis left flank that is only four km beyond the Russian starting positions.
A Russian major victory is achieved by driving the Axis VP total below 400 VP. This can be achieved by taking the 250 VP hex at the State Farm.
Both of these objectives are on the the weakest Axis sector guarded by the LW division. The 75 VP objective at Surovikino, does not matter. The key on the Chir is to blow the bridge. This will forestall any Russian redeployment south of the Chir for the 119th RD and free 1,420 first line Axis infantry to bolster the defenses to the south.

A straight attrition battle could be fought by the Russians. I think that has less chances of success. The reason is because it throws away the best Russian advantage, the mobility of the 5th Mech corps. The cavalry can be bottled up with small Axis forces for the majority of the game. The Sulatskiy bridgehead can be hard pressed or at least battered and contained. Victory or defeat for the Russians lies with the handling of the 5th Mech Corps.

Dog Soldier