MAIN EVENT VII! Ratzki vs Joonny....

[Der Kuenstler]

It's not looking good for Comrade Ratzki. At this rate I can see a major victory for Joony.

I'd say so - and it doesn't look much better this turn. Minute four begins with Ratzki ordering his jeeps over the hill. He sends them into the grass hoping the houses ahead will shield them, but it doesn't work - shells start falling everywhere from the German AFVs perched up on the far hill. You can see the guns that the jeeps are towing already show "pinned" and "panic" as the shells fall....



Here the rear jeep skids out after a shell burst and the driver and gun crew fall out on the ground - they've had enough. Surprisingly, the forward jeep has run the gauntlet and is still going, though its gun crew is now routed....



The forward jeep screeches on the brakes behind the nearest house and the gun deploys - the gun crew is routed and will be useless for the next several turns, if they survive at all...up on the ridge I've written in what the Germans are probably going to do next - the jeep is hiding behind a light building.



Meanwhile up on the hill, Ratzki's infantry are turning to mush under the constant HE coming from the German AFVs on overwatch. Not one unit is in good condition. Joonny's tanks outnumber Ratzki's 14-7 and they are really dominating the field right now...



From Joonny's side, his central AFV column looks like it is in a parade instead of a battle - they are meeting no opposition at all. We can see that one of Joonny's forward squads has reached the trees heading towards one of the large flags.



Here Commander Ratzki comments on his current dilemma:

"Boy what a map this is, hate it already. I am in a little pickle at the moment. Jonny has LOS from the hill at his set up zone as well as from the ridge to pretty much everywhere on the map. With that stretch of woods on my left going from the ridge to about 1/3 of the map, there is no way for me to get any tanks through or around that way. Right now I am in a little hollow on my side of the large hill in the centre of the map where I can't get shot at for the time being. I am very glad that I did not put anything up there on that ridge as the Russians don't have anything that can deal with what looks to be STuGs and Panthers head on and from that long range. I remind you that I do not manually target with units that are out of Command, and I do not select any enemy unit to gather information. I try to get the information from the unit graphic and the sounds that it makes when firing. Just a little quirk of mine.

I am going to continue to try to get that rifle platoon into the town, more to give Jonny something to shoot at and buy some time so I can get my FO into position to lay down some smoke and then I will order my men, after they all arive, over the hill. I will just have to deal with what happens when/if I get to the other side and into town. I seem to think now that Jonny is very short of infantry as I have seen narry a axis soldier at this time. This is good through the trees on my left, I hope that I get there before him and that my Company with MGs will be able to handle whatever he has going for those two flags. In the town, it looks like I will have to abandon the thought of getting there 1st and make plans to dig his troops out of the houses. Again, with what I hope is a infantry advantage in numbers, I feel confident that this is possible.

Depending on where I can get that smoke screen down, I will decide if getting my tanks over the hill is a go. This might be a last minute decision. So at the moment my plan is to get shot at and keep his tanks happy doing just that and not moving untill I can get my men to the crest of the hill, lay down some smoke, and run like a wild man into the town. Being on that hill in his setup zone from the game's start is a very large advantage, I wonder if Jonny has any idea how huge a deal it is..."

I'd say Ratzki is right - he has a large infantry advantage and needs to make use of their peculiar skills. He's got to get them into the woods and buildings where they were meant to fight. Joonny has already seen the T34s so I would keep them hidden - they will always be threat that way and keep Joonny cautious. Too bad Ratzki didn't put two or three crack 57mm L/73 guns up in his cliffs at the start of the match - that would have given those German thugs on overwatch something to worry about...