Last Sunrise over Antonov - Combat Mission: Red Thunder

Large scale assault with tanks and infantry against a well-prepared defense in a town

Defender has no room to maneuver, absolutely no depth to defend. Defender's infantry is placed on a forward slope without possibility to retreat or move. Insane Soviet tank density.

The designer obviously wanted to make an unwinnable scenario for the German side, which is fine. But that should not be done not by cramping insane amounts of units onto an unsuited map for defense. If the Germans would have fought that way, they would have had much higher and not much lower losses than the Soviets, even when they were defeated.
Tactically the German task with that force composition does not make any sense to me.

For ladder players: play Soviet side - total victory assured.

Not much of a thought out scenario, it's way too many forces of too high experience (all 500 German troops are "Crack") on a much too small map. Not much to do here, basically a waste of time.

When I found out that I was the Germans in this battle, with 5 AFVs versus 50 Russian AFVs, I didn't give myself much of a chance at all, especially with a short range engagement. I figured my goose would be cooked in the first 30 minutes. But I took a page out of my infantry officer manual and set up a reverse slope defence behind the berm with a light infantry screen out front in the village. I knew the Russians only had an infantry company, so if I could whittle that down, the Russian tanks would have a rough go against my infantry with a plethora of handheld AT weapons. I ran my puny force of tanks up and down that berm so many times the crews got dizzy. But it did the trick - their superb crew quality and nearby infantry spotters usually allowed them to spot and engage first.
I am very pleased with the result...it was a challenge for sure!

The forces for the Soviet player are completely inappropriate for such a small map that the 50 tanks are bumping into each other! Although the Germans only have 5 tanks, they have an infantry battalion (with a division's worth of Panzerschrecks!)compared to a single Soviet infantry company. While the Soviets still have an advantage overall, the initial nebelwerfer barrage can strip what little Soviet infantry there is and even up the battle as the objective area is filled with buildings and woods, not to mention this is a night scenario for the most part. To improve playability and balance, I would recommend the following:

1) Cut Soviets tanks to 25 and give them an infantry battalion with mortar support

2) Cut the German Panzerschreck numbers in half and replace nebelwerfers with mortars

3) Allow the German player to place the mines

The forces for the Soviet player are completely inappropriate for such a small map that the 50 tanks are bumping into each other! Although the Germans only have 5 tanks, they have an infantry battalion (with a division's worth of Panzerschrecks!)compared to a single Soviet infantry company. While the Soviets still have an advantage overall, the initial nebelwerfer barrage can strip what little Soviet infantry there is and even up the battle as the objective area is filled with buildings and woods, not to mention this is a night scenario for the most part. To improve playability and balance, I would recommend the following:

1) Cut Soviets tanks to 25 and give them an infantry battalion with mortar support

2) Cut the German Panzerschreck numbers in half and replace nebelwerfers with mortars

3) Allow the German player to place the mines

4) Make German troops mostly veteran vice crack and Soviet troops mostly regular vice veteran

While pro-Russian, there are many challenges and dangers for the Russians. the Germans have ample opportunities to ambush and destroy Russian armor. The Russians have few assault troops in comparison to the German troops. Indeed the German situation is desperate but not lost. Well placed German troops can hold up the advance so the German's defensive planning and positioning is crucial. The Russians have everything to lose, but have ample time. So with care they can achieve their objectives without great losses.

not suitable for H2H.
Play against Red AI only.

Compact map for reasonably strong forces. Interesting units for both sides.
Bit of a slug fest but gives a good feel for desperation of those times. Enjoyed it

I only played it once from the Russian side, so not sure if it is balanced.