Situation Map at start of Round 2:

Round 2

As the SU-100 Commander looks around the battlefield, trying to spot other enemy units, the roar of the T-34/76’s cannon makes him flinch – the first shot of the battle has been fired! Looking at the Stug in the distance, the SU-100 Commander sees the shell impact into the side of the STUG superstructure, just below the German Commander. The German Commander is blown out of his hatch, and there’s some smoke coming from the superstructure! Great shot! The Russian Commander hopes to see the Stug burst into flames, but as he watches the Stug, the smoke stops and the Stug starts to retreat, eventually climbing into some Rubble. The Stug is still visible, barely. The T-34/76 still has him flanked – come on, reload and fire!

As the Russian Commander prepares his crew to move out, his German counterpart already has tanks on the move. It comes as a shock when the Russian commander spots what looks like a Stug moving to his right in order to capture a hill, but it suddenly lurches to a halt before reaching it. Probably hit a patch of Mud… Lucky break for us, but luck only goes so far…To the Commander’s left, the T-34/76 moves forward and to the side to set up a flanking position on the Stug –nice maneuver though he hasn’t found any cover and stops in a field to set up a shot. The Commander’s SU-100 and the T-34/85 are still warming up their engines when another German tank is spotted moving towards the hills – a PZ IV, that drops into a shallow gully before reaching another hill. The Russian Commander’s heart starts pounding in his chest and his mouth is dry as he sees that the Germans are gaining an early advantage. He needs to be able to advance and find cover before the Panzers start shooting at him…  

Come on, we need to move! There are other tanks out there! Move!!!!

The Russian commander looks out from the cupola of his SU-100, surveying the ground before him. His orders are to advance to the low hills approximately 400m away and hold them against a suspected German tank force in the area until reinforcements arrive. An uneasiness grips him, for he knows the Germans also want to capture the hills a bit further away, and that whoever holds the high ground will have a commanding view on the neighboring areas and be able to halt any further advance.

He knows this area well, having fought here just a few weeks ago. There are a few buildings, brush and woods in the area, crisscrossed with shallow gullies here and there. With the recent rain, some areas will probably be mud – he will need to keep an eye out for that. The Hills are a mix of brush and woods, finding cover will be key to helping fend off the Germans. 

The commander looks to his right and left, confirming that a couple of T-34’s are there to protect his flanks. Excellent, we have a T-34/85 in addition to the older T-34/76. He’d like some infantry support as well but none are ready to move out now. He looks over and gives the command to start engines, load ammo and prepare for action…