As promised - apologies for the length, sometimes I get carried away...
After reading various other listers takes on this scenario, we decided to play as is, German initial MC and all that that entailed. As it was, two squads and one leader failed - yep, the guy with the radio. However all was not lost, as in the initial RPh, I got back one of the squads and the leader. I started of by skulking behind the various obstacles I could find, then advancing back in at the end. The 9-2 stacked up with a squad and the HMG just right of centre, where I could place a couple of decent firelanes, while the MMG set up in clump of woods on the right, where he had placed a fair proportion of men. The boy with the radio failed to make contact, which would prove to be an omen, while my AT gun moved to the crest of hill 621.
On his turn, he advanced fairly cautiously, moving a line of squads up behind the first hedge on my left (obviously so as to advance them up behind the second hedge in his APh). He also moved slowly in the middle, using trees and buildings for cover. On his left, though, he set off with much enthusiasm. He moved a squad up trying to tempt my MMG, and when he got adjacent, I had felt I had no alternative but to fire. Anyway, strike one enemy squad. He then moved another squad up on the opposite side, also moving adjacent. When I tried to fire FPF he pointed out that the MMGs CA was pointing out of the opposite side! Fortunately, the squad's SFF was enough to see him off. Then he moved up a third, and I took my first FPF shot of the game, which broke them as well! A fourth squad was, however, able to get past him by virtue of NOT moving adjacent.
German turn 2 arrived, and squad that had sneaked past the MMG the previous turn paid the price, sucking up a 1KIA. The leader with the radio managed to make contact, but the SR was wildly off target (5,6) although he DID at least still have LOS. The AT gun finished manouvering into position on top of the hill, then the ht drove down the hill to take up a position at the foot. Turn 2 also heralded the arrival of the initial tanks; the first of which drove on to the map and promptly overran two squads that were in his way, before moving eastwards in an effort to head off the imminent T-34s. He was joined by a friend, who ran over another squad on the way, before finishing in motion. The other two set off towards the middle of the board, hoping to help slow the Russian advance. In the Soviet turn, the two tanks that had done the overrunning elicited a fanatical response from the remaining squads, who attempted to swarm them, abandoning their advance on the hill. Several minutes later he had managed to get two GO squads adjacent to them ready for CC, although subsequently neither of them passed their PAATCs. More drama came with the arrival of his T-34s, three of which proceeded toward the PzIV threat, the other three heading toward the centre of the board. Nothing really happened in either the DFPh or his AFPh, so we went on to the next turn.
What can I say? Five minutes later, scratch two T-34s, as my Wittman clone started work...roll to hit, hit (with ROF), kill, roll to hit, hit, kill. At this point the third started to look for help from his buddies, but fortunately for him, my second tank missed. In the middle, one of my PzIVs rolled up close to some enemy guys in a house....might as well take a shot, I thought - bad mistake, mark up one malf'd MA. In the next turn, the crew wrecked the gun trying to repair it, so the tank recalled off the map. Luckily for me, the closest route (in MF) went past some Sovs, so as I went past I sprayed them with MG fire. My opponent was not happy about, this, but I felt that there was no reason I couldn't fire - was I right? After all, I fired on the move, I couldn't have left the map any quicker.
Anyway, as the game went on, Soviet progress was slow. My 8-3-8s came on, took up a reverse slope position and dug in, waiting for anyone to come onto the crest. The second radio operator bravely climbed to the top for better LOS, which turned out to be the right thing to do, as his buddy with the other radio was captured almost immediately afterwards, having not fired a single useful mission. Fortunately, the new boy was more switched on, and immediately bought down some 100mm on top of a truck full of 6-2-8s, killing the lot. 'Wittman' continued to do his stuff, killing another 2 T-34s (on one of these, I needed a '4' TH, with the lower die doubled - you guessed it, I got a 1,2), and then going on to overrun the second truck full of 6-2-8s, killing all of them. He was gaining acquisition on an Su-122 (rear facing) when we had to stop, sadly after just 6.5 turns (it WAS 3am, come on...). However, my opponent (Hi Simon) had all but abandoned hope at this point anyway, even though most of my original force had been captured or killed....he still had a long way to go, with no real infantry reinforcement (not now, anyway!), and the hill was covered with German tanks and halftracks, ready to interdict any advance. Both AT guns were lobbing shell after shell at the advancing enemy, although I did malf the 75L with an Intensive Fire shot at a Russian squad that was manouvering to cut off some rout paths, which he managed to do. Still, that's the chance you take, I guess.
Overall, an excellent scenario, a lot of fun with a lot of toys for both sides - although looking at it now, I think that the Soviet must really go for it if he is going to have time to really assault the hill. Those assault engineers, at point blank range behind the hill, in foxholes, with an HMG and a 10-3 leader are *not* going to be shifted in a hurry. Personally though, it was the psychological damage that 'Wittman' did that really killed off the Russian belief that he could do it, imho.
Still, chalk this up as a German win!
Bob